Chapter Five: The Body Doesn't Lie

She lacked my vaccination scar, but a fresh needle mark punctured her right elbow. Pale yellow pollen clung to her soles. “Sweet osmanthus,” Wenchuan said. “It shouldn't bloom in August.” Only one climate-controlled laboratory in the city cultivated early osmanthus year-round. It belonged to the Jinglan Institute of Neuroimmunology. Xiao Mian's expression darkened. “You want to find the incubator.” “Is that where you came from?” “I came from you. That place only made me a body that could walk.” A rapid DNA analysis showed that our genetic markers were overwhelmingly similar, but not identical. Her sample contained a synthetic base matching the patented vector used by SL-17.