by Harper Swan
Greg turns his eyes from Mark to the group. “Everyone here will receive a T-shirt with his or her Neanderthal ancestry amount printed on front. The piece of tape with your name on it covers the percentage—I didn’t want anybody spoiling the surprise factor by seeing the amount early. These shirts are a new product at our online store, so get the word out, people.”
He turns and pulls a T-shirt from the clothesline. “DNA amounts go from zero to two percent—or that’s what we thought until a few days ago. The winner of this genetic lottery,” Greg says dramatically, “is standing right here beside me.”
Mark takes the T-shirt from Greg and pulls off the tape beside the redheaded Neanderthal man pictured on the front. The shirt reads 3% Neanderthal DNA.
“Show us!” someone in the crowd yells, and Mark turns the shirt around and holds it up.
“Wow, look at that,” the woman standing closest to Mark says into the brief silence. “We didn’t totally replace them after all.” Clapping and whistling reverberate throughout the room. Mark gives a small bow before heading for the podium as Greg steps aside.
A familiar discomfort makes him swallow when he gazes around the group. His stomach growls, the sound fortunately low enough so that he feels a gurgle rather than hearing it. The rich bison chili smell saturates the air, and Mark realizes that in spite of his nervousness, he’s hungry—a try-anything kind of hungry.
Mark thanks them for inviting him. He promises to mix with the group and get to know everyone better while they eat, keeping his remarks short before turning the podium back over to Greg.
While Greg works through his notecards, Mark contemplates the Neanderthal on his T-shirt, and his surroundings fade. He wonders what his Neanderthal and Early Modern Human ancestors would have thought if they’d known that one day, in the distant future, some of their descendants would throw a party for the sole purpose of celebrating their commingling.
Acknowledgments
I would like to give special thanks to:
Family and friends for their interest in this project.
Floyd, for helping to improve the story and smooth out the flow. Thanks also for your kind words of encouragement.
The talented editors and proofreaders at Red Adept Editing (www.redadeptediting.com).
Cleon, who listened carefully while I read Raven’s Choice aloud.
All the people I pestered to read the story and tell me what they thought.
About The Author
Harper Swan lives in Tallahassee, Florida with her husband and two sweet but very spoiled cats. She is also the author of Gas Heat, a story of family angst taking place in the Deep South.
Harper is currently writing Part Two of The Replacement Chronicles. If you would like to be notified of its publication or simply want to say hello, please contact Harper at: [email protected].