Daylight Day 4: Science

“Ed, it’s the holidays. Don’t you feel a LITTLE happy?”

“No,” he said. “Bell, would it be okay if I drank you – just a little?”

“NO!”

*

“Exodermal Melanin Occlusion is spreading fast,” the news said. “Symptoms now include sparkling in sunshine, darkening hair, and whining.”

*

Ed tried to bite me, and I tripped over another EMO as I dodged him. Bruised my knees. Still not EMO, despite my black hair and long fringe.

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And, for those of you who want to know how it works:

EMO is a Retrovirus (i.e. a DNA-altering virus) which infects the outer layers of the skin. It modifies the cell’s Melanin genes so that the cell produces Silicate Crystals instead of normal Melanin.
This has the following effects:
1. It makes the infected very pale and sparkly (kind of like if they were coated in countless tiny beads of glass)
2. The Silicate crystals produced pass into the bloodstream and build up in the Brain – particularly in the Hypothalamus, Amygdala (Dysfunction of which is associated with Photophobia – aversion to light – and sometimes with compulsive biting behaviour), and the Anterior Cingulate Gyrus (disruption of which results in extreme apathy and emotional blunting).

THANK YOU to my writing group for coming up with “Exodermal Melanin Occlusion”, and especially to Ben Crispin who came up with the above.