There was a single burst in the sky, a kind of rain began to fall. Most creatures ignored the droplets because they tasted kind of strange. Sort of like concentrated nut powder. But the men and women that were touched, even by a single droplet, were halted. They fell to the ground. Writhing. Mouths foaming. Eyes rolled up in heads. The vast majority would eventually stand up again though changed. As with every big change, however, some could not survive the shock of it and perished.
The wind mixed the droplets fine into the air and they carried into the buildings. Into subways. High on mountains, low in valleys.
Another burst in the sky and another. He could only afford three on his budget. He did not have the approval of any government,. He had not asked the permission of any body.
But the nature of the droplets, the tiny, tiny amount needed was enough to ensure that most of the North American continent would be covered. For the first time in many thousands of years, mankind had a new competitor. A species without the demon's blight it is true, but he had also removed another few irritating design features of homo sapiens. It would be very obvious which species was which, even though they could breed.
But he knew that they would not breed. Because their morphospaces were not aligned. So they would compete as separate species for the same niche. Despite their initially smaller numbers he believed that they would soon grow to become the most successful of the species. The biggest branch on the ol' family tree.
He smiled. He stretched. His back felt so much better with its better designed spinal column, better materials, nerves far away from stress points. His legs more powerful with their innovative backwards knee design. His hair was thick and healthy, no sign of dandruff or oiliness. His teeth were extra white, coated with a replacement for the old enamel that was stronger, sexier. His eyes were bright and clear as usual, the only difference is that a third winked in the back of his head.
When he accidently cut himself, or fell, his body would no longer flood his brain mindlessly with pain signals. Now it gave a brief but thorough damage report with some practical advice mixed in. He no longer had to remember whether to starve a cold or a fever. His body would literally tell him. These were great frills to try out while he looked for his mate that he now knew he could trust.
He plugged a jack with some rock music directly into his brain. Bypassing ears that though healthy he wanted to save for other things and relaxed, lifting up feet that had only four toes.
Neighbors knocked on his door congratulating him on his genius and asking for some estra droplets for cousin Myrtle who had been in Spain at the time.
Yep, it was good to be a monkey boy these days...
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