GeneBranding
It's not enough to be GeneFixxed, everyone has to know that you have the best GeneFixxing possible. The best way to do that is to have it visible.
That's why VendiGeneticia has released it's GeneBrand technology. Customers have the choice of nine different brandings, from the subtle VG brand discretely placed at the customer's request, to the deluxe armband, to the VG enthusiast skin mosaic, popular among our artiste community.
The first generation of GeneFixing was simple, cleaning up hereditary ailments, ending things like cancer, diabetes, Parkinsons, ALS, and a slew of other maladies. This took over a century to accomplish, and created a powerful industry around genetic screening and corrective engineering. The cosmetology industry bloomed into it's own after that. Given the verisimilitude of potential biomodifications, the next step was to create patented and copyrighted 'packages'.
The Packages
The Designer - with the advent of cosmetic genetics, the great design houses found a new industry to grow into. The names are old and known, Vendi, Versace, Armani, Dolce & Gabbana, and many others. These designer packages have certain common factors, copyrighted hair colors, eye colors, certain sculpted features, such as designer noses, eye shape, ear shape, and obviouslty, sexual attributes. Sculpted and optimized breasts, chiseled penises of computer modeled perfection, vaginas idealized and beautiful as O'keefe paintings. The final modification in these packages is a pheromone gland, changing the scent of the person. Rather than a funky musk, a conglomeration of sweat, urea, and the stale detritus of human existence, the pores release designer fragrances. Sweat doubles as perfume. Designer humanity.
The Corporate - the corporations have the ability to create their own signature look and style, allowing them to create their own internal phenotype. Not nearly as extensive as the designer mods, corp mods can range from stylistic for corporate officers, functional for worker level employees and tailored for expression, turning corporate genefixxing into advertising for the corporation.
The Subsidized - paid for from governmental subsidies, subsidized packages are only common in second and third world nations. The package does normal gene fixing, but makes adjustments towards a national ideal or racial paragon. This practice is often decried as genetic nationalism.
Branding
The cosmetologist interests found bio-tattooing to be a popularly accepted method of both marking their work as well as advertising it. The trend isn't new. As early as the end of the 20th century, musicians and artists would tattoo their skin with corporate logos, national icons and images, and so forth. The new branding is biologically manifested, ranging in size and prominence as desired by the customer. Generally the larger and more prominent the branding, the better the discount given. Celebrities, artists, models, actors and actresses and other media figures continue this trend. Fakes and forgeries are common. The major designer houses are the most common fakes, as they are the most expensive. Some are clever and well done cosmetic jobs, with fake tags. Others are cheap, creations of ink, and splashes of cologne and perfume.
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? Responses (3)
Some pretty deep thoughts here :) Scary it may come to pass.
Great writing, as always.
GeneBranding makes perfect sense and will almost certainly be a thing. Technologies like Crispr may make it possible to change your genes while still alive, meaning you don't have to be crafted with perfumed sweat glands from birth, but could get a treatment and slowly grow into it. Polyps or embryonic implants could allow you to grow all sorts of neat local tissue that could theoretically merge with your existing self.
But, the primary focus of the article is branding. Right now people get tattoos of things they believe in, including brands. Having this gene technology will certainly enhance that. Plus, if you can change your genes somewhat regularly it would even make it more commonplace - after all, parents can't truthfully tell their kids that their new-fangled clan markings won't go away.
It'd be neat to explore different types of art and see how gene fixing would reflect it. There will totally be avant-garde gene bearers, people who refuse treatment, people who splice in genes from other species (or get new ones crafted), etc.
Progressive genetic modification is a thing in the Cosmic Era. Gene manipulation is about as common as going to a spa, and some modifications are available 'over the counter' for mundane things like hair color, baldness, etc.
