It seems like all my comments are being deleted. I will post answer at the end of the message.
From the late 2000s to the mid-2010s, I worked as a molecular biologist for a national security contractor in a program to study Exo-Biospheric-Organisms (EBO). The aim of the program was to elucidate the genome and proteome basis of these organisms. Although the study of OBCs has been going on for decades in other programs, the new high-throughput DNA sequencing technologies of the late 90s unblocked stagnant research in this area. Since then, several breakthroughs have led to significant advances in our understanding of the genome and proteome of these beings. What we've learned so far has enabled us to outline some disconcerting perspectives about our place in this universe. Briefly, we've discovered that the EBO genome is a chimera of genomes from our biosphere and from an unknown one. They are artificial, ephemeral and disposable organisms created for a purpose that still partially eludes us. I'll be substantiating my statements after a brief introduction.
The reason for disclosing these secrets is quite simple. I believe that every human being has the right to know the truth, and that to progress, humanity needs to divest itself of certain institutions and organizations that will probably not survive these revelations in the long term. I'm aware that I'll have very little impact in this regard, but I still believe that small leaks are necessary to break the dam of misinformation on this subject. When the governments will eventually reveal these secrets, there will undoubtedly be a societal upheaval, but in my opinion, the longer we wait, the worse it will be. I choose to divulge what I know anonymously out of selfishness for the well-being of myself and my family. I'm aware that this diminishes the reach and credibility of my message, but it's the furthest I am willing to go. I chose this forum because it offers a good compromise between anonymity and popularity. In order to protect my anonymity, I will be purposely vague or even contradictory about any information that could identify me (date, education, role etc.). I'll even introduce red herrings in this respect. I want to make it clear that any information related to the subject of the research will not be treated in this way.
Before going any further, please excuse me if you find it difficult to understand what I'm explaining. Some parts of my text are very technical. It's difficult to find the right balance between vulgarization and scientific explanation. I'll continue by talking about myself. What's the point of talking about me knowing that the information will necessarily be misleading? I simply want to introduce a perspective on the type of people who work there, normal scientists. I have a Ph.D. in molecular biology. I didn't actively seek to be part of this program, rather it was a stroke of luck that introduced me to one of the senior scientists. I met this person at a conference where I was presenting a poster on my Ph.D. research. When I think back, I don't believe he was impressed by what I was presenting, because it was quite frankly a project that wasn't going anywhere. I think it was rather the most important aspect of a professional life: the attitude and the ease with which you make connections. Shortly afterwards, I graduated and received a call from this person offering me a position. At the time, everything pointed to me working in a regular laboratory.
I did a series of three increasingly suspicious interviews, each in a different location, where my scientific background and knowledge became less and less relevant. The first was with two of the senior scientists, the second and third with people I've never seen again and who were obviously not interested in science. Sometime after the interview, I was asked to go to a fourth location where what seemed like a corporate lawyer presented me with an NDA. He made sure not only to explain every detail, but also that I understood the consequence of not respecting it.
The first Employment weeks were by far the most memorable, although I spent most of that time in a depressing archive room. It consists almost exclusively of reading about the subject of study and to get us up to speed. There's no secret Wikipedia or even a reference book to guide us. There are only dry reports, memos, presentations, procedures and SOPs. These documents are almost exclusively about the biology of EBOs, but there are also a few that deal with other subjects such as their food, religion or culture. There were no documents on their technology.
As mentioned above, the aim of the project is to gain a better understanding of the EBO genome and proteome. To achieve this, a team of around twenty scientists, four senior scientists and a director was involved. The scientists, like myself, had as their main responsibility to carry out the technical work. As each scientist had to my knowledge a Ph.D., we were all somewhat overqualified for what is ultimately a technician's job. The senior scientists, who make full use of their diplomas, had the task of designing the assays and had a supervisory responsibility. They were also in charge of training new employees, and sometimes even came in to do technical work. The director, of course, was the person in charge who dictated priorities to the senior scientists. He was rarely on site, and the few times he was, it was to attend meetings. Other than the scientific staff, there were security guards working for one subcontractor or another. There were no support staff such as janitors or maintenance workers. Scientists were responsible for this kind of work. In addition, logistical constraints ensure that every scientist is capable of carrying out any technical activity.
The laboratory itself is located in Fort Detrick, Maryland, in a building used for legitimate biomedical research. The clandestine operations are carried out in a restricted part of the basement, out of sight from regular workers. Contrary to what one might imagine, the biosafety level is not maximal for this type of research. Indeed, the lab containing EBO samples or derived cell cultures is BSL3, while the lab where assays are conducted are only BSL2. The BSL3 area of the facility includes a freezer room and a cell culture lab and is only accessible through an antechamber from the BSL2 section. EBO carcasses are preserved in horizontal freezers at a temperature of -80°C nominal. To maximize the preservation of these carcasses, they are preserved in vacuum bags and the air in the room is controlled to minimize humidity. There are only four bodies and none of them are complete. It's obvious that these creatures have died as a result of major trauma. I've never witnessed a motorcycle accident fatality, but it probably looks similar to this. It is acknowledged that there are more EBOs caracasses at other locations. The cell culture laboratory, as its name suggests, is where cell lines derived from EBOs are grown and related activities are performed. I'll talk in more detail about these specific cell lines later on. The BSL2 part is mainly used for assays, immunohistochemistry, genetic engineering, immunocytochemistry, storage etc. There's also a cell culture lab, but this is used for more traditional cell lines. Other than the labs, there are all the amenities you could find in an office. Note that the internet access is limited to senior staff and up. There is, however, an intranet for bioinformatics needs.
On the subject of the biology of these beings, I'll start by discussing genetics, then their gross anatomy and finally their biological systems. For the sake of clarity, the information that I provide here is an aggregation of what I have observed and what I have read. I will make many comparisons with human anatomy because it is the most logical reference.
Genetics:
First, I'd like to discuss their genetics. Their genetics are like ours, based on DNA. This fact was very puzzling for me when I first learned about it. We imagine that beings from an alternate biosphere would have genetics based on a completely foreign biochemical system and surprisingly, this is not the case. Several conclusions can be drawn from this surprising revelation. The one that immediately comes to mind is that our biosphere and theirs share a common ancestry. They're eukaryotes, which means their cells have nuclei containing genetic material. Which suggests that their biosphere would have been separated from ours sometime after the appearance of this type of organism. The term Exo-Biospheric-Organism is actually a misnomer, but as it's a historical term, it's still used. Their genetics are not only based on the same genetic system, but they’re also even compatible with our own cellular machinery. This means that you can take a human gene and insert it into an EBO cell, and that gene will be translated into protein, and this of course works in reverse with a human gene inserted into an EBO cell. There are important differences in post-translational modifications that will make the final protein non-functional, but I'll discuss these later. Their genome consists of 16 circular chromosomes.
You're probably familiar with the concept of intergenic region or "junk DNA". These are basically DNA sequences that don't code for proteins. These are evolutionary residues, transposons, inactivated genes and so on. To give you an idea, in humans, inter...
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