Barbara

A portable music player that debuted in the early 1990s. This rare model was known for its full and vibrant bass tones, highly compatible with country music, making it popular among some hobbyists.

The interviewee admitted that she was not a fan of any one music genre in particular, and that the music in this player is in fact a necessary medical precaution. She wishes she could enjoy a live concert in its entirety without being interrupted by her asthma.

A small notebook, accompanied by a pen and side clip. Perfect for an editor on the go.

Charmed by its bright colors, the interviewee picked it up at a flea market. She likes to keep it close at hand, somewhere her inspiration and heart beat as one.

Bears UTTU's logo. Employees can choose to wear it or not—there is no dress code at UTTU.

The interviewee is accustomed to wearing this professional attire at all times, which greatly improves her efficiency in the field, as her appearance and age can sometimes lead to inconveniences. The interviewee does, however, need a specially made extra small size for her clothes.

During the mid-20th century, advances in life sciences and biotechnology opened a new realm of possibilities. The double-helix was unraveled, revealing a previously hidden path—the code to deciphering life itself.

No one could resist clinging on to this hope, whether human or arcanist. The term "genetic engineering" emerged in 1973, as biologists wove and pruned the strands of DNA, allowing modified results to be inherited almost without fail. Suddenly, the challenges of the past in agriculture, medicine, and basic biological research were swept away by new solutions.

Naturally, attention returned to that classic academic subject: the mutual exclusivity of human and arcanist bloodlines. This time, at a research institute in Scotland, scientists chose to take the power of creating life into their own hands, attempting to realize a dream that never came true—to balance these two bloodlines at a 50:50 ratio in a single life form.

After going through 276 failures, the 277th experiment combined the genes of a female arcanist volunteer and a female human researcher. The embryo, formed in the lab, was then transferred to the uterus of a Finn-Dorset ewe.

A baby girl was born, with the eye color of her human mother, a skin tone similar to her arcanist mother, and unexpectedly—the head of a sheep, the third mother.

Her DNA ratio was a delicate balance of 60% Arcanist and 40% human. While it did not achieve the desired result, the method behind her birth was enough to attract the attention of countless academic and commercial organizations.

A new miracle of life at the end of the 20th century—that's what people called her.

Her slender limbs lack any real strength, and her development was much slower than that of her peers. On the other hand, she achieved far higher scores in intelligence test than children her age.

These two facts were not particularly surprising.

This combination of genes led to an early-maturing brain and incomplete physical development, a risk that was already known from the very beginning—she would experience a much-longer-than-usual childhood until her physical development stopped altogether.

She had ethic lessons and other academic courses tailored to her special condition. She lived in a clean, sterile room, accompanied by a portable music player.

The volunteer mother visited her regularly, the researcher mother measured her data and recorded her growth, and the ewe mother stayed by her side, lapping at her fleece and nursing her.

At night, she dreamt of a soft lawn she had only seen in books and videotapes, where her ewe mother waited for her, and they roamed through the clouds together.

Dolly, this is what grass tastes like.

Dolly, you're my sweet little lamb.

Dolly, this is simply wonderful. You must go to more places, see more lawns and more clouds, just like we saw in that dream.

Pandora Wilson: This isn't the first time you've let me interview you.

Barbara: No, ma'am. I remember the day we first met.

Pandora Wilson: And before that, you'd already been interviewed so many times. It's safe to say you're no stranger to having cameras and notebooks shoved in your face.

Barbara: Indeed, people are very interested in cloning and genetic engineering, I understand that. The institute's achievements are valuable both scientifically and commercially.

Barbara: I have a lot of visitors, and no, I don't mind it at all. They're always very polite, and seeing new faces always makes me happy.

Pandora Wilson: So, is that why you chose to join UTTU? To see new faces? I think this is something our readers would like to know.

Barbara: Oh, well, that's true to some extent. I want to learn everything I can about different people and different things, just like you did through the questions you asked me that day.

Pandora Wilson: Do you ever miss the institute?

Barbara: Yes, sometimes. I'd really like to send them some postcards ... and some grass.

Barbara: I want to show them the world, through my eyes.