Inheritance

CHAPTER 41

Los Angeles Times

October 18, 2014

GENETICALLY MODIFIED SOLDIER FOUND DEAD

By Anthony Krause

LOS ANGELES—The body of a 23-year-old woman identified as Daniela Torres was found dead in downtown Los Angeles on Thursday. Autopsy results from the remains have not been made available to the public, but an unnamed source from the Los Angeles County Department of the Coroner said that the body held traces of Imrian DNA.

Imrian spokesperson Nura Halba said that Daniela Torres has never undergone Imrian treatment or received an adaptation procedure. “We believe Ms. Torres was part of a United States military research initiative that used Imrian DNA to create so-called supersoldiers,” Mr. Halba said in an interview. He declined to elaborate, citing ongoing legal proceedings.

According to unreleased findings from a joint investigation undertaken by journalist Sophia Curtis and citizen journalist website Bin 42 that were previewed by the

Los Angeles Times

, the initiative’s goal was to create genetically modified soldiers with enhanced strength and endurance. The Pentagon has denied any knowledge of Ms. Torres and has obtained an injunction from the United States District Court, Northern District of California, to restrict publication of the investigation, citing national security concerns. Currently, the decision is under appeal in the Ninth District Court of Appeals, and is expected to be appealed to the Supreme Court.

In an unusual coincidence, adoption proceedings for Ms. Torres’s 7-year-old son, Diego Luis Torres, were filed the same week that Ms. Torres’s body was discovered. Catherine Sheridan and Richard Holloway, parents of the adapted human teenager Reese Holloway, are attempting to adopt Diego Torres, who until recently was a resident at the Children’s Home of Los Angeles. Ms. Sheridan, an assistant district attorney in San Francisco, and Mr. Holloway, an Internet entrepreneur, have refused to comment on their adoption proceedings.