Origins of Irmak

I was created on August 4, 1981 in an underground lab in Istanbul, Turkey as the unexpected result of an experiment.

The experiment was an attempt to build objects through engineered DNA and accelerated growth. The scientists involved were lightyears ahead of their time. They were geniuses, and although it could be said that they were also a bit odd, well, who are we to judge them? The best way of conveying their breakthrough without going into too much technical detail is through examples. So let me describe the lamp.

The table lamp was the first experiment that kept living after the first few hours. In fact, it still lives.

They spliced genes from a plethora of species together. Fluorescent proteins from fireflies, cell wall components from palm trees, shell secretions from mollusks, micro-scales from butterflies, anaerobic digestion metabolism from bacteria, mechanoreceptive nerve cells and reflexive pathways from primates, light-sensitive signaling network from deep water fish... Thousands of  genes, brought together on a completely engineered DNA backbone, synthesized base by base according to results of computer simulations. They injected amphibian embryonic stem cells with this genetic code and put them in incubators. The cells divided and started to take shape in accelerated incubators. When the creature reached its adult size, it looked like an ordinary table lamp.

At the flick of the switch, the bulb part shined like hundreds of fireflies. The base and the column were as strong and flexible as a palm tree, but the surface was smooth like nacre, and there were no roots in sight. The semi-transparent lampshade had the beautiful patterns of the monarch butterfly. The lamp did not use batteries, energy was supplied by filling a compartment with a gel-like food medium rich in glucose, but it would also work with any food source if you were out of gel. One apple kept it going for about a day.

The lamp was the first to survive, but definitely not the last. The scientists created everyday objects from organic, living tissue. Each device was in itself a new species. Specialized hybrids. Designed life. They made their own versions of basic tools, complicated gadgets, consumables, and aesthetic objects, for which form came before function. They remade all, and this time, it was all alive.

I was the last experiment. As a last attempt, they tried to mix genetic codes of everything they loved about the world, wondering what would come out as the result. They dug into the final DNA sequences of every project and picked the best parts. Instead of designing the outcome first and engineering the genetics to get there, they just took pieces of all that is beautiful about this world. I include DNA segments from flowers, whales, eagles, living hair dryers, toads, apple powered table lamps, breathing Commodore 64s, sharks, marshmallows, milk, alive and fully functional Beatles LPs, popcorn, pencils, antacid tablets, non-stick pans, colorful ties, plush toys, and hundreds of equally wonderful new creatures.

Elaborately splashing all these codes together, the slightly mad scientists, my lovely parents, put their final project into the warmth of the growth chamber... and waited.

Unexpectedly, twenty-four weeks and three hours later I walked out of the chamber in a form indistinguishable from an ordinary human being. My creators, my proud parents, the incredible masterminds that created me were watching me in awe. They knew that I included the best, the most adorable, the most joyful elements of the world. I smiled at them with all my love, devoured them, and went out to have the greatest of all human lives in history. If you can call this a human life, that is. I sometimes do.

My name is Irmak and I'm a monster.