[ WP ] The year is 2170 . The air is no longer safe to breathe , courtesy of hundreds of genetically engineered CRISPR viruses all capable of altering human DNA within seconds . A cult of clean air worshippers decides to venture out into the open and remove all their masks at once

She removed her mask and breathed in the fresh air. It felt good, cleaner, crisper than the stale leftovers in her recyke. It felt right. She felt brave for doing it, since if the estimates on the InnerNet were true, she'd have between 30 and 50,000 viruses entering her bloodstream right now from the infected natural air, but was it worth the pain? Oh yes. 
 
 Her church proclaimed the Transformation as a necessary step in our evolution. Corporate shills and scientists claimed that the viruses would pick us apart at random and put us back together as Cronenberg-style monsters. They showed us film of a Transformation gone wrong and made use listen to their screams. They gave out pamphlets with terrifying data about people who had gone to the surface before, but they could n't fool me. They tried forcing pamphlets on me when I went to get an abortion and I looked up that info and a bunch of other scientists said it was hooey. Now they want to claim the Transformation is evil, too? Never trust the government. 
 
 The church knew the truth. The transformative power in the air GAVE life! It was n't random, but GUIDED! By preparing our earthly possessions with the church's help and making the pilgrimage back to the surface and breathing the air, we could join the next phase of our evolution. It was a beautiful thing, and nobody ever went back to the mundane underground after their Transformation. It only worked on humans, as proof that God has chosen us, so we could eat all the meats we had n't had the time to corral in the underground before the evacuation. After all these years, humanity would regain dominion over the Earth! 
 
 We welcomed it and inhaled deeply, and breathed, and waited, and... waited. Were we not worthy?
