[ WP ] In the far future , people are genetically engineered to be `` perfect . '' Occasionally this produces defects , but instead of being cast out of society or destroyed , the `` defects '' are sold for millions of dollars to collectors .

When the hottest actress in the world, April Conway, showed up to the Oscars with the massive scar on her right cheek it sent a shockwave through society and created a business that has made me rich beyond my wildest dreams. I just wish I could sleep at night, but after what I've done, I suppose I deserve this. 
 
 Human beauty has long since stopped being something people are admired for. Everyone is beautiful. Everyone has flawless skin, perfect features, fit bodies, and look like they have stepped out of a modeling agency's client book. Scientific discoveries in the late 2020 ’ s helped usher in this new era. The process of genetic modification was perfected and it wasn ’ t long before all you had to do was get a few injections and your child would be perfect. Now we live in a sea of beauty. Everyone is so accustomed to it that it is just part of everyday life. It is no longer something we admire. Then April Conway hit the red carpet with the grotesque scar on her face. 
 
 She played coy as to where she had gotten it. She had been out of the public eye for a few weeks leading up to the awards show, but everyone just assumed she was shooting a movie or busy with behind the scenes work. The reality is that she found a “ glitch. ” A “ glitch ” is that rare person who is born with an imperfection. Most “ glitches ” spend their lives trying to cover up and hide these imperfections. April paid a young man to sell her the scar he was born with on his arm. It was a birth defect that he hated. When she had it surgically implanted on her face “ glitching ” became an overnight phenomenon. I was in the perfect place to capitalize on this new movement. 
 
 I worked for a company that helped “ glitches ” find doctors who could help fix their problems. When having a defect suddenly became trendy, I started working behind the scenes helping families connect with buyers. They could sell the defect and I helped them find a doctor who would do the transplant surgery. I thought it was harmless and victimless. If both parties agreed, what was the big deal? 
 
 My daughter turned 16 and she didn ’ t want a car. By this time, I had been selling “ glitches ” on the black market for a few years and was making a lot of money. I offered to buy her any vehicle she wanted or to send her anywhere she wanted to go. She didn ’ t want any of that. She wanted a defect. Not just any defect, but a large, pronounced defect. At first, I wasn ’ t going to do it. She was my daughter and I wanted her to be perfect, but she persisted. I found a “ glitch ” that had exactly the defect she wanted and I found a doctor to do the surgery. The doctor told me doing the transplant would kill the “ glitch. ” I thought about it for a few minutes then gave him the go ahead anyway. I wanted my daughter to be happy. 
 
 The surgery went well for her. The defect was everything she could have wanted, but, as I was warned, the “ glitch ’ died during the surgery. I had lied to the “ glitch ’ s ” family and told them it would be fine even when I knew what was going to happen. Seeing their sorrow, feeling their anger, and understanding their loss made me sick to my stomach. I knew then that I had to change. I gave up my black market work. The idea of poor people selling their defects now wracked me with guilt. 
 
 Two years later April Conway showed up at an awards show and the scar was gone from her face. She was back to being perfect. She told reporters that “ glitching ” was now out and perfection was back in. Three weeks later my daughter wanted surgery to reverse her defect. I knew finding a donor would not be easy because they would need to be perfect. How desperate is a person that they are willing to sell their child to a stranger knowing that the child will be killed and harvested for parts? I didn ’ t try to ponder that too much. I just gave the family the money and took the child who cried as I led him away from his parents. 
 
 My daughter is perfect again, but at night, when I lay down to go to sleep, all I can see is the fear in that kid ’ s eyes when the surgeon put the oxygen mask on his face as we strapped him down to the table. 
 
 Edit: A bit of shameless promotion. My Twitter is https: //twitter.com/jeffrust if you would like to follow me.
