Homo Derelictus

<p>When children in a cluster of small villages in the north-east of England develop diseased kidneys they are found to have an abnormal gene previously only found in Archaea; the most primitive organisms on Earth. </p><p>A rapid scramble by medical authorities led by one of the children's fathers cures the abnormality with a variation of the CRISPR technique and things seem to return to normal.  </p><p>Yet soon after multitudes of all ages and across the world are struck down; their bodies rapidly regressing to a pre-hominid state that the scientific community labels <strong><em>Homo derelictus.</em></strong><em> </em>Infected by whole Archaean organisms the diseased seek isolation and quickly die. </p><p>The race is on to preserve what is left of <em>Homo sapiens</em> a struggle that must be global in its reach and unite all of what remains of humanity.</p>