ABSTRACTAndrew Dale Gunnink. The Carbon Process. (Under the direction of Dr. Aaron Gwyn)Mark Bovert is a brilliant geneticist and plant biologist at MIT who is developing an experiment that will attempt to permanently fix the frailties of the human body through DNA splicing and genetic modification. His struggles with social anxiety and OCD will push him to the limits of human potential. The choices he will have to make with love, friendship, and family will have consequences not to just them but to the world. Throughout the novel, Mark will struggle with his personal identity and how far he is willing to go to complete this experiment. Life events and his relationships will help shape him and give him meaning and purpose. When those relationships change or alter, Mark will have to choose the path that he is willing to go. Looking through his lens and the complexity of his emotions, OCD, and social anxiety the story will divulge the inter-reality of who Mark is. Through the blending of science fiction, drama, and real-world technology, this story journeys to the complex realities of DNA splicing and genetic modification. Mark will learn how to overcome his obsession over disease and death. He will journey into the realities every human face: the frailties of human life. This new reality he is trying to shape could cost him everything.
