Two months earlier he had noticed a small lump on his abdomen. It was about 2 inches above his navel and looked like someone had put a small pea under his skin. He went to the doctor and ended up getting a biopsy, but instead of the expected malignancy the results revealed that the lump was composed of stem cells. In other words, it was an embryo. they tried to remove it of course, but it had a root that went deep into his abdominal cavity and branched out, making safe removal imposible. So it was allowed to grow under close supervision, including hospitalization when it had reached the size of an apple.
It was after he had been placed in hospital that someone finally suggested a DNA test to look for abnormalities. the suggestion seemed so obvious that many people wondered why it hadn't been done earlier. The results, however, were far more abnormal than anyone could have guessed. Instead of the normal double helix he had a triple DNA strand running through each nucleus, a triple helix. It didn't take long to put 2 and 2 together. Michael was not human. The military was brought in.
On top of that there seemed to be a long strand of two types of particles on the end of each triple helix that didn't seem to do anything. They probably wouldn't have figured out what it was except for a mixup. Someone had ordered a chart of the composition of these strands and the technician decided to use ones and zeros for the two particles. A copy of this report had been accidentally sent to the computer dept. and the programmers easily recognized it as a computer program in binary code. Now they had finished putting it into a computer and Michael was sitting outside the room waiting to find out what the program would do. He didn't wait long.
An officer came out and asked him to join them. He walked into the room and immediately noticed that something was different. The soldiers seemed to be treating him differently. Instead of acting like he was a possible threat they almost seemed to be treating him with respect. He was told that the program had caused a message to come up on the screen. He turned to the monitor and read the message.
People of earth,
The person in who's DNA you found this message is caled D'al H'set. This message was translated into the dominant language of the land we left him in, and woven into his genetic code minutes before he was placed where your people found him. He is one of our king's sons, which is why he was chosen to be sent to your world. Only royalty may be asked to make such a sacrifice. The reason for sending him is simple. You are being tested.
As members of the Galactic Alliance, we have been watching you for some time, and have decided it is time to find out if you are truly a civilized people, or if you are still savage animals inclined more to violence than anything else.
The prince was placed in what you call a dumpster, at a time when we knew he would be discovered within minutes. This atmosphere is very different from ours and he will have problems, but our intelligence tells us that your medical technology is sufficient to deal with any health problems this may cause.
Several of his brothers and sisters were similarly placed in other parts of your world. They have no knowledge of their heritage and will have no way to care for themselves for some time. It is based on how you treat these children, both as infants and when you discover what they are, that you will be judged. Treat them well, pass this test, and you will be allowed to progress in your technological evolution until you eventually reach the stars. Fail this test and we will annihilate your race, as we did with the people of the planet you call Mars thousands of years ago.
That was it. No signature. Michael didn't know what to say. He didn't have a chance to decide. Someone, another soldier, rushed into the room holding an envelope. The senior officer in the room opened the envelope, read the note it contained, and went pale. He placed the envelope on the table, conferred with a couple of other officers in hushed whispers, and walked out.
Michael picked up the envelope. No one bothered to stop him. the note was confirmation of another alien, a female one, in China. She had been exicuted that morning for being something other than human. The Chinese government was still trying to figure out what the particle strands in her DNA were for.
