Vincent Anton Freeman
Biography[]
Conception[]
Vincent was conceived naturally to parents Antonio and Marie Freeman. He was their first child. No genetic selection was involved. In the society into which Vincent was born, a child who was conceived naturally was called a "faith-birth", "God child", or, officially, an "in-valid".
Birth[]
When Vincent was born, his genetic profile indicated a high probability of several disorders in his future to include a 99% probability of a heart disorder and a life expectancy of 30.2 years. Antonio decided to name his firstborn Vincent Anton Freeman, not wanting his name to be tied to a son he was told would not live long.
| Genetic Profile: Freeman, Vincent Anton | |
|---|---|
| Probability of Neurological Condition | 60% |
| Probability of Manic Depression | 42% |
| Probability of Attention Deficit Disorder | 89% |
| Probability of Heart Disorder | 99% |
| Result: Early Fatal Potential | Life Expectancy: 30.2 years |
Early Life[]
When Vincent was still a toddler, his parents decided they would like another child. However, this time they decide to conceive in the new "natural" way, through genetic selection. As a result, Vincent's brother Anton Freeman was born without any of Vincent's negative genetic characteristics such as a possible heart disorder and myopia. Vincent's normal growth was slower than that of Anton's, and the younger soon surpassed the elder in strength and height.
Vincent and Anton's growth disparity.
Throughout Vincent's childhood and young adult life, he dreamed of becoming an astronaut. His family believed his dream to be futile considering his in-valid status. They attempted to convince him he would never succeed due to his in-valid status.
Growing up, Vincent and Anton would compete in games of Chicken. These games would involve swimming out to sea as far as possible. The loser was considered to be the one to return to shore first. Vincent lost every single time. That is, until the very last game. It occurred when Vincent and Anton were in their late teens. Anton surprisingly fell behind Vincent and nearly drowned. Vincent was able to save his brother.
Vincent eventually left home as a young man, cutting himself out of the lives of his parents and brother.
Janitorial work at Gattaca Aerospace Corporation[]
Years later, Vincent began working at Gattaca Aerospace Corporation. As he was an in-valid, his options for work were limited and his work at Gattaca was janitorial. Still, he dreamed of becoming an astronaut and trained himself as best as he was able in body and mind with what resources he had.
Becoming Jerome Eugene Marrow[]
Vincent and German
Vincent contacted a DNA broker by the name of "German", a man who was able to "transform" in-valids into valids. "German" indicated he knew of a valid who was willing to become a "stolen ladder", a valid who was willing to sell their identity. "German" introduced Vincent to Jerome Eugene Marrow, a foreign former swimming star who would live "practically forever", had an IQ "off the register", better than 20/20 in both eyes, and the "heart of an ox". However, Jerome was paralyzed from the waist down after being hit by a car, and was wheelchair-bound. No longer able to support himself, Jerome was willing to become Vincent's "stolen ladder." Vincent would pose as Jerome. Jerome would be supported in the lifestyle he was used to. Vincent agreed to the arrangement and began the process of changing his own appearance to closer match Jerome's.
The process to become Jerome involved, but was not limited to, Vincent learning how to write with his right hand, wearing colored contacts to correct his myopia and match Jerome's color, getting his teeth whitened, and going through a painful procedure that added 2 inches to his height.
Becoming Jerome
The commitment to become Jerome Eugene Morrow would be life-long and totally binding, but Vincent was ready to give all to achieve his dream of going to space. Jerome's side of the bargain involved collecting his own hair, skin, blood and urine samples for Vincent's everyday use in his new life as Jerome.
Jerome, understanding Vincent was committed to the agreement, insisted Vincent now call him "Eugene", which was Jerome's middle name. Jerome then began calling Vincent "Jerome", as he had now become the Jerome Morrow.
After months of multiple changes to match his appearance, Vincent was finally ready to pose as Jerome and applied for an elite position at Gattaca. He garnered an interview, which actually only consisted of various DNA tests. As he had Jerome's superior genetics, Vincent was immediately accepted.
[]
"Jerome Morrow', Navigator at Gattaca
Vincent was assigned as navigator for an upcoming mission to one of Saturn's moons, Titan. One of Vincent's coworkers was Irene Cassini who was resigned to less favorable treatment due to her high probability of heart failure later in life. She was aware of Vincent's perceived "second to none" genetic superiority, causing her to be slightly jealous of as well as attracted to him.
To conceal his identity, Vincent had to go through a daily process of meticulously grooming and scrubbing down to remove his own genetic material and pass daily DNA scanning and urine tests using Jerome's samples.
Murder Investigation of Gattaca Administrator[]
Vincent was assigned to a year-long, manned mission to Titan, one that he helped design. However, a Gattaca administrator was murdered a week before the launch. In the ensuing investigation, the police found one of Vincent's eyelashes near the crime scene. They were only able to identify it as from an "unregistered" in-valid, and thus launched an investigation to find the identity of the owner of the eyelash.
During this perilous time, Vincent became close to Irene and fell in love with her, although he did not reveal his true identity. Irene knew him only as Jerome Morrow. Irene and "Jerome" began a romantic relationship.
Vincent learned that Jerome's paralysis was self-inflicted; after placing silver in the Olympics, Jerome had thrown himself in front of a car. He maintained that he was designed to be the best, yet somehow wasn't, and was suffering because of this.
After one close call in the murder investigation, Irene discovered the real identity of "Jerome", that he was actually the "In-valid" that the police were looking for under suspicion of him killing the Gattaca administrator. Vincent convinced her of the truth: that he was impersonating Jerome, and that he had not committed the murder. Irene believed him.
Vincent repeatedly evaded the grasp of the investigation. It was finally revealed that Gattaca's mission director, Director Josef, killed the administrator because he had threatened to cancel the mission. Vincent discovered that the detective who closed the case was his brother Anton, who consequently had discovered Vincent's identity. The brothers met, and Anton warned Vincent about his illegal actions, but Vincent asserted he had grown into his position on his own merits. Anton challenged Vincent to a final game of Chicken. As the two swam out at sea in the night, Vincent's stamina surprised Anton. Vincent revealed that, when he had won the game when Anton and he were teens, he won by saving nothing for the swim back. Anton turned back towards shore but began to drown. Vincent rescued him once again.
Leaving for Titan
Leaving for Titan[]
On the day of the launch of the mission to Titan, Jerome revealed to Vincent that he had stored enough DNA samples for Vincent to last two lifetimes. He gave Vincent an envelope to open once he left.
After saying goodbye to Irene, Vincent prepared to board but discovered he had to undergo a final, surprise genetic test. He was unprepared and lacked any of Jerome's samples. He went along with the test and his results came up with his real identity as an in-valid. He was surprised therefore when the doctor administering the test, Dr. Lamar, revealed that he had known Vincent had been posing as a valid all along. Lamar admitted his son looked up to Vincent. Dr. Lamar wondered whether his son, genetically selected but "not all that they promised", could exceed his potential just as Vincent had. Dr. Lamar changed the test results, allowing Vincent to proceed with boarding for the launch.
Meanwhile, Jerome had donned his swimming medal and pulled himself into his home's incinerator. He committed suicide shortly after, utilizing the incinerator. In doing so, there would be no body left behind to incriminate Vincent as an imposter.
After the launch, Vincent opened the note from Jerome to find only a lock of Jerome's hair.
Vincent suddenly had a rush of sadness at leaving Earth, despite having been treated like a second-rate human his entire life. He further mused that "For someone who was never meant for this world, I must confess, I'm suddenly having a hard time leaving it. Of course, they say every atom in our bodies was once a part of a star. Maybe I'm not leaving; maybe I'm going home."