What makes humans what we are? What makes "me" who I am? Is it, what some may say, my "soul"? Is it my mind, capable of abstract thought? Or is it just genetic chance? In essence, we are nothing more than code made real. A sequence of proteins linked together in such a way as to produce remarkable biological results. A fragile string of source code that defines me as human Steve and not a chimpanzee, gorilla, or even a house fly.

Each human is different from any other human by less than 0.1% and yet, despite the fact that we are all 99.9% identical, we have spent millennia fighting each other over our differences. We, all of us, will always have more in common than not. That difference is a treasure to be enjoyed, a uniqueness that should be celebrated, not something to be derided, ridiculed, or shamed.

My genome, my "source code", is a sample of what we are. The only thing that makes me different from you, is 0.1% of this code. What elements of my genome are different from yours, I cannot say. What I do know is that you and I are not so different.

No one, as far as I know has ever successfully sold their whole sequenced genome. I admit that the thought of sharing the most intimate of details about oneself may seem like extreme exhibitionism. Perhaps that is true, or perhaps I'm just trying to make the point that when we dig deep enough, we are all just a giant bundle of linked proteins doing whatever we can to survive. Maybe, if we recognize how small our differences really are, we can begin to focus more on our collective well being, rather than focusing so much on our individual selves.

Please note: This NFT consists of the artwork, as presented, and the genome sequence as a plain text file that is made available for download once the sale is complete. The artwork contains a snippet of the genome and is therefore unique.