There are two origin stories for COVID-19. One is that it emerged naturally, evolving from a bat virus to infect humans. The other is that COVID-19 was genetically created by China’s Wuhan Institute of Virology and escaped into the world. That year you spent at home, those loved ones who died, might have been our own fault. The point is more than assigning guilt; understanding the true origin of the pandemic is critical to preventing it from happening again, as well as a guide to future gain-of-function research.