Works of fiction and facts of history have long been absorbed by both lunatics and cultures attempting to create “the perfect” of a species. It is a topic which seems to drive the most unstable of creatures into positions of power so they can attempt their dream of a perfect species. I’m sure there are examples going much farther back than my little list here, but let us start with a few television show episodes and movies.
Twilight Zone “Number 12 Looks Just Like You” This is my earliest memory of watching something about creating a perfect race. It was a black and white episode where at 19 children had to choose one of the model numbers, undergo an operation which would basically give them a new body which could live for 200 years and they would be forced to societal norms.
The Stepford Wives (1975) I don’t completely remember this movie so please forgive me if my interpretation is a bit off. I just remember that to some extent it was the same theme only the wife was replaced/converted into a “perfect model.”
Babylon5 “Infection” This episode applied an off world twist to the concept. A race which had been invaded many times over its history used its science to create a DNA altering device which would create a super warrior which grew in energy, strength and intelligence as it pursued its mission to kill any creature which was not “pure” whatever the species was. Ideologists put into the device their definition of a “pure” whatever so, when the super soldiers killed off all of the invaders it turned on the inhabitants of the planet because nobody met the definition of purity. One of the devices got smuggled into the station where it took over an assistant which then became a super soldier killing off creatures on the station.
Gattaca where only “superior humans” were allowed to travel in space and inhabit new colonies. Humans had achieved the ability to custom design their offspring but only the wealthy could afford it thus permanently creating an inferior class because the offspring of poor people could not physically or mentally compete with those of the wealthy.
Human history is filled with examples of attempts to create a “perfect race” of some kind or other. The most famous of which would Adolf Hitler’s “Master Race” attempt which attempted forced breeding and extermination of all others, particularly Jews. There have been more recent stories of genocide committed in various countries around the world from Bosnia to Africa. I don’t bring these topics up to offend anyone or rip open wounds. They are brought up simply to make a point that too many people (1 would be too many) not only have this idea but are willing to attempt it.
Enter CRISPR. I recently finished reading an article about CRISPR in Time magazine. It was a well done piece of journalism. The purpose of this post is to urge all of you wishing to be writers and/or authors to begin researching and writing about this topic. We are less than a decade away from the first half of Gattaca. While we do not have colonies on various celestial rocks we now have a technology which can be ordered on-line for roughly $130 which allows those willing to alter the DNA of a freshly fertilized egg. The article also reports some human experiments have been done. By my gut that puts us roughly 5 years away from some unscrupulous business person creating an off the books lab to provide those that can pay with custom ordered offspring.
If you think I’m crazy read up on the mortgage fraud crisis and the Wells Fargo millions of fake accounts crime. These are the types of “business leaders” our education and global business systems are creating. Just how many of these types do you think will studiously avoid grabbing such a cash cow with gusto? I mean, if nobody went to prison for those crimes who would put a CEO in prison for this?
Gattaca had one final lesson at the end. Okay, two if you bring up the “left handed people don’t hold it in their right” remark. The doctor who knew all along the main character did not belong yet said nothing kept trying to tell the main character about his son. At the very end he finally did. “He didn’t turn out as advertised.”
While CRISPR has potential beyond belief it also comes with horrors which only a writer’s mind could envision. Altering the DNA of any animal life can lead to evolutionary nuclear holocaust N generations out. In our zeal to do the amazing we could well bring about the end of our species.
There is no definition of perfect which works beyond a single point in time.
