Seedhouse - Beyond Human: Engineering Our Future Evolution

Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2014

Erik Seedhouse 1

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This is not like anything we have ever seen

It isnt like anything that has ever been done .

Philip K. Dick, author of Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? , after being shown footage of Blade Runner

For many sci-fi enthusiasts, and I am among them, Blade Runner is arguably the greatest and most powerfully prophetic sci-fi film of all time. When Ridley Scotts masterpiece first appeared in 1982, the year 2019 was 37 years in the future and nobody was talking about human genetic engineeringexcept sci-fi enthusiasts perhaps. But today, in 2013, were just 6 years away, and practically every popular science magazine has at least one article dedicated to the subject of genetic manipulation in each issue. Rarely has a film been so prescient. For those unfamiliar with Ridley Scotts epic, the Blade Runner story, which is loosely based on Philip K. Dicks novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? , is fairly straightforward. Set in 2019 Los Angeles, the film revolves around Deckard (played by Harrison Ford), a Blade Runner (member of a police special operations unit), who must hunt and retire (read: kill) replicants (genetically engineered beings virtually identical to humans). In short: cop hunts and kills super-humans. For me Blade Runner was much more than a simple prediction of the future. At the movies core is the question of what it means to be human, although this question is never explicitly asked in the film. The idea of genetically enhanced humanity is played out between Deckard and the replicants, especially Roy Batty, the alpha replicant. One of the most thought-provoking themes explored in the movie is that these replicants, created for the use of humans, could override their own limitations and develop humanity, as evidenced in the films final scene when Batty saves Deckard from certain death. Then there is the idea of providing the replicants with memories. After all, memories are what separate humans from each other and make them individuals. But, in the Blade Runner world, memories have been given to the replicants so their creators can control them better. Memory also gives a person his or her identity, and Batty is no exception, because his memories make him the most dynamic character in the movie. The themes of identity, perception, memory, time, and humanity are all in this film, which is one reason why, 30 years later, it continues to earn respect. The films portrayal of a genetically enhanced future may be disturbing for some now, not because it may happen, but because it is already happening, which makes Blade Runner the perfect film to reference in this book (incidentally, the original working title of this book was Replicant Reality ).

While the reader will find several references to Blade Runner in these chapters, it isnt the only film used to highlight the technology that is discussed. The main sci-fi references in this book are to film rather than novel because I believe sci-fi films have greater mass appeal than sci-fi novels. One reason for this is that sci-fi films can easily be made spectacular thanks to increasingly visceral and fast-paced special effects, which not only make the science portrayed in the film more believable, but also more memorable than a description in a book. Why sci-fi? Sometimes referred to as speculative fiction, sci-fi is probably the most valuable medium for engaging in prediction; it also happens to be an effective and entertaining way to portray plausible futures, such as that in Blade Runner . And today, in 2013, given the potential for redesigning humans, Blade Runner has never been more relevant.

Watching Blade Runner , it is obvious Philip K. Dick spent considerable time imagining what the world might be like in 2019. And judging by the world we live in today, the author wasnt far off the mark on a number of issues: globalization, immigration, cultural identity, and the rise of human genetic engineering, the subject of this chapter. Lets begin by addressing some of the concerns people have with this subject by examining one of J. F. Sebastians scenes. In Blade Runner, J. F. Sebastian lives in a decrepit high-rise, where, being the genetic designer he is, he has surrounded himself with genetically aberrant pseudo-humans whose main purpose is to amuse and keep him company. These genetically modified creatures are like pets, engineered not to be free of defects, but to be entertaining by virtue of their defects . Some are pint-sized, some are uncoordinated, and others have unusual mannerisms. J. F. Sebastian dresses them up in costumes, teaches them welcoming catchphrases for when he returns home, and poses them around his home like stuffed animals. Not the sort of application people think of when you mention genetic engineering, is it? When I first saw that scene, my mind mulled over the myriad ways this technology could be abused, including by lonely people who could 1 day fashion genetic creations just to keep them company. Perhaps recluses could engineer defects to keep themselves amused as J. F. Sebastian did? You dont think this could happen? Well, there are plenty of maladjusted, agenda-driven people out there. Consider the Royal National Institute for Deaf and Hard of Hearing People and the British Deaf Association, a pair of British deaf-rights organizations that lobbied to give deaf prospective parents the right to genetically engineer deaf children. Yes, you read that correctly. Their efforts were focused on amending the UK Human Tissue and Embryos Bill, which, until recently, prohibited the screening of embryos for the purpose of choosing one with an abnormality. It is not just in the UK where this intentional crippling of kids agenda is playing out; according to a 2006 Associated Press report, in a survey of 137 US clinics offering genetic embryo screening, 3% had provided the service to families intent on creating disabilities in their children. Welcome to the slippery slope of genetic engineering!

Organizations such as the British Deaf Association remind us that human genetic engineering directly impinges on reality. That is because as advances in human reproductive technologies allow us to modify our offspring and ourselves, and as these technologies increasingly enable us to create humans of a different sort, we need to pay close attention to human rights violations, prejudices, and inhibitions, such as those portrayed in Blade Runner . In the Blade Runner universe, replicants are manufactured from genetic and biological components and have been created to serve humans. Making matters worse, replicants have only a 4-year lifespan. Of course, were talking about a sci-fi film, and you may think the moral issues in Blade Runner wont be a problem in the real world. The truth is, human genetic engineering is already here in the form of prenatal health screenings, and it wont be long before more and more of your childrens traits will be things you can decide for them. So lets look over the horizon and imagine a time not too far in the future when you can sit down with your geneticist and customize your children. You and your partner provide the DNA, and science can add the positive traits, subtract the negative traits, and fine tune the rest. Ask yourself: how many people in this near future would choose average (natural) kids instead of genetically engineered, hyper-smart, disease-proof kids? I know which Id choose. The reality is that, in perhaps a generation, genetic engineering may result in a glut of smart, fit, and beautiful people suited to intellectual jobs, and a lack of those suited to more menial jobs. How would society address the balance? One option might be to regulate genetic engineering and let the government decide who may and who may not use this technology. This is the premise in Kurt Vonneguts short story Harrison Bergeron , in which the Office of the Handicapper General manages the Department of Equity in Breeding, which ensures people have to prove their suitability for breeding. Another option would be to import an underclass. Perhaps wed do both!