John Reynonds, a scientist who is denied peer recognition for a previous achievement, sets out to produce evidence of the difference between two closely related species: humans and chimps. So devoted to his theory, he thinks little of murder and thievery of a newborn child. His conscience, if he ever had one, is lost beneath the need for the adulation of his peers. His wife, spineless and devoted, assists him, encourages him, condones his heinous acts.
They steal a newborn baby girl, a backroom caesarian section on a woman who knows and trusts them. She is told that her baby was stillborn. The baby, Penelope, is raised in complete isolation – ho human interaction, little external stimuli, only gloved hands that teach her sign language and speakers in the walls so she can learn to speak. When the girl is five John goes to
When Penelope is fifteen and sexually mature Hermes is introduced to her. Several months later she is pregnant. The real story starts here. From this cross-species fertilization Pan is born, a boy who is neither man nor beast, but is both.
From a young age Pan is aware of something being not quite right, but it’s not until he is a teenager that his ‘parents’ reveal the truth. He strikes out on his own, determined to find a way to live and his attempts are understandable and distressing. I wished for him to find peace, and I guess eventually he does.
The latter section of the book had several typographical errors, but more heart and emotional substance than the earlier parts.
This was a quick read, aimed at a younger audience and demonstrative of the importance of ethics in science. I know there are people like John Reynolds out there and while I can loathe them, I can’t deny that human advancement, comfort and health is attributable to their lack of moral obedience. It’s sobering.
Rating: **1/2 out of *****
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