In all three stories, Oryx and Crake, Frankenstein and The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, there seems to be a
fascination with creating beings far superior than humans. As we read the
books, it appears that the beings created were some evolutionary process. First
it is this super strong creature but who is hideous beyond imagination that
people faint at sight. Second is the weirdly handsome but with there’s
something ugly about him and evil alter-ego of a good man. Finally, we have the
Crakers. They are beautiful, benevolent and completely innocent and oblivious
from the outside world. The Crakers seem to be the final stage of this advancement.
This leads me to question, will we humans evolve some more? And I don't mean personality wise, I mean physically. Throughout our
historical development, our bodies were modified to adapt to the environment
and lifestyles. Yet, these things are constantly changing! The climate shifts,
new advancements in technology and medicine, etc… Even now we have to adapt to
our food since most of them are genetically modified and the ingredients
contain some chemicals or hormones. Of
course the Crakers seemed to be starting from scratch. They do not know what medicine or evolution is! They eat plants, roots and berries, basically what
nature can offer. But they were created with such strong immune systems so that
they don’t get any of the past illnesses and diseases. According to National
Geographic article, there are a few predictions for human evolution. One of
them states that humans will take “charge of their evolution and transcending
their biological limitations via technology….Transhumanism raises a spectacular
array of possibilities, from supersoldiers and new breeds of athletes to
immortal beings who, having had their brains scanned atom by atom, transfer
their minds to computers.” Sounds familiar? Crake’s project was immortality. Perhaps
Margaret Atwood is close to the truth. Maybe we are still evolving, but is it
for the better?
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2009/11/091124-origin-of-species-150-darwin-human-evolution.html
