"Тед Чан. Seventy-Two Letters (72 буквы, Рассказ) (англ.)" - читать интересную книгу автора

entered. "Shall we return upstairs?"
Following the two other men, Stratton asked, "And what of the
origination of new species? If theyТre not born from existing species, do
they arise spontaneously?"
"That is as yet uncertain. Normally only the simplest animals arise by
spontaneous generation: maggots and other vermiform creatures, typically
under the influence of heat. The events postulated by
Catastrophists--floods, volcanic eruptions, cometary impacts--would entail
the release of great energies. Perhaps such energies affect matter so
profoundly as to cause the spontaneous generation of an entire race of
organisms, nested within a few progenitors. If so, cataclysms are not
responsible for mass extinctions, but rather generate new species in their
wake."
Back in the laboratory, the two elder men seated themselves in the
chairs present. Too agitated to follow suit, Stratton remained standing.
"If any animal species were created by the same cataclysm as the human
species, they should likewise be nearing the end of their life spans. Have
you found another species that evinces a final generation?"
Fieldhurst shook his head. "Not as yet. We believe that other species
have different dates of extinction, correlated with the biological
complexity of the animal; humans are presumably the most complex organism,
and perhaps fewer generations of such complex organisms can be nested
inside a spermatozoon."
"By the same token," countered Stratton, "perhaps the complexity of the
human organism makes it unsuitable for the process of artificially
accelerated growth. Perhaps it is the process whose limits have been
discovered, not the species."
"An astute observation, Mr. Stratton. Experiments are continuing with
species that more closely resemble humans, such as chimpanzees and
ourang-outangs. However, the unequivocal answer to this question may
require years, and if our current interpretation is correct, we can ill
afford the time spent waiting for confirmation. We must ready a course of
action immediately."
"But five generations could be over a century--" He caught himself,
embarrassed at having overlooked the obvious: not all persons became
parents at the same age.
Fieldhurst read his expression. "You realize why not all the sperm
samples from donors of the same age produced the same number of
generations: some lineages are approaching their end faster than others.
For a lineage in which the men consistently father children late in life,
five generations might mean over two centuries of fertility, but there are
undoubtedly lineages that have reached their end already."
Stratton imagined the consequences. "The loss of fertility will becomes
increasingly apparent to the general populace as time passes. Panic may
arise well before the end is reached."
"Precisely, and rioting could extinguish our species as effectively as
the exhaustion of generations. That is why time is of the essence."
"What is the solution you propose?"
"I shall defer to Dr. Ashbourne to explain further," said the earl.
Ashbourne rose and instinctively adopted the stance of a lecturing