The Gene Pool (Book 1 of The Residuum Trilogy)
The year is 2044. Pets glow in the dark. Genetically modified frankenfoods line the shelves. And society is on the verge of self-directing human evolution.
As Atman Pryce faces the cages of chimps in the primate ward of his lab, the hotshot geneticist sees humanity’s future wrapped up in his greatest scientific accomplishment — a gene therapy that can eliminate any genetic disease, starting with autism. Problem is, the therapy has a cruel side effect. It eliminates genetic traits, like homosexuality.
Forced to the brink of a moral dilemma, society must decide: should we eliminate disease from the human gene pool even though the technology could eliminate traits deemed unacceptable?
Atman Pryce would. He’s hoping the FDA agrees, a quest that sparks a violent battle between science, humanity, capitalism, and environmental extremism. The Autism Rights Activists don’t want a cure; they want neuro-diversity. Atman’s gay brother fears misuse of the technology to eradicate his ilk. The DNA Salvation Movement, a band of ruthless ecoterrorists, demands a world free of altered DNA. And the eccentric billionaire who funded Atman’s technology is hell-bent on creating a two class society of the Gene-Rich (genetically enhanced aristocrats) and the Gene-Poor (genetically inferior naturals).
But venomous protests and malicious attacks pale in comparison to what lurks for the ambitious geneticist. He is about to discover a secret darker than anything he could have imagined — a scientific betrayal with deadly consequences, that, if left unchecked, the world may not survive.
One small step that changed the human race. One wrong decision that doomed mankind.