Publication History |
Years ago, I was thumbing through the newspaper when I came upon two
fatefully placed articles. Juxtaposed, they inexorably posed a question that
would disrupt the world.
The first article described various tests performed on the Shroud of Turin to
determine the cloth’s authenticity. Each of several radiocarbon dating results
pointed to a different century as being the time when the cloth made its debut.
Testing on pollen found on the Shroud purported to show that the image on the
cloth set during March or April in the area of Jerusalem. At least, the
researcher claimed that only then and there did two specific plants
simultaneously release their pollens into the air so that they might affix to
burial shrouds nearby. The last study reported type AB blood in the marks on
the Shroud that supposedly memorialized Jesus’ wounds.
The second article dealt with a completely different topic: the elimination of
the hitherto problem of accelerated aging in clones. The author explained how,
with a host ova and even a tiny sample of biological material to provide a
strand of DNA, a being might be cloned. The illustration of this principle was of
course Jurassic Park, the classic in which Michael Crichton outlined how a
wealthy businessman and over-zealous scientists might work together to re-
create ancient life. In the novel, they used preserved blood as their source of
DNA.
I went back to the first article immediately.
I am not a scientist. I always wished that I had been, rather than a lawyer
trapped in an overly pressured job and a windowless office. Science always
seemed to me to be a glamorous dream job where creativity ran wild, things
exploded, and Tang, television, and teflon were born. Those friends of mine
who are actually scientists tell me that the “real world” of science has none of
these things anymore or, at best, only rarely. Science has become, they say, a
lot like law. They tell me that just as there are no more Oliver Wendell
Holmeses and Thurgood Marshalls, there are no more Darwins and Einsteins.
I was still a great believer that anything was possible in science, however, and
when I went back to the first article, I had a vision. I don’t believe that it was
divine, as some might later have claimed, nor do I think that I was under the
influence of the Great Deceiver. It was just one of those random thoughts that
springs into one’s mind and lodges there, egging one on to make it a reality. My
vision naturally asked, “Why not clone Jesus?”
The idea didn’t seem impossible. The first article said there were blood
samples. The process would involve getting such a sample, extracting the DNA,
and doing some hocus pocus in the laboratory. Surely, we’d have a new baby
Jesus in no time.
Of course, I thought of the ethical questions immediately. I’d have to be a
parent to this child, though I was certain that there were worse fates than being
a deity’s guardian. There would be publicity, fans, pilgrims, and so forth. I’d
tour around the world, hit “60 Minutes” and the talk show circuit. It would be
grueling, but I was certain that I’d adjust. In short, I realized that my life would
change and, more, the world would change, but I was confident that they would
change for the better.
Thus encouraged, I phoned Gina Cippaghila, my friendship with whom long
outlasted our short and clumsy college romance. While I was busy in my
history classes, she was doing four years hard time mastering through rote
memorization theorems, formulas, anatomy, and configurations of various
molecules. She continued through an M.D./Ph.D. program and landed herself a
research job and a grant. As a result, Gina was the head of her own company
focusing on genetic research and working closely with domestic and foreign
efforts at cloning.
We met that weekend for coffee and a light lunch at a trendy (that is to say
over-priced) cafe. Gina was not initially as enthusiastic as I was. After
questioning me repeatedly about my sobriety and checking her pocket
calendar to make sure April 1st hadn’t crept up on her yet again, she tried to
reason with me.
“I don’t think you’ve really thought this through, Kevin,” she said, staring at me
in the same manner I used with my kids. “You’re a lawyer. Do you really think
that we’d just go to the Catholic Church and ask to take a sample so that we
might clone the Son of God? Don’t you think that sounds even vaguely
blasphemous?”...
fatefully placed articles. Juxtaposed, they inexorably posed a question that
would disrupt the world.
The first article described various tests performed on the Shroud of Turin to
determine the cloth’s authenticity. Each of several radiocarbon dating results
pointed to a different century as being the time when the cloth made its debut.
Testing on pollen found on the Shroud purported to show that the image on the
cloth set during March or April in the area of Jerusalem. At least, the
researcher claimed that only then and there did two specific plants
simultaneously release their pollens into the air so that they might affix to
burial shrouds nearby. The last study reported type AB blood in the marks on
the Shroud that supposedly memorialized Jesus’ wounds.
The second article dealt with a completely different topic: the elimination of
the hitherto problem of accelerated aging in clones. The author explained how,
with a host ova and even a tiny sample of biological material to provide a
strand of DNA, a being might be cloned. The illustration of this principle was of
course Jurassic Park, the classic in which Michael Crichton outlined how a
wealthy businessman and over-zealous scientists might work together to re-
create ancient life. In the novel, they used preserved blood as their source of
DNA.
I went back to the first article immediately.
I am not a scientist. I always wished that I had been, rather than a lawyer
trapped in an overly pressured job and a windowless office. Science always
seemed to me to be a glamorous dream job where creativity ran wild, things
exploded, and Tang, television, and teflon were born. Those friends of mine
who are actually scientists tell me that the “real world” of science has none of
these things anymore or, at best, only rarely. Science has become, they say, a
lot like law. They tell me that just as there are no more Oliver Wendell
Holmeses and Thurgood Marshalls, there are no more Darwins and Einsteins.
I was still a great believer that anything was possible in science, however, and
when I went back to the first article, I had a vision. I don’t believe that it was
divine, as some might later have claimed, nor do I think that I was under the
influence of the Great Deceiver. It was just one of those random thoughts that
springs into one’s mind and lodges there, egging one on to make it a reality. My
vision naturally asked, “Why not clone Jesus?”
The idea didn’t seem impossible. The first article said there were blood
samples. The process would involve getting such a sample, extracting the DNA,
and doing some hocus pocus in the laboratory. Surely, we’d have a new baby
Jesus in no time.
Of course, I thought of the ethical questions immediately. I’d have to be a
parent to this child, though I was certain that there were worse fates than being
a deity’s guardian. There would be publicity, fans, pilgrims, and so forth. I’d
tour around the world, hit “60 Minutes” and the talk show circuit. It would be
grueling, but I was certain that I’d adjust. In short, I realized that my life would
change and, more, the world would change, but I was confident that they would
change for the better.
Thus encouraged, I phoned Gina Cippaghila, my friendship with whom long
outlasted our short and clumsy college romance. While I was busy in my
history classes, she was doing four years hard time mastering through rote
memorization theorems, formulas, anatomy, and configurations of various
molecules. She continued through an M.D./Ph.D. program and landed herself a
research job and a grant. As a result, Gina was the head of her own company
focusing on genetic research and working closely with domestic and foreign
efforts at cloning.
We met that weekend for coffee and a light lunch at a trendy (that is to say
over-priced) cafe. Gina was not initially as enthusiastic as I was. After
questioning me repeatedly about my sobriety and checking her pocket
calendar to make sure April 1st hadn’t crept up on her yet again, she tried to
reason with me.
“I don’t think you’ve really thought this through, Kevin,” she said, staring at me
in the same manner I used with my kids. “You’re a lawyer. Do you really think
that we’d just go to the Catholic Church and ask to take a sample so that we
might clone the Son of God? Don’t you think that sounds even vaguely
blasphemous?”...
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| Cloning Jesus By SC Bryce |
First Printing:
Fantastic Stories of the
Imagination, #21 Edward J.
McFadden, ed. (Spring, 2001).
Fantastic Stories of the
Imagination, #21 Edward J.
McFadden, ed. (Spring, 2001).
Second Printing:
Gateway S-F Magazine, #14, John
A.M. Darnell, ed. (July 2005)
(Revised), at
www.gateway-sf-magazine.com.
Gateway S-F Magazine, #14, John
A.M. Darnell, ed. (July 2005)
(Revised), at
www.gateway-sf-magazine.com.
Third Printing:
Universe Pathways, Issue #4,
George Sotrihos, et al., eds. (Jan.
2007).
Universe Pathways, Issue #4,
George Sotrihos, et al., eds. (Jan.
2007).
Fourth Printing:
Universe Pathways, Issue #9,
George Sotrihos, et al., eds. (Sep.
2007) (Greek Edition).
Universe Pathways, Issue #9,
George Sotrihos, et al., eds. (Sep.
2007) (Greek Edition).
 |
Readers' Comments |
"A smooth read..." "What a great concept!" "I was hooked..." "Very well done..." "Good job!..." "Excellent characterization..." "Wonderful story..." "I loved this story..." "A nice surprise..." "Very believable and well-thought out..." "Wonderfully thought-provoking..." "Lovely!..." "Very effective..." "Excellent perception..." "Great job!" "Entertaining and irreverent..." "A very good read..." "Fabulous..." "A brave idea..." "Very convincing..." "A thought provoking read..." "Nice ironic tone..." |
Reviews |
| "A smooth read... A bit meatier than most of the issue... Rife with possibility... Well written...." Tangent Short Fiction Review, on Cloning Jesus. |
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