MAN FROM TOMORROW

Martin was awake and, in the kitchen, brewing morning coffee. He popped the bread in the toaster. He didn’t feel bad about using Antonio’s home as his own. The Professor told them the previous night to make themselves feel at home. So, Martin did. It was a nice change to be able to relax a bit; he was getting tired of being on the run. There were too many people after Kevin for him to handle.

“Morning,” he said when Anita joined him in the kitchen. His toast popped up. He took it out and dropped them on the counter. Anita sauntered over to him and picked up one of the slices, immediately taking a bite out of it. Martin scowled. Anita didn’t notice.

“Antonio’s made a few discoveries regarding Kevin that you may want to hear about. He has run a few tests, but He said he won’t have anything conclusive for a few days at least. But it may be worth hearing what he has to say and seeing the proof he’s found,” she said with a mouthful of food. She then turned to the fridge, where she found the orange juice and prepared herself a drink.

“Anything big?” He asked.

“Well, nothing amazing, I guess, but some interesting stuff. I suspect we won’t know anything ground-breaking until later on. I’m gonna go back to sleep, though. Talk to Antonio and wake me up for lunch,” Anita yawned and walked into the living room with her glass of juice. He watched her collapse on the couch and sip away at the glass until it was empty. She then yawned loudly and fell asleep.

Martin stared at her for a few minutes in thought, watching the way her body rose and fell with each breath. For a moment he thought of his wife, and again of how similar she was to Anita. Before he went any further, he shook his head and turned away to search for Antonio in the lab.

Antonio was cooped up in his lab studying the unconscious alien, or Superhuman or whoever it was.

“Coffee?” asked Martin holding two cups, offering one to the Professor.

“Thank You, Martin,” said the Professor and kept the mug on a thick folder using it as a coaster.

“So, Anita tells me that you have got something on our Superman here,” said Martin showing his left thumb in Kevin’s direction.

The Professor did not say anything. He appeared lost in thought.

“Are you done with the tests Professor? We don’t have much time,” Martin was impatient.

“Yes and no, I have finished some tests yes. But not all. Several crucial tests still remain. Come here” The Professor held Martin’s forearm and half dragged him to a chair in front of a computer. Martin sat down. The Professor began- “This man here has several features which can be considered to be much different than humans say even superior to ’normal humans”.

“Such as?” Martin asked.

“I did ultrasonography of his abdomen and thorax. I found that this fellow here is missing an appendix.” Martin raised his eyebrows- “He had an appendectomy?” The Professor nodded his head vigorously, meaning no. “He did not have an appendix, to begin with at all.”

This fact was strange indeed- “Go on…”

“He lacks an appendix and wisdom teeth. His muscle mass is very high, extra muscles are scattered in very specific areas around his body, such as in his legs, arms and back which give him the ability to control his weight distribution and accordingly handle many more times the weight than a normal human can handle.”

“Meaning?” Martin queried

“Meaning that he can do more work for a longer period. His lung capacity is fifty per cent more than an average man.

I also examined his eyes. Strangely, his retinas show no signs of a blind spot.” Martin was keenly listening.

“Nerve studies show that all his nerves are myelinated.”

“English please, Professor.” Interrupted Martin.

“Myelin is a kind of electrically insulating material that engulfs and envelopes nerves. It is essential for the proper functioning of the nervous system. The main purpose of a myelin layer is to quicken the speed at which impulses propagate along the nerve fiber. This permits a larger body size by maintaining agile communication between distant body parts.”

Martin sucked in his breath through his teeth when it struck him that this is what explained Kevin’s monkey-like quick reflexes on the highway.

“Also, I was able to measure his cranial capacity”

The Professor went on-

“Cranial capacity is a measure of the volume of the brain. The volume of the brain is an indicator of the potential intelligence of the organism. Kevin here has thirty per cent more cranial capacity than you or me.

One more thing that caught my attention was Kevin’s body metabolism.”

“Eh? What is that?” asked Martin.

“See Martin, you and I excrete waste materials from our body in the form of urea dissolved in a moderately high quantity of water. We call this as urine. Kevin here excretes waste materials from his body in the form of uric acid.”

“How will that help him?” asked Martin.

“Excreting waste materials from a body in the form of uric acid requires far less water than excreting urea in the form of urine. Kevin probably needs to drink less than one per cent water than an average man. He hardly urinates. That means he can go for days on end without consuming any water”

This fact astonished Martin.

“What about his DNA Professor?”

“Yup, very interesting indeed. Preliminary DNA tests show that the basis of his genes is completely human. But his DNA differs from normal human DNA by two per cent. And that small difference is what makes him so different.”

“Selective Breeding?” Martin queried.

“Selective breeding will take centuries to provide genes like these. Rather than a case of selective breeding; I think it can be a case of genetic engineering”.

Martin thought back to the night he found Kevin. That nightmare, where strange creatures populated his dreams- “Is there another possibility?”

“What possibility?” Asked the Professor with peaking enthusiasm.

Martin ventured- “What if Kevin here is an alien life form?” The Professor looked at Martin. They both then looked at Kevin.

“Can he be an alien organism from a different planet Professor?”

“That depends on how you define the term, Alien. Even then, highly unlikely, though he may be an alien who will land on a different planet, perhaps.”

“Professor, do you think Kevin may be a fluke of a freakish mutation like we read in the newspapers?”

“Again, highly unlikely Martin. A mutation is random by definition. Kevin can be classified as a sub-species of the human genetic stock. In fact, a totally different species maybe. If there were more of Kevin’s kind in the general population, we scientists would have known about it. For Kevin to be a result of mutation, it would take another million years at least. On the contrary, Kevin seems …”

“Created?” Martin finished the sentence. Both Professor Antonio and Martin looked at Kevin- still lying unconscious, but his burn wounds showing definite signs of quick healing.

An eerie silence descended on the lab. Martin felt the fact about Kevin to be as fascinating as it was astounding. As astonishing as it was real. Kevin was, in Professor Antonio’s words a million years more advanced than them. A million years ahead on the long and painful path of evolution. On a geological timescale, here was a human being, containing within himself the genes of tomorrow. At that moment Martin had a chilling realization that he was looking at the Man from Tomorrow.

The next day after spending some time in the Professor’s Library and surveying the area around the house, Martin decided to see the Professor.

“Ah, Martin… I was about to call you”. The Professor said when Martin entered the lab. Then he fell silent, studying something, hunched over a microscope, a glass slide under it.

The Professor did not say anything for a long time. Martin did not know what to do. He thought he better leave the Professor to his lab and toys. He turned around to go.

“Tell me, Martin, how much of biology do you understand?” The Professor said, without taking his eyes off the microscope. “Hmmm… not quite, I had studied some elementary biology in high school. After that, I went to do my majors in Physics and Chemistry from UCLA. Whatever I remember of biology is very sketchy.” Martin replied.

“Martin, have you heard of the term Eugenics?”

“Umm… the term appears familiar, weren’t Nazis accused of practicing Eugenics or something?” Martin turned his palms upwards in an I-don’t-know fashion. Just then Anita entered the lab.

“You not sleeping?” Martin asked.

“Well, I didn’t get any. I had a vague sense of unease, psychologically. Physically, I am ok.” Anita didn’t want Martin to be worried about her. Then she thought sheepishly, ‘why would she think that?’

The Professor continued- “Eugenics is a concept and practice whose goal is to improve the genetic quality of the human populace. In Greek, it means ‘well-born’ or ‘true-born’.”

“Is it like how we breed some plants and animals like dogs for better genetic quality?” Anita interjected. The Professor appeared non-plussed.

“Ya…. Maybe something similar, but not exactly that”.

Recovering, he went on- “It is a social philosophy encouraging the improvement of human genetic traits through the promotion of higher reproduction of those with desired traits- called positive eugenics, and reduced reproduction of those with less-desired or undesired traits called negative eugenics.”

“So, Kevin here is a product of eugenics?” Anita asked with a look of surprise.

“No, No… Don’t jump to conclusions. I am coming to that,” said the Professor a tad irritated. Martin watched Professor intently.

The Professor continued- “Eugenic practices were carried out as far back in history as Ancient Greece. Modern eugenics began recently in the early 20th century. A popular eugenics movement emerged in many countries, including the US and many European nations. Eugenic ideas were advocated across most, if not the whole political spectrum. As a result, many nations took up eugenic principles to improve the genetic stock of their citizens. These projects involved both “positive” methods, like encouraging those considered “fit” to reproduce, and “negative” methods like marriage prohibitions, forced sterilization of those considered unfit to reproduce.

“Ever Heard of Francis Galton?” Both Anita and Martin appeared blank to the question.

“Charles Darwin?” The Professor asked.

“The Evolution Guy?” Anita and Martin replied in unison. “Yeah, the evolution guy “the Professor grinned. “Francis Galton was Charles Darwin’s cousin brother. He used his brother’s theory of evolution and applied it to humans to develop the concept of eugenics.

The modern concept of refining the quality of humans born into the world was originally developed by Francis Galton. Based on biographical studies of humans, Galton concluded that desirable traits were hereditary.

Eugenics then became an academic speciality at many colleges and universities. It received funding from several sources. Primarily, its main proponents were national governments who sought to improve the genetic stock of their citizenry. Three International Eugenics Conferences presented a global venue for Eugenics advocates. There were meetings in 1912 in London, and in 1921 and 1932 in New York.

“Can you guess which country first implemented eugenics as part of its national policies?” Quizzed the Professor.

“Germany?” Anita shot out.

“Italy?” Said Martin in a low serious tone.

“No. It was the United States”.

Anita and Martin looked at each other in surprise and then at the Professor.

The Professor continued- “Eugenic policies were first implemented in the early 1900s in the United States. Connecticut, in 1896, enacted marriage laws with eugenic criteria, prohibiting anyone who was, say epileptic, imbecile or feeble-minded from marrying. Later, in the 1920s and 30s, the eugenic policy of sterilizing certain mental patients was implemented in several countries like Japan, Brazil, Belgium, Canada and Sweden.

In the 1930s, a man named Ernst Rudin justified the racial policies of Nazi Germany using the principles of Eugenics. Then onwards the scientific reputation of eugenics started to decline.

In Hitler’s Germany, people deemed unfit to reproduce often included those who scored in the low ranges of different IQ tests, those with mental or physical disabilities, criminals and deviants, and adherents of targeted minority groups.

The eugenics movement culminated with Nazi Germany slaughtering more than 10 million ‘racially inferior’ people as part of a state policy of racial purity based on eugenic principles.

In the decades following World War II, with the establishment of human rights principles, the world abandoned eugenics policies”.

Martin then asked the Professor- “So eugenics, is no longer practiced anymore?”

“Yeah, at least not in the open” the Professor replied. Martin and Anita wore a look of surprise once more on their faces.

“Why Professor? What happened?” Anita asked.

“The Cold war happened; the Space race happened,” said the Professor and let out a heaving sigh.

“Here, let me explain” the Professor sipped at his now cold coffee. “Eugenics was basically a philosophical concept when it was first enunciated in the late 19th century. The need to make racially superior humans arose because of the chauvinistic feeling of superiority in man. Do you understand?

It went something like this. I am superior to others; therefore, my offspring and my kind of people should be propagated and an increase in numbers. Others are inferior and hence they should be prevented from reproducing. Moreover, people in the late 19th century did not have access to molecular biology, cloning etc., because those technologies had not yet been born. All they could do was sterilize, prevent marriage or cull humans like chicken, as they did in the holocaust.

After World War II, due to the havoc it had caused, and the strengthening of the human rights movement, eugenics was abandoned. Fair enough, because Eugenics ran against the principle that all humans are born equal. Thus, it apparently had no place in an egalitarian and Post World War II social order”.

“Why use the word ‘apparently’ Professor?” Martin asked.

The Professor gave out a chuckle.

“Eugenics was in cold storage for hardly a decade after World War II until the launch of Sputnik, the first artificial satellite launched by the Soviet Union. With the launch of Sputnik, the Space age was ushered and Eugenics got a new purpose, a new reason. An end, which justified every means necessary.”

“How do you mean?” Anita asked, curiosity gleaming in her eyes.

“My dear lady, the space-age triggered a space race between the United States and the Soviet Union. The moon, the planets and the stars were up for grabs. The stakes were very high indeed. Each nation tried to outdo the other. Both sides knew that it was just a matter of time before man colonized outer space. But the question was- who would be first? And who would win?

Plans were drawn up to colonize the Moon, Mars, the Upper atmosphere of Venus, setting up permanent colonies in space, voyaging hundreds of years to reach the nearest stars and what not?

But Humans have evolved with the environmental conditions on Earth and are not physiologically designed for the space environment.

Ultimately, human spaceflight operations are directly constrained by human capability limitations. Humans need sleep and food. We have limited endurance, strength and memory. Although some of these limitations can be mitigated with training, there are immense costs associated with training. Now this problem of potential improvement of human performance through medical and mechanical technologies had to be addressed.”

“But Professor!” Anita interrupted. Martin and the Professor looked at Anita as though coming out of a reverie.

“What!” Martin asked.

“From the time we are young, we are taught that a human being can achieve anything. Surely! We have infinite capabilities?”

“No, my dear. We are all taught wrong. A human being has infinite potential, but very very limited capabilities; both physically and mentally.”

Martin shook his head, “You were saying something Professor, about the cold war?”

“Aah yes…” the Professor resumed.

“Among the Soviets was a brilliant Space Engineer called Konstantin Tsiolkovsky. He was the father of their Space program. Tsiolkovsky was driven by an idea. Space travel would allow the human race to abandon Earth in the face of overpopulation and natural catastrophes, thereby securing the continued existence of humanity.

He envisioned a species of superhumans, a form of eugenics, bordering on the improbable engineering of the Human body, to adapt to space conditions. These superhumans would use Earth as a source of energy and raw materials and cosmic evolution would eventually allow them to shed their physical ‘shells’ and develop into ethereal energy, becoming immortal and boundless.”

“So, the USA and USSR practiced eugenics again?” Asked Anita.

“Not in the real sense, no.” Replied the Professor, and continued.

“The 1950s and 60s had opened up new avenues in science like molecular biology and biochemistry, the structure of the DNA was discovered. DNA, the basic genetic code of life was isolated and studied. The man could now make changes to the genetic structure and study them. Mankind now had the wherewithal to start playing god. Theoretically, it was now possible to create a human being who was stronger, faster and consumed fewer resources such that he is highly energy efficient. Such a kind of a Super Human is, if not ideal, at least more capable than us ‘normal’ humans to face conditions of outer space and environment of hostile planets.”

“Wait,” Martin interrupted. “Why go through all the controversial Eugenics way? Why not develop robotic probes or robots sufficiently to send them to explore outer space autonomously?”

“Valid question” Professor Antonio had risen from his seat for some time now. He was rubbing his hands in glee. He was pacing the room furiously.

“But it all comes to the matter of the payload- that is, what you are actually sending out there in space. Rather than sending a five-hundred-pound robot to which you have to communicate instructions with a large operational set up here on earth, you rather send a three-hundred-pound space hardy Superhuman who can think on his own and make his own decisions. Add to it the fantastic maneuverability of human anatomy. Like the way, you can move your limbs and spine. These provide more flexibility in space and also on hard ground, say on the surface of Mars. Robots are at least decades away from attaining such physical flexibility.”