Futurismic’s latest short story is “The Other Side of Silence,” by Ruth Nestvold — it’s the story of a transgenic corporate dystopia, and it walks through a number of genuinely weird and fascinating moral conundra in just a few thousand words.
“What kind of genmod are you children interested in?” the Chrysalis saleswoman asked as she ushered them down the hall to one of the viewing rooms. She had introduced herself as Nabuko in a perky salesperson voice which Judith found immediately grating. It didn’t help that her Asian good looks were reminiscent of one of the women in Vance’s catalogue.
“A dog,” Luther said stoutly.
“Luther, that’s not a genmod,” Miriam said with all the wisdom and impatience of an older sister. “That’s just a normal animal.”
Nabuko chuckled in an obliging way. “Actually, transgenic dogs are among our most popular items.”
“Why get a dog when you can get an ocelot?”
Luther was not about to be tricked. “That’s a cat. I know that’s a cat. I want a dog.”
“We have some very interesting items in the genetically modified dog line,” Nabuko said, addressing Miriam. “There are even modified exspec clones, including the direwolf. Would you like to take a look?”
Judith didn’t like the sound of direwolf, but apparently Miriam did. “Oh, okay,” her daughter said, with an obvious pretense of reluctance.
(Thanks, Jeremy!)