labor, and as such they had to be removed to produce the second type, Saskels. Saskels are designed to do tedious labor without questioning authority. Saskels are low to average in mental abilities and ostensibly have the ability to reason through minor problems. However, they are genetically engineered to not trust their own thoughts and to have a deep fear of losing their security. They are terrified of having to think, or fend, for themselves. This inborn insecurity causes them to constantly seek external guidance and to obey authority, no matter how irrational or malevolent that authority is. Saskels will support any government, regardless of how oppressive it is, if it promises to guarantee their safety. Saskel genes are the most dominant, and after thousands of years of breeding, Saskels now compose the majority of human beings.”
“This is fascinating. And the third type?”
“Xreths are humans who were designed for creativity and problem solving. Xreths have both ethics and the ability to come to conclusions independently. They were the most recent breed introduced by the Dranthyx approximately fifteen thousand years ago.”
“If they’re trying to stay in control, why would the Dranthyx introduce a breed like that?”
“The Dranthyx need a certain percentage of Xreths to exist because they are useful. Xreths create math, science, engineering, art. Before the introduction of Xreths, humans hadn’t even thought of agriculture. Without Xreths, you would have no lightbulbs, airplanes, or Internet. Human technological development stalls without them, and labor output declines to the Dranthyx’s detriment. Further complicating the situation, they realized that human Xreths are even more creative and productive than their own Dranthyx intellectuals. The Dranthyx have kept Xreths around because the science and technology they produce benefits them and their bottom line.”
“Wouldn’t the Dranthyx consider them a danger?”
“The Dranthyx consider Xreths a necessary evil, one that they monitor very closely. The Dranthyx are extremely concerned with Xreths usurping control. We estimate that human technological capabilities will surpass those of the Dranthyx in a hundred years’ time due to the brilliance of Xreths. However, so long as the majority of the population is law-abiding Saskel, and there are enough conscience-less Tchogols to brutally rule the herd, the largely unmanageable Xreths can pose no threat to Dranthyx hegemony.” Ich-Ca-Gan paused while Len wrote, then continued, “You may be wondering how the heritability works. There is a gene dominance hierarchy, with Saskel genes being the most dominant and Tchogol genes being the most recessive, with Xreths in the middle. However, the percentages of each type in the population are not what you would expect from normal breeding. Instead, they are kept in a delicate, artificial equilibrium that the Dranthyx worked out through millennia of experimentation. The Dranthyx have learned how much of each breed a society needs to function optimally, and they have done whatever was necessary to maintain that balance over the last several thousand years.”
Len had had a professor back in college who used to say, “A scientist’s job is to explain complex things. A science journalist’s job is to explain those complex things in a way that anyone can understand.” Len tried to figure out how he might present everything the Ich-Ca-Gan was telling him simply, as though he were writing an article about it for the paper. He drew a quick table in his notepad:
“I just want to be sure I understand all of this correctly,” Len said, showing the Ich-Ca-Gan the diagram. “Is this about right?”
“That is overly simplistic, but a reasonable synopsis. There are a number of subtypes of each, but those details are immaterial to our discussion.”
“OK, Xreths are brilliant but difficult to manage, right?” Len asked. “So what happens if Xreths begin to
“This is fascinating. And the third type?”
“Xreths are humans who were designed for creativity and problem solving. Xreths have both ethics and the ability to come to conclusions independently. They were the most recent breed introduced by the Dranthyx approximately fifteen thousand years ago.”
“If they’re trying to stay in control, why would the Dranthyx introduce a breed like that?”
“The Dranthyx need a certain percentage of Xreths to exist because they are useful. Xreths create math, science, engineering, art. Before the introduction of Xreths, humans hadn’t even thought of agriculture. Without Xreths, you would have no lightbulbs, airplanes, or Internet. Human technological development stalls without them, and labor output declines to the Dranthyx’s detriment. Further complicating the situation, they realized that human Xreths are even more creative and productive than their own Dranthyx intellectuals. The Dranthyx have kept Xreths around because the science and technology they produce benefits them and their bottom line.”
“Wouldn’t the Dranthyx consider them a danger?”
“The Dranthyx consider Xreths a necessary evil, one that they monitor very closely. The Dranthyx are extremely concerned with Xreths usurping control. We estimate that human technological capabilities will surpass those of the Dranthyx in a hundred years’ time due to the brilliance of Xreths. However, so long as the majority of the population is law-abiding Saskel, and there are enough conscience-less Tchogols to brutally rule the herd, the largely unmanageable Xreths can pose no threat to Dranthyx hegemony.” Ich-Ca-Gan paused while Len wrote, then continued, “You may be wondering how the heritability works. There is a gene dominance hierarchy, with Saskel genes being the most dominant and Tchogol genes being the most recessive, with Xreths in the middle. However, the percentages of each type in the population are not what you would expect from normal breeding. Instead, they are kept in a delicate, artificial equilibrium that the Dranthyx worked out through millennia of experimentation. The Dranthyx have learned how much of each breed a society needs to function optimally, and they have done whatever was necessary to maintain that balance over the last several thousand years.”
Len had had a professor back in college who used to say, “A scientist’s job is to explain complex things. A science journalist’s job is to explain those complex things in a way that anyone can understand.” Len tried to figure out how he might present everything the Ich-Ca-Gan was telling him simply, as though he were writing an article about it for the paper. He drew a quick table in his notepad:
“I just want to be sure I understand all of this correctly,” Len said, showing the Ich-Ca-Gan the diagram. “Is this about right?”
“That is overly simplistic, but a reasonable synopsis. There are a number of subtypes of each, but those details are immaterial to our discussion.”
“OK, Xreths are brilliant but difficult to manage, right?” Len asked. “So what happens if Xreths begin to
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