The Future of Genetics? Next by Michael Crichton

Book Review
Next by Michael Crichton
Published by HarperCollins in 2007.

Book synopsis from Amazon.com:

Is a loved one missing some body parts? Are blondes becoming extinct? Is everyone at your dinner table of the same species? Humans and chimpanzees differ in only 400 genes; is that why a chimp fetus resembles a human being? And should that worry us? There's a new genetic cure for drug addiction--is it worse than the disease?


What's coming Next? Get a hint of what Michael Crichton sees on the horizon in this short video clip: high bandwidth or low bandwidth

We live in a time of momentous scientific leaps, a time when it's possible to sell our eggs and sperm online for thousands of dollars and to test our spouses for genetic maladies.

We live in a time when one fifth of all our genes are owned by someone else, and an unsuspecting person and his family can be pursued cross-country because they happen to have certain valuable genes within their chromosomes...

Devilishly clever, Next blends fact and fiction into a breathless tale of a new world where nothing is what it seems and a set of new possibilities can open at every turn.

Next challenges our sense of reality and notions of morality. Balancing the comic and the bizarre with the genuinely frightening and disturbing, Next shatters our assumptions and reveals shocking new choices where we least expect.

I can't say that this book is great literature, but for an "airplane novel" it fits the bill--it's fast-paced, entertaining, and in some cases extremely funny. In a couple of chapters the plot is very thin, but there are pieces of brilliant writing, such as in this scene:

Brad Gordon had a bad feeling as he walked into the Border Cafe on Ventura Boulevard and looked at the booths. The place was a greasy spoon, filled with actors. A guy waved from a rear booth. Brad walked back to him.
The guy was wearing a light gray suit. He was short and balding and looked unsure of himself. His handshake was weak. "Willy Johnson," he said, "I'm your new attorney for the upcoming trial."
"I thought my uncle, Jack Watson, was providing the attorney."
"He is," Johnson said. "I'm he. Pederasty is my specialty."
"What's that mean?"
"Sex with a boy. But I have experience with any underage partner."
"I didn't have sex with anybody," Brad said. "Underage or not."
"I've reviewed your file and the police reports," Johnson said, pulling out a legal pad. "I think we have several avenues for your defense."
"What about the girl?"
"She is not available; she left the country. Her mother is illi n the Philippines. But I am told she will return for the trial."
"I thought there wasn't going to be a trial," Brad said. The waitress came over. He waved her away. "Why are we meeting here?"
"I have to be in court in Van Nuys at ten. I thought this would be convenient."
Brad looked around uneasily. "Place is full of people. Actors. They talk a lot."
"We won't discuss the details of the case," Johnson said. "But I want to lay out the structure of your defense. In your case, I am proposing a genetic defense."
"Genetic defense? What's that mean?"
"People with various genetic abnormalities find themselves helpless to suppress certain impulses," Johnson said. "That makes them, in technical terms, not guilty. We will be proposing that as the explanation in your case."
"What genetic disorder? I don't have any genetic disorder."
"Hey, it's not a bad thing," Johnson said. "Think of it as a type of diabetes. You're not responsible for it. You were born that way. In your case, you have an irresistable impulse to engage in sex with attractive young women." He smiled. "It's an impulse that's shared by about ninety percent of the adult population."
"What kind of a fucking defense is that?" Brad Gordon said.
"A very effective one." Johnson shuffled through papers in a folder. "There have been several recent newspaper reports--"
"You mean to tell me," Brad said, "That there's a gene for sex with young girls?"
Johnson siged. "I wish it were that simple. Unfortunately, no."
"then what's the defense?"
"D4DR."
"Which is?"
"It's called the novelty gene. It's the gene that drives us to take risks, engage in thrill-seeking behavior. We will argue that the novelty gene inside your body drove you to risky behavior."
"Sounds like bullshit to me."
"Is it? Let's see. Ever jump out of an airplane?"
"Yeah, in the army. Hated it."
"Scuba diving?"
"Couple of times. Had a hot girlfriend who liked it."
"Mountain climbing?"
"Nope."
"Really? Didn't your high school class climb Mount Rainier?"
"Yeah, but that was--"
"You climbed a major American peak," Johnson said, nodding. "Driving sports cars fast?"
"Not really, no."
"You have five tickets for speeding in your Porsche in the last three years. Under California law, you have been at risk for losing your license all that time."
"Just normal speeding..."
"I think not. How about sex with the boss's girlfriend?"
"Well..."
"And sex with the boss's wife?"
"Just once, a couple of jobs back. But she was the one who came on to--"
"Those are risky sex partners, Mr. Gordon. Any jury would agree. How about unprotected sex? Venereal diseases?"
"Just a minute, here," Braid said, "I don't want to get into--"
"I'm sure you don't," Johnson said, "and that's not surprising, considering three cases of pediculosis pubis--crabs. Two episodes of gonorrhea, one of chlamydia, two episodes of condyloma--or genital warts--including...hmm, one near the naus. And that's just the last five years, according to the records of your doctor in Southern California."
"How'd you get those?"
Johnson shrugged. "Skydiving, scuba diving, mountain climbing, reckless driving, high-risk sex partners, unprotected sex. If that doesn't comprise a pattern of high-risk, thrill-seeking behavior, I don't know what does."