Controlling Sex
I always looked forward
to a visit by Felix Gautier, because when he was excited fireworks shot from
his eyes and the tips of his waxed moustache vibrated so quickly that they virtually
sparkled. Gautier was usually excited, but tonight in addition to his
agitation there seemed a triumphant air.
“Lapius,” he asked,
“Have you read the papers?”
“Of course I read the
papers. Come, Gautier, upstairs to the chess room.”
“Chess we can play
later. There are more important things to discuss than gambits.”
“Felix,” Lapius said
kindly, “I don’t invite you over to listen to your vapid chatter. I
invite you to play chess, because that is what you do best.”
“But Simon, take a few
minutes to celebrate. Women are finished, gone. And medical science
has done it. I salute you Simon.”
Lapius turned to
me. “Harry, what the deuce is he talking about?”
Gautier overheard.
“Simon, Simon. Didn’t you read that they have found a way of separating
sperm with only Y chromosomes, the male sperm, from those with X and Y chromosomes,
that will produce females as well as
males?”
“As a matter of fact, I
hadn’t heard that. Tell me about it.”
“It’s very simple,
Simon. A.M. Roberts, of Guys Hospital, London discovered that the X
chromosome contains slightly more DNA (Deoxyribonucleic Acid) than the Y
chromosome. Thus the sperm carrying the X chromosome is heavier than the
sperm carrying the Y or male chromosome.
Lapius looked at him
blankly. “Really Gautier, does it matter? After all, the chess
boards are set up.”
“Aha,” Gautier said to
me triumphantly, “The great Lapius doesn’t understand the significance of that
little piece of information. Do you Simon?”
“I am afraid that I do
not really care about it, Gautier.”
“Are you going to filibuster
me or permit me to continue?” Gautier asked indignantly. “After
all, I am a guest in your home.”
“Continue, Gautier,”
Lapius said resignedly, leaning back and closing his eyes.
“The point is, Harry,”
Gautier continued, turning his attention to me, ignoring the sleeping Lapius,
“The point is that the lighter male sperm can swim faster than the heavier
sperm carrying the X or female chromosome. Don’t you see what that
means?” I shook my head dumbly. “It means,” continued Gautier,
“that scientists at Schering in Germany were able to develop a viscous solution
that would inhibit the ‘female’ sperm from swimming through it, while the male
sperm had an easier time of it. Thus, at the other end of the solution
there were more YY male sperms than YX
sperms that could produce females. Do you realize what this
means? We can populate the world with men. Think what this will do
to women’s lib. The collective female ego will be destroyed. For
the first time we have the potential to eliminate the race of women from the
earth.”
“It is sure more refined
than leaving baby girls out on the rocks to die, like they used to do,” I
agreed.
“We will produce men
only,” Gautier exulted.
Lapius opened his eyes a
crack. “From whom?” he asked dryly.
“Don’t worry, we’ll find
a way.”
Lapius sat up.
“The trouble with you Gautier, is that you always sell science short.
After all, one of the first rules is that for every force there is an equal and
opposite force. While the Germans were creating statistically higher yields
of male sperm, here in America a group at Sloan-Kettering were able to use a
natural antibody against male sperm that female mice developed, and were thus
able to reduce the population of male sperm considerably.”
“What good would that
do, Lapius? Do we need more women?” Gautier was partially
supporting two ex-wives, which accounted for his bitterness.
“Well, we could have
more cows and less bull, or more chickens and less crowing, more sows and fewer
pigs, the male chauvinist kind, that is.”
“Bah, Lapius, science is
dabbling in frivolous things.”
“Obviously.”
“I came over to play
chess, Simon. Let’s go upstairs.”