RingChen

 … is one of the lines I cant get out of my head from favourite author Michael Crichton’s newest book, NEXT. One simple sentence to explain everything, brilliant! Its also funny because one can actually sum up one’s life on this sentence…. but I digress. Back to Crichton, the author continues to amaze me with his intense research on topics that people havent even heard of in all probability. I for one hadnt heard of Gene Therapy, I can tell you that.

NEXT is about an ongoing dispute between a major genetics research firm and a cancer-survivor patient who’s lost ownership of his unique cells which fight cancer. When the firm loses their precious ‘owned’ cells and all backups as a sabotage and the patient also disappears, it pulls out all stops on recovering cells from the patient’s daughter and grandson stating that it owns the cells legally wherever they are to be found! Beat that. 

Imagine the cure for all kinds of addictions in the world - a spray containing Maturity Gene. And voi·là, people become mature enough to de-toxify themselves. Although the therapy isnt tested so you can be sure there’s a major catch, just you wait. There’s a humanzee concieved in the book, who’s half human & half chimpanzee and can actually talk although he looks hairy enough to look like an ape. There’s also a genetically modified parrot by the name of Gerrad who not only talks but also helps his owner’s kid to do maths homework. The funny part is, Gerrad also mimics past conversations which is how his owner gets to know her husband’s getting it on with the maid!

Horror and humour rolled in one - I couldnt say no to it. NEXT hasnt managed to dislodge The Lost World as my favourite Crichton book but its a good read. I liked it.

Author’s note: Michael Crichton states the following as a footnote in Next:

1. Stop patenting genes.

2. Establish clear guidelines for the use of human tissues.

3. Avoid bans on research.

And I thought it was only a novel…