Oryx and Crake is getting more interesting by the chapter.
The cause of this apocalypse, seems to be some combination of human greed (the usual) and genetic engineering. But not, engineering of a virus (boring) or monster (less boring but still lame) but of new and improved humans.
What would happen if we tried to genetically improve humans, not in the super human kind of ways usually described, but to make us better people? Less greedy, less violent, and with the ability to live with our environment instead of destroying it. In other words, what if we genetically altered ourselves to be less shitty?
If it were a man writing this story I’m sure the new humans would be stronger, better at killing, more resistant to damage, and all the usual fighting skills. It would all be about aggression and taking and domination. Every time I read a new woman sci fi writer, I think ‘I need more of this.’
Anyway, that seems to be the idea of this story, maybe. I’m curious to see where it goes. It’s a very appealing idea to me, taking all the violent and aggressive tendencies out of humanity. This is my first Margaret Atwood novel and already I’m looking forward to more!
Jonas David 