Does anybody know of any books that have maybe gone into the idea of Anton's Key a little more?
The idea in and of itself to me is an interesting one. Specifically when they talk about the societal viewpoints of what would happen to humanity if Anton's Key were the normalcy of genetics. I'd love to read more of that sort of line of thought if anyone knows of any books that maybe have touched on it.
Posted by Scott R (Member # 567) on :
Xenocide features a society in which the key has been turned (not explicitly).
Posted by Orson Scott Card (Member # 209) on :
As far as I know, it's only discussed in the Shadow books, but for the life of me I can't remember which book contains which description. To me it's all one continuous story. I know it's first introduced in Ender's Shadow, where Sister Carlotta is tracking down Bean's history and meets Anton himself. But I believe it is discussed again in either Shadow of the Hegemon or Shadow Puppets, as Bean and Petra pursue the possibility of having children.
Posted by Orson Scott Card (Member # 209) on :
Xenocide was written before the Shadow books, and I think it was not Anton's key that was used - that is, "turning" the key does not result in the Xenocide effects on the world of Path. It's a different genetic strain, through breeding rather than direct genetic manipulation. But I'll admit it's tempting to have the Path experiment owe something to Anton's work!
Posted by Yushu na baka (Member # 12350) on :
Yeah it's mentioned in all of the Shadow series. Sorry I should have mentioned I've read all of the Ender and Shadow Series. =P The closest it came was with the world of Path. I liked the thought of it but it made me wonder if there was anyone else, or even Card himself who has maybe put a storyline down that specifically deals perhaps with the ramifications or growth of a society that is exclusively genetically modified as Julian Delphiki was. It's something I've been jotting down about because it's an idea that has really intrigued me. I just wonder if there's anyone else who's put it to a storyline because I'd love to see people's adaptations of the ideals involved.
Posted by Clumpy (Member # 8122) on :
Yushu, I'm not sure Path was an application of Anton's Key - the lifespan of the Godspoken is not necessarily much shorter than the rest, albeit with perhaps a few back problems in some cases .
Despite its grotesque implications within the context of the story I like the idea of Anton's Key because it sounds plausible - it's a logical idea that makes sense even without specific biological principles behind it.
Posted by Scott R (Member # 567) on :
quote:Originally posted by Orson Scott Card: Xenocide was written before the Shadow books, and I think it was not Anton's key that was used - that is, "turning" the key does not result in the Xenocide effects on the world of Path. It's a different genetic strain, through breeding rather than direct genetic manipulation. But I'll admit it's tempting to have the Path experiment owe something to Anton's work!
Aha!
It's good to see you here.
Posted by All4Nothing (Member # 11601) on :
I always loved the idea of the life/intelligence trade off. I wonder if there isn't some research into the truth of it. Such as people with high IQ's having more physical problems and an average shorter life span. I'm way too lazy to do the looking around, but it definitely gets my imagination going.
Posted by Wingracer (Member # 12293) on :
quote:Originally posted by Yushu na baka: it made me wonder if there was anyone else, or even Card himself who has maybe put a storyline down that specifically deals perhaps with the ramifications or growth of a society that is exclusively genetically modified as Julian Delphiki was.
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