art by Melissa Mead
Modification or Mutation: 8 Ways a Parent Can Be Sure
by Marissa Kristine Lingen
As a responsible parent, you've chosen only a safe, beneficial slate of genetic modifications for your children. But once they go away to school, they face a bewildering variety of changes in their friends and classmates. How will you know which of their peers are acceptable for them to have visiting your home? Here are eight ways for you to help them tell a safe modification from a dangerous mutation.
1. Get to know the parents. Your children's friends' parents are your best source of information, even if they don't realize it. Do they brag about little Lindy or seem unusually invested in Stevie's accomplishments? It's exactly that sort of parent who will cross the line when it's time to make selections at the genebank. Does their background seem a lot different from the other parents in your area? There may be a reason why something seems off to you. Trust your instincts!
2. Host parties and get-togethers at your house. If the kids are under your watchful eye, you'll be able to spot the symptoms of over-mutation. When the kids play hide-and-go-seek, does one of them always find the others? Check her eyes for pigmentation mutations. Does one little boy seem to bend oddly when he reaches for the chips? A friendly parental hand on his spine will let you know if he's been modified for flexibility. Do those sisters who always come over to play together always seem to know what the other one is thinking before they say it? It may not be just a close family at work, but a dangerous mutation!
3. Serve strawberries. Five out of the nine most common mutations are correlated with a strawberry allergy. Sure, your daughter's best chum could have just gotten unlucky--but do you want her to be friends with that kind of freak anyway? A responsible parent corrects for ordinary allergies anyway! Better safe than sorry! Shortcakes all around!
4. A day at the beach. Bathing suits will display some of the most egregious mutations available on the market, and frolicking in the water will show even more of them. Webbing and gills may sound like a good idea to the naïve parent, but they take a child squarely outside the mainstream of human modification. An outing to a nearby ocean or large lake should let you know for sure. (Note: in some regions of Scotland, SelkieModTM is registered as a normal local variant. This is one of their quaint ethnic customs and should not be looked down on by those of us from less tribal localities, hard though it may be to overlook such a shocking breach of good taste.)
5. Hostility to your child's normal modifications. Naturally everyone who can afford it will be modified for speed, strength, and flexibility within normal ranges. After all, what's money for? If your child has a classmate who seems frustrated or upset that you have provided them these advantages, it may be that this child's parents squandered their money on more foolish genetic choices. Don't take religion for an answer! All the mainstream religious leaders are safely modified these days. Anyone who's hostile to your child's normal modifications has something to hide.
