Carson Evolved Ch. 01

He had to think about it, but Carson finally snapped his fingers and said, "The pea pods. Mendel was one of the first people to systematically cross-breed pea plants for specific characteristics."

"Very good," said Xavier. "Very good. And you've heard of Charles Darwin, of course. What about a man named Francis Galton?"

Carson struggled for a moment and finally gave up, with a shake of his head.

"Not to worry, Mr. Jayne. He's not nearly as famous as his half-cousin Darwin, but in his own right, he is a more important figure in the study of human evolution. For one thing, he coined the phrase that has been the subject of much debate about human personality traits: nature vs. nurture. Are you familiar with the debate, Mr. Jayne?"

"As I understand it," he answered, "there are those who argue that various traits of human nature or personality are either innate in the person, or they are implemented in the person through their surroundings, like learned behavior."

"Excellent!" beamed Xavier. "The final figure I'd like to ask you about is Margaret Sanger. Do you recognize that name?"

"All I know is she had something to do with birth control and family planning," replied Carson.

For the first time, Xavier was not pleased with his answer. "That's what she's known for, because there are people who would prefer to brush over her true goals and beliefs. Tell me, have you ever heard the term 'eugenics?'" he asked.

"Can't say that I have," Carson answered.

"Eugenics was a movement that is credited to Mr. Galton, but it has its roots back in ancient Greece. Simply put, the idea is that desirable characteristics of humanity are promulgated through selective breeding. The Spartans inspected their infant boys, for example, discarding those that were ill-formed, in order to create a class of warrior-elites to rule their nation-state. Obviously, if the undesirables were discarded early, their genes would not enter the pool, and the thought was that only strong, healthy babies would be born.

"Likewise, the Romans required babies born with physical disabilities to be killed immediately. The ancient Germanic tribes took it in a different direction by killing those members who displayed cowardice. That's the first known instance of human behavior being linked to genetics, instead of the usual physical traits."

Carson interrupted. "I'm sorry. This is all fascinating, but where are we going?"

"Please, Mr. Jayne. I only need a few more minutes and it will become clear. So, those ancient cultures practiced a form of eugenics, though they had no idea what they were really doing. In fact, if we're honest, most cultures practice it in some form; in some cases, the cultural norms are completely based on ideas rooted in eugenics.

"Mr. Galton came along with his ideas of heredity and statistics in the late 1800s and re-introduced the idea to Western Culture. In his mind, however, it was not that undesirable traits should be removed from the gene pool through drastic action, such as castration of the insane or killing of the weak or infirm. No, his idea was to promote desirable traits through selective breeding. Identify the positive traits, have them breed a whole bunch of children, and eventually the 'good' traits would overwhelm the 'bad' traits. This is called 'positive eugenics.'

"What Margaret Sanger advocated, based on the same ideas as ancient cultures, is called 'negative eugenics.' She only wanted to promote birth control for the poor, minorities, and other 'undesirables' so that they would eventually be bred out of existence. That she was ever considered a hero is disgusting. It was her work that inspired the idea of the Aryan race."

Xavier stopped and took a drink of water. With a glance at Samantha, he said, "Now we come to the crux of the matter. The Orriri Project is, in a way, the positive eugenics version of the 'master race' concept promulgated by the Nazis. We don't, however, see any benefit to isolating a specific race or gender. We believe instead that there are people, like yourself, for example, who are born with a natural charisma that people are drawn to, that leadership and strength of character are innate skills that can be improved upon through nurturing, but they are not instilled by it.

"In a tribe, you would probably be a chieftain. In feudal society, you would be a noble or even a king. There are numerous examples around the world, and what they all share in common is a belief that the positive traits that put a leader in power pass through the genetic line. Thus, for thousands of years, pharaohs, kings, and emperors have been succeeded by their sons. And those men have been bred with queens and princesses that were carefully selected, based on desirable traits, in the hopes of producing superior offspring."

Carson had been listening closely, and he was beginning to see the possibilities. "I think I understand where you're going, but I'm curious about something. Not every king or emperor is remembered fondly. Some are considered tyrants, some were physically weak, and others were thought to be insane. How do you get around that?"

Xavier looked at him with the love of a teacher for his prized pupil. "I knew you would see it. Of course, there's a paradox. Unless both parents carry the desirable genetic traits, the offspring have a very good chance of inheriting undesirable traits. When the gene pool was further limited to people of a specific class, as in the case of Western monarchies, those undesirable traits become more likely to appear. And often throughout history, marriages have been arranged for political or monetary advantage instead of having an eye on the potential offspring.

"The Orriri Project seeks to promulgate pairings of known genetic lines so that both parents possess the genes for desirable traits, greatly increasing the likelihood that their offspring will also exhibit those traits."

Nodding his head, Carson said, "Okay. I can follow the logic. I'm not sure I'm in total agreement, but I've got to ask, what's your end game?"

"Well, as you might imagine, it's complicated," replied Xavier. "Ultimately, our goal is to improve society. To get there however, is a bit more circuitous. We believe that the Nazis made a huge mistake when they chose specific physical characteristics, as well as a specific racial heritage, as the basis for their ideology. While their approach might have been useful if you were breeding a single-purpose type of person, it isn't useful when you try to fit it into the overall function of society. What they should have done, what we're proposing to do, is to breed the leaders of society. It is our belief that the vast majority of people are more or less sheep, disinterested in and ill-equipped for meaningful change in the function of society. If you think about it, there are trend-setters in just about every industry—fashion, sports, and, yes, politics—these are the ones who everyone else emulates. If we can place people who by their nature are kind, egalitarian, intelligent, and whole host of other traits that are beneficial to a healthy society, in positions of leadership in sufficient numbers, we can cause a tidal shift in the way that society functions. To that end, you actually don't want a specific appearance or type of person. By its nature, that's exclusive. Thus, you need to be open to people from all walks of life who personify the traits desirable from a societal standpoint."

"Uh huh," said Carson skeptically. "And just how long do you suppose this project is going to take?"

Xavier smiled, recognizing the skepticism and choosing to ignore it. "Honestly? There may never be an endpoint. But we've been working towards this goal for a little over 100 years now, so we've got a good start."

"Wait a minute! You mean to tell me that your group has been manipulating people for that long and no one's gotten word of it?"

The odd man shrugged. "Orriri started out very small, with a select group of like-minded individuals who saw the dangers of Sanger's approach and chose to go in a different direction. They've chosen to remain behind the scenes along the way, preferring to allow society to reap the benefits without being embroiled in too much discussion about the ethics of the approach."

Carson wasn't exactly convinced, but he was ready to move on to the real reason he'd come this evening. "Let's say that I accept that all of this is possible, perhaps even happening. That doesn't tell me why I'm here this evening. More importantly, it doesn't tell me why I'm wrong about my suspicions with Mara."

With a quick glance at Samantha, Xavier said, "Before I can answer your question, I need you to understand that what I'm about to tell you requires your utmost discretion moving forward. Should you choose to divulge this information, there would be...consequences."

"Are you threatening me?" asked Carson.

"I would prefer to call it 'informing you,'" said Xavier, "but that's semantics. It's not a life-or-death decision, but it would have a significant impact on your life nonetheless."

With a sigh, Carson said, "Since this all sounds like so much science fiction to me, I accept that what you have to share with me is to be held in utmost confidence." He smiled and added, "I'm a lawyer, you know, so I have some experience with privileged communications."

"That you do," replied Xavier, "that you do. Very well. Your most important concern is for your wife, Mara. That's admirable, and it's indicative that you are exactly the kind of man we want to include in this project. After all," he smiled, "your own line was part of the project in the early days."

Seeing the shock on Carson's face, he smiled and said, "I assure you that we've invested a significant amount of resources in tracing your lineage, and there's no doubt. Your six-times-great-grandfather was one of the founders of our project. It seems that the line of communication, when the importance of your family's history would be passed down, was broken by the unexpected participation of your great-grandfather in the Korean conflict in the early 1950s. He was unaware that he'd impregnated your great-grandmother shortly before he shipped out. When he died in the war, that pregnancy, and the subsequent birth of your grandfather, went unrecorded with Orriri. It was assumed that your line had come to an end.

"Imagine our surprise and delight to find that, not only did you embody everything we hope to accomplish with our project, but that you are living proof-of-concept. We thought to include you as what we call a 'rogue candidate,' meaning that you possessed desirable traits from an uncontrolled line. Of course, that was before we traced your history, as was necessary before your marriage to Mara was approved." Xavier watched Carson's face intently to see if the younger man picked up on the implications.

His brow wrinkled in confusion, Carson asked, "What do you mean, our marriage was 'approved?'"

Xavier was curious to see just how much Carson had gleaned from the discussion, and how far he was willing to follow the thread. "What do you think it means?"

After a moment's thought, the dawning realization lit Carson's face. "Mara's part of Orriri, isn't she?"

Nodding his agreement, Xavier said, "Her mother's line. Thurston's part of the organization as well, but he's what we refer to as a 'non-breeder.' Mara and Mila were conceived using sperm from a suitable donor. We were delighted when we got identical twins. With in-vitro fertilization, there's always a chance of multiple babies. But that's a function of the number of embryos implanted. Identical twins are virtually non-existent."

Carson was struggling to come to grips with all that he'd heard so far, and yet he still hadn't heard the most important answer that he'd come to hear. "You said before that the problems Mara and I have been having are not due to her having an affair. Can you explain that?"

"Of course," laughed Xavier. "That's the best part. It will tie everything up into a neat bow, because it's directly related to what we're going to ask of you. You must understand, Mr. Jayne, that males and females have different roles in the project. Men have the capability of impregnating, literally, thousands of women, if you consider artificial insemination. As such, they are able to have a wide impact, though the offspring that are officially included in the project only come from sanctioned unions. Women, since they usually carry a single child at a time, and essentially commit a year to the pregnancy, birth, and recovery before they are ready to conceive again, have a more selective input.

"Their role is twofold. First, they identify suitable candidates, either from Orriri records, or as was thought to be the case for yourself, luck into a rogue candidate that is investigated by the project and approved. Once they are married and ready to begin bearing children, their secondary role comes into play. That role is to identify female candidates that could be mated with their own husband to further the spread of his line."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Are you telling me that Mara would be okay with me not only sleeping with another woman, but she would find women for me to get pregnant?"

Xavier nodded his head, with a small smile on his face. "Technically, it's not a requirement that you actually have sex with the female candidates, since they could be referred to our clinic for artificial insemination. But the question you asked actually gets to the root of the problem. Mara is struggling right now for two reasons. First, you haven't gotten her pregnant. She's been dreaming of having babies for you, virtually from the moment she met you. Since you haven't agreed to get her pregnant, she's in a state of confusion. The other thing is, she continues to attend social events, trying to identify other women for you. However, you refuse to attend those events, so she's thus far been unable to fulfill her secondary role as well."

"Let me get this straight. You're telling me that, not only is Mara not having an affair, she's essentially unhappy with me because I'm not having an affair?"

Hearing this, even Samantha had to chuckle. She said, "You don't understand. To her, you wouldn't be having an affair. She understands that your role is to make as many babies as you can. Since she can only have so many in her lifetime, it naturally follows that you'll need to impregnate lots of other women to bring your numbers up. She doesn't have a particular concern whether you sleep with them or not. In fact, it would probably surprise you that there's a kind of pride to knowing that the man you chose as your mate is that virile." She blushed slightly when she said, "Some of the women can get a little 'competitive,' shall we say, about how many children their husband has fathered. The more strident women even try to swipe prospective females from each other's mates for their own husbands."

Standing up, she stepped over to where Carson was sitting and knelt down next to his chair. She took his hand in hers and said, "Carson, I'm more than your assistant in this project. I have been waiting for the right man to come along. I should have had my first baby years ago, but I've been a little selfish and picky. If my parents weren't so highly placed in our organization, I probably would have been removed from the project long ago. But after learning about you, I couldn't wait to meet you. I was even more intrigued when I read your preferences sheet and realized that, physically at least, I fit the description of your fantasy woman so closely. Now that I've met you and observed how your mind works, I am even more impressed. I'm convinced that you're the man I've been waiting for. If you agree to join our project, you can rest assured that I will be the mother of as many children as you'll give me." She leaned in and whispered in his ear, "I can't wait to feel you pulsing as you plant your baby in my womb." Then, she kissed his cheek and winked before returning to her seat on the couch. Her eyes sparkled a little to see the bulge she'd inspired in his pants.

The volume of information that he was being asked to assimilate threatened to fry Carson's brain, and when the promise of sex with Samantha was added, it almost sent him into meltdown. Finally, he licked his lips and asked, "So how does it work? What do you want from me?"

Xavier relaxed. To this point, things were not a given. However, when a man like Carson asked such a question, his decision had already been made. He just needed the final assurances to make the commitment. "There are two things that you'll do for the project. On a monthly basis, you'll return to make a donation to the sperm bank in the other tower. In our opinion, half a heritage from an Orriri line is better than uncontrolled inseminations. Thus, we offer lower-cost alternatives for artificial inseminations than more generic clinics. Since all of our donors are screened in through the project, there are more and more Orriri children in the world each year. The other thing is you'll be asked to impregnate candidates identified by the project on a continuing basis. That's on top of any pregnancies arranged by your wives, of course. There won't be many from the project, but from time-to-time, there are specific combinations that are deemed necessary to the future of the project.

Carson spoke up in confusion. "Back up a second. Did you say 'wives?' As in plural? I only have the one, and until tonight, I thought she was cheating on me."

Xavier laughed lightly. "I did say 'wives,' didn't I? As you know, with decreasing fertility rates among men across the country, the government was forced to rollback laws against polygamy. Currently, a man may have up to three wives, provided he meets income requirements. Orriri will ensure that you have sufficient funds to qualify. We expect that you will wed Mara's sister, Mila, as well as Samantha here. Those three will be pregnant much of the time, but they will also function as your scouts in the general population, and your liaisons with Orriri for any assistance you require. Offspring of yours that arise from sanctioned pairings will receive assistance for education and health care, as well as employment and advancement when they come of age and are inducted into the project as 'breeders' down the road. 'Wild' offspring, those that come from the clinic or through intercourse with non-Orriri women, will be recorded and tracked, but will receive no additional assistance."

Carson stood and made to leave. "This is a lot to take in. Can I have some time to think about it, maybe speak with Mara?"

Xavier nodded, "Of course. Take whatever time you need. When you're ready, simply return to the tower. Your access will remain in place unless you decline the opportunity."

Carson thanked him and made his way towards the shimmering opening into the outer office. Just before he stepped through, he snapped his fingers and asked, "What's the deal with Edwards downstairs? How does he fit into this?"

"He's your bodyguard, chauffeur, and general go-to guy whenever you need some form of support from Orriri. He can arrange lodging, funds, covers and supporting documentation if necessary. You must understand. Your life, in some ways, will become that of a deep cover operative. Your activities at times will require that you shield the rest of your life, in order to avoid complications. That's what Edwards does, and he's very good at his job."

Thanking Xavier once again, and winking at Samantha, Carson turned and made his way back to the elevator. This time, the door simply slid open as he approached; a moment later the door opened on the lobby. Once again, Carson was impressed with the lack of sensation of movement. Exiting the elevator, he looked to his right and saw the giant man buttoning his suit coat as he made his way towards Carson.