I have recently finished a comic series by
Vertigo Comics named: "Y: The Last Man". The story follows Yorrick
and his monkey (Ampersend) who are the last males for their respected species
(Human and Primate) as they are escorted by a government agent assigned with
the task of protecting them and a geneticist (who may have something to do with
the extinction of all the males), go out to find a cure to this plaque and
return males back to the face of the earth. The story seems a bit far fetch'd
but I assure you it makes much more sense when you read it all yourself.
I recommend giving it a read.
The comic's take on science comes in the form of Genetics
and Cloning. A lot of it revolves mostly around the consequences of taking the
role of god and creating things which shouldn't naturally be. The comic pokes
at the interference of the natural order of things and what can occur if said
order where to be broken (hence the extinction of all males on planet earth). A
lot of the science is pretty dumb downed for the readers when it is brought up,
however, the comic likes to make use of the more technical terms of the science
through dialogue between Allison (The Geneticist) and Yorrick by having Yorrick
bewildered by many of Allison's anecdotes and explanations of
the occurrences which take place around them and throughout the comic
itself.
The
comic leaves me with the fear of affecting the natural world around us and what
could possibly happen if it were to be treaded upon for the sake of scientific
discovery. I wouldn't necessarily say that what happens in this comic
is what would happen if we were to clone another human being but we don't know
that until we've tried. I guess it would seem it might be supernatural to think
something like in "Y: The Last Man” could occur in reality but there are
already many things that have been affected due to human intervention: Global
Warming or an article I read about jellyfishes at a harbor outside of Japan
rising up out of the ocean and poisoning fishermen catches due to the
steady climate changes. Another topic related to all of this was the distinct
lack of bees and how they have also slowly been disappearing. I wouldn't call
all of this evidence since I don't have the knowledge to back up a lot of it
but these claims should suffice to say that there is something going on and we
might have some part in it happening. I don't find the advancement of
technology and medicine a bad thing but we need to keep in mind how far we can
go before we do something we can't possibly foresee. I'm not exactly sure
if it’s just over speculation on my part but this is just how I feel about this
sort of thing. I wouldn't know if others felt the same way but I do believe
they would be capable of seeing it from my point of view.
I do believe that science is a disregarded concept now a days compared to
days passed and its said to see so little people take interest in it because,
regardless of the fear of what might be discovered, it still such
a fascinating subject and should be promoted more in schools. However, we
see science take a role in media instead of taking a serious and integral
part in society. I guess people just want science fiction and not actual occurrences;
at least that's how I see it. I don't walk around the school halls hearing
people discuss String Theory or the possibility of reviving a Mammoth or the
higgs boson, instead I hear about the recent controversy with pop artist and
certain shows that played the night before. That's well
and understandable but it’s a shame to see people not willing to look
towards new ventures they could possibly find might benefit them in some way or
might just be really interesting.
