Genetic chimerism in fiction
Encyclopedia
Human genetic chimerism
, which can not only cause a wide range of illnesses but also lead to the same person having more than one profile in genetic fingerprinting
, has served as a plot device in many works of fiction. Most known examples are subsequent to the 2004 book Free Culture
, where author Lawrence Lessig
digresses briefly to describe chimerism and suggest that it could, and had yet to, be well used as a television
plot device (particularly for police procedural
s involving genetic fingerprinting).
Chimera (genetics)
A chimera or chimaera is a single organism that is composed of two or more different populations of genetically distinct cells that originated from different zygotes involved in sexual reproduction. If the different cells have emerged from the same zygote, the organism is called a mosaic...
, which can not only cause a wide range of illnesses but also lead to the same person having more than one profile in genetic fingerprinting
Genetic fingerprinting
DNA profiling is a technique employed by forensic scientists to assist in the identification of individuals by their respective DNA profiles. DNA profiles are encrypted sets of numbers that reflect a person's DNA makeup, which can also be used as the person's identifier...
, has served as a plot device in many works of fiction. Most known examples are subsequent to the 2004 book Free Culture
Free Culture (book)
Free Culture: How Big Media Uses Technology and the Law to Lock Down Culture and Control Creativity is a book by law professor Lawrence Lessig that was released on the Internet under the Creative Commons Attribution/Non-commercial license on March 25, 2004."There has never been a...
, where author Lawrence Lessig
Lawrence Lessig
Lawrence "Larry" Lessig is an American academic and political activist. He is best known as a proponent of reduced legal restrictions on copyright, trademark, and radio frequency spectrum, particularly in technology applications, and he has called for state-based activism to promote substantive...
digresses briefly to describe chimerism and suggest that it could, and had yet to, be well used as a television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
plot device (particularly for police procedural
Police procedural
The police procedural is a subgenre of detective fiction which attempts to convincingly depict the activities of a police force as they investigate crimes. While traditional detective novels usually concentrate on a single crime, police procedurals frequently depict investigations into several...
s involving genetic fingerprinting).
- In Kathy ReichsKathy ReichsKathleen Joan Toelle "Kathy" Reichs is an American crime writer, forensic anthropologist and academic . She is a professor of anthropology at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, but is currently on indefinite leave...
' novel, Spider Bones, after an incorrect identification of a deceased Vietnam soldier, Dr. Brennan discovers that his mother was a chimera, explaining why their DNA did not match. - The CSI: Crime Scene InvestigationCSI: Crime Scene InvestigationCSI: Crime Scene Investigation is an American crime drama television series, which premiered on CBS on October 6, 2000. The show was created by Anthony E. Zuiker and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer...
episode "Bloodlines" involves a man who rapes a woman and is identified by her, but the DNA from his semen doesn't match to the DNA from his saliva because he is a chimera. - In the HouseHouse (TV series)House is an American television medical drama that debuted on the Fox network on November 16, 2004. The show's central character is Dr. Gregory House , an unconventional and misanthropic medical genius who heads a team of diagnosticians at the fictional Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital in...
episode "Cane and AbleCane and Able (House episode)"Cane and Able" is the second episode of the third season of House and the forty-eighth episode overall. The episode's title is a pun referencing the biblical siblings Cain and Abel as well as House's cane and his reinforced confidence in his ability as a diagnostician.-Plot:House's ego has taken a...
", a boy who believes he was abducted by aliens is diagnosed with chimerism. - In an episode of The OfficeThe Office (US TV series)The Office is an American comedy television series broadcast by NBC. An adaptation of the original BBC series of the same name, it depicts the everyday lives of office employees in the Scranton, Pennsylvania, branch of the fictional Dunder Mifflin Paper Company...
, Dwight SchruteDwight SchruteDwight Kurt Schrute III is a character on NBC's The Office portrayed by Rainn Wilson. He originally exactly resembled Gareth Keenan from the original UK version of The Office. Dwight is the top salesman and former acting manager for the Dunder Mifflin Paper Company and has won numerous awards for...
says that he resorbed his twin brother while in his mother's womb. He also says that he now has "the strength of a grown man and a little baby". - A November 2006 episode of the ABCAmerican Broadcasting CompanyThe American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
soap opera All My ChildrenAll My ChildrenAll My Children is an American television soap opera that aired on ABC from January 5, 1970 to September 23, 2011. Created by Agnes Nixon, All My Children is set in Pine Valley, Pennsylvania, a fictitious suburb of Philadelphia. The show features Susan Lucci as Erica Kane, one of daytime's most...
revealed that the testing of a young character's DNA did not turn up a match with her mother, AnnieAnnie LaveryAnnie Novak, more commonly known as Annie Lavery , is a fictional character on ABC's daytime drama All My Children. She has been portrayed by Melissa Claire Egan since July 10, 2006...
, because the character of Annie is a chimera. - One of the subplots in Michael CrichtonMichael CrichtonJohn Michael Crichton , best known as Michael Crichton, was an American best-selling author, producer, director, and screenwriter, best known for his work in the science fiction, medical fiction, and thriller genres. His books have sold over 200 million copies worldwide, and many have been adapted...
's 2006 novel NextNext (novel)Next is a 2006 techno-thriller novel by Michael Crichton, the last to be published during his lifetime. Next takes place in the present world, where both the government and private investors spend billions of dollars every year on genetic research...
deals with chimerism. - In season three of the TV series RegenesisRegenesisRegenesis or ReGenesis may refer to:*ReGenesis, a Canadian television series*Regenesis , an environmental group*Regenesis , by C. J. Cherryh*ReGenesis , a Genesis tribute band...
, a girl accused of murder is found not guilty when DNA from her blood does not match the DNA found on the victim. She is later proven to be the killer when DNA from her saliva is shown to match that at the scene of the crime. The discrepancy between her blood and saliva is explained by her being a chimera. - In the PlayStation 3PlayStation 3The is the third home video game console produced by Sony Computer Entertainment and the successor to the PlayStation 2 as part of the PlayStation series. The PlayStation 3 competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
games Resistance: Fall of ManResistance: Fall of ManResistance: Fall of Man is a first-person shooter video game for the PlayStation 3. It was developed by Insomniac Games and published by Sony Computer Entertainment. The game is set in an alternate history 1951, and follows Sgt...
and its sequel Resistance 2Resistance 2Resistance 2 is a science fiction first person shooter video game developed by Insomniac Games and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation 3. The game was released in North America on November 4, 2008, Japan on November 13, 2008, and in Europe on November 28, 2008...
, by Insomniac GamesInsomniac GamesInsomniac Games, Inc. is an American video game developer headquartered in Burbank, California. Founded in 1994, Insomniac has released titles for the PlayStation, PlayStation 2, and PlayStation 3 video game consoles. It created Disruptor, the first three Spyro the Dragon games, and the Ratchet &...
, the monsters were referred to as Chimera due to their combination of human and alien DNA. - A March 2008 Radio LabRadio LabRadiolab is a radio program produced by WNYC, a public radio station in New York City, and broadcast on public radio stations in the United States. The show is nationally syndicated and is available as a podcast....
episode explored the case of a human chimera. - In the 30 Rock30 Rock30 Rock is an American television comedy series created by Tina Fey that airs on NBC. The series is loosely based on Fey's experiences as head writer for Saturday Night Live...
episode "MILF IslandMILF Island"MILF Island" is the eleventh episode of NBC's second season of 30 Rock and thirty-second episode overall. It was written by the series' creator, executive producer and lead actress Tina Fey and producer Matt Hubbard. The director of the episode was Kevin Rodney Sullivan. It aired on April 10, 2008...
", the character Liz LemonLiz LemonElizabeth Miervaldis "Liz" Lemon is the main character of the American television series 30 Rock. She is portrayed by Tina Fey, who is also the creator of the series and its showrunner.-Personal history:...
says that she used to have deformed baby foot which was thought to be the result of her eating her twin while her mother, Margaret Lemon, was pregnant. - In the Stephen KingStephen KingStephen Edwin King is an American author of contemporary horror, suspense, science fiction and fantasy fiction. His books have sold more than 350 million copies and have been adapted into a number of feature films, television movies and comic books...
novel "The Dark HalfThe Dark HalfThe Dark Half is a horror novel by Stephen King, published in 1989. Publishers Weekly listed The Dark Half as the second best-selling book of 1989 behind Tom Clancy's Clear and Present Danger. It was adapted into a feature film of the same name in 1993.Stephen King wrote several books under a...
" Thad Beaumont the main character suffers from intense migraine headaches as a child. When on the operating table, his doctors find a human eye, ear and part of a nose growing inside Thad's skull, which was the cause of his headaches. The doctors explained this as Thad having absorbed his twin prior to birth. - In the TV Series "Dark AngelDark Angel (TV series)Dark Angel is an American biopunk/cyberpunk science fiction television series created by James Cameron and Charles H. Eglee. The show premiered in the United States on the Fox network on October 3, 2000, and was canceled after two seasons...
" the Chimera theme was used with the main character, Max, having feline DNA. - The 1991 Anglia TV (UK) drama Chimera centered on the creation/consequences of a human/ape Chimera.
- In the Anime TV series Fullmetal AlchemistFullmetal Alchemist, is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Hiromu Arakawa. The world of Fullmetal Alchemist is styled after the European Industrial Revolution...
there are multiple references, and appearances, of beings referred to as chimera. - In the Anime TV series SlayersSlayersis a series of over 52 light novels written by Hajime Kanzaka and illustrated by Rui Araizumi. It was later developed into several manga titles, five televised anime series, two three-episode original video animations , and five movies. It also spawned several console role-playing games for the...
one of the main characters, Zelgadiss Graywords, was turned into a chimera consisting of his human self, a rock golem, and a type of demon, obtaining odd-colored and extremely hard hair and skin, and greater physical and magical power. He spends a great amount of time travelling the world in order to find a way to become human again and stop being shunned as a monster. - In Mother 3Mother 3Mother 3 is a role-playing video game developed by Nintendo, Brownie Brown and HAL Laboratory, and published for the Game Boy Advance handheld game console. It has only been released in Japan, alongside a limited supply bundle. It is the third video game in the Mother series, following EarthBound...
, most of the enemies and monsters are chimeras, the most noteworthy being the "Ultimate Chimera". The "Ultimate Chimera" also appeared on the "New Pork City" stage in Super Smash Bros. BrawlSuper Smash Bros. BrawlSuper Smash Bros. Brawl, known in Japan as , often abbreviated as SSBB or simply as Brawl, is the third installment in the Super Smash Bros. series of crossover fighting games, developed by an ad hoc development team consisting of Sora, Game Arts and staff from other developers, and published by...
. - Chimeras appear frequently in the Thursday Next science fiction novels written by Jasper FfordeJasper FfordeJasper Fforde is a British novelist. Fforde's first novel, The Eyre Affair, was published in 2001. Fforde is mainly known for his Thursday Next novels, although he has written several books in the loosely connected Nursery Crime series and begun two more independent series: The Last Dragonslayer...
. They are the result of home genetic engineering kits. - In the ebook The Chimera Chronicles: The Future of Change, Dr. Cambio may have extended his life and that of his wife's by combining their DNA with another long-lived animal.
- Vonda McIntyreVonda McIntyreVonda Neel McIntyre is an American science fiction author.-Biography:Vonda N. McIntyre, daughter of H. Neel and Vonda B. Keith McIntyre, earned a degree in biology from the University of Washington in 1970. That same year, she attended the Clarion Writers Workshop, founded at the Clarion...
's novella Screwtop (1976) features a genetically engineered "tetraparental" (four parents) character who has black-and-fair streaked skin, as well as black-and-blond streaked hair. - John Tait's medical novella Frankenrabbits (2011) deals with the disastrous creation of human-rabbit hybrids, where society is unable to fathom whether to accept them as people or animals.