The global political situation is increasingly volatile, and Hera and her sisters are sealed off from the rest of the world in southern Nevada. She is still tormented by her parents’ decision to genetically modify the brains of their twelve daughters—and by her own agreement to allow a similar procedure to be used on a much larger group of human embryos. That group of engineered embryos has become one thousand young people just turning eighteen, and the gender politics among them is threatening to ruin Hera’s gamble on a new beginning for human society. The Priesthood of Science envisions a future in which scientific research is confined to facilities hidden away from public view and where there is a prohibition against turning scientific discoveries into new technologies in order to keep a world torn apart by religious fanaticism and ethnic hatred under control.

William Leiss is a fellow and past president of the Royal Society of Canada, an officer of the Order of Canada, and professor emeritus at the School of Policy Studies, Queen’s University. He is the author of several books, including Mad Cows and Mother’s Milk: The Perils of Poor Risk Communication.

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