The Darwin Project

Meet Darwin, the most famous chimpanzee in the world, thanks to the magic of genetic engineering. Darwin can read and write and play video games--although he prefers chess. He even "speaks," typing on a special voice-synthesizer strapped to his chest. He lives with his older human brother Scott and Scott's parents, and goes to Scott's school, where he's both popular and controversial. He's in 5th Grade. But a tough gang of Scott's 8th Grade classmates hates Darwin. And a group of parents and teachers are taking legal action to get the genetically-enhanced chimp out of school and out of town.

As Darwin's troubles increase, important questions are raised: What does it mean to be human? If an animal has human intelligence, should it also have human rights? Be allowed to go to school with human kids? Be able to testify in court? Should it be allowed to vote? Run for political office? And if it's the only creature of its kind, what will its life be like?

©2022 David T. Wolf (P)2024 David T. Wolf