beat the black market garbage he used to score in the first few years after he left Project Exodus.
Project Exodus. The words echoed through Campbell’s brain, reverberating from synapse to synapse as he squeezed his eyes shut, his mind flashing back to the desert as he felt the Treatment bearing down on his body.
Project Exodus was originally a product of the Cold War. In the years leading up to Exodus, America had grown obsessed with gaps: The space gap, the first-strike missile gap, the education gap, the bomber gap; the concept of a gap between the United States and the USSR was the new national nightmare, complete with the specter of Khrushchev slamming his shoe on the table, promising to bury all the Orange County kids in their subdivided backyards. The government was spooked and began takingaction to address these “gaps.” One such emerging gap was the “leader gap.” Although information on Soviet party leadership was shadowy at best during much of the Cold War, by the time Watergate rolled around, there were some very powerful men in the government growing tired of defending the health of the republic from human frailty
.
This was where Campbell entered the picture. By the mid-’70s, Jonathan Campbell had already established himself as the preeminent geneticist of his generation. The youngest faculty member ever granted tenure by Harvard, Campbell had talent that was matched only by his desire to use genetics to end the suffering of mankind: to not only eradicate genetic diseases but to actually learn how to reprogram human DNA to resist various viruses and influenzas. Campbell’s focus wasn’t just on the West, but the entire world
—
India, Africa, all the third world hellholes where the flu was still a death sentence
.
Believing the Cold War would last indefinitely, the government approached Campbell about the possibilities of using genetics to close this “leader gap.” As far as Campbell had been concerned, the proposal was ludicrous. But still, he accepted the government’s challenge: How could he not? As human beings, America’s leaders had failings that had been naturally hardwired into their DNA. If the alleged gap was to be corrected, Campbell would need to somehow reprogram the DNA of future presidents; that kind of program would grant him access not only to technology and resources the private sector couldn’t match, but the freedom to pursue his true goals outside the established legal framework regulating the biotechnology industry. For those kinds of perks, he could deal with the occasional hysterical lecture from a cold warrior. So Campbell compromised; the first of many concessions that would haunt him for the rest of his life
.
The operation, which began in 1976, was code-named Project Exodus: a reflection of the idea that the American people had been abandoned by their leaders, left to wander in the Cold War desert. The goal of the Project was simple yet audacious: Stem any potential for a “leader gap” by isolating the genes responsible for certain human failings that undermined American executives’ ability to lead effectively. Eventually, the goal was to expand the Project to include the military and intelligence agencies
—
Wall Street was mentioned as well
—
but the executive branch was the primary concern
.
To assist him in overseeing Project Exodus, Campbell recruited the only other scientist able to rival his talent and ego, a Harvard graduate student named Michael Morrison. Campbell had been Morrison’s mentor at Harvard. While ostensibly working toward what he considered the government’s rather delusional goals, Campbell dreamed of locating and isolating those poisonous genes transmitting conditions such asTay-Sachs and Alzheimer’s: God’s mistakes would now be corrected by Campbell and Morrison. At the time, Campbell believed he and Morrison shared the same ideals, the same belief in science’s ability to liberate, to heal, to transcend. If that
Project Exodus. The words echoed through Campbell’s brain, reverberating from synapse to synapse as he squeezed his eyes shut, his mind flashing back to the desert as he felt the Treatment bearing down on his body.
Project Exodus was originally a product of the Cold War. In the years leading up to Exodus, America had grown obsessed with gaps: The space gap, the first-strike missile gap, the education gap, the bomber gap; the concept of a gap between the United States and the USSR was the new national nightmare, complete with the specter of Khrushchev slamming his shoe on the table, promising to bury all the Orange County kids in their subdivided backyards. The government was spooked and began takingaction to address these “gaps.” One such emerging gap was the “leader gap.” Although information on Soviet party leadership was shadowy at best during much of the Cold War, by the time Watergate rolled around, there were some very powerful men in the government growing tired of defending the health of the republic from human frailty
.
This was where Campbell entered the picture. By the mid-’70s, Jonathan Campbell had already established himself as the preeminent geneticist of his generation. The youngest faculty member ever granted tenure by Harvard, Campbell had talent that was matched only by his desire to use genetics to end the suffering of mankind: to not only eradicate genetic diseases but to actually learn how to reprogram human DNA to resist various viruses and influenzas. Campbell’s focus wasn’t just on the West, but the entire world
—
India, Africa, all the third world hellholes where the flu was still a death sentence
.
Believing the Cold War would last indefinitely, the government approached Campbell about the possibilities of using genetics to close this “leader gap.” As far as Campbell had been concerned, the proposal was ludicrous. But still, he accepted the government’s challenge: How could he not? As human beings, America’s leaders had failings that had been naturally hardwired into their DNA. If the alleged gap was to be corrected, Campbell would need to somehow reprogram the DNA of future presidents; that kind of program would grant him access not only to technology and resources the private sector couldn’t match, but the freedom to pursue his true goals outside the established legal framework regulating the biotechnology industry. For those kinds of perks, he could deal with the occasional hysterical lecture from a cold warrior. So Campbell compromised; the first of many concessions that would haunt him for the rest of his life
.
The operation, which began in 1976, was code-named Project Exodus: a reflection of the idea that the American people had been abandoned by their leaders, left to wander in the Cold War desert. The goal of the Project was simple yet audacious: Stem any potential for a “leader gap” by isolating the genes responsible for certain human failings that undermined American executives’ ability to lead effectively. Eventually, the goal was to expand the Project to include the military and intelligence agencies
—
Wall Street was mentioned as well
—
but the executive branch was the primary concern
.
To assist him in overseeing Project Exodus, Campbell recruited the only other scientist able to rival his talent and ego, a Harvard graduate student named Michael Morrison. Campbell had been Morrison’s mentor at Harvard. While ostensibly working toward what he considered the government’s rather delusional goals, Campbell dreamed of locating and isolating those poisonous genes transmitting conditions such asTay-Sachs and Alzheimer’s: God’s mistakes would now be corrected by Campbell and Morrison. At the time, Campbell believed he and Morrison shared the same ideals, the same belief in science’s ability to liberate, to heal, to transcend. If that
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