The Bishop and the Butterfly: Murder, Politics, and the End of the Jazz Age
    Richard Day's picture

    NORTHCOVII: The Pink Slip


                                         
                                                            Miniature horses and foals


    Algie would feel soooooooooooo free at times like this. The pink and lavender ensemble was so perrrrrrrrfect.

    The stereo was blaring:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bwy1x0-cZaI

    The silk panties were 'form' fitting. Hard to find things like this in a department stores; but he discovered them on ebay, of all places. Oh and the lingerie. Just gorgeous. And the make-up was just ideal for the occasion and made his skin feel sooooooooo soft but maintained the general lines of his face that showed beauty but strength at the same time. HARD TO TOP THAT.  And it enhanced the effect of his moustache.


    And Tommy is just going to love the entire picture. Algie fixed himself a drink and then...put it aside. Do not want to get the engine running to quickly. Spoil the warm up, he thought.

    This was his dance room. A beautiful portrait of Barbara and Marilyn on opposing walls. Vases filled with flowers, and the aroma was ...ooops, damn. And these heels were perfect.

    Algie had felt the left heel go out and he immediately sat down to fix it. Just then the door....damn!!!

    He dumped the other shoe and went to answer the door.

    Frank finished interviewing Thomas. This clown bullshit was getting to him.

    As part of his leftist conspiracy rant, Thomas was positing that NORTHCO had been experimenting with biogenic weaponry. That its purpose, and the new purpose of the government was to.....blah, blah blah blah blah.

    What is really fascinating here is that Thomas has never received The Pink Slip. As a matter of fact, no one has ever been fired from NORTHCO. Even on Frank's recommendation although Frank was really not into that pink slip scene very often.

    I mean NORTHCO had been around at least two years before Frank had ever begun employment.

    Why a right wing nut would wish to tie the current situation to Obama was beyond him. But Frank assumed something was going on in the basement facility and he knew it had something to do with the DOD. 

    Thomas had brought Frank an envelope marked TOP SECRET. Frank immediately stored the materials in his brief case after he left.

    Jenny came in.

    A Dr. Kevin is on line three Frank.

    Thanks Jenny.

    Yeah Kev. How's it goin?

    I really do not know Frank. I mean I got the results back from Minneapolis. And I really do not know what to tell you.

    Kev. Stay right there and hang up. I will get right back to you.

    Frank hung up and left the office for 'a walk'. Jenny asked if there was anything wrong and Frank smile and said he just needed some fresh air after talking with Thomas. That was quite understandable to Jenny of course.

    Jenny thought, thank god Thomas never hit on her.

    Okay Kev, I just wanted to get on my private cell.

    Understandable Frank. As I was saying, I do not know what to tell you. I received the results and they seem quite normal. Quite normal for a twenty-five year old that is. I mean blood pressure, and everything else checked out tops comparing the results to standards set by the AMA. But your cholesterol is way down, your red and white blood counts are superb, really.

    Well that's good, is it not Kev?

    Well yeah, but, I mean you never worked out, you drink like a fish--no offense buddy-and you never have abstained from smoking. I mean I took x-rays, not an MRI, but you look clean. When I looked down your throat and into your ears, I mean everything was pink and healthy.

    Kev, are you asking me out on a date or just commiserating?

    Back to the out of town tests Frank. We found strange fluids on your clothes. Semen, blood, and this strange web like substance. Your friend of course did the tests on the clothes but sent me the results as you requested. 

    Semen. I have been a monk for fifteen months Kev. No fuckin way. Goddamn, I told you I blocked out or blacked out for three or four days. What the hell happened to me anyway?

    Frank. I am just the messenger, remember. Listen, I asked for further tests from both labs. I want genetic tests performed. Anyway, you can feel free to call me anytime. You know that. Now calm down. FOR CHRISSAKES I JUST INFORMED YOU THAT YOU HAVE THE BODY OF A TWENTY FIVE YEAR OLD. Enjoy it. I would.

    With that the two said their good byes and Frank finished up at the office and went home a couple hours early.

    And you know, I really have felt rather frisky lately. I mean Jenny looks good for chrissakes, thought Frank as he got into his car.

    Frank got home and ended up at the PC with a drink and a smoke. He went back on line and picked up the obvious:


    In the case of dwarfism one of the two following systems could (possibly) be at work in its development in the Miniature horse.

    1- Autosomal recessive trait--Both parents pass on a recessive gene and the trait is expressed in the offspring.

    2-Autosomal dominant trait--One (or both) parents pass on a dominant gene and the trait shows up in the offspring. The trait would have to be expressed in one of the parents or could be [caused by a new mutation (Crandall and Crosson 1993)]

    There are over 200 variations of dwarfism characteristics which have been cataloged and well described in humans alone. Most of the human dwarfism characteristics have been proven to be genetic in nature. In the dwarfed miniatures, most of these characteristics are recessively inherited (both the sire and the dam appeared to have normal conformation). Many of the scientifically identified characteristics have been researched individually (Bowling 1996).

    http://www.mini-horse.org/dwarf_horse_genes.html

     

    Oh really? Is that not interesting? I mean dwarfs appear to reproduce more dwarfs and Norwegians appear to reproduce more Norwegians.

     

    But Dwarfism, as it seems to be called is an anomaly (as if teeny horses and such are not anomalies!!!) Miniaturization is not such an anomaly.

     

    Also, I do not know of a human genetic dwarf disease that does not show signs until later as a result of older age, there are over 200 types of human dwarfisms though I will have to see. As for these seen in Minis, these are NOT due to age or environment as a sporadic result. They are due to genetic mutations that have been inherited over time thru generations.


    Also, you do not get part of a dwarf gene and therefore are less of a dwarf. It is all there or not. And if you are a dwarf you have two copies of the recessive dwarf gene, not some of the gene but all of it. What does occur is Penetrance and Expressivity.

    These genetic terms explain how dominant and recessive genes interact within an individual. What you might think is a minimal dwarf is actuallty (sic) a heterozygote mini just the dominant normal gene is being "overpowered" by the recessive dwarf gene."

    So there is some difference between being a dwarf and being small. I am getting nowhere on this so far. Frank thought it was time to hit the beer. Scotch would just send him down too quickly even though he was ready for bed anyway. Are those little people 'dwarfs' or is it dwarves?

    Bio-hazards. How about that?


    Like nuclear waste, genetic changes in ecosystems will threaten environmental and human health for generations. The true impacts of the introduction of new species may not be understood for generations, if understood at all, and the negative effects will amplify over time.

    As with nuclear waste disposal, the assumption is made that science can solve any environmental problems that genetic engineering may present and that, though our knowledge is incomplete right now, all we need is more information to make genetic engineering safe.

    As with most unproven technologies that translate into huge corporate profits but carry environmental and human health risks, the ecological costs are understated and are calculated as inevitable costs of economic progress.

    Much like the effects of pesticides, the impacts of "genetic pollution" on the environment and human health will not be easily traced back to their source.

    Some Key Questions

    There are a number of important questions that need to be asked about genetic engineering. These include the following:

    • Is genetic engineering socially useful? Will the benefits that are promised materialize? More importantly, do these benefits meet the needs of farmers and society at large?
    • Has there been democratic deliberation over the introduction of these new technologies? Who is making the decision to release genetically engineered organisms into the environment?
    • What resources are being spent on the research, development and commercialization of genetic engineering that could be spent on the development of sustainable agriculture practices? What problems are genetically engineered products manufactured to solve?
    Conclusion

    Genetic engineering threatens the environment in ways never before imagined and endangers the livelihoods of small farmers across the world. Genetic engineering claims ownership over living organisms. It is for these reasons that there is intensifying global resistance to the patenting of life and the dangerous applications of this technology. 

    http://www.mindfully.org/GE/Genetic-Engineering-Biohazard-Introduction.htm


    What is interesting about this Frank thought, was that this was not about radiation poisoning, like those old black and white movies where giant spiders are born from nuclear tests in the Southwestern U.S. 

    This is merely a metaphor. We do not understand the consequences of burying our Nuclear Waste. And we do not understand that every single time we put something new into the environment, the consequences are monumental, or at least can become monumental.

    Everything went dark. Frank was unconscious on the floor by his desk.