For the Love of My Son

There are secrets here—deep, dark secrets at the place where good and evil meet. We broke an unwritten rule far stronger than the universal human incest taboo. Our son Abel is (was) a chimpanzee-human hybrid. How he came to be, lived his life, and died you will see. It all started with Williamson. At Professor Thorston's soirees (as he called them), Assistant Professor John Williamson enjoyed introducing vexatious topics and observing the resultant chaos. On this particular evening, his outrageous suggestion was the interfertility of man and chimpanzee. This resulted in universal condemnation of anyone who would even suggest crossing a man with a chimp. My wife Cheryl and I, however couldn't get this out of our minds. I really couldn't say why we followed the path that we did. Scientific curiosity? Not really. I guess it was because of the deep-rooted belief of many that humans were unique and that it was the hand of God that had given us dominion over the beasts of the earth. We saw life as a continuum from the first microbes to human beings. The continuum that links the great apes with man is only a small part. So, Cheryl and I decided to do it. We had the materials, the means, and, at the right time, the opportunity, so we took it. I had access to chimpanzee sperm and experience in in vitro fertilization. Cheryl was an Ob Gyn and willing to be the mother. Most importantly, we owned Gallardo Island, and we had money. My trust fund was in the hundreds of millions, and I gained control when I came of age. The only thing that Dad had said was, "Don't do anything stupid." If he knew, I wonder what he would think of the events that transpired. We were very lucky. With some reconstructive surgery, Abel appeared to be a normal human child, although the thumbs on his feet presented problems. As he grew, we were thrilled that he was of average intelligence and perfectly able to live as a human being. For a good long while we kept our secret and Cheryl, me, Abel, and our human daughter Sarah were a normal family. The children grew, were educated, entered the workforce, and married. Sarah, with her genius IQ deeply resented the attention that we paid to her brother, of modest ability, but this we ignored. To all appearances, everyone was happy, but this did not last. Sarah learned her brother's origin and Abel had to die.