Dr. Rye's panoramic pumpkin patch ------------------------------------------------------------ We passed under a trellis of gourds smelling apple cider in the crisp autumn air. Before us was the gift shop and beyond an enormous field of pumpkins. Inside the shop made of barn timbers beautifully carved scenes warmed hearts with candle light. Pumpkins adorned by hand revealed the Last Supper, the triptych by Bosch and even Van Gogh. Many were for sale including a triple decker pumpkin hookah that caused mild alarm. That a Nobel prize winning geneticist had a farm was to us a sweet endearing charm. The big seller was his pumpkin pie. and special seeds bred by Dr. Rye. The good doctor knew what is known by a few but is seldom questioned. 98% of the human genome contains no active genes but rather vast landscapes of unknown code as broad as deserts and high as mountains. He removed the dense cities and small towns we know as our genes leaving only the unknown. This he placed in pumpkin seeds. Along with a gene for acetylcholene and a harmless virus to transfer the codes into new cells and gametes. A farm, a hobby, a garden of delights. Who was to know it was the practical joke of the millenium? A secret spread from one generation to another ad infinitum. No one may suspect or question why Dr. Rye did it. It still remains a secret. Those who have had his pie only know they know more than they have ever known before. Dr. Rye has often said "Man can seldom predict an outcome without science. But our will can be done with a little self relience". While the good doctor knows no regret for the time he spent sharing the great unknown, a child is born with twice the code deeply within its genome. xxy
