pandorons
By the first half of the XXI century, medical sciences underwent a major revolution as a team of scientists, working for a pharmaceutical giant and seeking to find a way to prevent pathologies instead of merely curing them, developed a treatment that altered certain genes in an embryo, thus riding it of predispositions to certain diseases.
Some years later, this treatment was improved so that, besides eliminating anomalies and diseases, it augmented the individual's physical and cognitive skills. The team that helped bring the first “augmented human” to Earth wrote an article defending the treatment and explaining how much it could benefit humankind; and it was in that article that the term “Pandoron” was coined, as the definition of the “human with complete access to its full physical and intellectual potential.”
The Pandoron treatment was always very controversial; its detractors claim that it will ultimately create a “master race” of wealthy individuals – after all, this treatment is far from cheap –, specially those from developed countries, while less privileged citizens and people from underdeveloped countries will be at even greater disadvantage.
Its supporters, on the other hand, claim that the Pandoron treatment, by itself, doesn't make anyone better, that what truly matters is dedicating oneself to improving both intellectually and physically – and that this dedication is something that does not depend on Pandoron genes. They also claim that, as the treatment becomes cheaper and accessible to more people, it will ultimately help humankind better themselves in all possible ways.
To support that, they say that many of the most important discoveries and technological advances of the late XXI and early XXII centuries – including those that allowed the quick building of colonies on the Moon, on Mars and in space – were made by Pandoron scientists. They also claim that, while discrimination of Pandorons towards normal humans does exist, it's not widespread, and is always punished severely by the law.
Notwithstanding all the controversy, the body-augmenting treatment did become cheaper over the years, and the Pandorons' numbers grew considerably between 2040 and 2140 – in such way that they became a new social class spanning countries. With most of their members hailing from the wealthiest countries and specially the elite, they're almost always at the forefront of everything they do, from social work to business and science. Because of that, “standard humans,” in large part, developed a feeling of antipathy against them; this “Anti-Pandorism” has manifested in dire ways already, including the brutal murder of a Pandora social worker in the Middle East, in the last year of the XXI century.
As hatred is bound to sow more hatred, Anti-Pandorism sparked a similar feeling amongst Pandorons – or, rather, a more extreme version of the disdain many already felt for non-Pandorons –, some of whom began to believe that it ruling the world was not only their right, but their moral obligation, due to what they viewed as their own inherent superiority.
Thus, in the decade of 2120, a new movement was noted, one that blamed the “imperfect humans” for all the social, ecological and economical crises to have ever affected humankind. This movement – dubbed Neo-Pandorism – had two different lines of thought: one, the “softer” kind, preached that Pandorons should work to enable the children of any and every willing couple to undergo the body-augmenting. The “harder” kind, however, declared that non-Pandorons (pejoratively referred to as “claymen”, in reference to the imperfect human beings created by Prometheus in Greek mythology”) should be replaced by non-sentient robots and utterly exterminated.
Although there is some tolerance towards the “soft” Neo-Pandorism, its other variant is outlawed in many countries – which doesn't change the fact that many important figures, both political and cultural, are closet adepts to it.
Some years later, this treatment was improved so that, besides eliminating anomalies and diseases, it augmented the individual's physical and cognitive skills. The team that helped bring the first “augmented human” to Earth wrote an article defending the treatment and explaining how much it could benefit humankind; and it was in that article that the term “Pandoron” was coined, as the definition of the “human with complete access to its full physical and intellectual potential.”
The Pandoron treatment was always very controversial; its detractors claim that it will ultimately create a “master race” of wealthy individuals – after all, this treatment is far from cheap –, specially those from developed countries, while less privileged citizens and people from underdeveloped countries will be at even greater disadvantage.
Its supporters, on the other hand, claim that the Pandoron treatment, by itself, doesn't make anyone better, that what truly matters is dedicating oneself to improving both intellectually and physically – and that this dedication is something that does not depend on Pandoron genes. They also claim that, as the treatment becomes cheaper and accessible to more people, it will ultimately help humankind better themselves in all possible ways.
To support that, they say that many of the most important discoveries and technological advances of the late XXI and early XXII centuries – including those that allowed the quick building of colonies on the Moon, on Mars and in space – were made by Pandoron scientists. They also claim that, while discrimination of Pandorons towards normal humans does exist, it's not widespread, and is always punished severely by the law.
Notwithstanding all the controversy, the body-augmenting treatment did become cheaper over the years, and the Pandorons' numbers grew considerably between 2040 and 2140 – in such way that they became a new social class spanning countries. With most of their members hailing from the wealthiest countries and specially the elite, they're almost always at the forefront of everything they do, from social work to business and science. Because of that, “standard humans,” in large part, developed a feeling of antipathy against them; this “Anti-Pandorism” has manifested in dire ways already, including the brutal murder of a Pandora social worker in the Middle East, in the last year of the XXI century.
As hatred is bound to sow more hatred, Anti-Pandorism sparked a similar feeling amongst Pandorons – or, rather, a more extreme version of the disdain many already felt for non-Pandorons –, some of whom began to believe that it ruling the world was not only their right, but their moral obligation, due to what they viewed as their own inherent superiority.
Thus, in the decade of 2120, a new movement was noted, one that blamed the “imperfect humans” for all the social, ecological and economical crises to have ever affected humankind. This movement – dubbed Neo-Pandorism – had two different lines of thought: one, the “softer” kind, preached that Pandorons should work to enable the children of any and every willing couple to undergo the body-augmenting. The “harder” kind, however, declared that non-Pandorons (pejoratively referred to as “claymen”, in reference to the imperfect human beings created by Prometheus in Greek mythology”) should be replaced by non-sentient robots and utterly exterminated.
Although there is some tolerance towards the “soft” Neo-Pandorism, its other variant is outlawed in many countries – which doesn't change the fact that many important figures, both political and cultural, are closet adepts to it.