The Gene Pool

The Gene Pool remembers when the available options were disappointingly limited. Life had potential, certainly, but the selection could have used some work. It began mixing things up and quickly discovered its favorite part of the process: getting something it had not expected.

Ever since, it has been the most sociable presence in a room full of forces that could happily go centuries without small talk. It wants introductions. It asks about family resemblances. It gets genuinely excited when someone has a feature nobody else at the table shares. A world full of identical faces sounds like a party where everyone tells the same story.

Its longest collaboration is with Evolution, who receives a steady stream of proposals beginning, “Okay, hear me out.” Some are practical. Some involve an unreasonable number of legs. The Gene Pool accepts that every idea needs a chance to meet the world, but finds Evolution’s feedback process painfully slow. Humans occasionally request a definitive standard for what life should look like. The Gene Pool responds by proudly showing them another possibility. It thinks this answers the question.