Four Legs Good

Some scientific experiments, such as Einstein's Gedankenexperiment, cannot be carried out in the real world, others like the one in this story, should not be carried out in the real world. A flawed set of scientific experiments performed in 2024 causes a breakdown in the barrier between humans and a neighboring species. These experiments rely on the Nobel Prize winning molecular biology technique known as CRISPR, surgical intervention, and the use of artificial intelligence. The science described is believed to be accurate, the outcome is purely speculative fiction and to the author's knowledge such a study has never been performed. The story's epilogue examines the impact of the project' on society over the subsequent 50 years. The book is written both for the general reader, without a deep understanding of science, and as a moral lesson for scientists.

ROBERT LINHARDT, a prominent American scientist, and the author of over 1,000 scientific papers. He has more than 75 notable inventions, leading to his election to the National Academy of Inventors. He was named a Scientific American 10 by the magazine in 2009. Linhardt has previously written two non-fiction books, his memoirs, Time, the Essence of a Man (2021) and its post pandemic follow-up, Time Stops (2023). The current book, Four Legs Good (2024) is his first work of fiction. This novella is an allegorical fable— or perhaps even a parable— about a failed scientific experiment that leads to the breakdown of barriers between humans and a neighboring species.