Teratology
From Plastic Tub
teratology n. 1. The bastard child of alchemy and the Mother Church of Europe; a branch of monstrous science that restricts itself to the study and creation of monsters. 2. A psychological inquiry into that which ought to be left alone; a question asked in poor taste.
ExtrapolationAlchemy sought to create gold from lead; the Church sought to turn sinners into saints. The darker arts of alchemy explored poisons; the darker agents of the Church explored abominations of nature. The lack of “natural” specimens was but a stumble -- drawing on legends of bestiality, Greek explorations into homunculi, and Paracelsus’ investigations of poisons, clandestine operations sought to create new life. Dareste? A fall guy -- a victim of psy-ops by the Church whose teratological creations extend back well into the days preceding the Renascence. The work continues today. As the public eye is drawn to genetically modified foods, stem cell research, and hunimals, Chinese “doctors” promise results to unsuspecting foreign women offering cash for miracle fertilization treatments and North Korean scientists use people as they see fit. And in the US, thousands of children go missing every year -- many victims of lone wolfs, others falling to various Death Cults, and a select few… who can say? See Also |
Desiderata
The ancient Mayans worshipped conjoined twins, paying them the highest honor of ritualistic death. Mary Shelley was inspired to create Frankenstein by her father’s unnaturally strong curiosity for the unnatural.
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