408
ALEXANDER GRIN
not suspect that certain phenomena which astonish them are
nothing but works of
art.
Painting, music and poetry create an internal world of
artistic fancy. That is estimable, though less interesting than
my
sort of creation. I make living people, and
this
is a lot more
troublesome than color photography. Carefully putting the
rm–
ishing touches on the tiny parts, fitting them together, tidying
them up, devising intellectual faculties for the newly created
subject and
also
making sure that it acts in accordance with its
status-.all
this
takes considerable time.
"No, no," he continued, noting the unease and distrust on
my face, "I'm dead serious and you'll soon see it. Like every
artist, I'm ambitious and want to have disciples; therefore, know–
ing that I shall end my life tomorrow, I've made up my mind
I
to confide to you my method of att<llining certain results.
Our earth is parsimonious in originating new forms of
plants, anima,ls and insects. I had the idea of extending nature's
luxurious diversity by creating new forms of animal life.
If
each
discovery of a new variety of luminous beetle or orchid
im–
mortalizes the name of some lucky professor, then how much
prouder would I be if I were able-not through crossing, that
is
l
nature's way-to alter artificially the characteristics of the species
in separate individual specimens, and transmit these mutations
f
to their offspring. I found a sure way, so strange and so infinitely
simple that if I let you in on my discovery, you'll surely
be
amazed. I'm not going to tell you about this, however, so as not
to make certain poor animals into amusing oddities, the pariahs
of the scientific world; for now they are objects of reverential
st~dy
which crown their discoverers with fame.
I have created a swimming snail with new respiratory
organs; six kinds of May bettles of which one is specially note–
worthy for the secretion of an aromatic fluid; a white sparrow;
.a duck-billed pigeon; a crested snipe; a red swan and many
otherS.
As
you see, I chose well-known and common species with
a view to their earliest
po~ible
discovery by the scientists. .My
