It says that at the borders of our knowledge there is both brilliant triumph and disaster. Every time a scientists makes a discovery, part of society panics. Microwave Ovens were 'radioactive machines that would kill people'. The first trains were 'too fast and would pull your head off'. Cellphones give you brain cancer.
Last year, The Europeans started The Large Hadron Collidar, a massive physics experiment in Switzerland. The newspapers started claiming it will "destroy the entire planet if it goes wrong" and "the mad scientists are playing God with everyone's lives" and people panicked. But it was pure hysterical nonsense. There was no danger.
Beware of anyone who accuses scientists of 'playing God'. It is a meaningless phrase only designed to scare you. Science does have dangers and can be wrong. But we are all using their beautiful machines that have come from the work of geniuses struggling at the frontiers of knowledge (The internet, airplanes, cellphones, advanced healthcare, space exploration, etc etc.) In my experience, scientists are some of the most rational, responsible and careful members of society. They are also some of the most educated.
In the book Victor reanimates a dead body! The guy's a genius on the edge of knowledge using barely understood science and trying to kick start dead cells. The public says its 'playing God' and scientists are dangerous maniacs!?! But go to any hospital today and you'll see emergency medics using a machine called a defribrillator (see link). It does what Victor was trying to do. It uses electricity to reanimate people whose hearts have just died. It is Victor's experiment in action.
Are they are playing God or saving lives?
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