
In a near‑future United States where the government treats reproduction like a national sport, a secretive genetic program is on the hunt for the perfect “Mother America.” The story opens at a college football game, where a dazzling young athlete—known as the first “Boy America”— catches the eye of powerful scientists who recognize a familiar, almost mythic lineage in his smile. Two veteran geneticists, George Turner and John Harmon, reminisce about past encounters with the enigmatic Gloria Manson, hinting that the boy’s DNA may hold the key to the country’s next great experiment.
Meanwhile, political maneuvering in the Senate turns the quest into a high‑stakes contest among the states, each vying to supply the ideal parent for the nation’s newest citizen. As Turner is thrust into the role of screening candidates, he must balance scientific rigor with mounting pressure from politicians eager to claim the coveted title. The novel weaves together sport, science, and ambition, inviting listeners into a world where the future of a nation is being engineered one cell at a time.
Language
en
Duration
~30 minutes (29K characters)
Publisher of text edition
Project Gutenberg
Credits
Produced by Greg Weeks, Stephen Blundell and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net
Release date
2008-08-03
Rights
Public domain in the USA.
Subjects
b. 1915
A medically trained writer who brought a doctor's eye to speculative fiction, he wrote tense, idea-driven stories about genetics, disease, and the risks of modern science. His known books include the science-fiction novels The Last Vial and Mother America, along with the nonfiction work Misdirected Medicine.
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