Download EXPLORING GENE EDITING IN THE REALM OF INTERACTIVE

EXPLORING GENE EDITING IN THE REALM OF INTERACTIVE FICTION
John Parsons
[email protected]
ABSTRACT
This proposal begins with a quick introduction of what I plan on exploring with this
project, gene editing within the medium of interactive fiction. Next, the proposal delves into
greater detail on what specific goals I want reach and attributes I plan on including within the
project. Next comes a brief summary of the history surrounding the relevant topics to the story,
and then an explanation of what makes this project stand out. Following that, the skills necessary
to complete the capstine, the approach, a brief “proof of concept”, the timeline, the intended
audience, the tools, the budget, and the intended outcome of the project are all explained in
significant detail.
INTRODUCTION
What if the ability to meld a life was in your hands? What if you could choose what color
your baby’s hair was, their eyes, their intelligence? Would you use that power? How would that
power affect society? Who would be allowed access to that power, and how would they use it?
My capstone aims to explore these ideas within the medium of interactive fiction, more
specifically, the “choose your own adventure” story. Within the narrative presented, the reader
will be forced to make decisions relating to gene editing, a fairly new practice that is closer to
being ready for human use than one might expect (10). I will explore both the benefits and
pitfalls that could potentially arise from gene editing becoming common practice: how
relationships between different members of society could change, how class might be affected,
and several other aspects. My project will engage the reader and encourage them to think
critically about the issues presented.
PROJECT DESCRIPTION
With this project, I will present situations that will force the reader to make morally grey
decisions regarding the field of gene editing. I plan to use Nick Montfort’s methods of
organizing events within interactive fiction as a rough guide to keep the narrative coherent and
logical, as well as consult his suggestions and methods for keeping the fiction interesting for the
reader (9)(8). I will to coerce the reader’s attention primarily through the world created within
the narrative, forcing them to consider what sort of decisions ought to be made under the
circumstances presented. In doing this, I will also reference modern technologies that could lead
to the world presented in the narrative. I’ll make it clear that some of the technology used in the
story exists in the present, such as the CRISPR/cas9 technology that is currently being widely
used to edit genes. This technology has been around, if in lesser forms, since the 1990s (4).
Informing and encouraging critical thinking about the ramifications of this new and ethically
dubious technology is an important discussion that this work will prompt. I will be careful to
include decisions in the game that represent or challenge the many angles that the ethics of gene
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editing could be approached from, and thus introduce the reader to those issues in the process;
the project will be entertaining to read, provide in depth information on gene editing, and help
the reader to form an educated opinion on the topic. If the project has the intended effect, it will
interest the reader enough to explore the topic more on their own.
HISTORY
The “choose your own adventure” model of story was first experimented with by a small
company called Vermont Crossroads in 1975. This original book was titled Sugarcane Island,
and on initial release did not gain much traction. However, when Bantam, another larger
publisher, was introduced to the concept in 1979, they decided to take it further. They published
several of “CYOA” books, which became extremely popular during the 1980s, and remained so
throughout the 90s. In 1999 Bantam discontinued the series, although many other publishers
continue the format (6), one of the more popular modern forms being through electronic media.
The history of gene editing begins in 1970, when Frederick Sanger invented a method of
gene sequencing that allowed him to read and categorize the genome. Throughout the 1970s, his
method was improved into the “Shotgun Method”, which was much faster at sequencing. The
invention of the Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) was a boon to this method, because it was
able to replicate DNA, making it easier and cheaper to work with. From 1990 to 2003, the
Human Genome Project mapped out the entire human genome using the previously described
tools. A big breakthrough came in 2013, when epigenetic editing was mastered and the
CRISPR/cas9 method began to be used. Over the course of the next several years, this method
was used to cure mutations, made more user friendly to those operating it, and made more
effective in several ways, by using stem cells and by making the machine more precise and safe
(11).
SIGNIFICANCE AND DISTINCTION
My project is unique in that it will be the first “Choose Your Own Adventure” story to be
written about gene editing and related topics. Throughout my research, I was unable to find any
other story in this format that dealt with this subject matter. Of course, this doesn’t mean that
such a story does not exist, but if it does, it certainly never received significant attention.
Within this story I intend to reference some of the techniques that are making gene
editing more commonplace, such as the CRISPR/cas9 method that sparked the recent boom in
the field’s productivity. Due to how recent this method is, neither it nor the ethics surrounding it
have been widely discussed in fiction, although it has been widely discussed by those leading the
charge of that technology (5)(10). This project hopes to bring these quandaries to the average
person’s attention, especially since gene editing technology is becoming extremely powerful and
finely tuned (3). With that sort of technology, it’s only a matter of time before it becomes
widespread, and people ought to have some sort of idea about what ethical hurdles might be
worth discussing in relation to it.
Although this project will be one of the first “choose your own adventure” format stories
to delve into this particular subject, it is not likely to be wholly distinct from other such stories in
regard to how it functions. Even so, this work of interactive fiction will break new ground in
what sort of nuanced subjects this sort of medium can tackle.
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EXPERTISE AND SKILLS
The main skills I would need to accomplish this project would be competent fiction
writing and a decent handle on Twine, the “choose your own adventure” writing software that I
plan to use. I am confident in my abilities to write a coherent and entertaining narrative. I enjoy
writing short stories, and while this game will be significantly longer than any of them, I think
my abilities will translate well to the new length and format. Twine, however, will likely take
practice to use with competence, so I plan on setting aside a reasonable amount of time to train
myself in it.
APPROACH
I will approach this project from both an artistic and scientific perspective, in that I will
attempt to be scientifically accurate as to what can be accomplished with gene editing and how it
works. However, as this is a work of fiction, I may also take artistic liberties with how far things
can be taken with gene editing. This will be done to make a point to the reader or to keep things
interesting. Because of this, I will be sure to state at the beginning of the piece that some aspects
may be exaggerated for effect.
PROOF OF CONCEPT
I’ve provided a brief excerpt from my rough draft so far as an example of how the project
will most likely function. The narrative will be in the second person, with you making decisions
with the given options to drive the story forward:
(The context here is that you, a husband, and your wife have gone to a company for an
appointment with an advisor about having a gene-edited child)
"So you two are here to discuss what type of ChildChoice package you want, correct?"
(Option 1) [“That’s right]
(Option 2) [“ChildChoice?”]
(If Option 1 is chosen, a screen with the following text will pop up)
Excellent. So, there are three main packages, although we are allowed some discretion to tailor
the package to the customer.
"The cheapest package is the Family Package. You're allowed to choose features based on a
certain range. That range is given by your own DNA. So... Mrs. Carmichael, you have brown
hair, Mr. Carmichael, you have black. With this package, you can choose from that range.
Occasionally there are recessive traits that crop up, but usually they don't change the range too
much."
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"Your next option is the Pedigree Packages, 1 through 5. You're given a catalogue of hundreds
of characteristics, and can choose from any of them. Each characteristic is marked by a certain
number of points, and you're given a finite number of points to spend, depending on what
Pedigree you've chosen. Once you've used up all the points, the features are restricted back to
the Family Package.
"You with me so far?"
(Option 1) [“Yes.”]
(Option 2) [“No.”]
(If Option 2 is chosen, a screen with the following text will pop up)
"I'm sorry, but uh, what's ChildChoice?"
Rhonda flashes you an annoyed look. "Didn't you read that pamphlet I gave you?"
You shrug. "I skimmed it."
The advisor chuckles. "It's fine, it's fine. Essentially, ChildChoice is a program that allows you to
pick and choose the features of your future child. You can decide anything from hair or eye color
to foot size. Simple enough, right? Make sense?"
(Option 1) [“Okay, I got it.”]
(Option 2) [“I don’t get it.”]
WORK PLAN AND TIMELINE
Training
Plotting
Programming
Beta Testing
I plan to start learning to use Twine over winter break, during late
December and throughout January. My skill is likely to continuously
improve over the course of the project.
Plotting may prove to be more complicated than I anticipate, so I intend to
begin that during the break as well. This may run into mid-to-late February
for later parts of the narrative.
I will program the basic foundation of the story as soon as I have it
working, which is likely to be in January or mid-February. However,
plotting and programming are far cries from each other, so this may go into
March or April.
This will begin once I’m confident I have something cohesive enough to
present to others, so it will probably begin in late March or early April.
However, it will depend highly on how far I’ve gotten by that point. Beta
testing will continue for as long as the project can be reasonably improved
based on the suggestions and gathered data. During the testing I will both
record several metrics during the play session and have the player fill out a
document recording their experience with the game (2).
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Revising
Cross Platform
Challenges
Extras
Revisions to the story will be done based on beta testers’ comments on the
project. As such, this cannot be done until beta testing has started, and so
will follow a similar timeline to that, during late March and early April.
Twine publishes in HTML, and so should be automatically translated
across platforms (1).
If I have spare time, I may implement additional features to the project,
such as audio narration, pictures to supplement the text, and sound effects.
AUDIENCE
The audience for this project is most likely to be those who commonly read “choose your
own adventure” stories, particularly those who enjoy science fiction. The audience may be
further expanded to those who take an active interest in the issue of gene editing, even if they
aren’t constant readers of CYOA fiction. As for the disabled who may have a problem with
reading the project, text to speech software should be more than adequate to accommodate their
needs.
BUDGET
This project is unlikely to be fiscally demanding, and may end up being completely free.
I will need access to a computer, which I have, and access to “choose your own adventure”
software, most likely Twine, which is free to download.
OUTCOMES
Once this project is complete, I plan on publishing it online for those who wish to read it. I don’t
have any plans to build on this project once it’s done, but if I find that I enjoy crafting interactive
fiction, I may continue to pursue it in some capacity. While my major is undecided at the
moment, it’s highly likely that I will be an English major by the time my fourth semester is
through. This project will act as further writing experience for me, which will certainly help me
in my major, no matter what it turns out to be. It will also serve as a competent example of my
writing skill to those who may be interested.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
1. Twinery. Twine, 2009. Web. 22 November 2015.
2. John N. Habraken and Mark D. Gross. “Concept Design Games.” Design Studies.
Volume 9, Issue 3 (July 1988): 150-158. Web. 22 November 2015.
3. Moira A. McHanon, Meghdad Rahdar, and Matthew Proteus. “Gene editing: not just for
translation anymore.” Nature Methods. 9 (2012): 28-31. Web. 22 November 2015.
4. Leroy Walters and Julie Gage Palmer. The Ethics of Human Gene Therapy. Oxford, New
York: Oxford University Press, 1997. Web. 22 November 2015.
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5. Entine, Jon. “Ethical and regulatory reflections on CRISPR gene editing revolution.”
Genetic Literacy Project. 25 June 2015. Web. 22 November 2015.
6. Rossen, Jake. “A Brief History of ‘Choose Your Own Adventure’.” mental_floss. 10
April 2014. Web. 22 November 2015.
7. Woodward, Karen. “How To Write A ‘Choose Your Own Adventure’ Story.” Karen
Woodward. 25 June 2014. Web. 22 November 2015.
8. Montfort, Nick. Twisty Little Passages: An Approach to Interactive Fiction. Cambridge,
Massachusetts: The MIT Press, 2003. Web. 22 November 2015.
9. Montfort, Nick. “Ordering Events in Interactive Fiction Narratives.” Proceedings of the
AAAI Fall Symposium on Intelligent Narrative Technologies 13.1 (2007): 87-94. Web. 22
November 2015.
10. Neergaard, Lauren. “Boom in gene-editing raises ethics debate.” Japan Times. 24
October 2015. Web. 22 November 2015.
11. “History of Genome Editing.” Future of Genome Editing. 25 January 2015. Web. 22
November 2015.
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