Rick Diehl was trying to keep it together, but everything seemed to be falling apart. The maturity gene was a disaster. And worse, BioGen was getting sued by a lawyer in New York who was smart and unscrupulous. Rick’s attorneys told him to settle, but if he did, it would bankrupt the company. Although that would probably happen anyway. BioGen had lost the Burnet line, they had failed to replace it with cells from Burnet’s kid, and now it looked like a new patent interfered with their product, rendering it worthless.

At Diehl’s request, his wife had come out of hiding and returned to town. The kids were at her parents’ house in Martha’s Vineyard for the summer. She was going to get custody. His attorney, Barry Sindler, was himself facing a divorce, and didn’t seem to have time for Rick these days. There was a big uproar over all the gene testing being done for custody cases. Sindler had been widely denounced for pioneering the practice, deemed unethical.

There was talk in Congress of passing laws to limit genetic testing. But observers doubted Congress would ever act, because the insurance companies wanted testing. Which was only logical, given that insurance companies were in the business of not paying claims.

Brad Gordon had left town while awaiting trial. It was rumored he was traveling around the West, getting himself into trouble.

Rodriguez’s law firm had presented BioGen with the first part of their bill, for more than a million dollars. They wanted another two million on retainer, in light of all the pending litigation the company faced.

Rick’s assistant buzzed him on the intercom. “Mr. Diehl, the woman from BDG, the security company, is here to see you.”

He sat up in his chair. He remembered how electrifying Jacqueline Maurer was. She radiated sexuality and sophistication. He felt alive just being with her. And he hadn’t seen her in weeks.

“Send her in.” He stood up, hastily stuffed his shirt into his pants, and turned to the door.

A young woman of thirty, wearing a nondescript blue suit and carrying a briefcase, came into the room. She had a pleasant smile, a chubby face, and shoulder-length brown hair. “Mr. Diehl? I’m Andrea Woodman, of BDG. I’m sorry I haven’t been able to meet with you earlier but, gosh, we’ve been so busy with other clients the last few weeks, this was the first I could come. I’m so glad to make your acquaintance.” She held out her hand.

He just stared.

Anthropologist Notes Rapid Evolution of Light Gene Are Blondes Really Sexier?

A new study by Canadian anthropologist Peter Frost indicates that European women evolved blue eyes and blond hair at the end of the last Ice Age as a way to attract mates. The hair color gene MC 1R evolved seven variants around 11,000 years ago, he notes. This occurred extremely rapidly, in genetic terms. Ordinarily such a change would take close to a million years.

But sexual preference can produce rapid genetic change. Competition by women for males, who were in short supply due to early death in harsh times, led to the new hair and eye color. Frost’s conclusions are supported by the work of three Japanese universities, which fixed the date of the genetic mutation for blondes.

Frost suspects that blondes have sexual appeal because light hair and eyes are a marker for high estrogen levels in women, and hence greater fertility. But not everyone agrees with this view. Jodie Kidd, 27, the blond model, said, “I don’t think being a blonde makes you more ripe for sexual activity…Beauty is much deeper than the color of your hair.”

Professor Frost’s theory appeared in the journal Evolution and Human Behavior. His research was corroborated by a WHO study that predicted the demise of blondes by 2202. Subsequent reports contested the results of the WHO study after a UN panel denied its accuracy.