The Tissue-Culture King Explained

The Tissue-Culture King (1926 in Cornhill Magazine and in The Yale Review, reprinted 1927 in Amazing Stories and many times afterwards)^[1] is a science fiction short story by biologist Julian Huxley.

The story tells of a biologist captured by an African tribe. It incorporates the idea of immortality based on reproduction from a tissue culture and genetic engineering, and an early mention of tin foil hats and their supposed anti-telepathic properties.^{[2] [3] [4]}

Plot

A group of explorers of Africa stumble upon a strange two-headed toad, and that leads them to meet an endocrinologist, Dr. Hascombe. Captured by an African tribe, Dr. Hascombe saves himself by using "magical" powers of modern biology.^{[5] [6] [7]}

Critical evaluation

Patrick Parrinder considers the story as an allegory to the servile place of science within a capitalist political world.^[8]

External links

• • "The Tissue-Culture King" at the Internet Archive

Notes and References

1. Web site: Title: The Tissue-Culture King.
2. Julian Huxley, The Tissue-Culture King: A Biological Fantasy , Cornhill Magazine vol. 60 (New Series), #358, April 1926, pp. 422-458 (Magazine table of contents)
3. Huxley. Julian. Julian Huxley. The Tissue-Culture King: A Parable of Modern Science. XV. 1925–1926. The Yale Review. 479–504.
4. Huxley. Julian. The Tissue-Culture King. August 1927. Amazing Stories. Well, we had discovered that metal was relatively impervious to the telepathic effect, and had prepared for ourselves a sort of tin pulpit, behind which we could stand while conducting experiments. This, combined with caps of metal foil, enormously reduced the effects on ourselves..
5. Web site: Posthuman Bodies. Judith M.. Halberstam. Ira. Livingston. December 22, 1995. Indiana University Press. Google Books.
6. Web site: The Cambridge Companion to the English Short Story. Ann-Marie. Einhaus. June 6, 2016. Cambridge University Press. Google Books.
7. Web site: Tissue Culture in Science and Society: The Public Life of a Biological Technique in Twentieth Century Britain. D.. Wilson. July 28, 2011. Springer. Google Books.
8. Patrick Parrinder, Scientist in Science Fiction: Enlightenment and After, in: Science Fiction Roots And Branches: Contemporary Critical Approaches, pp. 72-23