Gattaca (whose name, cleverly, consists only of the letters - G, C, T, and A -- used to designate the four base pairs in DNA) is a movie which stars Ethan Hawke and Uma Thurman. Set in the "not-too-distant future," it shows a world where genetics has become everything. Your genetics determine your fate, including what job you are allowed to take. Most people choose to consult a genetic counselor before having a child, in order to assure it has the best chances possible. But there are a few people who choose to give birth without any genetic manipulation, but this is not recommended, and the births are pejoratively called "faith births" or "God births." Those born this way are deemed unfit for most aspects of normal societies and are labeled, literally, as "in-valid."
Vincent Freeman (Hawke's character) is one such "in-valid." Since his parents decided to do the typical genetic manipulation with their second child, he's had to deal with his genetically perfect brother Anton all his life. Despite his chances of life in the "elite" society being slim, Vincent dreams of going to space. His parents tell him with the heart condition he has (which was predicted at birth via a blood test from his foot), the agency sending people into space -- Gattaca -- would never take him.
Vincent is determined, however, and after much training and studying, he realizes none of that will matter; his genetics will stop his chances. So he decides to take drastic action. He contacts a man he hears about through word of mouth (played by Tony Shalhoub, now famous for the show Monk), who hooks him up with a wheelchair-bound former professional swimmer named Jerome Morrow (played by Jude Law). Genetically, Jerome is perfect -- exactly the kind of person that could attain what Vincent dreams of. But Jerome naturally can't take his usual place in society due to the accident that put him in a wheelchair. So, he agrees to help Vincent out by allowing Vincent to take on his identity. He provides him with blood and urine samples, as well as other genetics-related material for any genetic tests Vincent may have to take.
The plan works, and Vincent (now Jerome) gets hired at Gattaca (on the basis of a simple gene test, no less, with no "traditional" interview) and over time gets into the elite ranks. The movie (after the flashbacks) starts one week before Vincent/Jerome, a space navigator, is to fly on a 1-year manned mission to Titan, one of the moons of Saturn. At the beginning of the week, though, one of Gattaca's mission directors -- one who had opposed the Titan mission -- is found dead. Vincent/Jerome, who passes by the crowd of spectators by the director's office, accidentially leaves an eyelash behind on the windowsill.
The murder is, naturally, investigated. The eyelash is found, and comes up with Vincent's "in-valid" profile. This leads the cops to search for an in-valid who might have committed the crime, not believing Vincent is still alive (since he was predicted at birth to only live 30 years).
Meanwhile, Vincent/Jerome makes the acquaintance of fellow Gattaca worker Irene (Thurman). She tells him she isn't quite genetically perfect; like the real Vincent, she too has a heart condition. The post of Vincent's face on a company-wide bulletin leads him to consider abandoning his contract with the real Jerome, but the real Jerome talks him out of it. After a surprise police investigation at a party Vincent/Jerome and Irene attend, they run out the back door, and hear one of the cops calling "Vincent."
Evidence from a mint tin leads the cop (really Vincent's brother Anton) to associate Irene with Jerome. Irene sees Anton coming and secretly warns Vincent/Jerome, who is just coming into work, telling him he looks sick and should go home. However, Anton confronts Irene and demands that she take him to Jerome's house. Fortunately, Vincent/Jerome catches on and informs the real Jerome, who struggles out of his wheelchair, up the stairs, and into a chair to distract Irene and Anton. Anton does a blood test, and when it comes up with Jerome's profile (the same one Vincent/Jerome's blood sample came up as), he smells a rat. Once Anton leaves, Vincent/Jerome comes out of hiding just as Irene is leaving and addresses the real Jerome as Jerome (he had been calling him Eugene, to maintain their ruse), to which the real Jerome addresses Vincent/Jerome, also as Jerome.
Irene rushes out, and Vincent/Jerome runs after her and tells her his real name, that he is a "faith birth," and that he too has a heart condition. She can't quite take this and leaves.
Meanwhile, Anton arrives at Gattaca, having been contacted by his partner, to find that the partner has found the murder culprit -- the main director of Gattaca. It turns out the mysterious "in-valid" -- Vincent -- had nothing to do with it. Anton is annoyed at this turn of events.
Vincent/Jerome and the real Jerome discuss events, and Vincent/Jerome says he has to go see the cop. The two meet at Gattaca, and acknowledge each other. Anton tries to tell Vincent he will be in real trouble for fraud. Vincent tells Anton that he doesn't need Anton to save him -- but reminds him that he saved Anton's life once (this refers to one of the childhood flashbacks, which shows the boys racing at swimming as far out in the ocean as they dare, and Vincent having to save Anton from drowning once). They go out to the ocean to prove themselves to each other in another match of swimming. Anton begins to get scared when they can't see the land anymore, but Vincent tells him to keep going, saying he didn't save anything for the swim back. Eventually, Anton loses strength and Vincent has to rescue him again.
The day of Vincent's launch arrives. Before he leaves home, the real Jerome takes him to a room with multiple fridges, filled with enough urine, blood, and other samples to last him two lifetimes. When Vincent protests that he doesn't need samples in space, Jerome says he might need them when he gets back. Vincent asks Jerome where he's going, but Jerome only says, "I'm traveling too." He gives Vincent a card to open when he gets "upstairs."
Vincent heads down a hallway to enter the spaceship, and is stopped by his usual doctor for a random urine test. He purposely fills the cup with his own urine rather than one of Jerome's urine samples, and thereby reveals his real identity to the doctor. The doctor is surprised, but does nothing but say, "You're going to miss your flight, Vincent."
Vincent boards the spaceship. As it takes off, he opens Jerome's card and finds a lock of hair. Meanwhile, as Vincent boards, we see Jerome climb into the chamber where Vincent scraped off his extra skin, hair, fingernails, and the like and burned them nightly. Donning his second-place swimming metal, Jerome reaches out of the door and hits the switch to start the chamber burning. All we see is fire inside the door, and an empty wheelchair sitting outside.
The movie closes with Vincent saying in voice-over that he feels a little sad leaving Earth, even though he was someone "not meant for this world." Then, he says, since all the atoms in our body are said to have once been in stars, maybe he's not leaving after all -- maybe he's going home.
~~~
I wonder what life would be like if our future was like the one in Gattaca. Granted, a recent law passed by President Bush -- GINA, or the Genetic Information Non-Discrimination Act -- would prevent discrimination on the basis of genetic information. But in the future that might not matter. In Gattaca, Vincent mentions that it is against the law to discriminate based on genes, but that nobody really follows that law.
In my Biological Anthropology class, they taught us that only 1% of our genes differentiates us from everybody else on the planet. And according to the oft-mentioned studies, about that much makes us different from chimpanizees genetically. Actually apparently we are genetically similar to dogs, fruit flies, and even yeast -- to name a few.
Naturally, this genetic similarity to other species would seem to support the traditional Darwinian view, which suggests that all species had a common origin -- a pool of slime that existed somewhere around the dawn of time.
But humans are different than animals in some ways. In the rather boring book I had to read for history class -- The Wretched of the Earth -- they mention that having a cortex in our brains is a distinctively human thing; other rational animals lack the cortex and operate mainly from their diencephalon. Thus, when those who theorized that Algerians were savage stated that Algerians had no cortex, they were suggesting that they were nothing more than animals. The cortex, or cerebral cortex as it is commonly known, plays a role in memory, attention, awareness, thought, language, and consciousness. These are things that are commonly thought as making humans human. Animals are not self-aware or self-conscious; they don't necessarily have thought processes as we define them, either. You might say they have language because animals do communicate -- often in very interesting ways too. And certain animals would have to have attention to, say, track down prey. I argue some animals have memory because a squirrel, for instance, can bury a nut under a tree before hibernating, and then find it again in the spring. But none of these are quite on par with what humans have. Unlike in fairy tales and children's stories, animals don't actually talk or act human-like.
As a believer in creation, I find this genetic similarity thing hard to swallow. Does the 1% difference mean, as evolution suggests, that we came from another species, or does the 1% difference mean that we are all unique in our own way, even if we are similar in many others?
The verse Psalms 139:14 comes to mind: "I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well" (NIV). I have believed that verse for a long time. The verses that follow it in the passage suggest that God knew us in the womb, and that all our days were written down before we were even born. I still believe that.
Being of childbearing age, I know I will have decisions to make on this issue sometime in the near future most likely. It's one thing if you take preventive genetic tests to see if you could pass on a disease, for instance. I myself am considering getting tested for cystic fibrosis, since my frequent respiratory problems could be signs of mild CF expression, and also as a white person my chances are 1 in 23 of having the gene. And based on the talk one of the project groups in my bio class did on autism, that's highly genetic as well, so I might want to find out about that.
But even my bio teacher has talked about how people could very easily manipulate genetics to their own ends. It would be scary.
~~~~~
Well on to less complicated topics. Anyway, as you can see in the title, I got transferred again. No real reason given, it just happened. I was informed of the fact last Friday, and on Monday I was at the new store. The new store is #157, the "Santa Fe" store. On the bright side, it is closer to my house than Encinitas, and as a lower-volume store it's not as busy. But it did stink to leave my friends at Encinitas, and as this was my second transfer since I've been with Stater Bros., I was worried that I had done something wrong.
So I started on Monday. I am working with Sandra again, who got sent back there from Encinitas. It does seem like it is easier to get work done, though I am still not totally familar with everything. The first night, I didn't put the respective breakout items in the right place and I ran out of time to mop the floor. The second day (yesterday), I accidentially forgot to clock in for work and didn't realize till I'd gone back in my department and started icing cinnamon rolls -- which meant it was off-the-clock work, which is a big no-no. I did go and clock in as soon as I realized, but I had to embarrassingly confess it to the store manager (I told him since I figure a timeclock change was needed, and based on experiences at Encinitas where I needed a timeclock change, I figured only the store manager had access to that), and he didn't seem happy, and then he had to go and tell me I had the wrong type of shoes for work on top of it, even though the shoes I was wearing I have worn to work for a long time without being told by anybody that they were wrong. So now I have to get new shoes, which I was going to do today except that Mum rather curtly reminded me nothing would be open today cause of the holiday. She suggested we go early tomorrow before I have to work (since lots of stores are open early thanks to Black Friday sales) but I didn't want to do that, saying I wanted the bus time to try to get my reading for school done. So I've decided to go on Sunday, which I also have off (yay!), and if Augie (the store manager) asks, I'll tell him I couldn't get them before Friday because nothing was open today. Hopefully, he'll accept that.
I will have to walk to the stores on Monday, but oh well. I want to do Christmas shopping for Amy and her family anyway. Actually, I already bought Amy's present on Tuesday after school. But I want to buy stuff for Jesse (her husband) and her two children. Arielle, her new daughter, likes things that play music, and Kevin, her son, loves Pokemon, so I should be able to get something for them easily. Jesse she said likes books, movies, video games, etc, so he might be harder to shop for. Plus, I don't know him very well. It's one thing when you're shopping for kids. Kids aren't as picky about gifts. People Jesse's age are. I don't want to get him a video game cause I can't remember what systems he has. As for books and movies, I don't know his preferences either. I suppose I could ballpark it. I hate to do that, but I don't know what else to do.
Speaking of presents, Sandra invited me to participate in a Secret Santa drawing between us and the deli department. I got Juan, the one lone guy in bakery, who I just met yesterday. I have no idea what to get him so I will have to ask Andrew (who's home for the holiday) what guys his age like (since Juan is 18). I have a feeling that Chase, the deli assistant manager and the lone guy over there, got me cause he was asking if there were video games coming out that I wanted (he probably heard that I like video games from Sandra, cause Sandra knows since she caught me playing my DS in the breakroom one day at Encinitas). I did check the "Game Forecast" in the recent issue of Nintendo Power that I bought, but nothing that's coming out for DS before Christmas looked interesting to me.
***
Yesterday, the same day I embarrassed myself by doing off-the-clock work and having Augie tell me my shoes were wrong, Sandra started telling me, unsolicited, that there were people at Encinitas, including the store manager, who wanted her out of there. This was already an awkward discussion, but then the focus turned to me. Sandra told me point-blank that she had had to fight to keep me in her department. I thought this related to her trying to get me working back in the department rather than sampling, so I explained how the sampling thing came about -- that Jennifer, our store assistant manager before Joe Bravo, decided we should have a sample person out there who knew the product and figured I'd be a good candidate, and that after that Diana Kelly (one of the district supervisors) took up the idea. But Sandra had to go and elaborate.
Apparently, there are people who wanted ME out too, including PATRICIA, of all people, who I really love and have missed greatly since she was transferred to the Jefferson store (#151). Sandra told me Patricia's one of those people who is nice to your face but stabs you in the back when you're not around.
I admit I was in shock. I remember my eyes going wide when I heard Patricia's name. My eyes usually go wide in the same fashion as other people's eyebrows raise -- out of shock or surprise.
I tried to take it calmly. I said, "Well, you think you know people" and then, a little later, I vocalized a thought. I said, "I wonder, what is it about me that makes people think they have to talk bad about me behind my back?"
I don't think Sandra answered, or if she did, I don't recall what she said. When I told my parents later, they said that I reacted very maturely.
Do I want to know, from the lips of these supposed backstabbers, their reason for their feelings against me? Sure. But the only way I could find out this information accurately is to ask them directly, and that would be very uncomfortable.
Why would I be so unliked? I don't think it's my faith; to be honest, I'm not very vocal about it, even at work. I'm not the type who tries to save every lost soul they see. In fact, I'm not sure how to witness at all.
Is it something about how I work? Generally, I don't complain too much; I usually save my complaints for my parents after work, for this blog, and occasionally for a few trusted coworkers to whom I feel I can vent at safe times. The only times other than these that I might complain badly is if I get visibly stressed or lose my composure, which does sadly, happen sometimes.
Katie told me before I left I shouldn't focus so much on the details of other people, such as their schedules (this rose from a misunderstanding regarding something I said that came off wrong). Initially, although I apologized to Katie, I felt that my natural extreme curiosity just lead me to focus on such things. Now I wonder.
Sandra said people wanted her to get rid of Joseph too. Impulsively, I told her she would be stupid if she did that. Maybe "stupid" is too strong a word, but she didn't take it badly. It's true though; Joseph has been with Stater Bros. for 8 years and is probably the best worker they have back in that bakery. He works really hard and is definitely dedicated; until he took vacation recently, he hadn't been on vacation in 4 years. Only recently has he been getting decent shifts and not closing all the time (his seniority deserves it), although he is an excellent closer. He's overall a nice guy, too, and I got the impression that he was well-liked. He seems easy-going, though I've noticed he stutters sometimes when he's nervous. I have told female co-workers that I can't understand why he doesn't have a girlfriend (he's in his 30's, someone told me, and I know from Joseph himself that he lives with his mother), because I think any girl would be lucky to have him. Come to think of it, why is it that the easy-going Average Joe (no pun intended) never seems to be able to get a girlfriend, while all the non-decent jerks do? Actually, it's that way with girls too -- normal, boring girls, girls like me who aren't obsessed with fashion, makeup, and drooling over say, the Jonas Brothers (or, to use a personal example, supposedly cute guys who run rides at Disneyland) don't seem to get guys as easily, whereas the pretty, popular girls do. It's odd, there are people and groups that fight against females being perceived as mere objects, and yet women are obsessed with being perfectly thin, overly pretty, and eternally young (just think about the number of anti-aging products you see ads for). In a way, they are unconsciously asking to be perceived as objects, perceived the way guys' visual-propelled instincts push them to perceive women.
The traditional marriage service says that marriage exists for three reasons: for the procreation of children; as a remedy against sin, and to avoid fornication; and for the mutual society, help, and comfort of each other in prosperity and adversity. Affairs and the breakup of marriages when hard times hit show that people don't follow the last two. But children people seem to care about; a couple on the verge of divorce will often try to save the marriage for the children's sake. So apparently some people marry to have children.
Sorry, I know the above was random; I am writing off the top of my head at this point.
Anyway, I wish I knew exactly what people didn't like about me at work, but I am afraid to ask them, and they would likely be ashamed to admit it anyway.
***
On other notes, I traded in three of my DS games that I decided I didn't want anymore -- Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Totally Spies! 2: Undercover and Code Lyoko (or, as it's sometimes known, Code Lyoko: Get Ready to Virtualize). I ended up buying the newer Code Lyoko DS game, Code Lyoko: Fall of X.A.N.A. It's based on season four and looks a lot more interesting.
So, the DS games I currently own are: Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney (which I'm still trying to beat the bonus case on), Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney: Trials and Tribulations, Pokémon Pearl, Pokémon Ranger, Rune Factory: A Fantasy Harvest Moon, and Code Lyoko: Fall of X.A.N.A. I figured the less games I have, the more likely I will play them all to the end. I do still want to buy the Pokémon Ranger sequel that just came out, and there's a few games I saw reviewed or featured in the recent issue of Nintendo Power I bought, including a sequel to Rune Factory, that I am interested in getting. Right now, I am post-game in Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney and Pokémon Pearl. Rune Factory I recently decided to play again but I restarted the game because that game is really hard to pick up where you left off after a long absence. Today I restarted mine cause I couldn't get the sickle from Rosetta, and then I went online and found out you have to till 50 tiles of land in your field first before she'll give it to you. So I did.
Plans for the rest of the weekend: on Sunday, church (double yay!) and then shopping. Tomorrow and Saturday I have to work. But I did finish that boring history book (well, the content was all right, but the essays were really long and couldn't keep my attention), so now I am on to the novel for lit, which looks like it might be more interesting. I finished my slide for the bio project PowerPoint today, wrote my notecards from it, and sent the edited PowerPoint to Meiling, the girl who's going to put everything together in regards to the PowerPoint. So that's basically done. But I have to turn my attention to my huge lit project now, and I'm totally lost. I sent an edited thesis and intro for my critical analysis and an edited first part of my paper (the part we previously turned in) to my teacher via e-mail and am awaiting her advice. I also went through my OneNote notes for the project and discarded into "Unfiled Notes" any notes that didn't look useful, and tagged (with a star) the ones I'd already cited from or which looked useful. Hopefully, that will help. If anything, I can at least write the critical reception part and start compiling my final bibliography, which will go between the critical reception and critical analysis section.
I'm going to end with a positive "girl power" image from the scanalations of volumes 5 and 6 of the original Cardcaptor Sakura manga that I read today, but which I haven't been able to buy yet in print. (Dialogue is from right to left). It features Mizuki-sensei helping Sakura during the Last Judgment using the Moon Bell.
Aside from the cool "girl power" factor, I love the art (especially of the bell itself) and the act itself (in the anime, Mizuki-sensei's bell only gave Sakura a second chance at the Last Judgment -- it didn't change her wand like it ends up doing in the manga). Good night!
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