Human-cloning advocates extol its virtues for infertile couples, people in need of compatible organ transplants, or any number of vanity upgrades, which has sent everyone from environmentalists to religious organizations to the bioethics community into a state of moral apoplexy. Dr. Jonathan Slack has cloned headless tadpoles, thus paving the way for an entire industry of off-the-shelf body-part merchandising.

"Got cancer? Broken nose? Saggy boobs? Not a problem! We've got a fresh back-up version of you right here in this saline bath! You II! Brain sold separately."

Naturally, it'll cost you. Renowned biotech naysayer Jeremy Rifkin notes that these technologies are getting scooped up and patented by biotech conglomerates faster than you can say, "Gee whiz, Soylent Green doesn't sound that crazy anymore." Couple this with Clinton's refusal to grant federal money for testing, and we've got ourselves a powerful and lucrative underground marketplace, where survival of the richest and the most arrogant become the defining features of this unnatural selection.

Hardware is rising to the occasion, too. Nanotechnicians have developed computer chips that can be directly implanted in the human body. Computer scientist Adrian Thompson (or "evolutionary roboticist" as he prefers to be called) is working to create "better" computer chips by engendering an environment where they can evolve organically. When asked the question on the forefront of everyone's mind, he says simply, "I find myself incapable of taking part in a discussion of consciousness."

Whether this biotech revolution manifests as a shining new era from "Terrerium to Cyberia," foretold by Timothy Leary, or the post-apocalyptic nightmare of William Gibson, remains to be seen. But start saving your pennies; no matter what happens, it ain't gonna come cheap.