"You could," she answers, her own words growing a little more forceful. Arguing with him isn't nearly as grating when it's not about her. Still a little annoying, and she keeps her voice on the quieter end of things, since she doesn't want to end up with the whole tent shouting her down, but she'll do it. "Other people have."

And what's so wrong with democracy? she wants to add, but that's opening up a completely different conversation, one that--as with Nazis--she's not sure she'll be able to summon up all her half-remembered lessons from civics class to support her opinions. "Even if that was the only option, changing genes, how do you know all you're taking out are the crazy parts? It's not like you can compare the thing you made with the original baby."