J N Pratley

The Green Helix J N Pratley

Publisher Marketing: Greek-American Professor Phaedrus (Fred) Pratas thinks he has discovered a new kind of DNA (the "Green Helix") that is not inherited, one that he can experimental induce. The GH violates every concept of modern biology, refutes determinism, and promises free will and a Nobel prize. His shrink thinks, however, that he is delusional and advises a vacation to Greece to get his head screwed on properly and escape the other complexities in his life --- an unfaithful wife, a blackmailing graduate student, and a retarded son. On an enraptured Greek island his life takes a drastic turn from a scientifically disciplined one towards a life of seeming abandonment. Licentiousness of every variety confront him, and bizarre entanglements with incarnated Muses and the Greek philosophers, Pythagoras and Plato, propel him to a new sense of reality, one that mitigates his concepts of the GH. Meanwhile, back home his laboratory staff untangle the mysteries of the Green Helix, and when he returns, refreshed from the discovery of his Greek roots, his life takes another turn towards a transforming philosophical stance. An astute reader will see that the story's plot follows closely the ideas and philosophies expounded by Plato in his Dialogue, THE PHAEDRUS. The author is a Professor of Cell Biology and a dedicated proponent of the unity of the Humanities and Science. These two realms of philosophy are not mutually exclusive and the novel's plot aims to show how achievable that unity is.