Fragment by Warren Fahy Page A

complex life may have developed simply to stage
this
age-old dance of two singlecelledspecies. From octopi to humans to whales to ferns, countless expressions of life on Earth stage this original single-celled rendezvous, just as it occurred in ancient seas, in order to reproduce.”
    The audience muttered and shuffled as Geoffrey reached his peroration.
    “So why are such complex animals beneficial for continuing the partnership of sperm and egg? Because, ladies and gentlemen, unlike sperm and egg, animals can exploit an amazing variety of changing conditions and environments through evolution. We sexually reproducing animals are an astonishingly diversified fleet of sperm-and-egg-carriers that bring the ancient seas with us into ever-new environmental frontiers.
    “Of course, such elaborate vehicles were also beneficial to the replication of the original single-celled organisms because they have more fun replicating than single-celled organisms. There’s nothing like improved incentives to increase output. But I think we’ll leave that topic for another chat.”
    Geoffrey bowed once again, this time to an enthusiastic ovation, unfazed by the jeers and scowls from the front row.
    Now the real fun began. He took the first torpedo from a particularly vexed colleague right in front of him. “Yes, Dr. Stoever?”
    “Well, I don’t know where to begin, Geoffrey,” the baldheaded scientist drawled forlornly. “Sex began with isogamous gametes: two sex cells of the same size fusing together and joining their DNA, which then divided into more cells with a recombination of the two cells’ genes. It did
not
begin with ancestors of sperm and egg! I’ve never heard of such a preposterous theory!”
    “That is the general assumption,” Geoffrey replied cheerfully. “But everyone concedes that very little is known about the details. I’m sure you’re aware of Haeckel’s theory, Dr. Stoever?”
    “Ontogeny recapitulates phylogeny, of course—everyone is aware of Haeckel’s theory, Geoffrey.”
    There was a smattering of laughter at this and Geoffrey raised his hand to the audience. “Well, just to remind everyone, for a long time scientists observed that during certain phases of developmentthe human embryo looks remarkably like a tadpole, with a tail and gills, and continues to go through other stages that appear to be entirely different animals. What Haeckel proposed is that embryonic development is actually a recapitulation of an animal’s evolutionary past.”
    “Haeckel’s theory has been discredited,” yelled one scientist from the back row.
    “It only applies to the development of embryos, anyway,” protested another. “Not to sperm and ova!”
    “Ah.” Geoffrey nodded. “Why not? Think outside the box, Dr. Mosashvili. And Haeckel is far from being discredited, Dr. Newsom. In fact, this proposition, if it proves correct, might well be his final vindication.”
    “You can’t claim sperm and egg are merely echoes of the first eukaryotic cells,” shouted another irate scientist.
    “Why not?” Geoffrey volleyed.
    “Because sperm and egg are unlike any other organism. They carry only
half the
chromosomes!”
    “Which they combine to produce the next stage of their development,” Geoffrey returned, “which, I propose, may be the carrier stage, if you will—which naturally became more and more specialized to reach new environments. The fact that sperm and egg carry only half the chromosomes of their offspring could be a further effect of specialization to symbiotic reproduction, or it could be proof that sex began with separate organisms that combined and doubled the amount of their chromosomes to make sexually differentiated carriers of each original cell. I submit that Haeckel’s principle is not only right, but may not have been taken far enough.”
    “But originating as a predator/prey relationship…I don’t buy it.” Dr. Stoever was scowling.
    “Look at bees and flowers,” Geoffrey