I watch things like this, and there’s a part of me that goes Well, why are all of you people surprised?
I mean, think about it. We don’t raise our own children in giant Skinner boxes, do we? And far too many of them end up with psychological issues. If you absolutely must create super-humans via mucking about with their DNA, then do something intelligent for a change and give them a nice, stress-free childhood.
I mean, look at Superman: he could have been a god, but grew up on a farm in Kansas and had a stable home life, so now he goes through life without a need for therapy. Now look at Batman: the guy was always going to be the absolute pinnacle of human potential, but since he had his parents murdered before his eyes all of that got shunted into his pet project of creating vengeful justice in nigh-physical form. The DC universe was fortunate that Superman and Batman are both ethical people.
Seriously, if that kid had been even raised somewhere where there were more windows…
Has there ever been a story where creating genetic superhumans has actually worked as intended? Because the recurring theme in science fiction seems to be suggesting that this sort of a thing is a bad idea, and to not do it. All of which suggests that the scientists who undertake these projects never saw The Wrath of Khan growing up.
This time, when I do it, it’ll be different.
I gave it a whirl:
http://moelane.com/2016/08/19/adventure-seed-project-cultivate/
Nearly threw it out, until I realized that ending it in situ made it an adventure seed.
They also forget about puberty. Pubescent humans are notoriously mood swingy and that’s with ~12-13 years to prepare. This thing hits puberty at what? About a year-ish? And I don’t think anyone was thinking about that.