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"I identify with the weak person; this is one reason why my fictional protagonists are essentially antiheroes."
- Philip K. Dick

Panatrope  
  A device that modifies human dna to ensure survival in harsh alien environments.  

This technovelgy lets the author imagine a future that contains "people" who are barely recognizable as human.

"The panatropes make adaptations, not gods. They take human germ-cells - in this case, our own, since our bank was wiped out in the crash - and modify them toward creatures who can live in any reasonable environment. The result will be manlike and intelligent. It usually shows the donor's personality, too.
Technovelgy from Surface Tension, by James Blish.
Published by Galaxy in 1952
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