The Lemon Fool

...if it goes ahead.

https://nypost.com/2020/01/06/scientist ... gineering/
hope it works with plants too.

Well yes, that was certainly what they thought back in 2020, when the mad scientists decided that messing with the genes of an entire nation's wildlife species was a safe thing to do.

The trouble began almost immediately. Remote villages reported being plagued by ravening packs of aggressive male squirrels, all desperate to find females who might be willing to accommodate them, and whose testosterone-laden attempts to mate with anything that had four legs and a tail were striking terror into rabbits, rats, guinea pigs and small cats.

Worse was to come. Due to an unforeseen mutation, some squirrels began to grow to considerable size,and began to turn over dustbins, and then to chew through car tyres and high-voltage power lines in their search for a bigger buzz.** Reports started to come in of hunters being attacked by screaming rodents which would launch themselves from the trees and rip their heads off.

It wasn't long before the gene-resistant supersquirrels discovered that the easiest way to get a bellyful of nuts was to chew through the tree that carried them. Others developed a taste for woodland birds. And that was when the bio-control wars broke out. The use of Tufticide and Skippithrin was controversial at first, but it was becoming clear that this was an all-or-nothing fight for survival. As we enter the 22nd century, it still is....

BJ

bungeejumper wrote:Well yes, that was certainly what they thought back in 2020, when the mad scientists decided that messing with the genes of an entire nation's wildlife species was a safe thing to do.

The trouble began almost immediately. Remote villages reported being plagued by ravening packs of aggressive male squirrels, all desperate to find females who might be willing to accommodate them, and whose testosterone-laden attempts to mate with anything that had four legs and a tail were striking terror into rabbits, rats, guinea pigs and small cats.

Worse was to come. Due to an unforeseen mutation, some squirrels began to grow to considerable size,and began to turn over dustbins, and then to chew through car tyres and high-voltage power lines in their search for a bigger buzz.** Reports started to come in of hunters being attacked by screaming rodents which would launch themselves from the trees and rip their heads off.

It wasn't long before the gene-resistant supersquirrels discovered that the easiest way to get a bellyful of nuts was to chew through the tree that carried them. Others developed a taste for woodland birds. And that was when the bio-control wars broke out. The use of Tufticide and Skippithrin was controversial at first, but it was becoming clear that this was an all-or-nothing fight for survival. As we enter the 22nd century, it still is....

BJ

I like your style BJ and elements of your scenario are not implausible.

bungeejumper wrote:Well yes, that was certainly what they thought back in 2020, when the mad scientists decided that messing with the genes of an entire nation's wildlife species was a safe thing to do.

The trouble began almost immediately. Remote villages reported being plagued by ravening packs of aggressive male squirrels, all desperate to find females who might be willing to accommodate them, and whose testosterone-laden attempts to mate with anything that had four legs and a tail were striking terror into rabbits, rats, guinea pigs and small cats.

Worse was to come. Due to an unforeseen mutation, some squirrels began to grow to considerable size,and began to turn over dustbins, and then to chew through car tyres and high-voltage power lines in their search for a bigger buzz.** Reports started to come in of hunters being attacked by screaming rodents which would launch themselves from the trees and rip their heads off.

It wasn't long before the gene-resistant supersquirrels discovered that the easiest way to get a bellyful of nuts was to chew through the tree that carried them. Others developed a taste for woodland birds. And that was when the bio-control wars broke out. The use of Tufticide and Skippithrin was controversial at first, but it was becoming clear that this was an all-or-nothing fight for survival. As we enter the 22nd century, it still is....

BJ

Do you think this doomsday scenario could be averted by making the female squirrels the equivalent of Stepford Wives, perpetually randy but unable to create progeny?

Sorcery wrote:
Do you think this doomsday scenario could be averted by making the female squirrels the equivalent of Stepford Wives, perpetually randy but unable to create progeny?

Sounds like every buck squirrel's dream come true!