by Mary Shelley, author of 1823 novel Frankenstein, is likely rolling over in her grave at this very moment, with thanks to the insatiable and secret nature of contemporary science. A common occurrence of this era of literature was the creation of a dystopian society, in which the author warns the reader about what dangerous outcomes humanity is headed towards. This is seen in novels such as Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, 1984 by George Orwell, and in a plotline oriented towards the theme of dangerous knowledge, Frankenstein. In this book, Viktor, a knowledge-hungry scientist, discovers the elixir of life, and in-secret animates a dangerous monster. Upon doing this, Viktor is disgusted with his creation, and opts to ignore it. Instead of taking care of his moral responsibility, he allows the monster to run rampant, leading to the murder of his close friends and other people. And to add onto this horrifying spectacle, Viktor decides to keep all of this secret, and furthers his research and accepts the monster’s request for a mate. This did not end well, with Viktor backing out last second and disposing of the monster’s mate, and only angering his creation further. Although this novel is nearly 200 years old, its themes and insightful messages still hold vital importance today. Modern science requires ethically responsible scientists, who put secrecy aside in pursuit of knowledge that betters the world as we know it.
The secrecy covering powerful cutting edge sciences shrouds the common people of the world, leading to dangerous technology being developed under our noses. One mode of this kept secret to the majority of Americans was The Manhattan Project, a research development project during World War II producing the first nuclear weapons. A question asked frequently by scholars and common civilians alike is whether or not the dropping of the atomic bombs was justified. However, another important question that should be evaluated lies in the lock-down security of the project itself. Should powerful knowledge and technology of this kind be kept secret, or exposed to the general public? The Manhattan Project wasn’t just a undercover operation, extreme measures were put in place by the FBI to ensure these scientists’ research didn’t reach the general public. Each worker on duty at the sites underwent an extensive background check, ensuring no existence of criminal history or or connections to people who may leak the secrets of the research. Along with this, mail entering and exiting Los Alamos, the town in New Mexico famous for the presence of a laboratory, was censored and monitored heavily. People around the world were unaware of this work until the bombing of Hiroshima on August 6th, 1945, shocking the world and leaving many Americans confused. There was no room for debate, there was no option for alternatives, the world was blind to this terrible power. Ever since, nuclear weapons hold the reputation of immorality and terrifying prowess, with countries such as the U.S.A, Russia, China, North Korea, and others still retaining nuclear weapons of some sort. The Manhattan Project shows parallels to the story of Viktor, both showing a story in which powerful technology is kept in secrecy until a situation out of the hands of the scientists occurs. In order to preserve science as a humanity-supporting field, as opposed to humanity-destroying, transparency is necessary to be able to draw ethical conclusions.
An even more contemporary and equally controversial subject that finds itself engulfed in secrecy is the origin of COVID-19, the virus responsible for cracking nearly 100 years without a pandemic on earth. At first, the outbreak was rumored to be the cause of eating bat soup, which was quickly debunked. However, experts still agree upon the notion it was originated in bats. In the last week immense controversy has arose due to the statements made by Dr. Li-Meng Yan, Chinese virologist and former researcher at the Hong Kong School of Public Health, who fled to America to raise awareness about the virus. She states the virus was created inside a laboratory, and that the theory of the virus’ origins being the Wuhan meat market are simply a smoke screen for the truth. This of course is quite a shocking theory, but its legitimacy is not why this should be alarming to the common person. After leaving China, DR. Li-Meng Yan claims her information was wiped from Chinese governmental data bases. Along with this, Dr. Li-Meng Yan’s interview in which she explains her story was removed from both Facebook and Instagram, and her Twitter account was quickly suspended. The secrecy and suppression of knowledge regarding cutting-edge sciences is evident today, and to further science itself more transparency is necessary.
Maybe the U.S. government hid the Manhattan Project for the protection of its citizens. Maybe the suppression of scientific knowledge keeps it out of powerful unjust hands. However, history shows a timeline of repeated secrecy, with powerful technology spiraling out of control. Cutting edge science needs to be more transparent to the public, with the potential of CRISPR technology, nuclear weapons, and many others looming over-head. Who knows, maybe the world will learn to not follow in Viktor’s footsteps.