Generosity: An Enhancement

Abstract

The novel follows Thassadit Amzwar (known as Thassa), a refugee born in Algeria with a genetic condition known as hyperthymia, i.e. an increased sense of happiness. Thassa starts frequenting a creative nonfiction class taught by a man named Russell Stone, who becomes mesmerised by her presence and display of overwhelming happiness, leading him to investigate more about her condition. It is notorious that everyone who meets Thassa becomes extremely influenced by her good spirits: for instance, one day, she is almost sexually assaulted by a classmate, but when she speaks to him, she is able to dissuade him and he even surrenders himself to the police. Eventually, Thassa’s condition becomes known to the wide public, and she becomes an Internet phenomenon and the center of attention in other media. She also becomes coveted by the scientific community, and catches the attention of Thomas Kurton, a geneticist willing to study her, and who ends up discovering the genotype for happiness through his research, promoting genetic engineering and the enhancement of humankind.