DNA Doesn’t Lie
Peeps, this is it. The results are in. The Geneva-based genomics expert emailed me his report on the analysis of Marie’s, MadMadMargo’s and Openfly’s DNA. We now have some definitive news about MadMadMargo’s parentage. I don’t know if she’ll be happy with the results or not, but that’s something she’ll have to decide.
If you don’t know what the hell I’m talking about, I suggest you get caught up by reading the chronological collection of my columns on this breaking news by looking at the Openfly Serial – Part 2 category.
I’ll get right to the point. Marie is MadMadMargo’s biological mother. The genomics expert states that, “considering the strong correlation between Marie’s and MadMadMargo’s DNA and, in particular, their mitochondrial DNA, which, in humans, is passed exclusively through the maternal line, there is only a one in 7.56 billion chance that anyone else could be MadMadMargo’s biological mother.”
MadMadMargo, I hope you’re not disappointed about having such a promiscuous, free-spirited mother. But the results are the results.
The genomics expert then looked at Openfly’s DNA and identified what he thought are genes that exist nowhere other than in the DNA of Shalampaxians. Of course, as he makes clear, he can’t be certain of that. However, those genes have never been found in any other human DNA yet analyzed. And there were too many seemingly unique genes to be genetic mutations in Openfly alone. Consequently, the expert is reasonably confident that they must circulate in only the very closed society of Shalampax.
None of those apparently unique Shalampaxian genes appeared in Marie’s DNA. Based on this, the genomics expert concluded that Marie is almost certainly not Shalampaxian, nor does she have any Shalampaxian heritage.
When he analyzed MadMadMargo’s DNA, the genomics expert found that slightly more than 50 percent of the unique Shalampaxian genes in Openfly’s genome are also in MadMadMargo’s genome. Because these genes can come only from a parent and because Marie has none of these genes, the genomics expert concluded that MadMadMargo’s biological father must be a Shalampaxian.
So MadMadMargo, it would appear that you are one of us, well half one of us. Be afraid. Be very afraid. People outside of Shalampax tell us that we are weird to the extreme. At least some of that weirdness is probably in you.
Of course, to us we are normal. So, MadMadMargo, if you’ve got most of our weirdness you’d fit right in here. I’ll have more to say on fitting in here in a minute.
As to confirming specifically who MadMadMargo’s father is, there’s some possibly good news on that front as well. The winds here have died down sufficiently for us to roll out our temporary dock. That is happening as we speak. The supply ship that has been waiting 75 miles offshore for favorable conditions should dock here soon.
Once the ship has offloaded its cargo—something that is always done as quickly as possible because calm periods are brief here—I’ll give the captain the DNA samples from Roof and the two guys Marie specifically remembers sleeping with around the time MadMadMargo was conceived. The captain has promised to dock at the nearest port and courier the samples to a DNA testing lab. We’ll probably have the results in three to four weeks.
(These results may not be conclusive because Marie says she slept with at least a dozen guys around the time MadMadMargo was conceived, but she only remembers the names of two. Thus, it’s possible that MadMadMargo’s father is not one of the three men who submitted DNA samples. Nonetheless, considering MadMadMargo’s birthmark, my money’s on Roof being MadMadMaro’s father, but who knows?)
I’m sure MadMadMargo’s parentage has repercussions for Shalampaxian society that we haven’t considered yet. They will likely become clear in the fullness of time. Or not.
However, there is one implication that we will have to deal with right away. In a comment on a previous post, MadMadMargo expressed a desire to visit Shalampax.
As you know, we don’t get along well with outsiders. In fact, we usually eat (and not in a good way) any foreigners who manage to land on our shores.
Furthermore, MadMadMargo’s expressed desire to come here made a lot of Shalampaxians suspicious. We live on a speck of an island with one building and a few coconut palm trees, we’re surrounded by almost unrelentingly vicious seas, and we’re tormented by virtually continuous ghastly weather. Nobody wants to come here. The only reasons for anyone still living here are the difficulty of getting off the island and, more important, the international arrest warrants sworn out against most Shalampaxians. As a result, some people here suspect that MadMadMargo may have an evil ulterior motive for wanting to come here, although no one can figure out what it might be.
The question then is, considering all of our concerns, does having a Shalampaxian father and a mother who is, more than anyone else, responsible for modern-day Shalampaxian society provide sufficient grounds to give MadMadMargo the right to come here without the threat of being served for dinner?
I’ve informed Parliament of this issue and our parliamentarians are debating it between their naps.
The sides in the debate are forming along gender lines. As a result of seeing the picture that MadMadMargo has posted on her blog, the men fervently desire to have her visit or, better yet, move here.
On the other hand, the women, who have also seen MadMadMargo’s picture, are desperate to keep her out because they think (probably correctly) that there is no way they could compete with MadMadMargo for the hearts and other body parts of Shalampaxian men.
Peeps, I’ll let you know the result of that debate as soon as I hear it. Bye for now.






















