The Tissue-Culture King

The Tissue-Culture King is a science fiction short story by biologist Julian Huxley.
The story tells of a biologist captured by an African tribe. It incorporates the idea of immortality based on reproduction from a tissue culture and genetic engineering, and an early mention of tin foil hats and their supposed anti-telepathic properties.

Plot

A group of explorers of Africa stumble upon a strange two-headed toad, and that leads them to meet an endocrinologist, Dr. Hascombe. Captured by an African tribe, Dr. Hascombe saves himself by using "magical" powers of modern biology.

Critical evaluation

Patrick Parrinder considers the story as an allegory to the servile place of science within a capitalist political world.