Breeder Reaction
In 1950s America, beauty is big business, and Sanford Sanders is the product engineer who thinks he's struck advertising gold when a new cosmetics line takes the country by storm. Atummyc Afterbath Dusting Powder, laced with the mysterious 'Atummion,' gives women an irresistible 'radiant atomic look' that sends sales soaring. But as the product spreads across America, Sanders discovers the "radiance" comes with an unexpected side effect: the compound induces pregnancy in every woman who uses it. What begins as a marketer's dream becomes a national fertility crisis faster than you can say 'bestseller.' Marks delivers a razor-sharp satire that gleefully eviscerates the cosmetics industry's breathless promises while channeling genuine atomic-age anxiety about scientific experimentation running amok. The story crackles with the energy of a man watching his brilliant career turn into a moral catastrophe he cannot stop. It's a compact, viciously funny warning about the dangers of selling something you don't fully understand, and the advertising world's tendency to celebrate 'freak good fortune' until the bill comes due.
