The novel “The Eyes of Heisenberg” by Frank Herbert was published for the first time in 1966.

In a far future children’s birth is strictly regulated and each individual’s DNA is manipulated right after being conceived. The products of such manipulations are divided in two reproductive classes: the Optimen, naturally sterile, and the Folks, most kept sterile through a special gas while some others are allowed to reproduce.

Harvey and Lizbeth Durant received permission to conceive a child but during the manipulation that is mandatory for a fertilized egg something unexpectedly happens. The consequence is that the Durant family ends in the middle of a power struggle that also includes the Cyborgs, who’s been trying to overthrow the Optimen’s regime for a long time.