with a particular emphasis on breeding techniques and hereditary sciences.
The boy brought to the platform that day was perhaps 11 years old, so thin his ribs showed through his shirt, but it was his complexion that silenced the crowd. His skin seemed almost translucent in the bright sunlight. He had sparse, light-blonde gray hair, and his eyes were a pinkish-gray hue that seemed to look through people rather than at them.
The auctioneer, a professional named Cyrus Peton, barely concealed his discomfort. “Lot 47,” he announced without his usual enthusiasm. “A boy, about 11 years old, from the Hutchinson estate near Augusta. As you can see, he suffers from a peculiar condition—albinism.” The word wasn’t spoken aloud, but everyone understood.
