McGonigal's Worm

"McGonigal's Worm" by R. A. Lafferty is a science fiction story from the early 1960s dealing with a bizarre disaster: all chordates lose the ability to reproduce, except for a humble worm. The world responds with panic and scientific inquiry, led by figures like Director Concord, striving to understand the crisis facing humanity. The story then turns its focus on Musha and Cecilia, believed to be the last hope for human reproduction, and their ill-starred attempt to unite becomes essential to exploring human dignity, individual freedom, and the strangeness of their situation. The real sickness, as it turns out, is not a biological failure but a reflection of human principles and the general state of humanity in the face of certain doom. In general, the book becomes a thought-provoking discovery of hope, survival, and the complicated parts of living when faced with an absurd world.