All the wild beasts have been extinct for years, but it's perfectly possible to synthesize them abiogenically. On the other hand, why be bound to what was once produced by natural evolution? The spokesman for surrealist zoology was most eloquent - we should populate our preserves with bold, original conceptions, not slavish imitations, we should forge the New, not plagiarize the Old.

The Futurological Congress: From the Memoirs of Ijon Tichy