The Horton Dilemma [ONC 2022]

psychedelish

Reads 390
Votes 127
Parts 20
Time 2h 48m

Start reading

Reads 390
Votes 127
Parts 20
Time 2h 48m

psychedelish

Mature

Izzy Belvin, a famous genetic engineer, is about to blast off to the "final" frontier to join the second Martian Colony, where she'll continue creating nutrient-robust insects for farms that will feed the colony and increase its sustainability. For Izzy's remaining days on Earth, her psychopharmacologist best friend, Nakomi, begs her to complete a bucket list before leaving as a means of honoring their friendship. The first bucket list item: going to one of Portland's psychedelic centers together and taking Vivectica ™, a potent psychedelic drug (synthesized by none other than Nakomi) that has become a popular form psyche-therapy. Izzy reluctantly agrees, and when she encounters a hyper-intelligent reptilian entity on her trip, she can't convince herself that he wasn't real. The days are ticking down until her trip, but Izzy, becoming obsessed with the creature, can't get over her feelings that either 1) she's given herself drug-induced psychosis right before her journey to the red planet, or 2) there's something out there, something beyond space...
    
    This novel is a wacky trip with some sprinklings of HORTON HEARS A WHO and ANT-MAN, along with lots of palatable metaphysics. 
    
    ***This is my entry for the 2022 Open Novella Contest.All Rights Reserved

genetic-engineering metaphysics novella onc onc2022 pharmaceutical psychedelic reptile sciencefiction scifi space strongfemalelead

Table of contents

Izzy Belvin, a famous genetic engineer, is about to blast off to the "final" frontier to join the second Martian Colony, where she'll continue creating nutrient-robust insects for farms that will feed the colony and increase its sustainability. For Izzy's remaining days on Earth, her psychopharmacologist best friend, Nakomi, begs her to complete a bucket list before leaving as a means of honoring their friendship. The first bucket list item: going to one of Portland's psychedelic centers together and taking Vivectica ™, a potent psychedelic drug (synthesized by none other than Nakomi) that has become a popular form psyche-therapy. Izzy reluctantly agrees, and when she encounters a hyper-intelligent reptilian entity on her trip, she can't convince herself that he wasn't real. The days are ticking down until her trip, but Izzy, becoming obsessed with the creature, can't get over her feelings that either 1) she's given herself drug-induced psychosis right before her journey to the red planet, or 2) there's something out there, something beyond space...
    
    This novel is a wacky trip with some sprinklings of HORTON HEARS A WHO and ANT-MAN, along with lots of palatable metaphysics. 
    
    ***This is my entry for the 2022 Open Novella Contest.

20 parts