I devoted my life to Project Oryx. As a geneticist, I told myself it was about discovery, about pushing the boundaries of what life could become. I never expected my greatest creation to change me in return. What began as an obsession blurred into something far more dangerous and profound—an attachment I couldn’t explain away with logic, an unconventional love that rewrote everything I thought I knew... moreI devoted my life to Project Oryx. As a geneticist, I told myself it was about discovery, about pushing the boundaries of what life could become. I never expected my greatest creation to change me in return. What began as an obsession blurred into something far more dangerous and profound—an attachment I couldn’t explain away with logic, an unconventional love that rewrote everything I thought I knew. When militaries set their sights on Oryx as the ultimate weapon and intergalactic coalitions hunted us to steal what I’d created, we became fugitives overnight. Bounties followed us from system to system, and every encounter reminded me that the universe measures worth in power and conquest. Yet in the midst of pursuit and fear, we found something rarer than victory. We found trust. We found family. And as the walls closed in, I realized we weren’t just fighting to survive—we were fighting for our right to remain human, and for a love strong enough to change the course of everything. A slow-burn sci-fi space opera inspired by Frankenstein and Flowers for Algernon, dusted with a glimmer of The Wizard of Oz—where the Monster isn’t destroyed, loves, and finally finds home. -------This book is part of the multi-author. Blood & Stardust. series, which reimagines classic monsters in outer space. Each installment can be enjoyed as a standalone story. less
