PW #117: Adult Science Fiction: SUBJECT ONE

Manuscript Status: Finished

Mentor Name: J.C. Nelson

Mentee Name: Gina Urso

Title: SUBJECT ONE

Category: Adult

Genre: Science Fiction

Word Count: 85,000 words

Pitch: 

Amar is the government’s leading regeneration expert, working deep underground on a top-secret military experiment: The Origin Project. After surviving death at the hands of extremists, she now defies it, crafting new lives out of old bodies to create the perfect soldier. But while Amar searches for clues to her missing past, she discovers harvesting body parts is a far more murderous business than the government lets on, and her family of creations is in danger. To save them, she must uncover secrets of the project’s ill-fated Subject One and walk a fine line separating man, woman, and monster.

Excerpt: 

Every knot must be perfect. Size, spacing. It’s all critical to the outcome. Extra skin is carved away so fresh edges marry with precision. Too much and it scars. Too little, gaping wounds. The tissue must touch gently, innocently, like a lover’s first kiss.

Expertly seamed patches of flesh join a human tapestry of blanched peach, rich cyan and dusty rose. My palette. The colors of life in transition.

Every tick of the oversized clock on the back wall taunts me. My eyes flit like a hummingbird to find each tear, every defect. Hands, tested by time and fate, make the broken whole again. I alone create new life from remnants of death. This job requires the delicacy and artistry only a woman’s small hands can provide. Despite the nine-hour surgery, I’m alert, heart sprinting at the thought of what comes next.

Breath even, fingers nimble, the clear floss loops and twirls. The bronze tip of the fish hook needle does a graceful pirouette around the taut line to secure the sutures. Snip. Done at last! Taking a step back, I admire my work, pulse thrumming at her exquisite beauty. Time to see what lies behind those closed eyes.