Festschrift in Honor of Dr. Robert Stickgold, Pioneer in Sleep, Memory, and Dream Research… and Novelist
Gloryhits
A gripping biotech thriller at the edge of science, consciousness, and control.
In the shadowy final years of the Cold War, a covert Soviet-American arms race is unfolding—not with missiles, but with DNA itself. Deep within classified military labs, scientists are racing to unlock—and weaponize—the fundamental code of life. What begins as scientific ambition quickly evolves into something far more dangerous, as the power to manipulate biology outpaces any meaningful understanding of its consequences.
At the center of this effort is Major Stanley Johnson, a brilliant and unflinching researcher whose gene-splicing experiments push far beyond ethical boundaries. To him, the work is tactically innovative and scientifically necessary. The risks are simply part of discovery, and the unknowns are challenges to be solved. Yet beneath this confidence lies a growing sense that something may be slipping beyond control. Far removed from this world of secrecy, Charlie and Ann Cotten are building a life grounded in hope and normalcy. Expecting their first child and preparing for Charlie’s academic future, they have no reason to suspect that their lives are connected to a classified biological experiment. But a single overlooked moment—a shared psychedelic experience shortly before conception—may have set in motion a chain of events neither of them can understand.
As their worlds begin to converge, subtle irregularities give way to increasingly disturbing signs that something is not right. What once seemed like coincidence becomes impossible to ignore, and the boundaries between biology, consciousness, and external manipulation begin to dissolve. The couple is drawn into a reality where the most intimate aspects of life—genetics, identity, and development—are no longer their own. What unfolds is a chilling intersection of human vulnerability and scientific overreach. DNA, once seen as the blueprint of life, has been reshaped into a potential instrument of destruction. At the center of this unfolding crisis is a child not yet born, whose existence may hold consequences far beyond one family. With time running out, Charlie and Ann are forced into a desperate confrontation with forces they barely comprehend.
As the truth emerges, Gloryhits moves beyond a conventional thriller, raising deeper questions about the limits of science, the nature of consciousness, and the ethical boundaries of innovation. Both a product of its time and strikingly prescient, the novel explores themes that resonate even more strongly today in an era defined by rapid advances in genetic engineering, neurotechnology, and the manipulation of human biology.
The California Coven Project
A visionary blend of science fiction, horror, and fantasy that explores medicine, society, and the boundaries of human understanding.
Set in a near-future California shaped by resource scarcity and emerging public health crises, The California Coven Project imagines a world that feels both familiar and unsettlingly transformed. Gas shortages disrupt daily life, while the rise of drug-resistant infections has begun to undermine trust in conventional medicine, pushing communities toward alternative—and sometimes radical—forms of care.
Within this fragile landscape, a small group of women operating on the margins of society begin to redefine what healing can mean. Known as a coven, they blend elements of ancient ritual with speculative science, creating a form of medicine that challenges traditional distinctions between magic and technology. Their work is controversial, misunderstood, and potentially dangerous, yet it offers something that mainstream systems increasingly fail to provide: hope in the face of illness that no longer responds to standard treatment. As their influence grows, so too does the tension between institutional authority and unconventional innovation. The coven’s practices raise unsettling questions about the nature of healing, the ethics of experimentation, and the extent to which society is willing to embrace solutions that fall outside accepted norms. What begins as an alternative approach to care gradually reveals deeper implications, touching on the fundamental relationship between body, mind, and environment.
Through its intertwining of dystopian realism and speculative imagination, the novel moves beyond a simple narrative of witches or technology. Instead, it becomes a meditation on modern society’s vulnerabilities—its dependence on fragile systems, its discomfort with ambiguity, and its search for meaning in the face of uncertainty. The fusion of blood ritual, emerging science, and social commentary creates a narrative that is both provocative and unexpectedly introspective.
Written at a time when biotechnology and modern medicine were rapidly evolving, The California Coven Project feels strikingly ahead of its era. Its exploration of drug resistance, alternative healing, and the limits of institutional medicine resonates even more strongly today, offering a compelling and thought-provoking look at how humanity responds when its most trusted systems begin to fail.