Hybrid-Horror Rocks My Brain

Sam Mortimer

For starters, a hybrid genre is a blast to write in, especially science fiction/horror. That’s two great genres with potential to reflect relevant issues in entertaining ways. By relevancy, I don’t necessarily mean blatantly touching on political issues. The hybrid is like making psyche soup for the tattered soul, putting a red spotlight on internal struggles and everyday human life. Spice it with some dystopia and post-apocalyptic tendencies and we’ll have a tasty psychological dinner.

Death. Grief. Happiness. Survival. Trust. Anger. Betrayal. Melancholy. We may as well include the whole gamut of emotions and experience into a hybrid creation. Create monsters, utopias, dystopias, godlike artificial intelligence, maybe with a virus, or whatever the imagination conjures to express the entire spectrum of what we humans endure in our ephemeral moment in the universe.

Science fiction and horror in particular can be brutal, visceral, yet leave room to romanticize the human condition and highlight technological breakthroughs. We can celebrate our will to survive against hideous odds and heartbreaking tragedies.  Incorporating dystopian speculation and post-apocalyptic desperation and despair intensifies any situation. The hybrid has the symbolism, imagery, and mythology available to embody human capacity and will power. Read history, current events, humanities books, and philosophy, then we’ll see humanity’s trials and tribulations. Yet the human race is still here, trying to move forward on the rocky road. There are still awesome accomplishments to admire.  Hopefully we will be kicking for a long time to come.

Life is pretty serious. It’s also fun, then, it can slam out a heap of devastation. Life can be that ravenous creature lurking around the corner, waiting to strike you or loved ones seemingly for no reason at all. Life can be a sweet cherub, too, or an impish familiar that makes you chuckle. You could be swept away in love. Utmost, life is assuredly interesting.  It’s difficult to describe life in any particular genre, and definitely can’t toss life into a box.

Horror had its first, huge impact on me—dare I say a grand-canyon style impact—when I was around six years old. The Exorcist movie is both the culprit and hero, therefor I must say thanks, I think.  I had accidently walked into the living room; I was supposed to have been taking a nap. Family was watching The Exorcist, in the dark. Of course, I saw some imagery that I’m positive I wouldn’t have been allowed to see. A young mind probably didn’t process the visuals well. As I grew older, so did an appreciation for Blatty’s novel and Friedken for directing the film—both heroes of the horror genre.

The realistic direness of dystopian fiction such as 1984, Brave New World, We, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep, and prophetic science fiction like Neuromancer stamp their ingenuity on the mind. Those books might’ve imprinted in my very genetic makeup.

I think the hybrid understands and incorporates the significance of the most fantastic, meaningful genres.   

Synopsis

Cash carries a disease; one that’s already killed a large majority of the population and something needs to be done. To stop the crisis from escalating, The Solution (a worldwide organization) is formed and rises to great power. They monitor people’s dreams and shape reality to fit their own wants and needs. In an effort to control existence itself, The Solution is searching for what they believe to be the ultimate tool; a person with the ability to master a deep connection with the mysterious, pervasive energy known only as The Ultimate Reality.

 

Watching her neighborhood decay, her friends and family perish, Elizabeth Reznik needs to find meaning in her life. She discovers her existence is more meaningful than she could ever have imagined. Operatives of The Solution seek her out, take her from her home and perform brutal experiments on her. Their conclusion? Elizabeth is the one they have been searching for; she is the key to gaining complete power.

 

The stratagem of The Solution is single minded – own the resources and you own the people. And the last resource available is free will. They will own your thoughts, they will orchestrate your dreams; they will dine on your fears. But there is always a cog in the machine… or in this case, a scream.

 

Available on:

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Author Bio:

Sam Mortimer has worked the graveyard shift in law enforcement, attended film school, and has been writing strange stories since age eleven. He loves reading, music, and strives to meet the demands of his five cats.