A Bizarre, Cryptic Sci-Fi Horror Novel is Being Disjointedly Published on Reddit

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The only thing the internet loves more than a protracted shouting match is a creepy, disjointed, paranoia laden could-it-be-true story. From The Rake to Slender Man to Zalgo, Creepypasta culture has ushered in an age of abstract, puzzling storytelling which simply could not have existed without forums or social media. Even by that token though, this latest addition is plumbing new depths.

A few weeks ago, a very odd, intriguing comment appeared on a Reddit thread about the cover of George Orwell's 1984. It talked about the 'MK Ultra' experiments which the CIA conducted in the 50s and 60s. Said experiments involved dosing subjects with various drugs to ascertain their effectiveness for interrogation and torture. LSD is the particular focus of the short passage, and the notion that the CIA actually created new internal departments, dosed unwitting staffers with the drug, and then stood back to see what would happen. People were immediately intrigued.

By the end of the day, another 10 comments had surfaced, on threads ranging from a discussion about accidentally making napalm to an image of a wolf looking horrified. Oddly enough, the only thread to feature multiple passages was an 'RIP Prince' one. They do follow one from the other in some ways, but they don't necessarily need to. If you go on the author's profile, they are displayed in reverse chronological order, but you can also look at them in order of most 'hot' or 'controversial', which completely alters the tone and bearing of the ever-extending narrative.

The subjects of the threads they are posted on are so disparate that you have to wonder if they factor into the story in some way themselves, and if so, how. Some of the passages more or less stand by themselves, whilst others have become breeding grounds for discussion and speculation. In typical Reddit fashion, a dedicated subreddit for further speculation has been set up, directly independently of the OP, and there's even a Wiki.

A timeline of the events is slowly coming together, and a more clear concept of the plot is gradually emerging. The one prevailing thing that seems to resonate between all the different story fragments and otherwise disparate characters is this idea of "flesh interfaces" (the story has been dubbed The Interface), collections of dead bodies clumped together to create inter-dimensional portals. Biological matter goes through, and then comes back out coated in a fleshy film, dosed with high quantities of LSD.

Despite the macabre abstractness of this concept, the author seems like he might be presenting information which he believes to be at least partially based on fact. In a short correspondence with Gizmondo, he claimed that the information was originally presented to him by someone else, but he wouldn't say who. A lot of biblical imagery also appears, which has people wondering about the religious connotations of the story.

All speculation is just that, though, we simply won't know until the mysterious storyteller finishes the tale, and even then, it probably won't be all that clear. Regardless, it's fascinating, both as a way of spinning a yarn and as a study into the way an online community latches on to something.

Callum Davies

Callum is a film school graduate who is now making a name for himself as a journalist and content writer. His vices include flat whites and 90s hip-hop. Follow him @Songbird_Callum

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