Pre-Apocalyptic Science Fiction
Date Published: January 15, 2025
Publisher: Manhattan Book Group
The year is 2360. A select group of a half million humans, the only
survivors of global warming and the "Race Wars", are living a
Spartan lifestyle and exhibiting loss of memory and emotions resulting from
mind-altering drugs created by world leaders known as the Orchestrators. The
drugs markedly slowed metabolism and aging, making them ideal for prolonging
the lives of humans requiring long periods of travel in space. Henry Shannon
is being groomed as the next Orchestrator who will lead a mission to
Jupiter, hoping to find an inhabitable moon that can accommodate the humans
remaining on Earth. After discovering that the moons of Jupiter are
uninhabitable, Henry reluctantly agrees to return to Earth, ultimately
bolstered by news that global warming somehow has given way to global
cooling. During the return trip home, his wife is killed when an asteroid
collides with their spaceship. Depressed and increasingly concerned about
survival of the human race, Henry presses on and successfully lands his
group back on Earth, which bears little resemblance to the planet they
remembered. The returning passengers encounter strange new animal species
and are stunned to find that Earth has been repopulated by a group of humans
previously known as Tunnel People because of their subterranean lifestyle.
Their Supreme Leader, Lillian Goodman, a long-time opponent of the
Orchestrators, somehow alters the Tunnel People who now have advanced
technologies, an above-ground life of opulence, and apparent immortality. As
Henry unravels the nefarious means employed by the Supreme Leader to create
this Utopian state, he discovers why these new humans remain desperately
dependent on his passengers for maintaining their immortal status, and must
decide whether to cooperate or resist and face his own mortality.
Interview
Introduce yourself and tell me about what you do.
I am a retired academic physician and remain an Emeritus Professor of Medicine at Case Western Reserve University where I worked for 40 years as a nephrologist. I was Chief of the Division of Nephrology and Hypertension for 24 years and also served as Medical Director of the Kidney Transplant program at University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center. I have authored or edited over 200 medical manuscripts and more than 20 medical books or book chapters. In addition to creative writing, I spend some of my time in retirement doing freelance writing for a medical education company. I am also am an amateur artist, and regularly post some of my paintings and drawings on my website.
Tell me more about your journey as an author, including the writing processes.
I entered the world of creative writing in when I wrote my first novel that was a fiction based on the true story of one of my sons who developed acute leukemia in 1994 at the age of 11. At that time, I told my wife that would write a book about the ordeal if we ever got through it. My son has now survived 31 years! I kept my promise to my wife and published “Racing to Pittsburg” in 2010.
Since then, and prior to publication of my current book (“The Orchestrators”), I have written three novels – all fictional mysteries or thrillers with medical themes. I also have written a short memoir about my wife who died from severe dementia at the age of 64. Synopses ofr all of the works are posted on my website.
Tell me about your Book
The “Orchestrators” is my first attempt at science fiction and was motivated, in part, by my experience taking care of a loved one with dementia and severe memory loss. The book is a true futuristic science fiction, depicting Earth as a doomed planet and providing a background story of human efforts to travel to the moons of Jupiter to find a more inhabitable home. However, the story is embellished by several medical themes: a) the intentional use of drugs that eliminate memory and minimize aging – almost a state of hibernation - that would be perfect for facilitating prolonged space travel for humans; b) the use of these drugs and genetic engineering by world leaders to maintain a human population being preserved for the ultimate “great escape” to Jupiter; c) the influence of artificial intelligence on future human activities; and d) use of cloning to markedly extend human lives.
Message to readers:
Imagine a time in the future when the Earth has been ravaged by global warming and the “Race Wars”. Imagine a time when world leaders use drugs that induce memory loss and minimize aging processes in an effort to maintain a population of humans that will ultimately travel in space to escape from Earth to one of Jupiter’s inhabitable moons. What would happen if the drugs lost their effectiveness during the long journey to Jupiter? “The Orchestrators” depicts this story and its catastrophic outcomes, told from the perspective of Dr. Henry Shannon, who has been groomed to join an elite group of Orchestrators with the specific goal of leading the mission to Jupiter. Will the mission be successful? Will Henry save the world? Can he save mankind? Who will stand in his way and threaten the human race?
About the Author
Donald Hricik is a physician who was born in Ohio, currently living in the
Cleveland area. He is Emeritus Professor of Medicine at Case Western Reserve
University and the former Chief of the Division of Nephrology and
Hypertension at University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center. He has
authored or edited over two hundred medical manuscripts or medical text
books. He has published six novels: Racing to Pittsburgh (2010), Nothing to
Confess (2013), and Escape from Cleveland (2016), Our Great Escape; Part 1:
Dumbers and Part 2: Return to the Tunnel People (2017, 2018), Toxic Affairs
on Hidden Lane (2021), a memoir about his wife - Lynne's Last Christmas: A
Battle with Dementia (2021). All of his books have medical themes. Aside
from writing, Dr. Hricik is a painter (mostly acrylics and oil) and enjoys
cycling, gardening, and occasional attempts at deep sea fishing
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