Genius is the story of a man who is exposed to an experimental drug that turns him into a genius overnight. At first, he sees this as a solution to his problems, but he soon discovers that being smart can just create much more complicated problems. When he uncovers a series of unlicensed drug trials and similarly extreme results, he decides to take down Caduceus Pharmaceutical, but before he can do any real damage, he is framed for murder and declared insane on the local news.
I'm not sure where this story is going to go from here, but I think its a strong premise and I've had very good responses from people I've told it to. It also seems to be the one that is most personal. It should (hopefully) be the easiest to write.
Below are the leading characters in this story thus far. As usual, any pictures are not literally of them but just a visual aid.
SimonThe hero of our story is Simon, a lab assistant in his early twenties. Before he hit puberty, his mother died of a brain tumor. The experience motivated him to become a doctor, but after receiving his BS, he dropped out of school due to lack of money. He took a job with Caduceus Pharmaceutical as a lab assistant testing new drugs on monkeys. He became increasingly depressed while his girlfriend continued to pursue her own medical degree. She broke up with him recently.
After being exposed to the experimental drug, Simon's hair falls out. The visual connotations of baldness include intellect, weakness, and villainy which all work well as Simon is something of an anti-hero. His new found intellect draws out some of his more difficult character traits including paranoia and arrogance.
AliceAfter Simon is framed as an insane murderer, he is sent to a sanitarium where he meets Alice. Alice is a transvestite who is clearly insane, but very sweet and child-like. She becomes Simon's only friend while he is imprisoned. She isn't particularly smart, but she looks after Simon, so when he escapes, he brings Alice with him.
Alice's clear insanity should provide a good contrast to Simon's claims of being perfectly lucid and rational. Simon is what a hero should be. He is driven, confident, and proactive, but he'll probably never be half as happy as Alice is on her worst day.
PriapusPriapus is the head of Caduceus Pharmaceutical. I can't decide if Priapus is actually his name or just the best I can come up with right now. He is actually based on the Greek mythical figure known for his ridiculously large penis and tendency to fuck his enemies in the ass (literally).
He is, quite simply, a prick. He is pansexual and completely lacking in any sense of morality. Simply put, he wants to fuck everyone over repeatedly, especially those most resistant to it.
I tend to think of him as Lex Luthor if he wanted to make Superman his sex slave. Naturally, he wants to fuck no one quite as much as our hero.
Priapus doesn't really have any "powers" (although if you asked him, he'd say he has the power of his cock). He used to suffer from impotence before testing a precursor to viagra. It worked, but his sex drive is about ten times that of a normal person and he was "gifted" with an obscenely large penis (roughly 12 inches). His desires not only include sex, but power. The drug also increased his ambition, which is why he makes for a perfect CEO. He will not let any opportunities pass him by.
Patrick & MercyOnce Simon goes on the run, he soon realizes that he can't get far on his own so he contracts the services of San Francisco's best detective agency: the lesbian detectives Patrick and Mercy (last names currently unknown).
The concept for these characters grew from a joke about Peppermint Patty and Marcie growing up to become a lesbian couple who also solve crimes.
Patrick is a butch who fought for Special Forces in Iraq. She is the muscle of the pair and she has a "take no shit" attitude. The only thing she loves in the world is Mercy and she will do anything for her.
Mercy is a lifelong geek and wallflower. Before she met Patrick, she spoke so quietly that people rarely heard her. If you met her, you would say she is still shy, plain, and unassuming, but if you had met her before, you would clearly see how much being with Patrick has changed her for the better. Mercy is the brains of the operation. She does the background research and manages the business.
MeccaOriginally sent to find Simon, Mecca was a car thief who went to prison until he volunteered to test an experimental drug. He soon found that he had increased right-brain activity which gave him an innately powerful sense of logic to the degree that he can tell how most machines works just by looking at it. Not only that, but he is a master driver and a perfect shot with his revolver.
Mecca (short for "the Mechanic") worked odd jobs for Caduceus until meeting Simon. He is deeply spiritual, although of no particular faith, and he is starting to question what he has done for the company who got him out of jail.
I don't understand why I'm suddenly seeing Back to the Future everywhere I go. I understand its the 25th anniversary and people love Michael J. Fox because he has Parkinson's. (Let's face it, his popularity has risen dramatically since we found out. I still loved him before.) But, if anything, I would have expected the 30th anniversary to be the big comeback since Marty traveled 30 years into the future in Back to the Future II...
