Foreverlong: A Novella

by Christopher Cosmos

An explosive new science fiction novella set two minutes into the near future.

It's the first day of SIP, the Synthetic Integration Program, at Westphalia High School where sixteen new synthetic teenagers begin their first day of school and are integrated into the human population. When a human boy falls in love with a synthetic girl, the reactions and emotions this events produces in them as well as their family, friends, and community is profound, and after an explosive incident threatens the future of the program as outside political and cultural pressure begins to mount, the very nature of love and humanity is debated and explored, and the eternal question how far do we go to be with and protect the ones that move and change our hearts?

Told in alternating perspectives, Foreverlong is a story that delves into the center of the possibilities of why we're here, what makes us human, and the things worth fighting for, at all costs. For fans of Gattaca and The Giver, this is a profound and intimate exploration of an Amblin and John Hughes vision of American suburbia and the corners of our hearts and souls we've hidden and forgotten, but are being called to find and give in to once more, as we all search for a better and more human way forward.

85 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 7, 2024

About the author

Hello! I'm a screenwriter and bestselling author from the Midwest who grew up in Grand Rapids, MI and attended the University of Michigan.

My second novel, "Young Conquerors," is now available and ready to be added to your shelves! My first novel, "Once We Were Here," a love story set in Greece during WWII, is also out and available anywhere books are found or sold.

For more news and updates please also follow along on Instagram @christophercosmos.

Reviews

[Zach Burger · Rating 5 out of 5]

Throughout this novella, I couldn’t help but draw similarities between Cosmos’ use of prose and the novel, “Never Let Me Go” by Kazou Ishiguro—at least when it came to flow and the budding, romantic explorations of teenage infatuation. The apparent near-future science fiction setting brought to mind the ethics of cloning for organ harvesting in “Never Let Me Go,”while in this case, integrating synthetic humans into the population as blue-collar replacements meant to offset traditional human labor. Cosmos explores concepts of segregation, touches on the idea of what it is to have soul, and what it is to be created (i.e. religion) in a concise, easily digestible story of love at first sight.