The Adam experiment: A novel

by Geoffrey S. Simmons

Cortney is having a baby. Deep in space on an orbiting laboratory, she is both scientist and mother in a dramatic experiment that turns into nine months of terror when the Alien arrives. It waits. A starblind horror, studying, dissecting and discarding humans in a hideous experiment of its own, preparing to possess what it came to the first human child conceived and born in space!

Genres: Horror, Science Fiction

199 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1978

Reviews

[Kenneth McKinley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Scientists travel to Skylab V, an orbiting space station with nearly 3000 crew members on board, to perform various medical experiments to test man’s feasibility of surviving in space as a species. Meanwhile, a signal from an old satellite launched in the early 1970s, Pioneer X, reaches earth, showing something has opened the satellite in deep space. NASA officials find this hard to believe, but then five Americans are abducted and returned to earth with evidence of medical procedures performed on them.

The three scientists arrive to Skylab and set up their experiments — Dr Olmscheid studies the effects of weightlessness on pregnancy in monkeys, Dr Gregor looks to perfect his success on cryosuspension, and Dr Baumeister researches surgical techniques on dogs. After a freak accident occurs with an asteroid, many of the experiments are now impossible to conduct. In a desperate attempt to salvage the mission, the doctors decide to impregnate their willing female assistant, Cortney, and study the effects in place of the dead monkeys. During her pregnancy, an alien ship arrives and things start going haywire as the UFO lurks outside the space lab.

The ambiguity of The Adam Experiment is what works here. So many questions with no answers. Why are the aliens here? Are they peaceful? Why won’t they show themselves or communicate with the space lab? A sense of eerie dread overtakes the story, and that’s the horror — the unknown. The Adam Experiment is definitely a slow burn, but I enjoyed the storytelling. The characters were interesting, causing me to become invested in their plight. I found it a solid read with a writing style easily digested.

4 Floating Pints of Blood out of 5

[Sol · Rating 1 out of 5]

Summary:

Taking place in the near future of 1991, the story follows two separate but converging threads. The first begins when a signal is received from the spacecraft Pioneer X (an extrasolar craft bearing a famous plaque depicting two humans, and recordings of sounds from Earth). This signal is discovered to be a signal that the craft has been opened, rather than destroyed. Space program officials are reluctant to take this as evidence of extraterrestrial activity, but step up monitoring in the direction of Alpha Centauri (Pioneer's direction), and broadcast peaceful radio signals. All signals end up reflected by unknown means, but the question remains open. Eventually, five Americans are abducted by UFOs and then dumped back on Earth, bearing evidence of surgical investigation and extreme mental trauma. UFO rumours become rampant across the U.S.

The second and primary plotline follows medical experiments on a large (3000 crewmembers) Earth orbit space station, Skylab V. In this 1991, a previous Skylab's solar power experiments provided the means to solve the American energy crisis, and as a result space travel enjoys high levels of government support and vast resources. Skylab V is nearly self-sufficient, with hydroponic plants providing foot and gas exchange, and vast tanks of shrimp cleaning the ship's water of impurities and feeding the crew. The station has two sections, a large rotating section providing artificial gravity where the crew lives, and a large central hub connected by elevators with no gravity where experiments are performed.

Arriving at Skylab V some months after the Pioneer signal is received are three doctors and their assistants. Each of the three are researching the feasibility of medical techniques in zero gravity. Baumeister, inventor of an artificial heart is researching surgery on dogs, Olmscheid, inventor of a Gattaca-esque genetic counselling scheme, pregnancy in monkeys, and Gregor, inventor of cryosuspension, testing its safety. John, Cortney and two unnamed pairs of twins are research assistants, respectively.

John finds Cortney attractive, but receives an icy reception from her. Baumeister and Olmscheid's experiments encounter practical difficulties, but Gregor's works without a hitch as he freezes one of each pair of twins. After a solution is found to the monkey experiment and a pregnancy occurs, a large asteroid approaches the station seemingly out of nowhere, and is barely deflected by a defensive laser. Debris from the asteroid strikes the station and the dogs and monkeys are killed. Olmscheid is prepared to leave, but Baumeister convinces him and Cortney to stay and continue their experiment, with Cortney as the subject. Reluctantly accepting, John is selected as the father. John and Cortney conceive a child, growing closer to each other. The commander of Spacelab V is informed of the UFOs, which have begun observing it. Soon after the pregnancy is confirmed, Gregor's machines fail and the subjects must be unfrozen. Gregor's experiment ends and he leaves the station. Shuttle flights to the station begin having unexplainable mechanical problems, stranding the crew.

As the pregnancy progresses normally, a crewmember named Meyers arrives in a trance, making religious objections to the pregnancy, and attacks Cortney. He escapes and returns to his bunk, appearing to have no knowledge of what he has done. A large UFO approaches the station and deposits a small object on it, which proves to be the Pioneer X craft, seemingly undamaged, except for the plaque, which has a hole drilled through the abdomen of the woman. Its memory wiped, the commanders of the station interpret this as a command to abort the fetus, but refuse on moral grounds (Cortney has become attached to her child) and the vagueness of the conclusion. In the eighth month of pregnancy, Meyer escapes and attempts to kill Cortney, but stabs John instead, who barely survives with emergency surgery.

The commander of Spacelab V is ordered by his superiors on Earth to send a peaceful emissary to the UFO observing the station, and volunteers himself. The UFO changes colours as he approaches, until at a close distance he determines that it is a large (miles across) furry living being, with eyes and metal implants around its neck. Approaching too close, the UFO grabs his craft, and the station fires its laser, causing the UFO to shake the station vigorously, severely damaging it. The crew begin threatening the commander to abort the pregnancy, but he refuses. Cortney is nearly in a state of toxemia, and after an emergency caesarean, the infant is declared dead several hours after birth. The UFOs observing the station leave as soon as they hear the news.

Returning to Earth, Cortney is stunned when Olmscheid tells her that her child isn't yet dead, but had been cryogenically frozen using Gregor's machines near the ships power turbines, preventing the UFOs from overhearing the operation, and that he is being rushed to the NICU. He survives, Cortney and John are thrilled, and plan to raise the child secretly on a farm. However, the child, unknown to the parents, has begun echoing speech as the UFOs had, and echoes from space occur as well.

The final page declares "To be continued...", but there is no sequel.


Another case of misleading advertising. The front and back covers would have you believe this is a horror novel about a cursed baby, but it's nothing of the sort. It's more of a medical science fiction story with some extremely minor horror elements. The author is a medical doctor, and there are all kinds of medical details throughout the story. The writing is unembellished (except for a line calling a toilet a "monstrous coprophagic machine", which was the only reason I purchased it), and has a good mixture of dialogue, medical description and other elements. The failure of the story lies in its premise. There is no medical reason in the story why the pregnancy should fail or cause defects, so the intervention of aliens is required to move the plot along. The aliens prove extremely powerful, being able to remotely disable electronic equipment and control the mind of the crewmember Meyers, but they show no communicative ability (only repeating speech made toward them), except in the case of the punctured plaque, which does admittedly have a certain disturbing quality to it, suggesting that they merely choose not to communicate as humans would. The story completely dodges the issue, including why they would be opposed to conception in space and cryosuspension at all, providing no explanation I could discern, even in a vague sense. The Goosebumps-esque cliffhanger and lack of any sequel makes it not worth reading, even if the actual writing is inoffensive and even occasionally entertaining.

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another book that I found in a used bookstore. The premise is interesting: a baby is born in space and a malevolent alien force takes an interest. But the execution wasn’t great. Overall it was entertaining but I wouldn’t recommend unless you’re a hard core science fiction fan.

[Hunter Anson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book. It’s not the best nov ever, but for what it was I thouroughly enjoyed it.

Some speculation regarding the reasoning behind the aliens not wanting the pregnancy, or cryosuspension.
I think they have been listening to humans from far before the whole Space Lab was launched, (perhaps ever since finding the probe with the plaque on it?). And knowing the reasoning behind the experiments involving cryosuspension and out of space procreation - is to travel and explore further into the universe, this potentially discovering their planet!

Just some speculation. Such a shame there was never a sequel.