Astilla

J L Carey Jr's pop culture conspiracy fiction Astilla is a searching vision of alternate reality in a dystopian future where humans are overrun by seemingly alien beings in an attempt to cull the masses. The ruling order conspires to realize a mass depopulation agenda by engineering a gene stealer or el Chupacabra. But will their plot go too far? While the short story captures Carey's humor it is also a disturbing look into some of the prevailing theories of false alien attack genetically engineered bio-weapons and the elites plan to bring down the world's population for their own selfish ends. Written in the looming shadow of fascism in the U.S. Astilla speaks to a generation bombarded by mass-entertainment relentless technology a barrage of persuasive ads and the hidden in plain sight influence of oligarchical elites.