In the shadowy corners of Portland's neon-lit skyline, Dr. Samuel Rhodes stares down the abyss of human potential. It’s 1985, and the city buzzes with the electric promise of Evelyn Carter’s revolutionary brain enhancement program—an audacious gambit to unlock 80% of the human brain’s dormant power. But when genius collides with hubris, what does humanity really gain?
Samuel, a reclusive neuroscientist haunted by a past marred by violence and regret, is thrust into a high-stakes game where intellectual evolution turns into a perilous quest for control. As he plunges into the murky depths of cognitive enhancement, he uncovers a chilling truth about the very nature of progress and its propensity to magnify the darkest corners of human nature.
Portland, with its gritty charm and undercurrent of racial tension, becomes a battleground for Samuel’s moral and intellectual dilemmas. The program’s promises unravel into a web of psychological torment and societal fracture, each revelation more unsettling than the last.
In a city where technology and humanity clash, Samuel must navigate a labyrinth of ethical ambiguity and personal sacrifice. As the program’s effects spiral out of control, he faces a choice that will redefine his own boundaries and the city’s fragile equilibrium.