It's in the Genes
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About this story
In the ruins of a fallen world, humanity sits at the bottom of the food chain. Dragons rule the skies. Trolls stalk the wilderness. Minotaurs reign over shattered kingdoms, and the few humans still alive survive by being small, quick and somewhere else. Jack has just failed at the last part.
Captured by a hungry minotaur, he has one chance to avoid becoming the next meal, and it is not going to be won with a weapon. The minotaur wants to talk first. Its questions are stranger than Jack expects, and the longer the conversation runs, the clearer it becomes that something is hidden underneath them — a truth about this world, and about Jack, that leads to a final revelation neither of them saw coming.
It's in the Genes is an original by John Sunseri, about thirty-one minutes, directed for two voices inside a firelit-ruin sound environment. A survival story that is really a two-person play, and a fantasy that turns, at the end, into something closer to science fiction. The text is on screen as it is spoken. Rated 13+.
The cast
- Narrator
- Jack
- The Minotaur
How this was made
This is a full-cast production, not a single narrator reading a book. Each character has its own voice, the lines are directed for pace and emotion, and the story plays inside a live sound environment — a crackling hearth and a quiet cottage — that shifts as the scenes change. The voices are synthetic (high-quality text-to-speech, directed by people), and the words appear on screen as they are spoken, so you can read along or follow in a second language.
Questions
Is this part of a series?
It stands alone — one prisoner, one minotaur, one conversation. More John Sunseri stories set in this fallen world are on the way.
How much does it cost?
The opening is free to hear right now, no account needed. The full story is $3.99, a one-time purchase with a free account that stays in your library. Several stories on this site are free in full.
Do I need to install anything?
No. Press Play and it opens in your browser. It works on iPhone, iPad, Android and desktop.
Can I read along?
Yes. The text is highlighted word by word as it is spoken, and you can switch the on-screen text to Spanish while listening in English (or the other way round).
Source and rights
"It's in the Genes" © John Sunseri. All rights reserved. Audio production © Nightstand Labs LLC (ImmersivePage). Distributed under license; no part of this work may be reproduced without permission. Cover art created for this edition.
