PANDORA 4 BY ILLIMANI FERREIRA

"Well, let’s make a deal then, a real deal this time. I’ll keep being nice to Teddy if you bring me brown chocolate next time. Twice as much as you brought today.”

"I don’t make deals, Dora. Doing the right thing isn’t a deal. I thought you had understood that.” Dora opens a little smirk as she breaks the white chocolate bar in her hand.

"Well, you didn’t think that through very clearly, did you, Adriana?”

Pandora 4 is the eighth of our announced features, a dystopian social-science horror that cleverly considers the future of reproduction. With Short Fiction, we explore the various subgenres of horror in creative and unexpected ways.

The Nature-Nurture conundrum is a staple of the different scientific fields that study human behaviour. Is our attitude toward our peers governed by socialization processes or by neurogenetic predispositions? Is a psychopath a product of society or biology? In Pandora 4, Adriana is determined to not only find an answer to those questions, but to build a bridge between the two extremes of the Nature-Nurture conundrum. Her legacy depends on this - and she can only afford a few attempts at coming up with a solution for the problem at hand. The clock is ticking.

Is our attitude toward our peers governed by socialization processes or by neurogenetic predispositions? Is a psychopath a product of society or biology?

Illimani Ferreira is a writer born in Brazil and is currently living in the United States with an academic background in social sciences and a professional background in social services. His writing can vary from a grimdark noir to the zaniest comedy, but always with a certain dose of bittersweetness. Although Illimani’s Latinx identity doesn’t steer his writing, it does illuminate his perspective. The same applies to the fact that he is a gay man. You can find him on Twitter (@IFSciFi) and contact him through his website (www.IFSciFi.com).

In recent history, Illimani has published a novel, Terminal 3 via Möbius Books, a novelette Trial of the Bull via New Myths as well as several short stories in publications such as Unidentified Funny Objects and Hybrid Fiction.