Political Application

A tough‑looking “Monk” lives in the shadow of La Guardia, watching planes while moonlighting as a reluctant bodyguard for the brilliant but erratic physicist Allan Benson. Benson is racing against time and politics to crack a new fuel that could launch a torchship to Mars, a breakthrough that would make both the scientific community and the election‑fixing mayor of New York nervous. Meanwhile, the CIA has quietly nudged Monk into the city, hoping his proximity to Benson will keep the project—and its political fallout—under control.

When a mysterious, self‑unfolding package arrives via matter‑transfer technology, Monk’s curiosity is piqued despite the warning to stay at arm’s length. The slick wrapping bursts open into a hulking, oddly familiar creature, hinting at the bizarre consequences of tinkering with physics and power. The story blends slap‑stick humor with a razor‑sharp satire of science, espionage, and the tangled dance between invention and ambition.