Hoisted

Living in a college dorm is problematic for Alex - giant hands at the ends of his legs instead of feet, long canines, and other issues too. He copes well, he has enough coercive skills or 'glamour' to keep people from noticing his differences, but what all the glamour in the world can't hide is a lonely science geek.

At the beginning of his third year in college, he has promised his foster father that he will socialize. He succumbs to social pressure and plays softball with his house mates. One of these guys is an obnoxious English major named Carl, too acerbic, too social and far too handsome. So the story begins.

But sixty years earlier, in a private lab in downtown Chicago, alien explorers make advances in growing humans. They cook up their own "native" replacements made from schematics their Creators left for them. But after years of careful work disaster strikes.

Alex’s and Carl’s fathers, a research scientist and an arms dealer have stumbled on one of these abandoned laboratories. These two men know very little about the equipment and journals they find, but they look promising. Unaware of this background, Alex and Carl start a strange and perilous journey and make impetuous decisions that have dire consequences.