The Happiness Variant

The Happiness Variant

From Original Science Fiction - Makeshift Stories by Vern Hume

March 2, 2026 · 36 min · Episode 319

About this episode

Hana Grabowski, a genetic engineer, faces a crisis when a gene-mod business contract leads to a pandemic of happiness.

Hana Grabowski, a genetic engineer with a failing gene-mod business, takes a secretive contract to restore humanity’s appetite for impulsive behaviour. When her staff threatens to revolt, she uses a variant to alter their attitude. However, the mosquitoes she uses to infect them escape, unleashing a fast-spreading contagion that rewires human reward centers. The world slips into a pandemic of happiness, and no one cares except Hana. CONNECT WITH US makeshiftstories@gmail.com SHARE THE PODCAST If you liked this episode, tell your friends to head over to Apple Podcasts and subscribe . CREDITS Written by Vern Hume (AKA Alan V Hare). Read by Cathleen Connelly. Opening and closing were composed and created by Matthew Erdmann. Produced by Vecada Studios. Makeshift Stories is released under a creative commons non-commercial attribution, no derivative license.

People in this episode

Host: Vern Hume

Guest: Cathleen Connelly

Topics covered

  • genetic engineering
  • pandemic
  • human behavior
  • impulsivity
  • happiness
  • science fiction

Keywords

  • genetic engineer
  • happiness variant
  • impulsive behavior
  • contagion
  • reward centers
  • gene-mod business

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Vecada Studios

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