Short and fiery Jade Vitale doesn't want to give up her job as full-time astronaut, in a near future where the human race has begun colonizing the solar system. So when Vitale discovers that she's absorbed too much radiation to continue her job, she happily volunteers for an experimental mission that will never let her return to Earth again. That turns out to be an attempt to genetically alter human DNA to be able to better stand the rigors of space, including scaly skin that embodies its own radiation-eating bacteria; it's just a pleasant side effect that the process also activates long-dormant telepathic abilities in her and her team. Little do any of this team know, though, that Vitale has been in psychic communication with an alien race since childhood, who have been long grooming her for this exact moment, claiming that humanity has already been through this development process in the distant past only to fail the final test for entry into the larger domain. The thrilling adventure that results will be loved by fans of traditional space operas, as well as those who enjoy thought-provoking looks at humanity's past and possible future. Are octopus actually a simpler form of an all-knowing alien race? Is the Bigfoot myth actually stolen glimpses of a competing alien race that's been charged with monitoring the dangerous humans? And most importantly, will Vitale ever find a haircut that goes well with her new lizard skin? Find out all the answers in The Great Experiment, Part 1 of the sweeping saga of Astronaut Vitale, as she ushers the rest of us into the next great step in human evolution