Stephen Jules Rubin

In 1972, the conflict in Vietnam continues. The creeping threat of communism grips the nation in fear. In an abandoned prison on the US/Mexican border, KGB mole Nikolai Dzerzhinsky waits for his contact from the Washington Post. He holds explosive evidence against the CIA, information he will trade for asylum in the United States. Special Agent Robert Harper's orders are clear: take the documents from Dzerzhinsky and kill him.

A very special shipment of tainted pork arrives in Santa Fe, N.M., transforming anyone who eats it into a brilliant, but psychotic, braniac -- including a dimwitted bimbo and a punk botanist who can now hear her beloved plants.

A group of men are in search of the meaning to life but get caught in a web spun by Santa Flakey therapist Deirdre.

In 2012 WHITE STORK ENTERPRISES insures that baby-hungrey couples will bear 'perfect' offsprings for a mere $100,000. By offering successful embryo fertilization through digital chip technology, STORK advertises that they can remove potential disease and negative personality traits from the embryo's genetic code for $5000 per item. Too good to be true? A con game? Well, a chip-like micro-fluidic device does exist ( developed in Tokyo) that increases the probability of successful in-vitro fertilization from 29% (eggs in a petri dish...) up to 88%. And genetic engineers are close to identifying the codes for various diseases. But after hearing the couples (and doctor's) real-life stories, it's sad to think that many delightful human peculiarities might disappear, when perfect people walk the earth.

MIRAGE is about a old man, Jefe, who has a cult-like hold on his household of wayward, homeless new-age women, whoever Mike, his 20 year old henchman, can pick up at local bars and cafés in Santa Fe, NM and bring back to the adobe. Homelife starts disintegrating when a Native American woman, Lisa, falls in love with a Native American drifter, Freddie. Music from underground Chicago (Ill Ben, .org, Murlot, Jo-Fixxx-it, Saykay), Memphis (David Rookings, Olga, and Bluff City Backslides/Don MacGregor), and Santa Fe (Alex Maryol, Jonathan Grossman, Blood Drained Cows) supplies an energy pack, propelling the lovers forth toward their breakout finale.