花与蛇 究极绳调教

　　作家本·米尔斯回到他儿时的故乡——撒冷镇，为他的下一本书寻找灵感，却发现他的家乡正被一个嗜血的吸血鬼掠夺。

民国中后期，官僚腐败，道德滑坡，民生环境日益恶化。亚细亚建筑公司老板王大伟等人为了谋取私利，在工人劳保和保险上违规节省成本，导致工人意外身亡，该工人妻子在王大伟等人打麻将的茶馆进行秘密复仇……

　　The main character is Dr. Max Holst, a successful neurosurgeon. One day an intense little man named Steinmetz shows up, who has the real ability to create objects out of thin air, using only his mind. As no one believes him at first, he is held at a ward for mental patients, but manifests the key to his door and escapes. As he has a special interest in Dr. Holst, Steinmetz subsequently invites Holst to his large mansion, which is full of expensive paintings and sculptures, and proves to him that he can in fact materialise objects. Steinmetz’s abilities are evolving by leaps and bounds, and is progressing from being able to create objects only to being able to create living things. His ultimate ambition is to be able to create a human being. He tells Dr. Holst that if he will only perform a certain brain operation on him, Steinmetz will become able to attain his goal. He’s got all the necessary equipment set up in his basement. Dr. Holst, however, is too spooked by the whole thing to agree to this mad scheme, and refuses. Steinmetz then sets about manipulating Holst’s life, to pressure him into performing the operation. By then Steinmetz has become able to create a temporary human being, and in the hope that he can perhaps make his own creation perform the operation, he manifests a doppelganger of Dr. Holst. This double proceeds to take over Dr. Holst’s life, creating chaos for him professionally and personally. And then Dr. Holst starts fighting back. The ending has the dual virtue of being both unexpected and satisfying.

改编自Frank Shyong撰写的《洛杉矶时报》报道《一个垂死母亲的计划》(A Dying Mother’s Plan)。来自真实事件，被形容为“让人心碎的故事，聚焦理解心理疾病的多层面的重要性，尤其是亚裔社群中”，讲述在圣盖博谷，一个患上癌症绝症的母亲奋力想要帮助自己情绪不稳定的儿子——她发现儿子对大规模枪击案越发沉迷。