The Hand of Evolution

The Hand of Evolution: A Sci-Fi Mystery About the Cost of Progress

When two brilliant university professors join forces to unlock the next stage of human potential, they uncover a discovery with the power to transform humanity — or destroy it. As powerful forces close in, determined to seize their breakthrough for darker purposes, their quest for advancement spirals into a fight for survival.

At the same time, a young girl struggles against a life of control and expectations. Different from those around her, she dreams of freedom and a future she can call her own. But when her rebellion draws the attention of a ruthless predator, she’s pulled into a dangerous underworld where survival demands more than strength — it demands that she confront the truth about who she really is.

In The Hand of Evolution, David R. Lewis weaves a gripping sci-fi mystery exploring ambition, identity, and the perilous cost of pushing humanity beyond its limits.

Discover The Hand of Evolution today — a thought-provoking journey where science, ambition, and survival collide.

Excerpt from the book

The darkness pervaded the twilight like an infusion of blueberry tea. The junction to Newbridge appeared ahead in the gloom. Scott parked on the grass verge, Barbers Adagio for strings plays towards its crescendo… the minutes ticked by. It was 9.40 p.m.

Sitting there waiting in his hired BMW, an old car went by, belching blue smoke with its headlight out. He thought about, ‘his life and his teenage years. Having his own rusty old car, on the road but never quite legal.’

After years of secretive work, the culmination, a few hours ago, was the successful birth of Luna Bevan. The baby’s parents had now been used and could be discarded like a piece of packaging. The child was all that mattered. The pungent whiff of petrol hit him as he opened the plastic container. Scott poured the liquid over the dashboard, spilling it on to his trousers in the process.

It was 9.46 p.m. Rain had softened the verge, so it was slippery as he pulled away in silence. He sped up in the all-electric BMW, the violence to come, headlights now on full. Would Fabio follow through? The beauty of the hedgerows raced by as Scott compared them to the drab décor of the prison cell he faced.

No turning back, he increased his speed, his hands clammy on the wheel. His heartbeat was slamming into his chest as he took a slight left onto a narrow straight, just as his research had shown.

At the same time, waiting nearby in Newbridge, was Fabio. For him, this was the end. Fears of prison, drugs, and tortured sex had made sure of that. Soaked in sweat, the celebration of success was over. Scott knew nothing of Fabio’s plan to protect his mother back in Italy. The shame would still be unbearable, and he envied Scott with no family. His mother was his only connection.

Fabio looked up at the full moon, his thumb obscuring its view for a moment. It was so small. The petrol spread from the plastic container onto his seat, imitating sweat. He was ready, 9.46 p.m.

Bright, blinding lights approached in the distance. Stupidly, the container had wedged itself under the accelerator. Fabio panicked, struggling to dislodge it. Suddenly the container broke free, so he threw it out of the window like the rugby player he had once been.

Wonderful thing cruise control. 60mph exactly, within the speed limit to the end. The music screamed to even further heights, Scott smiled as another car appeared from the opposite direction, also with headlights on full. Fabio had followed through, the two vehicles approached each other without braking.

Fabio called to his mother,

“Forgive me.”

Scott saw the stars one last time. Then blackness.

Scott had first met Fabio five years earlier at a gathering of academia in Oxford. He remembered the encounter vividly.

He had preferred walking there in the evening, fewer tourists, all enviously aspiring to be Oxford students. The cobblestone path, approaching Balliol College chapel, had been slippery from an early evening rain shower. The air had felt fresh, ready for new beginnings, just as he had been.

Why had he chosen to go there? The question had plagued him, knowing even then the potential consequences. The debating society had been hosting a serious discussion, rather than the usual shouting matches.