REVIEW: Project O.R.C.A.-Book 1 The Kari Chronicles – Serena Bishop

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Based on her examination of different neurological procedures, Project O.R.C.A. was the most feasible way to control her telepathy.

Kari’s telepathic abilities have made life challenging for her. At eighteen and a recent university graduate, she’s desperate to leave home and work in neuroscience. Will a position at inCog help her explore where her abilities come from and how to better control them? She doesn’t know.

But she’s going to find out.

A new job, a new life, and a fresh start on a cruise ship turned business park await her. It’s a thrilling time. But little does she know the excitement will not stop until the ship’s owner’s goals are met. Henry, a billionaire with an interest in unusual sciences, has unique plans for her. Neuroscientist by day, telepathic spy by night. It’s not all bad, though; her clandestine work allows her to see more of the world, receive funding for ORCA, and expose the injustices committed by the affluent.

But the more she delves into the thoughts of the super wealthy, the more dangerous her new life becomes. Soon she has to ask herself, is the money for ORCA worth the risk?

“Now the real science begins . . .”

“…if you view us as pawns…,” Project O.R.C.A

Angsty and angry at the world in general—you know, the usual coming of age stuff—Karishima Olopik-Baksi, or Kari, to her friends, is ready to get out and do what she does best: neuroscientific research. But she isn’t independently wealthy. Therefore, she cannot privately fund her studies. Can’t get them publicly funded, either. Nor does she have a job in neuroscience. Not yet. What she has, is frustration. Stifled. Because she has a project that drives her. It’s Project Optogenetic Regulation of Cerebral Arrogance, a.k.a, Project O.R.C.A.

Plus, she’s got a secret. She is a telepath. As we’ve learned in J. Michael Straczynski’s Babylon 5, telepaths need rules, or very bad things can happen. In many ways, “Project O.R.C.A.” reminds me of Babylon 5 but instead of the distant future, on a space station, with telepaths regulated in business ventures, we have the present, a cruise ship, and dysregulation.

So, how does Kari get on the cruise ship? Well, naturally, she interviews for her dream job which, frankly, she has no chance of getting whether she is a genius or not. But she does get the job. Except it’s nowhere near the dream job that she expected. The workspace is on a company owned cruise ship serving as a business park—think the Zocalo on Babylon 5. Her duties require she read client’s thoughts. Next there is industrial espionage and then more! Yes, it has its drawbacks. It has benefits too: good friends, excitement, travel to exotic places and more importantly, the fantastic pay allows her to fund her own Project O.R.C.A. Project O.R.C.A. is, in fact, the manner in which Kari has learned to control her telepathy.

Except things go horribly awry, as they often do in morally grey situations. Kari becomes trapped. With her life and the lives of those dear to her imperiled, a plan for revenge or perhaps more accurately—justice, is all she is left with.

TBH, as I read “Project O.R.C.A,” I kept feeling as if I might be missing something subtextual. That wasn’t it, though. Kari, as it turns out, is the daughter of a couple from the “Dreams,” series that is also penned by Bishop. Although unnecessary—since this book is not in that series—I am sufficiently intrigued (as you will likely be) and want to back track to read them since it appears Kari’s moms too have had dealings with the antagonist in her story.

A 4.5-star review about the cost of telepathy and the abuse of power.