 k-pax is the name of the first novel in the k-pax series by gene brewer. the series deals with the experiences on earth of a man named prot (rhymes with "wrote"). it is written in the first person from the point of view of prot's psychiatrist. ==series== * k-pax (1995) * k-pax ii: on a beam of light (2001) * k-pax iii: worlds of prot (2002) * k-pax iv: a new visitor from the constellation lyra (2007) ==synopsis== in 1990, a white male is picked up by the new york police after being found bending over the victim of a mugging at grand central terminal in midtown manhattan. after having responded to the police questions with somewhat strange answers, he is transferred to bellevue hospital for evaluation. although not physically ill, he is found to harbour a strange delusion: that he is from a planet called k-pax in the constellation of lyra. the patient, who calls himself "prot" (intentionally lower-case to reflect the insignificance of an individual life form in the universe), is eventually transferred to the manhattan psychiatric institute (mpi), where he becomes the patient of dr. gene brewer. prot is extremely fond of fruit, which he eats during each session, including banana skins and apple cores. he tells brewer that he is 337 (earth) years old, that he has visited earth often, and that on this visit he has traveled to most of the world's countries for the past 4 years and 9 months. he has a good sense of humor (during their first session, he says, "but don't worry - i'm not going to leap out of your chest," an allusion to the film alien). brewer discovers that prot also possesses arcane information about astronomy, which, later, astronomers become very excited about; prot appears to be a savant. prot also claims to understand most human languages (at least enough to get by) as well as the languages of animals, including whale song, and the apparent gibberish of some of the schizophrenic patients. though prot's dialogue is usually satirical, he turns out to be highly [[sugges
1990s_science_fiction_novels 1995_novels American_novels_adapted_into_films Anarchist_fiction Fictional_extraterrestrial_life_forms Fictional_planets Manhattan_in_fiction Novels_set_in_New_York_City