An Uncontrolled Experiment in Human Interaction
Ollie Ashby is sixteen, autistic, closeted, and approximately one minor social interaction away from a full existential shutdown. Forced into volunteering at a rural church fête (which is exactly as fun as it sounds), he expects mild humiliation and maybe a scone-based injury. What he doesn’t expect is Zach: a boy in a red hoodie, reading Game Theory like it’s poetry and handing out custard creams like tiny, edible lifelines.
One shared laugh, one biscuit, and one statistically improbable encounter later, Ollie finds himself spiralling into hope, the dangerous kind. The kind that makes you Google strangers, write letters to Jesus, and imagine alternate futures in second-hand bookshops.
Told through sharp, hilarious, and quietly devastating letters, An Uncontrolled Experiment in Human Interaction is a gay coming-of-age comedy about logic, longing, and what happens when someone briefly makes you forget all the reasons you built a fortress around your heart.
This is a free prequel to the Clay Gay Neurodiverse Comedy Series.
Ollie is the main character in Cancel Culture Can’t Save You Now.