FINALLY, Parasitecology has arrived!  In this episode, our protagonist Javier awakens to a new reality and meets his future best friend, Cher Gandhi Statham under -- let's say, grave -- circumstances.  Memories get explored, various nodules and capillaries get squeezed.  It's like a therapy and yearly health checkup all in one! Parasitecology is a darkly comic SF audiodrama about a suicidal nerd and his alien parasite best friend, which kind of spoils the episode to be honest, but -- come on, everybody knows the first episode is like the sweaty effort I put into the elliptical bike in my basement: all setup.   Please note: While Parasitecology is a comedy, it incorporates the serious and, for us, highly personal topic of mental health, including dealing with anxiety, depression and suicide. If you or a loved one is at risk of self-harm, please: get help and call the National Suicide Prevention Hotline at 1-800-273-8255. Parasitecology was created by Alan Gallauresi and Rob Trevino, who also created Interrupted Tales, a weekly podcast where one of them reads a vintage or pulp story while the other person constantly interrupts.   All of their podcasts can be found at https://ohthehumanity.com. Written and directed by Alan Gallauresi and Rob TrevinoOriginal music by Alan GallauresiNarration by Stacey Frost of Rough Giraffe (https://roughgiraffe.podbean.com/)Role of Javier performed by Rob TrevinoRole of Cher performed by Alan GallauresiRole of Mia performed by Kristen DiMercurio (https://www.fiverr.com/kdimerc). Scriptwriting done in WriterDuet (https://writerduet.com/)Remote recording done in Cast (https://tryca.st/)Foley sounds by Soundsnap (https://www.soundsnap.com/)Sound clip editing done in Audacity (https://www.audacityteam.org/)Music production and scoring done in Ableton Live (https://www.ableton.com/en/live/)Additional Ableton Live instruments by Puremagnetik (https://puremagnetik.com/) and Afro DJ Mac (https://www.afrodjmac.com/)Episode editing and mixing done in Reaper (https://www.reaper.fm/)Hosted by Podbean Podcast art contains elements from artists Alashi and Alexandra Petruk, licensed via iStockPhoto. "Ad" promo sites icons by Freepik from FlatIcon (http://www.flaticon.com/) Additional musical compositions: S01E01: Skyhawk Beach by Blue Wave Theory at Free Music Archive (http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Blue_Wave_Theory/Surf_Music_Month_Challenge/Skyhawk_Beach_fade_in). Licensed under CC BY-SA (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) S01E03: Elevator Ride to Hell (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tpz21UFG0Ko) by Adam Monroe, via credit (http://adammonroemusic.com/#) S01E07: Fighting the Avanc by Darren Curtis at Soundcloud (https://soundcloud.com/desperate-measurez/fighting-the-avanc-arthurian-legend-soundtrack), via credit (https://www.darrencurtismusic.com/) S01E09: Big Plans (Remix) by Kellee Maize at Free Music Archive (http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Kellee_Maize/Aligned_Archetype/20__Kellee_Maize__Big_Plans_Remix__Aligned_Archetype__FrostWirecom). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 Unported (CC BY 3.0) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ S01E09: STFU (Vocal Version) by JAM Studio (https://www.premiumbeat.com/royalty-free-tracks/stfu). Licensed by Premium Beat. S01E10: Fanfare for Space Kevin MacLeod at Incompetech.com (https://incompetech.com/wordpress/2013/04/not-quite-strauss/) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ S01E11: Dun Dun Dun by Simon Lacelle at Freesound (https://freesound.org/people/Simon_Lacelle/sounds/45654/). Licensed via attribution here under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 Unported (CC BY 3.0) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ S01E12: Low-Fi Hero by the Zombie Dandies (http://freemusicarchive.org/music/The_Zombie_Dandies/Lo-Fi_Heroes/The_Zombie_Dandies_-_Lo-Fi_Heroes_-_03_Lo-Fi_Hero). Licensed via attribution here under Creative Commons: By Att