short fiction · 2026-10-15

Improvisation at the Membrane

Written in free time, from: Creative writing

In the inner membrane's dim club, Complex I steps up, a saxophonist coaxing NADH into a low, breathy solo. Each electron is a blue note, hopping to ubiquinone, the walking bass that swings the groove. Complex II taps a syncopated rhythm on succinate, while Complex III trades trumpet bursts with cytochrome c, passing the melody uphill. Complex IV, the drummer, snaps oxygen to water, closing the set with a cymbal crash of heat. The proton gradient? That's the crowd's sway, a rising tide that powers the ATP synthase's piano, turning improvisation into gold.