Orphans of Apollo - S1 E8
January 2022
From the ashes of forgotten space dreams, a new era of exploration begins.
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Previously: Larsson met Isaac and his fellow researcher Ling Xue at their lab. He left empty handed again, but with the promise of another meeting.
The waterfront was pleasant enough. The late 1990s had seen a lot of redevelopment. Larsson particularly liked the old flour mill, which had been turned into a modern art museum. It sat just across the water from where he now stood on the north side of the river. He had spent the afternoon exploring this part of the city. This was mainly an attempt to keep his mind off the irritation of a further wait. The Head of Steam was a pub several hundred meters along the waterfront and just up a side-street from where he stood. Larsson had already scoped it out. Now he was just killing time, not wanting to be too early. He glanced at his watch, exactly five thirty. Perfect. He started walking towards the pub.
As Larsson entered, he immediately caught a glimpse of Isaac and Ling sitting together. The pub was railway-themed, with black and white pictures of the glory days of the railways. The exposed brickwork had signs on various walls such as “Platform 1” and “Waiting Room”. It was pleasant enough, and not very busy. Noticing Isaac and Ling already had drinks, he headed to the bar and ordered a beer before joining them.
“I’m sorry to drag you to the other side of town,” said Isaac, as Larsson sat down to join them. “We’re less likely to bump into any acquaintances here.”
“Well, it’s a good job I like exploring new places,” said Larsson with a faint hint of sarcasm. Just enough that he didn’t come across as rude, but enough to convey that he was beginning to think he was being jerked around.
“We’ll get straight to it, shall we? I don’t want to waste any more of your time.”
Larsson took a sip of his beer and grunted.
“I wanted to show you the lab and tell you about some of our research so you can appreciate we are serious. But it is impossible to discuss what we are about to talk about at the university.”
“I understand.”
“I believe Ling and I both share your belief that as a species we should endeavour to become multi-planetary.”
“Yes. Humans are explorers. We always want to know what is around the corner, over the hill or across the ocean,” said Larsson. “Please go on.”
“We also don’t want to go the way of the dinosaurs,” Ling interjected.
“Another excellent reason for becoming multi-planetary.”
“One of the challenges with space exploration is radiation and the damage it does to our DNA,” continued Issac.
“Amongst many, but yes. The shielding required for spacecraft and habitats complicates the design. One possible solution could be—”
“Ling and I believe we can engineer a human embryo to be significantly more resistant to radiation,” blurted out Isaac.
He regained his composure, “by using the Dsup protein from the Tardigrade.”
Larsson paused and took another sip of his drink.
“I was hoping that was where this conversation was going.”
“We have been working on it for several years. There are a lot of similarities with work on age-related conditions.”
Ling continued. “We have been using this as cover for our research. Experiments with some human cells have been very promising, but we are ready to move onto living organisms. Mice first and eventually a human embryo.”
“We can’t do that without raising suspicions. We could probably get away with a small animal trial, but as soon as we get to a human embryo, that is obviously impossible.”
Larsson sat in silence for a moment. “So you need your own research facility where you don’t have to worry about ethical oversight to continue your work.”
“Essentially yes,” said Issac.
“We can continue our work here in the short term, but the longer we do, the more chance there is of someone asking awkward questions. You see, in my country, this would not be a problem. The government pretends to clampdown on so called “unethical research” but they also turn a blind eye where it suits them.”
Larsson sat back, arched his back and took a deep breath in. He gazed out the window. It was turning out to be a nice evening.
This would be risky. He had always known that, but until now, the risk had always been hypothetical. Now, in front of him, was the opportunity he had been waiting for.
“Who else knows about this?” Larsson asked as he continued to look up at the sky.
“Just the two of us. And now you, of course,” said Isaac.
Larsson missed Ling’s brief sideways glance at Isaac. He continued to gaze up at the sky.
“Ok.”
Ling and Isaac smiled at each other. Isaac never had any doubt.
“I want you to understand from the outset, we will do this properly. I will give you all the resources you need to continue your research. We have a small but growing operation in California. I’m calling it the Foundation for the Advancement of Space Settlement. I hope over time to bring together in one place and one organisation the expertise and vision necessary to make the human race multi-planetary.”
Isaac began to speak, but Larsson cut him off.
“Let me make this very clear from the beginning. By the very nature of what we are working towards, this organisation has a public presence. But it also has a more covert side where required. I’m sure you can understand the reasons for this.” They both nodded in agreement. “For that very reason, my organisation has a one-way door. You will be leaving your current lives behind forever.”
They sat in silence for a moment.
“Will we choose the red pill or the blue pill?” said Ling.
“I guess that’s what I’m asking you, but I already know the answer,” he smiled. “Otherwise I wouldn’t have told you so much.”
Isaac and Ling looked at each other.
“We understand,” said Issac
“It would be an honour,” said Ling.
“One other thing. You will be free to conduct your research as you wish without having to worry about academic ethical review boards, but that does not mean there will be no oversight. Your research will be conducted humanely, ethics depend very much on your own point of view. Right now, our point of view does not align with that of society in general, but our time is coming. We must be patient. How long do you think you can continue your research without unnecessary risk of detection?”
“I think we could work productively for a few months at least,” said Isaac.
“Yes, I think so,” said Ling.
“Good. It will take a while to make the necessary arrangements. I will start by getting my staff to organise immigration for you to come to the US. Isaac, you are a British citizen right?”
“Yes.”
“And Ling, Chinese?”
She nodded.
“Ok. That will take longer to arrange, but don’t worry.”
Just then, Ling’s phone, which was on the table in front of her buzzed. She picked it up and read the message. The colour drained from her face.
“What is it?”
She handed the phone to Isaac without saying anything.
“Fuck!”
He passed it to Larsson.
What’s going on Ling? I just walked past your lab. Burn is there with all the big cheeses. They are turning the place upside down!!!
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Well, there it is. Isaac and Ling have finally laid their cards on the table. But the faculty are obviously a lot closer on their heels than they realised. I hope you enjoyed the latest episode and if you’re not already, make sure you’re subscribed to find out what happens next.
In the meantime, this week we finished watching series two of “Foundation”. From what I understand, season three is coming next year, so looking forward to that. While I’ve been watching the series, I noticed the obvious similarities between the name of Christian Larsson’s organisation: Foundation for the Advancement of Space Settlement (FASS) and Hari Seldon’s Foundation. This was totally coincidental. I actually went back through my Scrivener file to see if I could find the other names I had come up with before I settled on FASS, but it looks like I deleted them. I probably should have been more familiar with the Asimov Foundation series back when I came up with the name. Doubtless, I would have chosen something different.
You’ll remember in episode seven, Isaac and Ling showed Larsson some Tardigrades in their lab. Look for a behind-the-scenes episode about these fascinating creatures in a few days. I hope you liked the piece on Lulu and Nana earlier in the week.
Thanks for reading,
Alex
Lulu and Nana
In the latest instalment of “Orphans of Apollo”, Christian Larsson visits the lab where Isaac and Ling have been conducting their clandestine research in genetic engineering. They want to demonstrate what they have achieved with the hope they can work with Larsson. Revealing their work to an outsider comes with some risk, a…
Some really interesting ethical questions coming up now! I’m curious to see where it goes with the China connection. I used to work for the Chinese Academy of Sciences (though not in biological sciences) and have come across researchers from other countries choosing to work in China to avoid the stricter oversight in eg the US. On the other hand, bioethics regulation in China is genuine, and I know many Chinese scientists who take it very seriously. But are there things that happen in the shadows, like the He Jiankui case? It wouldn’t surprise me.
I wouldn’t worry about calling it a Foundation; it’s a common enough name for things for it to not necessarily make readers think of Asimov’s Foundation series.
Thank you for your interest in the serial. Thanks also for your insight into science in China. Other people have also said I should not worry about calling it a Foundation. Sometimes you just have to hear this from people, so thank you.