Orphans of Apollo - S2 Recap
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From the ashes of forgotten space dreams, a new era of exploration begins.
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Orphans of Apollo will return on 18th May 2025 with season 3. It’s been a few weeks, so here is a recap of season 2.
The season opens in March 2020 with Damian Osbourne, who has abandoned his promising PhD in Biomedical Genetics at Newcastle University over moral objections to his colleagues' research. Living with his disappointed parents as the COVID-19 pandemic unfolds, Damian struggles with his decision while his father pressures him to return to medical research, where his skills are desperately needed.
Through Twitter, Damian connects with True Genesis, an organisation opposing human genetic engineering. Their slogan: “The human genome, as it was, forever” resonates with his ethical concerns. While chatting with the group online, Damian reveals he left his research because he feared the genetic techniques they were developing could be misused beyond their intended purpose, though he remains vague about specifics. Meanwhile, his former colleague Isaac tries unsuccessfully to persuade him to return.
By 2024, Damian has taken a dramatic step, moving to Baltimore under a fabricated position at Johns Hopkins arranged by William Ashworth, True Genesis's founder. Ashworth explains his vision to formalise the organisation into a legitimate lobbying group that can influence policy through conventional channels rather than protest. Damian shares Ashworth's concerns about where genetic engineering is heading, particularly after the birth of gene-edited babies Lulu and Nana in China. As Damian settles into Ashworth's home in Roland Park, he contemplates his new path advocating against the very research he once conducted.
Parallel to Damian's story, we witness Everett Winter's small rocket company Astronautix facing catastrophe. At their remote launch site in Scotland's Shetland Islands, their third White Arrow rocket self-destructs shortly after liftoff when two engines malfunction. This failure is financially devastating. Both government and private funding had been contingent on a successful flight. Winter's innovative full-flow staged combustion engines showed promise, but three failures have exhausted investors' patience.
Christian Larsson, a wealthy visionary with controversial views on genetic engineering, sends his executive assistant Sara Jensen to offer Winter financial salvation. Their meeting reveals Larsson's proposition: comprehensive funding to complete White Arrow development and begin work on lunar habitats, in exchange for three conditions. Winter must relocate operations to California, accept Larsson's occasional design input, and keep genetic engineering “on the table” for future discussion.
Initially, Winter flatly refuses, proud of his independence. However, after a night of drinking and consoling with his loyal team, many of whom have agreed to continue working without pay, Winter reconsiders. The following morning, Winter requests another meeting with Larsson, suggesting his dire circumstances may force him to reconsider the partnership.
By 2038, True Genesis has evolved into a significant advocacy organisation. At an outreach event in Washington D.C.'s Lisner Auditorium, Ashworth notices Kevin Valenti, an intense young man captivated by his speech. Their post-event conversation reveals Kevin's motivation. His father committed suicide when Kevin was five, after COVID lockdowns destroyed his Italian restaurant in Brooklyn. Though his father never contracted the virus, Kevin blames genetically engineered pathogens for triggering the pandemic and destroying his family. Moved by Kevin's story and intensity, Ashworth offers him part-time work at True Genesis. However, there's something unsettling about Kevin's unwavering stare.
The season culminates in 2056 with a six-person crew from the Foundation for Advancement in Space Sciences (FASS) embarking on a lunar analogue mission in Antarctica. Led by Commander Lana Meyer, the team includes deputy Pieter Van Der Watt, pilot Aiden Woods, and scientists Brant Adams, Joanna Medley, and Zawadi Mwangi. Their airdrop goes awry when the parachutes fail to detach upon landing. As the lander is dragged across the ice Brant climbs to the roof to cut the lines against Lana's instructions to wait. Though he prevents the lander from tipping over, he falls and breaks his wrist, jeopardising his involvement in the planned expeditions.
At their Antarctic base, designed to simulate a lunar habitat, the crew adapts to accommodate Brant's injury. Aiden designs a special mitten so Brant can still wear a pressure suit and participate in expeditions. Lana struggles with her leadership role, especially when questioned by the assertive Pieter, but finds support in Aiden.
As the crew settles into research routines, with Joanna studying genetically modified plants in the greenhouse, Zawadi shares a stunning theory with Joanna and Brant. She suspects they weren't merely recruited into FASS, they were genetically engineered by the organisation from birth. While this revelation deeply resonates with Joanna, Brant remains skeptical, noting they don't possess extraordinary abilities that would justify such engineering.
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Elseware
Things have been quiet around here for a little too long, but Orphans of Apollo is back. I wish I had more time to spend on my writing, but that is just not realistic right now. Sometimes it can be a stretch just to get one scene edited and ready for Substack each week. It has therefore been nice to have a break for a few months.
Sometimes you can’t see the wood for the trees. As I mentioned in the update I posted a few weeks ago, the draft I am serialising right now was going to be book one in a series, but realistically is more likely to be book zero. Having a few weeks to not have to worry about getting posts out has let me do some research and very loose planning for the future story line. I find that I need time to mull things over in my head. So I’ve jammed some research in there and hopefully in a while some good ideas will come out.
Another thing I have done during the break is put all of the Orphans of Apollo posts together into one ebook, so it is easier to read the story so far. I’ll be publishing this before the first episode of season 3. Although the book is far from complete, seeing something which somewhat resembles a finished book is really cool.
I hope you all have a good week.
Thanks for reading - the future belongs to the optimists.
Alex