Ice story
Brothers Sedgewick and Fletcher move to an ice-covered colony planet where almost the entire population has been genetically modified to have superhuman abilities. Sedgewick, who is not "modded", is branded as an "extro" by his peers. Against his brother's advice, Sedgewick accompanies him to a race across ice floes with other modded youths to catch a glimpse of the massive Frostwhales that breach through the ice to breathe. As they race back to safety, Fletcher seems to injure his leg, forcing Sedgewick to carry him. The brothers barely survive the breach, having been unlucky that the Frostwhales hit the ice one time fewer than they habitually do. They enjoy the view of the Frostwhales breaching, after which Sedgewick realizes Fletcher faked his injury to help his brother gain the others' respect. Cast: Archie Madekwe, Sebastian Croft, Beatriz Godinho, Alexander Lobo Moreno, Miguel Amorim, Mike Bodie, Maria Teresa Creasey Directed by: Robert Valley. Story by: Rich Larson.
15 total · 4 choice · 10 major · 1 minor
| Theme | Level | Motivation |
|---|---|---|
| brother and brother | choice | The brothers Sedgewick and Fletcher had moved to an ice-covered colony planet. The story turns on Sedgewick resenting the fact that, Fletcher, had been technologically enhanced to thrive on the spaceborne snowball whereas he himself had not. |
| speculative personal resilience | choice | The ice-planet colonists were technologically enhanced to be able to withstand the frigid cold with impunity. |
| super speed | choice | At the center of the story was the contrast between Sedgewick and Fletcher: Fletcher had been enhanced by technology that gave him superhuman strength, speed, and other abilities that were hinted at. Sedgewick resented the fact that he had not been similarly improved. |
| super strength | choice | At the center of the story was the contrast between Sedgewick and Fletcher: Fletcher had been enhanced by technology that gave him superhuman strength, speed, and other abilities that were hinted at. Sedgewick resented the fact that he had not been similarly improved. |
| belonging | major | The conclusion of the story is that Fletcher had perpetrated a ruse in order to make his brother out as a hero, which would garner him the respect of their peers. |
| childhood as an outsider | major | Sedgewick, being "unmodded", was to his chagrin an outsider among all the enhanced peers on the new planet, who pejoratively referred to him as an "extro". |
| coping with being eclipsed by a family member | major | Sedgewick resented the fact that his younger brother, Fletcher, had superhuman abilities that he himself did not have. Fletcher also had lots of friends where as Sedgewick was alienated from his peers because he was different. |
| heroism | major | Sedgewick risked his own life in order to save his brother's, or so it seemed: in fact the brother Fletcher was not in any serious danger, but had only feigned to be injured. |
| human enhancement technology | major | At the center of the story was the contrast between Sedgewick and Fletcher: Fletcher had been enhanced by technology that gave him superhuman strength, speed, and other abilities that were hinted at. Sedgewick resented the fact that he had not been similarly improved. |
| human vs. the elements | major | Sedgewick and Fletcher had moved to an ice-covered colony planet. The story took place outside in freezing cold that Fletcher was technologically enhanced to withstand while Sedgewick was not. |