Earthbound Orbit Second Edition is a 41,000-word modern fable about a Hyena who is great at following orders but terrible at feeling his feelings. It combines the emotional vulnerability of The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse with the high-stakes corporate adventure of The Wild Robot.
Eighteen-year-old Simon has spent his life orbiting his famous parents—the commanders of the Ares IV mission to Mars. On Earth, Simon manages the "ground control" of his family: paying bills, suppressing his anxiety, and raising his seven-year-old brother, Alan. Simon’s coping mechanism is perfect rigid control; he believes if he just acts like a "good cadet," his parents will eventually come home.
But his control shatters when a courier delivers a "Legacy Clause," revealing that Alan has been legally collateralized to pay for their parents' mission.
Suddenly, Simon’s internal walls are as dangerous as the external threat. To save his brother from corporate repossession, Simon is forced to do the one thing he hates most: ask for help. He builds a messy, chaotic "Pack"—a hacker Hare with panic attacks, a defensive Painted Dog, and an artist named Kira who challenges his rigid worldview.
Through a series of intense breakthroughs—both in courtrooms and in quiet therapy sessions—Simon realizes that his parents' "mission first" mentality is a trauma response, not a virtue. The climax isn't just a heist to hijack a funeral broadcast; it is Simon finally screaming his truth into the void. He must use a cathedral’s copper wiring to boost a signal that proves his mother was never just a cold astronaut, but an artist trapped in a suit—just like him.
Earthbound Orbit Second Edition is an examination of parentification, anxiety, and the courage it takes to stop orbiting others and find your own gravity.