by James Dick
(Photo credit: Sandra Clive)
Learn all about the unique challenges and questions raised by writing a sequel to one’s best work in this enlightening feature by James Dick, whose story “ESRI”—the follow-up to “EDIE” from our Jan/Feb 2023 issue—appears in our [July/August issue, on sale now!]
“ESRI” is the most goddam terrifying story I have ever written.
Writing a sequel to your best work is a bad idea most of the time, but when your best work constitutes a labour of love, a dedication to your female role models, and your professional breakthrough, writing a sequel isn’t just a bad idea, it’s downright idiotic.
The personal stakes involved in this story are such that, in hindsight, I can’t believe I went ahead and did it. If you ask me why I pressed on with this ill-advised endeavour, there’s only one answer I can give.
Curiosity.
Where I Started: “EDIE”
I never told Trevor Quachri this, but his acceptance email for “EDIE” nearly caused a medical emergency at my workplace. I opened my inbox, saw his message, and promptly hyperventilated to the point of fainting. At the time, I worked at a butcher shop, and collapsing around sharp knives and bandsaws . . . well, it all turned out fine, barring a few scathing words from my boss, a woman who prided herself on running the tightest ship in the St. Lawrence Market.
“EDIE,” published in Analog January/February 2023, is the story of the first robotic lander to touch down on Jupiter’s icy moon Europa. The titular lander’s purpose is to look for biosignatures. I based the profile for the mission on a real proposed NASA robot, the Europa Lander, adding a submersible that would penetrate the icy crust and look for organic molecules. Shortly after the submersible begins melting through the crust, it is severed from the lander, and a perfect copy of EDIE is created out of the nearby ice by forces unknown.
The heart and soul of the story is principal investigator Dr. Wendy Sloan’s relationship with her precocious daughter Kate. At the time I wrote “EDIE,” a lot of the scientists and personnel interviewed on NASA livestreams were passionate, ambitious, quirky, loving women, many of whom had children who were a major part of their work lives. I sought to emulate these women in the shaping of Wendy’s character as a tribute to them, but also to the women who helped shape my own character as a writer and as a man.
From a thematic standpoint, femininity fits well in a story about Europa, as water and life are strong feminine symbols, and Europa, being an enclosed ocean, is itself very womblike.
Further inspiration for “EDIE” came from Arthur C. Clarke’s Space Odyssey series, which also featured Europa prominently. Having my first professional sale in the same magazine which Clarke had his (“Loophole,” April 1946) was an enormous personal validation.
“EDIE” was intended to be a one-off, but towards the end of writing it, I started thinking to myself . . . there is more to explore here.
Where I Am: “ESRI”
Sequels are one of the hardest kinds of stories to write. If you’re not careful, you can not only end up with a mediocre story but tarnish the original as well. I was determined not to fall into that trap. I wanted Terminator 2, not Hellraiser II.
I adopted James Cameron’s approach to sequels. According to him, a good sequel does two things:
Expands the scope of the story world.
Delivers what the audience expects, but in a way they don’t expect.
When I first began contemplating a sequel to “EDIE,” I knew right away that I wanted Kate to take over the study of Europa from her mother, and that her mission would entail a sample return much like what is currently being planned for Mars, but that was all I knew. I didn’t have a beginning, an end, or anything that could remotely be considered a plot. Beyond the story itself, dozens of supporting documents needed to be written. I needed to create a timeline for the events in between the stories, collate the latest research on Europa and its relationship to the Jupiter, and develop not one, but four new missions for four separate space agencies. On a more abstract level, I needed new characters, higher emotional stakes, and a conclusion that would satisfy readers yet leave them hungry for more. Most of all, it was important that I didn’t try to answer every question.
Chiefly because I didn’t have answers to give.
I didn’t know where this series was going. I didn’t know what the Europa Life Force was. I didn’t know how many installments I’d need. Like Gromit in The Wrong Trousers, I was frantically laying down track, dodging table legs, chairs, and sideboards, trying to keep the model train carrying me and Wallace from crashing—all while an evil penguin shot at me from across the room.
On a more abstract level, I needed new characters, higher emotional stakes, and a conclusion that would satisfy readers yet leave them hungry for more. Most of all, it was important that I didn’t try to answer every question.
There were many false starts, many wrong turns, many times when I wondered if it wouldn’t be better to scrap the budding Europa series and leave “EDIE” to stand alone. But every time I considered doing that, something would happen to put Europa back in my mind: NASA would release a new photograph of the icy moon; a paper would be published on suspected organic molecules found in Europa’s crust; a milestone in Europa Clipper’s development would be announced. I couldn’t escape it. I’m glad I didn’t.
Especially in light of recent world events.
Where I’m Going: The Final Story
When the July/August 2025 issue of Analog runs, it will have been almost a full year since Trevor accepted “ESRI” for publication, almost three years since he accepted “EDIE,” and ten years since I first read Clarke’s Space Odyssey series. It’s strange to think this journey has occupied a third of the time I’ve lived on this Earth.
I knew when Trevor accepted “ESRI” that I had to go back to Europa a third and final time, but I made myself wait until I could answer three questions: Where is this series going? What is the Europa Life Force? What do I want my readers to take away from these stories? I can answer those questions now, and so I can finally begin the last installment of the Europa series.
It’s good timing.
When I wrote “EDIE,” the launch of NASA’s flagship mission to survey Europa, Europa Clipper, was still two years away. Two months after “ESRI” was accepted, Clipper took flight. The spacecraft is now seven months into its six-year cruise, and I find myself in the awkward position of racing against the clock to deliver a finale to a series that I never expected to write. I don’t know what discoveries Clipper will make, but I’m certain they will challenge something I depicted in my stories.
If this were the only turn the world had taken, I would’ve been overjoyed; every sci-fi writer wants to see reality catch up to their dreams.
But in November 2024, the United States chose Donald Trump as its leader for a second time, and democracy took a blow the likes of which hasn’t been seen since the Second World War. My country, Canada, was dragged into a trade war with the States and has had repeated threats of annexation made upon it by the White House. In the U.S., minorities are under fire, the rights of women are being eroded, and NASA is being defunded. Fear is spreading like a virus.
This is not the future I imagined when I wrote “EDIE” and “ESRI.”
I’ve asked myself, “Should the final Europa story comment on these dark times in some way? Should evil be represented in these pages as goodness has been represented? Should I give fear a voice as I’ve given curiosity a voice?”
I’ve often heard science fiction described as a mirror that reflects who we are. If that it is true, it must reflect the good as well as the bad. In times like these, it’s easy to forget that there is goodness in the human race, but it’s there, and stories like “EDIE” and “ESRI” remind us of that. When I wrote “EDIE,” I wrote it joyfully, optimistically, and in the certain knowledge that someday, somehow, it would come true. Science fiction isn’t just a mirror of who we are, but a mirror of the people we want to be.
I make the following promises to my readers: in the final Europa story, women will take centre stage, minorities will be represented, cooperation will be the order of the day, goodness will triumph over evil, and curiosity will be the last word.
See you around the Galilean moons!
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