Sympathy for the Devil

Sympathy for the Devil
Season	3
Publication date	July 19, 2022
Writer	Seth MacFarlane
Date	2422
Chronological Order
Previous release	Midnight Blue
Next release	Domino

The Orville: Sympathy for the Devil is a novella of The Orville published by Hyperion Avenue. The episode takes place in the third season between Midnight Blue and Domino. The episode synopsis reads: "When Captain Ed Mercer and the crew of the U.S.S. Orville come face-to-face with one of humanity's most vile ideologies, they must solve the moral conundrum of who to hold accountable for evil deeds real… and imagined."

Sympathy for the Devil was originally written by Seth MacFarlane as the ninth episode of Season 3, who later called it an "outlier" and "a conceptually experimental story." The crew had planned to shoot the episode, going so far as to scout locations in the Czech Republic and Germany, but the script was jettisoned when the Covid-19 pandemic made filming abroad too difficult to manage.

"I gambled with it," MacFarlane later recalled. "Do we withhold it for a Season 4 and shoot it then? ... I decided that just in case that was it for The Orville, then I wanted to release it as a novella." The lost script was picked up by publisher Hyperion Avenue as a tie-in novella and published on July 19, 2022. An audiobook version was released at the same time, read by actor Bruce Boxleitner (Alcuzan). It is 35 pages in length.

Despite the book release of this script, showrunner Seth MacFarlane stated that the script may be brought back for an episode in Season 4.

Plot

Prologue

Despite the efforts of wealthy families like the Vanderbilts to stop its construction with frivolous lawsuits, St. Regis, a 5.5-million-dollar hotel opened on Fifth Avenue in New York City on September 4, 1904. It soon became a popular destination of business travelers and vacationers.

One day in April 1914, a clerk greets the Beechcrofts, a man, woman, son, and daughter, in the hotel lobby. Their check-in is interrupted by a frantic woman who breaks past a bellhop. Everyone notices she is carrying an infant. The woman spots the clerk and pushes the baby across the countertop to force him to accept it. She promises to the baby that she will return, then exits.

Hotel staff hover over the baby in an office room. They decide to give the child to Gunter and Ilse Vogel in Room 1207, a married German couple who had recently lost a baby to typhoid. The Vogels are grateful for the baby boy, and they name him Otto after Gunter's father.

Chapter 1

Seven years later in the front yard of the Vogel's residence in Berlin, Germany, Otto blows out the candles on his birthday cake. Before World War 1, Gunter had been a very successful baker, but post-war hyperinflation had forced them to move to a more modest home and to give up their fancy vacations abroad. Otto receives a red toy airplane from his step-aunt Heidi and step-uncle Karl. Ilse's brother, Carsten, stands glumly against an oak tree, sipping his beer. When Karl remarks that Otto has a bright future in the military, Carsten reacts angrily. He had lost his arm in the war. Carsten drunkenly rants that the Treaty of Versailles lets the United Kingdom and France weaken their country, then he insults Gunter for not having fought in the war. Gunter ignores him.

Ten more years go by. Otto bakes bread with his father. Gunter catches his son sneaking a cake, so he sends Otto to deliver a loaf of bread to Frau Schneider. Otto has no passion for the work of a baker, and he dreams of grander destinies. He takes a longer route through the city to enjoy Berlin's people and shops. He pauses to consider buying some sweets and pulls out some money before stuffing it back in his pocket. Two larger boys who spied his cash rob him, shoving him to the ground and eating the bread. An old clockmaker, Herr Hirschbock, drives the robbers away. The robbers mock Hirschbock as a Jew. Otto feels ashamed that he had been rescued by an elderly Jewish man and leaves without thanking him.

On his way home, Otto sees several Sturmabteilung, or "brown shirters," members of the Nazi party's paramilitary wing. One of the men notices from his lacerations that Otto was just in a fight. He invites Otto to learn how Germany will soon change. Otto enters a beer hall where many brown shirters listen to an orator preach that Germany under Adolf Hitler will rise and destroy the Jews and the Bolsheviks. The crowd chants Seig Heil! with the orator, and Otto joins in.

Chapter 2

Years pass. Hitler is now firmly in power, and Otto, now in his mid-20s, is at a ballroom dance hosted by the Nazi party and attended by not only officers, but the diplomats of many other nationalities as well. Otto had been invited by his friend Heinz Fischer. Both Otto and Heinz are rising stars within then paramilitary organization Schutzstaffel, or the "SS." Otto mentions to Heinz that he is proud of his veteran uncle, but he has not spoken with his father in five years.

Otto sees three young ladies nibbling on food. One of them, Annelise, is particularly beautiful. They are interrupted by General Schmidt. They learn that Schmidt always likes to sneak a few low-ranked officers like Otto into events like these to build loyalty to the SS. The general had noticed Otto admiring one of the women. He asks what Otto would say to a girl like that, and Otto says he would marry her. The general is amused and calls her over. Annelise is his daughter.

Otto attempts to speak with Annelise, but he stammers from nervousness. The general cuts in to say Otto wants to marry her. Otto admits that he does, and she slides a gold ring on his finger.

Chapter 3

Annelise and Otto are wedded in an elegant ceremony at a church. At the reception, Heinz and Ilse tell the newlyweds how beautiful the ceremony was, but an uncomfortable silence lingers in the air after Ilse mentions Gunter refused to attend. Otto calls his father stupid, and Ilse responds coldly that she and Gunter do not believe in war for conquest's sake. Germany has conquered the Rhineland, Czechoslovakia, and Austria, so her statement baffles Heinz and Annelise. Otto answers in similar hostility that soon his parents will have to decide whether they are for Germany or against it.

General Schmidt gifts Annelise and Otto a new house in Herbertstraße. Ilse is unmoved and asks how he acquired a home in such an expensive district. The general divulges that he "motivated" the owner to sell, and she accuses him of using recent laws passed against Jews to force the owner out. She leaves in disgust. The general dances with his daughter, and Annelise blows Otto a kiss.

Chapter 4

Otto, Ritter, and Heller arrive at Hirschbock's home. Otto is now an Untersturmführer in the SS, and Hirschbock had broken a new law prohibiting Jews from owning businesses. He remembers Hirschbock rescuing him from two larger boys long ago, but he now interpreted that moment as an old Jew humiliating and emasculating him.

The three SS force their way inside Hirschbock's store, catching the old man at work on a gold wristwatch. Otto tells Hirschbock that he has ignored three notices to close his business. Hirschbock pleads with Otto, so Ritter and Heller begin smashing and shooting the clocks around the store. Hirschbock charges Heller, but the officer easily knocks him unconscious. They load him into a truck, but Otto's mind is on lunch.

Heinz and Otto drain beers in a smoky pub. Otto interrupts his friend's thoughts on a possible invasion of Poland with news that he and Annelise are having a baby. They listen in on two men speaking in English at a table nearby. While they praise Hitler, they also call Germans "suckers and fools" for buying his "vulgar pageantry." Otto approaches them and politely defends Hitler. The British man attempts to defuse the situation, but the American calls the Nazis a bunch of mobsters. Otto responds that Hitler was only a response to the cruelty of the Treaty of Versailles, and the American shoots back that the treaty was only a response to unwarranted German aggression, then adds that he has witnessed Germans burning synagogues. After a final round of insults leveled at Hitler, Otto gives up and beats him. Otto does not notice a thin, aging man watching from the bar.

Two days later, Otto learns that Germany has signed a pact with the Soviet Union. He wonders what will happen to Germany next.

Chapter 5

Several months later, Otto's Hauptsturmführer summons him to a meeting. Someone had secretly observed Otto and reported his fight with the American. The SS were pleased to see Otto defend Hitler and the Nazi Party, and they have rewarded his loyalty with a new mission of "discretion."

Otto, Annelise, and their new son, Alger Vogel, take a train through the Polish countryside. Germany had recently conquered Poland, and Otto promises Annelise she will be "a queen among peasants."

Chapter 6

Otto shouts orders to a group of Jews who just arrived at his labor camp. He sizes them up with disdain and predicts one or two will be agitators. He orders a Jewish man of about 60 to step forward. Otto asks questions designed to trick him into lying, then pressures him into calling Otto a son of a bitch. Otto cackles with glee when the terrified man speaks the words. "I think we've found our troublemaker!" Otto commands the man to run and, when he turns his back to flee, shoots him in the back of the head. Otto orders the rest of the prisoners to work.

A message arrives from Heinrich Himmler: Two select representatives from the International Committee of the Red Cross will inspect the facility in 10 days as part of Hitler's plan to project a humane treatment of Jews.

Ten days later, Otto goes home to Annelise and Alger and greets the two representatives waiting in the parlor, a man named Ed Mercer and a woman named Kelly Grayson.

Chapter 7

The prisoners had radically changed the labor camp in the last 10 days: Fresh paint; new flower beds; new clothes, and carefully selected healthy prisoners strolled about. Malnourished prisoners were either relocated or killed. Otto guides Ed and Kelly through the facility with pride. He points out that several children had picked up the American sport of baseball. Suddenly, one of the healthy prisoners shouts, "Please! Help us! They're killing us!" Otto and a guard attempt to defuse the situation by writing him off as psychologically unwell. The prisoner strikes the guard and wrests a machine gun free, shooting the guard. Other guards nearly kill the prisoner, but Otto orders them not to fire. Otto intends to convince the prisoner to lay down his gun in a last-ditch effort to show the representatives that he runs a peaceful society, but the prisoner shoots Otto. The bullets pass through Otto's body; other guards shoot and kill the prisoner. Otto is stunned.

Kelly says, "Hold simulation." Everything freezes. Kelly produces a white robe and tells Otto to wear it. Otto believes he has been drugged and asks who they really are. Ed and Kelly end the simulation.

Chapter 8

Ed and Kelly watch Adam Collier look about the Simulator in abject terror and vomit. They feel a tad guilty, like Calivon watching a human in a Zoo. Doctor Claire Finn arrives. Adam presses himself against the wall. Claire tries to sedate him, but Adam motions as if to fight back, so Claire stuns him. Kelly spots a pile of clothes in the corner of the Simulator, swaddling clothes Adam had worn as a baby. Ed, Kelly, and Claire take Adam out of the Simulator past long-abandoned laboratories to an elevator. The elevator takes them to the surface where a shuttle awaits.

Chapter 9

Leonard and Pamela Collier watch their son sleep in Sick Bay. They regret putting Adam in the Simulator, only to grow up into such a hateful young man, yet they also understand that such a life was better than to grow up in a Krill prison with them. Pamela kisses Adam's forehead before she and Leonard follow Ed out of Sick Bay.

Kelly confronts the Colliers: "You knew that null-space-energy research was illegal." They admit they knew, which was why they had built a fortified laboratory underground to evade detection. They believed their research could unlock limitless sources of power. An Environmental Simulator was added to help visualize their experiments, which they also ran for amusement as well. Pamela's favorite program was April 1914 in New York City.

Pamela and her husband recount that one time while running the program, they heard bomb blasts from the planet's surface. They realized they had likely been betrayed to the Krill by their Horbalak supplier, Kiljuk. With no chance to escape and knowing that to reveal Adam's existence to the Krill would be a terrible mistake, Pamela hastily gave Adam to a hotel clerk in the program in the hopes the Simulator would care for him. The Colliers bartered for peace by willingly handing over their data on null-space-energy, and the Krill agreed to take Leonard and Pamela prisoner and not to destroy the facility.

The facility was well hidden and labyrinthine, so the Simulator was never discovered. Yet the Krill spent years trying to discover more about the Collier's work, convinced the couple were hiding "some vital element" to understanding null-space-energy. In reality, the Colliers had not made advances. The Planetary Union believed the family had died, until the Krill returned them as part of a prisoner exchange. Meanwhile, the Computer's adaptive algorithms continued to run the simulation and expanded the program beyond one day in April 1914 to over thirty years. Leonard bitterly surmises that a machine turned their son into a murderer.

Chapter 10

Adam sits in Claire's office. He believes the USS Orville is an elaborate trick and demands to know where his wife and child are. When she calls him 'Adam,' he lashes out that his name is Otto. When she asks him what happened when he was shot by a prisoner, he slowly concludes that he must be dead.

Ed, Kelly, Bortus, Claire, Talla Keyali, John LaMarr, Isaac, Gordon Malloy, and Charly Burke deliberate in Ed's office. The Planetary Union Council declined to order them what to do with the Colliers and has passed authority over them back to the Orville. In Adam's reality, he willingly participated in war crimes and genocide. Charly says that even if Adam were treated, he would still be a dangerous psychopath. Claire answers that he is not; most people can be pushed to kill and succumb to moral weakness. Bortus replies that those who succumb must be held accountable. Most of the staff are undecided whether to punish Adam. When Claire says that Adam should not be shown much of the ship, Gordon says he has an idea.

Chapter 11

Gordon shows Adam old videos from the 1930s of Flash Gordon and rocket ships in space. Gordon broaches the idea that Adam is on a rocket ship as well, then Claire guides him to a window to see space.

Adam studies his surroundings. Wherever he is, it is far beyond Germany's technological capacity. The officers lead him down a corridor to some kind of elevator and then on to a spiral staircase. He entered the Bridge and was greeted by "horrible creatures." He thought Bortus looked like a monstrously deformed human, while Talla resembled a demon.

Leonard and Pamela greet Adam and tell him he is their son. His fear instantly converts into a seething rage. He screams to see Annelise and Alger. Claire softly says they will take him to see his family.

Chapter 12

Adam, Claire, Talla, and two other Security Officers enter the ship's Environmental Simulator. Ed, Kelly, Leonard, and Pamela followed from a discreet distance. The Computer resumes the program from the point where Adam had first greeted Ed and Kelly in the parlor of his home. Annelise holds Alger and smiles. He rushes to hug them but passes through their bodies and falls. He tries caressing their faces, but all he touches is empty air. He falls to his knees in despair.

Ed meanders through the corridors until he reaches his own quarters. He pauses for a moment, surprised to see a Security Officer in front of the door, but remembers he ordered one posted there. He hits the door chime and a voice says, "Come in." Inside are Claire, Leonard, and Pamela. Progress with Adam has been slow, but he is gradually accepting that he is in a future time. Ed enters the bedroom, where Adam stares out at the stars. He asks if Germany still exists, and Ed says that while a cultural area known as "Germany" still exists, it long ago joined a single civilization and ceased to be. Adam next wants to know if Ed works with Jews. Ed responds that cultural identity has blurred too much to answer that. Adam is disgusted, so Ed points out that Adam's worldview was entirely shaped by a computer. In fact, the Computer protected Adam from any real danger or pain. Adam scoffs. Ed punches Adam in the face, and Adam feels pain and tastes blood for the first time. Ed tells Adam that the pain he feels is a mosquito bite compared to what he inflicted on others, then leaves Adam to Leonard and Pamela.

Chapter 13

Alone in the room, Adam decides he has had enough. He feigns an injury and shouts for help. He overpowers a security guard and steals his PM-44. The weapon is familiar enough to use, and he holds an Engineering Officer at gunpoint and demands she take him to the Environmental Simulator. He tries ordering the Computer to take him home, but the Computer cannot make sense of his directions. He eventually realizes he can create any reality and orders a simulation of the Bavarian countryside 10 years after World War 2, with a victorious Germany. He finds himself in a living room in the mid-1950s. Annelise and Alger greet him and they embrace. On a television, a news broadcast shows the White House controlled by Germany. Everything is as Otto needs it to be. Just then, a door to the Orville opens.

Talla shoots Adam, knocking him unconscious. Ed ends the simulation. Talla hauls Adam out the door, and Ed is struck by the tragedy of a child who was warped by a machine into "a mass of hatred and shattered hopes."

Chapter 14

Adam is loaded into a shuttle. He is conscious but unresponsive, his will totally crushed. Leonard and Pamela say goodbye to the crew. Kelly and Ed say that Adam will not face charges for assaulting two Union officers, but he will be placed under guard. His other "crimes," those committed in the Simulator, will not lead to any criminal sanction, but he will undergo psychological deprogramming at the Melbourne Center. The Colliers depart, leaving Ed to ponder the strange tragedy of Leonard and Pamela.

Epilogue

Far in the future in the 26th century, a baker pulls a peach pie out of the oven when a customer enters. The customer orders a loaf of cinnamon bread and comments that he rarely meets people who know how to bake. The baker insists there is a difference between a synthesized bread and the genuine article, as he was taught long ago by his father. The customer then says that he thinks the baker might have met his mother, Claire, long ago. Adam says he remembers her; she helped him through a difficult time in his life. The customer introduces himself as Ty Finn. They shake hands before Ty leaves, then Adam returns to his baking.

Trivia

• Ty Finn is established as "around" 20 years younger than Adam Collier. This means Ty is around 10 years old in the rest of Season 3 and was born in about 2412.
• General Schmidt purchases a house for Annelise Schmidt and Otto Vogel in Herbertstraße. Herbertstraße is a red-light district in Hamburg, Germany where prostitutes dance in the windows of brothels.
• The book's cover art was created by Bill Sienkiewicz.
• Speaking at San Diego Comic Con 2022, Seth MacFarlane stated of the original script for the novella that "We had to shoot it either in Prague, somewhere in Europe, or in Canada—trying to find a location that would suit this story just became impossible." He also stated that theoretically if the series returned for a fourth season that it was something that still could be shot, describing it as an idea "so out-there and so bizarre, you don't want to give it up."
• MacFarlane thanks Brannon Braga, André Bormanis, Jon Cassar, David A. Goodman, Joy Fehily, Alana Kleiman, Tom Costantino, Cherry Chevapravatdumrong, Jason Clark, Howard Griffith, Andre Danylevich, Andrew Nagorski, David Shapiro, Bill Sienkiewicz, Bruce Boxleitner, Jim Jackoway, Karl Austen, Eric Weissley, Anthony Mattero, Marie Ambrosino, Sung Park, Cassy Brewer, Mackie Swoger, Chris Bartholet, Jennifer Kessler, Adam Wilson, Dan Kaufman, Tonya Agurto, Carol Roeder, Jennifer Levesque, the production and audiobook teams at Disney Publishing Group, and the cast and crew of The Orville.
• This is Brandon Fayette's second-favorite script of Season 3, after A Tale of Two Topas.

Timeline

• The events of the novella take place within several time periods. These include a simulated version of the time before and during World War II, as well as briefly a simulated version ten years after. The remainder is set within 2422, as well an epilogue set in the early 26th century.

Mistakes

• The epilogue takes place in the 26th century, where Adam is said to be 95 years old and Ty around 75. This is flatly impossible.
  • Adam was born in 2392 or 2393. He would be 95 in the year 2487 or 2488.
  • Ty is about 10 years old during Season 3, born around the year 2412. He would be about 88 in the year 2500.

Reception

Trek Movie, a Star Trek fan site which also covers The Orville, describes the novella as both an "ambitious morality tale" and "a heck of a story," though the reviewer expressed that they were not sure how the story could have worked as an episode of television. As of July 26, 2022, the title holds a rating of 4.6/5 on Amazon with 117 ratings and 26 reviews.

Cast

Main cast

• Capt. Ed Mercer
• Cmdr. Kelly Grayson
• Lt. Cmdr. Bortus
• Dr. Claire Finn
• Lt. Talla Keyali
• Lt. Cmdr. John LaMarr
• Lt. Gordon Malloy
• Isaac
• Ensign Charly Burke

Special guest cast

• Mr. Beechcroft
• Mrs. Beechcroft
• Gunter Vogel
• Ilse Vogel
• Otto Vogel (Adam Collier)
• Heidi Vogel
• Karl
• Carsten
• Jurgen (mentioned only)
• Hirschbock
• Heinz Fischer
• General Schmidt
• Annelise Vogel (née Schmidt)
• Heller
• Ritter
• William
• The Hauptsturmführer
• Alger Vogel
• Heinrich Himmler
• Olga
• Captain Ed Mercer
• Commander Kelly Grayson
• Doctor Claire Finn
• Leonard Collier
• Pamela Collier
• Lieutenant Alara Kitan (mentioned only)
• Lieutenant Commander Talla Keyali
• Lieutenant Commander Bortus
• Ensign Charly Burke
• Lieutenant Gordon Malloy
• Isaac
• Adolf Hitler (mentioned only)
• Von Ribbentrop (mentioned only)
• Ty Finn

External links

• Sympathy for the Devil from Disney Books
• Sympathy for the Devil on Amazon