Thorne Family Adventures

The Thorne Family Adventures are an anthology of stories set in the increasingly grim world of Dimension Delta Zeta 17-46 and involving at time both Super Force and specifically, Samantha Grey.

Writer's Guide (1964)

The Thorne family exists at the intersection of genius, tragedy, and global conflict. Their isolated life on a secluded Caribbean island is a fragile truce between one family's need for peace and a nation's demand for survival.

Dr. Vivian Thorne: The Defiant Genius (Born 1923)

Dr. Vivian Thorne, bringing snacks out to her famly.

Dr. Vivian Thorne is the NAFR's foremost normal-human mind in Quantum Gravitation and an Apex Researcher (age 41) whose brilliance is critical to the Republic's survival. Her service is driven by a deep, tragic paradox. Born into the elite Boston Brahmin class, her talent quickly placed her in the nation's top academic pipelines, eventually leading to her encounter with "Doctor Philadelphia," the metahuman responsible for approving Apex candidates. While pursuing her Ph.D., she met and fell in love with Damien Thorne (a nuclear chemistry student), though his distraction over her brilliance led him to fail the course.

Her personal life was shattered circa 1962 when Damien, an NAFR Strategic Infrastructure Engineer, was killed in the British atomic attack on Baltimore during the October War. This event created her defining conflict: she hates war with every fiber of her being, but she fears her nation's defeat more, viewing her work developing war-critical technology as a necessary sacrifice to protect her children and the NAFR from future atomic fire. A Maverick Genius with a defiant streak, she actively aims to speak up and offer guiding wisdom to the NAFR's leadership, holding them to task to live up to her nation's high ideals. Since early 1963, she has worked in profound solitude on a Caribbean island, intensely focused on a revolutionary breakthrough, acknowledging that "every discovery has a shadow."

Major Rex Corbin: The Augmented Guardian (Born 1913)

Rex Corbin standing watch over the Thorne Family

Major Rex Corbin (age 51 in 1964) is a symbol of the NAFR's meritocratic military, a hardened, professional soldier whose focus is now directed toward a personal mission. Born in rural Texas, he earned his stripes as a "Mustang" officer via a Battlefield Commission in the South Asian War, rising to Major (O-4). His career was shattered in 1962 during Operation Chimera Block, which ended in catastrophic failure due to the military's disastrous underestimation of Imperial metahuman intervention—a systemic failure that broke his "direct and unwavering" moral code.

While shielding a victim, he sustained a catastrophic arm injury, which was fitted with a sleek, highly integrated Tactical Stabilization and Micro-Dampening Unit. This augmentation restored his function but deemed him unfit for conventional combat. Leaving soul-crushing desk duty, he accepted a secretive offer to "Retire" and join the Shadow Guard. In early 1963, he was assigned as the Protector and Logistical Assistant for Dr. Thorne. His professional duty has evolved into a paternal bond with the children, Caleb and Zara. He is the gatekeeper to Dr. Thorne's solitude and the bulwark against all external threats.

The Thorne Children: Protégé and Witness

The children were forged by the tragedy of the October War, making them resilient co-conspirators in their family's dangerous existence.

Caleb Thorne (The Protégé)

Caleb Throne chasing a lizard on their family island

Caleb is Dr. Thorne's son, born in 1953, forced to mature quickly. He is surprisingly adept at a young age, e.g., assisting Major Corbin during attacks by feeding tactical coordinates as if it were a video game. His motivation is familial love for his mother and sister, and a driving curiosity about the world around him.

Zara Thorne (The Witness)

Zara Thorne, running to keep up with her adoptive brother.

Zara is Caleb's adopted sister, born in 1954 and orphaned in 1962, brought into the family in the aftermath of the October War. She is also a vital part of the team and is the Keeper of Secrets, representing the moral human and empathic core of the narrative.

Stories

The Thorne Family Adventures anthology consists of core stories that directly feature the Thorne family (Dr. Vivian Thorne, Major Rex Corbin, Caleb Thorne, and Zara Thorne) as central protagonists, often in high-stakes adventures inspired by 1960s action cartoons like Jonny Quest. These are set within the dystopian alternate history of Dimension Delta Zeta 17-46. Below is a chronological list of the core stories, followed by a secondary list of related narratives that crossover with or reference the Thorne family, typically through Super Force operatives like Samantha Grey.

Core Anthology Stories

• The Serpent in the Garden (Summer 1964): The Thorne family, isolated on their secluded Caribbean island research station, faces infiltration by British Imperial agents. Samantha Grey and her Super Force team (STG-9) intervene in a daring rescue, marking the family's first encounter with metahuman threats. Themes include paradise disrupted, familial bonds, and the shadows of global espionage.
• Operation Deep Freeze (Winter 1967): Responding to an emergency at the remote Zebra Station in Northeast Greenland, the Thornes join Samantha Grey's teams (STG-4 and STG-9) in a high-Arctic adventure involving catastrophic failures, extreme environments, and battles against surprise threats. Highlights include discovery, disbelief, and intense cold-weather tactics.
• The Symposium (Spring 1968): At a secure NAFR facility in the Appalachians, the Thorne family attends secret briefings on emerging threats. Dr. Thorne advocates for metahuman ethics, forging deeper bonds with Samantha Grey. The story features ethical panels and private revelations.
• Project Liberty Veil (January 1969): The Thornes attend President Armstrong's inauguration and witness Samantha Grey's manumission from her Geas coercion, followed by her commissioning into the Super Force. This culminates in themes of reform, freedom, and the family's role in NAFR's ethical evolution.
• Home for the Holidays: A holiday-themed story involving Samantha Grey with new-found ties to the Thorne family and their isolated life. Themes of found family during wartime.

Related Stories

These narratives are part of the broader Super Force or Samantha Grey canon but feature crossovers, references, or indirect impacts on the Thorne family adventures. They expand the universe and provide context for metahuman interventions.

• Operation Rug-Pull (Autumn 1968, Indications & Warning Phase): Dr. Thorne's revolutionary Deep Radar Mk II technology detects anomalies at the Tehran Quantum Centrifuge Reactor. This sets the stage for broader Super Force operations, with the family providing critical intelligence analysis amid escalating geopolitical tensions.

Series DNA and Wild Cards

Johnny Quest, by Hanna-Barbera Productions, 1963

The core structure and tone of The Thorne Family Adventures are a deliberate homage to the beloved 1960s adventure cartoon Jonny Quest. The series captures the classic dynamic of a brilliant scientist and his family undertaking perilous, globetrotting adventures supported by a capable military protector. Dr. Thorne replaces Dr. Benton Quest as the genius scientist. Major Rex Corbin embodies the steely resolve and guardianship of Race Bannon, with the added layer of a cybernetic past and growing paternal bond. The children, Caleb and Zara, are the adventurous, tactically-adept kids who transform their isolated, high-tech research outpost into an action-adventure backdrop, constantly menaced by global enemies and non-conventional threats.

The ultimate wild card in this environment is the Super Force and its operatives, most notably Samantha Grey. Super Force is the highly secretive, metahuman-led branch of the NAFR war department, whose existence remained classified until well after the series' timeline. Major Corbin's service failure involved metahuman intervention, and the Thornes' highly classified Apex research is a magnet for enemy metahuman and Super Force counter-involvement. Appearances by the volatile Samantha Grey—a powerful metahuman whose missions are often brutal and covert—inject unpredictable, transcendent power into the family's world, creating intense internal conflict for Vivian Thorne, Major Corbin, and Vivian's children.