serialized drama series
An underachieving teenager befriends a biology professor who aids him in developing a cure for genetic disease, propelling him into the roles of scientific luminary, defacto politician, religious heretic, international celebrity and potential savior of humankind.
synopsis
When Arjun Darvalic, an unmotivated high school student from rural Michigan, has an unexpected encounter with Alec Smythe, a British biology professor who’s recently begun teaching at a local community college, the pair develops a relationship that leads to the creation of a scientific process with the ability to cure all known diseases.
As he slowly comes to accept his role as inadvertent science prodigy, Arjun must deal with a government agency taking credit for his work, a hit placed on him by displaced pharmaceutical industry executives that leaves him injured, and a courtroom battle designed to damage his character. In the midst of his ordeals, Arjun’s fundamentalist father – repulsed by the role his son’s invention has played in usurping religion – publicly disowns him, forcing Arjun to move in with Alec.
Once his court case is over and his name restored, Arjun finds the world around him transformed, forcing him to quickly evolve from lazy teenager to head of The Institute, a non-profit organization that has more in common with the Vatican and the Mafia than with any existing medical research entity because of the unprecedented role it plays in the world’s affairs.
As he takes his place as the head of The Institute, Arjun must deal with political maneuvering, imposing corporate and religious agendas, and the formation of the cult-like society growing around him. Arjun struggles to define his role while forces both internal and external to The Institute threaten to dethrone him by taking away the one thing that’s remained close to him from the beginning of his ascension to power.
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