As Only Human: BOUND Nears Its Finale, a 2,500-Year-Old Unfinished Myth Resurfaces
The psychological science-fiction audio serial Only Human: BOUND has entered the final stretch of its first season, with the concluding episodes releasing through September 7. Co-produced by Buffalo’s Frank Gullo of the Only Human franchise and Rochester’s Scott Fitzgerald of ROC Vox Recording & Production, the series has spent the summer building toward a confrontation rooted in one of the oldest and most defiant figures in Western myth.
Set in the near future, “BOUND” follows a political prisoner, designated A135X, subjected to systematic memory erasure by a Judiciary AI across a series of interrogation sessions. As his identity fragments, captor and captive are drawn into a struggle over consciousness, loyalty, and what cannot be taken from a person no matter what is done to them.
Beneath the science fiction, “BOUND” is scaffolded on the myth of Prometheus, the figure who stole fire from the gods, gave it to humanity, and was chained to a rock in eternal punishment for it.
“Prometheus never wins, and he never quits,” said Gullo. “Hercules completes his labors. Odysseus gets home. Prometheus endures, because submission was never something he was willing to give. That refusal is the engine underpinning BOUND.”
The choice carries a deliberate structural resonance. The myth was staged in antiquity as a trilogy, attributed to the Greek tragedian Aeschylus, but only the first play, “Prometheus Bound,” survives intact. “Prometheus Unbound” and the third installment vanished from the record for more than two millennia.
“The story has always been open,” said Gullo. “For 2,500 years, Prometheus has been left chained to that rock with no finish. BOUND isn’t a retelling of a closed myth. It’s a continuation of one lost to history.”
“BOUND” carries the spirit of classic sci-fi serials such as “Buck Rogers in the 25th Century,” “Flash Gordon,” and “War of the Worlds,” updated with layered sound design and full-cast performance. Created, written, and produced by Gullo, the series extends the Only Human franchise, which began with his young-adult novella “Only Human” and continues across short fiction, audio, and an evolving story universe. Fitzgerald served as co-producer and sound designer and performs the role of the AI. “Theater of the mind audio production has always been a passion of mine, and it was pure luck and fate that Frank brought me into BOUND, and for that I’m grateful. I’m looking forward to doing more of these,” said Fitzgerald.
“BOUND” is available across all podcast platforms, including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, and Amazon/Audible. New episodes release through September 7.
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