1 00:00:01,680 --> 00:00:03,240 Speaker 1: Cool Zone Media. 2 00:00:06,640 --> 00:00:11,200 Speaker 2: Book Club book Club book Club book Club. Hello and 3 00:00:11,240 --> 00:00:13,399 Speaker 2: welcome to Cool Zone Media book Club. The only book 4 00:00:13,440 --> 00:00:15,280 Speaker 2: club where you don't have to do the reading is 5 00:00:15,400 --> 00:00:18,040 Speaker 2: I do it for you. I'm your host, Margaret Kiljoy, 6 00:00:18,239 --> 00:00:22,120 Speaker 2: and every week I bring you stories. What kind of stories? Well, 7 00:00:22,160 --> 00:00:25,520 Speaker 2: it depends on what I feel like bringing you or 8 00:00:26,360 --> 00:00:30,680 Speaker 2: you all are my captive audience and I can read 9 00:00:30,720 --> 00:00:34,040 Speaker 2: you anything I want. That's actually not true. I do 10 00:00:34,080 --> 00:00:37,960 Speaker 2: have limits, or I just decide I have good taste, 11 00:00:38,000 --> 00:00:40,559 Speaker 2: and so nothing I want to read you is outside 12 00:00:40,600 --> 00:00:43,320 Speaker 2: those limits. I don't know how it works. I don't 13 00:00:43,360 --> 00:00:46,519 Speaker 2: know how to do my own job, but I do 14 00:00:46,640 --> 00:00:50,879 Speaker 2: know how to keep reading you. Her Medica by Alan Lee. 15 00:00:51,479 --> 00:00:55,240 Speaker 2: That's right. We are on part four on her Medica. 16 00:00:56,000 --> 00:00:57,760 Speaker 2: Well in her Medica, but it's also the name of 17 00:00:57,800 --> 00:00:59,480 Speaker 2: the ship they're on, so it's sort of on her 18 00:00:59,480 --> 00:01:04,000 Speaker 2: Medica too. You ever think about that. Allen Lee is 19 00:01:04,080 --> 00:01:07,679 Speaker 2: the science fiction pen name of Peter Gelderlos, and you 20 00:01:07,720 --> 00:01:12,200 Speaker 2: can check out more of Peter's work by looking him up. 21 00:01:12,400 --> 00:01:14,360 Speaker 2: I don't know. He was written a lot of books, actually, 22 00:01:15,120 --> 00:01:17,959 Speaker 2: and they're pretty interesting, and also has a substack that 23 00:01:17,959 --> 00:01:21,959 Speaker 2: you can check out called surviving Leviathan and yeah, you 24 00:01:22,080 --> 00:01:27,959 Speaker 2: might like it. But her Medica last time on her 25 00:01:27,959 --> 00:01:32,760 Speaker 2: Medica Days lives on a generationship called her Medica. I 26 00:01:32,760 --> 00:01:36,319 Speaker 2: already told you that, eh mh. But things aren't adding up. 27 00:01:36,840 --> 00:01:39,480 Speaker 2: They found a piece of physical newspaper in the wall 28 00:01:39,600 --> 00:01:42,760 Speaker 2: that is inconsistent with the history they've been told, particularly 29 00:01:42,880 --> 00:01:45,960 Speaker 2: around political unrest back on Earth and the details of 30 00:01:46,000 --> 00:01:50,440 Speaker 2: the ARPV, the acute respiratory passenger virus that keeps everyone 31 00:01:50,480 --> 00:01:54,080 Speaker 2: on her Medica in lockdown, and the ship's library can't 32 00:01:54,120 --> 00:01:57,480 Speaker 2: corroborate everything they were looking for because some things like 33 00:01:57,520 --> 00:02:01,800 Speaker 2: ship's schematics are considered classified need to no information. After 34 00:02:01,840 --> 00:02:05,000 Speaker 2: an attack on a different ship the wiki where we 35 00:02:05,120 --> 00:02:08,360 Speaker 2: last left Days, they were taking a walk and witnessed 36 00:02:08,360 --> 00:02:14,000 Speaker 2: one of their neighbors having a mental breakdown. Half an 37 00:02:14,000 --> 00:02:17,720 Speaker 2: hour later, Zimp called Days, washed their face and turned 38 00:02:17,760 --> 00:02:22,680 Speaker 2: on the screen. So how have you been fine? Zimp 39 00:02:22,680 --> 00:02:27,200 Speaker 2: pursed their lips. You sure, Yeah, you know, ups and downs? 40 00:02:28,000 --> 00:02:31,960 Speaker 2: Anything interesting at work? Oh, I've got a patient in medio. 41 00:02:32,320 --> 00:02:35,160 Speaker 2: They told me about plants. That's cool. Have you been 42 00:02:35,160 --> 00:02:38,480 Speaker 2: looking at the plants on your block? I guess no, 43 00:02:38,560 --> 00:02:41,480 Speaker 2: more than usual, But you've been interested in the ship, 44 00:02:41,639 --> 00:02:47,800 Speaker 2: right or the journey. I'm just having doubts. It's normal, 45 00:02:48,000 --> 00:02:53,239 Speaker 2: you know that, right. Yeah, they say that psychologically our 46 00:02:53,280 --> 00:02:56,480 Speaker 2: generation has at the hardest. We never saw ta we 47 00:02:56,600 --> 00:02:59,640 Speaker 2: probably won't see the next home world. We're stuck yearning 48 00:02:59,639 --> 00:03:03,680 Speaker 2: for two places that are completely unknown to us. Yeah, 49 00:03:04,000 --> 00:03:05,880 Speaker 2: so don't be hard on yourself, is what I mean. 50 00:03:06,360 --> 00:03:09,440 Speaker 2: It's okay if you feel down or directionless. The system 51 00:03:09,520 --> 00:03:12,000 Speaker 2: was made to take that into account. Take as many 52 00:03:12,000 --> 00:03:16,560 Speaker 2: personal days as you need. Personal days don't help days 53 00:03:16,560 --> 00:03:20,560 Speaker 2: surprise themselves with the feelings that came up. Zimp blinked, 54 00:03:20,800 --> 00:03:25,120 Speaker 2: afraid they'd said the wrong thing. I mean, it's her medica. 55 00:03:25,440 --> 00:03:30,160 Speaker 2: It doesn't feel right. It feels like nowhere. What do 56 00:03:30,200 --> 00:03:34,040 Speaker 2: you mean, I don't know. I mean Tera, it had 57 00:03:34,080 --> 00:03:38,880 Speaker 2: all this history, all these things happening, most of them terrible. Yeah, 58 00:03:38,880 --> 00:03:41,640 Speaker 2: but here, I can't just spend my life waiting for 59 00:03:41,680 --> 00:03:45,160 Speaker 2: the next block party. There's a lot more than block parties. 60 00:03:45,960 --> 00:03:50,560 Speaker 2: Days shrugged, you're not gaming, are you? I got sick 61 00:03:50,600 --> 00:03:54,160 Speaker 2: of it. There's some really good ones. I don't want 62 00:03:54,160 --> 00:03:56,480 Speaker 2: to hear about it. They cut Zimp off. Look, I'm 63 00:03:56,480 --> 00:04:01,360 Speaker 2: not bored. I just this doesn't feel real. Zimp raised 64 00:04:01,400 --> 00:04:06,640 Speaker 2: an eyebrow. How's that like? Traveling through space leaving the 65 00:04:06,640 --> 00:04:10,080 Speaker 2: Solar System on our way to another star? That's amazing. 66 00:04:10,160 --> 00:04:14,400 Speaker 2: I'd love to be part of that. You are, I 67 00:04:14,400 --> 00:04:19,120 Speaker 2: don't think I am Zimp paused, taken aback? What do 68 00:04:19,160 --> 00:04:23,360 Speaker 2: you mean? None of it feels real? Do you think 69 00:04:23,720 --> 00:04:27,760 Speaker 2: you could explain some more? Days could see that ZIMP 70 00:04:27,880 --> 00:04:30,280 Speaker 2: was troubled by all of this, and they felt bad 71 00:04:30,400 --> 00:04:33,760 Speaker 2: they had gone too far dumping weight on someone else's shoulders. 72 00:04:34,200 --> 00:04:36,840 Speaker 2: No one else could solve their problems for them. They 73 00:04:36,880 --> 00:04:40,479 Speaker 2: tried to fix it. Zimp was a practical person. What 74 00:04:40,680 --> 00:04:42,799 Speaker 2: was a way to describe their feeling that would present 75 00:04:42,920 --> 00:04:45,799 Speaker 2: Zimp with a path towards solving it, a path away 76 00:04:45,839 --> 00:04:49,120 Speaker 2: from the boundless despair? Days? It opened up. It was 77 00:04:49,120 --> 00:04:51,360 Speaker 2: an abyss that Zimp would be compelled to build a 78 00:04:51,400 --> 00:04:56,400 Speaker 2: bridge over. Could never ever stare down into an answer appeared, 79 00:04:56,680 --> 00:05:02,440 Speaker 2: and already the feeling slipped away, digging itself into a territory. Look. 80 00:05:03,080 --> 00:05:05,640 Speaker 2: I never got to take in advanced education. I never 81 00:05:05,680 --> 00:05:07,960 Speaker 2: got into the stuff you and all the others got into. 82 00:05:08,640 --> 00:05:10,719 Speaker 2: I feel like I've never even been able to touch 83 00:05:10,760 --> 00:05:13,880 Speaker 2: her Medica to be part of the ship. Does that 84 00:05:13,920 --> 00:05:18,039 Speaker 2: make sense? I need to ground myself, you know, yeah, 85 00:05:18,160 --> 00:05:21,240 Speaker 2: Zim said, face brightening. So how do you do that? 86 00:05:22,800 --> 00:05:25,040 Speaker 2: I tried to find schematics of her Medica, but they're 87 00:05:25,040 --> 00:05:31,200 Speaker 2: off limits of course, compartmentalization NTK. What do you need 88 00:05:31,200 --> 00:05:34,159 Speaker 2: the schematics for. I don't even know where on the 89 00:05:34,200 --> 00:05:38,159 Speaker 2: ship I am. I've only seen the tiniest part of it. Well, 90 00:05:38,800 --> 00:05:41,240 Speaker 2: I know I've seen more than you, but still I 91 00:05:41,240 --> 00:05:44,200 Speaker 2: haven't even seen two percent of the whole thing. But 92 00:05:44,279 --> 00:05:47,240 Speaker 2: that's the new safety for you. If the ship's population 93 00:05:47,360 --> 00:05:51,839 Speaker 2: has a high interconnectivity, trouble spreads fast. How do we 94 00:05:51,880 --> 00:05:53,719 Speaker 2: even know the ship is as big as they say? 95 00:05:53,920 --> 00:05:57,160 Speaker 2: Days blurted out, how do we know we're even going anywhere? 96 00:05:57,760 --> 00:06:02,200 Speaker 2: Zimp rocked backwards. That's all paranoid. Days set their jaw. 97 00:06:02,760 --> 00:06:05,640 Speaker 2: I'm sorry. I mean, we know her Medica is huge. 98 00:06:05,680 --> 00:06:08,279 Speaker 2: There's millions of people on board. You can talk to 99 00:06:08,320 --> 00:06:11,800 Speaker 2: all of them, get to know them. Days supposed it 100 00:06:11,880 --> 00:06:14,320 Speaker 2: was true, though they had never excelled like the others 101 00:06:14,360 --> 00:06:17,679 Speaker 2: in their cohort and making friends over a screen. In fact, 102 00:06:17,720 --> 00:06:19,920 Speaker 2: the only people they had ever called the only ones 103 00:06:19,960 --> 00:06:24,200 Speaker 2: they would consider friends they had met in person. You 104 00:06:24,240 --> 00:06:27,360 Speaker 2: know what, I have an idea, zimp offered. You say 105 00:06:27,360 --> 00:06:31,039 Speaker 2: you need to feel grounded, days nodded. I can whip 106 00:06:31,120 --> 00:06:37,440 Speaker 2: up just for you a special science experiment. Yeah, what 107 00:06:37,520 --> 00:06:39,520 Speaker 2: would you say if I told you I could give 108 00:06:39,560 --> 00:06:41,520 Speaker 2: you the chance to take a look at her Medica? 109 00:06:42,560 --> 00:06:45,800 Speaker 2: You'd be my hero? Obviously, I can't get you a 110 00:06:45,839 --> 00:06:48,640 Speaker 2: permit to go to an observation window or take a spacewalk, 111 00:06:49,040 --> 00:06:50,800 Speaker 2: but I can let you see the spinning of the 112 00:06:50,839 --> 00:06:54,080 Speaker 2: giant platform we're on right now. Do I get to 113 00:06:54,080 --> 00:06:58,080 Speaker 2: be your student for a day? Even better? My students 114 00:06:58,120 --> 00:07:00,840 Speaker 2: do most of the syllabus through simulations, but you and 115 00:07:00,880 --> 00:07:03,720 Speaker 2: I we can do something hands on. I'm not allowed 116 00:07:03,760 --> 00:07:05,680 Speaker 2: to take materials out of the lab, but I bet 117 00:07:06,600 --> 00:07:08,960 Speaker 2: Zim's head was turning this way and that looking about 118 00:07:08,960 --> 00:07:12,280 Speaker 2: their own module off camera. I can find all the 119 00:07:12,320 --> 00:07:15,920 Speaker 2: supplies I need for a simple experiment. Tell me about it, 120 00:07:16,040 --> 00:07:19,520 Speaker 2: Dace pleaded. You'll have to do some homework to understand 121 00:07:19,520 --> 00:07:23,960 Speaker 2: what you'll see. I promise. So we're on a giant 122 00:07:24,000 --> 00:07:27,400 Speaker 2: platform attached to a ring that's spinning around her Medica's core. 123 00:07:28,080 --> 00:07:31,480 Speaker 2: I know, I know, right, But that's what generates the 124 00:07:31,480 --> 00:07:34,840 Speaker 2: pseudo gravity that keeps us in place. But we can 125 00:07:34,880 --> 00:07:39,560 Speaker 2: detect the coralois force that correlates with our rotation. Okay, 126 00:07:39,920 --> 00:07:43,840 Speaker 2: Day said uncertainly. They understood the principles that Zimp was describing, 127 00:07:43,920 --> 00:07:45,920 Speaker 2: but not how it would allow them to see her Medica. 128 00:07:46,920 --> 00:07:50,680 Speaker 2: Their friend picked up on their skepticism. What that means is, 129 00:07:50,720 --> 00:07:52,800 Speaker 2: if the experiment works, you'll be able to tell which 130 00:07:52,840 --> 00:07:55,560 Speaker 2: way our platform is rotating. You'll be able to look 131 00:07:55,640 --> 00:07:58,800 Speaker 2: up into the sky and visualize the axis of that rotation, 132 00:07:59,560 --> 00:08:02,440 Speaker 2: which in this case is the core of her Medica itself, 133 00:08:02,840 --> 00:08:04,520 Speaker 2: and you'll be able to tell which way we're heading. 134 00:08:05,280 --> 00:08:08,000 Speaker 2: What do you say to that that would be wonderful? 135 00:08:09,360 --> 00:08:12,920 Speaker 2: Zimp looked around again. Well, I need to make sure 136 00:08:12,960 --> 00:08:14,960 Speaker 2: I can design this thing so the result will actually 137 00:08:14,960 --> 00:08:18,480 Speaker 2: be visible to the naked eye. They chuckled. The rings 138 00:08:18,520 --> 00:08:20,920 Speaker 2: have a really low RPM, and I don't want to 139 00:08:20,960 --> 00:08:23,120 Speaker 2: let you down, so I'm going to get to work 140 00:08:23,160 --> 00:08:25,160 Speaker 2: on that. I wonder if I can get my hands 141 00:08:25,160 --> 00:08:27,760 Speaker 2: on some ball bearings, but I'm going to send you 142 00:08:27,800 --> 00:08:30,760 Speaker 2: some materials, a little light reading on inertial forces to 143 00:08:30,760 --> 00:08:33,920 Speaker 2: get you up to speed. Part in the joke, same 144 00:08:33,920 --> 00:08:37,480 Speaker 2: time tomorrow. Days asked, sure, I'll try to have it ready. 145 00:08:38,040 --> 00:08:42,720 Speaker 2: You're such a sweetheart. Nice to see you smile. It's true, 146 00:08:42,840 --> 00:08:46,480 Speaker 2: Days realized as the screen went black they were smiling. 147 00:08:47,840 --> 00:08:51,160 Speaker 2: You know who else will schedule a science experiment to 148 00:08:51,240 --> 00:08:54,920 Speaker 2: reassure all your deepest discomforts and then leave you smiling 149 00:08:55,120 --> 00:08:58,520 Speaker 2: and giddy. Do you know who else loves to see 150 00:08:58,640 --> 00:09:03,880 Speaker 2: you smile? It's the products and services that support this podcast. 151 00:09:04,440 --> 00:09:10,480 Speaker 2: I know you knew that, but I'll tell you anyway, 152 00:09:16,880 --> 00:09:23,840 Speaker 2: and we're back. The next morning, Days doubled their exercise 153 00:09:23,920 --> 00:09:27,160 Speaker 2: routine and then went in to see some patients. The 154 00:09:27,320 --> 00:09:31,600 Speaker 2: air on the block broiled and rippled. Neighbors walked by oblivious. 155 00:09:32,440 --> 00:09:35,199 Speaker 2: At the health center, they saw the botanist and a developer, 156 00:09:35,360 --> 00:09:40,199 Speaker 2: a regular. Their sessions dragged on. Days's mind was elsewhere. 157 00:09:40,640 --> 00:09:45,000 Speaker 2: The patients didn't seem to notice. Back at the module, 158 00:09:45,320 --> 00:09:48,440 Speaker 2: Days down in mre then called up another one ate 159 00:09:48,480 --> 00:09:52,839 Speaker 2: that too, fidgeted Awhile went to the green, sat on 160 00:09:52,880 --> 00:09:56,640 Speaker 2: a bench beneath the colored bunting and tried reading. It 161 00:09:56,679 --> 00:10:00,360 Speaker 2: was an archaic work, full of obsolete pronouns and range 162 00:10:00,400 --> 00:10:03,959 Speaker 2: social relationships. Days had a hard time following conflicts that 163 00:10:04,040 --> 00:10:07,000 Speaker 2: didn't seem to make any sense at all. This one 164 00:10:07,080 --> 00:10:09,240 Speaker 2: was about a person named Edna who spent all their 165 00:10:09,320 --> 00:10:13,280 Speaker 2: days in idleness, first on vacation, now with one lover, 166 00:10:13,600 --> 00:10:17,600 Speaker 2: now with another, but never happy with anything. It described 167 00:10:17,640 --> 00:10:20,400 Speaker 2: a society in which everyone seemed to be perpetually running 168 00:10:20,480 --> 00:10:23,880 Speaker 2: away from one another and at the same time chained together. 169 00:10:25,600 --> 00:10:28,400 Speaker 2: Days put the novel down. The air had become a 170 00:10:28,480 --> 00:10:32,160 Speaker 2: solid thing. What was the conflict in the story? Was 171 00:10:32,280 --> 00:10:35,640 Speaker 2: Edna just a weak, fatuous person that wouldn't make for 172 00:10:35,679 --> 00:10:39,880 Speaker 2: an interesting tale. Amidst the nebulous anxieties the novel plotted, 173 00:10:40,360 --> 00:10:44,959 Speaker 2: Days perceived the outlines of another character, unnamed, invisible yet 174 00:10:45,000 --> 00:10:50,080 Speaker 2: ever present, filling Edna and all the others with dread, oppressive, 175 00:10:50,120 --> 00:10:53,120 Speaker 2: and everywhere, all at once, like the heat that day. 176 00:10:54,960 --> 00:10:57,760 Speaker 2: Were there video cameras at the time this novel was written, 177 00:10:58,559 --> 00:11:01,640 Speaker 2: Days didn't think so. That might explain the fear of 178 00:11:01,679 --> 00:11:04,720 Speaker 2: being seen all the characters seemed to display, but they 179 00:11:04,760 --> 00:11:08,200 Speaker 2: were sure the novel predated video cameras by half a century. 180 00:11:09,000 --> 00:11:13,720 Speaker 2: They lifted the portable again. Intrigued leonce came back into 181 00:11:13,720 --> 00:11:17,320 Speaker 2: the narrative, Days didn't understand that character at all. They 182 00:11:17,320 --> 00:11:20,480 Speaker 2: seemed to have no connection whatsoever with Edna, and yet 183 00:11:20,640 --> 00:11:24,640 Speaker 2: they were bound. Leonce decided where Edna's children should go. 184 00:11:25,160 --> 00:11:27,240 Speaker 2: At one point they spoke with a doctor about what 185 00:11:27,280 --> 00:11:30,679 Speaker 2: should be done with Edna, without Edna even being present. 186 00:11:31,200 --> 00:11:33,240 Speaker 2: But most of the time they were just somewhere else. 187 00:11:33,920 --> 00:11:37,720 Speaker 2: Did Leonce possessed some magical power over Edna? The story 188 00:11:37,760 --> 00:11:40,360 Speaker 2: made no mention of magic, but perhaps they were supposed 189 00:11:40,360 --> 00:11:44,360 Speaker 2: to intuit its existence. Primitive literature was often strange like that. 190 00:11:45,320 --> 00:11:48,680 Speaker 2: The stiffness of the air continued to build. Her Medica 191 00:11:48,760 --> 00:11:52,599 Speaker 2: produced a lot of heat. Surely it could not hold. 192 00:11:53,320 --> 00:11:56,160 Speaker 2: And there it was, the first wisp of movement. It 193 00:11:56,160 --> 00:11:59,480 Speaker 2: would all come falling down. Now already was falling, even 194 00:11:59,480 --> 00:12:03,240 Speaker 2: if no one else else noticed. Now the story was 195 00:12:03,280 --> 00:12:07,679 Speaker 2: getting interesting. Edna was speaking with a musician, a pianist. 196 00:12:08,080 --> 00:12:10,280 Speaker 2: They had a nice relationship, one that made a little 197 00:12:10,280 --> 00:12:12,599 Speaker 2: more sense, And the pianist did not seem to be 198 00:12:12,679 --> 00:12:15,959 Speaker 2: afraid of whomever it was that terrified everyone else so much. 199 00:12:16,600 --> 00:12:20,480 Speaker 2: Another lick of air ruffled Das's hair. An alert popped 200 00:12:20,559 --> 00:12:23,400 Speaker 2: up in the corner of the screen. They tapped on it. 201 00:12:24,120 --> 00:12:29,000 Speaker 2: A PSA Meteorology has fast tracked an atmospheric adjustment for 202 00:12:29,040 --> 00:12:32,880 Speaker 2: this afternoon. The scheduled precipitation event has been upgraded to 203 00:12:32,920 --> 00:12:36,200 Speaker 2: a Class three adjustment. Citizens are advised to remain in 204 00:12:36,200 --> 00:12:41,040 Speaker 2: their modules. Starting at eighteen h Days grinned from ear 205 00:12:41,240 --> 00:12:46,160 Speaker 2: to ear called it. There was still another hour before 206 00:12:46,200 --> 00:12:49,640 Speaker 2: the call was zimp an eternity. They suddenly lost their 207 00:12:49,640 --> 00:12:54,280 Speaker 2: patience with the novel portable. Is there an open slot 208 00:12:54,320 --> 00:12:57,000 Speaker 2: for a jog? It wasn't easy to get a slot 209 00:12:57,000 --> 00:12:59,400 Speaker 2: on short notice, but in this heat it was possible. 210 00:13:00,120 --> 00:13:03,000 Speaker 2: Not many other people were out on the block. There's 211 00:13:03,040 --> 00:13:06,400 Speaker 2: a fifteen minute slot opening up in six minutes. Is 212 00:13:06,440 --> 00:13:10,920 Speaker 2: that acceptable? Book it? Days went back to the module, 213 00:13:11,080 --> 00:13:14,280 Speaker 2: changed into track clothes, and went out the door, keeping 214 00:13:14,280 --> 00:13:16,800 Speaker 2: a good pace. They went around the block the full 215 00:13:16,920 --> 00:13:22,679 Speaker 2: cross ten times four kilometers. The portable beaped in paternal 216 00:13:22,720 --> 00:13:25,880 Speaker 2: consternation a few times. On the last lap, they had 217 00:13:25,880 --> 00:13:28,560 Speaker 2: exceeded their slot, but no one else was showing up 218 00:13:28,559 --> 00:13:31,960 Speaker 2: To run back in their module, they stripped and threw 219 00:13:32,000 --> 00:13:35,120 Speaker 2: the clothes in the chute. The shower extracted and they 220 00:13:35,160 --> 00:13:40,560 Speaker 2: stepped in cold water, making them gasp in exhilaration. Once 221 00:13:40,600 --> 00:13:42,920 Speaker 2: they'd had enough time to get soaked twice over and 222 00:13:42,960 --> 00:13:46,400 Speaker 2: relish the chill just a little longer. The module chimed in, 223 00:13:47,360 --> 00:13:51,920 Speaker 2: Shall I switch to hot now? Right on time? Soon 224 00:13:51,960 --> 00:13:54,520 Speaker 2: the air was steaming, and Days leaned against the tiled 225 00:13:54,559 --> 00:13:58,960 Speaker 2: wall and bliss, Can I get another leader? Just steam? 226 00:13:59,400 --> 00:14:02,839 Speaker 2: You're close to your limit. I'll skip tomorrow. Just give 227 00:14:02,880 --> 00:14:07,520 Speaker 2: me another leader, please. The tight stream of aerated water 228 00:14:07,679 --> 00:14:11,360 Speaker 2: toggled to a focused bath of steam, and Days felt 229 00:14:11,360 --> 00:14:14,880 Speaker 2: time slip away. When it was finally over, they moved 230 00:14:14,920 --> 00:14:18,520 Speaker 2: at an indolent pace, toweling off and leisurely picking new 231 00:14:18,520 --> 00:14:23,400 Speaker 2: clothes as the shower vacked itself and retracted. Just a 232 00:14:23,440 --> 00:14:27,320 Speaker 2: few minutes remained before zimp's call. Days opened the article 233 00:14:27,360 --> 00:14:30,760 Speaker 2: they had sent, scanning through it on their portable. They 234 00:14:30,840 --> 00:14:35,040 Speaker 2: kept the wall screen free black, like infinite potential. The 235 00:14:35,160 --> 00:14:38,000 Speaker 2: article was a useful refresher all things they had studied 236 00:14:38,000 --> 00:14:41,800 Speaker 2: before the aptitudes. The image of the examiner popped into 237 00:14:41,840 --> 00:14:44,280 Speaker 2: their head. The screen at the front of the class, 238 00:14:44,560 --> 00:14:48,040 Speaker 2: the tension of a ticking clock, a diminishing block of time, 239 00:14:48,120 --> 00:14:50,840 Speaker 2: and so many questions too many to answer, all of 240 00:14:50,880 --> 00:14:56,120 Speaker 2: them pointing to the future or closing the way They 241 00:14:56,120 --> 00:14:59,240 Speaker 2: had gotten through half the article, ZIM still hadn't called. 242 00:15:00,280 --> 00:15:06,480 Speaker 2: Looked up at the wall screen, nothing just blackness. Message, ZIMP, 243 00:15:06,880 --> 00:15:10,080 Speaker 2: are we still on experiment giving you problems? Let me 244 00:15:10,160 --> 00:15:13,480 Speaker 2: know if you want to postpone. They went back to 245 00:15:13,520 --> 00:15:18,160 Speaker 2: reading three minutes later, and there was no reply. Call zimp, 246 00:15:19,960 --> 00:15:25,520 Speaker 2: zimp is unavailable, module said, after a short pause. Unavailable 247 00:15:25,800 --> 00:15:29,040 Speaker 2: like out of the module. Without their portable Days could 248 00:15:29,040 --> 00:15:32,360 Speaker 2: imagine no other form of unavailability. One could always turn 249 00:15:32,400 --> 00:15:35,160 Speaker 2: off calls, of course, but that simply routed calls straight 250 00:15:35,200 --> 00:15:40,160 Speaker 2: to message there's a block a block. Days wasn't even 251 00:15:40,200 --> 00:15:44,760 Speaker 2: sure what that meant. Please wait. Now things were downright strange. 252 00:15:45,360 --> 00:15:52,480 Speaker 2: They wished snookums were here module what's please wait? Was 253 00:15:52,560 --> 00:15:56,359 Speaker 2: module frozen? It had never happened before, but it was feasible. 254 00:15:56,880 --> 00:15:59,840 Speaker 2: Maybe a programming upgrade had caused some functions to go off, 255 00:15:59,800 --> 00:16:03,880 Speaker 2: They wondered if that meant they were stuck inside. They 256 00:16:03,880 --> 00:16:06,080 Speaker 2: were just about to go to the door when the 257 00:16:06,120 --> 00:16:10,200 Speaker 2: buzzer rang. Days jumped, and then, because they could find 258 00:16:10,200 --> 00:16:13,200 Speaker 2: no explanation for the feeling of dread that boiled through them, 259 00:16:13,480 --> 00:16:17,200 Speaker 2: they opened the door. A person they had never seen before, 260 00:16:17,280 --> 00:16:21,880 Speaker 2: a bit older, with stern eyes walked in. Hello, Days, 261 00:16:22,200 --> 00:16:25,600 Speaker 2: sorry for intruding like this. I'm emmyl I'm a block rep. 262 00:16:26,120 --> 00:16:29,320 Speaker 2: May I take my mask off? Days made a gesture 263 00:16:29,360 --> 00:16:33,280 Speaker 2: of polite descent. What's going on? Their mouth went dry 264 00:16:33,320 --> 00:16:37,120 Speaker 2: as they spoke. I'm sorry to inform you we've temporarily 265 00:16:37,160 --> 00:16:45,280 Speaker 2: blocked your communications. Oh is that what happened? Why you 266 00:16:45,320 --> 00:16:48,720 Speaker 2: were flagged for circumventing some of the compartmentalization protocols that 267 00:16:48,760 --> 00:16:51,600 Speaker 2: are integral to the new safety I'm sure it was 268 00:16:51,640 --> 00:16:54,120 Speaker 2: an innocent mistake on your part, but I need to 269 00:16:54,120 --> 00:16:57,120 Speaker 2: give you an evaluation just to make sure no further 270 00:16:57,160 --> 00:17:02,960 Speaker 2: procedures are needed. What what did I do? You were 271 00:17:03,000 --> 00:17:06,320 Speaker 2: about to participate in an unauthorized experiment that might have 272 00:17:06,440 --> 00:17:10,560 Speaker 2: enabled the collection of sensitive information about her medica in 273 00:17:10,680 --> 00:17:14,680 Speaker 2: violation of need to know? And do you know who 274 00:17:14,720 --> 00:17:19,040 Speaker 2: else will aid? And a bet? Nope, it's just ads. 275 00:17:19,320 --> 00:17:33,120 Speaker 2: They just show up. Here they are and we're back, 276 00:17:37,400 --> 00:17:44,240 Speaker 2: Oh the corealis thing? Days asked, that's right, Emil replied 277 00:17:44,320 --> 00:17:49,000 Speaker 2: with a patient smile. How is that a violation? I 278 00:17:49,040 --> 00:17:51,919 Speaker 2: know it must seem like an innocent inquiry, something that 279 00:17:51,960 --> 00:17:55,880 Speaker 2: would fall under the hobby Statute, But Unfortunately, only citizens 280 00:17:55,920 --> 00:17:58,520 Speaker 2: working in physics are allowed to take measurements related to 281 00:17:58,560 --> 00:18:02,560 Speaker 2: acceleration or even the axis of rotation for the life platforms. 282 00:18:03,200 --> 00:18:06,680 Speaker 2: You understand why we need to compartmentalize with no exceptions. 283 00:18:07,200 --> 00:18:12,439 Speaker 2: Remember the Wiki? How could days forget the Wiki? The 284 00:18:12,560 --> 00:18:15,640 Speaker 2: history was drilled into the heads of every young cohort 285 00:18:15,680 --> 00:18:19,159 Speaker 2: on the ship. The Wiki was her Medica's sister ship. 286 00:18:19,680 --> 00:18:22,399 Speaker 2: The two had departed at the same time, heading for 287 00:18:22,440 --> 00:18:26,159 Speaker 2: the same cluster of stars with the same objective find 288 00:18:26,240 --> 00:18:29,119 Speaker 2: and colonize a new home world, but they had been 289 00:18:29,119 --> 00:18:32,520 Speaker 2: designed according to radically different models. There had been a 290 00:18:32,560 --> 00:18:35,520 Speaker 2: strong debate in the space program, and in the spirit 291 00:18:35,600 --> 00:18:39,360 Speaker 2: of openness and scientific inquiry, the Terran governments that ran 292 00:18:39,400 --> 00:18:42,720 Speaker 2: the program agreed to let proponents of the two top 293 00:18:42,760 --> 00:18:45,760 Speaker 2: models each have a free hand in designing their ships. 294 00:18:46,720 --> 00:18:50,520 Speaker 2: The Wiki was designed according to a completely open source model, 295 00:18:50,960 --> 00:18:54,440 Speaker 2: with every passenger given full access to all the information 296 00:18:54,880 --> 00:18:58,679 Speaker 2: and permission to rewrite code and tweak design. It was 297 00:18:58,720 --> 00:19:02,440 Speaker 2: billed as a constantly self correcting work in progress that 298 00:19:02,560 --> 00:19:07,400 Speaker 2: made maximum usage of the full intellectual resources of the passengers, 299 00:19:09,200 --> 00:19:11,720 Speaker 2: and it worked well for the first few years, with 300 00:19:11,840 --> 00:19:15,399 Speaker 2: Wiki passengers developing a number of propulsion and life support 301 00:19:15,440 --> 00:19:19,520 Speaker 2: innovations that her Medica quickly adopted. But as the two 302 00:19:19,520 --> 00:19:25,160 Speaker 2: ships approached Pluto's orbit, communication cut out. One final transmission 303 00:19:25,200 --> 00:19:28,480 Speaker 2: warned of an attempted takeover, with reports of fighting on 304 00:19:28,520 --> 00:19:33,040 Speaker 2: the wiki, and then the entire ship exploded. No one 305 00:19:33,080 --> 00:19:35,880 Speaker 2: would ever know who the saboteurs were, if they were 306 00:19:36,080 --> 00:19:39,080 Speaker 2: terrorists or engineers of cabin fever, if there had been 307 00:19:39,080 --> 00:19:42,200 Speaker 2: a power struggle between different factions trying to impose their 308 00:19:42,240 --> 00:19:45,880 Speaker 2: design for the ship. All they knew was the mantra 309 00:19:46,440 --> 00:19:50,320 Speaker 2: repeated in classrooms across her Medica. After the sociopsyches ran 310 00:19:50,359 --> 00:19:55,119 Speaker 2: it through their simulations and confirmed the systemic flaw. Open 311 00:19:55,160 --> 00:19:59,560 Speaker 2: source systems are vulnerable to sabotage by disciplined and determined parties. 312 00:20:00,160 --> 00:20:04,639 Speaker 2: Centralization and compartmentalization are the best way to prevent anarchic 313 00:20:04,760 --> 00:20:11,600 Speaker 2: power struggles. So Days asked, we can't do our Corealis experiment. 314 00:20:12,400 --> 00:20:16,200 Speaker 2: I'm afraid not, and Days, I need you to tell 315 00:20:16,200 --> 00:20:21,040 Speaker 2: me what's going on. What do you mean their palms 316 00:20:21,040 --> 00:20:25,399 Speaker 2: got clammy, your line of questioning, your reasoning for wanting 317 00:20:25,440 --> 00:20:29,080 Speaker 2: to do the experiment. The recommendation is for a psych 318 00:20:29,160 --> 00:20:32,639 Speaker 2: evaluation and you were already flagged the day before for 319 00:20:32,720 --> 00:20:36,399 Speaker 2: damage to your module. They knew about the wall panel. 320 00:20:36,920 --> 00:20:39,600 Speaker 2: Of course they knew, So do they already know what 321 00:20:39,640 --> 00:20:42,160 Speaker 2: they had discovered? If they did, hiding it would only 322 00:20:42,160 --> 00:20:45,640 Speaker 2: make things worse. Days went to get the strange sheet. 323 00:20:46,720 --> 00:20:50,800 Speaker 2: I found this in the wall. The rep pursed their 324 00:20:50,840 --> 00:20:54,360 Speaker 2: lips as they gripped the sheet fingers like tweezers. Their 325 00:20:54,359 --> 00:20:57,480 Speaker 2: look darkened as they scanned the contents of the two articles. 326 00:20:58,760 --> 00:21:03,120 Speaker 2: And I imagine you're quite confused. I am. It talks 327 00:21:03,119 --> 00:21:06,080 Speaker 2: about things that don't make sense, things that don't add up, 328 00:21:07,240 --> 00:21:10,520 Speaker 2: and that's why you wanted to do an experiment. Well, 329 00:21:10,560 --> 00:21:13,560 Speaker 2: the experiment was z IMP's idea. They don't know anything about 330 00:21:13,560 --> 00:21:16,159 Speaker 2: the articles they rushed to add. But I was feeling 331 00:21:17,000 --> 00:21:20,280 Speaker 2: estranged reading all those things about Tara. You know, I 332 00:21:20,320 --> 00:21:25,040 Speaker 2: did poorly on the aptitudes. You did well on the aptitudes. 333 00:21:25,040 --> 00:21:28,040 Speaker 2: Emmil interrupted. You simply got tracked to an assignment that 334 00:21:28,080 --> 00:21:32,000 Speaker 2: perhaps you no longer find satisfying. Okay, But what I 335 00:21:32,040 --> 00:21:34,000 Speaker 2: meant to say is I've never gotten to work on 336 00:21:34,040 --> 00:21:36,880 Speaker 2: a system that's an integral part of her medica. Yes, 337 00:21:37,080 --> 00:21:40,679 Speaker 2: I know, Days headed off the next interruption the human 338 00:21:40,760 --> 00:21:44,399 Speaker 2: passengers are the most integral system of all, and palliative 339 00:21:44,440 --> 00:21:47,560 Speaker 2: therapy is a vital part of the whole Days recited 340 00:21:47,560 --> 00:21:53,080 Speaker 2: the PSA's dryly. But her Medica, it feels unreal for me. 341 00:21:54,720 --> 00:21:57,119 Speaker 2: The rep did not look pleased with that answer. And 342 00:21:57,160 --> 00:22:01,080 Speaker 2: why did the sheet exacerbate that feeling? It talks about 343 00:22:01,119 --> 00:22:05,160 Speaker 2: a virus on Earth, on Tera, the choking sickness. How 344 00:22:05,160 --> 00:22:07,679 Speaker 2: could the same virus have struck on Tera and on 345 00:22:07,720 --> 00:22:11,520 Speaker 2: her Medica. We don't know the article refers to the 346 00:22:11,520 --> 00:22:14,760 Speaker 2: same virus, the rep explained patiently. It could simply be 347 00:22:14,800 --> 00:22:18,400 Speaker 2: a similar one. Maybe an ancestral strain was already dormant 348 00:22:18,400 --> 00:22:21,800 Speaker 2: in human populations when her Medica set out, and similar 349 00:22:22,000 --> 00:22:26,840 Speaker 2: virulent strains evolved in both places without a comparative genetic analysis. 350 00:22:26,920 --> 00:22:31,120 Speaker 2: Who's to say yes? But how did an article from 351 00:22:31,200 --> 00:22:34,760 Speaker 2: Tera about things that happened after we already left wind 352 00:22:34,840 --> 00:22:38,480 Speaker 2: up aboard the ship. The sheet's non electronic. It didn't 353 00:22:38,480 --> 00:22:43,280 Speaker 2: get beamed here. The rep held their silence a moment. 354 00:22:44,040 --> 00:22:47,600 Speaker 2: A vein on their neck fluttered and bulged. Just because 355 00:22:47,600 --> 00:22:50,119 Speaker 2: a piece of paper contains a bit of information doesn't 356 00:22:50,160 --> 00:22:53,400 Speaker 2: mean it's true. I appreciate that you have many questions 357 00:22:53,400 --> 00:22:56,400 Speaker 2: that seem valid to you. I also appreciate that, when 358 00:22:56,440 --> 00:22:58,479 Speaker 2: faced with a doubt, you had the discretion to not 359 00:22:58,560 --> 00:23:01,040 Speaker 2: go immediately onto your social life and begins spreading it 360 00:23:01,080 --> 00:23:05,639 Speaker 2: throughout the ship. Nonetheless, certain inquiries, when they go beyond 361 00:23:05,680 --> 00:23:10,680 Speaker 2: idle curiosity, to achieve a satisfactory answer require scientific exploration. 362 00:23:10,880 --> 00:23:15,960 Speaker 2: As you know. Unfortunately, our safety demands a compartmentalized approach 363 00:23:16,280 --> 00:23:21,200 Speaker 2: to avoid putting sensitive information in the open. Trust the experts, 364 00:23:21,240 --> 00:23:25,159 Speaker 2: but let everyone become an expert. Emil repeated the old motto. 365 00:23:25,960 --> 00:23:28,760 Speaker 2: Of course, no one person can become an expert in everything. 366 00:23:28,880 --> 00:23:32,840 Speaker 2: That's impossible. People have to stick to their field where 367 00:23:32,880 --> 00:23:39,439 Speaker 2: they risk confusing everybody. So what are you saying? You 368 00:23:39,600 --> 00:23:42,119 Speaker 2: found an intriguing piece of a puzzle. I'll give you that, 369 00:23:42,760 --> 00:23:47,160 Speaker 2: But you're not the only one. I'm not. No, days, 370 00:23:47,359 --> 00:23:51,480 Speaker 2: you're not. Everyone else is working on the same puzzle. 371 00:23:52,119 --> 00:23:55,960 Speaker 2: The physicists are working on propulsion, the biologists are working 372 00:23:55,960 --> 00:23:59,640 Speaker 2: on life support systems. The designers are working on quality 373 00:23:59,680 --> 00:24:03,359 Speaker 2: and entertainment. My team works on safety, and all of 374 00:24:03,440 --> 00:24:06,240 Speaker 2: us are working together on the greatest mystery of all, 375 00:24:07,000 --> 00:24:11,240 Speaker 2: how to sustainably project life into the stars. I play 376 00:24:11,280 --> 00:24:15,280 Speaker 2: my role and you play yours. Something they had said, 377 00:24:15,320 --> 00:24:20,439 Speaker 2: stuck with Days, you work in safety. I thought you 378 00:24:20,440 --> 00:24:25,680 Speaker 2: were an inter block. Rep Emal's jaw clenched again. They're 379 00:24:25,720 --> 00:24:29,480 Speaker 2: overlapping fields. Sometimes we have to work together. Now, listen 380 00:24:29,520 --> 00:24:32,000 Speaker 2: to me. You can stick to your assignments and your 381 00:24:32,000 --> 00:24:35,680 Speaker 2: social circuits. If you feel that your curiosity is related 382 00:24:35,680 --> 00:24:37,800 Speaker 2: to a capacity that can be trained and put to 383 00:24:37,800 --> 00:24:41,560 Speaker 2: Hermetica's use, I can arrange for you to retake the aptitudes. 384 00:24:42,280 --> 00:24:45,000 Speaker 2: If you feel like these restrictions are unfair, you can 385 00:24:45,119 --> 00:24:50,800 Speaker 2: enter into a reconciliation, A reconciliation with whom Days asked, 386 00:24:51,680 --> 00:24:55,159 Speaker 2: who have I harmed? A reconciliation with the ship's agreements. 387 00:24:55,520 --> 00:24:59,600 Speaker 2: The Rep replied tersely. Days nodded they could tell, arguing 388 00:24:59,640 --> 00:25:03,520 Speaker 2: what only make things worse? The Rep left. A short 389 00:25:03,560 --> 00:25:06,920 Speaker 2: time later, the communications block would be removed after a 390 00:25:06,960 --> 00:25:10,560 Speaker 2: short period of observation. They had said. They confiscated the 391 00:25:10,560 --> 00:25:12,800 Speaker 2: sheet with the two articles. What did they called it? 392 00:25:13,600 --> 00:25:18,320 Speaker 2: The paper? Days felt wrecked, like they were surrounded with 393 00:25:18,400 --> 00:25:21,840 Speaker 2: nowhere to go. The confines of the module were oppressive, 394 00:25:22,760 --> 00:25:26,200 Speaker 2: tattle tale, they growled. It was too much. They wanted 395 00:25:26,200 --> 00:25:29,640 Speaker 2: to smash the screen, to yank out all the wall panels, 396 00:25:29,920 --> 00:25:32,040 Speaker 2: to pull out the bed and rip off the sheets, 397 00:25:32,320 --> 00:25:34,679 Speaker 2: to call up mrs and throw them on the floor. 398 00:25:35,280 --> 00:25:38,359 Speaker 2: The austere face of the examiner came to mind, the 399 00:25:38,480 --> 00:25:44,280 Speaker 2: damned aptitudes circumscribing their future. This damn block rep or 400 00:25:44,280 --> 00:25:47,520 Speaker 2: whoever they were. It wasn't fair. They had to move, 401 00:25:47,920 --> 00:25:52,600 Speaker 2: They had to go somewhere. Fortunately, the door opened and 402 00:25:52,680 --> 00:25:55,440 Speaker 2: let them out into the street. The air was heavy 403 00:25:55,480 --> 00:25:59,119 Speaker 2: and damp. As they walked towards the green boiling, the 404 00:25:59,160 --> 00:26:04,080 Speaker 2: first drops began to fall, fat, heavy, cold drops of rain, 405 00:26:05,000 --> 00:26:08,320 Speaker 2: a precipitation event when all the specialists couldn't get humidity 406 00:26:08,480 --> 00:26:11,560 Speaker 2: optimally distributed across the ship, and they had to flood 407 00:26:11,560 --> 00:26:14,880 Speaker 2: a few blocks with a downpour. With all their systems, 408 00:26:14,960 --> 00:26:18,160 Speaker 2: all their modeling, all their aptitudes, the experts could still 409 00:26:18,200 --> 00:26:23,720 Speaker 2: not work out the unexpected. The chaotic days laughed at them. 410 00:26:23,760 --> 00:26:27,159 Speaker 2: As the rain fell harder. A sudden flash made them jump, 411 00:26:27,400 --> 00:26:32,080 Speaker 2: a major electrostatic discharge ripping across the sky. But was 412 00:26:32,119 --> 00:26:35,520 Speaker 2: it in the sky the projection or was the flash 413 00:26:35,600 --> 00:26:39,320 Speaker 2: reel a bolt of charged particles equalizing from one end 414 00:26:39,320 --> 00:26:42,520 Speaker 2: of the platform to the other. They could give no answer. 415 00:26:43,400 --> 00:26:46,280 Speaker 2: All they could do is look upwards, face full of rain, 416 00:26:47,119 --> 00:26:51,040 Speaker 2: and wait for another one. And it came, and they 417 00:26:51,080 --> 00:26:54,199 Speaker 2: felt the light run through them. Now they were at 418 00:26:54,240 --> 00:26:56,320 Speaker 2: the green, and the rain was falling so hard it 419 00:26:56,359 --> 00:26:59,480 Speaker 2: filled their eyes and soaked their clothes. No one else 420 00:26:59,560 --> 00:27:02,679 Speaker 2: was out, unthinkable. All the cameras were blinded by the 421 00:27:02,680 --> 00:27:05,480 Speaker 2: thick sheets of rain. Not even a drone could fly 422 00:27:05,600 --> 00:27:10,000 Speaker 2: in this downpour. Days was completely alone, and they danced. 423 00:27:10,640 --> 00:27:13,760 Speaker 2: The world opened up to them. The shrubs swayed and trembled, 424 00:27:14,080 --> 00:27:17,960 Speaker 2: the bunting drooped and broke, the benches splattered and endured. 425 00:27:18,040 --> 00:27:23,680 Speaker 2: And Days danced generous, leaping and joyous pirouettes, their arms outstretched, 426 00:27:24,040 --> 00:27:26,520 Speaker 2: taking everything as though there were no end to what 427 00:27:26,560 --> 00:27:29,800 Speaker 2: could be given, and offering all of themselves in return. 428 00:27:30,800 --> 00:27:34,200 Speaker 2: They were doing loops around the maypole, now bouncing, spinning 429 00:27:34,280 --> 00:27:39,960 Speaker 2: circles of endless return. More lightning flashed, the rain pounded 430 00:27:39,960 --> 00:27:43,200 Speaker 2: on the street like a stampede. The street was full, 431 00:27:43,920 --> 00:27:50,080 Speaker 2: Days and a million feet arriving, always arriving, endless. Days 432 00:27:50,160 --> 00:27:53,480 Speaker 2: was panting. Never had they run so hard. Their mouth 433 00:27:53,600 --> 00:27:56,760 Speaker 2: was full of rain, their hair was a river. The 434 00:27:56,840 --> 00:27:58,679 Speaker 2: rain was in their belly button and the crack of 435 00:27:58,720 --> 00:28:01,960 Speaker 2: their ass on their eye. Last, between their toes, they 436 00:28:02,000 --> 00:28:06,280 Speaker 2: could hear the world breathing. As the paroxysm eased, Days 437 00:28:06,320 --> 00:28:10,760 Speaker 2: found themselves wandering around the block. Everything was newly acquainted. 438 00:28:11,160 --> 00:28:14,280 Speaker 2: Not a single meter of darkened water slick street was 439 00:28:14,320 --> 00:28:17,520 Speaker 2: the one they had walked down before. Spent years walking 440 00:28:17,600 --> 00:28:22,400 Speaker 2: down these streets belonged to them. Tonight, when the last 441 00:28:22,520 --> 00:28:26,240 Speaker 2: drizzle subsided, Days returned to their module. They shed their 442 00:28:26,240 --> 00:28:30,280 Speaker 2: soaking clothes and went straight to the far wall. Module. 443 00:28:30,359 --> 00:28:34,040 Speaker 2: Surprised reacted late. The bed extracted after they had already 444 00:28:34,080 --> 00:28:37,399 Speaker 2: arrived waiting for it. Had they been expected to towel 445 00:28:37,440 --> 00:28:40,840 Speaker 2: off first. Now they too were part of the unexpected. 446 00:28:41,240 --> 00:28:45,720 Speaker 2: A wisp of storm broken off, unvanquished. They smiled fiercely 447 00:28:45,760 --> 00:28:49,040 Speaker 2: as they dripped into the sheets, rising on the rising 448 00:28:49,120 --> 00:28:54,520 Speaker 2: cumula of dreams. In the morning, they knew Emil had 449 00:28:54,520 --> 00:28:58,360 Speaker 2: been lying. All of them had been lying. They walked 450 00:28:58,400 --> 00:29:02,680 Speaker 2: straight out the door, unclosed, fast, unbroken, leaving Module in 451 00:29:02,720 --> 00:29:05,000 Speaker 2: the middle of a sentence. They walked up and down 452 00:29:05,040 --> 00:29:09,200 Speaker 2: the street, looking at the modules the sky. They did 453 00:29:09,200 --> 00:29:12,520 Speaker 2: not have zimps knack for equations, but surely they could 454 00:29:12,560 --> 00:29:17,320 Speaker 2: find something, a proof, But all there was were two 455 00:29:17,360 --> 00:29:20,960 Speaker 2: cross streets and four nodes. No other way out? What 456 00:29:21,080 --> 00:29:24,040 Speaker 2: had the reps said? Their choices were keep to their circuits, 457 00:29:24,080 --> 00:29:28,880 Speaker 2: retake their aptitudes, or a reconciliation. No, they were lying. 458 00:29:29,360 --> 00:29:32,680 Speaker 2: There were always other choices. The smaller units were three 459 00:29:32,760 --> 00:29:35,120 Speaker 2: meters high, with a rounded lip and no hand hold 460 00:29:35,120 --> 00:29:38,080 Speaker 2: on the facade. No way a single person could get 461 00:29:38,120 --> 00:29:41,200 Speaker 2: on top of one. But Days was not a single person. 462 00:29:41,680 --> 00:29:44,760 Speaker 2: They were a million feet. They were a storm cloud. 463 00:29:46,720 --> 00:29:50,520 Speaker 2: As neighbors avoided their gaze and hurried onwards towards destinations, 464 00:29:51,160 --> 00:29:55,640 Speaker 2: Days found themselves in front of the maypole. Hello, dancing partner, 465 00:29:55,880 --> 00:30:00,880 Speaker 2: they smiled. The maypole kept on pointing towards the sky. Yeah, 466 00:30:00,880 --> 00:30:03,080 Speaker 2: you're the one, aren't you. You take me where I 467 00:30:03,120 --> 00:30:05,760 Speaker 2: need to go? Now, if I can just get you 468 00:30:05,960 --> 00:30:09,800 Speaker 2: to change position. They knew it was possible. They had 469 00:30:09,800 --> 00:30:13,720 Speaker 2: seen it done. All they needed was an accomplice. Days 470 00:30:13,720 --> 00:30:15,920 Speaker 2: could only imagine what sort of blocks they had on 471 00:30:15,960 --> 00:30:19,600 Speaker 2: them all throughout the system. By now, a neighbor was 472 00:30:19,680 --> 00:30:24,239 Speaker 2: rushing along to one of the nodes, studiously avoiding Days's nakedness. You, 473 00:30:24,440 --> 00:30:31,320 Speaker 2: they said, stop, Terrified the neighbor complied, Days smiled, we 474 00:30:31,360 --> 00:30:33,960 Speaker 2: need to clear the way for a therapeutic intervention. Tell 475 00:30:34,000 --> 00:30:36,360 Speaker 2: the block to release this element so we can move 476 00:30:36,400 --> 00:30:40,520 Speaker 2: it out of the way. Clearly uncomfortable, but seduced by 477 00:30:40,520 --> 00:30:43,760 Speaker 2: the logic that a therapeutic intervention was indeed in order, 478 00:30:44,240 --> 00:30:48,719 Speaker 2: The neighbor stepped forward and said, in a trembling voice, Block, Uh, 479 00:30:48,760 --> 00:30:52,800 Speaker 2: we need you to uh release this poll Days could 480 00:30:52,800 --> 00:30:56,440 Speaker 2: almost sense the hesitation. Clearly, all kinds of models and 481 00:30:56,480 --> 00:31:00,040 Speaker 2: algorithms were telling the block this was a terrible idea, 482 00:31:00,120 --> 00:31:03,000 Speaker 2: but human overrides were given a back door precisely for 483 00:31:03,080 --> 00:31:06,480 Speaker 2: those situations in which the system did not understand which 484 00:31:06,520 --> 00:31:10,600 Speaker 2: criteria to prioritize. The block relented and the ground panel 485 00:31:10,680 --> 00:31:14,800 Speaker 2: released its hold on the maypole. Thanks, Day said pleasantly, 486 00:31:15,360 --> 00:31:18,160 Speaker 2: you can go. They got a grip on the pole 487 00:31:18,200 --> 00:31:21,280 Speaker 2: and lowered it down onto their shoulder. It actually didn't 488 00:31:21,320 --> 00:31:24,080 Speaker 2: weigh that much despite its height, and they were able 489 00:31:24,080 --> 00:31:26,720 Speaker 2: to drag it off the green. The day was going 490 00:31:26,800 --> 00:31:31,080 Speaker 2: perfectly so far. A claxon sounded in the direction of 491 00:31:31,120 --> 00:31:34,160 Speaker 2: the health center, but Days didn't care. They were humming. 492 00:31:34,280 --> 00:31:38,200 Speaker 2: They couldn't remember what song. Arriving at a single person unit. 493 00:31:38,360 --> 00:31:40,560 Speaker 2: Days propped the pole against the edge of the roof. 494 00:31:41,160 --> 00:31:43,520 Speaker 2: It leaned in at an angle that was somewhat steeper 495 00:31:43,520 --> 00:31:46,080 Speaker 2: than forty five degrees, but still not so steep that 496 00:31:46,120 --> 00:31:49,600 Speaker 2: they couldn't shimmy up it, And shimmy they did. The 497 00:31:49,680 --> 00:31:52,440 Speaker 2: medics arrived then, running towards them, but they were most 498 00:31:52,440 --> 00:31:54,160 Speaker 2: of the way up, and the medics were afraid to 499 00:31:54,200 --> 00:31:58,560 Speaker 2: dislodge the pole and cause Days to fall. Hello, they called, 500 00:31:58,880 --> 00:32:02,280 Speaker 2: and then they were at the roof. Good Bye. The 501 00:32:02,360 --> 00:32:05,000 Speaker 2: roof was the same color and texture as the facade. 502 00:32:05,360 --> 00:32:07,880 Speaker 2: The most remarkable thing about it was once they walked 503 00:32:07,920 --> 00:32:11,880 Speaker 2: in a couple meters, the street disappeared. They were in 504 00:32:11,920 --> 00:32:14,840 Speaker 2: a completely new place, all their own, not in a 505 00:32:14,920 --> 00:32:18,280 Speaker 2: module out of doors, but not under the watchful eyes 506 00:32:18,280 --> 00:32:22,840 Speaker 2: of the street. But they weren't out yet. The adjoining module, 507 00:32:22,800 --> 00:32:25,880 Speaker 2: a family unit, was two meters taller. They were able 508 00:32:25,960 --> 00:32:28,600 Speaker 2: to gain the roof with a running jump. Now they 509 00:32:28,600 --> 00:32:30,400 Speaker 2: were higher than they'd ever been in their life, and 510 00:32:30,480 --> 00:32:33,960 Speaker 2: the next destination was already in reach. The module's roof 511 00:32:33,960 --> 00:32:36,880 Speaker 2: connected with a broad platform, the roof for the life 512 00:32:36,920 --> 00:32:39,600 Speaker 2: support and storage facilities that filled up each of the 513 00:32:39,640 --> 00:32:40,320 Speaker 2: four corners. 514 00:32:40,360 --> 00:32:40,840 Speaker 1: Of the block. 515 00:32:41,480 --> 00:32:44,120 Speaker 2: They ran thirty odd meters and then they were at 516 00:32:44,160 --> 00:32:46,720 Speaker 2: the wall, the wall that they had never seen but 517 00:32:46,760 --> 00:32:50,400 Speaker 2: always intuited, marking the outer boundary between this block and 518 00:32:50,440 --> 00:32:53,320 Speaker 2: the next, and it was only a meter higher than 519 00:32:53,320 --> 00:32:57,480 Speaker 2: the roof where they now stood. Days was nervous. They 520 00:32:57,480 --> 00:33:00,640 Speaker 2: had not known what they would find here. In theory, 521 00:33:00,720 --> 00:33:03,320 Speaker 2: every block was walled off on all six sides, and 522 00:33:03,360 --> 00:33:05,360 Speaker 2: the only way in or out was through a node. 523 00:33:05,800 --> 00:33:09,000 Speaker 2: There was a transparent membrane under the sky that allowed 524 00:33:09,000 --> 00:33:12,400 Speaker 2: for the controlled circulation of air and water. But Days 525 00:33:12,440 --> 00:33:14,480 Speaker 2: didn't know if the membrane came all the way down 526 00:33:14,600 --> 00:33:17,240 Speaker 2: to the top of the physical wall, forming a pocket 527 00:33:17,280 --> 00:33:21,000 Speaker 2: around each block. If they could detach the membrane or 528 00:33:21,080 --> 00:33:25,280 Speaker 2: tear it, it turned out to be even easier. There 529 00:33:25,360 --> 00:33:28,040 Speaker 2: must have been a substantial gap, because Days could not 530 00:33:28,160 --> 00:33:30,760 Speaker 2: see or feel any membrane as they climbed up on 531 00:33:30,800 --> 00:33:33,800 Speaker 2: the wall, and just like that, they had gotten out 532 00:33:33,800 --> 00:33:36,720 Speaker 2: of the block. They had made their own choice, their 533 00:33:36,760 --> 00:33:40,280 Speaker 2: own way out. Days started to run. The top of 534 00:33:40,280 --> 00:33:43,040 Speaker 2: the wall was broad and flat, and running was easy. 535 00:33:43,440 --> 00:33:46,480 Speaker 2: They ran fast, They ran far. They didn't know how 536 00:33:46,480 --> 00:33:49,680 Speaker 2: many blocks they left behind, and they kept running the 537 00:33:49,760 --> 00:33:53,600 Speaker 2: sun was bright and glorious. The wind blew freely. It 538 00:33:53,680 --> 00:33:57,600 Speaker 2: was all connected, unobstructed. They were sure of that. Now 539 00:33:58,120 --> 00:34:01,840 Speaker 2: a cumulus clouds swelled up past them into shadow. Their 540 00:34:01,880 --> 00:34:05,120 Speaker 2: skin cooled. The cloud moved on, and immediately the heat 541 00:34:05,200 --> 00:34:09,040 Speaker 2: and light returned. Tears came to their eyes. The sun 542 00:34:09,280 --> 00:34:15,040 Speaker 2: was majestic, undeniable, The wind went wherever it pleased. All 543 00:34:15,160 --> 00:34:21,000 Speaker 2: the colors unfolded themselves from the blue and blinding white. 544 00:34:21,040 --> 00:34:23,799 Speaker 2: The wall continued as far as they could see. Every 545 00:34:23,960 --> 00:34:26,680 Speaker 2: hundred meters, they came to an intersection where another wall 546 00:34:26,719 --> 00:34:31,200 Speaker 2: perpendicular stretched right and left, making the horizon in both directions. 547 00:34:31,719 --> 00:34:34,520 Speaker 2: But they knew the grid was not unending, because when 548 00:34:34,560 --> 00:34:38,759 Speaker 2: they strained to look into that farthest distance, the horizon 549 00:34:38,920 --> 00:34:44,200 Speaker 2: curled down, not up, but down. They were in a 550 00:34:44,239 --> 00:34:49,640 Speaker 2: different place entirely. Their tears flowed freely. The wall passed 551 00:34:49,640 --> 00:34:52,560 Speaker 2: over another node. How many blocks did they run past? 552 00:34:52,640 --> 00:34:56,759 Speaker 2: Now their world had grown infinitely larger. This time they 553 00:34:56,880 --> 00:35:00,680 Speaker 2: veered to the side. A gentle worrying accompanied them from behind. 554 00:35:01,200 --> 00:35:04,360 Speaker 2: Now they were running atop modules again, peering over the 555 00:35:04,480 --> 00:35:07,160 Speaker 2: edge into the street of an unknown block. It might 556 00:35:07,200 --> 00:35:09,640 Speaker 2: as well have been a foreign country. People were in 557 00:35:09,680 --> 00:35:14,560 Speaker 2: the street, strangers. They looked up in astonishment. The sky 558 00:35:14,760 --> 00:35:18,600 Speaker 2: is real, Days cried at them, The sky is real. 559 00:35:19,520 --> 00:35:23,520 Speaker 2: The whorrying came closer. Days ran on another block, atop 560 00:35:23,600 --> 00:35:30,560 Speaker 2: the modules, overlooking another street. Now they were sobbing, uncontrollably joyous, broken. 561 00:35:31,120 --> 00:35:35,640 Speaker 2: The sky is real, The sky is real. No one 562 00:35:35,719 --> 00:35:38,480 Speaker 2: knew what to make of the crazy prophet on the rooftops. 563 00:35:39,280 --> 00:35:42,200 Speaker 2: They didn't have to think about it long. The safety 564 00:35:42,280 --> 00:35:46,760 Speaker 2: drones caught up to Days. Four milliamps of current pushed 565 00:35:46,760 --> 00:35:49,239 Speaker 2: through their skin and into a circuit of muscle and 566 00:35:49,320 --> 00:35:53,680 Speaker 2: bone by fifty thousand volts of electromotive force, and they 567 00:35:53,680 --> 00:36:02,440 Speaker 2: were on the ground. Dunt, dunk, dum the done. That's 568 00:36:02,480 --> 00:36:05,160 Speaker 2: the end of part four. What's gonna happen next? You're 569 00:36:05,160 --> 00:36:07,080 Speaker 2: gonna have to wait a week unless you listen all 570 00:36:07,120 --> 00:36:09,040 Speaker 2: at once and like wait and binge the whole thing, 571 00:36:09,360 --> 00:36:11,160 Speaker 2: in which case you don't have to wait. You can 572 00:36:11,320 --> 00:36:13,480 Speaker 2: just cut ahead. Now. Honestly, you could have got a 573 00:36:13,520 --> 00:36:15,520 Speaker 2: head like now now, I'm just gonna do plugs here 574 00:36:15,560 --> 00:36:18,880 Speaker 2: at the end. But if you want to know more 575 00:36:19,000 --> 00:36:21,840 Speaker 2: about Alan Lee, the author of her Medica, you should 576 00:36:21,880 --> 00:36:24,719 Speaker 2: check out Peter Gelderlos. Peter is p E t e 577 00:36:24,880 --> 00:36:28,239 Speaker 2: R and Gelderlos is g E l d e R 578 00:36:28,640 --> 00:36:32,319 Speaker 2: l o O S. And that is the name that 579 00:36:32,360 --> 00:36:35,160 Speaker 2: they write most of There's he whatever. If you ever 580 00:36:35,200 --> 00:36:37,280 Speaker 2: do the thing where you just like, are theying people 581 00:36:37,280 --> 00:36:39,799 Speaker 2: so much that you became incapable of remembering that there's 582 00:36:39,800 --> 00:36:43,439 Speaker 2: gendered pronouns for a second, you can catch Peter by 583 00:36:43,480 --> 00:36:47,040 Speaker 2: reading his other books and also his substack, which is 584 00:36:47,120 --> 00:36:50,400 Speaker 2: called Surviving Leviathan and I will talk to you next 585 00:36:50,440 --> 00:36:54,880 Speaker 2: week on cool Zone Media book Club. Oh, I almost forgot. 586 00:36:55,200 --> 00:36:59,000 Speaker 2: We have our own feed. Now, that's right. If you're like, 587 00:36:59,320 --> 00:37:01,239 Speaker 2: why would I listen? All I could happen here. I 588 00:37:01,320 --> 00:37:03,040 Speaker 2: just want to listen to cool Zone Media book Club. 589 00:37:03,239 --> 00:37:06,960 Speaker 2: Well you can do it by subscribing to cool Zone 590 00:37:06,960 --> 00:37:11,560 Speaker 2: Media book Club, which is fucking cool. All right, well 591 00:37:11,600 --> 00:37:16,720 Speaker 2: that's cool Zone, fucking cool z. Nope, I almost had something, 592 00:37:16,880 --> 00:37:19,480 Speaker 2: but I don't. I'll just talk to you next week. Bye. 593 00:37:21,480 --> 00:37:23,960 Speaker 1: It could happen here as a production of cool Zone Media. 594 00:37:24,080 --> 00:37:26,760 Speaker 1: For more podcasts from cool Zone Media, visit our website 595 00:37:26,760 --> 00:37:29,879 Speaker 1: Coolzonemedia dot com, or check us out on the iHeartRadio app, 596 00:37:29,920 --> 00:37:33,279 Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen to podcasts, you can 597 00:37:33,280 --> 00:37:36,000 Speaker 1: find sources where it could happen here updated monthly at 598 00:37:36,040 --> 00:37:39,280 Speaker 1: coolzonemedia dot com slash sources. Thanks for listening.