WEBVTT - CZM Book Club : Hermetica, by Alan Lea, Part Four

0:00:01.680 --> 0:00:03.240
<v Speaker 1>Cool Zone Media.

0:00:06.640 --> 0:00:11.200
<v Speaker 2>Book Club book Club book Club book Club. Hello and

0:00:11.240 --> 0:00:13.399
<v Speaker 2>welcome to Cool Zone Media book Club. The only book

0:00:13.440 --> 0:00:15.280
<v Speaker 2>club where you don't have to do the reading is

0:00:15.400 --> 0:00:18.040
<v Speaker 2>I do it for you. I'm your host, Margaret Kiljoy,

0:00:18.239 --> 0:00:22.120
<v Speaker 2>and every week I bring you stories. What kind of stories? Well,

0:00:22.160 --> 0:00:25.520
<v Speaker 2>it depends on what I feel like bringing you or

0:00:26.360 --> 0:00:30.680
<v Speaker 2>you all are my captive audience and I can read

0:00:30.720 --> 0:00:34.040
<v Speaker 2>you anything I want. That's actually not true. I do

0:00:34.080 --> 0:00:37.960
<v Speaker 2>have limits, or I just decide I have good taste,

0:00:38.000 --> 0:00:40.559
<v Speaker 2>and so nothing I want to read you is outside

0:00:40.600 --> 0:00:43.320
<v Speaker 2>those limits. I don't know how it works. I don't

0:00:43.360 --> 0:00:46.519
<v Speaker 2>know how to do my own job, but I do

0:00:46.640 --> 0:00:50.879
<v Speaker 2>know how to keep reading you. Her Medica by Alan Lee.

0:00:51.479 --> 0:00:55.240
<v Speaker 2>That's right. We are on part four on her Medica.

0:00:56.000 --> 0:00:57.760
<v Speaker 2>Well in her Medica, but it's also the name of

0:00:57.800 --> 0:00:59.480
<v Speaker 2>the ship they're on, so it's sort of on her

0:00:59.480 --> 0:01:04.000
<v Speaker 2>Medica too. You ever think about that. Allen Lee is

0:01:04.080 --> 0:01:07.679
<v Speaker 2>the science fiction pen name of Peter Gelderlos, and you

0:01:07.720 --> 0:01:12.200
<v Speaker 2>can check out more of Peter's work by looking him up.

0:01:12.400 --> 0:01:14.360
<v Speaker 2>I don't know. He was written a lot of books, actually,

0:01:15.120 --> 0:01:17.959
<v Speaker 2>and they're pretty interesting, and also has a substack that

0:01:17.959 --> 0:01:21.959
<v Speaker 2>you can check out called surviving Leviathan and yeah, you

0:01:22.080 --> 0:01:27.959
<v Speaker 2>might like it. But her Medica last time on her

0:01:27.959 --> 0:01:32.760
<v Speaker 2>Medica Days lives on a generationship called her Medica. I

0:01:32.760 --> 0:01:36.319
<v Speaker 2>already told you that, eh mh. But things aren't adding up.

0:01:36.840 --> 0:01:39.480
<v Speaker 2>They found a piece of physical newspaper in the wall

0:01:39.600 --> 0:01:42.760
<v Speaker 2>that is inconsistent with the history they've been told, particularly

0:01:42.880 --> 0:01:45.960
<v Speaker 2>around political unrest back on Earth and the details of

0:01:46.000 --> 0:01:50.440
<v Speaker 2>the ARPV, the acute respiratory passenger virus that keeps everyone

0:01:50.480 --> 0:01:54.080
<v Speaker 2>on her Medica in lockdown, and the ship's library can't

0:01:54.120 --> 0:01:57.480
<v Speaker 2>corroborate everything they were looking for because some things like

0:01:57.520 --> 0:02:01.800
<v Speaker 2>ship's schematics are considered classified need to no information. After

0:02:01.840 --> 0:02:05.000
<v Speaker 2>an attack on a different ship the wiki where we

0:02:05.120 --> 0:02:08.360
<v Speaker 2>last left Days, they were taking a walk and witnessed

0:02:08.360 --> 0:02:14.000
<v Speaker 2>one of their neighbors having a mental breakdown. Half an

0:02:14.000 --> 0:02:17.720
<v Speaker 2>hour later, Zimp called Days, washed their face and turned

0:02:17.760 --> 0:02:22.680
<v Speaker 2>on the screen. So how have you been fine? Zimp

0:02:22.680 --> 0:02:27.200
<v Speaker 2>pursed their lips. You sure, Yeah, you know, ups and downs?

0:02:28.000 --> 0:02:31.960
<v Speaker 2>Anything interesting at work? Oh, I've got a patient in medio.

0:02:32.320 --> 0:02:35.160
<v Speaker 2>They told me about plants. That's cool. Have you been

0:02:35.160 --> 0:02:38.480
<v Speaker 2>looking at the plants on your block? I guess no,

0:02:38.560 --> 0:02:41.480
<v Speaker 2>more than usual, But you've been interested in the ship,

0:02:41.639 --> 0:02:47.800
<v Speaker 2>right or the journey. I'm just having doubts. It's normal,

0:02:48.000 --> 0:02:53.239
<v Speaker 2>you know that, right. Yeah, they say that psychologically our

0:02:53.280 --> 0:02:56.480
<v Speaker 2>generation has at the hardest. We never saw ta we

0:02:56.600 --> 0:02:59.640
<v Speaker 2>probably won't see the next home world. We're stuck yearning

0:02:59.639 --> 0:03:03.680
<v Speaker 2>for two places that are completely unknown to us. Yeah,

0:03:04.000 --> 0:03:05.880
<v Speaker 2>so don't be hard on yourself, is what I mean.

0:03:06.360 --> 0:03:09.440
<v Speaker 2>It's okay if you feel down or directionless. The system

0:03:09.520 --> 0:03:12.000
<v Speaker 2>was made to take that into account. Take as many

0:03:12.000 --> 0:03:16.560
<v Speaker 2>personal days as you need. Personal days don't help days

0:03:16.560 --> 0:03:20.560
<v Speaker 2>surprise themselves with the feelings that came up. Zimp blinked,

0:03:20.800 --> 0:03:25.120
<v Speaker 2>afraid they'd said the wrong thing. I mean, it's her medica.

0:03:25.440 --> 0:03:30.160
<v Speaker 2>It doesn't feel right. It feels like nowhere. What do

0:03:30.200 --> 0:03:34.040
<v Speaker 2>you mean, I don't know. I mean Tera, it had

0:03:34.080 --> 0:03:38.880
<v Speaker 2>all this history, all these things happening, most of them terrible. Yeah,

0:03:38.880 --> 0:03:41.640
<v Speaker 2>but here, I can't just spend my life waiting for

0:03:41.680 --> 0:03:45.160
<v Speaker 2>the next block party. There's a lot more than block parties.

0:03:45.960 --> 0:03:50.560
<v Speaker 2>Days shrugged, you're not gaming, are you? I got sick

0:03:50.600 --> 0:03:54.160
<v Speaker 2>of it. There's some really good ones. I don't want

0:03:54.160 --> 0:03:56.480
<v Speaker 2>to hear about it. They cut Zimp off. Look, I'm

0:03:56.480 --> 0:04:01.360
<v Speaker 2>not bored. I just this doesn't feel real. Zimp raised

0:04:01.400 --> 0:04:06.640
<v Speaker 2>an eyebrow. How's that like? Traveling through space leaving the

0:04:06.640 --> 0:04:10.080
<v Speaker 2>Solar System on our way to another star? That's amazing.

0:04:10.160 --> 0:04:14.400
<v Speaker 2>I'd love to be part of that. You are, I

0:04:14.400 --> 0:04:19.120
<v Speaker 2>don't think I am Zimp paused, taken aback? What do

0:04:19.160 --> 0:04:23.360
<v Speaker 2>you mean? None of it feels real? Do you think

0:04:23.720 --> 0:04:27.760
<v Speaker 2>you could explain some more? Days could see that ZIMP

0:04:27.880 --> 0:04:30.280
<v Speaker 2>was troubled by all of this, and they felt bad

0:04:30.400 --> 0:04:33.760
<v Speaker 2>they had gone too far dumping weight on someone else's shoulders.

0:04:34.200 --> 0:04:36.840
<v Speaker 2>No one else could solve their problems for them. They

0:04:36.880 --> 0:04:40.479
<v Speaker 2>tried to fix it. Zimp was a practical person. What

0:04:40.680 --> 0:04:42.799
<v Speaker 2>was a way to describe their feeling that would present

0:04:42.920 --> 0:04:45.799
<v Speaker 2>Zimp with a path towards solving it, a path away

0:04:45.839 --> 0:04:49.120
<v Speaker 2>from the boundless despair? Days? It opened up. It was

0:04:49.120 --> 0:04:51.360
<v Speaker 2>an abyss that Zimp would be compelled to build a

0:04:51.400 --> 0:04:56.400
<v Speaker 2>bridge over. Could never ever stare down into an answer appeared,

0:04:56.680 --> 0:05:02.440
<v Speaker 2>and already the feeling slipped away, digging itself into a territory. Look.

0:05:03.080 --> 0:05:05.640
<v Speaker 2>I never got to take in advanced education. I never

0:05:05.680 --> 0:05:07.960
<v Speaker 2>got into the stuff you and all the others got into.

0:05:08.640 --> 0:05:10.719
<v Speaker 2>I feel like I've never even been able to touch

0:05:10.760 --> 0:05:13.880
<v Speaker 2>her Medica to be part of the ship. Does that

0:05:13.920 --> 0:05:18.039
<v Speaker 2>make sense? I need to ground myself, you know, yeah,

0:05:18.160 --> 0:05:21.240
<v Speaker 2>Zim said, face brightening. So how do you do that?

0:05:22.800 --> 0:05:25.040
<v Speaker 2>I tried to find schematics of her Medica, but they're

0:05:25.040 --> 0:05:31.200
<v Speaker 2>off limits of course, compartmentalization NTK. What do you need

0:05:31.200 --> 0:05:34.159
<v Speaker 2>the schematics for. I don't even know where on the

0:05:34.200 --> 0:05:38.159
<v Speaker 2>ship I am. I've only seen the tiniest part of it. Well,

0:05:38.800 --> 0:05:41.240
<v Speaker 2>I know I've seen more than you, but still I

0:05:41.240 --> 0:05:44.200
<v Speaker 2>haven't even seen two percent of the whole thing. But

0:05:44.279 --> 0:05:47.240
<v Speaker 2>that's the new safety for you. If the ship's population

0:05:47.360 --> 0:05:51.839
<v Speaker 2>has a high interconnectivity, trouble spreads fast. How do we

0:05:51.880 --> 0:05:53.719
<v Speaker 2>even know the ship is as big as they say?

0:05:53.920 --> 0:05:57.160
<v Speaker 2>Days blurted out, how do we know we're even going anywhere?

0:05:57.760 --> 0:06:02.200
<v Speaker 2>Zimp rocked backwards. That's all paranoid. Days set their jaw.

0:06:02.760 --> 0:06:05.640
<v Speaker 2>I'm sorry. I mean, we know her Medica is huge.

0:06:05.680 --> 0:06:08.279
<v Speaker 2>There's millions of people on board. You can talk to

0:06:08.320 --> 0:06:11.800
<v Speaker 2>all of them, get to know them. Days supposed it

0:06:11.880 --> 0:06:14.320
<v Speaker 2>was true, though they had never excelled like the others

0:06:14.360 --> 0:06:17.679
<v Speaker 2>in their cohort and making friends over a screen. In fact,

0:06:17.720 --> 0:06:19.920
<v Speaker 2>the only people they had ever called the only ones

0:06:19.960 --> 0:06:24.200
<v Speaker 2>they would consider friends they had met in person. You

0:06:24.240 --> 0:06:27.360
<v Speaker 2>know what, I have an idea, zimp offered. You say

0:06:27.360 --> 0:06:31.039
<v Speaker 2>you need to feel grounded, days nodded. I can whip

0:06:31.120 --> 0:06:37.440
<v Speaker 2>up just for you a special science experiment. Yeah, what

0:06:37.520 --> 0:06:39.520
<v Speaker 2>would you say if I told you I could give

0:06:39.560 --> 0:06:41.520
<v Speaker 2>you the chance to take a look at her Medica?

0:06:42.560 --> 0:06:45.800
<v Speaker 2>You'd be my hero? Obviously, I can't get you a

0:06:45.839 --> 0:06:48.640
<v Speaker 2>permit to go to an observation window or take a spacewalk,

0:06:49.040 --> 0:06:50.800
<v Speaker 2>but I can let you see the spinning of the

0:06:50.839 --> 0:06:54.080
<v Speaker 2>giant platform we're on right now. Do I get to

0:06:54.080 --> 0:06:58.080
<v Speaker 2>be your student for a day? Even better? My students

0:06:58.120 --> 0:07:00.840
<v Speaker 2>do most of the syllabus through simulations, but you and

0:07:00.880 --> 0:07:03.720
<v Speaker 2>I we can do something hands on. I'm not allowed

0:07:03.760 --> 0:07:05.680
<v Speaker 2>to take materials out of the lab, but I bet

0:07:06.600 --> 0:07:08.960
<v Speaker 2>Zim's head was turning this way and that looking about

0:07:08.960 --> 0:07:12.280
<v Speaker 2>their own module off camera. I can find all the

0:07:12.320 --> 0:07:15.920
<v Speaker 2>supplies I need for a simple experiment. Tell me about it,

0:07:16.040 --> 0:07:19.520
<v Speaker 2>Dace pleaded. You'll have to do some homework to understand

0:07:19.520 --> 0:07:23.960
<v Speaker 2>what you'll see. I promise. So we're on a giant

0:07:24.000 --> 0:07:27.400
<v Speaker 2>platform attached to a ring that's spinning around her Medica's core.

0:07:28.080 --> 0:07:31.480
<v Speaker 2>I know, I know, right, But that's what generates the

0:07:31.480 --> 0:07:34.840
<v Speaker 2>pseudo gravity that keeps us in place. But we can

0:07:34.880 --> 0:07:39.560
<v Speaker 2>detect the coralois force that correlates with our rotation. Okay,

0:07:39.920 --> 0:07:43.840
<v Speaker 2>Day said uncertainly. They understood the principles that Zimp was describing,

0:07:43.920 --> 0:07:45.920
<v Speaker 2>but not how it would allow them to see her Medica.

0:07:46.920 --> 0:07:50.680
<v Speaker 2>Their friend picked up on their skepticism. What that means is,

0:07:50.720 --> 0:07:52.800
<v Speaker 2>if the experiment works, you'll be able to tell which

0:07:52.840 --> 0:07:55.560
<v Speaker 2>way our platform is rotating. You'll be able to look

0:07:55.640 --> 0:07:58.800
<v Speaker 2>up into the sky and visualize the axis of that rotation,

0:07:59.560 --> 0:08:02.440
<v Speaker 2>which in this case is the core of her Medica itself,

0:08:02.840 --> 0:08:04.520
<v Speaker 2>and you'll be able to tell which way we're heading.

0:08:05.280 --> 0:08:08.000
<v Speaker 2>What do you say to that that would be wonderful?

0:08:09.360 --> 0:08:12.920
<v Speaker 2>Zimp looked around again. Well, I need to make sure

0:08:12.960 --> 0:08:14.960
<v Speaker 2>I can design this thing so the result will actually

0:08:14.960 --> 0:08:18.480
<v Speaker 2>be visible to the naked eye. They chuckled. The rings

0:08:18.520 --> 0:08:20.920
<v Speaker 2>have a really low RPM, and I don't want to

0:08:20.960 --> 0:08:23.120
<v Speaker 2>let you down, so I'm going to get to work

0:08:23.160 --> 0:08:25.160
<v Speaker 2>on that. I wonder if I can get my hands

0:08:25.160 --> 0:08:27.760
<v Speaker 2>on some ball bearings, but I'm going to send you

0:08:27.800 --> 0:08:30.760
<v Speaker 2>some materials, a little light reading on inertial forces to

0:08:30.760 --> 0:08:33.920
<v Speaker 2>get you up to speed. Part in the joke, same

0:08:33.920 --> 0:08:37.480
<v Speaker 2>time tomorrow. Days asked, sure, I'll try to have it ready.

0:08:38.040 --> 0:08:42.720
<v Speaker 2>You're such a sweetheart. Nice to see you smile. It's true,

0:08:42.840 --> 0:08:46.480
<v Speaker 2>Days realized as the screen went black they were smiling.

0:08:47.840 --> 0:08:51.160
<v Speaker 2>You know who else will schedule a science experiment to

0:08:51.240 --> 0:08:54.920
<v Speaker 2>reassure all your deepest discomforts and then leave you smiling

0:08:55.120 --> 0:08:58.520
<v Speaker 2>and giddy. Do you know who else loves to see

0:08:58.640 --> 0:09:03.880
<v Speaker 2>you smile? It's the products and services that support this podcast.

0:09:04.440 --> 0:09:10.480
<v Speaker 2>I know you knew that, but I'll tell you anyway,

0:09:16.880 --> 0:09:23.840
<v Speaker 2>and we're back. The next morning, Days doubled their exercise

0:09:23.920 --> 0:09:27.160
<v Speaker 2>routine and then went in to see some patients. The

0:09:27.320 --> 0:09:31.600
<v Speaker 2>air on the block broiled and rippled. Neighbors walked by oblivious.

0:09:32.440 --> 0:09:35.199
<v Speaker 2>At the health center, they saw the botanist and a developer,

0:09:35.360 --> 0:09:40.199
<v Speaker 2>a regular. Their sessions dragged on. Days's mind was elsewhere.

0:09:40.640 --> 0:09:45.000
<v Speaker 2>The patients didn't seem to notice. Back at the module,

0:09:45.320 --> 0:09:48.440
<v Speaker 2>Days down in mre then called up another one ate

0:09:48.480 --> 0:09:52.839
<v Speaker 2>that too, fidgeted Awhile went to the green, sat on

0:09:52.880 --> 0:09:56.640
<v Speaker 2>a bench beneath the colored bunting and tried reading. It

0:09:56.679 --> 0:10:00.360
<v Speaker 2>was an archaic work, full of obsolete pronouns and range

0:10:00.400 --> 0:10:03.959
<v Speaker 2>social relationships. Days had a hard time following conflicts that

0:10:04.040 --> 0:10:07.000
<v Speaker 2>didn't seem to make any sense at all. This one

0:10:07.080 --> 0:10:09.240
<v Speaker 2>was about a person named Edna who spent all their

0:10:09.320 --> 0:10:13.280
<v Speaker 2>days in idleness, first on vacation, now with one lover,

0:10:13.600 --> 0:10:17.600
<v Speaker 2>now with another, but never happy with anything. It described

0:10:17.640 --> 0:10:20.400
<v Speaker 2>a society in which everyone seemed to be perpetually running

0:10:20.480 --> 0:10:23.880
<v Speaker 2>away from one another and at the same time chained together.

0:10:25.600 --> 0:10:28.400
<v Speaker 2>Days put the novel down. The air had become a

0:10:28.480 --> 0:10:32.160
<v Speaker 2>solid thing. What was the conflict in the story? Was

0:10:32.280 --> 0:10:35.640
<v Speaker 2>Edna just a weak, fatuous person that wouldn't make for

0:10:35.679 --> 0:10:39.880
<v Speaker 2>an interesting tale. Amidst the nebulous anxieties the novel plotted,

0:10:40.360 --> 0:10:44.959
<v Speaker 2>Days perceived the outlines of another character, unnamed, invisible yet

0:10:45.000 --> 0:10:50.080
<v Speaker 2>ever present, filling Edna and all the others with dread, oppressive,

0:10:50.120 --> 0:10:53.120
<v Speaker 2>and everywhere, all at once, like the heat that day.

0:10:54.960 --> 0:10:57.760
<v Speaker 2>Were there video cameras at the time this novel was written,

0:10:58.559 --> 0:11:01.640
<v Speaker 2>Days didn't think so. That might explain the fear of

0:11:01.679 --> 0:11:04.720
<v Speaker 2>being seen all the characters seemed to display, but they

0:11:04.760 --> 0:11:08.200
<v Speaker 2>were sure the novel predated video cameras by half a century.

0:11:09.000 --> 0:11:13.720
<v Speaker 2>They lifted the portable again. Intrigued leonce came back into

0:11:13.720 --> 0:11:17.320
<v Speaker 2>the narrative, Days didn't understand that character at all. They

0:11:17.320 --> 0:11:20.480
<v Speaker 2>seemed to have no connection whatsoever with Edna, and yet

0:11:20.640 --> 0:11:24.640
<v Speaker 2>they were bound. Leonce decided where Edna's children should go.

0:11:25.160 --> 0:11:27.240
<v Speaker 2>At one point they spoke with a doctor about what

0:11:27.280 --> 0:11:30.679
<v Speaker 2>should be done with Edna, without Edna even being present.

0:11:31.200 --> 0:11:33.240
<v Speaker 2>But most of the time they were just somewhere else.

0:11:33.920 --> 0:11:37.720
<v Speaker 2>Did Leonce possessed some magical power over Edna? The story

0:11:37.760 --> 0:11:40.360
<v Speaker 2>made no mention of magic, but perhaps they were supposed

0:11:40.360 --> 0:11:44.360
<v Speaker 2>to intuit its existence. Primitive literature was often strange like that.

0:11:45.320 --> 0:11:48.680
<v Speaker 2>The stiffness of the air continued to build. Her Medica

0:11:48.760 --> 0:11:52.599
<v Speaker 2>produced a lot of heat. Surely it could not hold.

0:11:53.320 --> 0:11:56.160
<v Speaker 2>And there it was, the first wisp of movement. It

0:11:56.160 --> 0:11:59.480
<v Speaker 2>would all come falling down. Now already was falling, even

0:11:59.480 --> 0:12:03.240
<v Speaker 2>if no one else else noticed. Now the story was

0:12:03.280 --> 0:12:07.679
<v Speaker 2>getting interesting. Edna was speaking with a musician, a pianist.

0:12:08.080 --> 0:12:10.280
<v Speaker 2>They had a nice relationship, one that made a little

0:12:10.280 --> 0:12:12.599
<v Speaker 2>more sense, And the pianist did not seem to be

0:12:12.679 --> 0:12:15.959
<v Speaker 2>afraid of whomever it was that terrified everyone else so much.

0:12:16.600 --> 0:12:20.480
<v Speaker 2>Another lick of air ruffled Das's hair. An alert popped

0:12:20.559 --> 0:12:23.400
<v Speaker 2>up in the corner of the screen. They tapped on it.

0:12:24.120 --> 0:12:29.000
<v Speaker 2>A PSA Meteorology has fast tracked an atmospheric adjustment for

0:12:29.040 --> 0:12:32.880
<v Speaker 2>this afternoon. The scheduled precipitation event has been upgraded to

0:12:32.920 --> 0:12:36.200
<v Speaker 2>a Class three adjustment. Citizens are advised to remain in

0:12:36.200 --> 0:12:41.040
<v Speaker 2>their modules. Starting at eighteen h Days grinned from ear

0:12:41.240 --> 0:12:46.160
<v Speaker 2>to ear called it. There was still another hour before

0:12:46.200 --> 0:12:49.640
<v Speaker 2>the call was zimp an eternity. They suddenly lost their

0:12:49.640 --> 0:12:54.280
<v Speaker 2>patience with the novel portable. Is there an open slot

0:12:54.320 --> 0:12:57.000
<v Speaker 2>for a jog? It wasn't easy to get a slot

0:12:57.000 --> 0:12:59.400
<v Speaker 2>on short notice, but in this heat it was possible.

0:13:00.120 --> 0:13:03.000
<v Speaker 2>Not many other people were out on the block. There's

0:13:03.040 --> 0:13:06.400
<v Speaker 2>a fifteen minute slot opening up in six minutes. Is

0:13:06.440 --> 0:13:10.920
<v Speaker 2>that acceptable? Book it? Days went back to the module,

0:13:11.080 --> 0:13:14.280
<v Speaker 2>changed into track clothes, and went out the door, keeping

0:13:14.280 --> 0:13:16.800
<v Speaker 2>a good pace. They went around the block the full

0:13:16.920 --> 0:13:22.679
<v Speaker 2>cross ten times four kilometers. The portable beaped in paternal

0:13:22.720 --> 0:13:25.880
<v Speaker 2>consternation a few times. On the last lap, they had

0:13:25.880 --> 0:13:28.560
<v Speaker 2>exceeded their slot, but no one else was showing up

0:13:28.559 --> 0:13:31.960
<v Speaker 2>To run back in their module, they stripped and threw

0:13:32.000 --> 0:13:35.120
<v Speaker 2>the clothes in the chute. The shower extracted and they

0:13:35.160 --> 0:13:40.560
<v Speaker 2>stepped in cold water, making them gasp in exhilaration. Once

0:13:40.600 --> 0:13:42.920
<v Speaker 2>they'd had enough time to get soaked twice over and

0:13:42.960 --> 0:13:46.400
<v Speaker 2>relish the chill just a little longer. The module chimed in,

0:13:47.360 --> 0:13:51.920
<v Speaker 2>Shall I switch to hot now? Right on time? Soon

0:13:51.960 --> 0:13:54.520
<v Speaker 2>the air was steaming, and Days leaned against the tiled

0:13:54.559 --> 0:13:58.960
<v Speaker 2>wall and bliss, Can I get another leader? Just steam?

0:13:59.400 --> 0:14:02.839
<v Speaker 2>You're close to your limit. I'll skip tomorrow. Just give

0:14:02.880 --> 0:14:07.520
<v Speaker 2>me another leader, please. The tight stream of aerated water

0:14:07.679 --> 0:14:11.360
<v Speaker 2>toggled to a focused bath of steam, and Days felt

0:14:11.360 --> 0:14:14.880
<v Speaker 2>time slip away. When it was finally over, they moved

0:14:14.920 --> 0:14:18.520
<v Speaker 2>at an indolent pace, toweling off and leisurely picking new

0:14:18.520 --> 0:14:23.400
<v Speaker 2>clothes as the shower vacked itself and retracted. Just a

0:14:23.440 --> 0:14:27.320
<v Speaker 2>few minutes remained before zimp's call. Days opened the article

0:14:27.360 --> 0:14:30.760
<v Speaker 2>they had sent, scanning through it on their portable. They

0:14:30.840 --> 0:14:35.040
<v Speaker 2>kept the wall screen free black, like infinite potential. The

0:14:35.160 --> 0:14:38.000
<v Speaker 2>article was a useful refresher all things they had studied

0:14:38.000 --> 0:14:41.800
<v Speaker 2>before the aptitudes. The image of the examiner popped into

0:14:41.840 --> 0:14:44.280
<v Speaker 2>their head. The screen at the front of the class,

0:14:44.560 --> 0:14:48.040
<v Speaker 2>the tension of a ticking clock, a diminishing block of time,

0:14:48.120 --> 0:14:50.840
<v Speaker 2>and so many questions too many to answer, all of

0:14:50.880 --> 0:14:56.120
<v Speaker 2>them pointing to the future or closing the way They

0:14:56.120 --> 0:14:59.240
<v Speaker 2>had gotten through half the article, ZIM still hadn't called.

0:15:00.280 --> 0:15:06.480
<v Speaker 2>Looked up at the wall screen, nothing just blackness. Message, ZIMP,

0:15:06.880 --> 0:15:10.080
<v Speaker 2>are we still on experiment giving you problems? Let me

0:15:10.160 --> 0:15:13.480
<v Speaker 2>know if you want to postpone. They went back to

0:15:13.520 --> 0:15:18.160
<v Speaker 2>reading three minutes later, and there was no reply. Call zimp,

0:15:19.960 --> 0:15:25.520
<v Speaker 2>zimp is unavailable, module said, after a short pause. Unavailable

0:15:25.800 --> 0:15:29.040
<v Speaker 2>like out of the module. Without their portable Days could

0:15:29.040 --> 0:15:32.360
<v Speaker 2>imagine no other form of unavailability. One could always turn

0:15:32.400 --> 0:15:35.160
<v Speaker 2>off calls, of course, but that simply routed calls straight

0:15:35.200 --> 0:15:40.160
<v Speaker 2>to message there's a block a block. Days wasn't even

0:15:40.200 --> 0:15:44.760
<v Speaker 2>sure what that meant. Please wait. Now things were downright strange.

0:15:45.360 --> 0:15:52.480
<v Speaker 2>They wished snookums were here module what's please wait? Was

0:15:52.560 --> 0:15:56.359
<v Speaker 2>module frozen? It had never happened before, but it was feasible.

0:15:56.880 --> 0:15:59.840
<v Speaker 2>Maybe a programming upgrade had caused some functions to go off,

0:15:59.800 --> 0:16:03.880
<v Speaker 2>They wondered if that meant they were stuck inside. They

0:16:03.880 --> 0:16:06.080
<v Speaker 2>were just about to go to the door when the

0:16:06.120 --> 0:16:10.200
<v Speaker 2>buzzer rang. Days jumped, and then, because they could find

0:16:10.200 --> 0:16:13.200
<v Speaker 2>no explanation for the feeling of dread that boiled through them,

0:16:13.480 --> 0:16:17.200
<v Speaker 2>they opened the door. A person they had never seen before,

0:16:17.280 --> 0:16:21.880
<v Speaker 2>a bit older, with stern eyes walked in. Hello, Days,

0:16:22.200 --> 0:16:25.600
<v Speaker 2>sorry for intruding like this. I'm emmyl I'm a block rep.

0:16:26.120 --> 0:16:29.320
<v Speaker 2>May I take my mask off? Days made a gesture

0:16:29.360 --> 0:16:33.280
<v Speaker 2>of polite descent. What's going on? Their mouth went dry

0:16:33.320 --> 0:16:37.120
<v Speaker 2>as they spoke. I'm sorry to inform you we've temporarily

0:16:37.160 --> 0:16:45.280
<v Speaker 2>blocked your communications. Oh is that what happened? Why you

0:16:45.320 --> 0:16:48.720
<v Speaker 2>were flagged for circumventing some of the compartmentalization protocols that

0:16:48.760 --> 0:16:51.600
<v Speaker 2>are integral to the new safety I'm sure it was

0:16:51.640 --> 0:16:54.120
<v Speaker 2>an innocent mistake on your part, but I need to

0:16:54.120 --> 0:16:57.120
<v Speaker 2>give you an evaluation just to make sure no further

0:16:57.160 --> 0:17:02.960
<v Speaker 2>procedures are needed. What what did I do? You were

0:17:03.000 --> 0:17:06.320
<v Speaker 2>about to participate in an unauthorized experiment that might have

0:17:06.440 --> 0:17:10.560
<v Speaker 2>enabled the collection of sensitive information about her medica in

0:17:10.680 --> 0:17:14.680
<v Speaker 2>violation of need to know? And do you know who

0:17:14.720 --> 0:17:19.040
<v Speaker 2>else will aid? And a bet? Nope, it's just ads.

0:17:19.320 --> 0:17:33.120
<v Speaker 2>They just show up. Here they are and we're back,

0:17:37.400 --> 0:17:44.240
<v Speaker 2>Oh the corealis thing? Days asked, that's right, Emil replied

0:17:44.320 --> 0:17:49.000
<v Speaker 2>with a patient smile. How is that a violation? I

0:17:49.040 --> 0:17:51.919
<v Speaker 2>know it must seem like an innocent inquiry, something that

0:17:51.960 --> 0:17:55.880
<v Speaker 2>would fall under the hobby Statute, But Unfortunately, only citizens

0:17:55.920 --> 0:17:58.520
<v Speaker 2>working in physics are allowed to take measurements related to

0:17:58.560 --> 0:18:02.560
<v Speaker 2>acceleration or even the axis of rotation for the life platforms.

0:18:03.200 --> 0:18:06.680
<v Speaker 2>You understand why we need to compartmentalize with no exceptions.

0:18:07.200 --> 0:18:12.439
<v Speaker 2>Remember the Wiki? How could days forget the Wiki? The

0:18:12.560 --> 0:18:15.640
<v Speaker 2>history was drilled into the heads of every young cohort

0:18:15.680 --> 0:18:19.159
<v Speaker 2>on the ship. The Wiki was her Medica's sister ship.

0:18:19.680 --> 0:18:22.399
<v Speaker 2>The two had departed at the same time, heading for

0:18:22.440 --> 0:18:26.159
<v Speaker 2>the same cluster of stars with the same objective find

0:18:26.240 --> 0:18:29.119
<v Speaker 2>and colonize a new home world, but they had been

0:18:29.119 --> 0:18:32.520
<v Speaker 2>designed according to radically different models. There had been a

0:18:32.560 --> 0:18:35.520
<v Speaker 2>strong debate in the space program, and in the spirit

0:18:35.600 --> 0:18:39.360
<v Speaker 2>of openness and scientific inquiry, the Terran governments that ran

0:18:39.400 --> 0:18:42.720
<v Speaker 2>the program agreed to let proponents of the two top

0:18:42.760 --> 0:18:45.760
<v Speaker 2>models each have a free hand in designing their ships.

0:18:46.720 --> 0:18:50.520
<v Speaker 2>The Wiki was designed according to a completely open source model,

0:18:50.960 --> 0:18:54.440
<v Speaker 2>with every passenger given full access to all the information

0:18:54.880 --> 0:18:58.679
<v Speaker 2>and permission to rewrite code and tweak design. It was

0:18:58.720 --> 0:19:02.440
<v Speaker 2>billed as a constantly self correcting work in progress that

0:19:02.560 --> 0:19:07.400
<v Speaker 2>made maximum usage of the full intellectual resources of the passengers,

0:19:09.200 --> 0:19:11.720
<v Speaker 2>and it worked well for the first few years, with

0:19:11.840 --> 0:19:15.399
<v Speaker 2>Wiki passengers developing a number of propulsion and life support

0:19:15.440 --> 0:19:19.520
<v Speaker 2>innovations that her Medica quickly adopted. But as the two

0:19:19.520 --> 0:19:25.160
<v Speaker 2>ships approached Pluto's orbit, communication cut out. One final transmission

0:19:25.200 --> 0:19:28.480
<v Speaker 2>warned of an attempted takeover, with reports of fighting on

0:19:28.520 --> 0:19:33.040
<v Speaker 2>the wiki, and then the entire ship exploded. No one

0:19:33.080 --> 0:19:35.880
<v Speaker 2>would ever know who the saboteurs were, if they were

0:19:36.080 --> 0:19:39.080
<v Speaker 2>terrorists or engineers of cabin fever, if there had been

0:19:39.080 --> 0:19:42.200
<v Speaker 2>a power struggle between different factions trying to impose their

0:19:42.240 --> 0:19:45.880
<v Speaker 2>design for the ship. All they knew was the mantra

0:19:46.440 --> 0:19:50.320
<v Speaker 2>repeated in classrooms across her Medica. After the sociopsyches ran

0:19:50.359 --> 0:19:55.119
<v Speaker 2>it through their simulations and confirmed the systemic flaw. Open

0:19:55.160 --> 0:19:59.560
<v Speaker 2>source systems are vulnerable to sabotage by disciplined and determined parties.

0:20:00.160 --> 0:20:04.639
<v Speaker 2>Centralization and compartmentalization are the best way to prevent anarchic

0:20:04.760 --> 0:20:11.600
<v Speaker 2>power struggles. So Days asked, we can't do our Corealis experiment.

0:20:12.400 --> 0:20:16.200
<v Speaker 2>I'm afraid not, and Days, I need you to tell

0:20:16.200 --> 0:20:21.040
<v Speaker 2>me what's going on. What do you mean their palms

0:20:21.040 --> 0:20:25.399
<v Speaker 2>got clammy, your line of questioning, your reasoning for wanting

0:20:25.440 --> 0:20:29.080
<v Speaker 2>to do the experiment. The recommendation is for a psych

0:20:29.160 --> 0:20:32.639
<v Speaker 2>evaluation and you were already flagged the day before for

0:20:32.720 --> 0:20:36.399
<v Speaker 2>damage to your module. They knew about the wall panel.

0:20:36.920 --> 0:20:39.600
<v Speaker 2>Of course they knew, So do they already know what

0:20:39.640 --> 0:20:42.160
<v Speaker 2>they had discovered? If they did, hiding it would only

0:20:42.160 --> 0:20:45.640
<v Speaker 2>make things worse. Days went to get the strange sheet.

0:20:46.720 --> 0:20:50.800
<v Speaker 2>I found this in the wall. The rep pursed their

0:20:50.840 --> 0:20:54.360
<v Speaker 2>lips as they gripped the sheet fingers like tweezers. Their

0:20:54.359 --> 0:20:57.480
<v Speaker 2>look darkened as they scanned the contents of the two articles.

0:20:58.760 --> 0:21:03.120
<v Speaker 2>And I imagine you're quite confused. I am. It talks

0:21:03.119 --> 0:21:06.080
<v Speaker 2>about things that don't make sense, things that don't add up,

0:21:07.240 --> 0:21:10.520
<v Speaker 2>and that's why you wanted to do an experiment. Well,

0:21:10.560 --> 0:21:13.560
<v Speaker 2>the experiment was z IMP's idea. They don't know anything about

0:21:13.560 --> 0:21:16.159
<v Speaker 2>the articles they rushed to add. But I was feeling

0:21:17.000 --> 0:21:20.280
<v Speaker 2>estranged reading all those things about Tara. You know, I

0:21:20.320 --> 0:21:25.040
<v Speaker 2>did poorly on the aptitudes. You did well on the aptitudes.

0:21:25.040 --> 0:21:28.040
<v Speaker 2>Emmil interrupted. You simply got tracked to an assignment that

0:21:28.080 --> 0:21:32.000
<v Speaker 2>perhaps you no longer find satisfying. Okay, But what I

0:21:32.040 --> 0:21:34.000
<v Speaker 2>meant to say is I've never gotten to work on

0:21:34.040 --> 0:21:36.880
<v Speaker 2>a system that's an integral part of her medica. Yes,

0:21:37.080 --> 0:21:40.679
<v Speaker 2>I know, Days headed off the next interruption the human

0:21:40.760 --> 0:21:44.399
<v Speaker 2>passengers are the most integral system of all, and palliative

0:21:44.440 --> 0:21:47.560
<v Speaker 2>therapy is a vital part of the whole Days recited

0:21:47.560 --> 0:21:53.080
<v Speaker 2>the PSA's dryly. But her Medica, it feels unreal for me.

0:21:54.720 --> 0:21:57.119
<v Speaker 2>The rep did not look pleased with that answer. And

0:21:57.160 --> 0:22:01.080
<v Speaker 2>why did the sheet exacerbate that feeling? It talks about

0:22:01.119 --> 0:22:05.160
<v Speaker 2>a virus on Earth, on Tera, the choking sickness. How

0:22:05.160 --> 0:22:07.679
<v Speaker 2>could the same virus have struck on Tera and on

0:22:07.720 --> 0:22:11.520
<v Speaker 2>her Medica. We don't know the article refers to the

0:22:11.520 --> 0:22:14.760
<v Speaker 2>same virus, the rep explained patiently. It could simply be

0:22:14.800 --> 0:22:18.400
<v Speaker 2>a similar one. Maybe an ancestral strain was already dormant

0:22:18.400 --> 0:22:21.800
<v Speaker 2>in human populations when her Medica set out, and similar

0:22:22.000 --> 0:22:26.840
<v Speaker 2>virulent strains evolved in both places without a comparative genetic analysis.

0:22:26.920 --> 0:22:31.120
<v Speaker 2>Who's to say yes? But how did an article from

0:22:31.200 --> 0:22:34.760
<v Speaker 2>Tera about things that happened after we already left wind

0:22:34.840 --> 0:22:38.480
<v Speaker 2>up aboard the ship. The sheet's non electronic. It didn't

0:22:38.480 --> 0:22:43.280
<v Speaker 2>get beamed here. The rep held their silence a moment.

0:22:44.040 --> 0:22:47.600
<v Speaker 2>A vein on their neck fluttered and bulged. Just because

0:22:47.600 --> 0:22:50.119
<v Speaker 2>a piece of paper contains a bit of information doesn't

0:22:50.160 --> 0:22:53.400
<v Speaker 2>mean it's true. I appreciate that you have many questions

0:22:53.400 --> 0:22:56.400
<v Speaker 2>that seem valid to you. I also appreciate that, when

0:22:56.440 --> 0:22:58.479
<v Speaker 2>faced with a doubt, you had the discretion to not

0:22:58.560 --> 0:23:01.040
<v Speaker 2>go immediately onto your social life and begins spreading it

0:23:01.080 --> 0:23:05.639
<v Speaker 2>throughout the ship. Nonetheless, certain inquiries, when they go beyond

0:23:05.680 --> 0:23:10.680
<v Speaker 2>idle curiosity, to achieve a satisfactory answer require scientific exploration.

0:23:10.880 --> 0:23:15.960
<v Speaker 2>As you know. Unfortunately, our safety demands a compartmentalized approach

0:23:16.280 --> 0:23:21.200
<v Speaker 2>to avoid putting sensitive information in the open. Trust the experts,

0:23:21.240 --> 0:23:25.159
<v Speaker 2>but let everyone become an expert. Emil repeated the old motto.

0:23:25.960 --> 0:23:28.760
<v Speaker 2>Of course, no one person can become an expert in everything.

0:23:28.880 --> 0:23:32.840
<v Speaker 2>That's impossible. People have to stick to their field where

0:23:32.880 --> 0:23:39.439
<v Speaker 2>they risk confusing everybody. So what are you saying? You

0:23:39.600 --> 0:23:42.119
<v Speaker 2>found an intriguing piece of a puzzle. I'll give you that,

0:23:42.760 --> 0:23:47.160
<v Speaker 2>But you're not the only one. I'm not. No, days,

0:23:47.359 --> 0:23:51.480
<v Speaker 2>you're not. Everyone else is working on the same puzzle.

0:23:52.119 --> 0:23:55.960
<v Speaker 2>The physicists are working on propulsion, the biologists are working

0:23:55.960 --> 0:23:59.640
<v Speaker 2>on life support systems. The designers are working on quality

0:23:59.680 --> 0:24:03.359
<v Speaker 2>and entertainment. My team works on safety, and all of

0:24:03.440 --> 0:24:06.240
<v Speaker 2>us are working together on the greatest mystery of all,

0:24:07.000 --> 0:24:11.240
<v Speaker 2>how to sustainably project life into the stars. I play

0:24:11.280 --> 0:24:15.280
<v Speaker 2>my role and you play yours. Something they had said,

0:24:15.320 --> 0:24:20.439
<v Speaker 2>stuck with Days, you work in safety. I thought you

0:24:20.440 --> 0:24:25.680
<v Speaker 2>were an inter block. Rep Emal's jaw clenched again. They're

0:24:25.720 --> 0:24:29.480
<v Speaker 2>overlapping fields. Sometimes we have to work together. Now, listen

0:24:29.520 --> 0:24:32.000
<v Speaker 2>to me. You can stick to your assignments and your

0:24:32.000 --> 0:24:35.680
<v Speaker 2>social circuits. If you feel that your curiosity is related

0:24:35.680 --> 0:24:37.800
<v Speaker 2>to a capacity that can be trained and put to

0:24:37.800 --> 0:24:41.560
<v Speaker 2>Hermetica's use, I can arrange for you to retake the aptitudes.

0:24:42.280 --> 0:24:45.000
<v Speaker 2>If you feel like these restrictions are unfair, you can

0:24:45.119 --> 0:24:50.800
<v Speaker 2>enter into a reconciliation, A reconciliation with whom Days asked,

0:24:51.680 --> 0:24:55.159
<v Speaker 2>who have I harmed? A reconciliation with the ship's agreements.

0:24:55.520 --> 0:24:59.600
<v Speaker 2>The Rep replied tersely. Days nodded they could tell, arguing

0:24:59.640 --> 0:25:03.520
<v Speaker 2>what only make things worse? The Rep left. A short

0:25:03.560 --> 0:25:06.920
<v Speaker 2>time later, the communications block would be removed after a

0:25:06.960 --> 0:25:10.560
<v Speaker 2>short period of observation. They had said. They confiscated the

0:25:10.560 --> 0:25:12.800
<v Speaker 2>sheet with the two articles. What did they called it?

0:25:13.600 --> 0:25:18.320
<v Speaker 2>The paper? Days felt wrecked, like they were surrounded with

0:25:18.400 --> 0:25:21.840
<v Speaker 2>nowhere to go. The confines of the module were oppressive,

0:25:22.760 --> 0:25:26.200
<v Speaker 2>tattle tale, they growled. It was too much. They wanted

0:25:26.200 --> 0:25:29.640
<v Speaker 2>to smash the screen, to yank out all the wall panels,

0:25:29.920 --> 0:25:32.040
<v Speaker 2>to pull out the bed and rip off the sheets,

0:25:32.320 --> 0:25:34.679
<v Speaker 2>to call up mrs and throw them on the floor.

0:25:35.280 --> 0:25:38.359
<v Speaker 2>The austere face of the examiner came to mind, the

0:25:38.480 --> 0:25:44.280
<v Speaker 2>damned aptitudes circumscribing their future. This damn block rep or

0:25:44.280 --> 0:25:47.520
<v Speaker 2>whoever they were. It wasn't fair. They had to move,

0:25:47.920 --> 0:25:52.600
<v Speaker 2>They had to go somewhere. Fortunately, the door opened and

0:25:52.680 --> 0:25:55.440
<v Speaker 2>let them out into the street. The air was heavy

0:25:55.480 --> 0:25:59.119
<v Speaker 2>and damp. As they walked towards the green boiling, the

0:25:59.160 --> 0:26:04.080
<v Speaker 2>first drops began to fall, fat, heavy, cold drops of rain,

0:26:05.000 --> 0:26:08.320
<v Speaker 2>a precipitation event when all the specialists couldn't get humidity

0:26:08.480 --> 0:26:11.560
<v Speaker 2>optimally distributed across the ship, and they had to flood

0:26:11.560 --> 0:26:14.880
<v Speaker 2>a few blocks with a downpour. With all their systems,

0:26:14.960 --> 0:26:18.160
<v Speaker 2>all their modeling, all their aptitudes, the experts could still

0:26:18.200 --> 0:26:23.720
<v Speaker 2>not work out the unexpected. The chaotic days laughed at them.

0:26:23.760 --> 0:26:27.159
<v Speaker 2>As the rain fell harder. A sudden flash made them jump,

0:26:27.400 --> 0:26:32.080
<v Speaker 2>a major electrostatic discharge ripping across the sky. But was

0:26:32.119 --> 0:26:35.520
<v Speaker 2>it in the sky the projection or was the flash

0:26:35.600 --> 0:26:39.320
<v Speaker 2>reel a bolt of charged particles equalizing from one end

0:26:39.320 --> 0:26:42.520
<v Speaker 2>of the platform to the other. They could give no answer.

0:26:43.400 --> 0:26:46.280
<v Speaker 2>All they could do is look upwards, face full of rain,

0:26:47.119 --> 0:26:51.040
<v Speaker 2>and wait for another one. And it came, and they

0:26:51.080 --> 0:26:54.199
<v Speaker 2>felt the light run through them. Now they were at

0:26:54.240 --> 0:26:56.320
<v Speaker 2>the green, and the rain was falling so hard it

0:26:56.359 --> 0:26:59.480
<v Speaker 2>filled their eyes and soaked their clothes. No one else

0:26:59.560 --> 0:27:02.679
<v Speaker 2>was out, unthinkable. All the cameras were blinded by the

0:27:02.680 --> 0:27:05.480
<v Speaker 2>thick sheets of rain. Not even a drone could fly

0:27:05.600 --> 0:27:10.000
<v Speaker 2>in this downpour. Days was completely alone, and they danced.

0:27:10.640 --> 0:27:13.760
<v Speaker 2>The world opened up to them. The shrubs swayed and trembled,

0:27:14.080 --> 0:27:17.960
<v Speaker 2>the bunting drooped and broke, the benches splattered and endured.

0:27:18.040 --> 0:27:23.680
<v Speaker 2>And Days danced generous, leaping and joyous pirouettes, their arms outstretched,

0:27:24.040 --> 0:27:26.520
<v Speaker 2>taking everything as though there were no end to what

0:27:26.560 --> 0:27:29.800
<v Speaker 2>could be given, and offering all of themselves in return.

0:27:30.800 --> 0:27:34.200
<v Speaker 2>They were doing loops around the maypole, now bouncing, spinning

0:27:34.280 --> 0:27:39.960
<v Speaker 2>circles of endless return. More lightning flashed, the rain pounded

0:27:39.960 --> 0:27:43.200
<v Speaker 2>on the street like a stampede. The street was full,

0:27:43.920 --> 0:27:50.080
<v Speaker 2>Days and a million feet arriving, always arriving, endless. Days

0:27:50.160 --> 0:27:53.480
<v Speaker 2>was panting. Never had they run so hard. Their mouth

0:27:53.600 --> 0:27:56.760
<v Speaker 2>was full of rain, their hair was a river. The

0:27:56.840 --> 0:27:58.679
<v Speaker 2>rain was in their belly button and the crack of

0:27:58.720 --> 0:28:01.960
<v Speaker 2>their ass on their eye. Last, between their toes, they

0:28:02.000 --> 0:28:06.280
<v Speaker 2>could hear the world breathing. As the paroxysm eased, Days

0:28:06.320 --> 0:28:10.760
<v Speaker 2>found themselves wandering around the block. Everything was newly acquainted.

0:28:11.160 --> 0:28:14.280
<v Speaker 2>Not a single meter of darkened water slick street was

0:28:14.320 --> 0:28:17.520
<v Speaker 2>the one they had walked down before. Spent years walking

0:28:17.600 --> 0:28:22.400
<v Speaker 2>down these streets belonged to them. Tonight, when the last

0:28:22.520 --> 0:28:26.240
<v Speaker 2>drizzle subsided, Days returned to their module. They shed their

0:28:26.240 --> 0:28:30.280
<v Speaker 2>soaking clothes and went straight to the far wall. Module.

0:28:30.359 --> 0:28:34.040
<v Speaker 2>Surprised reacted late. The bed extracted after they had already

0:28:34.080 --> 0:28:37.399
<v Speaker 2>arrived waiting for it. Had they been expected to towel

0:28:37.440 --> 0:28:40.840
<v Speaker 2>off first. Now they too were part of the unexpected.

0:28:41.240 --> 0:28:45.720
<v Speaker 2>A wisp of storm broken off, unvanquished. They smiled fiercely

0:28:45.760 --> 0:28:49.040
<v Speaker 2>as they dripped into the sheets, rising on the rising

0:28:49.120 --> 0:28:54.520
<v Speaker 2>cumula of dreams. In the morning, they knew Emil had

0:28:54.520 --> 0:28:58.360
<v Speaker 2>been lying. All of them had been lying. They walked

0:28:58.400 --> 0:29:02.680
<v Speaker 2>straight out the door, unclosed, fast, unbroken, leaving Module in

0:29:02.720 --> 0:29:05.000
<v Speaker 2>the middle of a sentence. They walked up and down

0:29:05.040 --> 0:29:09.200
<v Speaker 2>the street, looking at the modules the sky. They did

0:29:09.200 --> 0:29:12.520
<v Speaker 2>not have zimps knack for equations, but surely they could

0:29:12.560 --> 0:29:17.320
<v Speaker 2>find something, a proof, But all there was were two

0:29:17.360 --> 0:29:20.960
<v Speaker 2>cross streets and four nodes. No other way out? What

0:29:21.080 --> 0:29:24.040
<v Speaker 2>had the reps said? Their choices were keep to their circuits,

0:29:24.080 --> 0:29:28.880
<v Speaker 2>retake their aptitudes, or a reconciliation. No, they were lying.

0:29:29.360 --> 0:29:32.680
<v Speaker 2>There were always other choices. The smaller units were three

0:29:32.760 --> 0:29:35.120
<v Speaker 2>meters high, with a rounded lip and no hand hold

0:29:35.120 --> 0:29:38.080
<v Speaker 2>on the facade. No way a single person could get

0:29:38.120 --> 0:29:41.200
<v Speaker 2>on top of one. But Days was not a single person.

0:29:41.680 --> 0:29:44.760
<v Speaker 2>They were a million feet. They were a storm cloud.

0:29:46.720 --> 0:29:50.520
<v Speaker 2>As neighbors avoided their gaze and hurried onwards towards destinations,

0:29:51.160 --> 0:29:55.640
<v Speaker 2>Days found themselves in front of the maypole. Hello, dancing partner,

0:29:55.880 --> 0:30:00.880
<v Speaker 2>they smiled. The maypole kept on pointing towards the sky. Yeah,

0:30:00.880 --> 0:30:03.080
<v Speaker 2>you're the one, aren't you. You take me where I

0:30:03.120 --> 0:30:05.760
<v Speaker 2>need to go? Now, if I can just get you

0:30:05.960 --> 0:30:09.800
<v Speaker 2>to change position. They knew it was possible. They had

0:30:09.800 --> 0:30:13.720
<v Speaker 2>seen it done. All they needed was an accomplice. Days

0:30:13.720 --> 0:30:15.920
<v Speaker 2>could only imagine what sort of blocks they had on

0:30:15.960 --> 0:30:19.600
<v Speaker 2>them all throughout the system. By now, a neighbor was

0:30:19.680 --> 0:30:24.239
<v Speaker 2>rushing along to one of the nodes, studiously avoiding Days's nakedness. You,

0:30:24.440 --> 0:30:31.320
<v Speaker 2>they said, stop, Terrified the neighbor complied, Days smiled, we

0:30:31.360 --> 0:30:33.960
<v Speaker 2>need to clear the way for a therapeutic intervention. Tell

0:30:34.000 --> 0:30:36.360
<v Speaker 2>the block to release this element so we can move

0:30:36.400 --> 0:30:40.520
<v Speaker 2>it out of the way. Clearly uncomfortable, but seduced by

0:30:40.520 --> 0:30:43.760
<v Speaker 2>the logic that a therapeutic intervention was indeed in order,

0:30:44.240 --> 0:30:48.719
<v Speaker 2>The neighbor stepped forward and said, in a trembling voice, Block, Uh,

0:30:48.760 --> 0:30:52.800
<v Speaker 2>we need you to uh release this poll Days could

0:30:52.800 --> 0:30:56.440
<v Speaker 2>almost sense the hesitation. Clearly, all kinds of models and

0:30:56.480 --> 0:31:00.040
<v Speaker 2>algorithms were telling the block this was a terrible idea,

0:31:00.120 --> 0:31:03.000
<v Speaker 2>but human overrides were given a back door precisely for

0:31:03.080 --> 0:31:06.480
<v Speaker 2>those situations in which the system did not understand which

0:31:06.520 --> 0:31:10.600
<v Speaker 2>criteria to prioritize. The block relented and the ground panel

0:31:10.680 --> 0:31:14.800
<v Speaker 2>released its hold on the maypole. Thanks, Day said pleasantly,

0:31:15.360 --> 0:31:18.160
<v Speaker 2>you can go. They got a grip on the pole

0:31:18.200 --> 0:31:21.280
<v Speaker 2>and lowered it down onto their shoulder. It actually didn't

0:31:21.320 --> 0:31:24.080
<v Speaker 2>weigh that much despite its height, and they were able

0:31:24.080 --> 0:31:26.720
<v Speaker 2>to drag it off the green. The day was going

0:31:26.800 --> 0:31:31.080
<v Speaker 2>perfectly so far. A claxon sounded in the direction of

0:31:31.120 --> 0:31:34.160
<v Speaker 2>the health center, but Days didn't care. They were humming.

0:31:34.280 --> 0:31:38.200
<v Speaker 2>They couldn't remember what song. Arriving at a single person unit.

0:31:38.360 --> 0:31:40.560
<v Speaker 2>Days propped the pole against the edge of the roof.

0:31:41.160 --> 0:31:43.520
<v Speaker 2>It leaned in at an angle that was somewhat steeper

0:31:43.520 --> 0:31:46.080
<v Speaker 2>than forty five degrees, but still not so steep that

0:31:46.120 --> 0:31:49.600
<v Speaker 2>they couldn't shimmy up it, And shimmy they did. The

0:31:49.680 --> 0:31:52.440
<v Speaker 2>medics arrived then, running towards them, but they were most

0:31:52.440 --> 0:31:54.160
<v Speaker 2>of the way up, and the medics were afraid to

0:31:54.200 --> 0:31:58.560
<v Speaker 2>dislodge the pole and cause Days to fall. Hello, they called,

0:31:58.880 --> 0:32:02.280
<v Speaker 2>and then they were at the roof. Good Bye. The

0:32:02.360 --> 0:32:05.000
<v Speaker 2>roof was the same color and texture as the facade.

0:32:05.360 --> 0:32:07.880
<v Speaker 2>The most remarkable thing about it was once they walked

0:32:07.920 --> 0:32:11.880
<v Speaker 2>in a couple meters, the street disappeared. They were in

0:32:11.920 --> 0:32:14.840
<v Speaker 2>a completely new place, all their own, not in a

0:32:14.920 --> 0:32:18.280
<v Speaker 2>module out of doors, but not under the watchful eyes

0:32:18.280 --> 0:32:22.840
<v Speaker 2>of the street. But they weren't out yet. The adjoining module,

0:32:22.800 --> 0:32:25.880
<v Speaker 2>a family unit, was two meters taller. They were able

0:32:25.960 --> 0:32:28.600
<v Speaker 2>to gain the roof with a running jump. Now they

0:32:28.600 --> 0:32:30.400
<v Speaker 2>were higher than they'd ever been in their life, and

0:32:30.480 --> 0:32:33.960
<v Speaker 2>the next destination was already in reach. The module's roof

0:32:33.960 --> 0:32:36.880
<v Speaker 2>connected with a broad platform, the roof for the life

0:32:36.920 --> 0:32:39.600
<v Speaker 2>support and storage facilities that filled up each of the

0:32:39.640 --> 0:32:40.320
<v Speaker 2>four corners.

0:32:40.360 --> 0:32:40.840
<v Speaker 1>Of the block.

0:32:41.480 --> 0:32:44.120
<v Speaker 2>They ran thirty odd meters and then they were at

0:32:44.160 --> 0:32:46.720
<v Speaker 2>the wall, the wall that they had never seen but

0:32:46.760 --> 0:32:50.400
<v Speaker 2>always intuited, marking the outer boundary between this block and

0:32:50.440 --> 0:32:53.320
<v Speaker 2>the next, and it was only a meter higher than

0:32:53.320 --> 0:32:57.480
<v Speaker 2>the roof where they now stood. Days was nervous. They

0:32:57.480 --> 0:33:00.640
<v Speaker 2>had not known what they would find here. In theory,

0:33:00.720 --> 0:33:03.320
<v Speaker 2>every block was walled off on all six sides, and

0:33:03.360 --> 0:33:05.360
<v Speaker 2>the only way in or out was through a node.

0:33:05.800 --> 0:33:09.000
<v Speaker 2>There was a transparent membrane under the sky that allowed

0:33:09.000 --> 0:33:12.400
<v Speaker 2>for the controlled circulation of air and water. But Days

0:33:12.440 --> 0:33:14.480
<v Speaker 2>didn't know if the membrane came all the way down

0:33:14.600 --> 0:33:17.240
<v Speaker 2>to the top of the physical wall, forming a pocket

0:33:17.280 --> 0:33:21.000
<v Speaker 2>around each block. If they could detach the membrane or

0:33:21.080 --> 0:33:25.280
<v Speaker 2>tear it, it turned out to be even easier. There

0:33:25.360 --> 0:33:28.040
<v Speaker 2>must have been a substantial gap, because Days could not

0:33:28.160 --> 0:33:30.760
<v Speaker 2>see or feel any membrane as they climbed up on

0:33:30.800 --> 0:33:33.800
<v Speaker 2>the wall, and just like that, they had gotten out

0:33:33.800 --> 0:33:36.720
<v Speaker 2>of the block. They had made their own choice, their

0:33:36.760 --> 0:33:40.280
<v Speaker 2>own way out. Days started to run. The top of

0:33:40.280 --> 0:33:43.040
<v Speaker 2>the wall was broad and flat, and running was easy.

0:33:43.440 --> 0:33:46.480
<v Speaker 2>They ran fast, They ran far. They didn't know how

0:33:46.480 --> 0:33:49.680
<v Speaker 2>many blocks they left behind, and they kept running the

0:33:49.760 --> 0:33:53.600
<v Speaker 2>sun was bright and glorious. The wind blew freely. It

0:33:53.680 --> 0:33:57.600
<v Speaker 2>was all connected, unobstructed. They were sure of that. Now

0:33:58.120 --> 0:34:01.840
<v Speaker 2>a cumulus clouds swelled up past them into shadow. Their

0:34:01.880 --> 0:34:05.120
<v Speaker 2>skin cooled. The cloud moved on, and immediately the heat

0:34:05.200 --> 0:34:09.040
<v Speaker 2>and light returned. Tears came to their eyes. The sun

0:34:09.280 --> 0:34:15.040
<v Speaker 2>was majestic, undeniable, The wind went wherever it pleased. All

0:34:15.160 --> 0:34:21.000
<v Speaker 2>the colors unfolded themselves from the blue and blinding white.

0:34:21.040 --> 0:34:23.799
<v Speaker 2>The wall continued as far as they could see. Every

0:34:23.960 --> 0:34:26.680
<v Speaker 2>hundred meters, they came to an intersection where another wall

0:34:26.719 --> 0:34:31.200
<v Speaker 2>perpendicular stretched right and left, making the horizon in both directions.

0:34:31.719 --> 0:34:34.520
<v Speaker 2>But they knew the grid was not unending, because when

0:34:34.560 --> 0:34:38.759
<v Speaker 2>they strained to look into that farthest distance, the horizon

0:34:38.920 --> 0:34:44.200
<v Speaker 2>curled down, not up, but down. They were in a

0:34:44.239 --> 0:34:49.640
<v Speaker 2>different place entirely. Their tears flowed freely. The wall passed

0:34:49.640 --> 0:34:52.560
<v Speaker 2>over another node. How many blocks did they run past?

0:34:52.640 --> 0:34:56.759
<v Speaker 2>Now their world had grown infinitely larger. This time they

0:34:56.880 --> 0:35:00.680
<v Speaker 2>veered to the side. A gentle worrying accompanied them from behind.

0:35:01.200 --> 0:35:04.360
<v Speaker 2>Now they were running atop modules again, peering over the

0:35:04.480 --> 0:35:07.160
<v Speaker 2>edge into the street of an unknown block. It might

0:35:07.200 --> 0:35:09.640
<v Speaker 2>as well have been a foreign country. People were in

0:35:09.680 --> 0:35:14.560
<v Speaker 2>the street, strangers. They looked up in astonishment. The sky

0:35:14.760 --> 0:35:18.600
<v Speaker 2>is real, Days cried at them, The sky is real.

0:35:19.520 --> 0:35:23.520
<v Speaker 2>The whorrying came closer. Days ran on another block, atop

0:35:23.600 --> 0:35:30.560
<v Speaker 2>the modules, overlooking another street. Now they were sobbing, uncontrollably joyous, broken.

0:35:31.120 --> 0:35:35.640
<v Speaker 2>The sky is real, The sky is real. No one

0:35:35.719 --> 0:35:38.480
<v Speaker 2>knew what to make of the crazy prophet on the rooftops.

0:35:39.280 --> 0:35:42.200
<v Speaker 2>They didn't have to think about it long. The safety

0:35:42.280 --> 0:35:46.760
<v Speaker 2>drones caught up to Days. Four milliamps of current pushed

0:35:46.760 --> 0:35:49.239
<v Speaker 2>through their skin and into a circuit of muscle and

0:35:49.320 --> 0:35:53.680
<v Speaker 2>bone by fifty thousand volts of electromotive force, and they

0:35:53.680 --> 0:36:02.440
<v Speaker 2>were on the ground. Dunt, dunk, dum the done. That's

0:36:02.480 --> 0:36:05.160
<v Speaker 2>the end of part four. What's gonna happen next? You're

0:36:05.160 --> 0:36:07.080
<v Speaker 2>gonna have to wait a week unless you listen all

0:36:07.120 --> 0:36:09.040
<v Speaker 2>at once and like wait and binge the whole thing,

0:36:09.360 --> 0:36:11.160
<v Speaker 2>in which case you don't have to wait. You can

0:36:11.320 --> 0:36:13.480
<v Speaker 2>just cut ahead. Now. Honestly, you could have got a

0:36:13.520 --> 0:36:15.520
<v Speaker 2>head like now now, I'm just gonna do plugs here

0:36:15.560 --> 0:36:18.880
<v Speaker 2>at the end. But if you want to know more

0:36:19.000 --> 0:36:21.840
<v Speaker 2>about Alan Lee, the author of her Medica, you should

0:36:21.880 --> 0:36:24.719
<v Speaker 2>check out Peter Gelderlos. Peter is p E t e

0:36:24.880 --> 0:36:28.239
<v Speaker 2>R and Gelderlos is g E l d e R

0:36:28.640 --> 0:36:32.319
<v Speaker 2>l o O S. And that is the name that

0:36:32.360 --> 0:36:35.160
<v Speaker 2>they write most of There's he whatever. If you ever

0:36:35.200 --> 0:36:37.280
<v Speaker 2>do the thing where you just like, are theying people

0:36:37.280 --> 0:36:39.799
<v Speaker 2>so much that you became incapable of remembering that there's

0:36:39.800 --> 0:36:43.439
<v Speaker 2>gendered pronouns for a second, you can catch Peter by

0:36:43.480 --> 0:36:47.040
<v Speaker 2>reading his other books and also his substack, which is

0:36:47.120 --> 0:36:50.400
<v Speaker 2>called Surviving Leviathan and I will talk to you next

0:36:50.440 --> 0:36:54.880
<v Speaker 2>week on cool Zone Media book Club. Oh, I almost forgot.

0:36:55.200 --> 0:36:59.000
<v Speaker 2>We have our own feed. Now, that's right. If you're like,

0:36:59.320 --> 0:37:01.239
<v Speaker 2>why would I listen? All I could happen here. I

0:37:01.320 --> 0:37:03.040
<v Speaker 2>just want to listen to cool Zone Media book Club.

0:37:03.239 --> 0:37:06.960
<v Speaker 2>Well you can do it by subscribing to cool Zone

0:37:06.960 --> 0:37:11.560
<v Speaker 2>Media book Club, which is fucking cool. All right, well

0:37:11.600 --> 0:37:16.720
<v Speaker 2>that's cool Zone, fucking cool z. Nope, I almost had something,

0:37:16.880 --> 0:37:19.480
<v Speaker 2>but I don't. I'll just talk to you next week. Bye.

0:37:21.480 --> 0:37:23.960
<v Speaker 1>It could happen here as a production of cool Zone Media.

0:37:24.080 --> 0:37:26.760
<v Speaker 1>For more podcasts from cool Zone Media, visit our website

0:37:26.760 --> 0:37:29.879
<v Speaker 1>Coolzonemedia dot com, or check us out on the iHeartRadio app,

0:37:29.920 --> 0:37:33.279
<v Speaker 1>Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen to podcasts, you can

0:37:33.280 --> 0:37:36.000
<v Speaker 1>find sources where it could happen here updated monthly at

0:37:36.040 --> 0:37:39.280
<v Speaker 1>coolzonemedia dot com slash sources. Thanks for listening.