WEBVTT - Cocytus

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<v Speaker 1>Oh. The following is a production by r reading of

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<v Speaker 1>this episode contains depictions of drug use and strong violence.

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<v Speaker 1>A second oil age. Who were the Tritons? Were they

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<v Speaker 1>the underwater beings described in our myths? Or did they

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<v Speaker 1>simply emerge into a world conveniently primed to accept them.

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<v Speaker 1>Were they our ancestors, our distant cousins, something else? A

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<v Speaker 1>path has had honed me to endure them and their

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<v Speaker 1>narread forms, so I knew as much as anyone about

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<v Speaker 1>their abilities. I recognized the whorls and the wet stone

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<v Speaker 1>beneath me for what they were, the work of the Proteus,

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<v Speaker 1>the Triton bio techniq, so coveted by UDX, so necessary

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<v Speaker 1>to its undersea megaprojects. The things toiled in the darkness,

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<v Speaker 1>far from observation, but footage existed, frightful and amorphous masses

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<v Speaker 1>that bored through stone and huge drilling templates and foundations

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<v Speaker 1>from the sea floor itself. Everywhere they left this pattern,

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<v Speaker 1>I drifted in and out of consciousness. I heard the

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<v Speaker 1>rumble of the Proteus in the stone halls around me,

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<v Speaker 1>but it might have just been the nadier of the

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<v Speaker 1>black drug's influence. Unreality bleeding in with the uncertainty and fear.

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<v Speaker 1>But I woke at last, not to the drone of

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<v Speaker 1>some writhing alien burrower, but to the wine of surface technology,

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<v Speaker 1>the scan of a graph Inc tattoo applicator. I felt

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<v Speaker 1>it pressed cold against my chest tattoo, the tingle of

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<v Speaker 1>the particles realigning beneath my skin. I lashed out. Jesus

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<v Speaker 1>calmed down. I swung wildly and tried to spring to

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<v Speaker 1>my feet, but the shackle on my ankle caught, chained

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<v Speaker 1>to a loop in the stone. Hoffman, dressed in a

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<v Speaker 1>black skin suit, backed away from me to just outside

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<v Speaker 1>the limits of my leash. He had a graph Inc

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<v Speaker 1>applicator in hand. I caught movement to my left and

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<v Speaker 1>saw Jack's as well, identically dressed and armed with her

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<v Speaker 1>taped squid gun. A vicious slash wound bisected of face,

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<v Speaker 1>which had been hastily stabled back together with suit. Youre, Jill,

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<v Speaker 1>Are you done, unchained me? You're going to make the

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<v Speaker 1>last ones difficult, aren't you. I glanced down at the

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<v Speaker 1>mark on my chest and saw that it was now

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<v Speaker 1>a series of meaningless black bars. The lower marks were

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<v Speaker 1>the same, Fastard, do you think I'm happy with this.

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<v Speaker 1>Do you think I wanted to squeeze into one of

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<v Speaker 1>those things and come down here? I ask you. You promised,

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<v Speaker 1>and then you went ahead and exceeded even my most

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<v Speaker 1>pessimistic expectations. You are barely here a day, and we've

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<v Speaker 1>slid from a carefully calculated piece to the threshold of disaster,

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<v Speaker 1>incalculable productivity loss, multiple fatalities, trite, and relations set back

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<v Speaker 1>fifty years. And you know what, I was really looking

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<v Speaker 1>forward to our town and now that's not gonna happen.

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<v Speaker 1>I mean, all you had to do was going there

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<v Speaker 1>and put on your show and report back to the surface.

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<v Speaker 1>I honestly don't know if you're just an apathist burnout

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<v Speaker 1>or an actual traitor, but you're not my problem anymore.

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<v Speaker 1>As soon as we get those last two elder signs off,

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<v Speaker 1>let me that's not how I do things. You forced

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<v Speaker 1>everyone's hand here upon. It wasn't me. It was that

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<v Speaker 1>thing posing as a journalist. A journalist, not the drug

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<v Speaker 1>dup maniac for the crazy knives. You did this. You're

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<v Speaker 1>the one who answer to them. We'll see about that.

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<v Speaker 1>I flexed the other phantom muscle in my body. But

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<v Speaker 1>instead of an explosion of basilisk A sharp pain cut

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<v Speaker 1>through my thigh. I reached down and felt blood and

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<v Speaker 1>suit your Joe. We cut that out as soon as

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<v Speaker 1>we got here. We also extracted the neurotoxin cap, the

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<v Speaker 1>one that busts if your cortisol levels get too high.

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<v Speaker 1>They probably didn't tell you about that one, did they

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<v Speaker 1>anti interrogation measure. But we can't have your stroking out

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<v Speaker 1>on our hosts. They're sending someone new up early, just

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<v Speaker 1>for you. I came here for Buchlan, that's it, not

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<v Speaker 1>as an apathis weapons test, not to assassinate anyone. You're

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<v Speaker 1>the one disarming a DX agent and a Triton dungeon.

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<v Speaker 1>I am risking everything for you, Dex right now, for

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<v Speaker 1>our world, our children, not that you care anything about it.

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<v Speaker 1>As I stared up at him, the purple orbs pulsated

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<v Speaker 1>behind him, or seemed to twisting. The recesses of the

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<v Speaker 1>proteus is carved whorls. Hoffman's shadow lengthened. I saw the

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<v Speaker 1>shadowed Saint Bob and its depths like something drowned. Chane me.

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<v Speaker 1>I need those last marks, No, you need me. I'm

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<v Speaker 1>your only shot at getting back to the surface alive,

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<v Speaker 1>warning you dex about what really happened, and if you

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<v Speaker 1>that's when the butt of Jacks's squid gun connected with

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<v Speaker 1>the back of my head and I saw no more. Hello,

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<v Speaker 1>this is Sandy Holland and you're listening to. By the way,

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<v Speaker 1>joining me in the studio is Cameron Lack, author, techno

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<v Speaker 1>shaman and leading novelty theory proponent. Thanks for joining us, Cameron.

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<v Speaker 1>Thanks for having me Sandy. Before we go any further,

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<v Speaker 1>I feel like we have to get this out of

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<v Speaker 1>the way. Is novelty theory or religion? Uh No. And

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<v Speaker 1>we don't hold Terrence McKenna to be a prophety there.

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<v Speaker 1>I think that's one of the last things he would

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<v Speaker 1>have wanted, of course, But I understand the temptation to

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<v Speaker 1>call us by the R word, because we do what

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<v Speaker 1>religions do. We look for order in the cosmos, and

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<v Speaker 1>we do have a few sacred texts and programs, and

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<v Speaker 1>of course some of our central ideas go back thousands

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<v Speaker 1>of years. You're talking about the eaching, the ancient form

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<v Speaker 1>of Chinese divination. Yes, but it's not just that. It's

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<v Speaker 1>more than rare divination. The Book of Changes at least

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<v Speaker 1>from our perspective, from a human perspective, is an uncertainty engine.

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<v Speaker 1>We truly analyze it specifically, there's a sequence in it

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<v Speaker 1>called the King Wind sequence, and it reveals the way

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<v Speaker 1>time flows through our world. And this is the time wave. Yes,

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<v Speaker 1>and just like a wave, it has peaks and valleys,

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<v Speaker 1>and when we look at those peaks and valleys, we

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<v Speaker 1>find they line up just right, just right with major

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<v Speaker 1>events human history. Now, critics point out that during his

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<v Speaker 1>own lifetime, McKenna believe time would end in How do

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<v Speaker 1>you respond to that he was wrong? I mean, McKenna

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<v Speaker 1>died in the year two thousand. I feel like that's

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<v Speaker 1>important to note here. Yes, of course, and he was

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<v Speaker 1>making a prediction, ultimately an inaccurate one based on a

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<v Speaker 1>limited computing power. They didn't have what we have back

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<v Speaker 1>in the bay. But what he observed and what he

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<v Speaker 1>measured that was all real. There's a fractal pattern in

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<v Speaker 1>the flow of time, the rate of change in our lives,

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<v Speaker 1>in our universe, as we are pulled toward a singularity

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<v Speaker 1>of infinite complexity, infinite interconnectedness. It's the hidden part of

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<v Speaker 1>the future. It's what's over the wave, and you still

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<v Speaker 1>believe that the time wave will reach its zero point.

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<v Speaker 1>Oh yes it will. Very autopsy findings here on the

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<v Speaker 1>number of need not open on from ports. Post mortem

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<v Speaker 1>lividity matches up with reports of the corpsus position in

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<v Speaker 1>the has found by the mariners. Female blonde, mid thirties.

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<v Speaker 1>Cause of death appears to be severe cranial cerebral injury.

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<v Speaker 1>Clear science of traumatic intercranial hemorrhage. Some of the exposed

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<v Speaker 1>brain tissues unlike anything I've ever seen before. Only two

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<v Speaker 1>full brain autopsy here. First agreed Mike. We have burn

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<v Speaker 1>marks to the forehead and scalp, seemingly in the shape

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<v Speaker 1>of a human hand. Curious, no communit, no physical documentation,

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<v Speaker 1>I think we need no no. I was only out

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<v Speaker 1>long enough for them to wipe the last of the

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<v Speaker 1>elder signs from my skin, leaving rows of impotent black

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<v Speaker 1>bars in their place. I looked up, fresh blood dripping

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<v Speaker 1>from my scalp, just in time to see Jack's vanished

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<v Speaker 1>through a nearby tunnel aperture. I marked it. That was

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<v Speaker 1>the way. Probably not a direct physical connection back to Atlas,

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<v Speaker 1>but at least do you think I wanted to squeeze

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<v Speaker 1>into one of those things. The tunnels had to connect

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<v Speaker 1>to a subport or an airlock, but suits didn't work

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<v Speaker 1>this deep, at least not for landsfolk. I tugged on

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<v Speaker 1>the chain, but it was set into the stone, and

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<v Speaker 1>I realized now that the chain and shackle weren't metal

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<v Speaker 1>at all, but something else. Triton manufacture, something excreted by

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<v Speaker 1>their blob like automatons. The lynx felt ceramic that held

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<v Speaker 1>like steel. They'd cut away my outer clothing, leaving me

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<v Speaker 1>nothing but a vest in shorts. I was unarmed and

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<v Speaker 1>pharmaceutically bare, chained like an animal, and what little at

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<v Speaker 1>this would be recalled counting backwoods. Now ten nine, I

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<v Speaker 1>heard a sound in the gloom. I recognized the silhouette

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<v Speaker 1>of a Triton standing just outside the glow of the

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<v Speaker 1>floating lamps. I caught the faintest glimpse of its dark

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<v Speaker 1>eyes watching me, but it didn't advance. Instead, another emerged

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<v Speaker 1>from the shadows beside it and stalked toward me across

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<v Speaker 1>the great domed chamber. She was an aread. That much

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<v Speaker 1>was obvious by her stature and the symmetry of her features,

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<v Speaker 1>But there was something unfinished in her appearance. Her skin

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<v Speaker 1>had all the pallor of a corpse near translucent. Her

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<v Speaker 1>black hair clung like beached kelp. She wore a purple

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<v Speaker 1>biotechnic skin suit, and the body beneath it seemed preternatural,

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<v Speaker 1>as if she had too many ribs. She regarded me

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<v Speaker 1>with bloodshot eyes and grinned. So you're the one sinof pan.

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<v Speaker 1>I'm an official Eudex agent. Hush, you'll have your chance

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<v Speaker 1>to talk for the purposes of our time together. You

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<v Speaker 1>can call me fetus, another name from your myths. I'm

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<v Speaker 1>an official Eudex agent. I invoke ambassador status in the

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<v Speaker 1>terms of the oceanic cicle. Doesn't matter anymore. Were be

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<v Speaker 1>on that. You've crossed the line. You belong to the

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<v Speaker 1>deep now. I felt her terrible waves begin to move

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<v Speaker 1>through my mind, teasing the pleasure circuits a path this

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<v Speaker 1>worked so hard to deaden. The oilman prepared you well.

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<v Speaker 1>Do you feel it shadows of what it felt to

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<v Speaker 1>be human? I feel nothing before they carved it out

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<v Speaker 1>of you in order to shield your desire from the

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<v Speaker 1>likes of me. It intensified and I collapsed, trembling, ripping

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<v Speaker 1>the spirals in the floor. She stood over me now

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<v Speaker 1>just beyond the limits of my chain, but close enough

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<v Speaker 1>for me to smell the fragrance of sea water, and honey,

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<v Speaker 1>now tell me, tell me are The second oil age

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<v Speaker 1>was produced by Robert Lamb, Alex Williams, Lauren Vogelbaum, and

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<v Speaker 1>Josh Stain. This episode featured an jel Masters as sinov Pon,

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<v Speaker 1>Robin Bludworth as kin Hoffman, Annie Reese as Jack's, Eileen

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<v Speaker 1>Loyd as Thetis, Joe McCormick as Cameron Lack, and Dylan

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<v Speaker 1>Fagin as Sandy Holland supporting voice work by Holly Fry

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<v Speaker 1>and Scott Benjamin intro outro, and supporting music created by

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<v Speaker 1>the Weirding Mondule. Learn more at Module dot bandcamp dot com.

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<v Speaker 1>M from more podcasts from my heart Radio, visit the

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