1 00:00:01,680 --> 00:00:10,200 Speaker 1: Cool Zone Media book Club book Club, book Club book Club. 2 00:00:10,960 --> 00:00:13,520 Speaker 1: Hello and welcome Nicols on Media book Club, the only 3 00:00:13,560 --> 00:00:15,240 Speaker 1: book club that you don't have to do the reading 4 00:00:15,280 --> 00:00:19,919 Speaker 1: for because I do it for you. And we are 5 00:00:20,640 --> 00:00:25,960 Speaker 1: on week five of her Metica by Alan Lee. And 6 00:00:26,360 --> 00:00:31,680 Speaker 1: if you're just tuning in now, why why would you 7 00:00:31,720 --> 00:00:34,920 Speaker 1: do that? Why would you do that to yourself? Why 8 00:00:34,920 --> 00:00:37,360 Speaker 1: would you do that to the text? Why would you 9 00:00:37,400 --> 00:00:39,800 Speaker 1: do that to Alan Lee? And why would you do 10 00:00:39,920 --> 00:00:43,760 Speaker 1: that to the world? Why would you start at part five? 11 00:00:44,800 --> 00:00:50,440 Speaker 1: Have you been so ruined on narrative and linear storytelling 12 00:00:51,159 --> 00:00:56,400 Speaker 1: by shows that are where you just pop in wherever 13 00:00:56,440 --> 00:01:02,800 Speaker 1: you want? Is that what happened to you? Are you sad? Anyway? 14 00:01:03,360 --> 00:01:05,480 Speaker 1: You can listen wherever you want. I just my brain 15 00:01:05,520 --> 00:01:08,000 Speaker 1: doesn't let me do that. But this is week five 16 00:01:08,240 --> 00:01:11,360 Speaker 1: of her Medica by Alan Lee. Alan Lee is the 17 00:01:11,400 --> 00:01:16,039 Speaker 1: specfac pen name for Peter Gelderlos and where we last 18 00:01:16,160 --> 00:01:20,280 Speaker 1: left our hero days Days followed a hunch through the 19 00:01:20,360 --> 00:01:25,039 Speaker 1: rain and onto the rooftops, finally understanding the big reveal 20 00:01:25,440 --> 00:01:30,480 Speaker 1: you all been waiting for. The sky is real sort 21 00:01:30,520 --> 00:01:34,400 Speaker 1: of a reverse Truman show. As it were running along 22 00:01:34,480 --> 00:01:37,840 Speaker 1: the rooftops, they see endless neighborhood blocks, stretching towards a 23 00:01:37,880 --> 00:01:43,160 Speaker 1: horizon that curves down, not up. They're not on a spaceship. 24 00:01:43,200 --> 00:01:46,840 Speaker 1: They've just realized they must still be on earth. In 25 00:01:46,880 --> 00:01:50,240 Speaker 1: this great moment of revelation, the safety drones catch up 26 00:01:50,280 --> 00:01:54,600 Speaker 1: to Days, knocking them out as they fall off the barricade. 27 00:01:55,120 --> 00:01:57,640 Speaker 1: Just as a heads up. This episode contains an extended 28 00:01:57,680 --> 00:02:01,400 Speaker 1: digression of our protagonist arguing as someone about biological gender, 29 00:02:02,040 --> 00:02:06,920 Speaker 1: and you know, so that's where we're at. Days came 30 00:02:06,960 --> 00:02:10,880 Speaker 1: too in pieces. As the sedatives wore off, Their hands 31 00:02:10,960 --> 00:02:14,880 Speaker 1: started working, first, probing an amusement at body parts that 32 00:02:14,919 --> 00:02:20,560 Speaker 1: were alienated, unfeeling not yet plugged back into the neurological network. 33 00:02:21,360 --> 00:02:24,960 Speaker 1: What's this, the hand seemed to say? A leg, a pelvis, 34 00:02:25,040 --> 00:02:29,079 Speaker 1: a torso, placed right within arm's reach. To whom does 35 00:02:29,080 --> 00:02:33,320 Speaker 1: it belong? Days laughed along with their hands, who had 36 00:02:33,400 --> 00:02:36,120 Speaker 1: left a leg there? What were their hands doing? They 37 00:02:36,160 --> 00:02:39,080 Speaker 1: could not say. They were not yet present enough to 38 00:02:39,120 --> 00:02:41,600 Speaker 1: feed them a purpose. The hands seemed to have a 39 00:02:41,639 --> 00:02:44,520 Speaker 1: purpose of their own. Why should Days be telling the 40 00:02:44,560 --> 00:02:48,200 Speaker 1: hands what to do? There was a sudden tingling, not 41 00:02:48,480 --> 00:02:54,240 Speaker 1: entirely pleasant. Was that leg? Day's leg? Oh, why were 42 00:02:54,280 --> 00:02:59,519 Speaker 1: fingers poking at their leg Days was back at the office. No, No, 43 00:02:59,600 --> 00:03:02,480 Speaker 1: that wasn't true. There was a plexi on one side, 44 00:03:02,800 --> 00:03:05,120 Speaker 1: There was a plexi on the other side. There were 45 00:03:05,160 --> 00:03:09,440 Speaker 1: plexies on every side. Where were their instruments? This wasn't 46 00:03:09,440 --> 00:03:13,440 Speaker 1: the office. Days tried to sit up. Days came to 47 00:03:13,680 --> 00:03:17,960 Speaker 1: in pieces as the sedatives wore off. First, their eyes opened. 48 00:03:18,360 --> 00:03:22,320 Speaker 1: Their head didn't feel great. Their stomach didn't either. Their 49 00:03:22,400 --> 00:03:26,440 Speaker 1: legs were tingling uncomfortably. Their hands seemed to be asleep. 50 00:03:27,280 --> 00:03:31,320 Speaker 1: There was a memory the sky. A tear formed in 51 00:03:31,360 --> 00:03:35,440 Speaker 1: their left eye. Where were they? They sat up slowly. 52 00:03:35,920 --> 00:03:39,480 Speaker 1: It was some kind of holding cell. A metallic column 53 00:03:39,520 --> 00:03:42,880 Speaker 1: in one corner pinged. A small door flush with the 54 00:03:42,920 --> 00:03:46,960 Speaker 1: column's curve, slid open. A cup of water was revealed. 55 00:03:47,000 --> 00:03:51,560 Speaker 1: Within days drank it down. They replaced the cup. The 56 00:03:51,600 --> 00:03:55,800 Speaker 1: door closed. A moment later it opened again. The cup 57 00:03:55,920 --> 00:03:59,920 Speaker 1: was full. Days drank. There was a toilet in the 58 00:04:00,160 --> 00:04:05,520 Speaker 1: far corner. Days sat down. The plexies phased opaque. It 59 00:04:05,560 --> 00:04:07,880 Speaker 1: took a while, but they were finally able to piss. 60 00:04:08,520 --> 00:04:12,240 Speaker 1: They staggered back to the bed. The plexies went transparent again. 61 00:04:12,920 --> 00:04:16,600 Speaker 1: The column pinged, the door opened, There was a tray 62 00:04:16,640 --> 00:04:20,359 Speaker 1: of food this time and mre in principle, but but 63 00:04:20,480 --> 00:04:24,320 Speaker 1: different from any emory they'd eaten. They felt weak. They 64 00:04:24,360 --> 00:04:27,400 Speaker 1: wanted the food, but their stomach roiled as they ate. 65 00:04:28,200 --> 00:04:32,800 Speaker 1: They lay back down on the cot. When Days awoke, 66 00:04:33,080 --> 00:04:35,560 Speaker 1: there was a person on the other side of the plexi. 67 00:04:35,920 --> 00:04:39,560 Speaker 1: They wore strange clothes of a thick material, plaid red 68 00:04:39,600 --> 00:04:43,120 Speaker 1: on top, blue bottoms, and their skin was as pasty 69 00:04:43,120 --> 00:04:48,520 Speaker 1: as John Wayne's. The person was eyeing Days suspiciously. You up. 70 00:04:49,720 --> 00:04:53,960 Speaker 1: In response, Days pulled themselves into a sitting position high. 71 00:04:54,120 --> 00:04:57,360 Speaker 1: Their voice creaked, and their heads spun a little. They 72 00:04:57,440 --> 00:05:01,240 Speaker 1: rubbed their temples until the feeling passed. Just get in, 73 00:05:03,240 --> 00:05:07,320 Speaker 1: I guess, so they sedate. Newcomers me, I've been here 74 00:05:07,360 --> 00:05:11,240 Speaker 1: a while, but they transferred me from another block. Days 75 00:05:11,240 --> 00:05:14,600 Speaker 1: looked around to see walls on all six sides. The 76 00:05:14,640 --> 00:05:20,240 Speaker 1: floor lateral sides were transparent. Plexi two had breathing holes 77 00:05:20,279 --> 00:05:23,080 Speaker 1: and looked out on the narrow corridors that flanked the cell. 78 00:05:23,800 --> 00:05:26,159 Speaker 1: The other two looked into cells just like the one 79 00:05:26,200 --> 00:05:29,840 Speaker 1: they occupied. The person with the funny clothes was in 80 00:05:29,880 --> 00:05:35,919 Speaker 1: a cell. I'm Days, that's your name. Days, nodded, What 81 00:05:36,000 --> 00:05:41,200 Speaker 1: a strange person, Robert, Nice to meet you. Robert let 82 00:05:41,240 --> 00:05:45,599 Speaker 1: out a quiet snort, but they smiled amiably. Days peered 83 00:05:45,600 --> 00:05:48,720 Speaker 1: around between the lighting and the way the block was built. 84 00:05:48,800 --> 00:05:51,080 Speaker 1: They couldn't see if anyone was in the cells across 85 00:05:51,120 --> 00:05:56,080 Speaker 1: the corridor, nor how far down the corridors extended. You're 86 00:05:56,080 --> 00:05:59,360 Speaker 1: not from around here, are you? Days remembered what they 87 00:05:59,360 --> 00:06:02,520 Speaker 1: had discovered running atop the wall fleeing from their block. 88 00:06:03,120 --> 00:06:06,160 Speaker 1: None of it seemed real anymore? Could it be possible? 89 00:06:06,720 --> 00:06:11,000 Speaker 1: Such a big lie? I guess not? Where are we? 90 00:06:11,839 --> 00:06:17,920 Speaker 1: Got me there? Days hesitated? Is this her medica? Where's 91 00:06:17,960 --> 00:06:22,080 Speaker 1: that East Coast? Robert did not know what her Medica was. 92 00:06:23,360 --> 00:06:27,200 Speaker 1: To be honest, I'm not exactly sure. Robert scrunched up 93 00:06:27,240 --> 00:06:33,839 Speaker 1: their face. What about you? Where are you from? Oregon? Oregon? 94 00:06:34,160 --> 00:06:38,360 Speaker 1: East coast? Those sounded like Terran references. It was too 95 00:06:38,440 --> 00:06:41,920 Speaker 1: much evidence to deny the articles from twenty twenty three 96 00:06:41,960 --> 00:06:45,360 Speaker 1: from Terra mentioning the pandemic and nothing about extra system 97 00:06:45,440 --> 00:06:48,400 Speaker 1: travel the block on their communication when they were about 98 00:06:48,440 --> 00:06:51,679 Speaker 1: to measure the corialis force. The realness of the sky, 99 00:06:52,120 --> 00:06:54,760 Speaker 1: the view from atop the wall not consistent with a 100 00:06:54,839 --> 00:07:00,240 Speaker 1: concave curving platform. Her Medica had never left. He had 101 00:07:00,240 --> 00:07:04,000 Speaker 1: been on Terra the whole time. Could it be possible? 102 00:07:04,600 --> 00:07:08,680 Speaker 1: The magnitude of the lie was dizzying. Days craved confirmation, 103 00:07:09,320 --> 00:07:12,400 Speaker 1: but how to ask without sounding completely bizarre? They needed 104 00:07:12,400 --> 00:07:18,000 Speaker 1: more information. What's Oregon like? They asked, innocently. Our community 105 00:07:18,080 --> 00:07:21,920 Speaker 1: is nice, peaceful, no crime, all god fearing men and women. 106 00:07:22,400 --> 00:07:26,640 Speaker 1: We've got fifty thousand acres timber corn potatoes. We bring 107 00:07:26,680 --> 00:07:31,800 Speaker 1: in a good crop. Robert had a strange way of speaking. Nonetheless, 108 00:07:31,840 --> 00:07:34,040 Speaker 1: they understood most of it, and none of it sounded 109 00:07:34,080 --> 00:07:36,600 Speaker 1: like life on a spaceship, not any ship that Days 110 00:07:36,640 --> 00:07:40,640 Speaker 1: could imagine. But they wanted to make sure. Do you 111 00:07:40,640 --> 00:07:44,560 Speaker 1: have mountains? Mountains? You bet we do. Have you been 112 00:07:44,560 --> 00:07:47,360 Speaker 1: to the sea the Pacific? I've been there, but I 113 00:07:47,360 --> 00:07:52,040 Speaker 1: don't travel much mountains and ocean. It would be quite 114 00:07:52,080 --> 00:07:54,560 Speaker 1: a feat to get those on a ship that settled 115 00:07:54,600 --> 00:07:57,640 Speaker 1: it unless Robert were lying. And they could not guess 116 00:07:57,640 --> 00:07:59,720 Speaker 1: what the motive the other prisoner might have for such 117 00:07:59,720 --> 00:08:03,720 Speaker 1: a bas lie. They were on Tara, they had always 118 00:08:03,760 --> 00:08:06,560 Speaker 1: been on Tara. None of them were going to colonize 119 00:08:06,560 --> 00:08:09,080 Speaker 1: a new home world. None of them would ever get there. 120 00:08:10,480 --> 00:08:12,640 Speaker 1: Tell me Days. You're not from the secession? Are you? 121 00:08:13,440 --> 00:08:17,680 Speaker 1: The secession? Oh boy? The secession? The Second Civil War? 122 00:08:18,000 --> 00:08:21,320 Speaker 1: Do they not teach you people about any of that? Sorry? 123 00:08:21,560 --> 00:08:25,880 Speaker 1: Days shrugged, The fake virus, the totalitarian coup, none of 124 00:08:25,880 --> 00:08:29,720 Speaker 1: that ring a bell. We had a virus. You think 125 00:08:29,760 --> 00:08:31,680 Speaker 1: you did. I'm sorry to break it to you, but 126 00:08:31,720 --> 00:08:35,480 Speaker 1: where you grow up, that's a totalitarian society. They made 127 00:08:35,480 --> 00:08:37,640 Speaker 1: a fake virus to try and keep everyone locked up, 128 00:08:37,720 --> 00:08:41,160 Speaker 1: but patriots fought back and we won our independence, took 129 00:08:41,200 --> 00:08:44,160 Speaker 1: half the country with us. Honestly, I'm not surprised they 130 00:08:44,200 --> 00:08:47,840 Speaker 1: don't teach you about us. Yeah, I guess there's a 131 00:08:47,840 --> 00:08:50,800 Speaker 1: lot of things they didn't teach us. The line about 132 00:08:50,800 --> 00:08:53,560 Speaker 1: a fake virus reminded Days of something in one of 133 00:08:53,559 --> 00:08:57,079 Speaker 1: the articles. You seem all right, even if you are 134 00:08:57,080 --> 00:08:59,319 Speaker 1: from the other side. How'd you end up in here? 135 00:08:59,360 --> 00:09:04,160 Speaker 1: What you do across the border? I was running, I 136 00:09:04,200 --> 00:09:07,920 Speaker 1: went over the wall. Yeah, we don't take too kindly 137 00:09:07,960 --> 00:09:10,600 Speaker 1: to people going over that wall. But don't you worry. 138 00:09:10,640 --> 00:09:12,400 Speaker 1: I'm sure they'll send you back in no time. And 139 00:09:12,760 --> 00:09:15,199 Speaker 1: when they do, you make sure you tell your people 140 00:09:15,200 --> 00:09:20,600 Speaker 1: about what really happened. There never was any virus. So 141 00:09:21,400 --> 00:09:25,480 Speaker 1: we're in the secession. Now. Days's head was reeling. Their 142 00:09:25,520 --> 00:09:27,800 Speaker 1: grasp on what was fact and what was fiction had 143 00:09:27,800 --> 00:09:31,000 Speaker 1: already been seriously loosened, and their interlocutor in the next 144 00:09:31,000 --> 00:09:34,679 Speaker 1: cell didn't exactly inspire confidence. It was not the oily 145 00:09:34,800 --> 00:09:38,000 Speaker 1: feeling of a well designed lie that Emil had omitted, 146 00:09:38,440 --> 00:09:41,319 Speaker 1: but rather the blind self assurance that whatever happened to 147 00:09:41,360 --> 00:09:45,040 Speaker 1: be the most convenient was an unquestionable truth. That was 148 00:09:45,080 --> 00:09:47,880 Speaker 1: the impression Days got, and now they knew better than 149 00:09:47,920 --> 00:09:52,320 Speaker 1: to discount their intuition. Don't know where else we'd be, 150 00:09:52,600 --> 00:09:55,240 Speaker 1: Robert shrugged. Matter of factly. They looked around at the 151 00:09:55,280 --> 00:09:58,760 Speaker 1: PLEXI walls. Though this is definitely not our local jail. 152 00:09:59,240 --> 00:10:01,200 Speaker 1: Tell you the truth. I don't like it one bit. 153 00:10:01,559 --> 00:10:04,480 Speaker 1: No lawyer, no phone call. This is how I imagine 154 00:10:04,559 --> 00:10:07,640 Speaker 1: jail looks like outside this secession. Didn't think we were 155 00:10:07,640 --> 00:10:10,920 Speaker 1: supposed to have facilities like this for illegal sure, but 156 00:10:11,000 --> 00:10:16,280 Speaker 1: for citizens maximum security I suppose, They chuckled, showing an 157 00:10:16,320 --> 00:10:20,760 Speaker 1: ironic pride. Days failed to understand. So how'd you get 158 00:10:20,760 --> 00:10:26,640 Speaker 1: in here? A shot a man? Robert said, plainly. Oh, 159 00:10:27,000 --> 00:10:32,880 Speaker 1: Days struggled to fathom exactly what that would mean neuromuscular incapacitation, infection, 160 00:10:33,000 --> 00:10:38,920 Speaker 1: prone puncture wounds, uncontrollable nausea, a radiation, dismemberment, fatal blood loss. 161 00:10:39,520 --> 00:10:43,079 Speaker 1: They decided against inquiring after the technology level of ranged 162 00:10:43,120 --> 00:10:48,000 Speaker 1: weapons in the secession. Besides, Robert's vocabulary was thoroughly quaint, 163 00:10:48,400 --> 00:10:52,120 Speaker 1: and Days wasn't sure they'd understand anyway. And you don't 164 00:10:52,120 --> 00:10:56,600 Speaker 1: know when you'll get out. Nope, I've barely seen any guards. 165 00:10:56,640 --> 00:10:59,960 Speaker 1: Definitely haven't spoken any officials, not since the sheriff turned 166 00:11:00,080 --> 00:11:03,120 Speaker 1: me over to those marshals. This place is high tech. 167 00:11:03,200 --> 00:11:06,920 Speaker 1: I tell you that practically runs itself. First I was 168 00:11:06,920 --> 00:11:09,960 Speaker 1: in a block with other people from the secession. Then 169 00:11:10,000 --> 00:11:13,000 Speaker 1: they moved me. Honestly, you're the first person I've seen 170 00:11:13,040 --> 00:11:15,720 Speaker 1: from the outside. I mean, not counting when I'm on 171 00:11:15,760 --> 00:11:18,960 Speaker 1: border patrol. But we don't talk much with the illegals 172 00:11:18,960 --> 00:11:21,880 Speaker 1: when we see them, he choked back a laugh. Don't 173 00:11:21,880 --> 00:11:24,480 Speaker 1: you worry, though, We only shoot the bad ones. The 174 00:11:24,520 --> 00:11:28,120 Speaker 1: good ones. They're looking for freedom Christians who are being persecuted. 175 00:11:28,160 --> 00:11:31,280 Speaker 1: We give them a chance if they work hard. Asylum. 176 00:11:31,400 --> 00:11:34,040 Speaker 1: You know, there are plenty of communities that would take 177 00:11:34,080 --> 00:11:37,520 Speaker 1: in someone like you, but our community is a bit special, 178 00:11:37,880 --> 00:11:40,400 Speaker 1: a lot of veterans from the war, so we get 179 00:11:40,440 --> 00:11:44,000 Speaker 1: final say on who moves in. Well, you wouldn't exactly 180 00:11:44,040 --> 00:11:48,319 Speaker 1: fit in, Robert chuckled, pointing at Days as though it 181 00:11:48,400 --> 00:11:52,760 Speaker 1: was self evident. Days nodded like they understood. But do 182 00:11:52,800 --> 00:11:55,520 Speaker 1: you know what else is self evident? Do you know 183 00:11:55,559 --> 00:12:00,000 Speaker 1: what else you cannot? As though you understand the products 184 00:12:00,160 --> 00:12:04,960 Speaker 1: services that support this podcast. That's right, every single one 185 00:12:04,960 --> 00:12:08,240 Speaker 1: of them you already know. In fact, you might already 186 00:12:08,320 --> 00:12:10,400 Speaker 1: know them so much. They might be so self evident 187 00:12:10,480 --> 00:12:13,480 Speaker 1: that you reach down to your phone and you press 188 00:12:13,559 --> 00:12:17,440 Speaker 1: that forward fifteen seconds button a couple times. Do you 189 00:12:17,440 --> 00:12:20,679 Speaker 1: hear the music come back in? Or you can listen 190 00:12:20,679 --> 00:12:24,160 Speaker 1: to the ads. It's really up to you. That's freedom 191 00:12:24,240 --> 00:12:29,000 Speaker 1: for you, the right to choose that particular tiny thing. 192 00:12:29,720 --> 00:12:46,120 Speaker 1: Here's the ads, and we're back. The day wore on. 193 00:12:46,840 --> 00:12:50,160 Speaker 1: They ate when the next food tray arrived, Days decided 194 00:12:50,200 --> 00:12:53,440 Speaker 1: not to confide in Robert about her medica. Robert was 195 00:12:53,440 --> 00:12:56,520 Speaker 1: condescending enough already, and Days did not want to give 196 00:12:56,559 --> 00:13:00,599 Speaker 1: them any ammunition. He's got those friends. How many of 197 00:13:00,600 --> 00:13:03,280 Speaker 1: them knew the truth? It was possible that none of 198 00:13:03,280 --> 00:13:07,840 Speaker 1: them did. They trusted Zip absolutely. They wouldn't lie to Days. 199 00:13:08,320 --> 00:13:10,840 Speaker 1: They had grown up together. In fact, Zip had been 200 00:13:11,000 --> 00:13:12,960 Speaker 1: helping them get a better sense for their place on 201 00:13:13,000 --> 00:13:16,199 Speaker 1: her Medica. Someone from Safety had probably paid them a 202 00:13:16,280 --> 00:13:19,720 Speaker 1: visit before they could carry out the experiment. Days wondered 203 00:13:19,760 --> 00:13:24,200 Speaker 1: how Zip would have reacted and somehow they knew the 204 00:13:24,240 --> 00:13:27,040 Speaker 1: Safety team member. They would have said Days had suffered 205 00:13:27,040 --> 00:13:30,600 Speaker 1: a mental breakdown, that they were becoming obsessed, denying the 206 00:13:30,640 --> 00:13:34,920 Speaker 1: reality of the situation. After that, even though Zimp's intensions 207 00:13:34,920 --> 00:13:38,040 Speaker 1: were good, catering to that paranoia, they would call it 208 00:13:38,040 --> 00:13:42,600 Speaker 1: a paranoia was only encouraging the behavior. Then Zip would 209 00:13:42,640 --> 00:13:45,559 Speaker 1: receive a reminder to uphold the new safety and not 210 00:13:45,679 --> 00:13:49,439 Speaker 1: spread need to know information. Whatever setup they'd put together 211 00:13:49,520 --> 00:13:52,720 Speaker 1: to carry out the experiment would be confiscated. The next 212 00:13:52,760 --> 00:13:55,000 Speaker 1: day at work, they'd get a challenging new assignment that 213 00:13:55,040 --> 00:13:58,000 Speaker 1: would keep them busy. When they checked, Days would be 214 00:13:58,040 --> 00:14:03,440 Speaker 1: classified as permanent reconciation. Would that be enough? Would Zimp 215 00:14:03,520 --> 00:14:06,640 Speaker 1: make their peace and say goodbye without ever knowing what 216 00:14:06,720 --> 00:14:10,160 Speaker 1: had really happened to their old friend. It seemed so absurd. 217 00:14:10,640 --> 00:14:13,360 Speaker 1: They were so smart, how could they not know? But 218 00:14:13,480 --> 00:14:17,840 Speaker 1: Days remembered how They'd been educated plenty of formula and equations, 219 00:14:18,160 --> 00:14:21,520 Speaker 1: but all the experiments were done on simulations. They were 220 00:14:21,520 --> 00:14:25,360 Speaker 1: asked to complete mathematical proofs to test the technical knowledge 221 00:14:25,400 --> 00:14:28,040 Speaker 1: they'd been given, but never to test the story of 222 00:14:28,080 --> 00:14:30,920 Speaker 1: who they were, where they were, how they'd gotten there. 223 00:14:32,480 --> 00:14:36,040 Speaker 1: It was masterful misdirection. They'd been given the tools to 224 00:14:36,080 --> 00:14:39,000 Speaker 1: take apart their world, all of them, but they'd also 225 00:14:39,040 --> 00:14:41,560 Speaker 1: been given a more interesting project to put those tools 226 00:14:41,560 --> 00:14:44,440 Speaker 1: to use on. So they put their shoulders to the wheel, 227 00:14:44,680 --> 00:14:50,160 Speaker 1: and the world stood unquestioned. What about EMMYL, the putative 228 00:14:50,160 --> 00:14:53,640 Speaker 1: inter block rep. Did they know? Days assumed they did. 229 00:14:54,000 --> 00:14:57,560 Speaker 1: Surely EMMYL had actually been a safety investigator. But the 230 00:14:57,600 --> 00:15:00,240 Speaker 1: more they thought about how ZIP had been fooled, how 231 00:15:00,280 --> 00:15:04,400 Speaker 1: they themselves had been fooled, the more doubts appeared. If 232 00:15:04,400 --> 00:15:06,880 Speaker 1: EMML was willing to accept that their job consisted of 233 00:15:06,920 --> 00:15:11,400 Speaker 1: protecting compartmentalization, of making sure no one tried obtaining knowledge 234 00:15:11,400 --> 00:15:14,840 Speaker 1: outside their professional assignment, of checking up on anyone flagged 235 00:15:14,840 --> 00:15:18,920 Speaker 1: for abnormal behavior and making a simple recommendation whether that 236 00:15:18,960 --> 00:15:21,680 Speaker 1: person could be trusted to follow the rules, whether they 237 00:15:21,760 --> 00:15:25,680 Speaker 1: needed a temporary reconciliation process, or whether they presented a 238 00:15:25,680 --> 00:15:30,040 Speaker 1: permanent danger. They really didn't need to know anything. All 239 00:15:30,040 --> 00:15:32,440 Speaker 1: they had to tell themselves was that sabotage was a 240 00:15:32,480 --> 00:15:37,400 Speaker 1: threat to her Medica, and anyone violating compartmentalization was enabling sabotage. 241 00:15:37,800 --> 00:15:40,600 Speaker 1: The articles that for Days had triggered so many questions 242 00:15:40,640 --> 00:15:44,920 Speaker 1: for EMIL probably just tripped an alarm unauthorized sensitive information 243 00:15:45,280 --> 00:15:48,200 Speaker 1: that had to be controlled. Days thought about how no 244 00:15:48,240 --> 00:15:50,680 Speaker 1: one they knew worked in a field that gave them 245 00:15:50,680 --> 00:15:54,280 Speaker 1: proof her Medica existed. Sure there was someone who worked 246 00:15:54,320 --> 00:15:56,880 Speaker 1: in propulsion, but they were pretty sure that person just 247 00:15:56,960 --> 00:16:00,800 Speaker 1: ran models on improving the efficiency of fusion reactions. They 248 00:16:00,840 --> 00:16:03,360 Speaker 1: never would have seen the engines and didn't know how 249 00:16:03,360 --> 00:16:06,960 Speaker 1: their results were actually put to use. Everyone had such 250 00:16:06,960 --> 00:16:09,480 Speaker 1: a small part of the picture, and it was the 251 00:16:09,520 --> 00:16:12,160 Speaker 1: system itself that fed the bigger picture back to them. 252 00:16:12,720 --> 00:16:15,320 Speaker 1: They all trusted that the information they produced was being 253 00:16:15,320 --> 00:16:18,760 Speaker 1: put together in a sensible way. As for the millions 254 00:16:18,760 --> 00:16:21,080 Speaker 1: of passengers, who knew how many of them were real 255 00:16:21,160 --> 00:16:24,520 Speaker 1: people from what Days had seen on their run, there 256 00:16:24,520 --> 00:16:28,040 Speaker 1: were thousands, for sure, all living and working in identical 257 00:16:28,080 --> 00:16:32,080 Speaker 1: blocks covering at least twenty five square kilometers somewhere with 258 00:16:32,160 --> 00:16:35,400 Speaker 1: a naturally flat terrain, but no one knew more than 259 00:16:35,440 --> 00:16:38,320 Speaker 1: a couple hundred people for real. The majority of those 260 00:16:38,360 --> 00:16:42,359 Speaker 1: millions who were active visible on socials could have been artificials, 261 00:16:42,720 --> 00:16:46,160 Speaker 1: there to confirm the alibi everyone was so intent on believing. 262 00:16:47,280 --> 00:16:51,160 Speaker 1: Days felt sick most of all because on some level 263 00:16:51,520 --> 00:16:55,240 Speaker 1: it wasn't a surprise the world had always felt empty. 264 00:16:56,280 --> 00:16:58,400 Speaker 1: Something moved just to the edge of their field of vision. 265 00:16:58,600 --> 00:17:03,080 Speaker 1: Days turned nothing for a moment. They thought, hoped it 266 00:17:03,200 --> 00:17:06,359 Speaker 1: was snookums, but snookums couldn't find them there, which is 267 00:17:06,400 --> 00:17:09,200 Speaker 1: a tragedy because they could use a good cuddle. They 268 00:17:09,240 --> 00:17:13,320 Speaker 1: curled up on the cot you got the blues, Robert called, 269 00:17:14,200 --> 00:17:17,080 Speaker 1: Days sat up and shrugged. They had been napping lightly, 270 00:17:17,600 --> 00:17:21,120 Speaker 1: an onearic distortion of the last day's revelations rolling through 271 00:17:21,160 --> 00:17:24,480 Speaker 1: their head. They felt lethargic, like there wasn't any need 272 00:17:24,480 --> 00:17:26,639 Speaker 1: to grab on to one of the coherent versions of 273 00:17:26,680 --> 00:17:32,280 Speaker 1: reality that suggested itself, Like it didn't even matter that happens. 274 00:17:32,320 --> 00:17:35,720 Speaker 1: You gotta be patient in here. They gave a compliant nod. 275 00:17:36,600 --> 00:17:39,360 Speaker 1: Robert mistook their silence for a request to force them 276 00:17:39,359 --> 00:17:43,360 Speaker 1: into a state of cheerfulness. This won't last forever. Soon 277 00:17:43,440 --> 00:17:45,520 Speaker 1: you'll get to go back and be with your people. 278 00:17:46,440 --> 00:17:50,120 Speaker 1: Days nodded again. I'll tell you what I sure miss 279 00:17:50,200 --> 00:17:55,359 Speaker 1: my wife, wife wife. Days remembered encountering the term in 280 00:17:55,400 --> 00:17:59,040 Speaker 1: old literature. It was something along the lines of either 281 00:17:59,080 --> 00:18:02,880 Speaker 1: a friend or servant. Should they ask, they might as 282 00:18:02,880 --> 00:18:05,480 Speaker 1: well indulge in their curiosity a little. If Robert was 283 00:18:05,480 --> 00:18:09,879 Speaker 1: going to make avoiding a conversation impossible, what do you 284 00:18:09,880 --> 00:18:13,120 Speaker 1: miss about them? Days? Hope the question was neutral enough 285 00:18:13,600 --> 00:18:18,200 Speaker 1: that the answer would reveal the words meaning who what 286 00:18:19,080 --> 00:18:22,440 Speaker 1: miss about who? Your wife? You just said you missed them? 287 00:18:23,200 --> 00:18:26,639 Speaker 1: I only got the one. We're not polygamists now. Days 288 00:18:26,720 --> 00:18:30,760 Speaker 1: was thoroughly confused, Right, your one wife? What do they 289 00:18:30,760 --> 00:18:34,800 Speaker 1: do you mean? She? Robert looked at Days like some 290 00:18:34,840 --> 00:18:39,720 Speaker 1: insult had been proffered. She Days vaguely remembered the earth 291 00:18:39,800 --> 00:18:43,360 Speaker 1: from some old novels that hadn't been translated into modern English, 292 00:18:43,520 --> 00:18:46,959 Speaker 1: one of a class of obsolete pronouns spurred on by 293 00:18:47,000 --> 00:18:52,479 Speaker 1: Days's blank look. Robert Turtle, She he you know? Okay? 294 00:18:53,840 --> 00:18:56,399 Speaker 1: Are you telling me? You don't say? He? And she 295 00:18:57,680 --> 00:19:01,800 Speaker 1: In an unguarded moment, Days snapped back at Robert's scorn, Well, 296 00:19:01,840 --> 00:19:05,600 Speaker 1: they are archaic. Oh for crying out loud. I heard 297 00:19:05,680 --> 00:19:08,600 Speaker 1: stories about this, but it had to be a tall tale. 298 00:19:08,960 --> 00:19:12,160 Speaker 1: Don't tell me you people pretend men and women don't exist. 299 00:19:13,080 --> 00:19:16,280 Speaker 1: This had taken an interesting turn. Days figured they could 300 00:19:16,320 --> 00:19:18,840 Speaker 1: either lay back down and put an end to the conversation, 301 00:19:19,040 --> 00:19:21,520 Speaker 1: or make it a little less one sided, giving the 302 00:19:21,680 --> 00:19:23,960 Speaker 1: likelihood that they would be stuck in it, willing or not, 303 00:19:24,400 --> 00:19:27,280 Speaker 1: for the next several days, and finding out more about 304 00:19:27,320 --> 00:19:31,480 Speaker 1: Robert's world might answer some questions they had about their own. Well, 305 00:19:31,480 --> 00:19:36,040 Speaker 1: it's certainly a classification system that once existed, a classifer. 306 00:19:36,880 --> 00:19:38,760 Speaker 1: How are you going to deny what's in front of 307 00:19:38,800 --> 00:19:42,480 Speaker 1: your very nose? Since crashing out on the aptitudes, Days 308 00:19:42,480 --> 00:19:45,840 Speaker 1: had not felt confident talking about scientific matters with their peers. 309 00:19:46,480 --> 00:19:49,240 Speaker 1: Prior to that, though, they had been a voracious student, 310 00:19:49,880 --> 00:19:51,600 Speaker 1: and in the short time they had known Robert, they 311 00:19:51,640 --> 00:19:55,439 Speaker 1: had already shaped under their condescension. Days was certainly a 312 00:19:55,480 --> 00:19:58,720 Speaker 1: capable mind when compared to Robert. Maybe they were even 313 00:19:58,720 --> 00:20:02,159 Speaker 1: intelligent when compared to her America's brightest. They realized a 314 00:20:02,200 --> 00:20:05,880 Speaker 1: blossom of warm confidence spreading through their chest. Of all 315 00:20:05,920 --> 00:20:08,320 Speaker 1: the cohort mates they had been deferring to these last 316 00:20:08,400 --> 00:20:10,560 Speaker 1: years of their life, who had been sent on to 317 00:20:10,640 --> 00:20:14,040 Speaker 1: prestigious work assignments. None of them had been smart enough 318 00:20:14,080 --> 00:20:16,439 Speaker 1: to figure out it was all a lie. It was 319 00:20:16,520 --> 00:20:20,080 Speaker 1: time for Days to start trusting in their hunches. And 320 00:20:20,160 --> 00:20:22,919 Speaker 1: do you know who else is smart enough to figure 321 00:20:22,920 --> 00:20:26,040 Speaker 1: out that it's all a lie? I don't know either, 322 00:20:26,400 --> 00:20:45,200 Speaker 1: But here's ads and we're back. Robert presented an interesting challenge, 323 00:20:45,280 --> 00:20:48,840 Speaker 1: like running into a modern day Aristotle and trying to 324 00:20:48,840 --> 00:20:52,200 Speaker 1: explain how atomic theory was more practical than the notion 325 00:20:52,280 --> 00:20:56,080 Speaker 1: of five elements. The objection Robert seemed to be raising 326 00:20:56,200 --> 00:21:00,159 Speaker 1: was not terribly complex. The challenge consisted of fitting in 327 00:21:00,200 --> 00:21:04,000 Speaker 1: about two years of primary school rudimentaries into a single conversation. 328 00:21:05,040 --> 00:21:08,160 Speaker 1: But it seemed like they had time. Days clasped their 329 00:21:08,160 --> 00:21:11,159 Speaker 1: hands and shifted into a posture that was neither confrontational 330 00:21:11,359 --> 00:21:16,760 Speaker 1: nor dismissive. Facing Robert, but not quite head on. Have 331 00:21:16,880 --> 00:21:19,240 Speaker 1: you thought about your approach? I don't know why you 332 00:21:19,280 --> 00:21:22,000 Speaker 1: need to divide the human species according to a classification 333 00:21:22,119 --> 00:21:26,560 Speaker 1: system that goes beyond current functionality, I mean, job descriptions. 334 00:21:27,240 --> 00:21:29,880 Speaker 1: It seems like a dodgy enterprise. But if you're going 335 00:21:29,920 --> 00:21:32,600 Speaker 1: to insist. Maybe we can agree that the fundamental feature 336 00:21:32,600 --> 00:21:35,880 Speaker 1: of the system should be clarity, no room for ambiguity. 337 00:21:37,080 --> 00:21:39,800 Speaker 1: Robert was taken aback by this sudden change in register, 338 00:21:40,320 --> 00:21:44,359 Speaker 1: but they not at all the same, that's right. Clarity 339 00:21:44,520 --> 00:21:47,639 Speaker 1: Days continued well on those grounds. It seems the notion 340 00:21:47,720 --> 00:21:52,200 Speaker 1: of men and women would have to be rejected Robert's sputtered. Pullah, 341 00:21:53,119 --> 00:21:54,960 Speaker 1: it's me sputtering. It's not in the text. It wasn't 342 00:21:54,960 --> 00:21:56,840 Speaker 1: written out like Pooluh, but I was trying to do 343 00:21:56,920 --> 00:22:01,080 Speaker 1: my example of a sputtering. Chromosomatic different is not binary. 344 00:22:01,280 --> 00:22:05,320 Speaker 1: You were aware of that, right, Hormones, genital development, none 345 00:22:05,359 --> 00:22:08,520 Speaker 1: of it is strictly binary. And it's dangerous to establish 346 00:22:08,560 --> 00:22:11,880 Speaker 1: a biological generalization and shed the rest as a rounding error, 347 00:22:11,880 --> 00:22:15,480 Speaker 1: because well, those rounding errors are people. And as for 348 00:22:15,520 --> 00:22:18,080 Speaker 1: the ones who supposedly fit in the boxes, there's an 349 00:22:18,080 --> 00:22:21,679 Speaker 1: additional danger as some will fit better than others. So 350 00:22:21,760 --> 00:22:25,919 Speaker 1: now you have a non utilitarian value hierarchy. Instead of 351 00:22:25,920 --> 00:22:29,080 Speaker 1: just being human, everyone is now either more or less. 352 00:22:29,720 --> 00:22:34,160 Speaker 1: Plus the fact that the distinction serves no purpose, so ambiguous, 353 00:22:34,520 --> 00:22:38,840 Speaker 1: problematic and useless. Honestly, I don't think there's a system's 354 00:22:38,840 --> 00:22:42,120 Speaker 1: analysis and existence that would class this metric as operational. 355 00:22:43,119 --> 00:22:49,359 Speaker 1: It is self evident, Robert said, lividly, standing up for themselves. 356 00:22:49,680 --> 00:22:52,520 Speaker 1: Days had started feeling manic, and from there it was 357 00:22:52,560 --> 00:22:56,000 Speaker 1: a short hop to cocky time for a tidy coup 358 00:22:56,080 --> 00:23:01,760 Speaker 1: de gras. Oh yeah, which one am I woman? Robert said, 359 00:23:01,760 --> 00:23:05,680 Speaker 1: without blinking. Days had to hand it to them. They 360 00:23:05,720 --> 00:23:08,600 Speaker 1: were unflinchingly bold to make a claim. They knew, they 361 00:23:08,680 --> 00:23:12,959 Speaker 1: both knew they cannot possibly back up. How do you know, 362 00:23:13,320 --> 00:23:17,919 Speaker 1: Days stuttered, it's obvious, Robert drawled, as though it were 363 00:23:17,960 --> 00:23:21,639 Speaker 1: in fact obvious. Well, you haven't given me a chromosome test. 364 00:23:21,760 --> 00:23:26,240 Speaker 1: We just met, but it's plain as day. Anyone can 365 00:23:26,280 --> 00:23:30,600 Speaker 1: see it. I don't see it because your brain washed. 366 00:23:30,840 --> 00:23:33,920 Speaker 1: Robert rolled their eyes. Now, that certainly took the cake. 367 00:23:34,840 --> 00:23:39,440 Speaker 1: And what are you then, man? Robert shrugged, misunderstanding the question. 368 00:23:40,480 --> 00:23:43,879 Speaker 1: Days rolled with it. Have you ever taken a chromosome test? 369 00:23:44,240 --> 00:23:47,840 Speaker 1: Don't need to? Don't you think that's a self confirming theory. 370 00:23:48,080 --> 00:23:50,080 Speaker 1: If you never test it, you never have to find 371 00:23:50,080 --> 00:23:53,600 Speaker 1: out if it's wrong. Robert sighed, like their patients was 372 00:23:53,640 --> 00:23:58,040 Speaker 1: wearing thin Look at me, now, look at you, Yeah, 373 00:23:58,080 --> 00:24:02,000 Speaker 1: we look quite different, Uh huh, Well we're not close 374 00:24:02,080 --> 00:24:06,159 Speaker 1: genetic relations, why should we look similar? Okay, try not 375 00:24:06,240 --> 00:24:10,560 Speaker 1: to be indelicate for starters. I have a beard, Yeah, 376 00:24:10,640 --> 00:24:14,040 Speaker 1: so do I look a mustache anyway? See right there, 377 00:24:15,520 --> 00:24:17,920 Speaker 1: you don't shave. I get that it's gross, No need 378 00:24:17,960 --> 00:24:20,520 Speaker 1: to flaunt it. But if people have to adapt their 379 00:24:20,560 --> 00:24:23,399 Speaker 1: behavior and even modify their bodies to confirm the theory, 380 00:24:23,720 --> 00:24:27,240 Speaker 1: then those are false metrics. Oh, for the love of God, 381 00:24:27,400 --> 00:24:31,679 Speaker 1: I can't have babies. You can have babies, Well, you 382 00:24:31,720 --> 00:24:35,120 Speaker 1: could have babies with the right surgical procedures. Here Robert's 383 00:24:35,160 --> 00:24:38,280 Speaker 1: eyes widened alarmingly, and neither of us know if I 384 00:24:38,320 --> 00:24:41,880 Speaker 1: could in fact reproduce in my current state. I've never applied, 385 00:24:42,000 --> 00:24:44,640 Speaker 1: never gotten tested. And even if I could, or even 386 00:24:44,640 --> 00:24:46,440 Speaker 1: if I got the procedure to make sure I could, 387 00:24:46,560 --> 00:24:48,520 Speaker 1: there would undoubtedly come a time in my life when 388 00:24:48,560 --> 00:24:50,800 Speaker 1: it would no longer be an option. Would I then 389 00:24:50,880 --> 00:24:54,840 Speaker 1: cease to be a woman? Look, women can have babies, 390 00:24:54,880 --> 00:25:00,200 Speaker 1: and barring some perverse voodoo science, men cannot. What was 391 00:25:00,200 --> 00:25:03,840 Speaker 1: feeling a bit offended, they rose to their feet. It's 392 00:25:03,880 --> 00:25:06,560 Speaker 1: a flimsy assumption to think that someone with no hair 393 00:25:06,600 --> 00:25:09,960 Speaker 1: on their face has productive ovaries and a viable birth canal, 394 00:25:10,320 --> 00:25:12,480 Speaker 1: and then on top of it, to get disgusted with 395 00:25:12,520 --> 00:25:14,840 Speaker 1: someone who doesn't shave their face because you insist on 396 00:25:14,880 --> 00:25:17,639 Speaker 1: believing that they can bear children. But beyond all that, 397 00:25:17,760 --> 00:25:20,400 Speaker 1: child bearing is a bad metric for a social division 398 00:25:20,640 --> 00:25:24,119 Speaker 1: because it's not a physiological constant, it's a voluntary activity. 399 00:25:25,240 --> 00:25:27,359 Speaker 1: Oh wait, Days just remembered some things that they had 400 00:25:27,400 --> 00:25:31,520 Speaker 1: read about the primitives. Frantically they steered towards another topic 401 00:25:31,600 --> 00:25:34,879 Speaker 1: before the conversation took an ugly turn. Blood type. What 402 00:25:34,920 --> 00:25:38,320 Speaker 1: about blood type? What are you? I'm oh positive. If 403 00:25:38,359 --> 00:25:40,639 Speaker 1: you're really tied to the word, you can call people 404 00:25:40,640 --> 00:25:43,040 Speaker 1: who are type oh women, and you can call people 405 00:25:43,040 --> 00:25:45,760 Speaker 1: who are Type A or whichever one you are, men, 406 00:25:46,160 --> 00:25:47,960 Speaker 1: and we can make up words for the other two. 407 00:25:48,560 --> 00:25:50,760 Speaker 1: Of course, blood type is a little more complex than that, 408 00:25:51,119 --> 00:25:54,560 Speaker 1: But it's all about simplifying anyway, isn't it now? I 409 00:25:54,640 --> 00:25:57,760 Speaker 1: recognize that, same as chromosomes, you can't tell what blood 410 00:25:57,760 --> 00:26:00,359 Speaker 1: gender someone belongs to by looking at them. But in 411 00:26:00,400 --> 00:26:02,760 Speaker 1: this case it's not actually a drawback because you have 412 00:26:02,800 --> 00:26:05,640 Speaker 1: to do the test anyway before a blood transfusion, which 413 00:26:05,680 --> 00:26:08,840 Speaker 1: is the only situation in which it's important. It's not. 414 00:26:09,440 --> 00:26:14,480 Speaker 1: Robert sputtered some more. Blood type is blood type, sex 415 00:26:14,640 --> 00:26:18,880 Speaker 1: is sex. The reflective property, Okay, you're on your way 416 00:26:18,920 --> 00:26:22,440 Speaker 1: to algebra. It equals A. But if A is invalid, 417 00:26:22,480 --> 00:26:24,760 Speaker 1: it's not going to help you out much. You can 418 00:26:24,800 --> 00:26:27,760 Speaker 1: say that anyone who doesn't shave their chin has man blood, 419 00:26:28,040 --> 00:26:30,119 Speaker 1: and that's all fine, But a lot of people are 420 00:26:30,160 --> 00:26:33,000 Speaker 1: going to die if you organize blood transfusions that way. 421 00:26:33,520 --> 00:26:35,800 Speaker 1: Your system just doesn't hold up in the real world, 422 00:26:36,640 --> 00:26:39,560 Speaker 1: the real world, in the real world outside of your 423 00:26:39,760 --> 00:26:44,520 Speaker 1: university campus. I didn't go to university. He and she 424 00:26:45,200 --> 00:26:49,160 Speaker 1: have always existed, Well, you know that can't be true. 425 00:26:49,320 --> 00:26:52,840 Speaker 1: Days dug in English has not always existed. So clearly, 426 00:26:52,840 --> 00:26:55,400 Speaker 1: any words that belong to English are used to are 427 00:26:55,440 --> 00:26:58,200 Speaker 1: just a blip in history. And don't try to say 428 00:26:58,240 --> 00:27:01,760 Speaker 1: that all languages have he or she equiped valance. Robert 429 00:27:01,840 --> 00:27:09,240 Speaker 1: set their jaw. The concepts have always existed, concepts that 430 00:27:09,359 --> 00:27:14,760 Speaker 1: always exist. Days giggled. That would require oh right, Days 431 00:27:14,760 --> 00:27:17,119 Speaker 1: remembered another thing. The primitives were said to believe in 432 00:27:17,760 --> 00:27:20,920 Speaker 1: a real argument stopper. They could see that Robert was 433 00:27:20,960 --> 00:27:26,000 Speaker 1: getting irate, bordering on violence, so they decided to change track. Look, 434 00:27:26,160 --> 00:27:28,320 Speaker 1: I'll call you whatever you want. You call me what 435 00:27:28,400 --> 00:27:32,880 Speaker 1: I want. We can both be happy. Good, Robert nodded, 436 00:27:33,080 --> 00:27:36,320 Speaker 1: though their eyes still smoldered. Great. So what is it 437 00:27:36,359 --> 00:27:42,119 Speaker 1: for you? Your wife? He? I'm he, she's a she great? 438 00:27:42,560 --> 00:27:45,320 Speaker 1: And they for me though, of course when you're talking 439 00:27:45,320 --> 00:27:49,960 Speaker 1: to me, you works just fine. Days managed a friendly smile. So, 440 00:27:50,400 --> 00:27:54,200 Speaker 1: now that we've had it out, what's a wife? Dent 441 00:27:54,359 --> 00:27:59,639 Speaker 1: du dun? That was a fun one. I find this 442 00:27:59,720 --> 00:28:03,280 Speaker 1: sort of shit entertaining. I hope you do too. And 443 00:28:03,520 --> 00:28:07,760 Speaker 1: that is where we are leaving part five of her 444 00:28:07,760 --> 00:28:11,679 Speaker 1: Medica by Alan Lee, where now Days is in a 445 00:28:11,680 --> 00:28:14,000 Speaker 1: prison whatever, you know where we're at. We just read it, 446 00:28:14,440 --> 00:28:17,440 Speaker 1: or I read it and you listen to it. Whatever. 447 00:28:17,760 --> 00:28:20,879 Speaker 1: Why would it be pedantic about the story that this 448 00:28:20,920 --> 00:28:24,399 Speaker 1: particular piece is mostly about sort of weird pedantry, but 449 00:28:24,640 --> 00:28:29,080 Speaker 1: in an entertaining way. Anyway, her Medica by Alan Lee 450 00:28:29,200 --> 00:28:30,680 Speaker 1: you can go check it out. It came out from 451 00:28:30,680 --> 00:28:33,359 Speaker 1: Detritus Books a couple of years ago, and if you 452 00:28:33,440 --> 00:28:36,199 Speaker 1: want to hear more from the author. Alan Lee is 453 00:28:36,200 --> 00:28:38,960 Speaker 1: the pen name of Peter Gelderlos, who has written a 454 00:28:38,960 --> 00:28:43,880 Speaker 1: bunch of books, including The Solutions Are Already here and 455 00:28:44,360 --> 00:28:47,600 Speaker 1: some other ones, and you can follow his substack which 456 00:28:47,640 --> 00:28:53,120 Speaker 1: is called Surviving Levife and on substack, I believe in you. 457 00:28:53,120 --> 00:28:56,680 Speaker 1: You can figure it out. All right. Good luck with 458 00:28:56,840 --> 00:28:59,480 Speaker 1: the next week and we'll be back with part six, 459 00:29:00,120 --> 00:29:06,560 Speaker 1: getting towards the end. Because it's a novella, Hi, It 460 00:29:06,600 --> 00:29:09,000 Speaker 1: could Happen here as a production of cool Zone Media. 461 00:29:09,080 --> 00:29:11,719 Speaker 1: For more podcasts from cool Zone Media, visit our website 462 00:29:11,800 --> 00:29:14,880 Speaker 1: Coolzonemedia dot com, or check us out on the iHeartRadio app, 463 00:29:14,920 --> 00:29:18,280 Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to podcasts. You can 464 00:29:18,320 --> 00:29:21,040 Speaker 1: find sources where it Could Happen Here updated monthly at 465 00:29:21,040 --> 00:29:24,280 Speaker 1: coolzonmedia dot com slash sources. Thanks for listening.