COUNTER/Weight 0.3: Under the Bus
Transcriber: robotchangeling
Cassander and Mako [1:10:10] 63
[“The Long Way Around” by Jack de Quidt begins playing]
Jack (as AuDy): Affogato’s been detained. We’ve been sent in to figure out why, go some way to clearing it up.
Austin (as Twotwo): Cloudy was…I don’t know, trying to buy something from Coffee, and it wasn’t going well, and one thing led to another, and it went from “I’m trying to buy something from him” to “I’m trying to blackmail him into giving it to me.” They set up a meet in a public place. That’s the last I heard about it.
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Art (as Cass): It’s the only way it works. You’re famous. You could have a gambling problem.
Ali (as Aria): Excuse me? I wasn’t allowed to gamble.
Keith (as Mako): Famous people love gambling problems.
Art (as Cass): But you’re allowed to gamble now.
Ali (as Aria): [hums nervously] But— but— but— but— [sighs quietly]
Art (as Cass): If I do it, it’ll attract too much attention.
Keith (as Mako): And if I do it, it won’t attract enough attention.
Ali (as Aria): Well—
Art (as Cass): We need just the right amount of attention, that Aria Joie special.
-
Ali (as Aria): I’ve been seeing all those internet posts about Coffee at the casino, and that’s why I had to come here and learn the game for myself.
Austin (as Gambler): Hahaha! Coffee. You’re not talking about the drink, are you?
Ali (as Aria): [chuckling] No.
Austin (as Gambler): [meaningfully] Well, I don’t know how much longer that guy’s gonna be around.
Jack: Woah.
Ali (as Aria): [gasps] Is he moving?
Austin (as Gambler): Something like that. [Keith and Ali laugh]
Keith: Movin’ to the bottom of the ocean!
Austin (as Gambler): Hahaha! [sighs]
Austin (as Other Gambler): Coffee talked a big game, and, you know, made some wins here or there. Coffee kept saying that he was gonna win the big one, the jackpot.
Ali (as Aria): [laughs] The big one.
Austin (as Other Gambler): He ain’t gonna win nothin’ anymore.
Ali (as Aria): I love your hat, by the way.
Austin (as Other Gambler): Thank you. I got it from my grandma.
[song ends]
Austin: Cass and Mako, have you decided whether or not you’re robbing this place?
Art: We’re robbing this place? I thought we were just also— [Art and Ali laugh] I thought we were pursuing a different—
Keith: I just thought we could win real quick at some cards.
Austin: Get a little money!
Art: Are you good at cards?
Keith: Say again?
Art: Are you good at cards?
Keith: No, I’m good at winning.
Austin: That’s in the trailer. Put that in the trailer.
Art: Yeah. I don't think that’s a good idea. I think… [Austin laughs quietly] Uh, I don't— okay, let’s— yeah.
Keith: I mean, hey, we're looking at— we're looking for people who don't like it when people win at cards, it sounds like.
Art: Yeah. And it’s not interesting for me to try and talk you out of this, so I think we should just do it.
Jack: Also, just to make sure I understand it, one of these people is currently detained, and the other one is dead.
Austin: Coffee is detained. Cameron is dead.
Jack: Yes.
Art: How do you get to the…detained area?
Austin: Are you just asking the world this?
Art: No, I'm asking it rhetorically.
Austin: That’s what you're trying to figure out through play. I see.
Jack: It’s like—
Art: [laughing quietly] No, I have a plan to get there by stealing money.
Austin: Oh. [Austin and Ali laugh]
Keith: Right, yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Austin: Oh, now I see.
Jack: We're not super sure who exactly has— probably the Ithikos family. I think it’s the Ithikos family has detained Coffee.
Austin: That’s correct, yeah.
Keith: Right.
Austin: We know this. That’s a thing we know. Yes.
Jack: So, he’s in probably, like, a… [laughs] what I was reaching for was brig. He’s in the casino brig.
Austin: Uh huh.
Art: I mean, we either steal money or try to join the mafia, and—
Keith: Who controls the Cerulean?
Jack: Ithikos family.
Austin: The Ithikos family.
Keith: Right, there we go.
Austin: Yeah.
Keith: Look you want— you want—
Austin: You said that like you're watching— like you're the lead character in a children’s TV show, like you turned to the audience and said, [exaggerated] “And who runs the Cerulean?” [Ali laughs] which is why I said, “The Ithikos family!” [Keith laughs]
Art: Unless you want to, like, try to find out if the Ithikos family are, like, big monarchists and we can just big-time our way into this part.
Jack: It’s big-time time. Is this a time that you can lean on being an Apostolosian scion, Cass?
Art: That’s what I was saying. I was like, we could see if, like, Cass is this level of celebrity here. It’s risky. You know what criminals don't tend to like? The government.
Austin: Mm, mm-hmm.
Jack: Yeah.
Keith: Right.
Jack: I hear that—
Austin: Well, except in some cases, where the mafia and the US government worked closely together. [laughs quietly]
Jack: Yes.
Austin: To try to assassinate local leaders, you know?
Keith: Yeah.
Art: Well, and they worked together during the war.
Austin: Yeah!
Art: So maybe there is…
Austin: Yeah.
Keith: Multiple wars.
Art: [cross] All right, how do you feel about this, Mako?
Austin: [cross] And you already have a connection to this. Your connection is with Hunter Cash, who is an enforcer for the Ithikos family.
Art: Yeah, I think this is our better play, Mako.
Keith: But do we just want $100,000? [Austin makes amused sound]
Art: No, I have no need for $100,000 right now.
Ali: What?
Keith: All right. Well, then, can I borrow $25,000? [Ali laughs quietly]
Art: No, I don't have any money. It’s just, like, that doesn't help us get…
Keith: Oh, you don't have it or want it. Okay.
Art: Right. I want to do this job, and then we can come back and steal money.
Austin: How do you know Hunter?
Art: From, like, the expat community?
Austin: Oh, sure. Yeah.
Art: Around the way.
Austin: Yeah.
Art: The VFW, the Apostolosian VFW.
Ali: Oh, yeah.
Art: There probably wouldn't be one of those here.
Ali: Well—
Art: Maybe here.
Ali: I was thinking of, like, veteran hospitals, question mark?
Austin: Yeah, sure. That makes sense.
Art: Well, that’s why, like, a VFW. Just, like, a veteran bar?
Ali: Mm-hmm.
Austin: There’s probably a particular bar here that is like that, you know what I mean? That is the veteran bar. It doesn't say that. It’s not— it’s not called, you know, the Apostolosian whatever. You know, it’s not called the New Atlantis, but it’s like, that’s the vibe. You know, everyone knows that. Also, now that we've IDed Hunter as Apostolosian, let’s use they/them for Hunter, and also, you know Hunter Cash is like an in-ring name. [typing] Their actual name, uh, or their, like, the name that— their government name, you know? Uh…I think their last name is probably, like, Cassavetes or something like that, you know?
Art: Yeah, we got a real…we got a real post-World War II vibe here. I get it.
Austin: Yeah. You know what I mean? It’s one of those. It’s that thing. It’s that thing happening here. [typing] Uh, we don't really have— this is not really— there’s not really good H-U- names here, you know? I'm looking at Greek baby names, you know? I'm not seeing many good H-U- names, but whatever. Maybe even you call them Hunter at this point. You know, that’s what they go by. That’s what their public name is, you know?
Keith: Could be a call sign.
Art: I mean, for a fighter, it might just be Cash.
Austin: Right. You might just call them Cash. A thing that I kind of like [cross] is that you're both Casses, though, you know what I mean?
Keith: [cross] Cass and Cash?
Jack: Mm, mm-hmm.
Art: Mm.
Austin: If they're a Cassavetes, then, you know, there’s a Cass and Cash thing happening here, which is very fun, so. So, yeah. Uh, where do you— you meet them at that bar. You bring Mako with you?
Art: Yeah. I mean, unless Mako’s tied up in the…
Keith: No, I'm not tied up. I hold up my hands.
Austin: This bar is probably named for a different shade of blue. This is the…what’s someone’s favorite blue?
Ali: [quietly] Too.
Austin: Did you say too?
Keith: Too blue?
Art: [laughs] Too blue?
Ali: [laughs quietly] I was gonna say teal, but then I was like, that’s boring.
Austin: Wow. [Keith laughs]
Keith: Uh, cadet blue.
Austin: Cadet. Well, that’s a little— okay, well, it’s the Cadet Bar, which actually does sound like some sort of military bar. [laughs quietly]
Keith: Yeah. I looked up a list of blues, and it just jumped right out. It’s right there.
Austin: Cadet blue. This is kind of cool look— I like this. This is fun. Sure.
Keith: Yeah.
Austin: The old Cadet is where you meet up with Hunter. It’s on the, like…it’s on the slot machine floor, you know? So you can hear the slots going in the background as you enter the bar, but the bar is, like, blasting jazz over top of it, so that it loses the— actually, it’s probably not blasting jazz. It’s probably blasting, like, Apostolosian, like, pop music. You know, whatever the equivalent is. You know, whatever— I don't know what music is like on Apostolos right now.
Art: Yeah.
Austin: But it’s that type of, like, Apostolosian standards. You know, mid-century standards but Apostolosian. And, uh…
Art: I have a first name pitch.
Austin: Give me it. Give me it. Let’s do it.
Art: Orrin?
Austin: Orrin.
Art: If you kind of say it fast enough, you can get sort of to where you could get to Hunter.
Austin: Sure. Orrin “Hunter Cash” Cassavetes. You just know—
Art: Yeah.
Austin: You maybe still just call them Cash.
Art: Yeah.
Austin: And Cash is, um…Cash has a table, has, like, a four top in the corner, you know? They don't— you know, they don't sit at the bar. They sit over in the corner. They have their little table so that if someone needs to come ask them something or a couple people have to come over and tell them something, they have a place where they can sit. Big, big, you know, body. Strong. Robot arm, cyborg arms, you know, of the type that— not of the type that we see later on Jacqui, actually. We see— these are like cyborg arms in a different way. I think, you know, Jacqui we talk about having full robotic arms. I think maybe Cash has, like, reinforced muscles, and you can kind of— and, like, almost like, you know, turn of the century, 20th century, like, see-through exterior, so you see, like, metal muscle sinew, you know what I mean? that’s reinforcing the actual muscles.
Jack: Hell yeah.
Art: Yeah, love it.
Austin: Really cool look. Dress shirt, top button unbuttoned, no tie on, black slacks, dress shoes. Gator dress shoes, you know?
Art: Yeah.
Austin: Is currently dipping a shrimp in some cocktail sauce, as you approach.
Art (as Cass): Ey, Cash, how’s it going.
Austin (as Cash): [amused sigh] Look who it is! Cass.
Art (as Cass): Yeah, finally had to get over on this side.
Austin (as Cash): It’s about damn time. Bring it in.
Art (as Cass): Yeah, I know. I know.
Austin: Stands up.
Art (as Cass): Yeah, hey, hey. Meet my, uh…uh, meet my friend here, Mako.
Keith (as Mako): Hi.
Austin (as Cash): Are you two, uh…? Eh?
Art: I can't—
Austin (as Cash): Are—
Keith (as Mako): Sorry, excuse me, what was that?
Austin (as Cash): Nevermind. Take a seat. Drinks?
Art: I can't see you, Austin, so…
Austin: Okay, well, you know… [Keith laughs] Let me tell you something: the listener has no question what I asked!
Ali: Mm-hmm. [Art laughs]
Austin (as Cash): Drinks? Food?
Art (as Cass): Uh, yeah. What are you having?
Austin (as Cash): Some shrimp and an old fashioned.
Art (as Cass): Old fashioned sounds great.
Keith (as Mako): Uh, chicken tenders. [Austin scoffs]
Austin (as Cash): And to drink? [brief pause] No judgment here.
Keith (as Mako): Uh, old fashioned.
Austin (as Cash): And an old fashioned. All right. Let’s get three old fashioneds and, uh, chicken tenders.
Art: Should have said honey mustard. That would have been very funny.
Keith: I almost said honey mustard. I did. [all laugh] I was so close to saying honey mustard.
Austin (as Cash): And you know what? Some honey mustard for Mako here. Put it in a glass. [Austin laughs quietly]
Keith: Full tender dip.
Austin: Oh, boy. Gross.
Art: [pained] Oh.
Austin: Eugh! I hate this! [Keith laughs]
Art: Ohh.
Austin: Ugh.
(as Cash): So, what are you, uh…you here for the fight? What are you here for?
Art (as Cass): Um, no, no, not really. Um…we’re here, uh, we're here on a job.
Austin (as Cash): You working now. Who you working for these days, Cass?
Art (as Cass): Um…you know a, uh…
Art: I'm trying to just think of, like, a nice just, like…you know, a nice denigrating term for Orth. [Art and Austin laugh quietly]
Austin: A dog? I believe is what I would call Orth. [Jack laughs] A really good dog.
Art: But like a— I guess not like a— not a derogative for Orth, but like, for, like…
Austin: That role. Yeah.
Art: The Technocracy.
Austin: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Art: For like, yeah, for…
Austin: Uh, they're not really— again, they're not really cops, but they're like, you know.
Art: For OriCon.
Jack: CCT suit, or…
Austin: Yeah, suit isn't bad, a CCT suit or a CCT, you know, functionary, bureaucrat, a…
Art: Yeah.
Austin: Yeah.
Art (as Cass): Yeah, just some CCT suit. You know, it’s hard all over.
Austin (as Cash): Yeah, it sure is. [sighs] Working for the CCT. You full time with them, or you a…?
Art (as Cass): No, no, this is a…
Austin (as Cash): Contract job.
Art (as Cass): This is a new outfit we're getting together.
Austin (as Cash): Oh.
Art (as Cass): Me, Mako here. We got a couple others. You know, if you're looking for…?
Austin (as Cash): No, I'm a lifer, at this point, Cass.
Art (as Cass): All right, but if you ever want out, I can get you out.
Austin (as Cash): [laughs quietly] I like where I am. It’s our people.
Art: I've just created a horrible tragedy, [Austin laughs] because we never hear from this person again. [laughs]
Austin: Yeah, uh huh. [Jack laughs]
(as Cash): It’s, uh…it is where I want to be. I've been to— you know, I've been to Centralia. I've been out to the other domes. Eh, it’s not us, you know? No offense to Mako.
Art (as Cass): I get it. I get it.
Austin (as Cash): But it’s, uh…last little bastion here on the planet. So, CCT has you here. I gotta tell you, Cass, this ain't…this ain't CCT territory.
Art (as Cass): No, that’s why I'm talking to you right now.
Austin (as Cash): Yeah. What can I help you with?
Art (as Cass): Anyway. You know a guy Affogato?
Austin (as Cash): [brief sigh] CCT guys. Yeah, I know a guy Affogato.
Keith (as Mako): [hushed] I thought his name was Coffee.
Art (as Cass): [hushed] Yeah, but like, I don't think there’s more than one.
Austin (as Cash): It’s Coffee Affogato. I know the guy.
Art (as Cass): Yeah, of course.
Keith (as Mako): Not Guy Affogato?
Austin (as Cash): It’s not Guy Affogato, no. [quiet laughter]
Art: I forget, is that the right…? Is that the…?
Austin: Yeah, Coffee is he/him. Yeah.
Art: Yeah.
Austin: Yeah.
Art: Okay. That’s good. I don't know what the gender neutral for, you know, the derogatory “guy”.
Austin: Shithead.
Art: Shithead. [Keith laughs] Yeah, that’s right.
Austin: Yeah.
Jack: Isn't language good?
Austin: Mm-hmm. [Ali laughs quietly]
Art: Because that is what you mean when you say that.
Austin: Yeah.
Keith: Yeah. Yeah.
Art: You just don't think that that’s what you mean, often.
Austin: Yeah. Yeah.
Art: Anyway.
(as Cass): You know…you know where he might be at?
Austin (as Cash): [sighs] Cass, you're stepping…
Art (as Cass): I just gotta lay eyes on him.
Austin (as Cash): You've just gotta make sure, uh, for CCT, that he’s here, and then what? They come knocking?
Art (as Cass): It’s not my job anymore.
Austin (as Cash): Your job isn't to get him out of here. Your job isn't to deliver what was asked for. Your job is just to see if he’s around.
Art (as Cass): And br— and, you know, around and above ground.
Austin (as Cash): Uh, some people shouldn't be brought back. Some people shouldn't be, uh…yeah, you don't want to be the trigger man for CCT.
Austin: Maybe just the trigger person. Let’s go with trigger person with Cass.
(as Cash): You don't want to be the trigger person for CCT, and that’s what you'd be.
Keith: Trigger shithead.
Austin: [laughs quietly] The trigger shithead for CCT.
Art: The trigger shithead for CCT, yeah.
(as Cass): No one’s…no one’s getting shot.
Austin (as Cash): No, come on, Cass. You call your people, and you say, “Yeah, Coffee’s here. Coffee, uh, XYZ.” What happens? They send in some tanks.
Art (as Cass): I don't— I don't think anyone’s sending any tanks after Coffee.
Austin (as Cash): Coffee’s an excuse, isn't it?
Art (as Cass): Um…I don't know. I think that, you know, this guy Godlove, this shithead Godlove, you know, he’s friends with Coffee, just wants to know what’s going on. You can look up Godlove. Godlove…
Austin (as Cash): [sighs] I don't want to look up Godlove.
Art (as Cass): Godlove goes back.
Austin (as Cash): I don't want to… [sighs]
Art (as Cass): It’s not the war anymore.
Austin (as Cash): [incredulous] It’s not the war anymore?
Art (as Cass): We gotta make our way.
Austin (as Cash): You're right, it’s not the war anymore. It’s real life. [sighs] And you're asking me to make some real life decisions, and I gotta know what’s in it for me, or why should I do this?
Art (as Cass): What are you looking for?
Austin (as Cash): [sighs] You ain't got what I'm looking for, Cass.
Art (as Cass): Maybe I know who knows what— [laughs] Maybe I know who has what you're looking for. I don't know who knows what you're looking for. That would be a weird thing to say. [Austin laughs]
Austin (as Cash): Uh, I don't know that you can turn back time. I don't know that you can go change the outcome of the war. I don't know that you can, uh, get me my step back, get me back in the ring. I don't know that you can get me out of debt.
Art (as Cass): Well, I—
Keith: Should have got that money at the casino.
Art (as Cass): Yeah, the…my associate here might be able to help with the last one.
Austin (as Cash): Phew. Not in here. You get any money in here, you're getting yourself a contract to stay in here, all right?
Art (as Cass): Don't worry about that.
Keith (as Mako): Well, if we give the money to you, you're already staying here.
Austin (as Cash): No, but if you got it from in here…listen. It’s not just me. What do you think happened to McLeod?
Keith (as Mako): What do you think happened to McLeod?
Austin (as Cash): That’s not my business, is it? [sighs] I said what I can say.
Austin: You'll have to roll to get more.
Art: Yeah, I hear you. [Ali laughs]
Austin: Mm-hmm.
Art: This is a little bit…
Keith: Do we want to roll to get more, or are we good with knowing that McLeod— how did we learn that again? How did we learn McLeod’s dead?
Jack: Oh, we've known that McLeod was dead from the start.
Austin: That’s the mission.
Art: The premise.
Austin: Yeah. Yeah.
Keith: Oh, we always knew that McLeod was dead.
Austin: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
Art: Yeah.
Keith: Okay.
Art: How’s your Coax, Mako? [Austin chuckles quietly]
Keith: It’s 3. It’s one better than yours. [Jack laughs]
Art: All right, maybe you should, uh…maybe you should convince [Keith: Yeah.] Cash that we can, uh…that we can cash them out?
Austin: Eh.
Jack: Ohh.
Art: Eh?
Austin: Ohh.
Art: Maybe use that. Maybe use that in the thing.
Austin: Yeah. Yeah, it’s good. [quiet laughter]
Keith: All right. So, I mean, if we're rolling, then all of a sudden, that— I mean, that means that we don't even have to offer money that we don't have.
Austin: Well, you need a vector. You need a vector.
Keith: We need a vector.
Austin: Right, so you— this is the thing, right? You need to explain how is it that you are doing the thing. Describe what is it that you're trying to convince— that would make Cash betray the confidence of the Ithikos family, which is a risky thing to do.
Keith: Why do they feel— was there something that I wasn't picking up on with the money and if you get money here you'll be stuck here?
Austin: You would be rolling to understand more about that.
Keith: Okay.
Austin: This is the thing. They were trying to gesture at something with McLeod, and they won't go more than what they said. That’s part of what the roll would be for.
Keith: Right. Okay.
Art: But I think the casino is crooked. [Jack laughs]
Keith: Okay, yeah, I mean, I'll…I will offer to come back with money for more information.
Austin: All right. What are you rolling? You're rolling 3 Coax.
Keith: I'm rolling 3—
Art: But try to get some information upfront, because what if the money thing doesn't work?
Austin: Right, but that would be the— that would be, you know, in exchange for a promise of some sort of money, some sort of payout.
Keith: Right.
Art: Sure.
Keith: I'm gonna roll— I have 3 for Coax.
Austin: Mm-hmm.
Keith: And so I can only use three action die, not four.
Austin: That’s right.
Keith: And then I can use one push die for, uh, I guess for Criminal.
Austin: Sure. That makes perfect sense.
Keith: And I can say that…you know.
(as Mako): Look, I've got ways of getting people what they want, [Austin does amused exhale] even when those things are hard to come by.
Austin: Sure. Roll your dice.
Keith: 6.
Austin: That is a 6. You're killing it with these 6s.
(as Cash): I'll send you a figure.
Austin: Or what are you giving? What’s the adjective you're giving here? This beats the 3 that Cash has.
Keith: Open?
Austin: Sure. Fleeting, Open. Does that makes sense? I don't—
Keith: Yeah.
Austin: I don't remember if they're called fleeting adjectives here, but that’s what it sounds— that’s what it is in my brain.
Jack: I think it is fleeting, yeah.
Keith: Yeah.
Austin: That sounds right.
Keith: I think it is fleeting.
Austin: Sometimes you just remember how a game works.
(as Cash): [sighs] Listen. McLeod was kind of a piece of shit, but between us, none of this would have happened if it wasn't for the debt. McLeod…McLeod got in heavy. Lot of places, but here too, for the Ithikos, and so McLeod became, uh, another one of the assets for the family. I'm not saying we shouldn't have Coffee. I'm saying McLeod…McLeod wasn't killed in some random fight. McLeod was going after Coffee, on behalf of the Ithikos family.
Keith (as Mako): So McLeod was like an indentured mafioso.
Austin (as Cash): I wouldn't use those words. And who knows, you know? Someone in debt like McLeod was in debt, maybe a little bit of a free agent too.
Keith (as Mako): What’s the debt from?
Austin (as Cash): The gambling.
Art (as Cass): Yeah.
Keith (as Mako): Just gambling?
Austin (as Cash): [sighs]
Keith (as Mako): I mean, I get it.
Austin (as Cash): Cameron was a pro, and Cameron won for years and then started losing, a lot, at the sort of tables that let you play with money that isn't yours and money you don't have, 'cause they trust that either you'll be able to get it for them or, uh, they hope you won't be able to get it for them until the interest starts piling up. Not that I would know anything about that.
Austin: I'm gonna connect both Hunter and Cameron to the Ithikos family, both of whom are in debt and, you know, working for due to debt.
Keith: Right. So, couldn't have come…couldn’t have accepted your offer if they wanted to, sounds like, Cass. I wonder what the number is.
Austin: You'll get it later.
Jack: Getting to the point where I think heads need to start getting knocked together.
Austin: Well, let’s come back to you, AuDy. Where are you at?
Jack: I am trying to break into the behind-the-scenes of the casino.
Austin: Oh my god. We just jump cut to AuDy, like, checking how much give a door has?
Jack: Uh, it’s— we get the image that we get really early in COUNTER/Weight, right?
Austin: Uh huh.
Jack: Of AuDy ripping a security camera off a wall. [laughs quietly]
Austin: Uh huh.
Jack: As they begin to, yeah, check the give on an exterior door. I…we had a meeting the other day where Art said, “I never want to see anybody traveling somewhere,” [laughs quietly] which, uh, this is AuDy in “I'm breaking heads” mode.
Austin: Mm-hmm.
Jack: I'm at the casino. I'm trying to break in.
Austin: Yeah.
Jack: What I am trying to do here is I am going to recharge my push dice.
Austin: Mm-hmm.
Jack: May I go to the dice zone?
Austin: Yeah, I'm bringing you over right now. We have to finish moving dice after Mako’s thing too. That was not a sticky, right, Mako? So that just goes back to your discharge pool?
Keith: Yeah, yeah, fleeting, yeah.
Austin: That’s what I thought. It was fleeting, yeah, okay.
Jack: Me logging in to, uh, do my job: may I go to the dice zone? [Austin laughs] Okay. Now I am going to establish the vector. I am…
Austin: Wait, wait. What are you trying to do? Let’s just start there, before we establish dice or go to the dice zone.
Jack: I am going to—
Austin: You trying to break into the back door of a place?
Jack: Try and break into the, uh, yeah, the work area of the casino and, at the same time, with a kind of robotic speed, disable the thing that would report that door as having been broken into.
Austin: Interesting, without being detected, which is really the thing that you'd be kind of rolling against here, so to speak.
Jack: Yes, yes.
Austin: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Jack: Because it’s a door, and AuDy has the strength of a small gang. You know, the—
Austin: Yeah, getting through the door is easy. It’s the second part of that. So you're just trying to move quickly enough to do that? Is that the play?
Jack: Uh, the door— I think about, you know, when you go into a house and you have to, like, turn off the security system before the alarm goes off, if you have a code.
Austin: Mm-hmm.
Jack: This is the version of that where AuDy is trying to tamper with the…the way I'm picturing this is an extremely fast precise motion. You know, taking the door down and, at the same time, shorting out the electricity in the frame, in the doorframe, or the, [Austin: Mm-hmm.] you know, touching two wires together. This is something that, like, organic speed would not be able to— you know, it’s breaking the door down and reaching into the thing and touching two wires together.
Austin: Boom boom boom. Yeah, yeah. I gotcha.
Jack: In fact, maybe that’s the— you know, it’s AuDy’s hand just breaking through the door first and reaching into something inside the door to short something. This is…what is my verb here?
Austin: Prowl? Which is the— it’s funny, 'cause you're punching through a thing, but I do think— I mean, I'll double check. Let’s look at verbs, huh?
Jack: Yeah. I feel like arbitrating verbs…
Austin: Yeah.
Jack: Arbitrating, comma, verbs.
Austin: You're not attacking. You're not punching. You're not hacking. You know what I mean? You're not doing Fight.
Jack: No.
Austin: I do think that fundamentally the thing you're doing is getting into places you are not wanted, which is Prowl.
Jack: Yeah. I think so. I'm just reading through the…
Austin: What is your Prowl?
Jack: My Prowl is 1.
Austin: Aha. Are you going to spend any push dice?
Jack: I am. I'm going to add Coordinated.
Austin: Interesting. Okay. So, that is one action die and one push die.
Jack: And you know what? I'm also going to add Blunt.
Austin: Sure.
Jack: What I am doing here is not a, uh…when this all goes down, the people in the security room— or rather, once all is said and done, the people in the security room will go, “Door 15C was breached.”
Austin: Mm-hmm.
Jack: You know, we know the violent matter this was done. I am not tidying my way through this. I am just stopping an alarm going off at the moment of, you know.
Austin: Right, right, right. Okay.
Jack: And in this sense, that is blunt. So, I am going to add one action die and two push die.
Austin: Okay.
Jack: Rolling here. Based on our previous successes, I am gonna roll a 6.
Austin: [scoffs] We'll see.
Keith: Mm-hmm.
Jack: Oh, I'll take a 5.
Keith: 5.
Austin: That is a 5. I am going to…let’s see how this works on my side. After players roll the dice, duh-duh-duh-duh-duh. Compare the dice on a reaction rating. How do I and can I— I'm making sure I can do it on my side. Uh…sorry, I'm just double checking…I understand how to— here we go. Outcomes? No, that’s not it. Uh, okay. Step five here— this is on page 93, on contention. “The verb the target uses to react determines his reaction rating. For each positive adjective, object, or tag that helps him, he can discharge a push die and increase his reaction rating by 1.” I am discharging one push die to increase my reaction rating by 1, because I am using the cyber eyes of Little Blue, who is one of the Ithikos triplets [Jack: Hmm.] who sees the camera go down but who can then page back through, frame by frame, as it drops, to see the one frame when you come through the door. And I need you to— or actually, I guess you don't take an adjective on this, right? You just don't get to apply one? Let’s see.
Jack: Uh…
Austin: Uh…with an effective action, duh-duh-duh-duh-duh…yeah, I think that that’s true. I think that if you lose…
Jack: Yeah, I prime the verb that I used.
Austin: Yes. You do prime it, which pretend you didn't, [laughs quietly] because AuDy does not come into episode 1 of COUNTER/Weight with any primed verbs, but you know. [Jack laughs] All right, determine reaction. Here we go. Uh…yeah, I think that if that happens, you don't actually… “If your action’s result is equal or less than the target’s reaction, uh, then the action was, due to the reaction, not effective enough to assert a new adjective. After missing a roll, have the player mark the circle next to the verb she used on the protagonist’s sheet. This means the verb is primed. Priming is the first step of advancing it. If this is the case, skip ahead to discharged push dice.” So yeah, you just discharge those push dice. They go into your discharge pile, and play continues. And in this case, what happens is the alarm goes off manually.
Jack: Huh.
Austin: Because Little Blue Ithikos, who is the child of Big Blue Ithikos, the head of the family—uh, just Blue Ithikos, really, but maybe people call them Big Blue—has manually hit the button and says, “Intruder on door 56! Intruder on door 56!”
Jack: Hmm.
Austin: And then they and their two siblings head out the door, one of them grabbing a shotgun, and begin to rush to try to converge on your position. What do you do?
Jack: Hmm.
Austin: Inside the casino, there is no alarm.
Jack: Yes. What is this corridor that I'm in? What do I see on opening this door?
Austin: [sighs] I think it’s— it comes into a long corridor in front of you and then stairs up and down, even though you came in on the ground floor. Presumably you came in on the ground floor, right?
Jack: Yes.
Austin: Yeah. I'm imagining you came in, like, on a doorway, like, near but not next to a loading dock, you know? And so I think this is, like, it’s what you imagine. It’s kind of what you— what you conjured for me was, like, the back hallways that have the sort of, [Jack: Right.] like, gray painted floor, white cinderblock painted walls, a bunch of little storage spaces and maintenance rooms. There’s probably offices on this floor somewhere. If not on this floor, maybe one floor up. The stairs are made of metal going up and down. You don't know which way the security room is from here or security rooms, but the alarm is going off.
Jack: I am going to radio Aria.
(as AuDy): Hello.
Ali (as Aria): Hi!
Austin: There’s an alarm behind AuDy.
Ali (as Aria): Are you okay?
Jack: Uh, oh god. How does AuDy, um…hmm. [chuckles]
(as AuDy): The alarm has been raised. Meet me in the security room. [Jack laughs quietly]
Ali (as Aria): Wha— which security room? [hushed] Which security room?
Jack: Uh…the sound of AuDy’s right arm shotgun deploying.
Austin: [laughs] Not firing, just, like, unfolding itself out of the arm or whatever?
Jack: Yeah.
Austin: Yeah.
Jack: Clicking out of the arm. I think I say:
(as AuDy): I'm going to start on the bottom floor. If you can make it to the first floor, sweep and search. Over and out.
Jack: [laughs quietly] No, I'll let you reply.
Ali (as Aria): I call, please! Thanks, gotta go! [Jack laughs]
Austin (as attendant): Ma’am, would you like any drinks or appetizers?
Austin: Asks someone who works at the casino.
Ali (as Aria): Oh, I'm, um…is there a bathroom here?
Austin (as attendant): Absolutely. I can escort you to the bathroom. I just have to say, we're, um…we don't really smile upon people using their own communications equipment that’s not part of the Holidaze system here. [hushed] The sort of radio you have is not allowed in the casino.
Ali (as Aria): Oh.
Austin (as attendant): So, if you come with me, I'll lead you to a restroom.
Keith: More like arrest room. [Ali laughs]
Jack: Ooh. [Austin laughs quietly]
Austin: Boom. [in cadence of “real eyes realize real lies”] A restroom arrest room a rest room. [Ali and Jack laugh]
Ali (as Aria): Um, I beg your pardon. I've spent a lot of money at this establishment.
Austin (as attendant): You spent $17 at this establishment. [Keith laughs]
Ali (as Aria): I— I— I— you should count their tabs too. I paid for their rounds.
Austin (as attendant): Well, if you'll come with me, I'm sure it’ll be fine.
Ali (as Aria): I'm in a bit of a rush, you see.
Austin (as attendant): To the bathroom. I understand.
Ali (as Aria): Mm-hmm.
Austin (as attendant): I'll get you right there. I know the fastest route.
Ali (as Aria): That’s very kind of you.
Austin: And leads you towards, uh, one of these doors that goes into the back hallways. [Ali laughs]
Jack: Does this person know the alarm has gone off? Have the, like—
Austin: Oh yeah.
Jack: The front of house people been told?
Austin: Oh yeah.
Jack: Yeah.
Austin: Oh yeah.
Ali: Is there a security room in the back room? [laughs]
Austin: Uh, I believe that— well, you're being taken somewhere. [Ali laughs quietly] You're being taken to a bathroom. They're not gonna not bring you to a bathroom, you know?
Ali: Well, can I do, like, a…can I do, like, a Discern Realities? That’s a Dungeon World thing. [laughs]
Austin: That’s a Dungeon World thing. Yeah, what are we doing? We really just time traveled.
Ali: [laughs] To see, like…if I get into the back room, and it’s the sort of, like, behind the mall sort of situation…
Austin: Yeah, yeah, yeah. It’s exactly that, yeah.
Ali: Is there, like, a sign that says Security?
Austin: Yeah, totally. Mm-hmm. For sure. But they are leading you to the restroom, back here, and they're waiting outside the— it’s like a single person restroom, you know what I mean?
Ali: Mm-hmm.
Austin: They let you in, and they wait outside for you. They're waiting outside for you, and then they're going to lead you somewhere else.
Ali: Oh, I was gonna try to lose them is why I was…
Austin: You're just gonna try to sprint away?
Ali: Well. [laughs]
Austin: Wait, how were you gonna try to lose them? Let’s do it.
Ali: I guess, like— yeah. I guess it’s not, like, crowded enough in the hallways to do, like, [cross] a sleight of hand situation.
Austin: [cross] No, it isn't.
Ali: You can't…you can't do that.
Austin: [laughs quietly] Unless you are David Copperfield, I don't know how you disappear in the— [Ali laughs] I mean, once you get going, you know what I mean? Once you start running, if you're able to outrace them, then sure.
Ali: Is there a vent in the bathroom?
Austin: A person-sized vent in the bathroom. Um…let’s roll a die. [Ali laughs] 1, there is. 2, there is not. [clicks] 2, there is not.
Ali: Damn.
Austin: I gave you good odds on that too.
Ali: I know. You really did.
Austin: Person-sized vents don't exist in real life.
Art: Yeah.
Ali: Hey.
Austin: They only exist in Deus Ex.
Art: Yeah, if you look around most bathrooms, they don't have giant vents in them.
Austin: Yeah. It’s kind of an issue.
Ali: You’ve gotta get air in and out of there. [laughs quietly]
Keith: Should I be concerned about my bathroom? [Ali, Jack, and Art laugh]
Austin: How many person-sized vents do you have?
Keith: One, but it seems like that’s more than is usual.
Austin: Yeah, I—
Jack: Oh, that’s the door. You're thinking of the door.
Austin: Oh.
Jack: Uh, knock him out, Aria.
Ali: Ohhh… Are you saying that? Are you— is that a suggestion? I had an option for it.
Jack: It’s a suggestion from Jack.
Austin: From Jack de Quidt.
Ali: I have a funny gun, don't I? Where’s all my stuff?
Austin: Oh my god. You do have a funny gun.
Ali: I have a funny gun, and I have a funny whip, right?
Keith: Tell me about your funny gun?
Austin: You don't have the whip yet. The whip is in the next game. [Ali laughs] We haven't gotten there yet. You have the BANG!, a heavy pistol designed to intimidate, is what you have. It’s loud and powerful.
Ali: Normal.
Austin: Yeah.
Ali: Good to have.
Austin: Mm-hmm.
Keith: Oh, this is the— is this the “bells are ringing” pistol?
Austin: It is. It is.
Ali: Don't switch me back.
Keith: Okay.
Ali: [laughs] I'm reading.
Austin: Oh, sorry. I forgot that that’s how that works. I forgot that we share a thing. Yeah. Mm-hmm.
Ali: Yeah, maybe it’s, um…well, [conflicted noise]. Can I…can I try the Move first to lose them?
Austin: You can do whatever you want to do.
Ali: Before we get this into gun?
Austin: You do whatever you want to do.
Ali: I have a better Move than I have a Shoot, let me tell you.
Austin: Yeah, sure.
Ali: And I don't want to shoot this person.
Austin: Yeah.
Ali: I guess I could Coax them with my gun.
Austin: Sure.
Ali: But are we there? [Art laughs]
Austin: You tell me what you're doing. [Ali laughs]
Keith: Look, it is not that big of a leap from running away from the person trying to take you to the— to, like, reprimand you in the whatever other—
Art: To the bathroom dungeon. [Ali laughs]
Keith: Yeah.
Austin: They're stopping off at the bathroom to let Aria pee or whatever, and then bringing her to the other, the next place, the dungeon dungeon, the regular dungeon.
Ali: Right, the dungeon. The dungeon.
Keith: It might be that you're about to be escorted to the security room.
Art: Which might be where…
Keith: [laughs] You might not have to do anything. You might just be able to follow this person.
Art: Yeah, you might be about to just win. [Ali laughs]
Ali: I don't think Austin’s tone implies that I'm winning. [Austin cackles, Ali laughs]
Art: Austin doesn't decide who wins.
Keith: Yeah, the dice decide.
Austin: Oh, right. I know where you're being led.
Ali: Yeah, the dice is not, uh…but yeah, can I do, on the way to the bathroom, the sort of— they're leading me, right? They're not walking behind me?
Austin: They are walking next to you.
Ali: Okay. Well, then, can I do the, like, we're walking together. I stop and take two steps back. They have to react to that.
Austin: Yeah?
Ali: And I could be running, at that point. [laughs]
Austin: Well, you have to— you have to tell me what you're doing. You can't decide what—
Ali: That’s what I'm saying. That’s what I'm saying.
Austin: Then yes, you can try to do this. That’s a Move.
Ali: Yes.
Austin: That, to me, feels like a Move.
Ali: Uh huh.
Austin: So, that’s three dice. That’s three action dice. Are you using any adjectives or abilities? Or, uh, objects, rather.
Ali: Um…
Keith: You got one good one.
Ali: I'm Energetic, yeah.
Keith: Mm-hmm.
Ali: Energetic is moving.
Austin: That is moving.
Ali: The dice are discharged. I cannot use them, right? How do I— what’s—?
Austin: No, now they recharge.
Ali: Now they recharge.
Austin: The beginning of a roll, they recharge. Yep.
Ali: Okay.
Austin: So you get them back.
Ali: Okay.
Austin: Boom.
Ali: So, I have the one from Energetic.
Austin: Yep. Pull it up to the dice rolling spot.
Ali: Oh, I do that with mine. Okay.
Austin: That is your push dice, yeah, exactly.
Ali: Okay.
Austin: And then your action dice. You should have three action dice total, because you have 3 in Move. So you should have three action dice plus a push die. The action dice are the white dice. That’s— those are— yeah.
Ali: And then, what’s my vector for adding a second dice if I— well, four’s a lot. I'm gonna see if I can get away and save these dice for if I have to do a Coax after this.
Austin: Sure. Okay. So, go ahead and roll those four dice.
Ali: Okay. Random side, close my eyes.
Austin: Boom. That is a 6 again. [Ali laughs] Unbelievable dice rolls here. So, what adjective are you giving to this attendant? And are you going to make it sticky? Because if you don't, they can just take an action to un-sticky it, right? They're gonna give chase, is what’s gonna happen, right? And then we'll be in the sort of, like, chase sequence.
Ali: Dazzled?
Austin: Dazzled? Why— how have you dazzled them?
Ali: Because it’s impressive, the thing that I did. [laughs]
Austin: It’s impressive that you just stop, I guess? Okay. Dazzled.
Ali: Yeah.
Austin: Let me write it down.
Ali: Can I sticky that? Can they be like, “Wow.”
Art: They got juked. You ever watch, like, a highlight on ESPN and been dazzled by it? [Ali laughs quietly]
Austin: I think— yeah, I— phew. I don't know that Dazzled or Juked— I think Juked especially is short term. [Ali laughs] You juke someone for a second. You know what I mean?
Ali: Okay, sure. But it—
Austin: I don't know you just getting into a sprint past them or behind them is enough to…you gotta give me something else that’s more than just…
Ali: Right. I was gonna sticky it in terms of, like, maybe I play some music while I run away, or maybe…
Austin: That’s gonna help them find you. [Ali, Jack, and Keith laugh] I'm gonna read about sticky adjectives really quick. Sticky adjectives—
Jack: No, Austin—
Keith: You could go the other way with it and be like, this person is not interested in working this hard. [Ali laughs quietly]
Austin: They— [reading] “Sticky adjectives are lasting. They persist through the scene in which they were added and longer. Positive sticky adjectives last until the end of the following session. Negative sticky adjectives are damage or wounds. They last until they can be mended with medical attention or therapy.”
Ali: What if I do, like, a cool backflip?
Austin: I don't think they're gonna need to go to therapy over it. [Ali and Jack laugh]
Ali: What if they're like, “I saw—”
Art: You ever see a backflip so sick that you gotta go to therapy?
Ali: “I saw Aria Joie in real life, and I almost arrested her.”
Austin: I don't think that this is— this is not quite— I don't think that you are describing things that are sticky adjectives.
Ali: Sure.
Austin: And I think that it might just be that this is fleeting, and that’s— like, we’re in a chase now. You're being chased, you know?
Ali: Okay.
Austin: But you've juked them or you've dazzled them, and that’s fine, but those are fleeting adjectives, right?
Ali: [laughs quietly] Okay.
Austin: They are not— I don't think that that just gets sticky because you spent the die. It has to— it has to be a thing that would persist enough [Ali: Okay.] that you have to go see someone with the Treat verb.
Ali: Ah.
Keith: Mm.
Austin: Or go get…or go get a cybernetic prosthetic.
Ali: Well, just, like… [laughs] I just want them to be impressed enough that they don't chase me. [Ali and Keith laugh]
Austin: That’s—
Keith: I gotta side with Austin. That’s impossible. [Ali laughs]
Art: I've never been so impressed that I would stop chasing someone.
Austin: No, and here’s the thing: Ali, you can have that, but it’s fleeting.
Ali: Sure. Yeah.
Austin: They'll be like, “Wha—?” and then, like, “Well, that’s stupid. I have to chase her,” you know? “She’s— my job is to chase her.”
Ali: Uh huh. I understand.
Keith: I've spent weeks thinking about that person who ran.
Austin: Yeah, uh huh. [Keith laughs]
Ali: Sure.
Austin: So, are you giving fleeting— or are you giving Dazzled?
Ali: Yeah. Yes, yes.
Austin: Okay. Then yes, they are like, “Wha—? Huh?” [Ali laughs quietly] and now are— and then, you know, you break out down this hallway, and next thing you know, they're like, “Wait, uh…” and then they start chasing after you. And then they are gonna roll against you. They still have Dazzled, right? But I'm gonna recharge my push dice, and I'm gonna roll Move for them. They also have 3 in Move. They have cyber legs, in fact, so they are gonna spend [Ali laughs quietly] one of their push dice on their cyber legs. Uh, you should take your push dice back.
Ali: Yeah, yeah, yeah. I'm putting it.
Austin: Yeah, perfect. And they are gonna take…oh, Determined. Perfect. Boom.
Jack: Oh, wow! That’s a real doozy of an adjective to have for someone who’s chasing you. [Ali laughs]
Austin: It sure is.
Keith: What was the adjective?
Austin: Determined.
Keith: Determined.
Jack: It’s up there with persistent, I feel.
Austin: Oh, but they do have a hurt dice. They do have a hurt die, right? So this is them undoing that, so I have to roll this hurt die. As a reminder, hurt die are…they can cancel out good dice, so. All right, multi sided, random side. Boom.
Keith: I thought you were saying they had a heart die from having been dazzled.
Austin: No. Oh, look at this. This is really good for you, because the 6s cancel out, which means they don't— they rolled a 1, 2, 3, 3, and 6, but their hurt die was a 6, which means that those two cancel each other out, which means their score is a 3.1. What is your Move? Your Move is 3.
Ali: Mm-hmm.
Jack: Oh no!
Austin: All right. Oof. So, you will either have to take a negative adjective or discharge another push die in order to resist this, basically.
Ali: Um, sure.
Austin: And explain how. I believe that that’s…again, I believe that that’s how that works.
Ali: So I just charge it by using one of my objects or adjectives?
Austin: That is correct. Determine reaction, the verb the target uses. For each positive adjective, object, or tag that helps them, they can discharge a push dice and increase their reaction rating by 1. So you could discharge another push die here [Ali: Yeah.] to raise your Move up to 4.
Ali: Oh, okay, yeah. Can I do that and use my holobracelet to, like, project other Arias?
Austin: Oh, that’s really fun. Yeah, totally. So yeah, they continue to—
Keith: Now I'm dazzling.
Austin: Yeah, now I'm fucking— I mean, they still have Dazzled, you know? [Ali laughs]
Art: Now I have to go to therapy.
Austin: Now I gotta go to therapy over it. No, sadly, this does not let you do that, but my dice are discharged, at this point. Hurt die goes back there. Move these back here. They are still pursuing you, but they are not on your tail, in this moment. Mako and Cass? AuDy didn't call you, right? AuDy just called Aria?
Jack: Oh, I mean—
Austin: AuDy?
Art: Correct.
Jack: I did—
Art: Well, it’s a radio.
Austin: Right, that’s my question.
Art: Well, so, you can't call someone on a radio.
Keith: Well, if we're all on the same channel.
Austin: Right, that’s my question. Are you all on the same channel?
Keith: But I guess it’s: did AuDy give us different channels to tune into [Austin laughs] so that they could only talk to one of us at a time?
Austin: So they could only talk to…yeah. Yeah.
Jack: Yeah, I don't know. The reason that I didn't call Cass and Mako was to not blow my cover in front of Cash.
Austin: Mm.
Jack: But we could say that that call had gone through. It really is dependent on whether we want that information.
Austin: Sure. Then let’s just come back to AuDy. AuDy, what are you doing?
Jack: Down the stairs.
Austin: Okay.
Jack: You know, vaulting over one of the stair bannisters and, you know, dropping a floor down. Metal feet chipping the cinderblocks of the stairs. You know, shotgun deployed. If you are not familiar, AuDy’s right arm— maybe left arm. One of AuDy’s two arms unfolds into a shotgun, and they are just, you know, stalking this fluorescent lit corridor with the shotgun, looking for a security room.
Austin: As you land, you hear the footsteps of three Apostolosians, as they rush down one of these hallways and then begin climbing the stairs up towards you, and you hear the sound of a shotgun being cocked, and before you can even react, you then hear the sound of something landing at your feet. This is a, like, an EMP, like a localized EMP grenade, basically.
Jack: Ooh, no.
Austin: Yeah.
Jack: That’s the worst. If they’d thrown a gas grenade: not a problem.
Austin: Uh huh.
Jack: If they’d thrown a flashbang: not a problem.
Austin: Well, they saw you, is the important thing here.
Jack: Yeah.
Austin: Right? And so, I think that this is…
Art: We should have sent a person in an AuDy costume. [Jack laughs]
Austin: That’s all. That would have done it.
Art: A human in an AuDy costume would have survived this, no problem.
Austin: Is this Fight or is this Shoot?
Jack: They're throwing a grenade.
Austin: So Shoot?
Jack: Fighting is hand to hand, specifically, right?
Austin: Is it specifically? That’s what I’m— yeah, let’s see here. Uh, Fight. Yeah, use to attack barehanded and with melee weapons, so let’s call this Shoot. Ranged weapons. Yeah, and throw, including throwing. All right. So, then…so, I've recharged my push dice, and I am throwing this EMP grenade at you. Four action dice plus the EMP grenade. That’s one push dice. Uh, what are you— what am I rolling against here?
Jack: Uh, let’s see. Move?
Austin: Yeah, what are you doing to try to resist it is actually the question, right?
Jack: Uh, I'm kicking it. I'm just gonna just, like, kick this…
Austin: Oh, that’s fun. That might be Fight.
Jack: …thing back as hard as I can in their direction.
Austin: What is your…which reaction are you using for that? That feels like Fight to me more than, like…'cause you're like—
Jack: Yeah, it’s kicking.
Austin: Yeah, it’s kicking. Right?
Jack: It’s kiki!
Austin: What is your score?
Jack: My Fight is 3.
Austin: Your Fight is 3. All right, here we go. Random size. Side. Uh, that is a 6.
Jack: Mm! Mm. That is a 6. And there’s no way I can mitigate this?
Austin: You could discharge, uh, what is— you're at 3? You could discharge four push dice.
Jack: And I currently have, uh, two.
Austin: Zero.
Jack: Zero, right, yes.
Austin: Because they're discharged currently.
Jack: Because all my push dice are currently discharged.
Austin: Yes.
Jack: So, no.
Austin: All right. I am going to give you a sticky adjective.
Jack: Okay.
Austin: That adjective is…like, scrambled. Like, surged. Like, zapped. What’s a good— what happens to AuDy when an EMP grenade goes off at their feet?
Jack: Oh, it’s awful, right?
Austin: Even— and maybe you kicked it away far enough that it isn't deadly, you know what I mean?
Jack: Yes.
Austin: But it hurts you.
Jack: Yeah. It’s just a terrible feeling. It’s like pins and needles. It’s, you know, it’s just like lightning.
Austin: What’s the ongoing damage?
Jack: Um, I think Scrambled is really good.
Austin: What’s that mean, though? Like, when would that kick in? When would that hurt— when would you put a hurt die down?
Jack: Uh, trying to act precisely or with, like, discretion. Trying to take, [Austin: Mm.] uh, like, dextrous movement actions.
Austin: I'm going the other direction, sorry. This is like a— this is like the season of The Wire where McNulty’s asked where’s the one place that— they go, “What’s the one assignment that you don't want?” and then he gets that assignment. You've just told me the opposite of what you want, which is you don't want to be weak, and so you've been Weakened.
Jack: Mm.
Austin: The EMP makes AuDy lose strength in their body, in their limbs.
Jack: Oh, wow.
Austin: It is harder for you to get force behind your motions.
Jack: No more punching through doors.
Austin: No more punching through doors. No more being as strong as a small gang. Is there a better word than weakened?
Jack: Strong as a tiny gang.
Austin: Yeah, uh huh.
Keith: Sapped.
Austin: Sapped is not bad. Uh, let’s just go with Weakened. I said it first. So, go ahead and let’s add Weakened as a sticky adjective on AuDy.
Keith: Damn, sticky. That’s the worst.
Austin: Boom. Put the little dot next to it. That way it’s sticky.
Keith: Gets all on you.
Austin: That’s not so good. And yeah, it goes off, and you feel— like, there is a— it feels hard to hold your body up in this moment. And one of them calls up to you. This is, of course, the Ithikos triplets: Teal, Sky, and Little Blue. And Sky, who threw the grenade, goes:
(as Sky): Get on the ground, and we won't throw another one!
Jack: Mm. Now, this is a good way to go to jail. [Austin laughs quietly]
Keith: This is a good way to go to jail.
Jack: [laughs quietly] Uh…it’s tough. What is AuDy’s response here? Feeling so, you know, like Keith said, sapped.
Austin: Yeah.
Jack: For the first time probably ever? I don't know. I don't think AuDy has had an EMP deployed against them before.
Austin: Yeah.
Jack: I'm gonna Agent 47 this. I'm gonna fake surrender.
Austin: [amused breath] Okay. So, you just stop in place. The three Ithikos kids come up. They're not kids. They're young, but they're not, you know. They're like— they're shitheads. They're three shithead 20-somethings. [Jack laughs] You know what I mean?
Jack: Yeah.
Austin: Maybe they're even— one of them is, like, high teens, like 19, you know? And one of them has the shotgun pointed at you. One of them has the…one of them has, like, knuckledusters, you know? Like, that are sparking. And the other one is the one who threw the EMP, Sky. And Sky produces, like, an electromagnetic set of, like, they're like handcuffs that don't— they're not— they're like two different bracelets, right? And they're gonna aim to put one on your left hand and one on your right hand, and when that happens, they magnetize and bring your hands— they would, if they succeed at this, magnetize and bring your hands together to, like, lock them in place, basically, you know? [Jack sighs] And maybe, like, send some sort of another electromagnetic pulse through you that makes you more compliant in some way, maybe further saps you.
Jack: Right.
Austin: But that’s what their goal is, but it sounds like before they can do that, you're gonna Agent 47 them.
Jack: I am. Yes. And—
Austin: All right, recharge your push dice, and tell me what you do.
Jack: I am currently Weakened.
Austin: You are.
Jack: But Weakened AuDy is still regular…shithead.
Austin: [laughs quietly] That’s right. I'm always saying this.
Jack: [laughs] I hear AuDy’s weakened in this one. [others laugh] Okay, let’s see. This is knocking heads together, so I am going to roll Fight.
Austin: Which is 3? Is that right for you?
Jack: Yep.
Austin: Okay.
Jack: And the thing that I am going to try to do is a…uh…you know, moment of sudden rapid violence.
Austin: Mm-hmm.
Jack: You know, knock the knuckleduster out— you know, break someone’s wrist, knock the knuckleduster out of their hand, knock two of their heads together, and ideally, you know, if things go really well, I'd like to try and handcuff one of them to the other one. [laughs quietly]
Austin: Mm, that’s really fun. Okay. What are you, uh…are you using push dice and adjectives and such?
Jack: You know I am using push dice and adjectives and stuff.
Austin: You got three of them.
Jack: Okay. Number one: I am Tough.
Austin: Mm-hmm.
Jack: Number—
Keith: But fair.
Jack: But fair. Is AuDy fair? No. AuDy is not fair.
Austin: Oh. Damn.
Jack: Is Pickman fair? Uh…
Austin: Mm…
Keith: Mm…
Jack: Okay, one…
Austin: Yeah.
Keith: Maybe less so.
Jack: I am Coordinated.
Austin: Yeah.
Jack: Two…
Austin: I think Coordinated might be what’s letting you target multiple people, by the way. You need a particular push die.
Jack: Oh.
Austin: And you have to specifically— so, the way targeting multiple people works is not just, like, you get to just do it for funsies.
Jack: Yes.
Austin: There are specific rules around this.
Jack: I'm looking at the rules.
Austin: Yeah.
Jack: It requires a specific adjective or tag [Austin: Yeah.] and must have a valid vector for all targets.
Austin: Mm-hmm.
Jack: I discharge one push dice to do it, and targets determine their reactions individually.
Austin: That’s right. And I think the…I don't believe that that push die— do you roll the push die, or do you just discharge it?
Jack: I think it just discharges.
Austin: You just discharge it.
Jack: So, this last push dice here is getting discharged, because I'm attacking [Austin: Right.] these three at the same time.
Austin: Yep.
Jack: Three? Two. Three.
Austin: Uh, one second, one second. [typing] Wait, what are you— three? What are you asking about?
Jack: How many people am I currently fighting?
Austin: Three. Three.
Jack: Three. Yes.
Austin: Three. Teal, Sky, and Little Blue.
Jack: Yes. Okay. Uh, right. That’s it. I don't have any more dice to spend.
Austin: That’s true. And you have one hurt die, which you'll roll in this mix, and again, it’ll cancel out whatever it matches.
Jack: Okay. It rolled a 4, and I cancel out…three 4s? Two 4s.
Austin: You do cancel out two 4s.
Jack: However.
Austin: So, you get a 3.1, but you also have a 6.
Jack: I have a 6.
Austin: And that 6 is gonna be higher than any of their scores.
Jack: All right, let’s determine these reactions individually.
Austin: Uh huh. It is a 3, a 4, and a 4. So, that’s good for you, my friend.
Jack: It is good for me. Uh, let’s see. Yes. This is, um…AuDy breaks the wrist of the person holding the…just an explosion up from the ground.
Austin: Yeah.
Jack: I want to be honest about Weakened, but also, this is like a— they're a robot.
Austin: Mm-hmm.
Jack: They're made of metal.
Austin: Yep.
Jack: Sparking knuckleduster goes, you know, skittering across the floor. AuDy kicks it into— kicks it away. That person just goes down, you know, clutching their wrist, and then I am going to, uh, handcuff the other two to each other and knock their heads together. [laughs quietly]
Austin: Perfect. Good. What are you giving them?
Jack: Uh, do I give them them individually, or do I give it to them as a group?
Austin: Uh, spends push dice to increase severity of each adjective individually. Giving locked adjectives each to three individual characters would cost…so, locked, remember, locked takes two, so locked would cost six push dice. In this case, if you're trying to do sticky, it’s one per.
Jack: Okay.
Austin: And in this case, you only have two.
Jack: Yep.
Austin: So maybe it’s the two you’ve handcuffed?
Jack: Yeah, I'm gonna handcuff those two together. It’s Little Blue and, um…who’s the next most threatening one? AuDy would be able to get that sense.
Austin: Uh, one of— the real thing here is, like, one of them is good at punching, one of them is good at throwing and shooting, and then one of them is, like, the leader, who is, like, a little bit of everything and, like, Coax basically.
Jack: Let’s do leader and, um, throwing and shooting.
Austin: Okay. So that leaves Sky as the one— or, sorry, it leaves Little Blue as the one free one.
Jack: Yeah, that’s good, the kid of the Ithikos family.
Austin: Yeah, the young one.
Jack: I'm giving the two who are together Incapacitated.
Austin: Love it. Great.
Jack: And I am giving Little Blue, whose wrist I've broken, the fleeting adjective Stunned.
Austin: Uh, I don't think Little Blue’s wrist is broken enough to where it’s a hurt die, unfortunately.
Jack: That’s true. Little—
Austin: So.
Jack: It’s, uh, Pained. [laughs quietly]
Austin: Yeah, it’s Pained. Maybe it’s broken, but like, the second you're out of here, Little Blue is gonna put some sort of, like, cyber cast on it, some sort of, like…like a slap bracelet that reinforces it.
Jack: Yeah! Hell yeah.
Austin: You know what I mean? But you're free to run forward, and I think— are you running forward? Is that what your plan is here?
Jack: Sure am.
Austin: I think you run smack into Aria.
Jack: Oh!
Ali (as Aria): [gasps] AuDy, I'm being chased!
Austin: You can hear the footsteps of someone saying, “Get—” I mean, the footsteps aren't saying “Get back here.” That would be funny. [Keith laughs] You can hear footsteps, and someone says:
Austin (as attendant): Get back here!
Keith: All new chase shoes with character art. [Austin and Ali laugh]
Austin: “Get back here. Come back.”
Jack: “Get back here. Get back here.”
Austin: “Stop it.” Yeah.
Jack: It’s with each footstep.
Austin: [laughs quietly] Yeah.
Jack: “Get back here.”
Austin: Save your breath for running, and let your shoes do the talking! [Keith laughs]
Jack: Wait, what does the Achewood guy’s shoes say?
Austin: The what? Who?
Jack: The guy in Achewood.
Austin: Oh, I don't know. [laughs quietly]
Jack: Philippe’s—
Keith: Oh, that’s the dog cartoon. I don't know anything about that.
Austin: [laughs quietly] It’s the dog cartoon. It’s, uh, “Here comes a special boy.”
Jack: [laughing] It’s “Here comes a special boy.” The “here comes a special boy” shoes.
Austin: Speaker sneakers. Yeah, [laughs] except they say, “Stop. Stop running. Hold it.”
Jack: Let me just copy this image here for people who haven't seen the dog cartoon. Uh, gonna put this in the Chime. It’s the way that they cut each other’s, uh, words off.
Austin: Yeah, it’s very good. It’s very good. [laughs] “My mom sent them to me.” It’s good.
Jack: “What? What do they do?” “Watch!” and then Philippe runs, [Keith laughs] and the bottom panel is just his shoes, overlapping each other, saying, “Here comes a special boy.”
Austin: Well, it’s also very funny, because the setup is as if they're charging, but they're not charging. They have to stay plugged in. [Jack laughs]
Keith: They have to stay plugged in.
Austin: There’s a long cord.
Jack: Oh, I never noticed that.
Austin: Anyway, Aria.
Keith: It looks like he's about to run out of slack.
Austin: Oh yeah.
Jack: Yeah.
Austin: Aria and AuDy.
Jack: Oh, god. Um…I mean…I could just take this person out or try to. I was thinking—
Art: Clothesline them. Just…
Jack: I could just clothesline them and let Aria go, but Aria is running towards where I have just taken out a bunch of people. [Ali laughs] So is there, like, a door or a stairwell nearby that we can duck into?
Austin: Sure. Yeah, absolutely.
Keith: It is funny, perfectly timed to have accidentally made things worse.
Jack: Mm.
Austin: I think this is better, because you're two against one at this point, right?
Keith: Oh— yeah, but it could have been none against none, if Aria didn't get a call from AuDy.
Austin: Sure.
Jack: That is true. What is this door labeled?
Austin: Nothing.
Jack: Okay, in we go! Aria, with me.
Austin: It’s another hallway.
Jack: Shit. Okay.
Austin: It’s another long hallway. It’s a thinner hallway, though, and it’s carpeted, so you know you're moving into office space or something like that.
Jack: Hmm.
Austin: Like, you've gone from, like, a double wide back room, you know, hallway, to, like, an office complex hallway. You know, a phone is ringing somewhere.
Jack: Huh. [sighs] What is our next best move here? Do we just go door to door in the side rooms like a sweep and clear, you know? Or do we try and make distance from this pursuer? Aria?
Ali: Um, hmm. Do we still want to be inside of this building?
Jack: I mean, I came here to look for [laughs] Coffee.
Austin: Yeah, to look for Coffee.
Ali: Oh. I should have let myself be arrested. [laughs]
Jack: [laughs] You can go back. You can— we can still be arrested, Aria.
Ali: [laughs quietly] That would be so— wait, that would be so funny.
Austin: It’d be very funny.
Ali: If this guy was chasing us, and then we just stopped, and I was like, “I was looking for my friend!” and then let them arrest me. [laughs]
Austin: What I will say is you've been upgraded from the type of place you were going to be arrested to. You were gonna be brought in for questioning, and now you might be arrested. You know what I mean?
Ali: [laughs] But are they hiding Coffee…
Austin: But that’s what I— that might be in your favor. That’s what I'm saying.
Jack: I can follow you.
Ali: Right.
Austin: You can what?
Ali: Well, you would be arrested with me, right?
Jack: No, no, no. you're gonna go get arrested on your own. [Ali laughs] I'm gonna follow you and break you out, when we find Coffee.
Austin: Do you have some sort of tracking device?
Ali: Wait.
Jack: No, I'm gonna follow Aria on foot!
Austin: Oh, I see.
Ali: Is the scene…Aria running forwards, sees AuDy, and goes, “I'm being chased!” and AuDy says, “Turn around”? [Jack, Austin, and Ali laugh] Is that the scene we're setting up?
Austin: Oh my god. [Keith laughs]
Jack: AuDy just ducks into a side room.
Austin: Yeah. Yeah.
Jack: Just says nothing.
Austin: Yeah.
Jack: And holds the door shut so Aria can't follow them?
Austin: Uh huh. [laughs quietly] Aria looks back for, like, a sign of help, and either AuDy is gone or AuDy is leaning just around the corner with a finger up to where their lips would be if they had lips. [Jack laughs] “Shh.” Static plays.
Jack: Static, yeah.
Austin: To make a shush sound. Is this what you're doing? There’s no roll required.
Jack: I mean, I'm up for it if you are, Ali.
Ali: [sighs] It’s so funny.
Jack: You did say, “Now I should have been arrested,” and now I am giving you an opportunity to be arrested. [Ali laughs] I also feel that AuDy throwing Aria under the bus on their first mission together is very in-character with the way the Chime develops.
Austin: Mm-hmm.
Ali: [laughs] I'm down with it if you are.
Jack: Let’s do it.
Ali: [laughs] Can I— can this be— can I get, like, a narrative advantage here, though? Can I get, like…
Jack: You're now being deliberately arrested. [Ali laughs]
Austin: What do you mean?
Jack: Can I be arrested really impressively? [Ali and Keith laugh]
Keith: Can I dazzle, even in cuffs? [Austin laughs]
Ali: Can this be, like, a Coax, and then they get, like, a— no, no, I don't know. [laughs]
Austin: I'm just letting it happen. You don't need to adjective anybody for this.
Ali: Right.
Austin: You're getting arrested.
Ali: Right. No, no, no. I just thought, in the process of being arrested, I could get a boon, so to speak, because I'm doing it deliberately now, but no.
Austin: I don't think that that’s— no, it’s not this system.
Ali: That’s not how this works. [laughs]
Austin: It’s not how this game works, no. I see what you're going for. You're not gonna, like, get advantage on your next roll.
Ali: Uh huh.
Austin: No, nuh-uh.
Keith: Can I be half arrested if I succeed in this roll? [Ali laughs]
Austin: You know, the thing that’s gonna happen here is they're gonna put you…you know, you're gonna be led to the same place that Coffee is but not put in the same cell, effectively, right?
Ali: Okay. Well, that’s still, yeah.
Austin: And if you wanted be like, “Hey, can—” you know. Can you be annoying enough that they just put you in Coffee’s cell or something, then maybe that’s a thing you could try to roll for? But, you know, I don't think that that’s— it’s up to you how you want to do this.
Ali: I…that’s a stretch, I think. [laughs]
Austin: It is. It is a stretch. That’s a stretch, but dazzle so bad they need therapy, not a stretch.
Ali: Well, just being like, “Who was that girl?”
Austin: Oh my god.
Ali: It was the same thing she did to fucking Jacqui. Jacqui Uhualed. [laughs quietly]
Austin: We were in a different system by the time that worked.
Ali: I know. I'm just saying! I'm just saying.
Austin: The world shifted and changed.
Ali: This is the way that people think about Aria Joie in all…
Austin: That Aria Joie doesn't exist yet. [Ali laughs] That Aria Joie is a glimmer in this Aria Joie’s eye. Aria Joie is not the Pusher yet, you know? This is the thing. Aria Joie right now is idol, idol, smuggler.
Ali: Mm-hmm. Aria spent all of that time being like, “I wish— what could I have done to dazzle that guy more?”
Austin: Exactly. [Ali and Jack laugh] The answer, by the way, was get the shit beat out of you, [Ali laughs] is where this all goes with Jacqui eventually, so.
Ali: Mm-hmm.
Austin: So yeah, this ploy works. You're led into the back, to an area that is effectively four, like, tiny single bedrooms that have been made, like, with glass walls. You're in, like— you're in, like, the Magneto prison from X-Men, except it is like a low quality, you know, queen size bed bedroom at a casino, and there’s four of them next to one another, you know? There’s breathing holes. You can probably talk to Coffee through the breathing holes. You're, like, next to Coffee’s, you know, cell basically. And you see this happen, AuDy.
Ali (as Aria): Can you do me a favor and at least stream, um… [Jack laughs] “Everybody Dies on Earth” on MusicMatch?
Austin (as guard): [sarcastic] Yeah, I'll get right on that.
Keith: [incredulous] Everybody dies on Earth? [Jack, Ali, and Austin laugh]
Ali: It was for Earth, sorry.
Austin: Everybody dies on Earth.
Art: That wasn't the song before. [Ali and Keith laugh]
Austin: Let me do a quick search.
Keith: It’s also not “Everybody Dies For Earth”!
Austin: [typing] Everybody dies on Earth.
Art: On Earth.
Keith: I think it was “Everyday People Die For Earth”.
Ali: Okay, yes. But no—
Austin: I got a song here called “Everybody on Earth Dies Alone”. That's on Spotify. [Keith laughs]
Ali (as Aria): I don't have the licensing for “Everybody Dies Everyday on Earth”.
Austin: Oh my god.
Ali (as Aria): So I did a cover of it, and it’s uploaded—
Art: And it’s not “on Earth.” It’s never “on Earth.” [Ali and Austin laugh]
Keith: [laughing] Everybody— it’s getting worse with each—!
Art: Everybody dies on Earth!
Keith: [laughing] Everybody everyday dies on… [Ali laughs]
Austin: Ah!
Keith: Each new title is getting worse!
Austin: Who let her cook?! [Ali and Keith laugh] She’s got nothing!
Jack: [laughs] Hooray. Everyday, everybody—
Keith: She really truly did not write her songs.
Ali (as Aria): I just have to upload it under a different title everyday because of the algorithm. [Austin sighs]
Jack: The one you've decided today is [Austin: Fuck.] “Everyday Everybody Dies on Earth”? [Ali and Keith laugh]
Austin: [sighs] Started from the bottom. Still there. [Jack laughs]
Ali (as Aria): ‘Cause if you listen to all of them, then they'll start recommending my other tracks.
Austin (as guard): Okay. I see. I'll get right on that.
Ali (as Aria): Thank you.
Austin: Cass and Mako.
Keith: Yeah.
Austin: You know, Cash’s security radio has beeped and keeps beeping, and at one point, Cash is like:
(as Cash): I have to check into this.
Austin: And, you know, taps, you know, their temple to, like, change their display screen that they're looking at inside of their own, you know, augmented reality thing on the Holidaze, and is like:
(as Cash): [sighs] You're here from the CCT, huh?
Keith (as Mako): [lying] Uh, no.
Austin: Cass already said this.
Art: What?
Austin: Cass already said this— oh.
Keith: Yeah, I know.
Art: Yeah. That was—
Keith: This is a—
Austin: Gotcha.
Keith: This is a fun lie.
Jack: Ha!
Austin (as Cash): [sighs] I'm gonna give you 45 seconds to get out of the bar.
Art (as Cass): What happened?
Austin (as Cash): It seems like this little crew you put together went loud.
Art (as Cass): [exasperated] Oh my god. Okay. Mako, let’s go.
Keith (as Mako): All right.
Keith: Get on our little bikes.
Austin: [scoffs] Wait, do—
Art: No, we left the bikes.
Austin: The bikes are at the front. Yeah, you didn't ride the bikes [laughs] into the casino, up the escalator, and to the bar.
Keith: Sorry, I was skipping to the front door.
Austin: Gotcha. Yeah, yeah, yeah. You do just get out of there. Yeah. What do you two do? And we'll maybe end here on the night on whatever you set up for your next actions or your next, like, your plan of action, maybe.
Keith: Um…
Art: Um…I mean, there’s part of me that thinks we should also get arrested. [quiet laughter]
Keith: That was part of my original plan.
Art: Well, like, that's how it would go in Ocean’s 11, you know? We would all meet up in the jail, and it would all be part of the plan. [Austin laughs quietly]
Keith: Do we— we don't even know about the jail or where the jail—
Austin: That seems to have not been told to you, no.
Art: Mm. I bet Danny Ocean knew about the jail.
Austin: Right.
Jack: He had that little 3D model.
Art: That was the casino.
Jack: Oh, yes, you're right.
Keith: Do…hey, I'm gonna try my— I want to try my communicator thing.
Art: Mm.
Keith: Maybe they didn't take it from people.
Austin: Yeah, go for it. What do…
Keith: I turn to the channel that gives me both Aria and AuDy.
Austin: Uh huh.
Keith (as Mako): Uh, hi?
Jack (as AuDy): Hello.
Keith (as Mako): Oh, great. Um…are you…what did you do?
Jack (as AuDy): Things escalated. Aria has been taken to the—
Jack: I nearly said the brig again. [quiet laughter]
(as AuDy): Aria has been captured.
Austin: Very ship-minded.
Keith: Yeah.
(as Mako): Aria did something?
Austin: [scoffs] Wow.
Keith (as Mako): I mean, without consulting us?
Jack: Uh…I don't think AuDy has an answer for that.
Keith: [cross] Right, 'cause it’s not what happened.
Ali: [cross] It was your idea!
Keith: Yeah, that’s why, because it’s not true! [Ali laughs]
Austin: They did take Aria’s communicator, by the way, and gun and stuff.
Keith: Okay.
Austin: They're not just— you know.
Keith: Yeah.
Ali: Oh, man.
Keith: I actually forgot that AuDy was hiding in a corner.
Austin: Right, uh huh.
Keith: Yeah, and so wouldn't have had their thing taken.
Austin: Yes, yes.
Keith: Yeah.
Jack: Uh, hey, Austin?
Austin: Yeah.
Jack: I don't want to make homework for ourselves, but isn't it very likely that they are listening to this communicator right now? If I incarcerated someone and they had a communicator on their body, [Austin: Uh huh.] the first thing I would do would be clip it to my belt.
Austin: Yeah. Yeah. I think they're— I think that there’s some security folks standing around a desk, looking at the radio as this conversation happens. And let’s just hang on that conversation, but let’s go to Aria and Coffee in side-by-side cells. Aria, do you say anything to Coffee? I think Coffee is like:
(as Coffee): So what are you in for?
Jack: Ha!
Austin (as Coffee): That’s what people say in moments like this, right? What are you in for?
Ali (as Aria): [sighs] I had a phone, and they tried to arrest me, and then I ran to try to find the friend who called me.
Austin (as Coffee): You're Aria Joie.
Ali (as Aria): [brightly] Mm-hmm!
Austin (as Coffee): You're the pop— you're the “everybody always is dying” person.
Ali (as Aria): Uh huh.
Austin (as Coffee): You're like, “Everybody’s dying all the time.” [Keith and Art laugh]
Ali (as Aria): [singing] To dying men, to all of their good women. To dying girls, to all of their boyfriends.
Austin: Fuck off. [laughs]
Ali (as Aria): [singing] To dying men, to all of their women. [laughing] To all of the ones that we will protect!
Austin: This is a real song. This is—
Ali: That’s a Gundam song. Yeah
Austin: Ali’s doing a real Gundam song.
Ali: [laughs] That is “Soldiers of Sorrow”.
Austin: That is “Soldiers of Sorrow”.
Ali: Listen to the Andrew W.2.K. cover.
Austin: Yeah, uh huh. I'm on it. I'm on it. I'm gonna link it. [Ali laughs] Uh huh.
Keith: Did you say Andrew W.2.K.? [Austin, Ali, and Art laugh]
Art: That’s my favorite game! I get it every year! [Ali laughs]
Keith: Andrew W2K6. [laughs]
Ali: That’s his COUNTER/Weight name.
Austin: Yep, mm-hmm. [Keith laughs]
Ali: They kept replacing him.
Austin: Mm-hmm. [Jack laughs quietly]
Ali: He’s still on Earth.
Austin: He’s still on Earth.
Jack: For now.
Keith: Still bleeding.
Jack: Everybody everywhere dies on Earth. [Ali and Art laugh] Everybody. Um…do—
Austin: Wait, so yeah, what do you say?
Jack: Other than the chorus of “Everybody Everywhere Dies on Earth”.
Austin: Yeah, other than singing it, yeah. [Ali laughs]
Ali (as Aria): You know that one, right?
Austin (as Coffee): Yeah. Yeah, I know that one.
Ali (as Aria): Hmm.
Austin (as Coffee): It’s a sad song.
Ali (as Aria): You can't stream it in here. [brightly] What are you in for?
Austin (as Coffee): What am I in for? [sighs] I, uh, killed a guy.
Ali (as Aria): [gasps]
Austin (as Coffee): I killed someone.
Ali (as Aria): [awed] Whoa.
Art: Was it on Earth?
Austin: Always. All the time. Everyday.
Ali (as Aria): Hey, what’s your name?
Austin (as Coffee): I'm, uh…
Austin: Goes to shake your hand, but there’s glass there, and so, like, makes, like, a fist and puts it up against the glass slowly, like to dap you. [Ali laughs]
Austin (as Coffee): I'm Coffee. Coffee Affogato?
Ali (as Aria): [gasps excitedly]
Ali: Rapidly poking the glass.
Ali (as Aria): [hushed] I'm here to save you! [Jack laughs] I'm gonna save you!
Austin: Face changes instantly.
Austin (as Coffee): [intensely] Do you have it? Did you get it?
Ali (as Aria): Um…
Austin (as Coffee): I think McLeod had it. I don't know where he put it, but you gotta get it. It’s dangerous.
Ali (as Aria): Orth…sent…me?
Austin (as Coffee): Orth? Orth sent you. You're not from the C— you're— are you— [sighs] You an operator? What are you? [Ali laughs] This is undercover? Are you really Aria Joie?
Ali (as Aria): I'm a popstar-slash-independent, uh, mercenary.
Austin (as Coffee): [deflated] You don't have it.
Ali (as Aria): What?
Austin (as Coffee): You got arrested. Oh my god.
Ali (as Aria): Well, to find you.
Austin (as Coffee): [sighs]
Ali (as Aria): There’s a whole team. No, don't be scared.
Austin (as Coffee): [sighs] They're not gonna let me out of here unless I give it to them, but I don't have it.
Ali (as Aria): What’s “it”?
Austin (as Coffee): The KardSharq [pronounced like “card shark”]. You don't know anything.
Ali (as Aria): Those guys?
Austin (as Coffee): Those guys? No. The AI I had? Orth didn't…? Maybe Orth doesn't know. How much do—
Ali (as Aria): Well, we—
Austin: And then someone calls in from outside.
Austin (as guard): Knock it off, you two. No talking.
Austin: And, like, leans out and looks at you and then leans back, and you can hear AuDy talking to Mako over the speaker when they do that.
Ali (as Aria): [whispering] That’s my team. [Jack laughs]
Austin (as guard): Hey! [Keith laughs]
Austin: And I'm adding the KardSharq [Ali laughs] to the thing. [typing] Spelled…I believe it’s spelled like this: K-A-R-D-S-H-A-R-Q.
Jack: I was hoping it would be a Q.
Austin: Oh yeah. Oh yeah. I'm putting a question mark after it, 'cause that is part of the mystery.
Keith: [imitating suspenseful music] Bum bum.
[“The Long Way Around” by Jack de Quidt plays]