Transcriber: Vivien - ocean1212w#9314
Art (as SI): [exasperated] It’s Clementine. It’s Clementine in a giant glass palace full of… robot dogs, and... someone said there was a good sandwich place… (Austin laughs)
[Music begins: TANAGER. PERFECT. TOUCHPAPER.]
Sylvi (as Millie): You’re joking right?
Art (as SI): I- I fuckin’- I fuckin’ wish. She says that she can save, uh, Cas’alear like she- she saved… uh this gentleman, and she can protect us from this red dot, that she says is gonna kill all of us. Oh! And she wants one eye, and um...
Ali (as Broun): What?
Art (as SI): Oh, and the Resin Heart.
Sylvi (as Millie): [arch] Oh, she wants stuff too?
Art (as SI): Yeah, uh-huh.
Ali (as Broun): Why would you even come here and deliver her message for her? What is wrong with you?
Art (as SI): I think you’re in danger!
Keith (as Phrygian): Excuse me Thisbe?
Janine (as Thisbe): Yes?
Keith (as Phrygian): I guess we were just sort of asking about like… everyone seems mad about the Clem thing? And… but no-one seemed concerned about the red thing?
Janine (as Thisbe): Yesterday was difficult. It was not a good time for those... factors to... come into confluence.
Ali: Broun pokes their head in, and says, uh:
Ali (as Broun): You said you were like a scientist right?
Keith (as Phrygian): I’m like a. I'm like a um-
Ali (as Broun): Do you have two hours to kill?
Keith (as Phrygian): Yes.
Ali (as Broun): Right, I have a van outside.
Keith: Does it look like there’s something behind the curtains?
Austin: Absolutely. The scale is... phenomenal. For a moment, you feel as if you’re being… perceived? Scrutinised? The way a cop scrutinises you.
Jack (as Kalar): I’m… afraid of it. I think it is gonna destroy us. And I think we should take our chances with Clementine.
Austin (as Jesset): You should
Sylvi (as Milli): I-
Austin (as Jesset): make sure that she gets more people out-
Jack (as Kalar): Would you stick around to help get folks onto the ship?
Sylvi (as Milli): Yeah. I think I could help people.
Austin (as Jesset): Sovereign Immunity, what is this- what are you doing?
Art (as SI): We’re evacuating. We’re gonna go to the Witch in Glass
Ali (as Broun): What?
Austin (as Jesset): What?
Art (as Sovereign Immunity): Yeah I hear you. I’m on your side.
Ali (as Broun): Since when?
Art (as SI): If the two of you wanna go out there and tell people, no you know what we’re gonna hunker down and let the Divine kill all of us? As many people as y'all wanna do that, you can do. Sacrificing yourself is for idiots.
Ali (as Broun): (as the music cuts) Shut the fuck up. What is wrong with you?
Art (as SI): If Valence were here, things would be better, and instead, Valence isn't and [Austin: houh!] Crysanth is dead and what does it matter?
Ali ( as Broun): The fact that Valence ever trusted you makes me sick to my fucking stomach.
Ali: And then just walks away/ (laughs)
Austin: I love a big SBBR. (Ali laughs)
[Music Ends]
Austin: Welcome to Friends at the Table, an actual play podcast focused on critical worldbuilding, smart characterisation, and fun interaction between good friends. Before we wrap up this, uh, downtime just two quick things. One is we're gonna take off next week, uh to give ourselves a little bit of a- of a break before we- we move into what seems like uh the home stretch of Partizan. Um, and then the other thing is I just wanna shout out that we have merch still available in preorder at Fangamer. Uh we have these kind of three new pieces that we mentioned a little while ago and haven't been plugging that often because these eps have not been great for like sneaking it up the top and plugging the merch. But we really love this merchandise. We think people would like it too. Uh it is a Partizan hoodie that has an incredible design uh um of the moon of Partizan kind of digitally disintegrating on the back and then a Millenium Break symbol on the front. And that was designed by Annie Johnston-Glick which is incredible. We have a boat party shirt which has kind of like a retro throwback like neon hangout vintage vibe, uh, that I also extremely extremely love, and that people should um, should should go check out by... and that is by Tony Kuchar, uh and then finally we have an Aria Joie t- tour t-shirt, uh by Aya Fancisco, that is just incredible, it has a map of Counterweight on the back. It's like a tour t- It's like a tour shirt like a tour like a music tour shirt like you've gone to see Aria play at Joypark or at, you know, Vox or Kesh or whatever. Or Counterweight. It's fantastic. They're available in a wide range of sizes I wanna say... the... uh, t-shirts go up to a unisex 6X and as small as an extra small, plus women's cut sizes from extra small to 4X. That's also the same for the boat party shirt. Uh, and then the hoodie goes up to a 6X, starts at an extra small also. Um, this stuff is all great, uh and I hope people like it. You can go to friends- you can go to Fangamer.com and do a search for Friends at the Table, or you can go to tinyurl/fattmerch, and that'll take you right to our page on Fangamer. Um, the stuff should all be shipping uh by I believe the end of November, so it should be good for holidays, um, uh in terms of getting out to you assuming that the- the postal service stuff all works the way it's supposed to. Umm, alright that's it I'm gonna get out of the way and let this episode play. Enjoy.
Austin: What are we doing? What happens?
[Pause]
Jack: [laughs] I have some... Um... We have some downtime actions. Some extra- some bonus downtime actions-
Austin: Uh-huh
Jack: -right? Thanks to the Figure.
Austin: Yeah.
Ali: Dre have you done any downtime actions? Or are you just not, for this?
Dre: I think... the way it's working now is that this is... Bismuth has offered up their... downtime actions for... whatever-
Ali: ohhhhhhhhhh
Dre: -you want to do with them.
Austin (interrupting): Yes. Correct.
Ali: ohhhhhhhhhh.
Austin: Cause Bismuth doesn't have any wounds, doesn't have any, I mean if Bismuth wants to like spend some time doing a training or Schmooze action or something I'm not going to say no, but like there's no upkeep on Bismuth yet, or on- on the Figure, or on Figure
Dre: That's not what he got been sent here to do!
Austin: Right. Exactly. Exactly.
[Pause]
Austin: So um, yeah if you did have some like, hey here's some stuff I would like to get done. Bismuth is effectively saying, the Figure is effectively saying, hey, here's how I can help.
Dre (as Bismuth): Hey I can do your errands for you.
Austin: Right. Exactly! (Jack and Ali laugh) I'm sure is helping with getting people ready to go on this... this... this... uh... you know... uh... why have I blanked on this word? Evacuation.
Jack: Evacuation?
Austin: Yeah.
Jack: So what would be really useful going into...
Austin: Good question.
Jack: There's obviously recovering stress and recovering health but... that's dangerous. There's training, there's putting something in place to kind of, um, double-cross Clementine, like starting a long term project.
Austin (interrupting): Like starting a long term project. But, but-, wait a second, would Figure actually uh, do that? There might be a line-
Jack: I don't know, that's interesting.
Austin: There might be a line there which is like.... Figure would you betray Clementine... with these actions. Yeah.
Dre: No. No.
Austin: Um. There are still things that are hurt. Like there is still Millie's... mech is still level one hurt all the way. Um. Likewise for Broun's, likewise-
Dre: Um.
Austin: -for… Kalar is still level one hurt like you said. Um-
Dre: I should point out I did make a change on one of the moves
Austin: oh. Ok
Dre: -that- that figure has? Um, they used to have you know being able to tell if someone's lying and I replaced that with something else. So-
Austin: Ooh
-they wouldn't outright betray Clementine Kesh but, uh, [Austin laughs] I mean if– they don't fucking know all these people aren't a part of the Church of the Resin Heart. [Laughs]
Austin: Right [Jack laughs]
Jack: Mmm.
Austin: Oh, I assumed you were helping with that regardless-
Dre: Yeah!
Austin: -but I meant the, I mean like more an explicit plan of like... killing Clem, that uh, like the scheme. Uhhhh, uhh, if if you- someone started the scheme ‘Murder Clementine Kesh’, would Figure be an agent in that scheme. You know, maybe–
Dre: I mean, not willingly, but-
Austin: Right, but you could get manipulated into it.
Dre: Yeah.
Jack: Get a hook, a strong hook!
Austin: Right, get a strong hook.
Jack: Umm.
[pause]
Austin: Cannot wait for the Partizan uh... mod–
Jack: Crusader Kings mod.
Austin: –of Crusader Kings, yeah [Dre laughs]
Keith: I still —
Art: Uh- someone... someone should do that, I mean don't because it's too much work-
Austin: It's too much work-
Art: But it would be awesome.
Austin: It would be fucking cool.
Keith: I still have a tick in my fairly important long term project to have a, um, a um, mech basically.
Austin: Yeah, to get your other form... again.
Keith: Yeah.
[Pause]
Austin: Which would be interesting if it was coming from Figure, and thereby from... from Clem, and thereby from Perennial... I wonder what that would do, to your other form, I wonder how that would, um, visualise, and-and-uh and maybe even be internalised?
[Pause]
Keith: I'm still not uh... My plan was kind of like uh... see if I could like, on our next actual mission mission-
Austin: Mm-hmm
Keith: -to... like... trade finishing that as like a last second-
Austin: Right that's fun. I know what you mean.
Keith: Then, in exchange-
Jack: Oh, right
Keith: -for some clock somewhere ticking. Like- Ah I'm ready!
Austin: Boom.
Keith: Sorry I'm late we're uh, we can go let's go.
Austin: Yeah that's fun, we could- we could still do that
Keith: Yeah.
Art: What's our, what's our point situation?
Austin: Figure has three-
Art: [overlapping] extra- extra actions or something oh!
Austin: Oh, Figure has three full extra actions to donate, and then SBBR has nine generic supply points and two materiel.
Art: Uh, I would like to start a long term project using a supply point, because I do not wish to abuse my... budding friendship [Dre laughs] with the Figure in Bismuth.
Austin: Alright, what do you do, what are you doing?
Art: Um, I'm starting a long-term project-
Austin: okay
Art: -ummm, which is... rob... the... It's not the Crystal Palace, the the, the rob Clem's house.
Jack: I think it's just what we talked about earlier, I think this city is called The Reflecting Pool.
Art: Mmm. The important thing is no-one's said that to me before so I didn't forget.
Austin: [Laughs] No.
Art: Uh [Laughs], But yeah the, the archives of Past-
Austin: Do we wanna say that it's particularly... particularly important information, because, stealing all of Past feels like a lot because, Past's whole thing is that... Past is huge, and all of it is containing information, um-
Art: Yeah.
Austin: -but if it's like-
Art: I definitely think it's- it's- I think part of this project definitely is figuring exactly what it is that we're gonna take
Austin: Right. Like identifying what is valuable or, or ah-
Art: Casing the mark.
Austin: Harmful to whatever your target is with what you wanna do or whatever, yeah. Ok. [Art: Yeah] So yeah, let's say stealing, stealing important information from Past-
Art: Then I mean then it's- it's uh, I mean I've- I feel like eight is the most fun way to do it.
Austin: Alright. Let's do it.
Art: And if we don't get there we don't get there, but... I ain’t got shit all else to do [Austin laughs]. I don't feel like getting better... as a character [Dre laughs]
Austin: I mean you're sitting on a level right now-
Art: If we-
Austin: that you haven't even spent.
Art: If we trash the mech it doesn't bother, like-
Austin: Yeah.
Art: -what am I- who am I saving it for?
Austin: Yeah I got you, alright eight step.
Art: I'll just use all my downtime actions and beg borrow and steal other people's downtime actions-
Austin: [laughs] And then you're good.
Art: -and maybe we'll get Rihanna working on this-
Austin: Ah?
Art: -That's an Ocean's 8 reference.
Austin: I see, okay.
Sylvi: [quietly] That was a good one.
Austin: Alright anyone else wanna do any-
Keith: Did they get Rihanna working on that?
Art: They did, and the least believable part of Ocean's 8 is that like, Rihanna isn't like a stunningly beautiful person?
Austin: Everyone is just like 'oh yeah Rihanna's here'
Art: Oh yeah that, that woman's Rihanna.
Keith: [At the same time] Rihanna walks in and everyone's says 'what a normal looking- what a [laughs] regular-'
Jack: [Overlapping] What a normal-looking computer hacker!
Sylvi: The computer hacker thing kind of balances it out for me personally? [Jack laughs] But that's just, y'know.
Jack: Ah, Ocean's 8 is great by the way, if you haven't seen Ocean's 8, it's really good.
Art: Ocean's 8 is super worth it. It's just it's, it's at the end you're like- someone would look- [Dre laughs] Rihanna is not inconspicuous, [Austin laughs] Rihanna leaving the Met Gala is not inconspicuous, [Jack laughs] you can't convince me of that.
Jack: You used to see it every year! Um…
[Sylvi laughs]
Jack: So we still have three actions actually. Um-
Austin: Mm-hmm.
Art: Oh wait when I start a long term project do I get to-
Austin: Oh yeah, you roll, you get a roll on it. So what is this, how are you doing it, how are you going about advancing this project?
Art: [tuts] Well-
Austin: Looking at your skills right now...
Art: I sure hope it's study!
Austin: [Laughs] Yeah, I could say that.
Art: I'm studying for what we're doin'.
Austin: Uh-huh.
Art: Studying... Past.
Austin: Studying Past. So is this actually happening then... like... the next time you're on board basically-
Art: Yeah I think so
Austin: -As you're- as- as you're leading people through and all that whenever that happens.
Art: Yeah
Austin: Okay. Go and roll it for me. Roll it now anyway, 1d6.
Art: Um...
Austin: That is only a 2 so you only advance that clock by one point-
Art: Well…
Austin: -One segment. Um, and I think, I think actually- you know with one, I don't think you get much, but I do think- I'll say that, y'know as the clock continues to fill up you'll stuff kind of incrementally throughout, before you get some really big stuff. Um, so I guess this time, um, I would say... boy there sure was a lot of stuff in-[laughs] in here! Um, but just getting the general layout and understanding how things relate to each other, is the first step of this. Literally casing the very basic layout of this city.
Art: Can I spend my level to give myself a point in prowl, I feel I need prowl.
Austin: Yes. I- I think that that's fine.
Art: Alright so next time I'll be able to do-
Austin: You'll do some [with Art: ]prowling! That puts your prowess up to, uh, up to three also which ain't bad.
Art: Yeah...
Austin: Alright. Anyone else?
Art: Thank you everyone for this long diversion you let me have. [Austin laughs]
Austin: Yeah, it's fine.
Janine: If we don't say stuff he's gonna make the red thing happen. [Ali laughs]
Austin: It's true, it's true! I mean the red thing's gonna happen no matter-
Janine: People who have characters who act please act [laughs]
Austin: uh-huh! [Ali laughs]
Dre: Is- uh, is there anything Sovereign Immunity would like to dupe, uh, Figure into doing to help move that clock forward?
Art: I really don't wanna start us on this... path I really... um... and study isn't even right for you, you would just know... Wow you got good stats!
[Dre laughs]
Austin: Uh-huh.
Dre: Thanks.
Art: How do I get stats like you?
Austin: You're just-
Art: Um... [Ali laughs]
Jack: I found this with Kalar, it turns out it is very good to have a cl- like... I don't know if Dre was the same, and Keith was too but we could just like build these new characters by just getting given twelve points that you could put wherever you wanted. Um-
Keith: Leap ruled, I don't know. [Sylvi laughs]
Jack: Yeah, Leap was great.
Keith: Leap had great stats.
Austin: Mm-hmm
Dre: Uh, Valence had good stats because they constantly did things that were bad ideas [Austin laughs] and so got lots of move xp [laughs] or action xp I should say.
Art: But I guess if you- if you wanna uh, If you wanna study Past... with- with me.
Dre: I mean I do like the idea of you going to Figure and being like 'hey, can you show me around this place?', and like, Figure's here to help so of course they do.
Art: And that's not entirely nefarious, I also want to know!
Austin: Yeah, I'm down.
Keith: Are you actually at Clem's house now?
Austin: This is what- this is why I'm like- our timeline is getting kind of weird here [laughs] Like I think it would make sense to me to be like as you're loading people onto this ship, to be able to do this because we know that's coming, but I think additional things should be very clear about the conditions of- ah- doing it twice feels like maybe you're not helping people on board as much as you should be [laughs]
Dre: Fair.
Art: Well we can wait till everyone's on board but then...
Austin: Right.
Art: [quieter] we gotta - we gotta get some people on board.
Ali: Um... yeah... I uhhhhhh, um... I, is the party split now, what is happening [laughs]
Austin: I don't know!
Ali: I um...
Austin: It seems-
Ali: I've been-
Austin: yeah, go ahead.
Ali: I've been thinking that like, um, I think... Dre had mentioned that idea before of like having like a final message from... Valence or whatever?
Austin: Mm-hmm
Ali: Um, and I don't know that this like- I don't know if it would be a thing that would change Broun's mind, but I think like, part of the... the question that the reader might have is that like why isn't Broun just leaving?
Austin: yeah
Ali: So having-
Austin: Like leaving the planet you mean?
Ali: Yeah,
Austin: yeah
Ali: just leaving. They have the- the spaceship and they're very mad and why aren't they just doing that? Um... so like having the camera on Broun attempting to do that and being stopped by this thing would be... a thing I'm interested in doing, today?
Austin: Do we know what that-[Ali laughs] Do we know what that message is?
Dre: I mean I know
Austin: That's yeah [Ali laughs] that's what I'm asking.
Austin: So you're in the ship- What is the ship like? Also does it have a name yet?
Ali: It's the Blue Channel right?
Austin: You tell me it's your ship.
Ali: The Blue Channel, that's such a good name for a ship
Austin: I like it!
Ali (overlapping with Dre and Keith): Um-
Dre: That is good-
Keith: Channel? C-H-A-N-N-E-L?
Ali: Yeah. Um, also I'm an idiot [laughs] it's a very good name! Um... The three cheers and the blue channel shoutout to-
Jack: Great names!
Ali: Ali in high school.
Austin: Uh-huh!
[Multiple people laugh - Dre's in there for sure]
Keith: Are these references to some... to-
Ali: [whispering] they are, yeah, they are.
Austin: They are, don't worry, they are.
Keith: Okay.
Austin: Uh-huh.
Ali: Um, The Blue Channel was a song?
Austin: the Blue channel was a song.
Ali: Anyway-
Dre: Yeah, the Blue Channel was a song.
Ali: [Laughs] Anyway, um, uh-
Keith: High School Ali won't like that mistake. [Austin and Jack laugh]
Ali: Yeah sorry, sorry. Um- [laughs] But yeah, I- I- y'know I don't know if it's a thing of Broun being like... lemme check it out before I... I offer this to other people or if it's just like I'm gonna go, but either way I think it's like um-
Austin: Right, are you like, I could get people out of here too, we don't have to fucking go to Clem.
Ali: Yeah-
Austin: yeah
Ali: Well, we'll see
Austin: yeah?
Ali: [laughs] Um... But yeah, I don't know, I guess it's kind of a compact ship, um, I don't think of it as being huge, we've said that it's not the Millenium Falcon-
Austin: yeah
Ali: Um, I think that it's like maybe... thirty percent of what the Millenium Falcon is? Does that seem really tiny?
Austin: Nnnno-
Keith: No the Millennium Falcon's big!
Austin: Yeah, like it's like-
Art: And also nebulous
Austin: Yeah [laughs]
Ali: true
Austin: exactly!
Ali: sure yeahyeahyeah, yeahyeahyeah
Austin: It's bigger than it looks-
Keith: I don't know how many times I had to run through the Ebon Hawk before I figured it out... how everything's laid out [Dre laughs]
Ali: Um... Cause when you say like a ship that can hold-
Dre: Yeah
Ali: like eight people that's like a lot of... people, like-
Austin: The- the internet says that the Millenium Falcon can hold six to thirty people. You cannot fit-
Ali: Six to thirty?
Art: [overlapping] Those thirty people would be uncomfortable-
Keith: So it's got like-
Dre: What is this like a fucking AirBnB? Like... what the shit? [Austin laughs]
Keith: So it's got like six beds-
Dre: [weird dopey voice] I mean yeah it sleeps thirty if you put four people on each couch so... [Ali laughs]
Austin: According to wikip-
Ali: Um-
Austin: Okay wait, Wikipedia's now saying six to fifteen. "Crew of two can carry six to fifteen passengers"
Ali: Oh, sure-
Austin: And then yes, at the end of last jedi is where you get thirty people in it. That's- that's why they say thirty. It's at the end of Last Jedi when everyone gets in- into that ship, that's like thirty people-
Sylvi: Ok]
Austin: So yes
Ali: Ohhh-
Austin: it's probably-
Janine: [overlapping] Like how many people can you fit in the trunk of a minivan though?
[assorted overlapping laughs]
Dre: High school Andrew know the answer to that question.
Ali: Ooh, oh my god.
Austin: So yeah, but so I think probably... what, ten people? and not super comfortably, but like ten you could fit?
Ali: Probably!
Austin: Um, so where do you find this message?
Ali: Um... I mean think the scene is just Broun like eicking aroudn with teh controls right?
Austin Flipping switches
Ali: Status reports…
Austin: Right, yeah
Ali: Yeah, like having the like manual for the ship like printed out on the controls in front of them, is like going through the like [silly voice] well here's how you test this, [mimics speech]. Um
Dre: Um, in my mind this pops up when Broun opens like the star chart, or the navigation controls for the first time.
[Ali whines, laughs]
Ali: sure
Dre: And I think it's just a video recording, um, and it's probably like the first couple of seconds is that awkward thing where, uh, Valence is not quite sure how to work the camera [Austin and Ali laugh] and is like
As Valence: Uh-uh is this on?
Dre: and like their hand is covering it up and...
Dre as Valence: um... Is this- o-okay, alright, the light, okay, the light's on. okay. Um... Hey Broun, so... I wanted to record this... um... because one, ummmm... I would love to tell you this in person but like [sighs] I know you get weird about that sort of stuff? [Ali snickers] So I figured this would be easier for you. Or, well... other reasons. That hopefully we don't get to! Um... I think... I lied to you once. When I said that I couldn't go home. I- I mean I could. It would take a lot. But I could. Um... and you're... the only person that I really trust, or care to trust that with. Um... I know you wanna leave so if you really wanna leave? You'll find how... But I hope you don't. Cause I don't... This place would suck without you. Okay how do I turn... [Ali and Austin laugh] off.
Ali: Ohhhhhhh... [emotional] Kal’mera Broun! [Austin, Ali, and Dre laugh] Um... sure I mean that's a video message you get from a friend. Um...
Austin: Mm-hmm!
AIi: just wanted to tell you in secret that I know the map of my homeland [Austin laughs] but you know.
Dre: Mm-hmm! And you can go there, if you want, that's fine, it's totally chill.
Ali: Ah! Oh my god that's so funny... Um, God... I mean it's tough-
Dre: Listen, asking- asking your "friend"...
Austin: Uh-huh?
Dre: And I put friend in quotes, if they wanna meet your mom and dad–
Austin: Yeah
Dre: –is an awkward conversation.
Ali: Oh my fucking god.
Dre: So-
Austin: Yeah, uh-huh!
Sylvi: Oh my god-
Ali: Oh my fucking god, [Dre laughs] oh my god, okay [breathes out] ok [laughs] [Austin chuckles] I don't know it's- it's tough to conceptualise this scene and like thnk of... um... what's gained from the op- like y'know, what people are seeing from Broun's perspective here, um.
Dre: I mean, to me this is the- the extension of Valence's promise to Broun? Like, when Broun's like 'I want a ship and I wanna get the fuck out of here you promise you're gonna help me do that?'
Ali: Oh, suresuresure.
Dre: And Valence is like:
Dre as Valence: I mean, I hope you don't want to, I hope I can convince you to stay, and work towards something better, but also, if that's what you really want?
Austin: Right
Dre as Valence: Here.
Ali: Right.
Austin: Um. Yeah, what is- what is the image of Broun's face we have while this is happening? Like how does Broun react straight up to this video suddenly playing?
Ali: Um... I think it's like shock before it's anything else right?
Austin: [gently] yeah
Ali: Um, and I think that that like, that expression stays throughout the message cause it's just like I don't know... how to handle this or what to do about it [laughs], or um, you know how to emotionally respond to this, um, but it's like, y'know, they seem upset. Um... And... yeah, um... yeah I don't know that there's like- I don't think there's like a moment of like... [laughs] um, a moment of like recognition or like, um.... y'know, buuuuh, I guess the best way to- to put this is that like I think that some of Broun's... fear of whatever this red thing is is like conceptualised through the filter of... Valence being someone... who was like... sent from a place they couldn't have even heard of beforehand, to deal with something that they were deeply afraid of. Um, and like, even if Broun doesn't think that that red thing is the thing that Valence is afraid of, it's hard not to have those like-
Austin: yeah
Ali: those feelings pancake-
Austin: mmhmm
Ali: um, when you hear them that way, um,
Austin: No I think that-
Ali: So I think it's diffic-
Austin: Go ahead-
Ali: Oop, you go-
Austin: No, you go ahead.
Ali: [Laughs] I was just going to say, so I think it's-it's-it's difficult for Broun to be like... um... y'know, I could just leave, um, y'know I would let this happen to other people, um, when... someone I care about wouldn't, uh... [laughs] um... but I don't know what like the step 2 of that is, um...
Austin: Yeah. Um, I was just going to say that I really like this red light coming for Partizan, uh- it's n- I'm y'know it's not a light but that's the way that Clem first... first described it which is not an Austin Walker joint that was Jack, I just vaguely described the thing and Jack was like "I'm calling it the red light" and I was like "Alright cool" [Ali laughs], um but I love that as this kind of vague... like, metaphor f- empty space for every character here. What is the thing that is coming for them? Um... and it is nearly here, as it- as I don't know that anyone else has... actions.
Jack: [yawning slightly] I'd like to start a long-term project.
Austin: Sure!
Jack: I wanna write a message to my family.
Austin: Aw! Okay!
Jack: this is- this is hard to do, we've talked about this being hard to do [Austin: yeah], and so I think–
Austin: it's hard, it's expensive, it's-
Jack: –and so I think this is a long-term…
Austin: Yeah
Jack: prag- project thing, um, less in the finding out how to do it and more trying to do it during a- a war.
Austin: Yeah
Jack: um... so, uh, the question is, do we want to set it up as, uh, uh, composing and sending it is the project, or does the project include it reaching the family and getting something back?
Austin: Mmmm... Getting something back is going to be very hard.
Jack: Yeah, yeah.
Austin: Um, and I think that's something that you just know, especially as the state of things, like... everything passes through a gate... controlled by Stel Orion. Stel Orion is in the middle of a civil war, or at least here on Partizan that seems to be the case. Um...
Jack: yeah
Austin: it's not impossible, but- ah- here's what I'd say- I'd say the same thing I said to SI a moment ago, let's say let's say, four steps is- is getting it out, six steps is getting something back. Um, and those last few steps can be patiently waiting but also can be... trying to convince someone to prioritise this tiny
Jack: right]
Austin: message that means nothing to anyone but you. And them-
Jack: Yeah, let's do, let's do six, um, I'm happy to wait, I think Kalar is too, this isn't- this isn't his first rodeo either
Austin: right, right
Jack: like, this isn't the first time Kalar has tried to send and receive messages during a war.
Austin: totally.
Jack: Um... so-
Austin: are you using, are you getting help from- from Figure, for this? In terms of just spending an action?
Jack: Uh-huuuh. Yeah! Uh... [clicks tongue] Would other people like to use those actions? [Pause] No, okay let's-
Austin: Yeah, my- my instinct at this point is that no-one knows what to do with those remaining actions.
Janine: I'm thinking about- I'm thinking about maybe using one.
Austin: Okay.
Jack. Okay. Uh, I think it's safe to use one though, right?
austin: Yeah
Jack: Uh... [stilted, while typing it out in Roll20] sssssend and receive message to my family. You know, “receive to”. [Jack and Austin laugh]
Austin: What are you rolling for this?
Jack: Ah boy um [Austin laughs] I am rolling... OH It's cause, my stats for this kind of stuff are-
Austin: are bad!
Jack: Aren't good are they?
Austin: No. [laughs] Listen the worst you can do is a single tick.
Jack: It's study right? I think it's study.
Austin: Maybe... Uh, writing it, let's say, is study. Getting it sent might be a different thing, y'know?
[Timestamp: 30:00]
Jack: I- I [sighs]
Keith: Receiving it could be Prowl?
Jack: [at the same time] I don't wanna fail a roll to write to my own family, y'know? Like the-
Austin: Yeah. Well, you can't fail. There's no- there's no such thing as failing in a- in a long term project
Jack: Oh that's absolutely true! Yeah you're right yeah
Austin:, that's what I'm saying, the worst you can do is a step forward, even if you're rolling something you don't have it's 2d6, and
Jack: aw damn
Austin: lowest, sorry take lowest, but it's still progress.
Jack: The worst you can do is a step forward is some real uh, uh, [Austin laughs], uh logging company…
Austin: Oh yeah, uh-huh! [laughs] Remember.
Jack: [Laughs] Yeah! Uh, okay, yeah! [pause] It's not prowl, I'm not prowling with this letter-
Austin: No, you're not. [Pause] So wait, what're- what are you doing? You're studying. To write.
Jack: I'm studying!
Austin: Alright
Jack: and what I'm doing is I'm um... It's- It's gotta be something to do with the- the methodology by which I'm going to send this... It's like I'm poring through documents about um, like... trying to pull up Millenium Break's, uh, best practices guide for getting stuff off moon um... all that kind of stuff. So that is... 2d6? No , just 1d6 and I take the amount.
Austin: Yee... uh... it's- you don't take the amount, but the amount is a succ- is a degree of success that ticks the clocks.
Jack: Yes.
Austin: So go ahead. [pause] That's a six which means this advances by three!
Jack: Oh my god amazing!
Austin: Huge one. Yeah! So you've written it, you've spent a lot of time writing it [chuckles], presumably this also carries over to be like 'and I know who to get it to, to- to-'
Jack: Yeah
Austin: Or at least 'I know what the... I know what the pathways are to getting something like this to be in the next off-world, y'know, transmission.' Maybe you haven't transmitted it yet, we'll see what the next roll is but, y'know. Yeah, nice-
Jack: And I think it's- I think it's important to say like-
Austin: What's the letter? Wait.
Jack: Oh yeah okay! So like... I- I- I- I don't think it's a... it's a... uh... 'things might be about to get really bad I love you very much, this could be goodbye' letter. Um... I- I think it is just a kind of letter that- that Kalar writes a lot, which is y'know, he talks about how much he misses them... he talks about how much he loves them... um, he- he asks them question about um, where they are and what they've been up to. Um... He- he says that he's very busy, uh, he says that um... uh... things are difficult but he's trying to be brave and work hard. Uh, and he hopes that they're all trying to be brave and working hard too. Um... and, uh, he says that he can't wait to... uh... to hear from them, and he can't wait to see them again as- as soon as he's able to. Um... lots of love... Kalar.
Austin: That's a good letter.
Jack: And! Like every dad, uh, who- who every day who... has a good relationship with, uh, the rest of his family, writing a letter, he does some kind of silly drawing on the bottom.
Austin: Yeah... what is it of?
Jack: It's of, uh, him. Uh... ah... and it is of... him, uh, pointing at a- at a [laughs] strange shape, uh [Austin laughs], coming across the water towards a thing, and there's a speech bubble coming out of Kalar saying 'I don't know what it is!' Exclamation mark.
[Austin laughs, Keith laughs]
Austin: Ohhhh... great! Alright! Thisbe-
Keith: What a fun drawing!
Austin Yeah! Thisbe, you had a thing.
Janine: I wanna start a long-term project.
Austin: Okay.
Janine: Uhhh, and it's one that I think I can absolutely get help with. [Austin: Mm-hmm?]. Um, because the thing that Thisbe wants to do is she wants to research the planet she found out about.
Austin: Oh, okay!
Janine: Um...
Austin: What are you- what are you looking for?
Janine: I think Thisbe- I think knowing- I think learning that that planet's not just ~some planet~.
Austin: Right?
Janine: like that's like a special planet, has made Thisbe think like, well, 1) If she ever gets there, she's going to need information to actually narrow down the specific like plot of land–
Austin: Mm-hmm
Janine: –she's looking for y'know?
Austin: Yeah.
Janine: Um, or at least like a continent or something. But 2) I think also wants to know why the fuck she was there!
Austin: Yeah.
Janine: Especially on this, you know this, planets that got ~struck from the records~ and like–
Austin: Right.
Janine: –seems to have had... a history, that she's not aware of really beyond...
Austin: Yeah, did you get the other half of it, did you- did you get the w- the... Dahlia stuff? Or did you, did you not get that stuff, did we just talk about that stuff out of character? Last time-
Janine: I don't remember- I feel like-
Austin: I know I asked
Janine: I-
Austin: if we named the planet- I know I asked Art if we named the planet.
Janine: Yeah that was- All I remember is- is the- is the drawing
Austin: yeah
Janine: the firm connection, like it is /that/ planet.
Austin: yeah.
Janine: Um, but I don't think that Thisbe... necessarily knows that it's that planet?
Austin: right
Janine: unless she-
Austin: I don't- I don't think she was necessarily. I'd have to go back and listen but I don't think so. So yeah, cool, that's probably also a study. Uh, and probably... probably a four step? To just learn about the planet? Given you've already succeeded at that first- that first whole thing.
Janine: Well I don't have any points in study...
Austin: Uhhhhh, I guess you could, you could do consort? No? No? Okay? It's certainly not
Janine: I-
Austin: Survey or Engineer or...
Janine: Nahhhh
Austin: Once you're on board, uh, or if you're going on board to- to the um... what are we calling it again the- the... Looking Pond? what was it called, what did you say it was called...
Jack, Art, Janine, Austin (overlapping each other): Reflecting Pool./... Reflecting Pool/Reflecting... Pool. The Reflecting Pool.
Austin: The Reflecting Pool. I wanted to say the looking glass but that's not it. Yes, The Reflecting Pool. Um, once you're on there I think maybe there's a world in which it's like Prowl cause then you're like sneaking around a library. Uh, but, y'know, here, probably nah.
Art: There's gonna be so many people sneaking around that library [laughs]
Austin: There are a lot of people who-
Janine: I wasn't really thinking about sneaking, but okay...
Austin: Nonono, I'm saying, I'm saying, I was just looking at your skills, and being like 'well what could you /use/ to do this'... based on what roll you need, y'know
Janine: Mm-hmm
Austin: Um, so wait what are you using here, now?
Janine: I don't know, cause like it's a- this is a- this is the thing that I need to do but like I-
Austin: Um…
Janine: I don't know how Thisbe does this cause she like
Austin: Yeah
Janine: Is there a- Is there not a method for like if a character does a thing they don't have a point in?
Austin: Yeahyeah! You roll 2d6 and take lowest.
Janine: Ok well that's- that's fine.
Austin: Ok, yeah, I was just asking, [Janine: yeah] I was not asking you at the stat level so much as like, tell me what it looks like so that we can determine what stat it would be.
Janine: Oh sure! I mean
Austin: y'know?
Janine: I think in this case... the reason I say I don't think Thisbe sneaks is cause I think like she'd probably just ask Clem? She'd just be like 'I need to read about a planet, do you have a- Do you have a-
Austin: Right, right... Um
Janine: book?
Austin: So wait, in this case then are you, is this, are you... using, you're using one of the Figure's...
Janine: Yes.
Austin: moves right? So yeah, so then maybe you put the request in through... Figure in Bismuth to have access to that stuff,
Janine: Hmm
Austin: and given that it's a Divine library I actually think that you could use Interface to do it, cause Interface is for dealing with weird tech in our world including Divines. So, you have that.
Janine: Okay... should I roll that then or-?
Austin: Yeah! Give me 1d6
Janine: Okay.
Austin: Another-
Janine: Siiiiix!
Austin: six! Love to blow all these sixes
Janine: Whatsuuuuup!
Austin: before the red thing shows up! Uh, so yeah advance that by three you're almost there. Um, what do you find out, you find out ummm... what do you find out? Art, you- you can help fill in the gaps here a little bit. I think one is you do find out that it is the planet where Sovereign Immunity uh... you know, uh held The Farmer's Rebellion, where The Farmer did The Farmer's Rebellion. Um, and that- that's where Dahlia, the current uh, Princept of- of, Apostolos's side of this... larger civil war is- is- fro- y'know was was- kidnapped originally. Uh... but you guess, you're- y'know, 100% sure you predate that whole era, y'know? Um... that you're from some other previous era when- when this place was first... colonised and cultivated. Um... I don't think you get more than that here though. But that's a big one! [5-second pause] Uh. Do you tell SI about this?
Janine: [Laughs] That's- my first thought was absolutely some sort of- some sort of dorky like 'Hey! we're from the same- the same sort of...' but I don't think Thisbe... I don't know that there's a way to do that without making it- well maybe that's? I don't know. I don't know... I guess if she brought it up to Sovereign Immunity she would probably just get more of the same, right? More of that information from that era.
Austin: Right. Almost certainly. Yes. Yes.
Janine: Cause I could totally see her going to him and being like 'hey you were- you were on this planet during this time... um, what was it like? what do you remember?' like,
Austin: right.
Janine: wha- y'know stuff like that, but I think she'd probably just get more of the same information that she already had which doesn't cover that last kind of... pieces
Austin: Right, right, though!-
Janine: that are nagging-
Austin: Though that's a fun thing we should put in our back pocket for a potential cut loose, because the difference between having read those things, and having Sovereign Immunity's direct recollection could be fun, y'know? So something to think about... for the future! Um... Alright.
Jack: The um... organising, and specifically evacuating very large numbers of people, in the real world
Austin: (overlapping) -in an infinitely small amount of time
Jack: always- always has this, whenever you see it happen in the real world, it almost is always mismanaged because it
Austin: yeah
Jack: is just really hard to do, and people- the people who are doing it tend not to care. And also it has this real element of surreality about it because you don't often see tens, or hundreds of thousands of people being asked to do the same thing. At once.
Austin: Mm-hmm.
Jack: Um, its' like football stadium after football stadium after football stadium of people, so I wonder if we've gotten to a point where there are like, staging grounds, like- Oh, Austin! Staging ground apples, it's Gucci!
Austin: Gucci style!
Jack: Gucci's not doing it
Austin: No, no
Jack: This is staging ground alpha, staging ground beta, staging ground... uh, what is C? Uh...
Austin: What are we doing, are we doing fruits? What are we-
Ali: Charlie.
Austin: Wait-
Keith: Still carrots yeah-
Jack: I'm trying to do- I'm trying to do one that's not Gucci this is just like
Austin: right
Jack: sensible people trying to do-
Keith: So, Charlie?
Jack: Yeah-
Austin: Yeah, I just checked by the way and the largest stadium in the world only holds 114,000 people. So.
Jack: Yeah this is awful, it's- it's- it's like a
Keith: it's four of those.
Jack: I bet it's raining now, it's just
Austin: yeah
Jack: it is trying to do something on a scale that is... and I bet we're gonna screw up massive bits of it!
Austin: yeah
Jack: there is definitely gonna be whole shipments of people
Austin: Yeah- ah- uh-
Jack: who are just...
Austin: Yeah-
Keith: Hey don't look at me I'm not the one who made it raining all of a sudden. [Austin, Ali, Jack laugh]
Austin: Yeah I wanna be clear like, I'm not- I'm not gonna do the like, the roll to see how many tens of thousands of people
Jack: no, no, no
Austin: get left behind, because that is actually weirdly more unrealistic? There's that thing of like, not that we're going for realism necessarily, but what we are going for is... The sense that any time that large amounts of people engage with something
Jack: Impossibly large!
Austin: some people get left in the cracks, some people get left behind, even ah- way fewer than would have gotten left behind
Jack: Uh-huh
Austin: by /not doing/ this, but yes. yes. There is- there is some overflow in a bad way, y'know? Um.
Jack: So I think it's- I think it's- I think it's 4 or 5 staging posts, each of which is just a- a massive... plot of land
Austin: mm-hmm
Jack: uh, that we haven't like acquired be we have like I guess commandeered? like, Open parking lots, open fields
Austin: yeah
Jack:, um, something with a bit of shelter, like bus stations, terminals-
Austin: Well and the-, again, in my mind the- the Reflecting Pool is landing to pick all these people up, because I can't imagine getting them into the sky... is viable, this many people, right?
Jack: Right. yeah-
Austin: So do- is that- do we get the, kind of, frustrated face of Clem as... the... this fucking ship comes down and sees /huge/ crowds of people waiting to be picked up?
Jack: Yeah like uh-
Austin: Or? Yeah, yeah-
Jack: I don't like the... I don't like the implication that- I think whenever large crowds of people descend into chaos it's because they haven't been taken care of in the right way
Ali?: mm-hmm
Jack: I'm not trying to imply that like, the images that I keep thinking of are the images in the like the... Spielberg War of the Worlds? Movie?
Austin: Mm-hmm
Jack: where it's just like, /massive, massive/ crowds of people outside boats and ships and yeah like, the tolling of the bell as the um, The Reflecting Pool descends, uh, comes up close, massive entryways open to let people on, and then yeah just like, Clementine standing in the throne room with Gur... kind of just like, yeah a face clouded by confusion at what is happening
Austin: yeah
Jack: but I think that uh, Clementine believes that what is happening, 'y'know this was, this was going to happen, perhaps it wasn't happening in quite the way she anticipated it would, but this is, this is what seems to be happening now.
Austin: Too late now! Um... these motherfuckers got one over on you. Uh... I'm gonna add something to this, to add to the War of the Worlds bit which is like, as the people are boarding, y'know, you get the first hundred thousand on- that takes time, and the- the red light is closer than ever. Um, and I think it's while boarding that... um... it reveals itself. Um... The... red curtain, um, doesn't rise? So much as... it- it- from the top it sort of slides down to reveal a face, um, and from the bottom is sort of rides- rises up to begin forming a different shape around a body. And- um, what you see before you is something you think you recognise at first, and then you recognise a second part of it, and together it is something new.
The first thing you recognise for those of you who were in Nooncrown is the- the head of order. Um, this is a stone, marble face, um, as if it's a giant statue of a knight, a knight whose face is showing not a- y'know maybe there's a helmet but the helmet's faceguard is up, um, um, and the- that first recognition is almost relieving? In some degree? Like ok, probably from that big explosion? It sucks that it's coming, that's no good.
The second recognition comes when this kind of red and gold cloth forms as a sort of tunic and- and you know maybe it's even longer than that, maybe it's more like a dress, um, uh, you know, covering its body but also runs up and down the arms of this massive being, um, and- and extends almost like a sash almost like a... like a um... like a scarf that it can wield, um, and it does so at... at apocalyptic proportions, as this giant, superhighway-sized cloth scarf is flung across the sky casting shadows over everyone, the sound barrier being broken, you know, a wave of- of water and wind slapping across everyone who's- who's huddled on the beaches and in the parking lots waiting to be taken on board.
And she rips through the giant bridge that's at the centre of- of Oxbridge, the thing that gives it its name, and huge parts of the concrete tumble below, and, the uh, you recognise this, everyone here who fought Courage on Icebreaker, um. That is Courage again. And- I don't know, y'know... maybe, maybe uh, Gucci should not have agreed to trade Mourningbride out of the cell for some other POWs, but that happened. And now you look at something new and you realise that this is two divines working together.
This is not Order, this is not Courage, this is Mourningbride behind the controls of something altogether more controlling than either. This is the Divine Law, and it is here to... bring a halt to the violence in Oxbridge. To stop the secession movement, and to enforce the will of the state as cleanly and firmly as possible. And the crowd is terrified. Um. Overwhelmed by the presence of this thing, as it begins to tear into the city.
[Pause] It is- y'know, it is under these conditions that you continue to get people on board. [Pause] I don't know the degree to which it is clear that this thing would require a great deal of effort to pause, let alone halt. Um... If there was ever any doubt that Clementine spoke true, that the- The Witch In Glass was being honest about how powerful this thing is, a few moments, uh, of seeing it in action put those to bed.
[Pause]
Art: Good luck to Jesset.
Austin: Yeah.
[Jack laughs]
[Pause]
Austin: Does anyone wanna paint pictures of how this is going for them? And to me one of the big questions still open is Broun, what are you doing? [Ali laughs] As this- as this begins?
Ali: Uhhhhhh-
Austin: Which again is a bigger question about what is going on with the party to some degree.
Ali: Yeah, am I the only one who hasn't gone... onto the ship at this point?
Keith: Um-
Art: Or at least in the ship-loading area.
Janine: I think Thisbe's been helping load people.
Austin: Yeah.
Ali: Yeah, um-
Austin: When it's done who is staying on the ship? I know it's harsh to put it out like that, but, it's worth [Ali laughs] relaying-
Keith: Phrygian is staying on the ship.
Austin: Phrygian is. Figure-
Jack: Kalar is —
Austin: Figure is-
Jack: Temporarily? Kalar is prepared to leave to um... go elsewhere and do other stuff.
Sylvi: I mean I think I'm on it right now —
Austin: Ok.
Sylvi: At the very least. Like, I think Milli was really involved in the evacuation stuff —
Austin: Yeah, totally.
Sylvi: So I don't think there's any way to get her like not on there right now.
Austin: But in a week? Who uh- I just want a show of hands in terms of like, [Ali laughs] and I know it's a bigger question, but like, because- because if this is a party split happening, we should be- we should see that happen, y'know? Is Broun helping with this evacuation... process? Or have they just fucked off?
Ali: I don't know, it's tough because there's the... there's the people who are staying, right?
Austin: Yeah
Ali: That's not like a zero percent of people.
Austin: No.
Ali: Um... and then I guess the- the flipside of it is like, what's Jesset's big brain plan at this point right? I mean that's-
Austin: Oh Jesset's... yeah, no. No.
Ali: Um-
Austin: Right so wait, is that the thing that Broun is doing, is Je- Is broun getting the people who refused to go to Clem which is not as many people, which is not hundreds of thousands of people, but might be a few hundred y'know?
Ali: Right.
Austin: And making runs out of the city in their ship to drop them off somewhere? [Pause] Is there like this secondary evacuation effort which is not, y'know, again-
Ali: Yeah, I mean that sounds... honest? Um. And it sounds like something that the setting like still needs and has a need for.
Austin: Yeah. That like seeing this thing in action... breaks Jesset in terms of hunker down? But also Jesset like- like everyone else in this- this- this, uh, show has an ego, and [Ali laughs] uh, his response is not 'I'm gonna go to Clem', it's 'Broun can you get us out of here?'
Ali: Yeah.
Austin: Alright.
Ali: That sounds like something that Broun would respond to [laughs] um, um, still doesn't solve the first half of this question I guess, but certainly seems like the- the option —
Austin: I mean-
Ali: That is- that I would take-
Austin: Yeah, we don't need- we don't need a firm firm answer at this moment —
Ali: Yeah.. okay yeah.
Austin: Mostly what I needed was where are people... when this long stupid day is over, where are people and where do they think they'll be afterwards, y'know?
Ali: Yeah.
Austin: Um, which it sounds like we have down pretty well at this point right? Milli, you said you think you- you're leaving soon after, but for now you're helping people on you're key to that effort. You're escorting people on you're defending them, you- you're y'know helping, are you- are you in the Stray Dog helping to like, lift debris out of the way and-
Sylvi: Oh yeah for sure!
Austin: All that-
Sylvi: I mean…
Austin: All that shit, yeah!
Sylvi: Not only is it useful for that, but all my shit's in there right now [Austin laughs] so...
Austin: Right, right and AO's doing the same. I think, um, along with Jesset, Broun, KO comes with you.
Ali: Oh, okay.
Austin: Um, and obviously Jesset and- and some other Oxblood people. Um... but then... yeah, yeah ok! So uh, likewise everyone else who said that they were helping. Phrygian, you're helping people on, Thisbe, Kalar obviously. SI, you're- you're also helping people get on? Or are you, like, what is- what is your- what are all of you-
Art: Yeah, I- I-
Austin: Give me an image.
Art: I wanna have a talk with AO before... before the split —
Austin: Right, yeah you'll have time for that-
Art: But that certainly isn't for today.
Austin: Yeah, yeah.
Austin: Does anyone else have like an image of them- of them contributing in this moment?
Jack: I think we just- I think we need an image of- of- of organising the people once they are on board.
Austin: Yeah.
Jack: Um... you know like uh... uh.. uh I think it's Kalar talking to the um... the man with the book?
Austin: Yeah.
Jack: Uh... and just saying like 'well, you know, you're gonna keep saying that there's no space for these people and I'm going to keep saying you've got a fucking city find the space'. The man with the book just like scribble scribble scribble, [Austin laughs] panicked look on his face.
Austin: Right, right. Um. Thisbe, uh, I think there is like a low-key resonance with mourningbride here? Um I don't think that she says anything to you necessarily, um but I think you- Are you in Mow at any point of this or is Mow just also helping independently?
Janine: I'm never in Mow, but I'm-
Austin: On Mow, are you close enough to Mow's weird psychic resonance device to- to have that extra little- little boost?
Janine: Yeah, to- to be specific the thing that I envision Thisbe doing is probably like, loading people in who can't handle a weird ramp into a sky... city.
Austin: Yeah.
Janine: That's like sitting.
Austin: Totally. Plenty of people!
Janine: You know, I imagine that's like an awkward- yeah, whereas Mow just has room so you just, y'know, put a few people on there, walk em on, unload em, go on-
Austin: Yeah. Carry stuff, get- totally- supplies.
Janine: Totally.
Austin: Um while- while you're doing that you just get this sense of pettiness. Um, there's just like pitiful rage for Mourningbride. This is not a powerful- this is a person who has power... uh at her fingertips, but it is not a- a powerful person, the way that the people you've-
Janine: Can I... do, I wanna do-
Austin: Been working with are-
Janine: I wanna do something.
Austin: Sure, what do you wanna do?
Janine: Can I... I wanna like... store a bunch of it up, and then spit it back at her.
Austin: Sure. Give me um... give me an interface.
[Pause]
Janine: Uuuuuummmmm...
Austin: This is a risky standard. This is a- this is not a risky- this is a desperate standard.
Janine: I'm not trying to hurt her.
Austin: What are you trying to do?
Janine: I'm spiting — [someone coughs] that's the thing she used to do to me. She did that several times, remember?
Austin: Mm-hmm, mm-hmm!
Janine: Where —
Austin: So what is the-
Janine: I would be trying to communicate and then she just like balls it up and then chucks it back.
Austin: Yeah.
Janine: It's it's- purely- It's purely just a like 'I hear you'.
Austin: I- I am just saying, you are communicating presence to someone who I have described as being a petty villain.
Janine: Yeah.
Austin: Who is incredibly powerful right now. There are risks involved in doing that.
Janine: Mmmmmmmmmm. Aren't they still — ughf. Well now I don't know.
Austin: Uh-huh! I'm being- yeah- I'm not saying you have to do it now that you've said it. You don't need to do the thing you're saying. Um, you know, may- do you wanna save it to do that when you're in a safe- when you're at a safe distance away, so that it's not immediately going to be like you gain the attention. Her attention.
Janine: I don't- well I mean- mm.
Austin: Because doing it in this moment-
Janine (overlapping): What's the safest distance.
Austin: Oh like, you're in- you're in the reflecting pool and in the sky again and out of reach, y'know? Seeing- seeing Law and Mourningbride stomp through the city, and sending it back. Storing it up throughout all this process, and then-
Janine: Yes.
Austin: Sending it back-
Janine: Yeah, yeah, yeah. That's... yeah
Austin: Versus doing it while it's happening
Janine (overlapping): That's more what I'm after here.
Austin: Yeah, totally, yeah. I will not make you roll for that. But doing it while you're also escorting people is- is risky, here.
Janine (overlapping): Yeah nono, I- that's more what I meant was that like, while doing the escorting stuff, saving it up and saving it up-
Austin: Yeah.
Janine: And then sort of... releasing it at the end.
Austin: Perfect. Yeah, and I think that that is like, I don't think you get a response but you- you know it delivered. Y'know? Um... Anyone else have an image here? As they're helping? Alright, so um, a few images then I think as- as the events here kind of play out. One is the crowded, the now-crowded city of The Reflecting Pool filled with- with the other half of SBBR, which is, y'know, more than half at this point at least, which is Milli and Phrygian and Thisbe and Kalar and Sovereign Immunity, and uh, The Figure- The Figure in Bismuth. Um, uh, and then, hundreds of thousands of other people being- y'know, being shuffled around, being given sleeping bags, um, not having sleeping bags for them, but it is a city, it is a city-sized ship. That has been consistent for this thing since it first showed up. We've known it is the size of a city, and so I think four hundred thousand people is- is right, y'know? Um, it's the first solid number we've ever had in Friends at the Table! Uh, in terms of how big is the place, so congrats to us on that! [Dre laughs, Jack laughs] Um, um, we got there eventually.
Jack: We got there eventually!
Austin: Um and it's- it's, y'know, people are grateful, for having their lives saved, and also terrified for having their lives taken from them. Y'know? It is- it is a thing to live, it is another thing to leave everything you have behind. Potentially forever. Um, and I think there's a lot of conflict internally about that, and there's a lot of trying to manage people's emotions and give people a space to grieve, and give people the- the support they need but uh- uh- you know. I don't know that those structures exist here yet.
So that's one of the shots that we see, and the other is off to the West, on a hill, is the Blue Channel, Broun's ship, um with as many people as they and Jesset and you know Oxblood Clan could evacuate throughout the attack. Um y'all started later and you did not have the resources that SBBR and the Company of the Spade and the Witch in the Glass uh all had and so y'know, there are fewer people here on this hill. Um, but it's still many and it's still many who had no intention of leaving under- under Clementine Kesh's rule, or no intention of leaving at all until they saw how late it was. Um and so, you know, I think- I think you know it's very clear that you've saved a bunch of lives here. Um, um, obviously both- both sides of this evacuation effort uh, kept a lot of people alive who otherwise would not be.
Um, and I think from that same hill the camera can just kind of see out, you know, into Oxbridge, um , and you can just see at a distance the body of Law, this just amalgam of Order and Courage just standing on top of some of the rubble of... the- the now broken bridge which once- once provided shade over all of the kind of centre point of- of Oxbridge. Um. For those who are still there, for those still in the ruins of Underbridge, um, and those in the ruins of Brightsky East, um, I'd say that the- the character of the forthcoming occupation is clear immediately. Just by looking at what Law destroyed, um, it and Mourningbride first took aim at, uh, infrastructure, and resourcing, energy lines, water towers, food storage, solar panels. You know, the loyal subjects of the Principality have to live under a regime that controls how they live, the disloyal members of the Principality, the dubious members of the Principality, they suffer something else, they- they have to live with domination over the very means of existence. If loyal subjects of the divine principality are scolded and taught until they drink their water the right way, then the unfaithful are forced to grow familiar with drought.
Um. I think those in Underbridge feel it worst those who still live. Countless homes have been destroyed, um, and because it is Underbridge iit is mostly the homes of the poor and the working and those on the margins, uh, I think that the old orphanage where the Oxblood Clan was once formed by a handful of unruly kids, it is just a- a bunchful of loose bricks, um, scattered, you know, uncountable. You couldn't- you couldn't figure out which bricks belong to that building now.
Um, Brightsky East, which, you know, was definitely one of the wealthier two regions uh or districts in this city, but- but because it was also home to the organisation for the founding of the orion republic, y'know, it was also hit pretty hard. There are lashes across dozens of city blocks where Mountingbride brought down just the breadth of Courage, with the force of Order. Um, that whole part of the city bears like, it just bears the mark of judgment across all of its avenues all of its boulevards, you know, there are just destroyed warehouses and highrises that have just been knocked over or overturned or cut in two. Um, and, you know, all throughout um, both Brightsky East and Underbridge you can just hear people wailing, uh it's- it's miserable.
Um, and then Brightsky West which like, you know that's the wealthy district that's where the loyalists are and where you know the- the anti-secessionist movements were, um, uh but even there I think you can't you know, I guess I'd say that- Law can't march into a city without leaving bootprints behind? Um, and I mean that both metaphorically and literally in this case as the Divine Law's own boots are incredibly big, um, but I think that there's a degree to which even those here who are looking around at their own destruction are almost fetishing it a little bit- they're- they're- they're performing a sort of celebration, a performance of victory, um, it's like 'yeah- yeah we got- we got- we got wounded a little bit in this attack but, you know, or in Law's arrival, but it set things right and yeah we all have to take our lashes so to speak, stiff upper lip type shit.
Um and I- and I think that a big [part of that, um, that attitude- that- that attitude kind of seeping in comes from what follows this occupation. Um, which- it is... y'know, that night? I think y'know not so far away that- that or not so long away that- that The Blue Channel has even left again? Not so far away that The Reflecting Pool is out of sight, just, y'know, towards the horizon. Um, and, uh, across the body of Law is a face, projected onto the living sash which is kind of like a screen, and I imagine the face is kind of projected or it's projecting outward along with sound, um, and I normally I think Order would make this just, sorry not Order, Law would make this terrible howl? Um, but um because of the calm demeanor of the puppet who speaks, it is... somehow... um, sonorific. Uh, and they say:
Austin as Gur Sevraq: Hello. My name is Gur Sevraq. You do not know me, but we are friends. Some say that the city of Oxbridge has suffered for months. But in truth it has suffered for years. Because even before the secessionists- because even before the secessionists of Millenium Break, and the Organisation for the Foundation of the Orion Republic took root here, dissidents and fear were placed in the soil by the selfish and the arrogant. Those who would turn loyal subjects of Divinity against themselves.
These individuals who would put themselves in front of the collective good, who poisoned the ground against growth itself, they are our true foes. The Pact of Necessary Venture. A villancous cabal which has conspired to destroy the principality itself, and who have played Millenium Break, the Organisation for the Foundation of the Orion Republic, and many, especially those across Stels Orion, Columnar, and Apostolos, as their pawns. They tempt all who encounter them to trade the most honourable oath, to uphold the law of divinity as citizens of the greatest nation in the galaxy, for an avaricious pact, driven only by individualism and self-interest.
Which is why, today, as the fourteen hundred twenty third year of the Perfect Millenium begins to draw to a close, we must take unprecedented action. We are the Curtain of Divinity. Loyal servants of the Peaceful Principet, rightful leader of all Divinity. For generations we have served the Principality's needs quietly, as not to worry those in the majority of our nation who so fervently, so steadfastly, practise their allegiance to the Princept and to each other. But now, against this new terrible foe, who seeps into the cracks of all life, private and civil and professional, we must lift the curtain, and show ourselves to you. So that you may know the face of heroism, and so that you may take up arms against these betrayers, with the knowledge that you are not alone.
For now though, I ask you to please remain in your homes, do not risk exposure to the terrible weapons of the enemy who even now stalk these streets with envy and violence in their hearts. In the coming hours you will be attended to. The loyal will be lifted up and protected by the Law of Divinity. The vultures who remain will be scattered.
Austin: And this message continues, and it is, it is the first of many that are delivered by this false Gur Sevraq, this sort of like, puppeted and rebuilt from a memory core and from old, you know, stolen recordings that the Curtain had, um, uh, you know surreptitious recordings that the curtain had, cut together, you know reloaded into- into Gur's stolen body, um, uh, and- and played across not only Partizan but increasingly over the galaxy.
Um, uh, this is the dawning of a new era. Gur, or this false Gur, kind of ushers in a new era. One where what had been a war in the shadows between the Curtain and the Pact has now turned into a public cold war, or maybe even not so cold, um, you know I think there's a degree to which what follows is an attempt to keep civil society... operational, the Principality is such that it's hard to totally untangle the Stels.
Um, but, the lines have been drawn very clearly, um, you know on one side, Kesh and Nideo are in de facto control of the Curtain at this point, the highest ranking members of each stel are members of the Curtain, the Peaceful Princept, Cynosure Kesh is a puppet, um, as always, and uh, and- and yeah so that's like The Curtain is there. And then Apostolos and Columnar are in theory still independent, they, you know, the Columnar are still technically a democracy and Apostalos technically is still organised under Dahlia, but Dahlia is very busy, um, you know, with the war to the North against the Branched. Um, and frankly, sees that as the way to unify the Principality again.
Um, and Columnar is again technically a democracy but one very susceptible to propaganda, which the Pact begins to roll out on their own, with promises of a new era, promises of addressing the root causes of all of the violence in the last year. Promises of moving things into a new era where maybe you have a- a princept like Dahlia but you also have a stronger, you know, connection with each of the- each of the Stels, maybe you have something else altogether.
Um, and, uh I guess I should emphasise that there are still Curtain agents in uh, uh, Columnar and Apostolos and Orion, and there are still Pact agents in Kesh and Nideo and Orion, you know cold wars do not mean that the shadow war stops. Um you know, the deep bureaucracy and the hierarchies of industry and all that stuff are still shot through. Um, um, so if you wanna imagine your cold war drama in space here is the blank space for it, as clear as- as can be.
Um, and I think that it's fair to say that the big change here is that the people of the Principality know the names of the people who fight now, um, and that- and that frankly a lot of them are caught up in the fervour, uh, of the moment, the propaganda lands with a lot of people, um, but also that- all of this has pushed the galaxy towards something else. Um, I think throughout Orion violence continues. Here in Partizan it- it has been kind of pushed to the outside of the biggest cities as- as the Curtain has arrived to occupy them. Um, but throughout the rest of Orion territory we see stuff being to spark off. Um, you know, there's- there's fighting, uh you know, many many many light years away, um, as O- as OFOR begins, I almost said OPFOR that's a different thing, as OFOR begins to spread its idea of um, an- an independent Orion Republic of a league of Republics.
Um, but also for individual people throughout, um, throughout the galaxy, and for small- small groups of people, seeing the lines drawn so much more clearly, getting the sense that this is not just, you know, a squabble between Princepts, but that the states themselves are turning in on each other? I think that there is... there is the sense... that... you know, the possibility of possibility. Oh wow there could be another way, well that- how many other ways could there be? Both, you know, politically, socially, you know in terms of reading history in terms of faith, but also in terms of metaphysics and in some ways this becomes the beginning of the new era that we talked about leading into Armour Astir, because, with- when the state tells you the state is physics, and then realise there's another state, you start to think could there be another physics. Um, the ground begins to shift a little bit, you begin to wonder what knowledge was kept from you, and it happens to happen right in this moment of a sort of magical industrial boom.
We know that the way that Perennial exists is starting to shift, or the way the Perennial Wave exists is starting to shift, um, and we know that members of- of the big Stels have begun to exploit technologies that they've taken from the Branched, from the front lines or from research centres, um, from kidnapped people? We know that the Pact and the Curtain have been trying to get their hands on parts of the exemplar which have opened up new ways of thinking about science and technology, um we know that the relationship between Divines and their faithful has begun to change, and it seems as if the Divines are in this moment... to say being too giving is probably too strong but are being more... you know are offering more power in this moment?
Um, and with all of that I think, maybe in anticipation of that, it's fair to say, Sovereign Immunity? Um, we should turn back to you, because I know you wanted to do one more... one more roll, one more uh attempt on that project. Um, the- the- the research project uh inside of Past inside of- of- of the crystalline palace of knowledge that is The Reflecting Pool. So, um.
[75:00]
Art: Oh I wanted the F- I wanted to use- I wanted to use the Figure in Bismuth's...
Austin: Right. So yeah, that's still available.
Art: ...to show me around.
Austin: Yeah, so then yeah let's do that, then yeah is it- so the Figure is rolling then. So, give me your- your study, Figure, as uh, as Sovereign Immunity asks you very interesting questions about stuff.
Dre: Aw it's a six!-
Austin (overlapping): That's a six. You advance that clock again, Sovereign Immunity. [Art whistles] You advance it by three.
Art: Great-
Keith: And so what is that- is that- five, or is that four?
Austin (at the same time): What do you- what do you- yeah, what do you get there?
Austin: Yeah that puts you at...
Art: The Four.
Austin: Four, halfway there. Yeah, what is it you find it is like, 'oh we're not allowed in there! That's where all-
Art: Um
Austin: That's where stuff is that we're not allowed to go look at.
Art: Yeah, I mean if that's what it is, that's what it is! Um-
Austin: I'm open to ideas.
Art: I don't know what's in here.
Austin (wondrously): Everything.
Art (disbelieving): Everything?
Austin: This is- this is every secret the- the Principality has ever had, and some of it's corrupt data, and some of it's stuff you wouldn't even know what to do with, because it's about a time and a place that you don't even understand necessarily, but this is- this is the greatest library to ever exist. This thing existed- this thing existed in, uh, nearly in the lifetime of characters who were alive in COUNTER/Weight. And then spent fifty thousand years recording everything that happened in the galaxy! You wanna know what- what colour the flowers were the day you were born outside it knows that
Art: No that's not useful information.
Austin: Well, um- [Keith laughs] that's what you say when you see it.
Art: No-one's- no-one's gonna- no-one's gonna want me to know that! [laughs] Um... If anyone has an idea I would love to hear it-
Austin: Um I mean I yeah, again, I know what you'll /get/ in terms of damaging information, eventually, but um, but...
Art: I mean I- I guess I- I wanna know- I wanna know everything about everyone- I wanna know- [Ali snickers]
Austin: Ah! I love to hear that in a- in someone who has the- the interests of other people at heart: 'I just wanna know everything about everyone!' [Ali laughs]
Keith: No biggie.
Austin as Alfred the Butler: 'Master Bruce you can only use this this one time. It's- this is the one time you're allowed to do the patriot act, never again!
Art: Well, I wanna know everything about everyone I don't like!
Ali: Mmmmm
Art: And then- And then- and then I wanna- And then I wanna win.
Austin (high-pitched, incredulous, joking): Are you sure you don't wanna work with Clementine? Cause that sounds like som-
Art: No, no, cause she's definitely on the list of people I don't like! [Austin laughs] I don't-
Austin: Sylvi in chat says 'SI stands for Surveillance Intel' [Ali laughs] [Sylvi: Yeah!] Uh-huh!
Art: I mean like I wanna know- I wanna know all the- I wanna know everything about why everything didn't work!
Austin: Yeah, so then that's what we get then, is, I think, as the ship the pulls away from, you know, the ruins of Oxbridge, which, the speed with which a place can be destroyed is unbelievable. Um, you huddled you know, you've been shown around, you huddled with some small terminal, you know, you're like plugged into something, and it's just- the stuff that you're seeing here is just wild, because it's just everything! You know what I- it's just- it's everything.
Art: I think- I think eventually it'll- it'll- I'll wanna synthesize it into something useful but like.
Austin: Yeah
Art: But like maybe I'm just a bad person, but if you gave me this-
Austin: Mm-hmm!
Art: I would definitely spend like the first couple hours being like 'well what did that person who was mean to me…’
Austin: [laughs] Yeah, totally!
Art: ‘In high school do?’ Like, like I would-
Austin: Yeah what would-
Art: Eventually wanna drill down and start focusing.
Keith: That's like-
Art: But like-
Keith: I mean this is what people that work at the NSA do.
Austin [conspiratorially]: Yeah, uh-huh! It is, it is. And you're paranoid? Fhoof!
Art: Yeah.
Austin: Think about all the enemies you might already have. Some people might not even seem like you shouldn't like them, but maybe you could find a reason to? You know? You know?
Art: I'm saying! And what happened all those years ago during the rebellion?
Austin [conspiratorially]: Yh-huh, yeah maybe it's not your fault that the rebellion failed, maybe you were betrayed. You should just check, to see-
Art: Just for a minute,
Austin: Just for a minute, right, right.
Art: And then we can go back, you know there's- I mean I've got a lot of time,
Keith: There's no way-
Art: But like what if we just peeked,
Austin: uh-huh!
Art: Just one huueh-
Austin: I just can't can't stop thinking about Sovereign Immunity as Michael Jordan saying that- that he took it personally... so [Dre and Sylvi and Austin laugh uproariously] Also looking at- looking at the iPad and making faces like Michael Jordan in that- in that doc as he learns new things!
Dre: All I'm saying is, the night before the rebellion kicked off [Austin laughs] five guys brought me a pizza.
Sylvi: Talking about Crysanth.
Dre: Why do five guys deliver a pizza?
[musical break - transition to pickup]
Austin: It has been five months since the red light fell on Partizan. Sovereign Immunity, um, where is it that you find, or meet up with, Kal'mera Broun?
Art: Oh this is one of those things where I have to pick a good spot because it has to fit.
Austin: Yeah.
Art: No matter what happens.
Austin: Uh-huh.
Art: What if it's like... uh I just did- but like, you know the streets around the Port Authority bus terminal?
Austin: Mm-hmm! [Ali laughs] Extremely well. There's a Auntie Anne’s, there’s — yeah.
Art (overlapping): And how-
Austin: Yeah, uh-huh.
Art: And how it's like, it always, you know it could be three in the afternoon on a Saturday and you're still like 'I'm not more than two minutes away from being stabbed to death right now'?
Austin: I both bought and sold stolen Xboxes at the [Art and Ali laugh] uh, at the- I mean mine wasn't stolen but it was definitely- It was definitely in that- in that sort of- actually the one I sold was probably stolen because it was the one I bought there [Ali laughs] so... anyway.
Art: Well I hope no-one got stabbed.
Austin: No, no-one got stabbed.
Art: But like that like, you know, the feeling, you know, there's transitty places like that that feel precarious no matter what.
Austin: Yeah
Art: And I want- I wanna find that space here, the like, near the- near the- near the terminal, you know?
Austin: Near some docks, near some- yeah yeah yeah.
Art: Yeah.
Austin: Near a train station, let's go train station, maybe there's some sort of Cruciat train that- that you know, has some- some- not la- it's not about lax security it is just about the total amount of people moving through means anything can happen right?
Art: Yeah yeah, and- and like people- people are coming from far away and so they feel like this is uh, this is a space where anything can happen right like, 'I just got off the train time to... buy a hot Xbox.' [Austin and Ali laugh]
Austin: Listen, Craigslist came through twice. So [Ali laughs] you, uh, where do you find- uh, Broun, uh uh, what's your- what's your like meetup with SI look? [Ali laughs] What's your outfit for this?
Ali: I, you know, I think this is going back to the standard armour, sweatshirt,
Austin: Okay.
Ali: Overalls, um... yeah. I was like, a big hat? No, not a big hat, um [laughs] maybe hood up? Often what I- when I leave the train, but besides that...
Austin: Mm-hmm, I like this.
Art: Yeah I think like Sovereign Immunity has like a, like it's- it's sort of like a- a more normal Sovereign Immunity outfit with like, a jacket with a collar turned up [Ali laughs] on top of it.
Austin: Yeah.
Art: Like, there's just like attempt- attempt to force inconspicuous.
Austin: Yeah! That makes sense to me. Um, uh, let's- you know let's lean in and make it kind of like a grey day, or a maybe even an evening, we get that kind of like film noir vibe going, and then, and then you can take it away I don't need to be here for this scene I don't have a character here.
Art (as SI) [tired]: Thank you for coming, um-
Ali (as Broun): [perky] Hey!
Art (as SI): I found some- I found some stuff you might wanna see.
Ali (as Broun): Oh, yeah?
Art (as SI): Yeah
Art: And I think I uh, I think this is like a je- I re- really just want it to look like a- the reaching into the jacket and pulling out [Ali starts laughing] a manila envelope, like a, a manila folder, not an envelope.
Austin: Yeah.
Art: You know, like a- like a file folder, not with the hooks though.
Austin: Yeah.
Ali: Oh, right.
Art (as SI): Um, I've just- I've just started finding so many things-
Ali (as Broun): Huh!
Art (as SI): But this- this I thought you'd like.
Ali (as Broun: Uh, okay, what is it?
Art (as SI): It's- it's from- it's from Valence. And Gur, it's mat- they must have made it on Icebreaker? It's- it's just notes, and, and bits of speeches, some non- never delivered. With, there's- there's bits of like, theological discussion, on tape! I- I don't know why they were record- but it's- it's- it's performance! It's like their religion podcast. [Austin and Ali snicker]
Austin: Yeah, I guess-
Art: Gabbing about God with Gur and Valence. [Austin and Ali laugh loudly]
Austin: Yeah, it's just if you flip through it like that's- that's- half of it's typed up, some of it's handwritten, there're doodles, um there's a little, y'know, marginalia, and little, you know, notes to the- to themselves, and-
Art: Sergio Aragonés style cartoons [Austin and Ali laugh loudly again]
Austin: Yeah-
Ali: Um, yeah I think like as SI, I'm assuming the- the- the handover has happened [Art: Yeah, yeah] um, and as SI's saying this like Broun like opens the, like, folder and looks through some pages and then like closes it and taps their finger on the outside, um.
Ali (as Broun): [clears their throat] Oh, um, cool, um... What kind of stuff have you been looking into?
Art (as SI): Oh just, you get that little bit of taste of Past you know?
Ali (as Broun): Um, no, I guess not but, um, thanks! [sighs]
Art (as SI): Yeah, it's- it's not important. Um, but yeah I thought you would want that and... I thought that it was- you're the- you're the person to have it.
Ali (as Broun): Sure, yeah yeah yeah, it seems um... important, and I... will definitely look over it, um, thanks!
Art (as SI): Yeah, and, hey have a good one out there!
Ali (as Broun): Oh, you heard about the whole- the whole thing?
Art (as SI): I've heard about a lot of stuff now. [Austin and Ali laugh]
Ali (as Broun): Yea- uh- like what?
Art (as SI): Oh I mean, the thing about- the thing about the past is that it's always new. I mean it's not new it's always old but everything becomes old right away!
[Ali laughs]
Art (as SI): I'm fine!
Austin: Mwah I love it! Perfect!
Ali: It's very it's like, there's like, I- how much does Broun know here because there's like a version of this where it sounds like SI is like almost speaking in tongues, like there's just like a [laughing] riddle quality to this that's just like, I don't know what you're saying to me! Um.
Austin: Um, I mean I guess- I would say that Broun understands that he went to the body of the Divine Past which has a lot of information in it.
Ali: Oh, sure.
Austin: Um, but you haven't spoken to this dude in a minute, so! [Ali and Austin laugh] Um, I don't know is this just how people who live with the Witch in Glass talk? [Ali sighs] Is this a particular thing? I don't know I don't think that like Thisbe or Milli told you that SI got way deep into being paranoid [laughing] and reading about everything and everyone right?
Ali: Um, right, yeahyeahyeah, um...
Ali (as Broun): Cool, coolcoolcool yeah, um, yeah-
Art (as SI): Be safe out there, um.
Ali (as Broun): Oh.
Art (as SI): Take care of our friends. Uh, tell them I said hey. Um-
Austin: I guess I should- I should say actually by now, uh, just to interject, SI, you know, you immediately before um, you got something that would have been useful if Broun hadn't already secured it which was a key to get out of- how to use the Portcullis system and leave the Partizan system, but since it's been months and you've continued to work on this downtime project, this long-term project, um, I'm gonna say you've advanced it another two steps, and at four you actually now have uh, a little bit more here, um, which is the kind of navigational, uh, data, uh, and we've already set this up a little bit the navigational data on how to get to uh, some of the nearest worlds that are off the map, uh,
Art: Ok-
Austin: Which we talked about.
Art (as SI): So- so I th- oh, and um, you know if you're looking to get off world, some cool coordinates to check out are:
Art: And then just starts like reading off numbers [Austin and Ali laugh] just like, 694.33346, and like does that for a couple seconds like 'nah I'm just fucking with you', and pulls out like a small notebook it's like just- just here.
Ali: Oh god, I think the- the point at which SI is just 'oh I'm kidding' Broun has already like- [laughs]
Austin: Yeah.
Ali: It's like, has like one hand awkwardly like pressing the weird like Valence file against their chest,
Austin (laughing): Uh-huh!
Ali: Like, digging around for a- like a recorder I guess? Um, and is like:
Ali (as Broun): [cough] Mmm. thanks! Uh-
Art (as SI): I'm reading a lot. It's really a problem.
[Austin laughs]
Ali (as Broun): [sighs] Uh, sounds tough.
Austin (quietly): Ohhhh buddy
Ali (as Broun): Um... Cool, that's cool, I mean yeah I'm- I'm glad the whole um... fortress thing worked out for you, or whatever.
Art [laughing]: This is the person who's saying it worked out-
Austin: I don't know that that- wait which fortress thing?
Ali: Um, Past!
Austin: Oh, ok.
Ali: Like going onto it and like-
Austin: yeahyeahyeah, I got you
Ali: Reading a lot.
Austin: Mm-hmm, mm-hmm
Art (as SI): Yeah, you know, no time like the present! Ah? Ah?
Ali (as Broun): Mmm, mmmmm-hmm?
Art: He's an old person, he has old person jokes.
Austin: Yeah, that's fair, that's fair?
Ali (as Broun): Um, no I um, I a- appreciate this stuff and uh, yeah I'll- I'll tell Thisbe and Milli and- and the rest of them you said hey.
Art (as SI): Give me a ring if you're ever back this way.
Ali (as Broun) [surprised]: Oh, um, yeah, uh, yeah, good luck, uh, with your end of stuff.
Art (as SI): Yeah, thanks. I'll see ya round.
Ali (as Broun): [laughs] Yeah, maybe.
Art (as SI): You never know.
Austin: I love that both Broun and SI have gone to the like 'we're just not gonna- we don't need to actually say specific things [Ali laughs] about the past, we just be polite and move on.'
Ali: What's there to say?
Austin: Alright, I uh, yeah, I don't know-
Art: Yeah! I think we both acknowledge that it got a little heated last time and maybe the best thing is to be less heated!
Ali: Mmmm.
Austin: Yeah, it worked out, apparently [Ali laughs] alright, with that Broun I think you have pretty much everything you need. Um, you got a ship, you got a crew, or at least some of a crew, um, you got-
[Music begins: TANAGER. PERFECT. TOUCHPAPER.]
Austin: -you know a loose set of destinations that, you know, could start as a first stop on the project of trying to lay down routes elsewhere, and uh, and yeah. I guess you just have to like fight your way off the planet and get enough power to launch beyond the orbit of Partizan and uh then manage to pass through the Portcullis gate and hope you don't set off any alarms. No big deal.
Ali: Seems like the easy part.