EPISODE 9: DID YOU COME INTO CONTACT WITH UNKNOWN FORCES (1)
INTRO
X: I don't know why people bother saying things like, “There's no turning back now.”
There's never any turning back. There never has been. There never will be.
It's Girl In Space.
[[SFX: INTRO MUSIC, 1:10]]
PROLOGUE
[[SFX: Tape recorder click.]]
X, played back over a tape recorder: Okay. Crisis averted. Sort of. I mean, that batch of coffee's ruined, but... nothing's on fire, for once. Gotta celebrate the little wins.
[[Deep breath.]] Okay. So. Before all that happened, I was processing through something that's really been weighing on my mind lately -- not just my mother, but the little drawer full of embryos.
The human ones.
So… I brought specimen “S” to my mother that day, and I asked her the question that had been gnawing at my brain for… days. Weeks. Months.
Forever.
“Why did you choose me?”
She didn't answer right away, so at first I just assumed she had chosen not to hear the question. She did that sometimes.
But then she finished initiating the thawing sequence for specimen “S”, and she spoke.
“I didn't,” she said, simply.
Those two words got my heart racing.
“Well then, who did?” I whispered, wondering who else who could possibly have had a role to play in my existence. Who had decided my fate -- you know, if you believe in that kind of thing.
But she just laughed. “No, I mean, I didn't intentionally select you,” she said. “I chose you, but it was completely random. I needed an embryo, and... your vial was nearest the front of the drawer. It just happened to be the one I grabbed at the time.”
She must have seen my face then, and felt something, because she put down the petri dish and the tongs and squatted down to my eye level.
“It was just like you choosing specimen… ‘S' here,” she said. “Quick, impulsive, devoid of thought, and thus devoid of meaning or motive.”
[[Pause]] I struggled to understand this for a few moments. “Does that mean I don't matter?” I remember asking, simultaneously dreading and needing her answer.
“Of course not!” she exclaimed, laughing at the terror and dismay on my face. She patted my cheek. “You matter a great deal to me and your father. You're our control group. And that's a very important job.”
[[Brief pause.]]
I remember wondering at the time if my role was important enough to justify my existence… my… guilt at the privileged life I was living. The life my little frozen embryonic siblings would never get to experience.
[[Pause, darkly amused.]] Or maybe they all had it way better than I did. Who knows?
[[SFX: Door opens in distance.]]
[[SFX: Charlotte approaches.]]
Charlotte: Warning: The most recent series of hull ruptures have begun to cause considerable strain on the infirmary pod. [[Pause]] My sensors indicate trace amounts of carbon monoxide. Is something burning? [[Pause, then somewhat dryly:]] Again?
X: Just the coffee. [[Rubs temples, sounds weary.]] Um. Okay. The infirmary. [[Takes a deep breath.]] I'll figure this out. And worst comes to worst, I don't really need an infirmary anyway. Right? [[Sighs.]] How are Sekhmet's vitals?
Charlotte: Aural receptors malfunctioning.
[[SFX: Charlotte whirs away.]]
X: ...Charlotte? [[Begins to run after her, sounds concerned.]] Charlotte!
[[SFX: Bare footsteps fade into distance.]]
[[SFX: Deep vocal sound, cut off by tape recorder button.]]
[[SFX: Transition.]]
SCENE 1
[[SFX: Cavatica, Glasshouse]]
[[SFX: Siren starts; wakes up X.]]
X: [[Groggily]] Day... 10,320, hour 04:59. Mm. Make that 05:00. [[Blinks.]] Woah. I just slept for something like... 20 hours. I must have needed it. [[Pause, listens carefully. Sits up. Groans. To self:]] Ugh. What's that horrible sound?
[[SFX: Rustling sound from far left as Chen sits up on the gurney.]]
Chen: [[Groggily; sits up. Voice comes from a distance, left.]] Hey, X? What's that sound?
X: [[Turns away from mic to respond.]] I don't know… it woke me up, too. I'm gonna go check it out. [[Gets out of bed, hisses.]] Aaah!
Chen: [[Alarmed; voice comes from a distance, left.]] You okay?
X: [[Winces.]] Mmm. Yeah. Never been okay-er. Must've just been some acid left in one of my burns.
[[SFX: Walks toward his gurney. Chen's voice moves from left to center.]]
X: Hey! How about you? How are you feeling?
Chen: Um, I'm okayyyy… [[Unnerved; also uncertain how to breach this weird topic:]] So… is there any particular reason you stashed me back here in the shadows with all of these glass tanks full of… spiders? Are these spiders?
X: What? Yeah. [[Dismayed.]] And no! I put you by the waterfall, and the orchids!
Chen: … And… many, many glass tanks full of spiders.
X: [[Exasperated.]] Spiders are our friends, and an essential part of the Cavatica's ecosystem. [[Brief pause.]] ...And technically, those tanks are full of scorpions.
Chen: It's kinda creepy.
X: No, it's… [[Exasperated.]] I was trying to…! Ugh! I can't help it if the spiders and scorpions live back here with the orchids! I also can't help it that you're weirded out by them for some reason.
Chen: [[Stares, horrified.]] That one's the size of my face.
X: [[Rolls eyes.]] Just… if they're bothering you, look to your right instead of your left! Look… the waterfall and the orchids… that's what you were supposed to wake up and see. It was supposed to be beautiful and soothing.
Chen: [[Transfixed.]] They're… they're all staring at me.
X: [[Crossly.]] Yeah, well, you're probably just as horrifying to them as they are to you. Now, I'm going to go check out that noise. You stay here and cultivate a proper appreciation for the class Arachnida. I'll be right back.
Chen: [[Realizes something.]] Oh! Hey! --
X: Yeah?
Chen: Wasn't Charlotte here before? [[Points.]]
X: [[Pause]] Ohhhh crap. [[Takes a few steps.]] Okay. Well, at least Kai is still here. [[Taps on Kai's chassis.]] I mean, still… offline, but physically here. [[Moves toward the door.]] You stay there. I'm going to check out that siren. Then hopefully find Charlotte.
[[SFX: Glasshouse door opens, closes.]]
Chen: [[In distance.]] Wait --
[[SFX: X's bare footsteps pad down hallway.]]
[[SFX: Glasshouse soundscape fades out.]]
X: [[To self, mostly.]] Okay. Everything is okay. Caldwell Enterprises probably didn't sneak in while we were sleeping to steal Charlotte and reprogram her to murder me and Chen when we least expect it! Because they would have taken and reprogrammed Kai, too. Right? Unless … well, no. I'm not thinking about that. Everything is totally super okay. [[Deep breath.]] Priorities. The siren's coming from the dash core…
[[SFX: Transition.]]
SCENE 2
[[SFX: Cavatica, Dash Core]]
[[SFX: Siren.]]
X: Okay… [[Sits down in chair, which creaks. Mutters:]] Looks like… we're losing pressure? And oxygen levels are down.
[[SFX: Flips a switch, siren stops.]]
X: Mmkay. I probably just need to better seal the door where the remote connector is attached… was attached. Apparently those weird crystals aren't creating as good a seal as I thought.
X: [[Realization, dismayed.]] Uh. Unless someone came through the door to steal Charlotte… shoot!
[[SFX: X rises abruptly from the chair, opens door, runs out into the hallway.]]
X: Shoot shoot shoot… okay… I've gotta -- AUGH!
[[SFX: X runs smack into Charlotte.]]
[[SFX: Brief hydraulics as Charlotte turns.]]
Charlotte: Pardon me. Are you attempting to -- [[Brief pause, as if selecting from a menu of responses.]] -- escape from the Cavatica? Because I am afraid escape is not a viable option at this time.
X: [[Nervously, takes a step back.]] Nnnnnope. Definitely not trying to escape. [[Frowns, cautiously.]] So. Um… glad to see you up and active again, Charlotte. How… exactly did that happen?
Charlotte: [[Beeps]] Would you like to live forever?
X: Uh.
Charlotte: [[Pleasantly]] I have engineered a breakthrough process that allows the subject to live… live… live…
[[SFX: Footsteps run toward mic.]]
Dani: [[Out of breath; referring to Charlotte:]] Oh my gosh. There you are.
X: [[Pleasantly surprised.]] Dani! Hey!
Dani: Hey. Sorry. This was supposed to be a surprise.
X: Welp, I'm… definitely surprised.
Dani: No, I mean… not the eternal life salesbot. She's just a side effect of the main event.
Charlotte: Common side effects include hives, shortness of breath, organ failure, hemorrhaging from the fingernails and eyelids…
Dani: [[Makes a face.]] Gross. [[To X:]] Sorry. This… machine thing came speeding up to me the second I got on board, and I've been so busy dealing with it that pretty much nothing is going to plan.
X: [[Curiously]] What was the plan?
Dani: Oh, right, so, originally, the plan was to continue being an amazing epigeneticist forever -- you know, solve problems, help humankind, speak at conferences, win prestigious prizes, make a bazillion dollars and live in a mansion… all that stuff.
X: Like you do.
Dani: [[Justified.]] Right!
[[Pause.]]
X: ...I kinda mean more the plan that ended up with you and Charlotte in this hallway with me. I assume that since Charlotte is active, it had something to do with smuggling my mother's body off of the Enforcer One?…
Dani: Oh, right. So… yeah. There was a massive hole in the remote connector, so I grabbed a vacuum suit, and… well, you might not be super thrilled about this, but the coffins aboard the Enforcer One are all vacuum-rated, so…
X: [[Grins, impressed.]] Smart.
Dani: Thanks. I stashed her body in the pod closest to the docking mandibles -- it looked like some kind of living quarters and had a tarp over the entrance? [[Sigh.]] It was supposed to be a surprise. But you're welcome.
Charlotte: Would you like to live forever?
X: [[To Charlotte:]] No, Charlotte. Not if it means becoming a weird fungus-zombie and hitching my consciousness to a robotic arm that recites annoying safety manuals all day.
Dani: I was wondering about that. [[Clarifies.]] Well, not the safety manual thing. More like… what's keeping your mother's body alive. [[Inspects Charlotte.]] Or… what your mother's body was keeping alive.
Charlotte: Would you like to live… [[degrades.]]
Dani: Creepy.
X: Yeah. Lots of “creepy” going on aboard the Cavatica today. [[Regards Dani.]] You're not… freaked out by spiders, right?
Dani: [[Without missing a beat.]] No. According to the books I've read, spiders are theoretically crucial to their respective ecosystems.
X: [[Justified.]] Thank you!
Charlotte: Would you like to LIVE FOREVERRRRRRRRRRRRRRR
Dani: Um. Let's maybe walk and talk?
X: Right. I was just going to grab something to seal the door with -- it's leaking atmo at a somewhat alarming-ish rate. [[Pauses, realizes.]] Oh! Actually, Charlotte, how would you feel about doing a bit of non-violent welding for a change?
Charlotte: [[Reluctantly]] ...If you insist.
[[SFX: Dani's footsteps, X's bare feet, Charlotte's hydraulics.]]
X: So… What I really want to do is ask you why you decided to help me. But… I'm afraid if I ask that, you'll realize that you've made a huge mistake and stop. So instead, I'm curious: did you have any trouble getting into the Cavatica from the remote connector?
Dani: Oh, actually, yeah! There was this weird crystal growth all over the exterior of the airlock. I had to, like, chisel it away before I could even get to the door.
X: Yes! Any thoughts on what they could be?
Dani: [[Shakes her head.]] Not my department. [[Pause.]] I mean, not to sound like a jerk. I want to be helpful, but I don't want to speculate wildly about something outside of my expertise.
[[SFX: Footsteps/hydraulics stop.]]
X: I get it. [[Looks around.]] Oh! Wow. The crystals grew a lot while we were sleeping… [[Mutters, tracing the growth with her fingers.]] Look at this… the whole door is encrusted now… [[To Dani:]] Heh, I can see where you broke through… look, it's growing over the cracks already! Jeez. I should have checked my sample before coming out here. I bet that's grown like crazy, too…
Charlotte: Tungsten arc welding laser at the ready.
X: Oh. Yeah. Hm. If we were both able to break through the crystals, then no doubt other Caldwell Enterprises folks can easily do the same. Should I have Charlotte weld the door shut as a reinforcement?
