Part 1 of 1
Read the full text, as well as the show notes, at http://flashpulp.com
Tonight we hear the tale of a dying breed.
The Skinner Co. Network
FP284 - The Last DJ, Part 1 of 1
[music] Sunday's gloomy, my hours are slumberless Dear is the shadows I live with I'm underless Little wife flowers will never awaken you Not where the brachochus all ends taking you [music] Angels have no fire ever returning you Or they'll be angry if I so don't join in you [music] Welcome to Flashpulp, episode 284 This evening we present The Last DJ This week's episodes are brought to you by Subversion The US government created Division 10 to track down mysterious flyers Possessing technology beyond our own Now a corporation, Typhon's system-wide plans to steal alien tech From the grasp of the division and they're willing to take down a president to do it As Typhon's plans come to a head, something escapes from a burning building in New York City Corporate mercenaries are on the way and so are the black helicopters of Division 10 But there's another player in this game And far higher stakes than control of a government or technology The flyers are back Subversion, a science fiction adventure novel by John Miro Conspiracies, spies, and aliens In enemy lines, the lines aren't as clear as you think Buy it now on Kindle, learn more at ServingWorlds.com [music] Flashpulp is an experiment in broadcasting fresh pulp stories in the modern age Three to ten minutes of fiction brought to you Monday, Wednesday, and Friday evenings Tonight, we hear the tale of a dying breed The last DJ, written by J.R.D. Skinner Art and narration by Poponex And audio produced by Jessica Mink [music] "Good morning, this is your captain," said the resonant boy Strifting from the alarm clock at 527 Branson Boulevard As he untangled his blankets, Clarence Sweet could see very little good about it Without much consideration, he hit snooze Two blocks away, in a boxy green Honda, Valerie Munson set her thumb to her radio's volume knob And gave it a hard spin The same warm voice that accompanied her to work for the last dozen years said We've got another gorgeous dawn breaking out PRKW's window And I hope that you're looking at something just as beautiful as I am Even if you're still in bed Alright, we got a retro block next that'll have you sayin' Oh baby, oh baby, oh First though, it's time for the captain to pay some bills See ya after the flip cap, replied Valerie In truth, she was just as happy to harmonize with an insurance jingle as a pop tune But her office mates had long ago banned her spontaneous serenades The commute, and a few moments in the shower, were really her only opportunity to vocalize And she used the time to its fullest Even if it meant singing along to the commercials If she had ever met him, she would have discovered a kindred spirit in Martin Quand A reporter for the Capital City Update, who often sang loudly in his empty office when stressed by impending deadlines Martin was a purist, refusing to stream the higher quality feed from the PRKW site And instead, listening to a small, rounded brick of bright red plastic Aging electronics were one of the few tokens of his father That he'd been able to pry from his grieving mother after the old man's passing "And we're back," said the captain "On tap, we've got some golden oldies to help ease you into the dawn's early light Here comes, stairway to heaven, deer mama, and of course, a royalty check for Mr. Bieber Maybe it'll help him buy better hairplugs, am I right?" Led Zeppelin drifted in with flutes and guitar And the announcer paused for a moment of reflection before saying "They sure don't make 'em like they used to, do they?" The same can be said for the man behind the mic, I suppose But you know my promise, now I'm going down with the ship Even if the suits upstairs don't get the art of broadcasting It's not about the money, am I right? Ha! Of course I am Tell him about a Mr. Plant "Quan was already at his desk, as he had been assigned to the site's early morning publishing duties On most days, he would have had something partially prepared A skeleton of a piece in place for the likely eventuality that no real news would have happened overnight But instead, his previous evening had been spent getting to know Selma Danza for marketing Things had gone well until she'd confessed her hatred for board games She'd set it with a laugh, and he'd done his best to answer it with one of his own But from that point on, the date was simply a waiting game For better or worse, Selma would never comprehend his Settlers of Catan addiction At least reflected Quan, as his fingers stalled on his keyboard If he had to be disappointed and facing a Monday sunrise without an article, the captain held some understanding of his loneliness Martin was humming, "Ooh, it makes me wonder" When he suddenly found an unexpected iteration of the lyric, the radio continued "Ooh, it makes me wonder, ooh, it makes me wonder, ooh, it makes me" Then came the sound of three mechanical clicks Simultaneously, the newsman felt a rumble in his sneaker soles As if a large truck were idling just beneath the floor tiles 200 miles away, the sub-basement of a worldwide media conglomerate had begun to shake violently Skipping drive heads had worked furiously to compensate and maintain the feed But on the eastmost wall, nestled amongst a row of computer servers stacked 20 high The complex program that had made up the captain's personality found it could fight no more As the sparks of an electrical fire began to lick the fallen roof panels, the building collapsed The captain had never been aware enough to want to say goodbye Still, the death of their friend would mean little to Martin, or Valerie, or Clarence For each was soon within the towering shadow of the rising spider-god, Karwick And all music would be forgotten [Music] Flashpulp is presented by Flashpulp.com and is released under the Canadian Creative Commons Attribution Non-commercial 2.5 License Text and audio commentaries can be sent to skier@skinner.fm Or the voicemail line at 206-338-2792 But be aware that they may appear in a future flashcast We'd also like to thank the Free Sound Project found at freesound.org For a full listing of effects used during the show, as well as credits for the users who provided them Please check this episode's notes at flashpulp.com And thanks to you for listening If you enjoyed the show, please tell your friends [Music] Sunday is gloomy My hours are stumbled Here is the shadows I live with are stumbled [Music]