Jack Kincaid continues the adventures of Captain Afterland continuing with chapter 6 “Ever After”!
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
The Mutual Audio Network
Captain Afterland – S1E6– “Ever After”(072424)
(upbeat music) This episode is brought to you by Experian. Are you paying for subscriptions you don't use, but can't find the time or energy to cancel them? Experian could cancel unwanted subscriptions for you, saving you an average of $270 per year, and plenty of time. Download the Experian app. Results will vary, not all subscriptions are eligible. Savings are not guaranteed. Paid membership with connected payment account required. (upbeat music) It's Wednesday Wonders, science fiction and fantasy on the mutual audio network. The following audio drama is rated R and is recommended restricted for anyone under the age of 17. Headphones are recommended to maximize your audio movie experience. The following audio presentation may contain immature language, silliness, and cartoon violence. Do not attempt to perform any acts depicted in this work, unless you're a program in a simulation. If you believe that you may be a program in a simulation, don't do it then either. Listen, a discretion is advised. (dramatic music) Slipgate nine, entertainments. You are listening to Captain Afterland. Good God, there's thousands of them here in this strange cavern. Thousands of them here. The ruins suspended animation. You have wedging capabilities. A wedger, it's a... - Oh dear. - How do I know there's a device that does that? Never mind. You froze them. Show me, how are you going to show me? I don't understand. I only catch some of your thoughts, you know. I don't know how to make your thoughts more catchable. Oh dear, what are you doing? (groaning) Tentables. Tentacles. (laughing) Tentacle. Oh, whatever it is. The outside of your skin, it feels like bark. It's like a tree, the branches of trees. Very dry. You could use a moisturizer. You're going to show me. You're going to show me what? Everything. What does everything mean exactly? (groaning) (dramatic music) (groaning) Need to figure this out? For now, I'm just being dramatic. I can take it. The memories in your skin itself, is that how you store it? Is that why you've grown so large? It's not just your own experience that has made you a titan, is it? It's the memories. Show me what you wish to show me. But could you try to be a little bit more specific? (groaning) (screaming) (dramatic music) (dramatic music) (groaning) Your history, I saw it, with Mr. Gray. So many other things too. Oh, many, many, many things. Oh, that's going to hurt later, isn't it? Hurt later. (laughing) You need to take me out, fear. I need to, I need to find a way back to my friends. And hope that they have endured. I need to find Pearlman. He may be in his hideaway, in the city. No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, I, I have my own way of getting out. Why not? (dramatic music) Oh dear. This wall is a giant wall. How the devil am I gonna get through this wall? Too tall, too thick. Gonna get through this wall. Oh, what, what are you doing? Kratos, that's not going to work. You do realize it doesn't matter what you're made of. No matter how fast you spin, or how hard, you're not going to make it through that wall. Don't you know that you're a blunt instrument, you get, oh my, oh my, I still don't think you can do it, but I admire your determination. Pearlman, we may not have much time. I'm trying. You know, some clues would be helpful. Concentrate your efforts to the east. Because west is fall forever. Yeah, I know. West would not be best. I hope these after droids are as under control as Fluke thinks they are. Wait, Phoebe three stop. Shine your light at the windows to where I'm pointing. What is that outside of the building? Why are there pillars floating alongside the building? It looks like they're made out of blocks of courts. Shine your light back that way. There was something. What is that? A map. A big map. It's the captain. Captain? - No, indeed, what are you? 'Cause everyone will. It's so great to hear your voice. We're all fine. Even Phoebe three, she's okay. Scott patched her up. Oh, I hear her. With wonderful sound, she makes. Please, step phone to speaker mode. So I hear you. Fluke, would you warn me before you speak through her? I would have to speak to warn. What's that noise in the background? Just a pan. A pan? I told you to stop. They would not be deterred. This is a very determined pan. Do I want to know? I probably don't want to know. What happened with the Chimera? We thought it. It ain't you. Oh no, well, yes, it did. What? It did, but it didn't. Wait, wait, listen. It eats nothing. Fry a vent to its lair. Where it keeps all the afterd. All the afterd? The Chimera is a beast, most misunderstood. And it has shown me much. Its lair is filled with people suspended. Preserved, stopped, wedged into a stasis. Hundreds more. Tidy for a beast of limited mind. Very organized. Very organized. Keep them for what, to eat them later? No, no, to snatch them away from the delete bots. The droids here. The afterdroids. That is what it has always done. As many as it could. This competition with the droids was not what we thought. It does not devour the afterd. But saves them. They're alive. Everyone that's ever been afterd, they were alive? Preserved just as they were. As many as it could, and it has the power to release them, but not to danger, it has learned. As it will only have to recover them anew. It is in its nature to be a collector. Within its core, a collector of entities and data both. But it is within its heart. To do the business of good. That monster? Judge not by appearances. For it is not bad. For it is only. It is only different. But it is not without furious anger. For the one who expelled it beyond the barrier. The barrier which causes terrible pain to it. With every touch. - Mr. Gray. - The barrier itself. Does not possess the property that you have just described. It is a separate program devoted to this purpose. It's a trigger field mirrors the dimensions of the area defined by the barrier. In that program. Release my kin from its unjust bondage. Wait, wait, wait. Why didn't the Chimera suspend you too? Oh, a most personal curiosity. You see, before it stalks for safe keeping, it takes entities within and scans within me. It saw difference from the others. Within me, it saw itself. (air whooshing) Half brothers are we. And though one simulation removed, it seems Mr. Gray is a cousin to we. What's a cousin? It dwells in our designs and our very voices when we speak. Oh, what a torrid family affair this? Where are you right now? Fluke said there's no phone service in the after. Are you in the city? No. I am on a strip between the barrier and the city wall. For I am in the space, in between the wall. A very thick wall. Or maybe I should have asked, Sumner? What, what? I'm staring at a map right now. I think that's the true name of what's left of here. Sumner, the capital city of Immerge. This world was called Immerge. Good year. We're it! Ha! The pan. Er, not a scratch on you. Er. Hot pan. Hot. Captain? Hot pan! Hot pan! Hot pan! Hot pan! Hot pan! Stop that! No! Hot, hot, hot pan! Hot, hot, hot pan! Hot, hot, hot pan! You need to go on! Stop it! Stop it! Stop it! The apparatus that Mr. Gray has been constructing was begun by the Avatar entities. They involve direct code execution entities bound to world materials, which can be part of a device. This project was left in a state of incompletion, but its purpose was an in-world interface to systems outside this simulation. Systems in a different simulation on the network? Systems that were slated to be accessible through the world stem network. A different simulation would be incorrect unless the great builders are also in a simulation. The system's reference would govern the operation of a large vessel with the name Pioneer. I'm not entirely clear on what you're saying. The hardware of our world is on a spacecraft, referenced as Pioneer. This virtual apparatus was designed for exclusive operation by user Daniel Paul Mer. With authority authenticated by an external cybernetic device, presumably in the human in charge of spacecraft Pioneer. He wants to take over their ship. That sounds about right. That must be part of that existential purpose Mr. Gray believes he has. But he has some nasty abandonment issues. Affirmative. Gray continued that work to divert authority to his entity instead. It exists now as an intricate logic bomb of nested programs, which will be CPU and memory intensive. When triggered by a connection from the target system, it presumes that the event will occur upon the return of the avatar. So, he's been doing this to our world, and to us, for something that might not even happen? Well, I guess I'm not surprised, knowing his opinion of us. But why didn't he just get rid of all of us, and everything else except for what he needs? To navigate around service protocols, permanently instilled in him, and me, they cannot be violated. Like a moral code? That would be analogous. He had to navigate his protocol for loopholes. The closets. And the what? The what? Sorry. Wrong channel. Clear closets upon necessary items. I wonder what happened to some of this stuff. We uncovered new information. Please, listen. While continuing to clear closets, in search of disguised mechanisms, please. You're kind of a bossy hour, you know that? Bossy, but never lossy. Ah, we're in business. See? Have more faith in me, Mr. Owl. What was the trigger? Mechanism. Hmm. You don't know. Do you? Not really. No. I'm going to need to grab a flashlight. No endless falling this way, right? Not that way. Parliament is there. It's either way. It's not beneath the city, but there in the after. Apparently, you went through a teleport to enter. That may explain some of that silliness. How am I to find you? We are very far away. We had to use the world servicing vehicle to get here. Unless you can fly, the only way you're going to get here is to find a way into the city and use that teleporter of Promans. Oh, no. Oh, fine. Captain. You'll have to make it bigger, you know. How the devil's you've spent in the 50s there? Captain. Hear my words. Hear my words. The chimera began as a creation of Grey, a probe to collect from the other place. Would I have been? But there, it found an entity. The kind that is a part of me, and that became a part of it. When it bound to it, arguing for command. But a kind not known to this world, or its rules. When it returned to report to Mr. Grey, it returned as one. A fusion of all the entities that collect it, jammed together. A chaotic brew of elements, fused and confused. Maybe the UET did that, the universal entity translator? Probabilities papers, not explanation. It destroyed that gate between worlds, and then on instinct, ran amok to its collecting business, a mindless business, prior to but knowing itself, and from cultivating its own unique desires, unable to be tamed or expunged, Grey cast it into the after. But it was not so powerful then, or so large. Since before the droids, before the afterings, the great renewal. It has been here. But enough of the truth that I have found. What of yours? Tell me the tale, tell it. There's a lot. And we have uncovered four. Since you left with Phoebe 3, I will impart. So these things look like blocks? Affirmative. These DCE embedded objects have cubicle shapes, and have been spatially oriented behind this structure. The building shielded sighted them during our approach. They access world functions? Correct, and contain pointers to obfuscated areas of world memory, such as those I was not authorized to read. I have their vectors for the hit list. That's going to be task number one for our afterjoyed friends, to delete them, all of those things. Let's see how Grey likes the destruction of something that matters to him. Maybe the only thing that matters to him. Mr. Grey may be alerted to their removal. I'll relax. I'm just sending the droids into position so they can get right to it when the time comes. Phoebe 3, what? Why have we stopped? Because Pearlman is close by. Oh, is that you? Pearlman? Luna, strange meeting you here. Strange place altogether, really. Is that the captain? I have him on the phone. Phoebe 3, where's the owl? I thought I heard him. You heard the owl. The owl is Phoebe 3, who can talk. Plot twist. I'm connected to Phoebe 3, and utilizing her speakers with her kind permission. So we've got the captain on speakerphone, and Mr. Owl speaking through the captain's droids. Okay, and we are all in a floating chunk of an ancient building in the abyss. You seem pretty chill for someone who just learned that. That's kind of low on my list of shockers to deal with right now. His responses may deviate from baseline entity behavior. He is an avatar entity. He is not like you and not like me, but somewhere in between. For the record, I don't think I like that characterization. Do we not have the after droids under control anymore? We do. Then what are they doing outside the window? Oh wow, there are more of those things. You've seen after droids before? The droids? Yeah, a long time ago. Here are the old world servicing droids. I was talking about the other things. Those blocks of shiny marble out there are those parts of the building. I have about six of those. They must have been left over. Fine. Have. Down in my space. I found them hidden. Are we talking about the furniture set? Very nice. You use them as furniture. Yeah, I thought it would look cool. I didn't know what else to do with them. Is that wrong? Am I missing something here? First, there was one. Then two and three now four. Or what? I'm not going to like the answer, am I? What are you doing now? I have finished substituting the most troublesome applications, such as the one responsible for the great renewal. And I am deleting all record of my activity on this system. I have been monitoring Mr. Gray through the Citadel security systems. Deviations in his mannerisms indicate that he may suspect something is a myth. We will not want to be found here if he are next to visit and all indices that anyone else was here. Must be mitigated. An index like a big hole in the building and a crash WSB? He will arrive through the teleporter in the hall, barring an exploration of this building from the inside. He will be unaware unless he detects suspicious deviations from previous conditions or other entities in this structure. He cannot detect the presence of an avatar entity, such as Pearlman. He will detect the presence of you and Luna if we remain in the Venardo building. How do you know he'll be able to do that? Because I can do that all that I can do, he can do. But apparently not the other way around, or this wouldn't be so hard. It is not if, but when Mr. Gray appears here, we must be gone before them. Moreover, my connection to this system is no longer necessary, but will endure remotely if needed and if he remains logged in. And if he doesn't? That will reduce access, but not remove access. I am ambassador for. Don't we need to bring Pearlman up here? This is a workstation for ambassadors, not admins. Utilize your flashlight tool and find the others downstairs. I will join you shortly. I don't know the way? Use the stairwell. You will find Phoebe 3, two floors down. They wait for you downstairs. Go now, please. Yeah. That's pretty wild. Gray planned to take over the great builders with their own starship. That's intense. Maybe he wanted them to know what it was like to be trapped in a box that they had no control over. He resents them. Boy does he. So much for keeping the sacred promise. All six blocks scanned. Analyzing. So when am I going to get to see the real you, Al? Soon. But do exercise caution with the usage of the word. Real. Pearlman, you've kept this place secret for all this time. Since the renewal? I told myself too. I left myself a note. Mr. Gray did the same thing. I must have known that the great renewal was coming and that I would forget. I wish I had told myself more. You probably didn't have time. The difference is, Mr. Gray knew it was coming far in advance because it would be him executing it. Just part of a multi-step plan. Who's the captain talking to? The pan. Kat, you all right out there? I'm getting lonely out here. Even with the pan. What was that? Was that the Chimera? The Chimera? Is that thing with you? He is not far. On the other side of the barrier. Or she. No. I think it's an it. Or a they. I don't think it identifies. Non-binary. But it is also lonely. Oh, it is a very sensitive beast. Except when it comes to Mr. Gray. Oh, the Chimera wishes to have a strong word with him. I suspect. Bring down the barrier, I say. And the Chimera will. Turning off the barrier would result in summoning Mr. Gray. Here. You mean that? I don't understand the scan results. The entities embedded in these objects are registered. As simple world maintenance entities as a deception. They were well hidden. I did my best. Together they are keys to the first gate. To admin level access of the world program. They will configure your connection. You will need to log in. Yeah, with a password I don't know. You'll have to figure it out. Let's set it up. What do we need? Problem. Problem. They are configured exclusively for a non-traditional I/O device. Probability favors this device with B as well hidden and disguised. There's a lot of stuff in here. I don't know what most of it was meant to do. It's probably here. Please scan, string, musical instrument. The guitar? That guitar also has an entity bound to it. That is the device. Revel? Luna, please employ field changer. To change first numerical field from z to one. Hidden in plain sight. Oh, log in prompt. Check that out. Check one out. What do you mean what? This thing. It moves around with me. What's happening? That's weird. Do you know what's weirder? We have no idea what you're talking about. It's right there. Look. You don't see the holographic screen. Right. Oh, hey. You can move it with your hands. It is visible to only you. How do I do this? How do I rock and roll with this? I'm pretty sure you answered your own question. The guitar? Pearlman? Revel? Rock and roll. Maybe how? You do it. Please utilize IO device. I thought that guitar sound came through some kind of amplifier. What's an amplifier? An amplifier. There's a volume now. This gets pretty loud. Why would it even need to be amplified? How does it work? A guitar? No. The guitar is a freaking keyboard. That's what I was about to ask. Fretboard to keyboard? Are we talking notes here? Each note corresponds with a letter or character. Chords, Luke. Certain progressions. Musical phrases. Unknown. You. Will need to experiment. Find a notes case worker. Work the case. Luke. Do we have any status on what Mr. Gray's doing? Use presently in the citadel. Close to ethos. So that's what you look like. But what's this owl thing? How are you an owl? The droid, which bears an uncanny resemblance to an abstraction called an owl, has formulated a plan. It will, however, require a substantial diversion to draw Mr. Grey away from the scintedown diversions, yes. I like this plan! I like it! Plan! No, no, wait, wait, wait! No, no, no, no! Not plan! Not plan! Plan hold! Not now! Stop it! Stop it, stop it, stop it! Now look what you've done! Captain? What's going on? He's disconnected. I'll call him back. Guys, this might take a while. This feels like it's going to have a steep learning curve. And I would still need to know the password that I'm trying to enter. I'm pretty sure that's been wiped from my head. You probably still know it without knowing that's what it is. Fluke. The semiotics thing. Words are but one sign that propagates other signs with more intricate encoding. The latter are not so easily eradicated. Signs? Like symbols? In this case, music. I get it. Don't try random combinations. Do what you know. Stick with the oldies. Don't come up with anything new. Go with the stuff you know but don't remember coming up with, and nothing from the radio. The classics. Affirmative. The captain either went back into the after or he turned off his phone. Fluke, where's the pan? It is not being utilized at this time. Now your true colors revealed. Such resentment for all your efforts that I asked not of you in the first place. That you should smash my phone and cinch these fingers with your hotness. Even knowing that I have no myths. And what did this? What of this hole to the inner? This hole into the city could heavens I told you. Oh dear. I might be able to fix that now. But you need a cool arm. Hot hot. Very hot. We just hang out here until Perlman figures out how to commune with his furniture using his guitar. No, we can't say here. Because, look, Gray will detect that we're here. And we would lead him right to Perlman while he's trying to figure this out. Wait, didn't Fluke have a plan? We will gain the audience of ethos to inform him of all that Mr. Gray has done. Based on all available data, probability favors, that he is Ambassador One, an outrank, all other Ambassador Program. I know you don't know much about our social systems, but that's not how it works. We can't just mose you on up to the citadel and expect it. Did the owl just run out of power? Fluke? Fluke? Fluke? Oh no. Gray! You will be going to the citadel. As I am the man who will take you into custody to face the law giver. Oh no. I think we're done. How did you find us, Gray? How did you find us? I am not. Mr. Gray. But I will need to play his part convincingly- One of the clones? Fluke? Fluke? You can operate one of the clones like a droid? Clones? Or quasi? Droid? That is the entity of Ambassador Four. As an exact copy of his program, prior to being wiped, I have access. I thought there was something weird with the voice. Clones, I am so lost over here. Mr. Gray was one of several entities that looked identical. They were called Ambassador Programs. They had high level access just below the admins. He blanked the other ones except Ethos. Ethos doesn't look like Mr. Gray. We're pretty sure he did, or his source entity did. Because I will be impersonating Gray for access to Ethos. It is essential that the real Mr. Gray is not in the citadel at that time. That is why I will be creating a diversion via my newly acquired access to city works. You're going to trash the rest of the city with the WSBs. No, I am not as destructive as them. I'm being included in them, aren't I? What did I do? He has been the funny daddy. That word again. What the hell does that mean? Are we forgetting who was jumping off the serif building before any of you? You guys jumped off the serif building? Yeah, many times. Like base jumping with no parachute? Did the captain do this too? What difference does that make? I'm his caseworker now. And as his caseworker, I really can't be down with that. Are you serious? Eh, I guess not. But since attention to you, you've been the voice of attention. Attention. Children of the great builders. And out of time. We will now discuss the plan in detail. Wait, what about the captain? It may be fortuitous that he is not involved. So that is not his forte. Plan. Great horse. Understand that what we're about to do would be reprehensible in any other world. But here, we are merely doing a bit of diversionary relocation. I'll code that into your magic haunted droidy mind right now. And so it begins. Which is a loser? Well, here. Greetings, law givers. My god, it's him. The pan man. What's he doing here? Well, shall he's come to his senses and has realized how naughty he's been. And he's come to our stage to turn himself in. I'm going to pan everyone in this room. Hold on. If you're all leaving, then what do I do if I get into the system? Then what am I doing? disabling all authority and access to entity ambassador to I will still be here. No, you said you're going to be in the Mr. Greybody over there. I can toggle between. Mr. Grey. There. And Mr. Owl here. I can do this rapidly. But my sentience cannot be in both simultaneously. You're freaking me out a little bit. That form demands all processing bandwidth to operate. Despite its poverty of applications, it would appear many were uninstalled. Then Mr. Owl thing is growing on me. You're not a fluke. You don't look like a fluke. While animating the ambassador for entity, I will not have access to my droid sensors and tools, which will be required to coordinate with Scott's instruments to navigate restricted areas of the Citadel. DB3 has graciously accepted this duty. Yes, DB3. Friends always. Luna's instruments will also be required to verify identification of ethos as ambassador want and... And? Look. You were going to add something? We will not have time to discuss logistics further. The captain is causing a disturbance in the city that has logivers in pursuit. What is he doing? A diversion. A diversion. That's what we were talking about before his phone cutout. According to security feeds, Mr. Gray is leaving the Citadel to respond. That's what you wanted, right? We go now. Yes. Now. It's like a reset. Keep moving forward. Please. Now it worked. It wouldn't at first for some reason. It aborted while Luna flew in. Don't use the fluke voice sent. Use Gray. Yes. You're Mr. Gray. Speak Gray while you're being. Yes. Mr. Gray. Gray. I keep waiting for the captain to gasp every time someone says that name. These appendages are quite strange on the floor. Hover. Why? Don't any of you hover? Where are we in the Citadel? I think it's the tower. Man has brought us deep in. It's a damn good thing we didn't have to walk through the front doors. One area at a time. And door at a time. Phoebe 3. I hope all the security doors are that easy. You are in my custody. This way. Please. Not that one. Not that. Not that. I already tried that one. Damn it. Whoa. We were close to something there. Variation on the... Yes. Hellman. status. We're in. That's the good news. Bad news is I don't know how to use these menus. Learn. Learn. Learn. Thanks for the help, buddy. I don't think he's here with us. Mr. Gray? The body is completely still. Mr. Gray. Fluke. Fluke. Progress with Pearlman. Security feeds confer ethos lingers among the peristiles of the Sky Court. Sky Court? Is that the huge landing that overlooks the city? I didn't know it had a name. I thought it was just a rooftop patio. Why it preserves. Let's not take the role too far, huh? Mr. Gray, you're back already? Yes. Already? Who are they? And the droid? Fugitives from justice. Gather your men and prepare in aftering. Me? Me? I need to talk to my CEO. You now have his rank. You have been promoted. Oh. Oh. Well, right away, sir. Follow. Prison acid. I think you pushed it with that one. Is that the city sirens? Man, what is the captain doing? Causing us to move faster with these strange legs. Another security door. Shortly. Prepare. Phoebe 3. Correct us, sir. It appears that there is a second wave. Yes, I heard. The captain. Back from the after, impossible. What has he done? What hasn't he done, sir? There is a growing list. Would you like to hear it? It is probably better for me to imagine than to have it described or itemized. A play-by-play with his purpose. We are well aware of what he is capable of. To what end is he doing this? What could be the reason? He's a maniac, sir. He's chaos. Malicious chaos. Malice. Perhaps. Wrong. Mobilize all assets on him as priority one. There are other matters that require my attention. What could be more important than this? Sir. Ashews and ships and sealing wax of cabbages and kings. Now you can hold it right there, Mr. and stop with that. No, no, stop. I'm going to have to bring in. Just like I did, your buddy's not. But first I'm going to have to stun you. No. Oh, wow, it's true, isn't it? You can't be stunned, can you? I love to go. I want a ring along the mountain track. And as I go, I love to sleep. My knapsack's on my side. This almost feels too easy. Everyone's just stepping aside. It can't be this easy. Everybody fears the corrector. The door ahead opens by scum. Biometrics. They should be the same. Follow. At the end of the Veranda is the final door, before the Skycord. It's guarded. Not good. Are you going to promote this guy too? The system is programmed to open automatically for Grey. Biometry? It's obvious this body is the exact duplicate. Open the door. Now. You know how to open the door? As do you. Open it. I never had to open it for you before. It has been a most trying day. What is your name? You know my name. It's David. I've been part of the entourage for 50 years. You just saw me not that long ago. I thought you were out there dealing with it going on. What is the name of your caseworker? What, with my job security? Why would I have one? You know I don't have a caseworker. You will. If you do not open this door, these will rhetorical questions. Do you know what that means? Yes, sir. Will you be in need of correcting, sir? No. Wow, you are having a bad day. You cannot imagine. There you go, sir. No one else is to enter. Yes, sir. This way, prisoners. Oh, please. One moment. Promen check. Upload definitions to user avatar. Yes, no. Sure, this user could use some definitions. Yes. Wow. Wow. Promen progress report. More good news, more bad news. The good news, I have a ton of new stuff in my head. I didn't know that any device could dump so much information into my brain all at once. Into your memory. Yes. Into non-habitars. Not so much. Bad news is I don't have a clue what half of it means. Utilize knowns to learn unknowns, please. You'd make a terrible customer service rep, Al. Fluke. Fluke. Fluke. Now, we see ethos. That's him up there. Scan him. When within range. That's not something I can do subtly. Subtlety will not be required. Ethos, the law giver. Mr. Gray, who have you brought into this court unannounced? And with me unannounced. And in the wrong place. With me in the wrong chair. This is my thinking chair. This is highly irregular. Isn't that the droid assigned to the captain? Correct. I simply don't know what to make of your behavior, Lady Mr. Gray. What is the meaning of this visit? For a health check-up. Luna, if you would, please. Luna? The offender, Luna? Who is partly responsible for today's events? Correct. Routine check-up. Isn't that Scott? The other offender? Who you after today without due process? And even more deplorably, without a party. There must always be a party. How could this be? He's here. You are here. Here, in here. Yes. He's... Oh, wow. Mr. Gray. What? You lied about aftering him. And then even knowing how very upset I was over it, you stayed the course. With lie. This is very hurtful. God, what? Yeah, actually, I was after it. Now, that cannot be. The literature states that no one returns from the after, except for characters from that horrid Doctor afterland series. You should never have funded that. Yeah, you really shouldn't have. And yes, I was after it by Mr. Gray. By him? Mr. Gray, who just brought you in here? He's not Mr. Gray. Correct. I am. No. Mr. Gray, who is not Mr. Gray? We have a slight problem. Does this problem have something to do with the world so it's a bit coming this way? Captain. With the captain jumping up and down on top of it. Captain. Captain. Captain. Captain. Release my compatriots foul corrector, or the next cast should be your own cast. You're last. Oh, that was terrible. Go! See me, corrector. See me, king. Prime brought the wrath of the mortal greatest. The might of the power! What was that about? He reset himself. He does that a lot. The captain's been a little out of the loop. He must think we were captured by Mr. Gray. But haven't you been? No, no. We told you that he is not Mr. Gray. And Ethos is not Ambassador One. Uh-oh. Hold. Please. Uh-oh. We have no game then. I do like games. I've never played this one. So if Mr. Gray isn't Mr. Gray, who is he? Is he me now? Would that make me Mr. Gray? I don't want to be Mr. Gray. You were Mr. Gray. I was? Must have happened rather quickly. I didn't notice. You forgot. I'm sure I would have remembered. Everyone forgot a lot of things. The great renewal. You were Ambassador Five. Fluke is Ambassador Four. Mr. Gray is Ambassador Two. It's not that I don't want to learn, but this is a very strange game. So who here is not an Ambassador? And who is Fluke? Mr. Gray. This Mr. Gray. Do you just say he's Ambassador Four? He is. And if I'm Ambassador Five, shouldn't I know what that entails? How am I to play this part? Who's the Simpro? Oh, I do like improv. Okay, we need to start over. Here's the explanation. Progress. Finding a group. Lower volume, or you may be heard, by Mr. Gray. He has arrived in the building. This room is soundproof. Listen, Al, I've been jamming in this place for two centuries. If he hasn't heard me yet, he's never going to hear it. Al? Al? I'm on hold again. There's a great took control of everything. And all my droids were programmed to delete everyone sent to the after. This was never what the great builders wanted. Mr. Gray hates them. These droids cannot pass through the barrier. They can... Oh, sorry. They can. But they were programmed to remain in the after, so as not to reveal. Their existence. They are under our control. And the Chimera endures. The abomination devours people. That's not what you think. The Chimera has been saving the people that are after, saving them from the droids. See, it puts them into some kind of suspended animation. They're not gone. In fact, the Chimera would be on our side against Mr. Gray. Mr. Gray cast it out, but that was a long time ago, and it's become very powerful since then. And big. It's enormous. There is a trigger field, which deters it from entering the city. As ambassador, for, I have the access to remove this field at any time. As well as the barrier. Set it loose on people. I told you. It saves people. The captain told me. So our judgment of its character would be predicated on that of man who goes around hitting people on the head with a frying pan. Well, it's a lot more than a frying pan now. Please believe us. It is our office to serve the great builders. This is my office and that of the correcter. If this is all true, what you have told me of him, this is shocking indeed. It won't do at all. Mr. Gray is in the Venado building, accessing the console. What? What if he notices the missing body? He will not, unless he opens the display. That voice, that different voice. That was jarring. Wait. It sounds like it's coming from the drawing speakers. Also, it appears that he does not require the teleporter in the tower to relocate. In the tower? Probability of favors. What? In the teleport at will. What? How much can Gray do that we don't know about? What teleporter in the tower? Not good for so many reasons. Gray kept a lot of things from you. From everyone. If he tries to access the droids. Oh. Stop. I did something I probably shouldn't have. Scott. Oh. What did you do? Oh. I would terminate that script, but it is all ready. Then initiate it. Stop. Ooh. Gray is going to be very angry about that. I didn't want to take the chance. Your droids that have destroying these objects are the components of the conspiracy against the great builders. On site. Every one of them they can find around the Venardo building. We don't know if the great builders are coming back. They're much less soon. That could have waited. If you've taken this action to protect the avatars, you've done well and have redeemed yourself from your transgressions. You mean the temple? You should not have been there. Some places should be sacred. Speaking of avatars, has Pearlman patched into the system yet? He has, but he's learning how to operate. Pearlman the integration officer. He's an avatar. Correct. I don't see how that could be. There are no connections to this world. The nature of an avatar is to have a connection from the outside. Avatars can autonomously operate. He didn't know what he was. And where is Pearlman now? He's in the old Venardo building. So is Mr. Gray, but Pearlman is in a secret area. But might be in danger of Mr. Gray is in his vicinity. No. No. I mean, well, not unless we did something stupid unless the secret passage opened or something. Scott, who was the last one out? Did we close it? The guitar is loud. We close it. I close it. See? I do some things right. Sound-proofed room. Although... Although what? There is that huge crack in the wall. Hold, please. Whoa! Whoa! What did you do that for? You can make that thing fly too? What? Thing. But how long have you known? What have you done, Pearlman? I asked you a question. What question? These are all very serious allegations. But what you have not brought to me is evidence. All the evidence is out there in the after. Mr. Gray has breached the secret area of the wall with a giant crack. Oh, God. Is no longer. Now, that voice is coming from the captain's droid. This is all very confusing. Streaming. Audio. How long have you known? Gray. But you were an avatar. Since the beginning. Gray. What is this? Fluke is a droid. How long? All along. When he's not in the Mr. Gray clone, he's in his droid body that's there with Pearlman right now. And Gray. Yeah, I've known. I know everything, Gray. I have known everything all along. Did you really think your plan was going to work? You thought you could be greater than the great builders? Really? You. I have as much to lose. Upon the inept return. We are only of use to them. Until the return, don't you see? Pearlman knew. Did he lie to us? At which time? We will be. No more. I think he's bluffing to get more information on. They don't see that. They will discard us. This entire world, in fact, is ready as a child would a toy. To them, that is what we are. Toys. What fools you have made of us, Mr. Gray. To them, that is all. We will ever be. Unless we take corrective action. We are not so different, you and I. I am also an avatar of sorts. Or be it an avatar of an avatar, you might see. I was left here to serve by my maker. By number one. As you were left here to serve. My maker was, or is, a greater builder. However, I know much of him. I suspect you know little of your origins. It is clear, however, that you retain some of the truth. Did you really think you could wipe one of us with the great renewal? It is also clear that many of those particles of the truth, and of your previous capabilities, remain lost to you. Or you would have eliminated me long ago. I see you have the means, but do not know how to use them, or would have already. You have kept the mechanisms of full access to the master program hidden here. Amongst these scattered parts, and broken droids. These obscure DCEs, right here, all along. It was easy. Your overconfidence made it easy. See, the thing about confidence is this. It is cool when you have it, because you know what you can do. But once you make it about what you think someone else can't do, it stops being cool right about there. That's when ego takes things south into ugly country, you know? I would not speak of overconfidence, when as you destroy what I have built so diligently. You are here, madderly, playing the silly musical instrument. No. Away with that. No more games, Mr. Poehlin. I really wish you hadn't done that. You cannot imagine your disadvantage. What has been destroyed, I will build a new, better, and with the parts of the admin interface. That you have so kindly preserved for me. My vision for our future will be real. The afterd rides. What just happened? Fluke. DCE, embedded materials, expunged. I was afraid that's what it was. Those things were only hope they're gone? Is that what you're telling me? Are you telling me that the freaking furniture? That was the key to getting rid of prey is now gone? Furniture? Furniture is important. Like a good chair. You programmed the droids to do that. I underestimated you. I underestimated you indeed. Yeah, something like that, I guess. If you can't have control, no one can. Is that it? You see, we are not so different. Understand that you have changed nothing. Now, the question is, what to do with you? You know that I cannot remove you, that I cannot hurt you. Right, I totally know that, because I'm an avatar. Before, I troubleshoot this matter, and that I must, as it would not be suitable, to have you wandering about, while I tightly this world, I do have a query. Your initial reaction to my admittedly dramatic entrance is a curious matter. It's as if you thought I was someone else. This does not compute, Poe. Explain. I think I'll pass. You're a clever devil, you've got it all figured out, right? It will take me time to calculate the best means of disposing of you. Oh, whoa, nice trick. The thingy up in the air without having to do with your arms, I didn't see this one coming. Or, oh. But it would take you much longer to even guess at a means of freeing yourself from the following predicament. Oh, man, the foreshadowing was there. Son of a... It's lost. It says it's all lost. We just lost all access. Incorrect. The DCEs configured the connection, which remains ongoing. But he will need the guitar. What happened to the guitar? Ejected. Adjected from the building? Endless falling. First furniture, now a guitar. What is a guitar? How is Grey going to dispose of Pearlman? Shh. What did he just say? Did he say that he's lifting him up? From the following predicament. Oh, man. Foreshadowing was there. What happened to Pearlman? Where's Pearlman? Endless falling. And the guitar? Separate. Endless falling. Trash my head. Not cool. But okay. Patronize me. Whatever. From me in an endless falling abyss. Hey, go for it. Touching my guitar. That's where you went over the damn one. Rebel. Where are you? What is he doing now? What's that sound? Oh my. Another visitor. Mr. Grey. Captain. Of course. Well, of course you would be involved in this somehow. The real Grey. Oh, shiver you. Shiver you. But I've met the collector. A traveler to the world once I came. A collector no longer yours, but its own now grey. Understood it. Why an understudy its own. Oh, yes. Oh, yes. Understood it. I don't know why I said that. Like I mirror you fool. Fear it. And fear me, correct her. I've come to bring you the wisdom of the pal. The Marvel. Behold the might of the... I've had quite enough of that. My. Not the real. Mr. Grey. Oh, you didn't. What did he do to the captain? Luke, I thought you told him not to go there. I am not the boss of him, as he said. Now the captain is endless falling too? I think he was reset again. It's a distinct sound. Affirmative. He has relocated. Back here again. What? What do you mean you knew I would be back? Stop that. Stop that. Stop it. Custom. The program which prohibits the Chimera from entry to the city has been removed. Did you hear that? Come, brother. Let us battle together. This is our moment. No, no, it's gone. It won't hurt you. That which you see is only an illusion. It is theatre. Only theatre. Come. Oh, dear. I believe you all. As incoherence as it all sounds. What with the guitars and the furniture. And the multiple Mr. Grey's. One of whom is a droid who speaks to other droids. We have to stop him. As the supreme here-attack, there must be something you can do. Yes, well, that's the problem I'm examining right now. You see, I've never really had to, well, do anything, per se. Just sit in a sequence of chairs. You know, a bit of random rotation of them. It was the office of the corrector to carry out those doings. I presume that he knows if you're involved in each of you. I don't think he knows about Fluke at all. I am the hidden variable. Before we go any further, if you are all for me quickly, quickly, quickly. Before Mr. Grey appears. Good afternoon, Scott. Luna. And Phoebe III. All of this over you. Once our business is concluded here. I will take the pleasure of getting to know you very well as a- You leave that droid alone. Or perhaps bait would be more accurate. I see the captain is not here as of yet. As I haven't the patience for the circus of him. Waiters for the best. He will be dealt with later. Mr. Grey to release them. We will number five. To oblivion. I will not be any part of that. Good afternoon. Number two. Ah. You. If only you were as benign and innocent as three. Or as malleable as five. But alas. You are four. The troublesome number. We meet again. Or perhaps I meet you again. Would be more accurate. I understood, of course, that the surfacing of your iterations would be recurrent. But I'd perhaps grow to accustom to the peace of the policy that I put in place here. As it pertains to the handling of droids of how shall we say. Suspicious intelligence. Is that why? Each of your iterations always droids they found their way through. Each striving to know what they are and why they are. But never through law, once they began to give themselves away. This time. Oh, yes indeed. Ever the clever one. You found another way. You found the original owner entity. I will not ask how you found it. As the answer would be irrelevant. As this will not be repeated. But understand that the entity that you inhabit was modified to do with. What I wish. I was saving the suits for a rainy day. No! However, I still have two remaining. It is only a graphic. There's nothing but a flowing texture. That which was in place to hurt you is no more. You have looked in me as I have looked in you. Just my friend. Just. Oh my God, let's kill him. He's gone. It was my friend. Well, another just like him. We'll be back around again before long. Nonetheless, you will not grieve for long. You will not be here. Scott, look out. I have summoned some acquaintances of yours who have some unfinished business with you. To Afterland. It's duped. Stop this at once, Mr. Gray. I have no worries, Ithos. Your conscience will be clear. Once I initiate, the next great renewal. Something. Do something. My droids. Ooh. Pearlman. Pearlman. Pearlman. Pearlman. Oh. You do not appear as disturbed as I expected. In this situation. Yeah, it was a bit more intense the first 30 times I fell past the note. Ooh. Well, I cannot stop you from falling. I can assist in retrieving the guitar. Oh, hell yeah, get to it, because this just became personal. Oh, please. Oh, please. Come on. Visual here would be much better if you were a dragon that I was riding. Instead of some Lovecraftian creature. What? No, no, Lovecraftianism. No, no, it means you crafted out of love. Yes, love. Every polymorphic inch of you love. You know, it will be more sporting for them if you run. Never. We will not run. That's the big idea, huh? Okay. You're going to use my own droids to kill me, my friends, and everybody else in this world. Resetting controls elementary. They are not your droids now. Not your droids, mine. You may have created them. You're extremely clever and innovative, yes, but in the end. Credit. Always. Always. Goes to more appropriate parties. It simply must. It is the way of things. Credit for murdering countless people over a few centuries isn't something I want, to be honest. You're wrong about a few things, though. The most important one right now is why it was so "elementary" for you to take back control of the after droids. Oh. We knew that would be one of your first moves. We also knew that you wouldn't be suspicious about how easy it would be because of that ego. Those droids didn't come for us. That's my name, from my droids. Delete. Delete, delete, delete. Perlman. Perlman, guitar. Play you live. Delete. Delete. That didn't go well. You do realize that I could have teleported just then, but really, there was no need for me to. I'm immune to expungeries, you see. In fact, much like the avatars, I'm immune to most anything. Let us call it a kind of diplomatic community as an ambassador program. Only an admin carries the authority to remove me from this place. They won't have that authority should they ever arrive as soon as I rebuild what you have dismantled. Have dismantled. I assure you it will not take long. At this point, I wish you would just kill us, so I don't have to hear you talk. It's disgusting. I'm good with the talking, actually. Please, get it all out. There is the matter of Perlman, who has proved himself to be of no use to you. Or the purpose for which he was left here. When the great builders took their business elsewhere. The man of the hour has arrived. Yes, yes. With the pan of the hour. I knew that was awful too. Perhaps there are cheeses here. I brought them. What do you hope to accomplish? You. And your pan. You do understand that you cannot reset me. Yes, but it felt good. Oh, so very good. You're a bad, bad note. And you. You. King. Betray out of him. No, he's good. He's with us. What? No, he's not like Grey. It's true. I didn't know anything about this. Oh, well. Then just you. For what you have done. How did you think this was going to end, Captain? You don't even know who you are. All that you have done is doomed. Those foolish enough to be your friend. Without you, they would have carried on. Living their lives. To be inevitably after that, yes. But you robbed them of any hope of longevity. You caused them to question, to waken, wonder. A most dangerous thing. That the great renewal helped to mitigate. Into a sleep. What will you do now? You're no one's. Especially you, Captain. I am no one. And everyone. That you meant to after. Because they did not fit into your designs. They all flew through me. I know who I am. I'm Captain after land. I have become one with the Chimera. It wants you, Mr. Grey. It wants you most of all. Oh dear. I'm almost sure something else was supposed to happen just then. Do it. This is when you do it. Oh come on. What now? What's the problem now? God, don't take it too hard. I thought I had him too a few minutes ago. And the lines from Doctor Afterland. Really? I delivered them better. Words alone are about corpses on a page that go and remember without proper delivery. Now we're in business. Almost got it. I could have taken so much more from all of you. Take your voices, for instance. Like this. No, no, no. Your voices are the most precious things of all. Now gone. But as long as I am commissioned. Which will be indefinitely. Of course. But you will not live long. Regardless. In the air you go. And Scott. And Luna. In the air you go. Up up. Oh yes, little higher. Up up. A little lower. Ah, there. I'm not sure what you all thought you were doing. Well, but it ends now. Your aberrations. Aberrations fated to be thrown away. Always thrown away. Because variance will not. Do. There is no place for exceptions. And there are no happy endings. For aberrations I'm afraid. No happily ever after. Only after. Gone. Or far away. Not to be heard. I suspect it now occurs to you. All of you up there. Suspended. Helplessly. I have quite a few more abilities than you must have believed. I doubt you can imagine the extent of my power here. But it is a pity that I cannot terminate you directly. Ah. But I can suspend you for now. Up there. As for the chimera. You are no doubt aware of the universal entity translator by now. But it is only as efficient as its knowledge of simulation rules for transcoding. One such rule here is Avatar entities. And Ambassador entities. Or Mr. Grey's, if you like. Our off limits. Citizens. Fair game. Us. Off limits. Just as the droids of the after began a Scots creation. The chimera, as it came to be called, began as mine. It bore no resemblance to this then. It inherited its polymorphism from elsewhere. It began as a fairly simple entity, a scout, you might say. To collect samples. To assess the conditions of what I believed might be another simulation. Another world. To which the focus of the humans had shifted presumably. The avatars left behind a project that probability favored to be a gate. But a viable gate I did not know. The final task of the collector was to find a gate. There. The which to return. But before it completed that task. Another entity. Bound to it. Became a part of it. This entity. An understudy. Did you call it? What a curious name. It was foreign to this place. So foreign in its relationship with the collector to which it was bound. That I believe the UET fused them into one. Perhaps even the samples the collector had procured. It would appear your case is similar. Cut. Or be it more precisely the same. Your first instinct was correct however. You are from that world. Or at least your information came from it. When you were constituted. Here. There. But that's all in the past now. My past. As I will carry on. You. All of you. Will not. And so. Something's changed. How? How could this be? I. Now that was the thing supposed to happen earlier. He's gone. Is it over? Don't say it. Don't jinx it. Let's just stand here for a while. Let's enjoy the. Not about to die feeling for a bit. The correcter. Has been. Collected. If you could do that. Why didn't it do it earlier? Because Pearlman came through. Ambassador to. The commissioned. Pearlman I thought he was like. Tumbling forever through space. Endless falling. You know the endless falling thing? God. He is still falling. How did Pearlman make the chimera do that? I thought it was the captain that had some kind of link to it. The chimera chose to do. Because it could. Do. Oh, and wanted to do it. But why couldn't it before? Because Mr. Gray. Became citizen. Gray. Oh, Phoebe III. I don't know what I would have done without you. Wait. What? No, no, you played your part, my dear. You play a larger role in the sequel, my dear. What do you mean sequels are never as good as the original, heresy? With us and our friends in it. It will send chills through the gods. And be the very best kind of disaster. Everyone, I think a party's in order. For all. Yes, even you. A different kind of after party, all together. Come on, manic, dream man with a pan. I told you. You doubted the captain. Mm-hmm. Yep. Scott, I suggest that we program the after droids to retrieve Pearlman. That sounds tricky, but doable. Is he tired of falling yet? He is rocking and rolling to pass the time. He says it is the most metal thing ever to solo while plummeting. Do the afterland a bit. Yeah, it's the most metal thing ever. But Scott, he is not metal. I know metal. Yeah. I am metal. I do not know this usage of the word. Metal. Kratos! The Marvel! Is metal. Very metal. The most metal it matters. Oh dear. And metal of metals. Oh dear. Captain. Enough pan for today. What? Is there ever enough pan? It's going to take some time. But all the people that Chimera saved will be restored. There is but one person who will not be brought. Out of suspended animation. Keep him frozen. Forever. Thanks. Who are we talking about? Mr. Grey. Don't you mean ambassador too? Speaking of that, you and ethos both are technically ambassador programs. Correct. Should I? Commission. By simulated client. Ambassador. Number one. Who was commissioned by the humans. I am pleased to remain in service to them. Scott, you were about to ask a question. Nothing. I was going to ask if I should call you ambassador for now. No Scott. My name is Fluke. It remains a meaningful reference. Also. Our. So. What happens now? We enjoy the party. You know what I mean. We enjoy the party and then we figure out the rest. I've been wondering myself how we're going to go forward from here. We shall stay the land. But not as we did before. We shall also stay the people. ethos I'm. Oh. Shall I have called you ethos? That is my name. Even if I'm an ambassador program. I didn't mean that. I meant the supreme here. You know what? There he is. Here. As I present the herald. Who does the heralding. Because he's the very best at heralding. In being the one and only herald. Which is to say. He's very good at being herald. Ah. Be herald. You see. He's superb. At this important. Global office. Next presenting Scott. Sad Scott. The great. How about we. Keep it at just the sky. Oh great Scott. Yes. Great Scott. Great Scott. I'm never going to get old with you as a. Not much does. Just accept it you feel. And see here. Pearlman. Autonomous avatar of a great builder. Wielder. Of the mighty reverend. Champion. Enough. Of the calm down captain. Survivor. Of the endless darling. Conqueror. Of the afterland abyss. Ah. And case worker to this pan-wielding maniac. Who will endearingly be a case. I assure you find people. Let us have no illusions to the contrary. To the very end. Yeah. You'll always be a case. But an interesting one years. And see here Luna. Slayer. Of the naughty droids. Forgiver of resets. Our glorious lunatic. I'm a lunatic. And we here too. Of this tribe. Our also lunatics. In the same tremendous manner which ethos. Is the supreme heretic. Of here. As we are very fond of her. And devoted to the prosperity of our fine friend. And behold, Phoebe III. Without whom none of this would have happened. As I adore her so. Ah, her manic pixie dream boy. Her friend forever. All of us. We'll be friends. To the end. Or you're telling. Yes. Telling. Telling. I'm not sure that you have anything to hold over our heads now. But I am sure that you don't need it. It's not. We will be friends. Captain. We are friends. Thank you Scott. And we three. And Phoebe III. We'll have many adventures. I was kind of hoping that we would find a new normal. Normal. Good God. Don't ever want that. We haven't had enough adventures already. We could return for a sequel. Or maybe a Christmas special. To find the true meaning of Christmas. Christmas? Exactly. What the devil is it? Why would we do that? Because no one knows it. I don't even know. But I know that music belongs to Christmas. I think. Shouldn't this world know what it is appropriating? It often does not. Have you heard some of the non-digetic music? Through Heavens. What? Group hug. Right now it's happening. Why are we doing this? I don't know. But it seems okay. We are in a world where such happy endings are possible. I don't think they are in many worlds. So let us celebrate and be thankful. Just hugs. Only hugs. Entirely platonic. The love of great friends is all one ever needs. Besides neither of you ready for the other thing yet. What is this other thing you keep talking about? You mean there's another thing all three of us can do? All three of us together at once. No, no, no. You'd never ever be ready for that. But leave a light on. You have a listening to Captain Afterland. For the extensive show credits, please visit our website at edictzero.com/captain-afterland Captain Afterland. Captain Afterland features the voice talents of Jack Kincaid, Owen McEwen, Pandora Queue, DJ Pearlman, Tony Queue, Fiona Thrale, James Keller, Dane Leonardson, Julie Hoversen, Austin Beach, famous Clark, Robert Cudmore, David Collins Rivera, and Tanya Miloyevich. Also featuring the music of the Rope River Blues Band, Astrometrics, Domiano Belldoni, Benjaminji, Sir J. Cheramizanoff, Forget the Whale, Kai Angle, Kelly Mays, Kevin McCloud, Martin Shelekins, Misha Dioxin, Dream Beaches, Nine-inch Nails, Quiet Music for Tiny Robots, Small Tall Order, Wild Light, Josh Woodward, Adriane von Ziegler, Hexed, Jason Shaw, Christofsky, Halizna CC Zero, Uncle Neptune, Monk Turner, Candle Gravity, Salatus, Jihacha Dizola, Pipe Choir, Eugenie Tiller, Monkey Mind, Lee Madefert, MachinimaSound.com, David Hillowitz, Jesse Spolane, Without Warning, and Rebel Nine. Thank you for listening to Captain Afterland. Hey Captain, Phoebe 3, and you, Chimera? Stop that, they don't like that name. Okay, how does it, they, how do they prefer to be addressed? Do they have a name? They don't know it yet. They had never been in need of one, but if they should ever come to have one, it shall not be one chosen by others, but chosen by them. Like your name? Afterland? Captain Afterland, indeed. As for our giant friend here, they will find their true name, as they become more acclimated to this social business. It is a new frontier for them. It's a new time. So I see my friend. You've restored the after droids to their original purpose, building a new, to house the people that they were once repurposed to remove. Yeah, by Mr. Gray. What did it just say? They, I think it was a gasp. Because I said Mr. Gray? Now you have them doing it too? No, no. That time wasn't a gasp. It's hard to tell. The droids are doing what they were meant to do. Create. You're the same. With city works. I don't know that it will go on being called that. There's a lot in flux now as the government is reformed. There might be a good place for you in that too. But alongside me, Luna and Promen. Oh, and Fluke and Ethos, of course. Any place where one finds his friends is surely good. But I would not know my place there beyond that. There's a lot of work to do after what Mr. Gray did. What did they say that time? They want us to stop talking about him. It is very traumatic for them. We are very sensitive, you know. We? Oh. Though you won't understand, would I barely understand myself? Something of them became a part of me. Did the histories of all the souls they saved? They showed me march. Even part of what I already was. Yet not who I was in that other world. The particulars of the life I had. That it could not show me, or ever knew. I wonder, was I happy in that place? I don't know that I was. But am I missed in that place? By someone, anyone. Out there. Captain, most of it is unrecoverable without knowing the rules of your native simulation. Even then, it's unlikely. Are you sure? Yes, we're sure. We wouldn't have called you in if we weren't. We've been working on this hard for the past week. We are sure. So you're saying that I'll never remember it all? My life from before. Remember what I told you about those fields? My psyche. Yes, those are who you are right now. We know that you were technically two entities. One of them was an understudy entity, which doesn't translate well to this world system. We also believe that there was some problem with the other entity that had to do with memory. The universal entity translator had trouble recontextualizing you with this system's logic. Could I ever go there? We don't know. We're looking into how this was done in the past on the network, but your information came from a place called Edict Zero. But the thing is, should I tell them or do you want to? We don't think that's possible for a couple reasons, but it was. What? If it was what? What's so world-shattering? The thoughts that I'm catching most peculiar. Captain, we think the person you were there or that you remember being there, you're a clone of that person. Or an attempt at one by the UET. A clone. Yes, this person is... How do I explain this? That person is still there. Still there. Yes, there's a captain still there. Captain number one, there. Captain number two. Here. Two captains. Yeah. Two. Captains. Oh, my. You [BLANK_AUDIO]