Podcast
Power from the Blazing Stone
Hosted by Alexander Augustus · EN
Time is running out for Merryn! In this utopic vision of the deep future of mining, a young girl and her CL500 Mining Unit are in search of fabled Cornish lithium. Follow their journey among the granite hills of Cornwall, set to a whistling chorus of curlews, as the pair traverse the pitfalls of human greed and robotic destruction to strike a balance for the common good. Will they pass the test?
5episodes
Episodes
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Power from the Blazing Stone - Part V - Nature Comes Knocking
Sep 17, 202100:14:47Tap to summarizeThe conclusion of Merryn and Corin's adventure. The girl and robot reconvene with their classmates to discover the true nature of the test.“As Merryn made her way to Gwennap Pit Speaking Place, the mild night soothed her worry. The moon had not yet risen above the tors, and there was a strong wind which stirred the long grass and foxgloves, and sang through the gorse bushes which grew near the meadows. A light rain washed her. The green plovers were up and about, and their pee-wits made the loneliness of the scene seem less lonely. The whoo-whoo-whoo of a short-eared owl echoed. Merryn was getting wet and tired; she crawled up into Corin’s inner capsule, which sheltered the girl and wheeled them through the night. In the insulated quiet of the capsule, she thought about her classmates and friends. “I can’t believe they would drill so recklessly, just for the sake of a competition.” She pictured Nessa with hair the copper of autumn sunlight, and chubby Zennor with a will as tough as iron - idealists, Merryn had thought, not people who would betray their principles for profit.”
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Power from the Blazing Stone - Part IV - Spirits Above, Spirits Below
Sep 16, 202100:10:39Tap to summarizeCorin questions Merryn about the nature of humanity versus technology - and where nature falls in that equation.“Over the next several hours they tested a few different sites, extracting samples and looking for an elusive geothermal spring. The samples came out in cylinders of earth, in which holes, cracks, rubble or clay indicated fluid movement. As they went they found more of these signs, which led Merryn to believe they were going the right way. And though the sun was riding high beyond the meridian, the disturbances they left behind were minimal.”
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Power from the Blazing Stone - Part III - The Mother of Blazing Stone
Sep 15, 202100:09:42Tap to summarizeMerryn tells Corin of her favourite story - The Mother of Blazing Stones - and they stumble upon a revelation.“Merryn bid the stone circle a good day and set out for the granite-crowned hills which guarded the moors to the east. The sun was rising over the heads of the highest tors and from every direction they could hear all manner of drilling, pumping and roasting going on from her classmates and their Units. The scoreboard in the sky was exploding periodically, and now read, “Nessa: 1, Arluth: 3, Sally: 1, Zennor: 1, Sam: 1, Gwenno: 2, Alistair: 1, Merryn: 0.”
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Power from the Blazing Stone - Part II - Nightmares
Sep 14, 202100:10:35Tap to summarizeMerryn reflects on the horrors of the past, and sets about planning for the future.“The eastern sky grew wonderful with dawn. As the day became brighter, a soft grey mist rose from the ground and made the moors look like a dream landscape. But young Merryn had been caught up in nightmares. She awoke inside her Mining Unit, which rocked gently on its colossal ring, humming a soothing melody. They had slept in the centre of a neolithic stone circle bearing nineteen proud granite faces, now softened by the morning mist. Off in the distance the piercing clang of heavy drilling could be heard as the young Earthborns sought their quota of lithium. Merryn peered from her Unit, and the numbers in the sky glowed through the haze. “Nessa: 0, Arluth: 1, Sally: 0, Zennor: 0, Sam: 0, Gwenno: 0, Alistair: 0, Merryn: 0.” Corin’s timer, displayed at Merryn’s request, now read, “16:46:30.”
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Power from the Blazing Stone - Part I - The Great Reboot
Sep 13, 202100:11:05Tap to summarizeThe adventure begins! Merryn and Corin are inducted into their most tricksy task yet!“Merryn Tregonning leapt through the humid Cornish summer night, toppled over the branches of a grasping hawthorn tree and somersaulted through sweet-smelling long grass. “Keep up Corin, we’re late!” Corin was the name of Merryn’s CL500 Mining Unit, half a ton of condensers, circuits, relays, and vacuum cells which could assemble, or disassemble, almost anything on command. The mechanisms of the Unit were encased within a torus shell of smooth metal, and though heavy, it moved ingeniously, barely bending the grass as it steered its vast mass with phenomenal delicacy.”
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