The Magnus Archives: The Magnus Protocol
Episode 48 – Temporary Positions
Release Date: August 21, 2025
Podcast Host/Creators: Rusty Quill; Created by Jonathan Sims and Alexander J. Newell
Starring: Shahan Hamza (Samalma Khalid), Anya Villette (Anya), Joji, Alice Dyer, and others
Overview
In this thought-provoking and atmospheric episode, "Temporary Positions," Samalma Khalid comes face to face with the uncertainty of being pulled between worlds. As unexplained dimensional crossings threaten the safety of the post-Incursion world, Sam seeks answers from another traveler, Anya Villette, whose quietly devastating history reveals new depth to the magnitude of crossing between realities. The episode centers on identity, displacement, and survival after horror, weaving personal stories with the broader cosmic mysteries of the Magnus universe.
Key Discussion Points & Insights
1. Sam's Sudden Disappearance and "Return"
- [06:15 — 09:15]
- Sam wakes up outside the perimeter fence in her pajamas, baffled and frightened.
- Security (Joji) finds her and is skeptical:
Joji: "Maybe I was sleepwalking."
-- “Through two locked doors and a monitored patrol circuit with nobody seeing you? No, I don't think you walked anywhere.” [07:54] - Suggestion arises that Sam is being pulled back by the dimensional "hole" she originally emerged from:
Joji: “Why would you suddenly be teleported back to the hole in the world you crawled out of? Gee, I wonder.” [08:15]
2. Dimensional Crossings and Past Incidents
- [09:50 — 11:00]
- Joji reveals that Sam isn’t the first such case — rare but documented crossings have occurred, often into the Oxford Exclusion Zone.
- The phenomenon is not centralized, and communication is patchy, creating research gaps.
- Uncertainty remains about why Sam ended up where she did, and hints that it could be related to the elusive Archivist.
3. Meeting Anya Villette – Another “Traveler”
- [11:02 — 16:56]
- Anya gives an account of her life before, during, and after falling through the cracks between worlds:
- She describes being an ordinary person (“I was nobody. Still am, really…”) and accidentally entering this world while cleaning a strange house (possibly a thin place between realities).
- Details her struggle to create an identity in a bureaucratic system where she technically didn’t exist.
- Survived Incursion differently — not having her own "domain," but drifting through “fear pockets” in a state of semi-detachment and suffering.
- Quote: “It was only once I found other people that I started to realise it was over.” [15:20]
- Anya now lives communally near Abingdon, where history, paperwork, and official records have little meaning after the world changed.
- Anya gives an account of her life before, during, and after falling through the cracks between worlds:
4. Theories on Dimensional Travel & Comparisons
- [16:56 — 18:48]
- Sam and Anya compare notes on their experiences of world-hopping.
- Discussion deepens:
Anya: “I’m pretty sure they didn’t all come from the same place. What’s something special about your world?” [17:18]
- Sam notes the burning of the Magnus Institute in 1999 as a divergence point.
- Anya suggests the use of the word “portal” is misleading:
Anya: “These are more like holes leading to the space between places.” [17:57]
5. Uncertainty and Loss
- [19:05 — 19:47]
- Anya reveals she’s never felt the pull to return to her original world, possibly due to being among the first to cross — or because her original world no longer exists. Anya: “Maybe my world’s gone and there’s nothing left to pull me back.” [19:37]
6. Sam Faces Going “Home”
- [20:18 — 22:09]
- Sam confides in Alice (her alternate’s partner in this world) that she may be returning to her own world.
- Bittersweet exchange, marked by warmth and gallows humor as they grapple with impending separation:
Alice: “Is it safe? Going back, I mean.”
Sam: “Oh, yeah, it’ll be fine.”
Alice: “You’ve always been a shit liar.” [21:44–21:47] - Sam is called away abruptly when Joji reports a sighting of the Archivist entering the exclusion zone, raising the stakes.
Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments
- Joji’s Pragmatism:
"I'd rather have a corpse I can burn than just making it your problem and hoping it all works out." [09:15] - Anya’s Isolation:
"The only thing that makes me different is that I’m not from here. But it’s just a different type of immigration, really." [11:41] - On Suffering and Alienation:
“Every time suffering. But every time as an extra. As a tourist.” [15:10] - Anya’s World-No-Longer-Exists Theory:
"Maybe my world’s gone and there’s nothing left to pull me back." [19:37] - Alice’s Deflection With Humor:
“So, am I gonna make it, Doc?”
Sam: "I honestly don't know what I expected. It's not like I can read these charts."
Alice: “Two days to live. Got it.” [21:06–21:12] - Farewell That’s Not Final:
“Go home, Sam. Go home. And don’t get yourself killed chasing this thing.” [22:09]
Timestamps for Key Segments
| Timestamp | Segment/Event | |-----------|------------------------------------------------------| | 06:15 | Sam wakes up outside the compound, bewildered | | 07:54 | Joji challenges Sam’s sleepwalking explanation | | 09:49 | Joji reveals history of previous world travelers | | 11:02 | Anya Villette introduced | | 11:40–16:56| Anya tells her story; life pre/post crossing | | 17:16 | Discussion about other travelers and world differences| | 17:57 | Anya’s “holes not portals” theory | | 19:37 | Anya theorizes her world might be gone | | 20:18–22:09| Sam and Alice’s discussion on leaving/home | | 21:47 | Joji reports a sighting of the Archivist |
Tone and Style
The episode continues The Magnus Archives’ signature blend of conversational intimacy and cosmic horror. Much of the dialogue is understated, reflective, and quietly tragic, with characters leaning on dry humor and shared trauma. The tone is marked by unease, longing, resignation—and a persistent hope for answers, even in a world irreparably changed.
Final Reflection
"Temporary Positions" explores the disorientation and loneliness of being uprooted across universes, offering a vital perspective from Anya, whose story places Sam’s experiences—and the greater Magnus world—into new, haunting context. As threats escalate with the reappearance of the Archivist, questions about identity, belonging, and the meaning of home become existentially urgent.
For listeners invested in the mythology of The Magnus Protocol, this episode deepens the lore of world-crossings while giving emotional weight to the survivors left behind—and those still searching for a way back.