Episode 13.11 - Downfall - Part 11

Summary

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The Strata – Episode 13.11: "Downfall – Part 11"

Podcast Host: Mark R. Healy
Release Date: March 31, 2026

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Episode Overview

In a tense, dystopian city, lines blur between vengeance and survival. This episode is a turning point in the "Downfall" arc, focusing on the revelation of Jade’s mysterious past, the tragic roots of her and Mr. Solari’s crusade, and the dark consequences of their actions. Secrets are exposed as Detective Kavanaugh, Detective Summers, and Jade face the man behind the door—a figure whose arrival will transform everything they thought they knew. The episode explores deep questions of morality, sacrifice, and the ripple effects of resistance in a corrupt society.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Interrogation and Revelations

[02:05–05:57]

• Detectives Summers and Kavanaugh detain a suspicious figure hanging around their building—a man in a hoodie, later revealed as Mr. Solari, searching for someone.
• Suspicion & Stakes:
  • Summers and Kavanaugh debate whether to bring the stranger inside, fearing he might be linked to their enemy, Archer.
  • Mr. Solari claims he’s Jade’s brother and presents proof via photographs on his phone.

Detective Kavanaugh [04:25]:
“I’ve seen you on surveillance cams in the joint more than once, so how about we just cut the bullshit?”

2. The Truth About Jade’s Identity

[05:57–09:43]

• Mr. Solari explains he’s tracked Jade using a hardware implant he alone has access to, set up for emergencies.
• Jade is brought out and, upon seeing Solari, expresses no recognition—evidence the memory wipe has worked.

Mr. Solari [07:54]:
“That’s okay. It’s understandable, I guess the wipe must have worked.”

3. Rebuilding Jade’s Lost Past

[10:50–13:15]

• At Jade’s urging, Solari begins their story from childhood: parents were factory workers for Blaine Industrial, a company that cut corners and exposed staff to toxins.
• Both parents died of mysterious illness; Solari and Jade, orphaned, were evicted and forced onto the streets due to missing foster care paperwork.

Mr. Solari [13:03]:
“When our parents passed, it turned our world upside down... So once they were gone, the company evicted us.”

4. From Victims to Hacktivists

[14:51–17:31]

• Discovering that many workers suffered similar fates, Jade and Solari became determined to retaliate against Blaine Industrial.
• They joined the grid-crawling underground, trained as hackers, and acquired a neuroshard implant for Jade (performed by Dr. Stiller) to give her advanced hacking abilities.

Mr. Solari [16:43]:
“And eventually we found a weakness... But we needed a piece of tech that could flip the game in our favor. The neuroshard.”

5. Jade’s Powers and the Aftermath

[18:14–21:31]

• Initial side effects included headaches and amnesia, but Jade’s abilities quickly surpassed expectations: she can penetrate any digital system, in real time.
• Detective Kavanaugh realizes Jade’s visions are manifestations of the neuroshard's data feeds.
• The neuroshard even shields Jade’s identity on the grid, blocking digital traces.

Mr. Solari [21:19]:
“The shard is constantly searching the grid for references to Jade’s identification... as a security measure, it blocks any traffic streams that might compromise her security and anonymity.”

6. Project Downfall: Mercy or Murder?

[21:42–24:46]

• Solari and Jade launched "Project Downfall"—a systematic campaign to murder Blaine Industrial’s infrastructure.
• They sabotaged factory hardware, disabled safeguards, and triggered catastrophic failures, killing workers.
• Detectives confront the ethics of their actions. Solari rationalizes that the deaths spared workers a slow death by toxins.

Detective Summers [24:06]:
“How can you sit there so casually and say something like that about the deaths of innocent people?”

Mr. Solari [24:11]:
“Those workers were probably gonna suffer the same fate as our parents. In all likelihood, we saved them from a slow and painful death.”

7. Memory Wipe: The Ultimate Escape

[25:02–29:00]

• Fearing capture, they had Dr. Stiller engineer a memory wipe in Jade’s neuroshard, erasing all incriminating knowledge—including personal relationships.
• Detective Kavanaugh questions whether the wipe was really about protecting Jade or just Solari.

Detective Kavanaugh [28:03]:
“This was all for your protection and yours alone, wasn’t it?... So what’s to gain from wiping her memories at that point? It sure as shit wouldn’t help her. Only you.”

8. Hope for Reclaiming Jade’s Mind

[29:32–30:22]

• Solari reveals periodic memory “backups” were created and stored offline with Dr. Stiller. With Stiller gone, urgency intensifies—Jade’s memories can only be restored using specialized equipment.
• The backup data is safe with Solari, but the correct hardware is rare and dangerous to access.

Jade Solari [30:06]:
“Wait, so my memories are on a data chip or something? And I can get them reinstalled.”

9. A New Threat: The Hunters Close In

[31:09–32:42]

• Summers receives an encrypted video transmission—Archer’s team is hunting a new high-value target: Mr. Solari.
• The circle tightens as Solari realizes Archer likely extracted Stiller’s secrets, and now both siblings are targets.

Detective Summers [32:08]:
“So Archer got Stiller and made him talk. That has to be it. I guess those safeguards didn’t work after all.”

Detective Kavanaugh [32:18]:
“They know who you are, Solari. And that can only mean one thing. They’re coming for you now as well.”

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Mr. Solari [18:51]:
  “It allows Jade to instantly hack into anything that’s connected to the grid... It was like winning the lottery.”

• Detective Kavanaugh [24:27]:
  “Oh, that’s a convenient way to rationalize murder, isn’t it?”

• Jade Solari [29:00]:
  “I feel hopeless... these visions just keep coming at random.”

• Mr. Solari [30:14]:
  “But we need to hurry. We need to get back to Dr. Stiller’s clinic so he can carry out the procedure.”

---

Key Timestamps

• [02:05] – Start of main story (detaining the stranger)
• [07:54] – Jade’s memory loss confirmed
• [10:50] – Solari begins the family backstory
• [14:51] – Revealing Blaine Industrial’s crimes
• [16:43] – Discovery and installation of the neuroshard
• [21:19] – How the neuroshard protects Jade’s identity
• [23:39] – Admission of sabotage causing deaths
• [25:02] – Explanation of the memory wipe
• [28:03] – Debate: memory wipe motives
• [29:32] – Revealing existence of memory backups
• [31:21] – Encrypted message: Solari becomes the hunted

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Tone & Atmosphere

Taut and confessional, the language is charged with loss, guilt, resolve, and simmering dread. Detectives actively challenge Solari, while Jade stumbles through fragments of identity and traumatic fallout. The episode’s moral ambiguity lingers, refusing easy answers.

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Summary for Non-Listeners

This is a pivotal episode where long-standing mysteries about Jade’s past and abilities are laid bare. Mr. Solari’s emotional confession reveals a tragic origin story and the full extent of a revolutionary, but deadly, campaign against corporate oppression. The consequences—personal, legal, and ethical—are dire for everyone involved. The detection team is forced to confront complicity and survival in a city that punishes the powerless, while a vicious corporate enemy closes in, ratcheting up the suspense for the story’s next phase.

Transcript

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[Detective Summers]

It's not a battle.

[Mr. Solari]

So glad the Saja boys could take

[Jade Solari]

breakfast and give our meal the rest of the day.

[Detective Kavanaugh]

It is an honor to share.

[Mr. Solari]

No, it's our honor. It is our larger honor.

[Jade Solari]

No, really, stop.

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[Mr. Solari]

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[Narrator (Podcast Host)]

You're listening to the Strata A Beyond the dark production season 13 downfall part 11.

[Detective Summers]

Cal, are you still there? What do you want me to do with the guy in the hoodie? I'm waiting for an answer.

[Detective Kavanaugh]

Yeah, yeah, I'm here, Summers. I. I'm just trying to sort this out in my head.

[Detective Summers]

Well, make up your mind. I can't stand here in the alley with this guy forever.

[Detective Kavanaugh]

We need to talk to this guy, find out who he is and what he wants. But it needs to be done somewhere private.

[Detective Summers]

I could take him somewhere deserted if you like. An old warehouse, maybe.

[Detective Kavanaugh]

No, I. I can't risk taking Jade out in the streets again. And I don't want to leave her here alone. That only leaves us one choice.

[Mr. Solari]

You.

[Detective Kavanaugh]

You need to bring him up here.

[Detective Summers]

Are you sure you want to let him in? If he's part of Archer's team, he could lead them straight to you.

[Detective Kavanaugh]

The bastard's been hanging around the building for days. If he wanted to bring Archer here, he could have easily done it by now.

[Detective Summers]

Yeah, okay. But whatever you decide, make it fast. Kev, People are looking at us.

[Detective Kavanaugh]

Bring him up, Summers. Let's do it. I'll see you soon, Detective.

[Jade Solari]

What's happening?

[Detective Kavanaugh]

I need you to disappear again for a minute.

[Mr. Solari]

Jade, just.

[Detective Kavanaugh]

Just step into the next room while we figure out what's happening with the guy in the hoodie.

[Jade Solari]

Okay, if you think that's best.

[Detective Kavanaugh]

Leave it to us. We'll. We'll call for you if we need you. Just right this way. Come on in, Summers. Sit him down right here. Yeah. Yeah, that's good.

[Mr. Solari]

Hey, watch it.

[Detective Kavanaugh]

All right, let's pull that hood aside, see what we've got here.

[Detective Summers]

Do you recognize him? Nah.

[Detective Kavanaugh]

Never seen this guy in my life.

[Mr. Solari]

Who are you? What do you want with me?

[Detective Kavanaugh]

I don't think you're in any position to start demanding answers. How about you go first? Why have you been hanging around this building?

[Mr. Solari]

Me? I was minding my own business out on the street when this wacko came up and grabbed me for no reason.

[Detective Kavanaugh]

Bullshit. I've seen yon surveillance case in the joint more than once, so how about we just cut the bullshit? It'll be easier on all of us.

[Mr. Solari]

All right, if you really want to know, I'm looking for someone.

[Detective Kavanaugh]

Who?

[Mr. Solari]

That's none of your business.

[Detective Kavanaugh]

You think this person is in the building somewhere?

[Mr. Solari]

I know she is.

[Detective Kavanaugh]

She? You're looking for a female. Tell me your name. I know a lot of the tenants here. I could probably point you in the right direction.

[Mr. Solari]

Sure, if I can just grab something from my pocket.

[Detective Summers]

Hands. Hands, asshole.

[Mr. Solari]

I'm just reaching for my phone.

[Detective Kavanaugh]

Yeah, it's all right, Summers. Let him go.

[Mr. Solari]

Shit. You guys are touchy. Here. This is her. Have you seen her around anywhere?

[Detective Kavanaugh]

A young woman, huh? What's her name, and what do you want her for?

[Mr. Solari]

Her name is Jade. She's my sister.

[Detective Kavanaugh]

You got any proof of that?

[Mr. Solari]

Sure. Take a look through the phone. There are plenty of pictures of the two of us.

[Detective Kavanaugh]

What do you think, Summers? Could these be forgeries?

[Detective Summers]

I'm no expert in image manipulation, but they look real enough to me.

[Detective Kavanaugh]

What's your name?

[Mr. Solari]

Mr. Solari.

[Detective Kavanaugh]

I'm Detective Kavanaugh, Midtown Petey.

[Mr. Solari]

So have you seen her around? She's been missing for a few days now.

[Detective Kavanaugh]

And why do you think Jade is in this building, Solari?

[Mr. Solari]

I have a tracker. Jade and me set it up a while back in case she ever became Lost? It led me straight here.

[Detective Summers]

Why would she become lost? Does she have a history of going missing?

[Mr. Solari]

It's a long story.

[Detective Kavanaugh]

Oh, great. I'm just in the mood for one of those. Let's hear it.

[Mr. Solari]

Listen, I need to find her fast. If you have any knowledge of where she might be, I'd really appreciate it if you could tell me.

[Detective Kavanaugh]

I may be able to help you, but first I need to hear some more details. Let's start with this tracker. How does it work?

[Mr. Solari]

It's hardware based. Jade has an implant.

[Detective Kavanaugh]

And what kind of implant?

[Mr. Solari]

Why is that important?

[Detective Kavanaugh]

Because I want to know if your story rings true or not.

[Mr. Solari]

It's some old school tech buried inside her head. Okay,

[Detective Kavanaugh]

how many people have access to the tracker?

[Mr. Solari]

Only me. We designed it that way so that if she ever became lost, I'd be the only one who could find her. Now, where is she?

[Detective Kavanaugh]

Wait a second. We're just getting started here. Jade.

[Mr. Solari]

Keep it going.

[Detective Kavanaugh]

Jade, are you here? Huh?

[Mr. Solari]

It's me, Solana.

[Detective Kavanaugh]

Alert the whole damn neighborhood. Jade. Keep that door closed.

[Jade Solari]

I can hear every word you're saying, and I want to see.

[Detective Kavanaugh]

Well, I guess there's no point in trying to hide you now. The cat's out of the bag, isn't it? You might as well sit down with us.

[Mr. Solari]

Oh my God, you're alive. Jade, I was so worried.

[Jade Solari]

I. I'm sorry, I don't recognize you. I've never seen you before in my life.

[Mr. Solari]

That's okay. It's understandable, I guess the wipe must have worked.

[Detective Kavanaugh]

Well, what wipe? What are you talking about? Solari.

[Mr. Solari]

Jade's memory has been affected, right? There's probably a whole bunch of things she can't remember. Even things about herself.

[Detective Kavanaugh]

That's right. We've been trying to piece it all together for a couple days now, but so far we haven't been able to make much headway.

[Mr. Solari]

I can explain that. In fact, I can fix this whole situation. That's why I'm here.

[Jade Solari]

You can fix my memory? Well, what are we waiting for?

[Mr. Solari]

Hang on, Jade, it's not that simple. We can't do it here. I need you to come with me right away.

[Detective Summers]

Sit down, Solari. You're not going anywhere.

[Detective Kavanaugh]

And why can't you fix it here?

[Mr. Solari]

We need access to specialized equipment. If you just let me take her, I can sort this out.

[Detective Kavanaugh]

She's not going anywhere, kid. Not until I've heard the whole story. So why don't you go back to the start and explain this mess? If you manage to convince me, then we can take the next step.

[Mr. Solari]

Sure, whatever. Okay, so three days ago.

[Detective Kavanaugh]

That's not the start. I said the whole story. I want to know who you are and how you came to be here.

[Mr. Solari]

The whole story. Right.

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[Mr. Solari]

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[Mr. Solari]

LifeLock. How can I help?

[Detective Summers]

The IRS said I filed my return, but I haven't.

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[Detective Summers]

What do I do?

[Mr. Solari]

My refund though. I'm freaking out.

[Detective Kavanaugh]

Don't worry.

[Mr. Solari]

I can fix this.

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[Detective Summers]

I'm so relieved.

[Mr. Solari]

No problem. I'll be with you every step of the way.

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[Mr. Solari]

So if you want to go all the way back, we have to start when Jade and me were kids. Is that what you want?

[Jade Solari]

Yes. I'd like to hear that. I want to know everything.

[Mr. Solari]

Right. So a long time ago, we lived in South Midtown with our parents. They were factory workers. Even though mom and dad never made a whole lot of creds, we were happy. We lived within our means. And every night we had food on the table and enough spare for a few luxuries now and then. But then dad started getting sick. It was nothing too alarming at first. He missed a few days work, lost some weight. But then the same thing happened to mom too. And that's when we realized something wasn't right. They Both went downhill fast. And it was strange because the sickness just came out of nowhere.

[Jade Solari]

Were they often sick?

[Detective Kavanaugh]

No.

[Mr. Solari]

Before that, they'd been fine. Within a few weeks of the first symptoms, though, they both became bedridden. You and me were still pretty young, Jade, and we weren't really sure what to do. So it was a relief when the company stepped in and offered to help. They gave us access to their private med crews. We had people around to administer treatment almost every day, but mom and dad just kept fading. In the end, the technicians said there was nothing they could do, and mom and dad just slipped away.

[Jade Solari]

That sounds awful.

[Mr. Solari]

It was. And maybe the worst thing was the feeling of being completely powerless to do anything to help. I still remember standing by Mom's bedside near the end, holding her shriveled hand and staring at her face. She was so withered that she'd almost become unrecognizable by the end.

[Jade Solari]

I. I don't remember what she looked like, her or dad.

[Mr. Solari]

It's probably better that you don't remember them. At least how they were in those final days.

[Detective Kavanaugh]

What happened then, Zalari?

[Mr. Solari]

When our parents passed, it turned our world upside down. The house was owned by the company and only leased to our parents. So once they were gone, the company evicted us.

[Detective Kavanaugh]

You became homeless? How could they do that to a couple of kids?

[Mr. Solari]

We were supposed to go into a foster care program, but apparently the paperwork went missing or something like that. I don't know for sure. All I do know is that without any living relatives, we had nowhere to go. That's how we ended up on the streets. And let me tell you, it wasn't easy surviving out there. We lived hand to mouth most of the time. Resorted to begging, stealing, and hustling for every scrap of food we could find. We hung in there for years, but things were getting worse all the time. We had more than a few close scrapes with the law, and we made some enemies on the streets. Had to relocate a couple times. And just by chance, we came across some old friends whose parents had worked the same company as mom and dad. They told us something that changed everything. That mom and dad weren't the only ones who'd gotten sick. As it turns out, dozens of other workers suffered the same fate. The company had been cutting costs by using cheap materials, bypassing regulations, that sort of thing. And the workers were exposed to all kinds of harmful toxins. To make matters worse, once the company realized what was happening, they decided to cover it up instead of helping people.

[Detective Kavanaugh]

That was the point of those private med crews, right? They kept everything in house on. No one outside would know about the toxins.

[Mr. Solari]

That's right. They never had any intention of helping mom and dad get better. They just stood by and let them die.

[Detective Kavanaugh]

What's the name of the company?

[Mr. Solari]

Blaine Industrial.

[Jade Solari]

They're the ones in my visions.

[Mr. Solari]

Visions?

[Detective Kavanaugh]

Yeah. We'll explain it later. Solari. Keep. Keep going with your story.

[Mr. Solari]

Okay, so, like I said, once we found out the truth about Blaine, that changed everything. From that moment on, both Jade and me realized we had a purpose. We had something to live for. So we spent every waking moment working toward our goal. We managed to make some connections, started doing fetch and carry jobs for underground grid crawlers. In time, they began to trust us enough to teach us a few tricks of the trade. Just the basics, but that was enough to get us started. We bought our own gear and made upgrades, Established more connections within the community. The more time we spent around them, the faster we picked things up.

[Detective Kavanaugh]

You taught yourself to become hackers. Why?

[Mr. Solari]

We wanted to get back at Blaine Industrial, but we. We knew that in order to really hurt them, it had to be something big. It wasn't enough to graffiti protest on the walls of their factories or throw a few bricks through their windows. We had to hit them in a way that would send a shudder through the very fabric of the company. We started by uncovering whatever we could over the grid. Personnel records, financial accounts, blueprints of their buildings.

[Detective Kavanaugh]

And?

[Mr. Solari]

And eventually we found a weakness. But in order to exploit it, we needed a way to get inside their core systems. Pass security safeguards that even some veteran grid crawlers told us would be impossible. Unless we had a piece of tech that could flip the game in our favor. Something radical. This thing in my head, Right, the neuroshard. The tech was totally obscure, old school. But a few grid crawlers in the community talked about them from time to time, Said how unreliable they could be. But they also said that with a little luck, a neuroshard could be just the game changer we'd been looking for.

[Detective Kavanaugh]

Did you know they were illegal at the time?

[Mr. Solari]

Yeah, but so what? We'd been doing illegal shit for years just to survive, so why stop?

[Detective Kavanaugh]

So do you have one of these things too? Solari? A neuro shard?

[Mr. Solari]

No. We only had enough creds for one installation, and Jade volunteered. So we scraped together our savings and went to see a doctor in Highgate City. Who agreed to perform the procedure? A guy by the name of Stiller.

[Detective Kavanaugh]

Okay, the pieces are starting to come Together. Now, what happened after the operation?

[Mr. Solari]

Well, at first, it seemed like the implant didn't work at all. Jade, you. You were suffering from really bad headaches and some memory loss, too. I thought something must have gone wrong. But then, a few days later, things started to click. The headaches went away, and the shard started to mesh with your brain tissue. I still remember the rush we both got the first time you intercepted a phone call from a total stranger down the street. We knew we were onto something.

[Detective Kavanaugh]

How does the Shard even work? What does it do?

[Mr. Solari]

It allows Jade to instantly hack into anything that's connected to the grid. Phones, surveillance, databases. And more than that, she's able to scour the grid in real time and tap into any data stream she wants.

[Detective Summers]

How does she get around the encryption?

[Mr. Solari]

We never figured out the mechanics of it. How the neuroshard turned out to be so effective. It's something to do with the way her brain and the Shard interact. There's a synergy that's beyond anything we ever expected. When we told Dr. Stiller about it, he said it was a one in a million chance that things would align like this. It was like winning the lottery.

[Detective Kavanaugh]

So it just happened that way?

[Mr. Solari]

Not exactly. It took us months of failures, trial and error, and training exercises before things came together. But once they did, Jade was unstoppable.

[Detective Kavanaugh]

Well, if what you're saying is true, that sure would explain Jade's visions.

[Mr. Solari]

You mentioned those before visions. I'm not sure I understand.

[Jade Solari]

I've been seeing visions in my head. Solari. People and places. Memories, I think. But also things that are happening in real time. I just didn't know how or why they were coming to me before now.

[Mr. Solari]

That's the Shard feeding you data, no doubt about it. I guess you're having trouble interpreting things again. Just like after the operation.

[Detective Kavanaugh]

That's how Jade was able to listen in on Captain Graham's phone call that first night. And those other things, like Russ, friends, Davina at the restaurant. She probably patched straight into the surveillance systems. But how did she know about my daughter? Annie? She's been gone for. For more than 10 years.

[Mr. Solari]

Once Jade sees your face, the Shard goes to work scouring the grid for connections to your identity. It picks up everything it can find, including historical data stretching back years or decades. Your entire past is laid bare to her. Phone calls, home movies. Or just everyday shit like you walking past a surveillance camera on your way to work. If it's out there, Jade can find it.

[Detective Kavanaugh]

What? I don't get is why she herself is a total mystery. Whenever I try searching on the grid, I can't bring up her id, no matter how hard I try.

[Mr. Solari]

The Shard is constantly searching the grid for references to Jade's identification. As a security measure, it blocks any traffic streams that might compromise her security and anonymity.

[Jade Solari]

So you're saying that I'm doing this subconsciously?

[Mr. Solari]

That's one way to think of it, but it's more like the Shard is acting as an intermediary, I guess.

[Detective Kavanaugh]

Let's not get sidetracked. Solari, what happened after you and Jade started using the Shard?

[Mr. Solari]

Well, once we began to harness the full potential of the Shard, we got carried away and did some. Well, some stupid shit. Stealing creds and messing with autocab routes to cause traffic jams, stuff like that. But eventually we got back on track and remembered why we started in the first place. We'd been given a gift, and we had to do something meaningful with it.

[Jade Solari]

Blaine.

[Mr. Solari]

That's right.

[Detective Kavanaugh]

Jade.

[Mr. Solari]

We went after Blaine Industrial. Our goal was to take the company down, make them pay for all the horrible shit they'd done to families just like ours over the years. After all, no one in power was gonna punish them, right? So we came up with a systematic plan to disrupt Blaine's operation from the inside. Mess with their production lines, paralyze automated machinery, that kind of thing. We planned to cause a series of failures that would result in the total implosion of their infrastructure. The final goal was nothing short of bankruptcy and ruin for the company. We called our operation Project Downfall.

[Detective Kavanaugh]

Damn, I don't like where this is going.

[Jade Solari]

Oh, shit. Solari, what did we do?

[Mr. Solari]

We used the Shard to hack into the core systems in Blaine's factories. One by one, we reprogrammed their hardware, configured it to operate outside of safe operating parameters, essentially forcing the hardware to malfunction. More than that, we disabled the system safeguards that were in place to protect against the malfunctions.

[Detective Kavanaugh]

You carried out deliberate acts of sabotage. You're the ones who killed those workers in those factories.

[Mr. Solari]

People were killed. Yeah, that was unavoidable. We tried to minimize the casualties where we could.

[Detective Kavanaugh]

You didn't stop the attacks even after the workers were killed?

[Mr. Solari]

We couldn't. Once we started, we had to follow through until Blaine was brought to its knees.

[Detective Summers]

How can you sit there so casually and say something like that about the deaths of innocent people?

[Mr. Solari]

Blaine has never changed their business model. They still cut corners, still use the cheapest materials. Those workers were probably Gonna suffer the same fate as our parents. In all likelihood, we saved them from a slow and painful death.

[Detective Kavanaugh]

Oh, that's a convenient way to rationalize murder, isn't it?

[Detective Summers]

Cav. This is wrong. What he just admitted to. It's unethical.

[Detective Kavanaugh]

I know that, Summers. I feel the same way as you do. But we still need a few more answers here.

[Detective Summers]

What's left to ask? They're self confessed criminals.

[Detective Kavanaugh]

Just hang on a second, okay? I need to hear the rest of the story. Solaris. What's the deal with Jade's memory loss? Can you explain any of that?

[Mr. Solari]

Well, the whole time we were carrying out Project Downfall, we were messing with some major players. Blaine is a big company with lots of resources, so we had to build in some protection. We visited Stiller again and got him to create a safeguard. I guess you could say we altered the neuroshard so that if Jade was ever captured or cornered, she'd be able to initiate a memory wipe. One that would delete any knowledge from her mind about all the shit we'd done.

[Detective Kavanaugh]

Like the crimes you committed?

[Mr. Solari]

That's right. The wight would take out everything related to downfall. The installation of the shard, the training we did, even the links to Blaine Industrial themselves, and of course, anything else that could incriminate us. Including the memories from Jade's personal life. Memories of you, me, Dr. Stiller, and anyone else we ever worked with. It was the only way to keep everyone safe.

[Detective Kavanaugh]

So Jade initiated the memory wipe. Why?

[Mr. Solari]

As our attacks escalated, Blaine got more and more desperate to stop us. Questions were finally being asked about their safety records in public. Jade and me, we were winning. So Blaine brought a team of mercs into the mix. Some real badasses, led by a guy called Archer.

[Detective Kavanaugh]

Archer? The guy with the green optics? He works for Blaine.

[Mr. Solari]

You won't find any official link between the two, but yeah, he does. He's been hunting Jade for weeks. Getting closer all the time.

[Jade Solari]

Until he finally caught me. That's what happened, isn't it?

[Mr. Solari]

I wasn't there. So I can't tell you exactly what went down, but from what I can piece together, Archer cornered you near one of the factories. You had no choice but to use the wipe. And when you did, it sent out a surge, like a massive glitch through a bunch of armed security systems nearby. They went haywire. Started shooting at indiscriminate targets. Archer and his team had to scramble for cover. And in the confusion, you managed to slip away.

[Jade Solari]

Slip away where?

[Mr. Solari]

I got wind of the situation and came as fast As I could. I used the tracker to follow you, but never managed to make it in time. You were gone.

[Detective Kavanaugh]

You must have stumbled your way to that alley near Overton's bar before you finally collapsed.

[Jade Solari]

When I woke up, my legs weren't working properly.

[Mr. Solari]

That must have been a side effect from the wipe. Dr. Stiller said something like this might happen. That the wipe could temporarily mess with your motor control and other parts of your brain.

[Detective Kavanaugh]

That would explain it, I guess. But, Solari, I can't understand why you would allow Jay to do this to herself.

[Mr. Solari]

It was for our protection.

[Detective Kavanaugh]

Let's not kid ourselves here. This was all for your protection and yours alone, wasn't it? I mean, in the event of capture, you had to know that Jade herself would be tortured and most likely killed by Archer, whoever was tasked with extracting the information. So what's to gain from wiping her memories at that point? It sure as shit wouldn't help her. Only you.

[Detective Summers]

He's right, Solari. There was only one person this memory wipe was designed to protect, and that's you. You put your sister in harm's way by making her the center of these attacks. And at the same time, you made sure to build in your own personal safety valve to distance yourself from the whole thing.

[Mr. Solari]

Jade agreed to everything. In fact, she pushed for the idea herself.

[Detective Kavanaugh]

Too bad we'll never hear her side of the story.

[Mr. Solari]

Maybe she'll get a chance to tell it if she gets her memories back.

[Jade Solari]

I don't think that's gonna happen, Solari. Right now, my head is a mess. I can't think straight, and these visions just keep coming at random. I feel hopeless.

[Mr. Solari]

That's just an artifact of the wipe. Jade. There may have been some damage to the neuroshard. Or maybe it's just because you've forgotten the training we did together. All those months of learning how to use the shard, you're struggling to control it again, so everything seems all messed up. This is what happened right after the operation.

[Jade Solari]

Are you saying there's a chance I might get my memories back in time?

[Mr. Solari]

Not without intervention. Those memories are gone now for good.

[Detective Kavanaugh]

Intervention. What does that mean?

[Mr. Solari]

We knew that if Jade was ever forced to use the wipe, it would be horrific. She'd lose all sense of self. So we organized with Dr. Stiller to make regular visits to his clinic for. Well, I guess you would call them backups. We essentially downloaded core memories to offline shards in case we ever needed to put back her old memories.

[Jade Solari]

Wait, so my memories are on a data chip or something? And I can get them reinstalled.

[Mr. Solari]

That's right, you can. But we need to hurry. We need to get back to Dr. Stiller's clinic so he can carry out the procedure.

[Detective Kavanaugh]

Ah, shit. Please don't tell me those backups were stored at the clinic.

[Mr. Solari]

No, I carry them with me right here. Why?

[Detective Kavanaugh]

You may not realize this, but Stiller's clinic was raided earlier. He's missing.

[Mr. Solari]

Dr. Stiller is. Damn it. Did Archer get to him?

[Detective Kavanaugh]

Yeah, we don't know for sure, but it's probably a good bet. In any case, you can forget about going back there. So the question is, can the memory restoration be done somewhere else outside the clinic?

[Mr. Solari]

No. The data module has to be surgically extracted from the shard itself. And for that you need specialized equipment. Old school shit. Not the kind of thing you'll find at a regular bio clinic.

[Detective Summers]

Oh, damn. Sorry to interrupt, guys, but we have some new developments here. One of my contacts just forwarded a new video and. Well, see for yourself.

[Encrypted Transmission Voice]

This encrypted transmission is being distributed to a select list of clients, and as such, it is to be treated with discretion. Do not make unauthorized copies. Do not forward to others outside the register. Our latest proposal has been updated, and my team are now pursuing an additional high value target. A dossier is included with this transmission. Inside you'll find details including physical appearance and last known location. Our previous advice still stands. Once located, details of the target's whereabouts should be forwarded to this channel. If that information results in its capture.

[Detective Summers]

Okay, I think I've seen enough.

[Mr. Solari]

The new target. It's me, isn't it?

[Detective Summers]

That's the way it looks. So Archer got Stiller and made him talk. That has to be it. I guess those safeguards didn't work after all.

[Detective Kavanaugh]

You got that right. The game is up, I'm afraid. They know who you are, Solari. And that can only mean one thing. They're coming for you now as well. Foreign.

[Narrator (Podcast Host)]

This podcast is made possible by my supporters on Patreon. If you'd like to hear ad free early release episodes as well as my exclusive series, the Strata of Luna, head over to patreon.com BeyondTheDark your support means I can keep bringing you more Seasons of the strata. Season 13, Downfall starring Jason Chiroi, Brianna Marshall, Trent Trachtenberg, Michelle Mosley, Paul Warren, Jenna Sharp, Chloe Elmore, Rebecca Tamlin, Marta Da Silva, Sarah Safarian, Larry o', Blander, Thomas Barker, Marlon Dance, Huey Liz Mori, Carl Kazmazik, Nicholas Yuen, Brad Gilliam and Alexander Hakim Stravinsky created by Mark R. Healy, a Beyond the Dark production.

[Detective Summers]

The Fable and folly network where fiction producers flourish.

[We're All Insane Podcast Host]

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