The Strata After Dark - Retro - Episodes 4.4 and 4.5

Summary

The Strata After Dark – Retro Recap: Episodes 4.4 and 4.5

Podcast: The Strata
Host: Mark R. Healy
Guests: Nick and Pete
Date: July 23, 2026
Episode Focus: A behind-the-scenes discussion of Season 4, Episodes 4 and 5—a rare venture into space in the Strata universe—featuring Emily and Curran’s off-world adventure, sound design, storytelling choices, character callbacks, and thematic exploration.

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Episode Overview

This After Dark episode offers an in-depth, often humorous exploration of The Strata’s “Eradication” storyline, where Emily and Curran, blue-collar survivors of the dystopian Deadlands, venture into space aboard the Kotona. The hosts reminisce about their creative process, sound design, inspirations from classic sci-fi cinema, and hidden connections to the wider Strata narrative, while openly fielding each other’s questions about writing, worldbuilding, and Foley artistry.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

The Uniqueness of Season 4

[03:43] - [04:19]

• Nick: Highlights Season 4 as a "standout" due to its space setting and its distinct feel compared to other Strata seasons.
• Mark: Acknowledges fan feedback about space episodes and hints at possible future returns to this setting:

  "I do have plans, so it may be sooner rather than later." (Mark, [04:26])

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Theme Music & Musical Inspiration

[04:45] - [07:42]

• Nick: Notes the different, space-themed opening music.
• Mark: Explains earlier seasons featured unique music for major characters and reveals the space storyline was directly inspired by listening to Hans Zimmer’s Interstellar soundtrack:

  "Every night, I pieced a bit more of the story together. ... That is the thing that's rustling. The sound of rustling corn. In this case, it's weeds." (Mark, [06:36])
  "A little vote of thanks to Hans Zimmer for this one..."

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Worldbuilding—Tech, Culture & Language

[07:42] - [09:41]

• Reskin Therapy:
  Nick marvels at the phrase "older than your grandmother’s reskin therapy."

  "It's meant to be just a bit of a comical sort of idea of a strange medical procedure that these rich people in Highgate City might do." (Mark, [08:51])
  The team discusses imagining dystopian beauty treatments—evocative, a little grotesque, and deliberately left to the listener’s imagination.

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Sound Design & Foley Artistry

[10:08] - [10:58]; [29:42] - [38:43]

• Plaz Cutter SFX:
  Nick loves the ingenuity behind the tool sounds.

  "That one I didn't come up with those sounds myself. I think it's a combination of three or four different sounds that I've spliced in all together and modified a little bit." (Mark, [10:17])

• Ship & Creature Sounds:
  Mark reveals he often creates key Foley himself—walking on a baking tray to make the creature’s crawling SFX, drawing inspiration from "Welcome to the Machine" by Pink Floyd and classic films:

  "It's me tapping on a baking tray...then I've put it through a bunch of sound effects." (Mark, [35:57])
  "Foley design is an art form...But every now and then, I have a little dash of inspiration. Maybe the baking tray was...my moment of inspiration in this episode." (Mark, [38:43])

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Retro-Futurism Aesthetic & Influences

[11:28] - [12:40]

• Discussing the design of the space bar scene, Mark and Pete reference a 70s discotheque and "cassette futurism":

  "My whole design aesthetic for the Strata is a retro, futuristic kind of thing...anything that harks back to, like, the 70s or 80s is a win in my book." (Mark, [12:07])

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Soundscape Crafting Process

[12:40] - [14:43]

• Mark details his iterative process for early seasons: sometimes changing script details to match what could be achieved with available sound effects. Now, with more experience, he writes scripts knowing what soundscapes he can deliver:

  "These days, it's script first, and then the script goes out to the voice actors. I get their scenes back, and then I put everything together and I create the soundscapes as I'm going through with the voice files." ([13:31])

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Character & Lore Connections

[15:45] - [18:11]

• Rust Callback:
  Rust, the iconic courier, is referenced as an urban legend/mythic figure among the new spacefaring cast.

  "It's not a myth, Em. I saw him with my own eyes." (Curran, [16:38]) "I saw this as an opportunity to link this story back to the main Strata story..." (Mark, [17:41])

• Bartender’s Augment:
  Pete inquires about the prevalence of augmented limbs off-world:

  "They are more widely used in the Outer Rim..." (Mark, [16:54])

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Sci-Fi Drinks, Aliens, and Nods to Pop Culture

[19:33] - [20:15]

• The crew jokes about the "Arcturian Mai Tai"; Mark admits he just liked the sci-fi vibe of the name.

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Thematic Elements—Colonization & Resistance

[22:17] - [24:50]

• Terran Loyalists:
  The Terran Loyalists, introduced as resistance to off-world colonization, embody a major (and recurring) moral tension—should humanity spread at the cost of indigenous life?

  "There's a lot of indigenous species that have suffered at our hands." (Emily, [23:29]) "[This theme] will be revisited in a pretty major way, actually." (Mark, [24:26])

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Creature Design & Cinematic Influences

[26:19] - [28:17]

• The bio-crate squid creature’s design is discussed, with Pete likening it to the alien from the film "Life." Mark freely admits his creatures come from imagination, not drawing skills, and are intentionally functional as well as weird.
• The survival of the creature in an escape pod is flagged for possible future plotlines.

  "Maybe it's hanging out at the bar at Tao Cedi. It just wants to be free, man." (Mark, [28:49])

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Action and Pacing—Verbal Highlights

[33:32] - [35:51]

• Standout Sequence:
  Emily confronts the creature with a jury-rigged plaz cutter—a moment both gripping and reflective of the show’s blue-collar ingenuity.

  "Burn, you piece of shit. Burn." (Emily, [35:21])

• Mark on Sam Slade’s performance:

  "She's really put some feeling into that one. I love it." (Mark, [35:36])

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The Irony of Conflict

[40:05] - [41:02]

• Emily’s adversary, a Terran loyalist, is ultimately killed by the very creature she hoped to save.

  "It was a bit of irony for the Terran loyalist...she would be the one who actually fell victim...just another little nod to Alien there." (Mark, [40:15])

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Character Arcs & Blue-Collar Ethos

[43:30] - [45:21]

• Emily returns home, her dreams of the stars soured by violence and trauma; Mark highlights the show’s focus on “Stories of the Forgotten”—working-class characters trying to survive and do what’s right.

  "It's just the average everyday people who are making a difference and you follow their stories. I'm not so interested in the superheroes..." (Mark, [45:05])

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Sound Design Inspiration:

  "A little vote of thanks to Hans Zimmer for this one, for providing some inspiration there." (Mark, [07:41])

• On Augments and Rust:

  "I saw this as an opportunity to link this story back to the main Strata story..." (Mark, [17:41])

• On Techno-Jargon:

  "Older than your grandma’s reskin therapy..." (Nick, [08:05])

• On Creature Sound FX:

  "It's me tapping on a baking tray. ... Sorry if that's all you're gonna think of..." (Mark, [35:57])

• On Blue-Collar Heroes:

  "I do gravitate towards the Blue Collar crew, don't I?...They tend to be the heroes of my stories." (Mark, [45:05])

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Important Timestamps

| Timestamp | Segment | Highlights | |------------|--------------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------------------| | 03:43 | Season 4 Synopsis/Unique Setting | Strata goes to space; “Eradication” arc overview | | 04:45 | Theme Music & Creativity | Unique music, Interstellar influence | | 07:42 | Dystopian Tech Jargon | “Reskin therapy,” banter about made-up procedures | | 10:08 | Plaz Cutter & Tool SFX | Foley discussion, blue-collar focus | | 11:28 | Space Bar / 70s Futurism | 1970s disco/retro-future tone | | 12:40 | Soundscape Creation | Writing process, script/sound interplay | | 15:45 | Rust as Urban Legend | Character callbacks, world-building | | 19:33 | Sci-Fi Drink Names | Arcturian Mai Tai banter | | 22:17 | Terran Loyalists & Colonization | Introducing resistance to expansion/colonization theme| | 26:19 | Alien Creature Design | Movie references, inspiration process | | 33:32 | Squid Creature Showdown | Key action sequence, sound, and performance | | 35:57 | DIY Creature Foley | Baking tray "monster," sound layering | | 40:05 | Irony in The Terran Loyalist's Fate | Pop culture nods, morality in war | | 43:30 | Emily’s Return/Blue Collar Focus | Why characters come home, show’s fundamental ethos |

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Overall Tone & Style

The episode is conversational, irreverent, and deeply affectionate toward the Strata universe. Mark, Nick, and Pete trade jokes, 80s movie references, and creative war stories, while never losing sight of the thought and care put into the show’s soundscapes, characters, and themes.
They maintain a self-aware, sometimes self-deprecating humor, giving listeners both the “how” and “why” behind Strata’s distinct sci-fi flavor.

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Conclusion

This After Dark installment is a treat for fans and newcomers: a playful but thorough deep-dive into Strata’s foray into space, its quirky and grounded worldbuilding, character-driven storytelling, and grassroots audio ingenuity. If you’re curious about how immersive sci-fi audio dramas are made—or just want to know what’s in an Arcturian Mai Tai or how to tap a baking tray into soundscape magic—this episode is essential listening.

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For more behind-the-scenes, subscribe to The Strata Patreon for bonus After Dark episodes—including retros on the entire Season 13 and exclusive series like Luna.

Transcript

[Nick]

Thanks for supporting the Fable and Folly Network.

[Emily]

Here's another show we know you'll love.

[Narrator]

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[Emily]

through

[Narrator]

and sank to the bottom. But when Lorna Batson saw an adult sized mitten floating on the surface, the car was winched out of the lake to find Greg Sullivan fall out of the driver's se. Tattoo Productions presents Sorry about The Murder Season 3 Dead Ice will Frenchie solve the murder and clear his Quebecois name? More importantly, what will he name his new pet House Hippo? Coming this Canada Day, wherever you get your podcasts. In the meantime, binge seasons one and two to get good and prime.

[Emily]

Morning decisions. How about a creamy mocha Frappuccino drink? Or sweet vanilla smooth caramel maybe? Or white chocolate mocha? Whichever you choose, delicious coffee awaits. Find Starbucks Frappuccino drinks wherever you buy your groceries.

[Nick]

Thanks for supporting the Fable and Folly Network.

[Emily]

Here's another show we know you'll love.

[Mark]

This is the Emergency Broadcast System. A ballistic missile threat has been detected inbound to your area.

[Promo Voice]

Inspired by the real life false alarm that terrified Hawaii in 2018, incoming is a thrilling and hilarious cinematic podcast that explores how people react in their most critical hour.

[Mark]

Are you not hearing me? There are missiles headed here right now.

[Emily]

Look, I just. I just want to be with you.

[Promo Voice]

Featuring incredible performances from Tracy Letts, Mary Lou Henner, Mary Elizabeth Ellis, Paul Adelstein, and many, many others.

[Mark]

Now there's going to be them that live and them that don't.

[Promo Voice]

You're making a big mistake.

[Mark]

Is this all my blood?

[Promo Voice]

Maybe you're the leader of a doomsday. Or you're a country superstar in 1954, or a gangster in witness protection. The question remains the same. What would you do if you only had 20 minutes until the missiles landed?

[Mark]

This is not a test.

[Promo Voice]

What would you do with your last few minutes on Earth? Subscribe to Incoming now before it's too late.

[Mark]

Hey, everyone, this is Mark, and you're listening to After Dark, which is a bonus episode we do for subscribers where we talk about the show and offer some insights into what goes on behind the scenes. And just about anything else for that matter. Today I'm joined by Nick. How are you?

[Nick]

I'm Good.

[Mark]

And I'm also joined by Pete. How are you today?

[Pete]

Good, thanks, Mark. Afternoon, all.

[Mark]

That's very formal. Are you now with a suit and tie on today as well?

[Pete]

That's just how we roll on Wednesdays before a big state of origin game.

[Mark]

That's right. This week, it's a special episode because we're actually going to release this one to the public feed. So look out, everyone. We're unleashing ourselves upon the world. There's plenty of more of these on Patreon. In fact, we've done the whole of season 13 already, plus a retro or two where we look back at old episodes.

[Promo Voice]

Yeah.

[Mark]

If you want to hear more of these, duck over to Patreon and you can listen to your heart's content. So for this week's episode, Nick, you've chosen the retro, so I'll hand over to you.

[Nick]

Yeah. And we're doing season four, episodes four and five.

[Mark]

Oh. So that's eradication.

[Nick]

It is. I love this season. I think you had a lot of fan support for this season as well.

[Mark]

So, as a refresher to everyone who hasn't heard this in four years or whatever, what is this season about? Give us an overview.

[Nick]

So. So this is Emily season. She is working out in the Deadlands and has a friend called Curry, and the two of them venture to the Strata and then off world onto a spaceship where they have a whole series of adventures.

[Mark]

Yeah, this one is kind of a bit of a standout season in the Strata catalog, really. It's the only time we've been to space and delved into the space genre. So it is a bit of an interesting one, actually.

[Nick]

Yeah. And I'm pretty sure you got a lot of fans saying they really loved this. And you get lots of comments saying, when is the Strata going back to space?

[Mark]

I have had a few comments, so, yeah, I guess we'll have to see. I. I do have plans, so it may be sooner rather than later. All right, so let's kick it off.

[Nick]

So your theme music here is totally different to every other episode of the Strata. It's definitely more of a space theme music. Why did you decide to change the theme?

[Mark]

Well, as you know, I actually had different theme music for a lot of the early seasons, and I kind of based that around the different characters. If you'll remember, season one had Rust, Season two had Summers that had different music. Season four had Emily, that has different music. Season six has Kavanagh, that has different music. And also my other series, Luna, which is based on another Character again, which is a subscriber exclusive. It has its own music. So that was just a thing that I was doing back then, giving each character their own theme and giving each season a bit of a different. Different feel. These days, I do have different soundscapes for each season, but I'm not composing music individually for each new character that comes along. Mainly because I just don't have time. Yeah, Like, I'm so busy writing and doing all the other things that I'm doing that I just don't have time to compose and mix and master original scores like that anymore. It's just more of a basic soundtrack that I'm doing in later seasons. Since we're talking about music, I will say right off the bat that this season was inspired by a piece of music. If we cast our minds back to Covid before, we were all stuck at home. During COVID I was actually having to drive an hour to work, and I would listen to music every morning and every afternoon. I don't like being stuck in traffic, but I did enjoy unwinding with music on the way to and from work. And so when Covid came along, I no longer had that driving to do. So I started listening to music at night. But I didn't want anything that was too upbeat, so I was just looking for sort of more relaxed music. And I started listening to a lot of soundtracks. And one that I listened to was Interstellar. The first night when I closed my eyes and I was listening to Interstellar, I don't know. Have you guys listened to the Interstellar soundtrack?

[Nick]

Not the full soundtrack, no.

[Mark]

Pete, have you listened to that before?

[Pete]

No, only through the movie.

[Mark]

Yeah, the soundtrack starts a lot like the movie. The wind is blowing through the cornfields, and you hear the corn rustling. That actually evoked an image for me of a couple of people lying down in a field of grass and staring up at the stars. And I probably listened to that soundtrack every night for about three weeks. And every night, I imagine more and more of the story. As I've said many times before, I'm a very visionary visual person. When I hear a piece of music, often visualize different stories, characters, and things, I really found this very evocative. And every night, I pieced a bit more of the story together. And after that three weeks, I basically had this whole story mapped out that it was Emily and Karin that were lying in the grass. And you actually hear that in episode one. They climb up to the top of the hill, and they look. They lie down in the weeds. There's just weeds in the deadlands blowing around. That is the thing that's rustling. The sound of rustling corn. In this case, it's weeds. And yeah, then I put the whole story to that. They had this dream of going to the stars and all the other things that happen in the story. So a little vote of thanks to Hans Zimmer for this one, for providing some inspiration there. That was a very fun little exercise, putting it all together.

[Emily]

I feel sorry for you two sometimes, you know, Karin and me. Why the Katona, She's. She's a great tub, don't get me wrong. But in spacefaring terms, she's ancient. Like, older than your grandmother's reskin therapy. It's a shame that the two of you are stuck trying to keep her from falling apart.

[Nick]

That quote, older than your grandma's reskin therapy is awesome. It just evokes such a image in my mind. But what the heck is a reskin therapy? I've got just bizarre images going through my head.

[Mark]

Well, we were talking a couple of weeks ago when we were reviewing season 13. There's a procedure mentioned there called a skull stretch, which also sounds pretty awful. And once again, it's just another thing that sounds like a weird medical procedure. It's just something that I pulled out of nowhere, really. I hope this procedure doesn't exist, but I don't really know myself what it is. I'm just leaving it up to the listener, really, to fill it in. Like I have an idea of what it would be. And when you say re. Skin. Yes. You can probably imagine. I don't want to get too graphic here and gross people out, but a grandma getting a reskin therapy. Yes. It's kind of.

[Nick]

Yeah.

[Mark]

Kind of not a good mental image, really. But it's meant to be just a bit of a comical sort of idea of a strange medical procedure that these rich people in Highgate City might do. Yeah.

[Nick]

The next level of getting, like, microdermabrasion or laser therapy or.

[Mark]

Yeah.

[Nick]

Taking it to the extreme.

[Mark]

Yeah. Cyberpunk version of that.

[Pete]

Suppose a facelift is stretching your skin back over your face to a certain extent.

[Mark]

Exactly. So, yeah. Hopefully it's evoked some interesting mental images for the listener.

[Nick]

Yeah. It's already a procedure where you can get like these threads sewn into your skull and then they just tighten the threads. I'm sure there's something like that around.

[Pete]

Yeah, that's what I was imagining myself.

[Mark]

I was probably imagining something even more radical than that, but.

[Nick]

Yeah. No, you were.

[Mark]

Yeah. Just times it by 100. And then. Yeah, you're probably in the ballpark. Yeah. Hopefully it's fired people's imagination and got them wondering what the heck it is.

[Curran]

The only thing I found was some separation on that panel over there. Looks like it needs to be released, but I don't have my plaz cutter on me.

[Emily]

I'll do it. I've got mine right here.

[Curran]

Damn. Do you sleep with that thing now?

[Emily]

Right under my pillow.

[Curran]

Okay, do your thing.

[Emily]

This panel here?

[Curran]

Yep, right there.

[Nick]

I love the sound effects that you use here on the Plazkutter. How'd you come up with that sound effect? And you know me, I love a tool. And I love the fact that you use lots of tools for your main characters.

[Mark]

Yeah, they're all tradesmen and the working class in general, so, yeah, they all have their fair share of tools. That one. I didn't come up with those sounds myself. I think it's a combination of three or four different sounds that I've spliced in all together and modified a little bit. I think I would have got them from one of my sound effect packages that I subscribe to. I'm happy to take all credit for the awesomeness of the sound, but I probably have to give a little bit of credit there to the sound designers who originally came up with the sound. And I just went through the catalogs and found something that I thought would sound appropriate for this kind of tool and stuck it in there and sort of modified a bit and changed it around and got it to where I liked it. I'm glad you approve it. Anyway, I can imagine you getting around the house with a plazcutter and getting up to all sorts of.

[Nick]

I wish I had one.

[Mark]

Yeah, you're always out in the garden and playing around with tools, so might

[Pete]

be a Half Life 3 sound effect that they steal off you.

[Mark]

Yeah, I'd love to have the Plazcutter in Half Life 3. I'd just love to have Half Life 3, to be honest. But, yeah,

[Curran]

This has to be the most amazing place I've ever seen.

[Emily]

Slayton wasn't kidding, huh?

[Curran]

I mean, this bar is crazy. You can order every single cocktail in the universal database. Like, over 12,000 combinations.

[Pete]

So, Mark, this is your take on the 1970s discotheque of the future?

[Mark]

Yeah, pretty much. Yeah. Is that the vibe you're getting? Is it like a cassette futurism, 70s alien sort of vibe?

[Pete]

Yeah, I thought it came across really well that they were going into some strobing light disco where, you know, these Hicks from the backwaters of the planet. First time exposed to that sort of thing. So I thought it was really well done.

[Mark]

Yeah, that's kind of the vibe I was going for. And in general, my whole design aesthetic for the Strada is a retro, futuristic kind of thing. Like, I don't imagine characters walking around with phones that are like a single pane of glass and all this sleek, futuristic stuff. It's more chunky, sort of tech. Cassette futurism, as they call it. Big, chunky phones and stuff. And so anything that harks back to, like, the 70s or 80s is a win in my book. Yeah. When I was putting this together, this particular scene, I was just trying to put myself in the place of feeling what it would be like looking out over this planet. This was kind of just the vibe that I came up with. So I'm glad that it's had that kind of reaction.

[Nick]

So how do you plan out your soundscapes to evoke these different feelings?

[Mark]

So it's a case of starting with a concept and then basically seeing what I'm able to do with the sound effects that I have available. And the sound effects that I'm able to come up with. So, you know, I'll have a certain vibe that I'm trying to hit. If it's this bar kind of scene, for a start, I'll come up with an idea. And then it's a matter of tinkering around with a bunch of sounds. I might have certain pieces of music. I'll have background crowd noise, wallers, as they call them. And putting those all together and mixing them in and basically getting it to a point where, yes, I feel like I'm actually immersed in this environment that was in my environment, imagination. And then I can basically call it quits and say, yes, I'm happy with this vibe.

[Nick]

And do you create the soundscapes before you put in the dialogue over the top? Or do you tailor the soundscape to fit around the dialogue as you get it from the voice actors?

[Mark]

You know, in the old days, I used to do the soundscape first. It was kind of an iterative process. So I'd write the first draft of the script. And then I'd go through every single scene and make sure that I could make it sound like what I'd written in the script. And if I'd written a scene so if I had a certain vibe that I had described for this nightclub. And I couldn't make the sound fit, then I would go back and change the script. So that would suit the sound that I did come up with, you know, another example might be like, a monster. I put a monster in there or something, and it's like a giant octopus with knives for hands or, you know, whatever. And then if I've written that in the script, but then I go to soundscape and it doesn't sound like that at all, then I'd have to go back and change the script so I could reflect what it actually sounded like. These days I don't do that anymore because I've gotten such a good grip on what I can and can't do with audio. I just know when I'm writing the script now, yes, I can do that. And I write it in. And so these days, it's script first, and then the script goes out to the voice actors. I get their scenes back, and then I put everything together and I create the soundscapes as I'm going through with the voice files.

[Nick]

So you mean you can't create a soundscape for a giant octopus with knives for hands?

[Mark]

There's one in the next season. Yes, of course. That was just an example. Sounds like an awesome creature. I don't know how I actually fit that into the Strata universe, but.

[Nick]

But it sounds like a challenge.

[Mark]

Yeah, I'm. I'm always open to new ideas, so we'll see what happens.

[Curran]

And did I mention the observation deck only three times? That planet below the station is so goddamn beautiful.

[Emily]

Just slow down on those colored drinks, huh? You don't have to try all 12,000 tonight.

[Curran]

Why stop now? I must be halfway there already.

[Emily]

You're way past that. The problem is, I don't want to have to carry you back to the Kotona like a sack of exhaust residue. Do.

[Curran]

Don't worry. A few more and I'll just float my way back here. Try this one.

[Emily]

Okay, this is the last one for me.

[Curran]

Quitter. We should at least take a couple for the road. I'm happy to order for you if you're not up to it.

[Emily]

I know what you're up to.

[Curran]

Huh?

[Emily]

The bartender. You just want an excuse to call her over here again.

[Curran]

She'd seen Interested, right?

[Emily]

Maybe she's just being friendly.

[Curran]

Now she's interested.

[Emily]

You're not put off by that augment of hers?

[Curran]

A metal arm? Not really. I mean, you don't see it much back home, but I doubt it would be a problem.

[Emily]

Maybe that's just what they do in these parts.

[Curran]

It doesn't bother me. I've seen weirder than that.

[Emily]

Oh, really? In your extensive travels, huh?

[Curran]

Yeah, I saw a guy who had his whole body turned into a machine.

[Emily]

Bullshit. No one does that anymore.

[Curran]

No, no, really. It was the courier guy, the one I met for the pickup when Golgoa was too sick to go to the strata.

[Emily]

A guy whose whole body was metal?

[Curran]

Yeah, I think his name was Rust.

[Emily]

Are you screwing with me right now?

[Narrator]

Huh?

[Emily]

That's a myth, like an urban legend. My abuela used to tell us stories back in Dockerton. Said this Rust guy was a long lost relative of ours. Tried to scare James and he made on me.

[Curran]

It's not a myth, Em. I saw him with my own eyes.

[Emily]

How many of those cocktails did you have before that?

[Pete]

So I was interested in the augment for the bartender, and I was thinking, are they easier to get off world? Is this something that's quite common off world?

[Mark]

Yeah. So, yes, they are more widely used in the Outer Rim and that kind of thing. They certainly went out of favor in the strata in Highgate City, and there is still a kind of a thriving trade for these parts out in other regions, so. And plus, you know, I just love the metal augment, obviously. It's a bit of a shame that I wrote it, so only Rust has it. So, you know, I've created the custodians later on who also have the steel bodies. And, yes, it's also in the space region, so I like fitting it in where possible.

[Pete]

Yeah, I thought it'd be way more common due to just a normal bartender having one, so I thought, well, they must be pretty prevalent.

[Mark]

They are, yeah, definitely. So that's something that may or may not be explored in future season. So we'll wait and see. I can't say too much.

[Nick]

No spoilers here.

[Mark]

No, exactly.

[Pete]

And also, I really like the only reference to Rust in this season.

[Mark]

I saw this as an opportunity to link this story back to the main Strata story, because, you know, as I said before, this season is kind of an outlier. It's the only one that's been set in space. And so I did add a couple of little callbacks. So there's also a scene between Emily and Hermena, so that's an existing character that kind of links back. And then there's also this mention of Rust as well, which, you know, is kind of a little bit of a nod. You know, the listener is obviously sitting back and thinking, oh, yeah, they're talking about Rust, and.

[Nick]

Yeah, absolutely. And he's like this mythic creature.

[Mark]

Yeah. Yep. So I thought that would just be a little fun tidbit. To add in as well, for the listener.

[Emily]

What kind of operation are you running here? First you're late and now you can't get the details right. Look, if we can just scan your clearance code, we'll get you on board right away.

[Pete]

Yeah.

[Emily]

Here you go. Okay, we're good. Let's get these things rolling. Grab that one, Curran. Careful with that.

[Curran]

Sorry.

[Emily]

You look a bit unsteady there. Current. You okay? Haven't been knocking back cocktails before your shift, have you?

[Curran]

No, just a few. Well, see, we stopped in at this bar over the other side of the station. You've gotta see it. It has this observation platform and.

[Emily]

Yeah, the Overlook. What about it?

[Curran]

It's. It's just really cool.

[Emily]

Wait a minute. Is this the first time you two have ever seen the Overlook? Oh, great. Real great. I shell out the creds for a high priority shipment and who do they send for the pickup? A couple of kids who just got their first paycheck and blew the lut. Slamming Arcturian Mai Tais at the Overlook.

[Nick]

An Arcturian Mai Tai is an awesome sounding drink. What's in it?

[Mark]

Well, that's an interesting question, actually. What's in a Mai Tai? I don't know. Pete, you're not a Mai Tai drinker either, are you?

[Pete]

No, definitely not.

[Mark]

I don't even know what's in the normal Mai Tai, let alone an Arcturian Mai Tai.

[Nick]

Neither do I, actually.

[Mark]

But we were actually having a discussion on a previous After Dark about how I keep going back to Stone island whiskey and how I needed other alcoholic drink names, didn't I?

[Nick]

We did. Yeah.

[Mark]

The Arcturian Mai Tai has been sitting there this whole time and we haven't used it. I could have used that one multiple times, couldn't I? I'd kind of forgotten about it. Maybe next season I'll get it back in there. But. Yeah, it's a good question. Once I figure out what's in an actual Mai Tai, I'll tell you what's in an arterium Mai Tai.

[Nick]

Okay with such big drinkers.

[Mark]

Another big cocktail drinker myself,

[Curran]

M. What you doing over there?

[Emily]

Staring out this window into space.

[Curran]

That sounds productive.

[Emily]

It's already so small, huh? The station. It's just a little dot out there in the black now.

[Curran]

Em, it's been almost 24 hours since we left Tau Ceti. You're lucky you can see anything at all.

[Emily]

But it was so big even a few hours ago. Now we're drifting off into the emptiness again. Alone.

[Curran]

That's life on A deep space freighter.

[Nick]

So why did you choose Tal Ceti for a name for the station? This seems almost coincidental. I think Project Hail Mary's just come out, and they use Tal Ceti a lot, but we've had a discussion. And you haven't named it after that?

[Mark]

No. Well, I wrote it before Project Helmiri came out. Great movie and book, by the way. Yes, love both of those. But as I was saying, I actually wrote this during COVID which was early 2020, that I wrote it, and I'm sticking to that story. So I didn't rip off Project Hao Mary. In fact, it was kind of annoying that it's made it so prominent now. Everyone thinks of Project Hao Mary when they think of Tau City, but I've written about the Pro Science system as well. I wrote a series of books on that.

[Nick]

You did?

[Mark]

And basically, I look around at different star systems, and I kind of like the sound of Tau Ceti for this story, so that's why I went with it. It was just one that I pulled out of a bunch of star maps, basically. So y. Obviously, Andy Weir thought it was a good idea as well. I'm in good company. I can't permit anyone without the proper authorization to access secure areas of the ship.

[Emily]

You want to strip search me, Kerrigan, is that it? Or maybe lock me in your office and probe me?

[Pete]

No, but you should be confined to

[Mark]

your cabin until I have clearance.

[Emily]

Kerrigan, lay off.

[Mark]

Stay out of this, Emily.

[Emily]

Listen, you tried the same shit with me when I got on board. Is this your thing? You pushed the new female crew members around so you feel all important?

[Pete]

I'm trying to do my job here.

[Emily]

I need access to my cargo at all times to make sure the samples are stable. Do you get that?

[Mark]

No one goes into storage without my permission.

[Emily]

Listen, asshole. Do you have any idea of the value of that cargo? How much it's worth?

[Mark]

Hey, you can't talk to me like that.

[Emily]

Because if those cases are damaged in. In any way, any way at all, and someone finds out you prevented me from doing my job, the colonial administrators are going to have you reassigned to scrapyard duty in the outer reaches faster than a Viper can fold space. Do you get that?

[Nick]

You know, I love your quotes, but I'm going to pick this one out again. Faster than Viper can fold space. What is a Viper? In this context? I'm assuming it's a ship.

[Mark]

It is mentioned in the story that it's a type of ship. It's actually a type of warship. That's Used, so. So it's just a very quick warship, basically. And, yeah, as for where the saying came from, there's a quote in the Simpsons from years ago where Bart is talking about someone who's giving up, and it basically says, oh, yeah, I heard you fold faster than Superman on laundry day. Which I always loved that quote. So this is not the same thing, but, yeah, folding space.

[Emily]

He's been trying to scare me from day one. Like the way he goes on about those Terran loyalists. What does he say about them? He seems to think we should be looking over our shoulder for them every second of the day, like they're hiding in closets or something. That seems a bit extreme, to be honest. I've never heard of them until I got on board the Kotona. Oh, they're out there. You've seen them. Well, even in a place like Tau Ceti Station, you won't have to look very far to find them. People who think that colonizing the far reaches of space is a bad idea, not just for humans, but for all the creatures we find every time we establish a new colony. I guess they have a point. In some ways. There's a lot of indigenous species that have suffered at our hands.

[Pete]

So the Terran Wallace, it's a pretty predominant theme for this episode. This is the only mention of it. Is it in the strata?

[Mark]

Potentially. I don't know if it has been mentioned in other seasons, but it's definitely a topic that I will be revisiting in a pretty major way, actually. And no spoilers Again, Tricky Pete, you're always trying to drag these spoilers out of me.

[Pete]

I just thought it was a very strong hook for something. It's the basis for this whole season, really. So I thought the boomerang might be coming back around at some point.

[Mark]

Yeah, absolutely. And I think the problem with this season is that because it's an outlier, as I've mentioned before, it's kind of been hard fitting it back in when I've got so many other things going on. So no pun intended, but I have to make space for the events that are happening off world to come back into the main series. Yeah, there's a whole lot of stuff to explore in this topic, and I intend to do so when the time is right. But you're not going to drag it out of me yet. And I actually will mention, just as we hear those characters talking, Sam Slade obviously has played Emily and Cat Britano played Renee. So we actually just did a retro for Luna a couple of weeks ago. If you'll remember, Pete, that was your choice.

[Pete]

Yep. And loved it.

[Mark]

Yep. And so Cat actually played Luna in that season of Luna. It's the same actor. So I actually asked Cat to play Luna after I'd done this season four. And I think that Luna actually came out chronologically before season four, just because I kind of fast tracked it. In fact, there's a bunch of people from this season that ended up in Luna, and Cat was one of those. Dan Delir, who plays Kerrigan, also ended up over there as well.

[Nick]

And I think we need to point out to the listeners who are on the public feed that Luna is a subscription only series. It's a bonus series.

[Mark]

Yeah. So forgive us if we pull up references to that and you haven't heard it or don't know what I'm talking about. It's a season that came out a few years ago which kind of runs on a tangent to the main storyline. But it's a fun little season that we did. And yeah, it was great working with Kat and Sam on these episodes.

[Emily]

We reach a rack of bio crates and I point my scanlight at the nearest one, then wish I hadn't. What the hell is that thing? Relax, it's okay. Behind the glass is a slimy squid like thing with thorny protuberances on its tentacles. And I see a pair of milky eyeballs at the center of its body that almost look human. Human. A similar specimen is on the crate next to it and both are suspended in some kind of gel.

[Pete]

So as soon as you go into the detail of the creature, it took me straight away to the creature from the movie Life with Jake Gyllenhaal and Ryan Reynolds.

[Mark]

Right? Yep.

[Pete]

Which I'd have to say is one of the freakiest endings in sci fi creature cinema.

[Mark]

Yep.

[Pete]

Do you remember that creature?

[Mark]

I have seen that movie once and I do vaguely remember the creature. Yeah.

[Pete]

Yeah. So I was bringing it up to say, when you. You are designing a creature, do you actually draw it or do you use any visual references or do you just go off what's in your head?

[Mark]

You have never seen me draw, have you?

[Nick]

You're trying not to laugh if you

[Mark]

think the description sounds nightmarish. You should see me try to draw something like this. No, that would not work at all. Yeah, no, I definitely don't draw them as just coming out of my head, basically, and try to think up interesting features and where possible, I try to create these creatures to be functional, like, not just to have weird stuff.

[Emily]

Stuff.

[Mark]

I did mention the octopus with the. Did I say knives for hands or something for. It actually sounds eerily like this creature here, which didn't it say, has tentacles with thorny protuberances. Obviously I'm very one track mind with my creature things because I haven't thought about this creature in four years or something. And then immediately when I just invented another creature as an example, I came up with something almost exactly the same. Maybe I could do sound effects for an octopus with knives for hands. I can do this.

[Pete]

You've probably already done them.

[Mark]

Exactly. That'll be the plot twist here that's actually coming in next season. Watch out for the octopus with knives for hands. Yeah. Answer your question there, or am I just ranting?

[Pete]

No, no, that's all good. You can't draw at all, so that's good.

[Mark]

Yeah, we've got that straight. Yep. Yeah.

[Pete]

And are we spoilering this episode or not?

[Mark]

Yeah, we can spoil it. Because I think everyone should have heard this by now. If you haven't heard it, spoiler alert. This is from a four year old

[Pete]

season in relation to bringing back squid. Creature with knives for hands. If I remember rightly, one of these creatures actually gets away.

[Mark]

Yeah, it does. It's in the escape pod, isn't it?

[Pete]

That's right. And we don't hear what happens after that. So, you know, there's another plot twist that you can bring back.

[Mark]

Maybe it's hanging out at the bar at Tao Cedi. It just wants to be free, man.

[Nick]

And it's just like it wants an Arcturia mitai.

[Mark]

Exactly. Maybe that's all this thing wants, is an Arcturian Mai Tai. No one's giving it the benefit of the doubt because it has knives for hands or thorny protuberances or whatever, and it just wants to go to the bar. Yeah. Well, who knows where this thing is? It could be out there somewhere. And we know that it's pretty damn dangerous. So. Yeah, hopefully people got some thoughts about where that might be. That's fired people's imagination.

[Emily]

I got to keep moving. Sure, no problem. I'm going to head back and see if I can find a replacement battery for this unit. Here, take the scan light. I'm fine. I think you'll need it more than I will. Good luck, Emily.

[Nick]

This thumping sound that we hear in the background here, I'm sorry, but it just brings to my mind the Flash Gordon theme from Queen and I just can't get it out of my head.

[Mark]

Well, you know what it actually brings up to me is I don't know if you're very familiar with this song because you don't really like this band, but Pink Floyd's welcome to the Machine, at the start of that, there's a very similar sound to me. It's just a bit of a creepy sound. I have a whole other story that I can tell about the song welcome to the Machine. It's a very important song in my life, to be honest, because it helped to kickstart my whole writing journey, really, from when I wrote a story called the Machine, which is based on the song welcome to the Machine by Pink Floyd. But, yeah, that's what it brings up to me is the sound at the start of welcome to the Machine, which has always struck me as kind of a bit of a creepy and ominous sort of sound. And I don't remember when I was soundscaping this. Going back to that and trying to match it. I think it's just something that I've referenced inadvertently there, but listening to it now fresh, it's like, oh, that sounds like welcome to the Machine, but Flash Gordon, you know, whatever. Whatever floats your but boat. That's also a great song.

[Pete]

So it just seemed to be the thrum of the ship when you're walking around. You know, these old ships, there's all those noises that just happen. Yeah, I just thought it was very atmospheric in that space.

[Mark]

Yeah, no, it's an awesome sound. That will be from one of my libraries. I have a whole bunch of soft synths and other musical instruments. And that would be an arpeggiator that I've chosen. I've literally got thousands of those. And I go through and take these arpeggiators and things and put them in where they're useful. So, yeah, that was a fun one.

[Nick]

Thanks for supporting the Fable and Folly Network.

[Emily]

Here's another show we know you'll love.

[Mark]

This is the Emergency Broadcast System. A ballistic missile threat has been detected inbound to your area.

[Promo Voice]

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[Mark]

Are you not hearing me? There are missiles headed here right now.

[Emily]

Look, I just. I just want to be with you.

[Promo Voice]

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[Mark]

Now there's gonna be them that live and them that don't.

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[Mark]

Is this all my blood?

[Promo Voice]

Maybe you're the leader of a doomsday cult or you're a country superstar in 1954 or a gangster in witness protection. The. The question remains the same. What would you do if you only had 20 minutes until the missiles landed?

[Mark]

This is not a test.

[Promo Voice]

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[Emily]

One more turn and. Med bay. Should. I stop and ease Curran gently onto the floor ahead? Outside the med bay, I see two bodies laying in the corridor. And they're covered in blood. Lots of blood. Captain Alvarez, Gregory, can you hear me?

[Pete]

So, obviously the crew is starting to

[Mark]

die, as they do in these kind of stories.

[Pete]

Well, I just thought at this point in the strata, I don't remember there being a lot of deaths, but you'd pretty much turned that on its head in this side story.

[Mark]

Well, this is a bit of an old throwback to, like an alien movie, isn't? Let's face it, I'm wearing my inspiration on my sleeve here. This is very much an alien alien sort of movie where the crew get picked off and there's a mutant running around the ship. So, yeah, you have to have some people chewed up and horrible, probably maimed and that kind of thing. So I think that's safe to say that's where my inspiration came from for this one.

[Emily]

As I get closer, I realize there's no point in asking. Their bodies are slashed, their faces and chests ripped and torn like they've been cut to bits. Ah, damn it. I look up and see it. The squid creature, very much alive and crawling out of a ventilation grate. It stops and splays itself across the ceiling like an umbrella. It looks huge in comparison to when I saw it in the bio crate. Now larger than a man, its body heaves and ripples as muscles contract beneath its pasty skin. And those dead eyes flick back and forth as it scans the area. It darts across the metal, shifting position in a blink. The eyes lock onto me and it sizes me up, getting ready to strike. I put myself between it and current. Don't even think about it. I reach for my PLAS cutter in desperation. It's the only thing within reach that might work as a weapon. I know it won't have much range against those long tentacles, so I take out a screwdriver and shove it into the nozzle that regulates the plasma flow. Come on.

[Nick]

Come on.

[Emily]

Burn, you piece of shit. Burn. The creature curls onto its back like a dying cockroach, shaking and convulsing. Then it stops moving all together.

[Mark]

Oh, that's so nice. How Sam screams.

[Emily]

Burn.

[Mark]

She's really put some feeling into that one. I love it.

[Nick]

Yeah, I do. This happens to be my favorite scene, I think, of all of the series is I just love the plazkana turning into almost like a plaz sword. Yeah, it's fantastic.

[Pete]

And how did you come up with the dying creature sound that just lingers and goes on? It's pretty horrific.

[Mark]

Well, in terms of the creature sound design altogether, I'm about to just ruin it for everyone who's ever thought this sounded cool. Because the sound of it walking on the ceiling is actually the Foley that I came up with myself. It's me tapping on a baking tray. That just sounds so mundane. I know. That's awful. I don't know what they call it overseas here. We call it a baking tray, like an aluminium tray or whatever that you put into the oven. It was me tapping on that. And then I've basically put it through a bunch of sound effects. You know, change the properties of it and lay it other things over the top of it. But that is the sound of it walking. So I'm sorry if that's all anyone's ever going to think of when they hear this creature walking along is Mark tapping on the baking tray. But the dying sounds, it's a pretty complex sound because you do have the sound of Emily sort of messing with the plaz cutter and the gout of plasma as it comes out. You've got the creature getting burnt. The creature is also squealing. I think that the sounds it's making may be like a zombie sound that I maybe even pull from one of my other series, possibly, which I. Once again, I've put various EQ envelopes on it and a bunch of other things just to make it sound less human than it used to. I'm also going back four years here, or maybe even five. I probably made this in 2021.

[Nick]

You can remember exactly how you did it. That's what we expect.

[Mark]

I probably should have researched myself. That would have helped, wouldn't it, if I'd have actually researched some of this stuff before coming onto the After Dark. Yeah. Putting a bunch of sounds together and messing around with them until it all sounded cohesive and then you've just got to manage the sound so they're not sort of coming in over the top of one another and stuff. But, yeah, this process probably took me a few hours. And by the end of that, I was satisfied that it was actually sounding clear enough you could make out what was happening. Emily helps by describing a lot of it. But this part here where it dies, obviously, I think there's enough in there for the audience to pick up what's happening.

[Pete]

I think that's a throwback to old school sound design with the baking tray. I think that's awesome. You know, I think the listeners would like to know that stuff has been done manually. So I think that's very cool.

[Mark]

Yeah. Foley design is an art form in itself. And, you know, I don't proclaim to be a Foley artist at all. I just sort of get by with what I can do. But there are real artists out there who can make magic out of anything, you know? Like, have you heard about all the Star wars sound effects and things, how they get the TIE Fighter sounds and you're a Star wars nut? Have you heard of those?

[Pete]

Yeah, I think they did a combination of a lot of things. And the lightsabers as well.

[Mark]

Yeah. It's like mundane, everyday items, and then they just slow them down, speed them up. Exactly. Like you're saying, like what I did here. And you can turn into something fantastic. And that sounds completely legit from an ordinary item. That's kind of the artistry of a really good Foley maker, which I'm not. But every now and then, I have a little dash of inspiration. Maybe the baking tray was, you know, my moment of inspiration in this. In this episode.

[Emily]

I'm pretty sure that when news breaks about what happened here, people will take notice. Kerrigan was right about you people. Yeah. But now he's lying in his quarters with a cryo scalpel buried in his neck. And I've got this gun, so get the hell out of my way. Give me the meds. No.

[Curran]

No.

[Emily]

You deserve to suffer. You all deserve to suffer. God damn it. The gun falls to the floor and Renee goes after it. I reach over and yank the bag from her hands, then turn and start to run back toward med bay.

[Nick]

That's it.

[Emily]

Lie there and suffer. Just like all of those innocent species you colonists have tortured over the years. See how you like it. Okay. Okay. Emily, get up. Get the hell up.

[Pete]

So it wasn't lost on me that the Terran loyalist was killed by the thing that she was trying to save. I thought the irony in that was pretty. Pretty full on.

[Mark]

There is supposed to be a bit of irony in that. Like, I think with this story, I've kind of made it fairly clear that I don't really approve of either side. The colonists are potentially doing horrible things and creating havoc on the worlds. They're terraforming and potentially wiping out species and stuff. But then again, the Terrans are also doing some horrible things, trying to get their point of view across. So, yeah, in this case, it was a bit of irony for the Terran lorealist who was trying to spread terror and, you know, make this big statement that she would be the one who actually fell victim to the creature in the end. And of course, it's a throwback to Alien again because we know that at the end of the Alien movie, the alien gets in the escape pod with Ripley and it's there lurking. So, yeah, just another little nod to Alien there that I threw in for the hell of it.

[Emily]

Weeks later, Curran finally comes out of the med bay. He still has a long road to recovery ahead of him, and I don't see any choice but to take him somewhere quiet so he can rest.

[Pete]

I just wanted to comment on how good your audio design is in this scene. You hear the boat and then you put the extra element of tying the boat off. And I just thought it was a really nice touch.

[Mark]

Yeah, thanks for that. It's always nice to get a compliment, especially from you. You don't give those out too often, mate. So take them whenever I can get them. But if that helped to sell it to you as a more authentic situation, that's great.

[Narrator]

If you want your own job back, you can have it, if that's what you're asking.

[Emily]

You didn't give it to someone else?

[Narrator]

Now, why would I do that? I knew it wouldn't be long till you came back.

[Emily]

I put together a wheelchair so Curran can sit on the dock and watch the waves come in. He isn't quite the same as before. It's hard to get a word out of him most times as he sits there and watches me work. Hey, Curran. How's it look? Do you think this one's ready? Most of the time, he's content to listen as I ramble about my day. But every now and then, then he gets a look in his eye. A glimmer of the old Karin. And that helps me believe that he's still in there somewhere. That someday he'll go back to the way he was. Every now and then, if the sky is clear, I push the wheelchair up to the bluff and I lay down with him to watch the stars like we did in the old days. If I try hard enough, there are moments when I'm able to let it all go. I allow myself to forget everything that happened up there. And for a while at least, the universe is once again a simple place, full of simple dreams.

[Nick]

As we come to the end of the episode, Emily's obviously dissuaded from her dreams of. Of going off world now. Was part of your motivation behind this whole story also to get Emily back into the Strata for further developments?

[Mark]

This is actually something that I've had comments from people about before that it's illogical for Emily to take Curran back to quote unquote, a swamp when he's in need of medical treatment. But I think I made it pretty clear in the first few seasons of the Strata that taking someone to a bioclav clinic is not cheap. In fact, even Russ can't afford to go to a bioclinic. He's been working tirelessly for decades, essentially, and he can't afford the treatment. So it wasn't really an option for Emily to take Curran to a bioclinic off world somewhere because she had no crits to begin with. And then she's worked as a low level technician for a few months. She's just not going to be able to afford that kind of treatment for him. So she wasn't really left with any option but to come home. And the fact that Emily returns home ties in with her disillusionment and the fact that her dreams have been shattered by the events that took plays off world. So she doesn't want to live off world anymore because it's not the place she imagined it to be, I guess. So those are the main reasons why she came home. And it also helps that she can now rejoin the main storyline of the Strata in later seasons.

[Nick]

Yeah, that's exciting because I think we're all looking forward to seeing a little bit more of Emily.

[Mark]

Well, we do in seasons. What is it? Season eight and nine. She comes back.

[Nick]

Yep. And then she disappears.

[Mark]

But not forever. She'll be back.

[Pete]

Your affinity for mechanics is relevant again, Mark. You've done it in some novels in the past and you're doing it again.

[Mark]

Yeah. I do gravitate towards the Blue Collar crew, don't I? I guess, yeah. They tend to be the heroes of my stories. I kind of like that idea. It's just the average everyday people who are making a difference and you follow their stories. I'm not so interested in the superheroes and that kind of thing.

[Pete]

Well, I suppose when the world falls apart, it's the Blue Collar workers that actually do the things that need doing.

[Mark]

That's right. So yeah, here's me trying to tell their stories. And I think the tagline I came up with for the Strata, which is still on the Website is as Stories of the Forgotten or something along that line. So. Yeah. So it's just the little guys get to hear their stories. I always like those. So I think that brings us to the end of this one. Thanks so much for joining me again, Nick.

[Nick]

Yeah, not a problem.

[Mark]

And Pete as well. Always good to hear from you.

[Pete]

Oh, thanks, guys. Enjoyed it yet again.

[Mark]

We didn't get enough 80s movies references in this week though, did we?

[Nick]

No, we got Flash Gordon, though. That's.

[Mark]

That's okay. I think that one.

[Nick]

And Alien.

[Mark]

Aliens, yeah. The original Aliens was in the 70s, though, you know, I'm a bit disappointed. We could have got more 80s stuff in.

[Pete]

When we were talking about making sounds, I was going to bring up Predator, you know.

[Mark]

I see. That would have been perfect

[Nick]

opportunity.

[Mark]

We'll save that for the next one. Let's get Predator in there next. Next time. Okay. Because I think we've mentioned half the other 80s movies already, so. Yeah. But hope everyone's enjoyed it. And we'll see you in the next one. Meet Pia Caseley, a journalist with a nose for a good story.

[Nick]

Do you know who the last person to interview Julie Capstone was?

[Curran]

Me.

[Mark]

Meet Brenda Bentley, a dogged detective with a case she can't let go.

[Promo Voice]

Nobody came closer than I did, and

[Mark]

that's why I was kicked off the force. Together they solve the cold cases no one else can.

[Emily]

That's when things got weird.

[Mark]

And we haven't even gotten to the torso yet. If they don't kill each other first, that is.

[Nick]

Well, you've got another thing coming.

[Mark]

You know, I think it's you got another thing coming. Or perhaps there's something else between them.

[Promo Voice]

Well, if the feeling's mutual.

[Emily]

Call it a mutual feeling.

[Mark]

Arden. A podcast about crime, romance and everything else. Season 1 and 2 now available, brought to you by Wayface Industries. The Good People.

[Emily]

Are you there? I think I'm getting something. Why are you recording? For science. Did you hear that?

[Mark]

We're a little off schedule. Maybe it's the aliens.

[Pete]

I'm studying electromagnetic phenomena and anomalies.

[Emily]

I don't think losing people is scary. I just don't want to do it anymore.

[Nick]

Just together with you.

[Mark]

Radio check.

[Curran]

Who's this?

[Mark]

I didn't do it.

[Emily]

You never do anything.

[Narrator]

We should still be secure.

[Nick]

Are you safe?

[Emily]

The walkies again.

[Mark]

Who are you?

[Nick]

Comfort.

[Promo Voice]

I am not doing it on purpose.

[Emily]

You can't bullsh.

[Mark]

I am not doing it on purpose.

[Nick]

Stop.

[Emily]

Stop.

[Mark]

Oh, God. I don't like this. I don't like this.

[Emily]

What the hell was that I'm not supposed to know that we're supposed to be innocent.

[Mark]

I feel an ending coming.

[Emily]

Oracle, a Sci Fi anthology podcast set in the not so distant future. Season two transmission, available in bi monthly

[Nick]

episode releases starting July 1, 2023.

[Emily]

Or listen now to season one, Iris. Wherever you get your podcasts.