Episode 1: Manifest

Plutonic Flight 999 is well underway from Epsilon Eridani to Sirius Spa & Station Resort…until the alarm starts sounding.

CONTENT WARNINGS: Distress, peril, turbulence, transportation accident, entrapment, isolation, claustrophobia, existential fear.

This episode, “Manifest”, was written by Emma Johanna Puranen and directed by Rook Mogavero and Emma Johanna Puranen. The script was edited by Rook Mogavero and Shaoni C. White. Sound editing was by Emma Johanna Puranen. The Haro’s theme was composed by Georgia White. Our cover art is by Tatyana Archtander. Music was composed by Emily Branam using copyright cleared content (or free content) within Emily's licensed and registered version of FL Studio 20. Sound effects from freesound.org under CC 0, CC BY 3.0, and CC BY 4.0 licenses. For a list of freesound.org sound effects used in this episode, see here. A transcript of this episode can be found here or on our website, www.roguemaker.space.

In order of appearance, this episode featured the voices of

Emma Johanna Puranen as Ship 
Alasdair Stuart as Malachi Tessera 
Omar Camps-Kamrin as Lowkey Madigan 
Alexandra Rose DeAngelis as Woh́́ Ollum 
Liz Morey as Kuzha Tvask 
Sam Yeow as No Go 
Bonnie Calderwood Aspinwall as Pascal Almagest 
Axandre Oge as Valencio “Trip” Triptych
Stephen Indrisano as Tarsul.

This episode also featured 

Xoe Porterfield as Ring On It Commercial 
Isabell Donaldson as Launch Director 
Nhea Durousseau as Passenger with Headphones 
JP Sindel as the Newscaster 
Ben “Books” Schwartz as the Haro’s Commercial.

Additional voices were lent by Alice Kyra, Borkvox, Reuben Ashcroft, Fey Harmon, Mel Nichols, Tais Grimberg, Pandora Beatrix, Erin Carney, Sonja Dahl, Daniel Santoy, and Cam Clark.

Our vibe checker was Bruce the Cat.

Buy us a coffee at http://ko-fi.com/roguemaker 

Transcript

 [Someone enters, breathing heavily. An old chair creaks. A computer beeps. A radio plays in the background, barely audible:]

RADIO
-across the galaxy as we journey through the rings of Saturn, the crown jewel of the giant planets, the romantic spectacle that has enchanted people for generations. This summer, you can watch as the Sol System's rich and glamorous plan the Saturnian destination weddings of their dreams in Ring On It. Hosting this season, we have Nova Kalédo-

[We hear typing, which eventually cuts off the radio. The typing also prompts a response from the ship's AI.]

SHIP
(up-chime)
[A] Override successful. Plutonic Flight 999 current position in Earth Celestial Reference System: right ascension 05 16 55.8. Declination minus 14 42 29.7. Distance from Earth 9.001 light years. 

[A piece of paper is unfolded. More typing. A beep from the computer. Three buttons are pressed with an exhale.] 

SHIP
(up-chime)
[A] Command override successful. Initiating Hospitality Mode. 
[H] Hello there! How may I help you, Captain Tarsul? Would you care for some m—

[A loud button press cuts Ship off. The person pressing the button gives a frustrated sigh.]

[Suspenseful music begins to play.]

SHIP
[H] Understood! Enjoy the flight, Captain! 

[More typing.] 

SHIP
(down-chime)
[A] Warning: this order will lead to engine temperatures above nominal levels. This may result in ship destruction and crew and passenger fatalities. If you proceed with thi-

[Ship is cut off with more typing. The computer beeps again.]

SHIP
[A] Authorisation code? 

[We hear another sigh and a couple more button presses before—]

SHIP
(up-chime)
[A] Accepted. 

[Whoever has been typing leans back in the chair and takes a sip of something. We hear them take the piece of paper, get up from the chair, and walk away.]

[As they walk, we hear a noise start to build. Something's breaking. An alarm goes off. Then silence.]

[ROGUEMAKER Theme Song by Emily Branam plays.] 

EMILY
(sung)
Ground control, send me down
I'm lost up here and I can't be found.
Ground control, are you there?
The voice in my head, it fills the dead air, says

"You've got time,
You've got time." 
"You've got time,
You've got time."

EMMA
ROGUEMAKER: A science fiction podcast. Episode 1: Manifest.

[The audio of the following dialogue is tinny and low-quality, as if played from an old radio, and interspersed with high-pitched beeps.]

LAUNCH DIRECTOR
-conducting a launch status check. All flight personnel please verify ready to resume count and go for launch. [beep beep] MPS?

MPS
MPS is go. 

[beep]

LAUNCH DIRECTOR
RTC? 

RTC
RTC is go.

LAUNCH DIRECTOR
FIDO?

[Static drowns out the response.]

LAUNCH DIRECTOR
FIDO, I ask again, [beep] are you go for launch? 

FIDO
FIDO is go. 

LAUNCH DIRECTOR
Copy, FIDO, that’s affirmative.
[beep beep] Houston flight? 

HOUSTON
Houston flight is go. 

LAUNCH DIRECTOR
EECOM?

EECOM
Go.

LAUNCH DIRECTOR
[beep] Safety console? 

SAFETY
Safety console’s go.

LAUNCH DIRECTOR
AVA?

[beep beep]

AVA
We’re go.

LAUNCH DIRECTOR
LRD?

LRD
LRD is go.

LAUNCH DIRECTOR
SRO?

SRO
SRO is go,[beep] you have a range clear to launch.

LAUNCH DIRECTOR
Nav?

NAV
Clear flight.

LAUNCH DIRECTOR
And CDR.

CDR
CDR is go.

LAUNCH DIRECTOR 
Copy, CDR. 

Launch director and CDR, you are go for launch. Looks like a great day to go flying. On behalf of the entire team here and people watching around the world, good luck and Godspeed as you take humanity to the stars. [beep]

T-minus 10… 9… 8… 7…  

[A rocket engine begins to roar, getting louder and louder]

MALACHI
(distantly, but clearer than the previous dialogue of the scene) 
Excuse me, Mr. Madigan? 

LAUNCH DIRECTOR
6… 5… 4… 3… 2… 1…  

MALACHI
Mr. Madigan? 

[The sound of the rocket stops abruptly and is replaced with muted in-flight ambience.]

SHIP
(up-chime)
[H] Your in-flight entertainment programme is paused. It's good to take a break sometimes! 

LOWKEY
(to Malachi)
Please, no Mr. Madigan — call me Lowkey. 

WOH́́ 
He's anything but. 

LOWKEY
I'm anything but. 
Maybe that'll be my next name, 'Anything But'. 

WOH́́
It has been a while since you've changed it. What… three Earth months now?

LOWKEY 
The name changes are part of the deal, interacting with humans! 

WOH́́
I swear you do it more often than most humans though.
(They turn to Malachi) 
What did you need, Malachi? 

MALACHI
(distracted by the screen)
Oh, were you watching that ancient spaceflight movie? With that Blades of Dust actor, what's-his-name, H-Horatio? As the love interest? 

LOWKEY
Yeah, man. Horatio's killing it. The vibes are top-notch. These Apollo people from 500 years ago understood themselves well enough to sit on top of a ball of fire and trust it to take them to space?! Talk about love of life. Hey, uh, Malachi, do you feel more connected to the flora and fauna of Earth when you're up in space? 

MALACHI
Well - 

LOWKEY
I-I think I do. It's like, I value them more. 

WOH́́ 
Forgive my bandmate, it’s only his second time off Earth.

MALACHI
No worries, no worries, he seems like quite the history buff — Lowkey, did you know they didn’t have antigrav back in the 20th century, either? Those launches would have been nauseating. It’s much more comfortable flying Plutonic today. 

WOH́́
(under their breath) 
Cheaper, anyway. 

LOWKEY
(ignores that) 
All the more proof of how brave those first star-farers were!

WOH́́
Brave… or insane. 

LOWKEY
Just because the ǵnonw  were boring back then - 

WOH́́ 
We still made it to one of our moons! The space elevator to Lamth was much more reasonable than those death traps. 

LOWKEY 
And yet, Woh́́, you wouldn't be watching to hunt for audio samples if you didn't think it was so cool.

WOH́́
The old thrusters evoke an ideal sort of drama.
(pointed, to Malachi)
It’s not dinner orders yet, is it? We just had lunch. Can we help you with something, Malachi, or are you planning to talk to us all the way to Sirius?  

MALACHI
Oh, right, yes! Lowkey, can you check your lingchip and reconnect it to the TV? Your sound’s coming out of the TV speaker, not your chip — everyone can hear it.

WOH́́
(embarrassed) 
Oh-

MALACHI
Yours is fine, Mx. Ollum.

LOWKEY
(realisation)
Oh, damn.
(laughs)
This is a movie that demands to be heard — like those first spacefarers, screaming into the sky and announcing to the universe WE'RE HERE! WE'RE HERE AND YOU CAN'T IGNORE US! But, yeah, totally, I musta hit the wrong button before the movie.

[Lowkey fumbles with his earpiece.]

WOH́́ 
Oh my stars! I’m so so sorry, Malachi, I didn’t realise Lowkey’s was out loud! 

MALACHI
Hey, hey, don’t worry about it. There's no harm in the other passengers hearing what spaceflight used to be like.
(To Lowkey) 
You got it? 

[Lowkey presses a button on his earpiece.]

LOWKEY
I think so. 

MALACHI 
Ship?

SHIP
(up-chime)
[H] I've established a connection to device name Lowkey's Awesome Lingchip. 

[The movie's launch thruster begins again. The sound is muffled, leaking from Lowkey's earpiece but not playing aloud for the entire lightflight to hear.]

LOWKEY
Nice… AH IT'S SO LOUD! 

MALACHI 
Here, if you-

WOH́́ 
I’ve got it.  

MALACHI
You sure?

LOWKEY
WHAT?!

WOH́́ 
Yup, don’t worry about it. 

MALACHI
You wouldn’t be imposing, it’s well within the job description of a flight attendant.

WOH́́ 
I’ve got it. 

[Woh́́ pushes a button and the sound from Lowkey's chip stops.]

SHIP
(up-chime)
[H] Your in-flight entertainment programme is paused. Remember to hydrate! 

LOWKEY
(sighs, still speaks a little loud)
I DON’T KNOW WHY IT’S GLITCHING SO MUCH! IT'S INTERRUPTING MY PEACE. 

MALACHI
(laughs)
Okay— if you’re gonna make a habit of space travel, you’ll need to talk to ǵnonw a bunch — you might want to consider the implantable lingchip, instead of sticking with the wearable. The implants are more reliable. Especially if — well, if Mx. Ollum here is your bandmate, you'd know, wouldn't you! 

WOH́́
(pointedly)
If you know of a cheap implant that we can easily reset for concerts, we'd be happy to hear about it. 

KUZHA
(from across the aisle)
Uh, excuse me! Can I get a bonj tea, please? 

MALACHI
(to the bandmates)
Oh! Oh, my apologies, you two, duty calls. Enjoy your movie! See you at dinner!
    (to Kuzha)
Coming right up! 

[Malachi hums as he makes his way to the small galley, makes a cup of bonj tea using a Space Keurig, and brings it back to Kuzha.]

MALACHI
Here you go, Mx — 150 bits. If you can just pay here - 

KUZHA 
Oh, uh, yeah. Here you go!

[We hear Kuzha take out their phone, and the bleep of money transfer as Malachi scans it.]

MALACHI 
Excellent. You're really a fan of the bonj, Mx. Tvask! 

KUZHA 
Yeah, I guess so. Right now I am really just looking for anything to remind me of Tand, you know? 

MALACHI
Absolutely, I understand. Well, humans don't go on Wanders, of course, but here at Plutonic we are used to homesick travellers. You don't hesitate to ask if there's anything that would make your journey more comfortable. 

KUZHA
Thanks.
(takes a sip, spills a little) 
Oh stars. I spilled a bit. What a mess, this is shakier than the trains on Tand. 

[Cheerful music begins to play in the background.]

KUZHA
A-actually, sorry, could I get a napkin, please?

MALACHI 
Sure! That'll just be 50 bits. 

KUZHA
The napkins cost extra? 

MALACHI
Yeahhh, they do, I'm so sorry about that, Mx. Tvask, it's company policy. 

[Someone leans over.]

NO
Hmph, that's Plutonic for you. Paying for the physical space you take up on their flights is cheap as anything, but the second you add on 'amenities' like food or using the toilet? That's extra. Before you know it, it's only a little cheaper than the other lightflight options. 

MALACHI
And yet, you're flying with us, Mx. Go! 

NO 
Plutonic is the only co that doesn't use triple factor authentication. 

MALACHI
(pretending not to hear)
Would you like any food or beverage, Mx. Go?

NO 
I'm fine for now, Malachi.

MALACHI
Certainly-
(makes to leave, then remembers)
Oh, yes! Mx. Go, there is a slight concern…  

NO
Hm?

MALACHI
About your plants. 

NO 
What about my plants? 

MALACHI
Well, they're um… The pots and other various… vessels(?) they're in are technically within the luggage lines, but the plants themselves are spilling over. A… tad. 

NO 
They're growing. That's what plants do. 

MALACHI
Yeah, but the way they're growing is resulting in… well, something leaking on other luggage. 

NO 
I don't understand the problem. I'm a botanist. I'm travelling with my plants. It's the same as anyone travelling with the tools of their profession — my old grad adviser used to travel with his plants all the time and the cos never gave him trouble, but of course that was before the laws changed after the Ross incident.

MALACHI
Are you just travelling with the plants? 

NO 
I'm sorry? 

MALACHI 
I'm not entirely convinced they're all… plants… and transporting animals does cost extra. 

NO 
I showed my permits to the desk attendant when I boarded. 

MALACHI 
Well, the Captain wanted this checked up on, is all. If you could just take a look, when you get the chance. 

NO 
Mhmmm. 

PASCAL 
Malachi, would you by any chance happen to know which of the bags is getting leaked on, and with what sort of fluid? 

MALACHI 
Well, the fluid can't be anything harmful, or Ship would be raising the alarm. Ship, what was the label on the bag? 

SHIP
[H] The bag in question belongs to passenger Pascal Almagest. 

PASCAL 
Oh stars…

MALACHI 
Apologies, Mx. Almagest, that will be cleaned for you straight away. 

PASCAL 
Actually, do you think there's a way we could keep it up here? I just might feel safer if it's up here with me. Like… hm, um, do you remember their name over there, hon? 

TRIP
(wasn't paying attention)
What? Oh, the person sitting by the window? 

[Pascal gives an affirmative hum.]

TRIP
No, I haven't had the chance to talk to them. They've had their headphones in the whole time. 

PASCAL 
Well, they've got the right kind of idea, hanging onto their suitcase. 

MALACHI
If we can get the dimensions of your case double checked, certainly. Just a minute. 

[Footsteps as Malachi walks away.] 

TRIP 
You doing alright, Pascal? 

PASCAL
(nope)
Yeah! Yeah. 

TRIP
Because you know you can talk to me if there's anything you need or-

PASCAL
It's fine. 

TRIP 
It's only one more day to Sirius. 

PASCAL 
We're almost on our holiday! I just don't want anyone to steal our sunglasses, that's all — Sirius is a lot more luminous than Epsilon Eridani… 

[This conversation fades into the bandmates'.]

WOH́́ 
Thought he’d never leave. He talks a lot.

LOWKEY
Malachi’s just trying to make conversation. It's customer service — he has to try and find a connection to each and every person. Do ǵnonw not have  small talk? 

WOH́́
The how-are-yous and the what’s-ups? No, most of that is just understood through touch. It took me a long time to understand that ‘what’s up’ wasn’t literal. My first lingchip wasn’t too great with the colloquialisms either. But the flight attendant… I don’t know, he’s too nice.

LOWKEY
(laughs)
Woh́́, I think he's actually just nice.

WOH́́ 
It makes me uncomfortable! 

LOWKEY
Don't tell me you're scared of him, he's- he's totally non-threatening. I mean, he's big, but he's gentle- giant-big. Like, teddy-bear-big.

WOH́́
I know, but he's-

LOWKEY
(messing with Woh́́)
Oh, you don't think he's a spy sent by one of the other bands or something? Here to gather intelligence on the state of their competition, the ethereal Woh́́ andLowkey of About Gardens.

[Beat.] 

WOH́́
You still don’t believe me about Martin the Vampire-

LOWKEY
Woah, I was joking-

WOH́́
(worked up)
There were fang marks in the cupcake at the studio, Lowkey, FANG MARKS! And I only know of ONE human musician with surgically altered teeth like that and he doesn't record at our studio, does he?

LOWKEY
Martin the Vampire harbours a lot of… he's a stinker, all right. 

WOH́́
For sure.
But Malachi? No, of course he’s not a spy. He’s just some talkative nerd who's a little too friendly with an AI and reads lots of stories printed on… dead Earth plant bodies. He’s what we get for flying Plutonic. He’s… he's better than the Captain, anyway. 
Nah, I’ve been thinking… 

[Woh́́ gets out a device — their Makemaker — and it makes a booting-up sound.] 

LOWKEY
No… put the Makemaker away… 

WOH́́
What if I add some ulda music to the bridge of —

[Woh́́'s Makemaker makes a "bloop" sound as they press a button on it.]

LOWKEY
Is that the instrument with too many bells? 

WOH́́
It's not too many, some of them are just too low-frequency for you to hear.

[Another bloop from the Makemaker.]

LOWKEY
We've already got you harmonising with yourself AND me. Stars, what I'd give for a double-chambered larynx. 

WOH́́
Lowkey, you do things with a one-chambered larynx that would make the old gods weep. But seriously, if I just shift this part [bloop] a bit and bring this other part down-

LOWKEY
We’re good, Woh́́. We- we- you don't need to edit music right now, I promise, just relax. If you overthink it, you'll lose the flow of the moment. Let's get back to the movie.

WOH́́
You watch without me. I’ve got an idea. I wanna change the setlist. 

LOWKEY 
For the thirtieth time-

WOH́́
I think we should open with "Day and Night/night and day."

LOWKEY
But we were saying-

WOH́́
I know, I know, we’d planned to start with "Super-casa-nova", but I think "Day and Night" is more us, you know, like, like, right at the start it says who we are, as About Gardens, and what we’re about, our, our cultural combination, how Night and Day are places on my world but to you night and day are times, how we’re synchronising our languages and sounds to find meaning amidst difference, I mean I think that just-

LOWKEY
I’m not saying it’s a bad idea. I’m just saying the song starts kinda gentle. And this is Sirius Revel Six we're performing at — the biggest battle-of-the-bands in the galaxy! Don’t we wanna energise the crowd right from the get-go? Once they're all feeling the mood, then we get all deep with your incredible metaphors in "Day and Night." Anyway, we’ll be at Sirius in one Earth day and we need our beauty sleep.

 [Out of nowhere, an alarm blares and the background music stops abruptly. Woh́́ and Lowkey go quiet as they listen to the accompanying announcement. More dramatic music begins to play in the middle of Ship's announcement.]

SHIP 
[A] This is an emergency announcement to all passengers and crew. Please follow the guiding lights to the escape pods. There has been a malfunction. Please do not panic. Plutonic Flight 999 is equipped with the requisite number of escape pods as per Joint-Government law. There is a pod for everyone. Your safety is our priority. For your own safety, please enter the escape pods immediately. This is an emergency announcement. This is not a drill.

[The emergency announcement repeats in the background as other conversations can be heard.]

LOWKEY 
Oh stars.

WOH́́ 
What- 

LOWKEY 
Get up.

WOH́́
This can't be happening.

LOWKEY
Woh́́, get up!

WOH́́
Ok, ok, I'm up.

LOWKEY
Hm, what do I want… Yes…

[a chip bag crinkles]

LOWKEY
Let's go. Follow the lights.

 WOH́́
Yeah. 

LOWKEY
Follow the lights.

[Footsteps and heavy breathing as Woh́́ and Lowkey run through the ship to get to the pods. As the two move past, we can hear the conversations of other passengers in the background.]

PASCAL
Do you think we impacted something? I don't know how dense the ISM is here. 

TRIP
Come on, honey, grab my hand! 

PASCAL 
Or maybe it was an internal problem, like the engines? 

TRIP 
Pascal, we need to move. 
We don't need to bring that, hon. 

PASCAL 
Right, right, right. Right, first things first, the pods. 

NO
Hey, hey! You there, are you awake? Take the surfaced headphones off, why don't you. 

ALYSS
Don't touch me! 

NO
What's your problem? We're in a crisis here, let's hustle. 

MALACHI 

Hey, no time to fight, you two, let's get moving. Captain says we need to get to the escape pods! 

WOH́́ 
Oh my stars this pod is so tiny. 

LOWKEY 
You get in this one, I’ll be right here.

[A pod door opens.]

WOH́́ 
You’ll be in Pod 4.  

LOWKEY 
You know it — it’s gonna be okay, Woh́́, you and I have the stamina and drive to persist through anything-

WOH́́ 
Pod 4. 

MALACHI
Head on into the pods, folks! 

WOH́́
Malachi, how long are we gonna be in the pods-

MALACHI
We can talk details once everyone’s safe! 

TRIP
(in background)
I love you.

PASCAL
(in background)
I love you too.

MALACHI
Nothing to fear! This is what the pods are for! This is completely precedented! 

[Malachi's last sentence is accompanied by an alarming LURCHING, CRUNCHING noise from the ship's engine. Woh́́ YELPS.]

LOWKEY 
We'll make it through. It’s gonna be okay. 

WOH́́
Yeah. 

MALACHI
The pods are connected by radio! We will be able to talk to you! 

LOWKEY 
Here, buckle this strap. 

NO
(in background, simultaneous with Woh́́ and Lowkey's conversation)
Kid? KID?! Where are you?
Kid?
KID!

WOH́́
Yeah. 

[The strap clicks.]

LOWKEY
I’ll talk to you in a minute.

WOH́́
Yeah. 

LOWKEY
Woh́́?

WOH́́
Yeah? 

LOWKEY
Can you repeat after me? 

WOH́́
Yeah. 

LOWKEY
It’s gonna be ok.

WOH́́
Yeah. 

LOWKEY
No, 'it's gonna be okay.' 

WOH́́
It’s gonna be okay. 

LOWKEY
I’ve got the best bandmate in the galaxy, so of course -

[The door to the Woh́́́́'s pod shuts, muffling Lowkey's voice.]

LOWKEY
-it’s gonna be okay. 

[For a moment, all we hear is Woh́́'s breathing and the muffled alarm and emergency announcement still repeating on the 999. A mechanical sound is heard from within Woh́́'s pod, then-]

SHIP
(up-chime)
[H] I see you've fastened your seatbelt already! Great work. Right now, I'm administering RelaxiJuice to calm you down and ease you through the high g-forces. You may experience side effects of nausea, confusion, dizziness, upset stomach, decreased sonilocation and ingrown hairs. We will be departing in five, four, three, two, one.

[There is a huge noise as the escape pod launches, leaving the exploding Plutonic 999 behind. This fades out into the gentle background noise of space.]

[Later, Woh́́ gives a sharp intake of breath, as if waking up from a nightmare. They hyperventilate for a moment before gaining control of their breathing.]

SHIP
(up-chime)
[A] Air, nominal. 

WOH́́
What is this? Where am I? 

SHIP
(up-chime) 
[A] Pressure, nominal.

 [Woh́́ takes a deep breath.]

SHIP
(up-chime)
[A] Tempperature, nominal. 

WOH́́
Maybe for a human. 

SHIP
[A] Vital signs… stabilising. Initiating Hospitality Mode.
(up-chime)
[H] Hello, Pod Three. I’m Shship! It is my pleasure to assist you today! 

WOH́́
I… I already know who you are. 

SHIP
[H] I apologise for any inconvenience this detour has caused you. By now you should have regained consciousness. You were put under for your safety due to high g-forces as we left Plutonic 999. I hope you are comfortabllle, that was a bumpy ride. How are you feeling? 

WOH́́
High g-forces? Detour?? What? I’m- I'm feeling okay, I guess, Ship, wha- Lowkey! Where's Lowkey? Are we at Sirius? 

SHIP
(down-chime)
[A] No audio input detected. 
[H] I did not get that. Would you repeat yourself please? 

WOH́́
You… you can’t hear me? 

[Beat.]

SHIP
(down-chime)
[H] My apologies. It appears I have a malf-function. Let me run a quick self-diagnostic! 

WOH́́
No! Ship, we’ve met before, I'm a passenger — why don’t you know who I am??
Ship?!
(sighs) Can you, can you tell that I’m here? Yeah, you must be able to, you said something about… vital signs… but… 
Oh, what is this place? It sounds very small. Where are the lights? 
Ship? 

[Woh́́ bumps something on the wall of the escape pod.]

WOH́́
Oh! That's a wall.
Oh. Ohhhh. It's an escape pod. The alarm. Of course. How could I- what was in that… relaxing juice?
Right. Okay. It's gonna be okay… I'm in an escape pod with an AI that can't hear me. Gonna be okay, gonna be okay… what do I have? 

[Woh́́́́ feels around the pod. They twist a handle.]

WOH́́
Oop! Oh stars, I shouldn’t touch that. 

SHIP
(down-chime)
[A] The exit is sealed for your safety. 

WOH́́
Ah, so you respond to that!
(patting around for something)
Where's my-
My Makemaker! Lowkey grabbed his surfaced bacon chips and I forgot to bring my-

SHIP
(up-chime)
[A] Self-diagnostic complete. 
[H] Communications systems are malfunctioning! This is an external problem due to high local radio interrrference. All other systems are nominal, including life support. Don’t worry! Pod Three, I regret to inform you that due to my malfunction, I do not know who you are. This is a failure of hospitality, and I am sorry to be so rude. I will have to call you Pod Three! 
[H] Your status-s is: passenger! This status necessitates further introduction. I am Ship. 

WOH́́
No shit. 

SHIP
[H] I am a separate install of the same Ylem Interstellar Model UJ5 artificial intelligence found on Plutonic 999. I do not have access to the same memory files as the mmain install. I was overdue for backup before this...detour! Currently, I am following emergency protocol, working against high interference to est-tablish communications with the other pods, and send out a distress signal. I hope this knowledge is reassuring.  

[H] I would like to share an inspirational quote I hope you will find helpful! ‘There are no words which men dete-test more than 'solitary', 'desolate', and 'hapless', yet lords aand princes use these to refer to themselves. Thus a thing is sometimes added to by being diminished and diminished by being added to.’ Laozi, Tao Te Ching, 6th century BCE. Hang in there! 

[Beat.] 

WOH́́
No. What? I...WHAT??? You surfaced piece of - humanocentric CRAP programming! You'd better fix the connection soon! I can’t be alone!
I’m not supposed to be alone.
(deep, ragged breath)
Dlowa was right, we should’ve bought better tickets than Plutonic, but no, I had to be a cheapskate, because the band wasn’t gonna make any money at Sirius Revel Six unless we won, which was a long shot — we're the surfaced wild card entry — so I played it safe. Look how safe we are now!
Ugh, how could I think it was gonna be okay? That just because we got into a big competition, that already meant we’d made it? Of course something went wrong! Something always goes wrong! AUGH!
(softer)
…I'm never gonna perform at the Revel. 

[Soft piano music begins to play.]

WOH́́
I'm never gonna make it. 

Okay. Okay, okay, okay, just… Play pretend. Keep talking. What would I say to Dlowa? I'll pretend it’s after the Revel, I'm back on Tand, finally back with my Group after too long on the road, and Dlowa’s there — all warm with their silky fur and ready with my favourite cake, no bonj, just how I like it — and they, and everyone else from the Group are happy and proud of me and asking about the power of my music — Ooh, the next Nalska, are you, Woh́́? — or, or — The folks on the train were all listening to About Gardens and I couldn’t help but tell everyone that I know half of About Gardens — and I… I laugh, and talk about the time when I was little, still a kid with my Birthgroup, and during one Sleep the Groupelder next to me was crying, and, and I was too little to know what was wrong, but I sang to them, because I’ve always acted older than I am. Because I wanted to help. Because I know music helps. Music and, and talking and feeling the raised lines of my tattoos over and over again when there’s no one else to touch, even if the tattoo is a waveform of my surfaced ex’s name and- 

And… And music. 

Music.

[The piano music ends.] 

WOH́́
It’d be better if I had someone to sing it to. 

[Woh́́ begins to sing a wordless tune to themself, a soft legato "ooh," before trailing off.]

WOH́́
Come on, Woh́́, you can do better than that. 

[They sigh, clear their throat, and start singing:]

WOH́́
I met a Group on my Wander 
A Group that I won't name 
Five Sleeps there made me fonder 
So I won't bring them to shame

[In the background, simple percussion fades in, giving a steady beat to the song.]

We all crossed the Terminator 
Slipping darker into Night 
On the sharp edge of a crater 
We bade farewell to light 

In this Group I had a sweetheart
I'll say Plosk was their name 
Strong and sure and frankly too smart 
We were one and the same 

So where are you going and where do you Sleep?
Through my bones wind is blowing,
But who is there to weep?

The leader took us overland 
Toward a pool of water 
A steady and determined band 
Until out cried our spotter 
A storm bore down toward us 
And the blinding grit and sand 
Hit before we could discuss 
How to make our final stand 

Plosk said they knew just where to go 
Where shelter could be found 
The Groupleader made the call "No," 
"We'd best stay and hunker down." 

So where are you going and where do you Sleep?
Through my bones wind is blowing,
But who is there to weep? 

In the midst of that sorry Sleep 
I felt Plosk pull away 
My foggy mind didn't make the leap 
That they had joined the fray 
The scraping storm raged harsh and long 
Two died before the end 
And then we saw that Plosk was gone 
The Group we could not mend 

They say it's worst to die alone 
I know that's half the truth 
The worst thing is to die unknown 
However hard we sleuth 

So where are you going and where do you Sleep?
Through my bones wind is blowing,
But who is there to weep?

[The percussion begins to fade out, leaving Woh́́ alone to end the song.]

The surface is a blasted place 
So stay here in my arms
Or blight and burn and fight and learn 
To stay here in my arms 

The surface is a frightful foe 
That we must try together 
There never did exist a place 
That could stay still forever 

So where are you going and where do you Sleep?
Through my bones wind is blowing,
But who is there…

To weep? 

[Beat. The pod is now silent, save for the background noise of space.] 

WOH́́
(spoken)
That song is creepier than I remembered. 

TARSUL 
Hmm. Nice voice.

WOH́́
Who- who is this? I don’t recognise your- 

TARSUL
This is your Captain. Tarsul. 

[Slow, tentative music begins to play.]

WOH́́
Oh! Captain. Right. Sorry, hi. 

TARSUL
It’s good to hear another voice. 
It’d be good even if your singing sounded like crap, which… it doesn’t. 

WOH́́
Uh… thanks. Captain, this is Woh́́ Ollum. How much of that did you hear? 

TARSUL 
Just the song. 

WOH́́
Oh. Good. Well, I'm in Pod Three. I'm doing fine,physically, no injuries whatsoever-

TARSUL
There’s no need to give me a report. 
It's not like I can help you. 

WOH́́
But you’re the Captain, I-

TARSUL
There’s no sense walking around the shadow. I’m not going to pretend to make you feel better. These pods are built to keep people alive while we wait for rescue, and that’s it. We can’t control anything in them. We just have to wait. It’s routine for situations like this.

WOH́́
Situations like this? How often does this happen? 

TARSUL
Space is dangerous. I don’t know what to tell you. 

WOH́́
Some bedside manner you’ve got. 

TARSUL 
I’m not a doctor. 

WOH́́
But you are the Captain. You must know — what happened to the lightflight? 

TARSUL
I don’t know. 

WOH́́
Why did it explode? 

TARSUL
I don’t know. 

WOH́́
Did Plutonic buy a crappy engine? 

TARSUL
Heh, probably. 

WOH́́
Were we attacked, was it pirates? 

TARSUL 
I don’t know. 

WOH́́
You don’t even seem to care! 

TARSUL
Panicking only wastes your oxygen.

[The music slowly begins to intensify.]

WOH́́
Can’t - can’t you at least get Ship to talk to me or-

TARSUL
Ship can’t hear me. 

WOH́́
It can’t hear you either?? 

TARSUL
Either? Hm. Seems to be a widespread issue. 

WOH́́
It can't hear me, and it doesn't even know who I am, even though we met before. Your surfaced AI must have lost some memory in the explosion. 

TARSUL
It doesn't know who you are?

Well, bio-scans work, since it knows who I am — but if it doesn't know you… 

Ugh, Malachi must have forgotten to back up the pod instals of Ship. I swear he gets so obsessed with updating the main one that he forgets… 

So. Ship still recognises me because I’m crew and those scans were stored in the older backups — but there’s either an issue with it picking up our audio, or with processing it. On top of which, all nine pods should have been linked up by now, and yet the only person I can talk to is one of the-

WOH́́
Captain!

TARSUL
Hm?

WOH́́
How long until rescue? 

TARSUL
I don't know. 

WOH́́
Is that your answer for everything? 

TARSUL
Could be an Eat, could be three Sleeps. Depends on how far away the nearest J-Gov ship is… and how long it takes them to receive our signal. That's why you should conserve your energy.

Woh́́.

WOH́́
Yes?

TARSUL
I need you to tell me, in detail, exactly what you saw as you made your way to your escape pod. 

WOH́́
Why?

TARSUL
Because I’m the Captain, and I need to know. 

WOH́́
And I’m the passenger, and I need to be safely transported from EE to Sirius! That’s the deal! That’s the social contract you’ve entered into, here, Captain! I’m asking you a simple question, because you’re not telling me anything and I just, I- Some of us are just normal people who need information, who need things to make sense, who need to talk to people, who prefer eating dinner together rather than hiding in our cabins even though we're in charge of the flight, who need to be with our Groups, who aren’t meant to just sit here completely alone with nobody to talk to or sing to or to even-

TARSUL 
I am not Groupless by choice. 

WOH́́
Oh. Well is that supposed to make me feel better?! That means that no Group WANTS you! Not having a Groupname is a big warning sign no matter what, Tarsul! What is a ǵnonw without their Group? What did you do that no Group wants you? How do I know you didn’t blow up the ship yourself? You gotta work with me, here, but clearly you don't know how-

[There is static over the comms as a transmission comes in. The background music fades out.] 

NEWSCASTER
-ersons behind the riots in the Barnard's Star system over the ri-
[static] 

WOH́́
What’s that-

NEWSCASTER
-corperated's new cure for cancer. 

TARSUL
Ship, is that you? Can you hear me now? 

WOH́́
Is this… the news? 

TARSUL
(sigh)
I guess we're picking signals up… 

NEWSCASTER
-families still mourning the loss of their loved ones almost three Earth years ago in the tragic explosion of the Eccentric Phalanx. A memorial service is planned for the anniversary, dedicating twin monuments in Tokyo and in Hosklamthud to commemorate the human and ǵnonw victims alike. Both monuments will feature fifty gold stars for those lost and one silver star to represent the sole survivor, the anonymous “miracle”, who has requested privacy since the incident. Truly, a touching tribute.  

But that’s not all for Eccentric news, as we now turn to the latest in the protracted legal battle between Eccentric Heavy Industries and Gradient Entertainment over use of the moons of the Tau Ceti system. The mining giant says the moons contain vast deposits of iridium, an essential element in lightflight fuel, which it wants to excavate. Gradient films the popular Blades of Dust movie franchise on these moons, and states the mining would render the location unsuitable for filming. Eccentric’s CEO Chad Matthew today appeared to lose his temper in an interview, saying, quote, “We already have to put up with Triple A in that system because one of the planets has some bacteria, we shouldn’t have to tiptoe around some actors. Gradient can quit being cheapskates and use those award-winning special effects to hide the mining equipment.” End quote. 

'Triple-A' of course, the Joint-Government's Alien Autonomy Act, prohibits commercial exploitation of living worlds. Under Matthew's leadership, Eccentric has lobbied heavily against the Act, recently winning a key victory in the courts they hope to translate to the legislature. Regarding the moons of Tau Ceti, however, Matthew's words have prompted a campaign by Blades of Dust fans seeking to save their franchise and organising un- [static] -‘not that kind of dust’. When asked for commentary on how long the legal process can be expected to take, a Joint Government official-

[The transmission fades away into static. A beat.] 

WOH́́
Where did that come from-

SHIP
(up-chime)
[A] Interference detected.

WOH́́
Oh for the love of everything-

SHIP
[H] Hey there! Just wanted to let you know that there is a lot of i-of interference in this part of space. Connections may be spotty and sporadic bbut I am still working to get you in contact with the other pods. Until then, you might hear a few radio broadcasts just as I am checking the signal. Hang tight! 

WOH́́
Well that would have been nice to know.
(beat)
Tarsul?
(beat)
Captain?
(beat)
Captain Tarsul? Captain Tarsul, are you still there? 
Oh stars, please say something-

[Background music starts to play again, softly.]

WOH́́
Oh stars, they’re gone, oh, look what I've done, I shouldn’t have said — that was rude, that was insensitive, and now I'm all alone again — 

TARSUL
(clears their throat)
Almost like you’re Groupless, huh. 

WOH́́
Tarsul! 

TARSUL
It's the uncertainty that gets you.
(a breath)
Do you want to answer my question now? Connections really are spotty, the AI said, who knows how long this will hold or when we might be interrupted. 

WOH́́
You — I’m so sorry — yes, of course.
(deep breath)
What I saw when I left the lightflight. Okay. Come on, Woh́́, remember… there was so much noise, and so much movement. Lowkey had to get me moving, he,he took my hand and pulled. That human couple, they were having some sort of argument, or something — we passed them — the astronomer, Pascal, was scared, I think, the tech with the nose ring — Trip! Trip, that's his name — he was encouraging them. The older ǵnonw — Go, their groupname was, with all the plants — was shouting something, stars, I have no idea what, I couldn’t think of anything, my brain was buzzing. Someone must have let the old human woman with the suitcase know about the alarm, her headphones were off for once, I don’t even know her name — and Malachi, Malachi was by the pods, helping everyone get in. And then Lowkey helped me get in and the door shut and — is — is that helpful?  

Where were you?

TARSUL
Not blowing up my own ship, if that’s what you think. 

WOH́́
But… you think one of them did? 

TARSUL
I don’t know. Especially given everything that’s going on with the comms and the AI, I don’t think we can count on our signal getting out. So it’s important to account for who was near the pods when the alarm sounded… and who wasn’t. 

WOH́́
Do you mean… it’s possible no one knows we’re out here? We’re stranded? 

TARSUL
Yes. And, though it sounds bad, it might be for -

[Tarsul is cut off mid-word.]

WOH́́
TARSUL! Tarsul, what were you saying? Ship, no, not now! Tarsul!

[Static on the comms as another transmission comes in.] 

HARO’S ANNOUNCER
It-itt’s late. You’ve been hard at work running meetings and wowing clients, and you haven’t had a second to yourself since you woke up. The thought of a hot, fresh, delicious burger from Haro’s has you yearning. 

We know the feeling. You don’t stop, so neither do we. We’re open literally all the time. Here for you at your nearest station or hab dome. The silver sign beckons. Satiate your hunger. Haro’s. The Burger Place. In Outer Space.

 [The Haro's jingle plays.]

WOH́́
I don't even like burgers.

[A corrupted version of the theme song plays, repeating the line "Are you there?"]

EMMA
Thank you for listening to ROGUEMAKER. This episode, "Manifest", was written by Emma Johanna Puranen and directed by Rook Mogavero    and Emma Johanna Puranen. The script was edited by Rook Mogavero and Shaoni C. White. Sound editing was by Emma Johanna Puranen. Original music was composed by Emily Branam, who also sings our theme song. The Haro's theme was composed by Georgia White. Our cover art is by Tatyana Archtander.

In order of appearance, this episode featured the voices of:

Emma Johanna Puranen as Ship

ALASDAIR
Alasdair Stuart as Malachi Tessera

OMAR
Omar Camps-Kamrin as Lowkey Madigan

ALEX
Alexandra Rose DeAngelis as Woh́́ Ollum

LIZ
Liz Morey as Kuzha Tvask

SAM Y.
Sam Yeow as No Go

BONNIE
Bonnie Calderwood Aspinwall as Pascal Almagest

AXANDRE
Axandre Oge as Valencio "Trip" Tryptich 

EMMA
And:

STEPHEN
Stephen Indrisano as Tarsul

EMMA
This episode also featured:

XOE
Xoe Porterfield as "Ring On It" Commercial

ISABELL
Isabell Donaldson as Launch Director

NHEA
Nhea Durousseau as Passenger with Headphones

JP
JP Sindel as the Newscaster

EMMA
And:

BOOKS
Ben “Books” Schwartz as the Haro’s Commercial

EMMA
Additional voices were lent by Alice Kyra, Borkvox, Reuben Ashcroft, Fey Harmon, Mel Nichols, Tais Grimberg, Pandora Beatrix, Erin Carney, Sonja Dahl, Daniel Santoy, and Cam Clark.

Last but not least, our vibe checker was:

BRUCE THE CAT
Mrow!

EMMA
For transcripts and more, check out our website, roguemaker.space.

If you want to help support ROGUEMAKER, please consider rating and reviewing us on your podcatcher of choice. You can also follow @roguemakerpod on Twitter and Instagram, or tell a friend about us – you don’t even need a double-chambered larynx to do so!

Until next episode, take care of each other, and stay safe out there.

TRANSCRIPT NOTES:

For full transcript notes, please see the google doc of our transcript here. This transcript was copied directly from there, so apologies if there are any formatting errors or weird spacing.

Thank you for reading our transcript! This episode was transcribed by Rook Mogavero. If you've noticed any mistakes, have any accessibility concerns, or have any other questions/issues regarding the transcripts, please email us at roguesfpod@gmail.com and we'll do our best to address/fix whatever it is as soon as possible! Hope you're having a lovely day :) -RM