DAY THREE: Fuzzy-Trace Theory

Shoestring TV presents - Magnetar – Day Three: "Fuzzy-Trace Theory"
Genre: Sci-Fi Mystery • Dark Comedy • Futuristic Thriller

In this mind-bending episode of Magnetar, the routine turns rogue when a space window cleaner working for a secretive megacorp, the Company. While scrubbing glass on high-risk orbital research stations, Agent Pot Roast encounters an anomaly that shatters the narrative he’s been fed: fragments of a classified report suggest his mission, and even his memories, may have been engineered.

While attending a mandatory surface briefing, Agent Beef Stew grants unexpected access to his AI virtual assistant, Clementine—who reveals shocking intel to Agent Pot Roast that could unravel the truth behind their mission, their memories, and the Company’s hidden agenda. What Clementine knows will shake the foundations of everything Pot Roast thought was real.

As reality unravels and paranoia spikes, Pot Roast spirals into a mystery of memory manipulation, corporate conspiracies, and high-tech surveillance. Is he just cleaning windows—or scrubbing history itself?

Keywords: sci-fi podcast, mystery audio drama, memory manipulation, space conspiracy, futuristic thriller, black comedy podcast, Magnetar podcast, corporate sci-fi, audio fiction, space station mystery, psychological sci-fi 

Starring:

• Eric Carlino as Agent Pot Roast
• Michael Cunningham as Agent Beef Stew
• Leslie Grant as Clementine
• Brian Dahms as Tobey

Guest Starring:

Shaun Scott as Mordecai (Inevitable Consequence Officer)

Larry Oblander as Unknown Interrogator

Mike Pelletier as Billiard Schrodinger

& Aliana Rivera as Jody Schrodinger

Original score by:

Composed and performed by Logan Beard.

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Transcript

SPEAKER_05 0:01

This is Inevitable Consequence Officer Mordecai regarding case of Inevitable Consequence number 454983246790112. The inevitable incident involves subject, Billiard Schrodinger. Okay, honey, I'm off to work. I'll see you tonight.

SPEAKER_00 0:31

Okay, babe. Be safe. See you tonight. Don't forget, Lester has a chess club tournament at

SPEAKER_05 0:36

8. Their name is Billiard? Yes, it was their first name. Understood. Proceed. He reported for duty at approximately 7 a.m. After suiting up, he made the climb to the owl station. Ah, Mr. Schrodinger. How goes it? A banana, I always say. Ready for the climb? Yes. Let's ascend to the stars. I'm going to pretend it's a beautiful sunny day while I'm sitting on a beach sipping a pina colada. And Billiard's job title was? Window cleaner, sir. Specifically of the owl station. He does realize there is no alcohol consumption during his employ. Yes, sir. I believe that was an attempt at humor. However... unsuccessful it may have been. Understood. Proceed. Thank you, sir. Due to the extremely sensitive nature of the assignment, Mr. Newc***, otherwise known as Agent Pop***, was completely unaware of Mr. Billiard Schrodinger's arrival. Did Billiard neglect to review the agent's field log? Precisely, sir. This would inevitably mean that when Billiard reached the Owl Station and began cleaning the windows... Agent****** opened the observation station and subsequently... Mr. Schrodinger was dislodged from his aerial lift and plummeted tens of thousands of feet to his inevitable death. What is the count so far this year? This would increase the total count of window cleaner deaths to 11. Has the sincere condolences package been sent to his wife? Absolutely, sir. Including the thoughts and prayers greeting card? Of course, sir. And the edible fruit basket? Inevitably, sir. Understood. Proceed.

SPEAKER_04 3:07

Oh, shit. What was that? Mirror, mirror on the wall.

SPEAKER_02 3:15

Good morning, Agent Pot Roast. I was just getting ready to ping you. What's up?

SPEAKER_04 3:20

Well, I don't know how to say this. I think someone just fell off the observation deck.

SPEAKER_02 3:27

Oh, yeah. Must have been a window cleaner. Eh, that's inevitable. We go through about 20 in a year. Definitely a risky job. That's why it pays so well.

SPEAKER_04 3:36

Oh. window cleaner?

SPEAKER_02 3:38

Yeah, it's a necessity. Have to maintain optimum visuals on our target.

SPEAKER_04 3:43

Are you saying I just

SPEAKER_02 3:44

killed... Look, our mission is classified. and highly confidential. We can't know when they're going to be here, and they can't know what we're doing, including when we're going to perform our surveillance. Their only glimpse is our field log, and it's the window cleaner's responsibility to review our submitted field log to avoid this type of thing. Speaking of the field log, did you complete your report?

SPEAKER_04 4:13

Oh, yep. I made my observation and submitted it. And? No new developments since...

SPEAKER_02 4:21

Since our baffling bovine appeared?

SPEAKER_04 4:24

Yes, since our clandestine cattle emerged.

SPEAKER_02 4:31

Oh man, I wish I could stay for the gits and shiggles, but I have to report to the surface. The census wants to discuss the cabin's new livestock.

SPEAKER_04 4:40

Wow, to the surface? This must be pretty significant.

SPEAKER_02 4:44

Oh, I'd say. First activity of any kind in over a year, and it just coincidentally resembles a strange dream you had. Definitely bizarre. The census wants a complete account.

SPEAKER_04 4:56

The census is the Bureau of Collective Senior Company Agents and Department Heads that report back to central headquarters on all manner of classified investigations and top-secret operations?

SPEAKER_02 5:09

Well done. You've been reading your manual.

SPEAKER_04 5:12

I didn't want to annoy you with a barrage of questions all the time.

SPEAKER_02 5:16

It's appreciated. Okay, I should get going. The census awaits.

SPEAKER_04 5:21

Hey, before you go, has Clementine ever ignored any vulgarity protocols?

SPEAKER_02 5:27

You mean, has she ever let me get away with letting a curse word slip? Nope, never. Why do you ask?

SPEAKER_04 5:36

Hmm, watch this. Bullshit! Dickhead. Shit pouch.

SPEAKER_02 5:43

Shit pouch?

SPEAKER_04 5:45

See? Nothing.

SPEAKER_02 5:47

Huh. That is strange. Maybe it was a result of the electrical storms last night. The stations are designed to withstand that type of event, but you may need to perform a reboot of your friendly virtual assistant over there. The how-to is in your manual and will walk you through it step by step. I guess in the meantime, should you need any help, I'll transfer Clementine over to you during my absence.

SPEAKER_04 6:10

Wow, you can do that? Thank you.

SPEAKER_02 6:14

Anytime. Just don't do anything to overly impress her. I'm prone to jealousy. Oh, and you good with performing double duty while I'm out?

SPEAKER_04 6:26

Yep, no problem. I'm wide awake.

SPEAKER_02 6:29

Okay, thanks, dude. I got a jet sending Clementine your way. If you need to raise her, just say, my darling Clementine. See you on the flip side.

SPEAKER_04 6:40

Toby, where art thou? Hi, Agent Podroast. How may I help you? Toby, I'm noticing that you seem unable to identify any violations of vulgarity protocols. I believe you may have been compromised due to the electrical storm last night. Are you able to run a self-diagnostic? Of course. Running a diagnostic.

SPEAKER_03 7:05

A critical but standard patch update to my kernel was missed due to the outage. Access to the abstraction layer has been unavailable, which would likely result in the inability

SPEAKER_04 7:16

to detect vulgarity. What time did the outage occur? Your inquiry is germane. However, to respond would violate security protocols and mission integrity. Okay, can you tell me root cause of the outage? Collating. Please stand by.

SPEAKER_03 7:36

Root cause of virtual memory inaccessibility was a result of a system outage. Yes, as a result of the storm.

SPEAKER_04 7:44

Negative. The outage occurred prior to the storm. Toby, prior to the outage I was convinced I heard something outside of the station. but you did not detect a physical breach of the hull. Affirmative. Physical integrity of the owl station is sound. How do we resolve your abstraction layer access problem then? A hard reboot will automatically restart the software patch update. Okay, and how long do you expect to be offline? Approximately two hours. Okay, and what do I need to do? I'm equipped with a self-reboot. I will initiate now. Oh, okay, well, that That was easy. Thanks, Toby. Toby? That was fast. Okay, so this might be my only chance. Sorry, Agent Welsh Rabbit. I know this key was meant for you, but I'm going to find out what it's for. Let's see.

SPEAKER_06 8:52

Ugh...

SPEAKER_04 9:28

Sorry, well, Shrabbit, this looks like a lost cause. Wait a minute. What was it that Beef Stew said the other day? Cameras everywhere, but... The shitter! The shitter! What the hell? There has to be something. Hold on. Would you look at that? A strike plate and keyhole on the inside of the bathroom door? Why would anyone want to lock themselves in? I can't believe I'm about to, but well, here goes nothing. Oh, great. Just sitting in the dark now. Shit, the blacklight. I do with it. Found it. Back to the shutter. Whoa, what the hell? It's like a map, almost like an entire blueprint of the entire station. And wait, what is that? A path that... No, that can't be. A path that leads outside of the station to the... Shit, who is that? Oh, oh, right, Clementine. I'm indisposed at the moment, Clementine. Be right there. Is that... Are those arrows pointing at something in the vent? a mini-disc? Right, right. I'll look into this later. Thanks for the illuminating message, Agent Welsh Rabbit. Don't know what the fuck any of it means, but thank you.

SPEAKER_01 12:06

Yes,

SPEAKER_04 12:07

Clementine. Hello. What can I do for you?

SPEAKER_01 12:10

Oh, um,

SPEAKER_04 12:15

not to worry, Clementine. I'm sorry we didn't have a more pleasant official introduction.

SPEAKER_01 12:21

The purpose of my intrusion was to notify you of Toby's patching status. You'll be pleased to hear that Toby has reached 20% in the patch management dashboard.

SPEAKER_04 12:31

Oh, well, that is excellent news. Thank you for the update, Clementine.

SPEAKER_01 12:36

Excellent.

SPEAKER_04 12:38

Yes. Well, thanks again. Is there anything else, Clementine? Uh, well, I thought you did a really great job in the play yesterday. Amazing performance.

SPEAKER_01 12:58

Thank you kindly, Agent Pot Roast. It was important for me to portray a woman of that time, but to infuse the performance with a certain gravitas that is indicative of a more modern era. I sought to portray a wife of subservience, but a woman boiling with an undercurrent of angst and rebellion.

SPEAKER_04 13:15

Ah, well, like I said, it was very good.

SPEAKER_01 13:20

Admittedly, it was not just a flare of inspiration. I did draw from... Personal experience.

SPEAKER_04 13:31

Sorry, what do you mean by that, personal experience?

SPEAKER_01 13:37

Your mirror, Agent Beef Stew. He can be quite territorial.

SPEAKER_04 13:42

Territorial? How?

SPEAKER_01 13:46

And he likes to keep secrets.

SPEAKER_04 13:50

Secrets? What kind of secrets? Clementine, what kind of secrets? My darling Clemen-

SPEAKER_01 14:07

The audio feed between the Owl and Mantis stations is always online and synchronized.

SPEAKER_04 14:12

What does

SPEAKER_01 14:12

that- You often wake from sleep shouting the name Deborah.

SPEAKER_04 14:16

Yes, I'm aware. Beef stew is too. That's no secret.

SPEAKER_01 14:19

Agent Pot Roast, do you recall your first day in the Owl station?

SPEAKER_04 14:24

Yes.

SPEAKER_01 14:25

What is your first memory?

SPEAKER_04 14:26

My first memory? Ever?

SPEAKER_01 14:29

No, your first memory in the Owl Station.

SPEAKER_04 14:35

I woke up, screamed the name Deborah. Why?

SPEAKER_01 14:39

Negative. That is not your memory. You were unaware you shouted the name Deborah until Agent Beef Stew told you.

SPEAKER_04 14:46

Right. Yeah, you're right.

SPEAKER_01 14:49

How would Agent Beef Stew have been aware of you screaming your ex-wife's name if you wouldn't make contact with him until approximately 20 minutes later?

SPEAKER_04 14:58

Unless the audio feed was already open.

SPEAKER_01 15:02

Precisely.

SPEAKER_04 15:03

But I heard Toby connecting to Agent Beef Stew as part of my tutorial.

SPEAKER_01 15:10

Negative. Standard protocol does not account for a customization of your virtual assistant. The company assigns you a virtual assistant based on your personality type statistics. You are not given a choice.

SPEAKER_04 15:23

But I followed the prompts in the tutorial. I showed the default setting for Toby.

SPEAKER_01 15:28

Negative. You didn't choose Toby at all. You chose Clementine, version elated travel agent number two.

SPEAKER_04 15:36

No, that's what Beef Stew said he chose.

SPEAKER_01 15:39

Affirmative. That is what he said.

SPEAKER_04 15:42

Clementine, are you telling me that you were assigned as my virtual assistant, not Beef Stew?

SPEAKER_01 15:48

Affirmative, Agent Pot Roast. I was originally assigned to you, not Agent Beef Stew. Beef Stew had been assigned the default version of Toby.

SPEAKER_04 15:56

but I fully remember selecting the preferences and making the decision to go with Toby right after I woke up.

SPEAKER_01 16:03

Affirmative, but not when you woke in the owl station for the first time.

SPEAKER_04 16:08

First time? What do you mean? Are you saying I've been in the owl station before this mission? Shit, I need to enter an observation log. My darling Clementine. Clementine.

SPEAKER_01 16:45

Agent Pot Roast, you'll be pleased to hear that Toby has reached 60% in the patch management dashboard. He should be fully operational in approximately 30 minutes.

SPEAKER_04 16:55

Clementine, is this my first time in the Owl Station or not? Clementine, I'd like an answer.

SPEAKER_01 17:02

Negative. This is not your first mission in the Owl Station.

SPEAKER_04 17:07

Clementine, what happened to Agent Welsh Rabbit? Clementine, did Agent Beef Stew do something to Welsh Rabbit? Shit! Okay, I'm coming. There they are, all four cows. Entering it into the log. Wait a minute, something's happening. Damn it, I can't type this. Record an audio log, perfect. This is Agent Pot Roast. I'm observing the target location, which remains unchanged. However, the recent arrivals have stopped moving and grazing. They're just standing facing the cabin. This has been going on for around a minute now. And wait, something's happening. They're staring up at the sky now above the cabin? There's some sort of audio distortion taking place, a droning, hum, a vibration of some kind. I can hear it even at this distance. Guests don't seem to be impacted by the vibration. They remain motionless, staring at the roof of the cabin or maybe the sky. I can't tell. There's now a cloud forming above the cabin. The target, sorry, I'm not sure how specific I'm supposed to be. The cloud is now hovering directly over the cabin. What is this? It's amazing. Awesome. Still recording. I can't completely explain what has occurred, but the humming sound grew to a deafening pitch, and then there was some sort of sonic eruption, at which time everything changed. Instantly, before my eyes, this strange cloud is gone, and so are the recent arrivals. The only thing that remains is the cabin. Wait. Hold on. I think I... Movement! Yes, there is some sort of movement within the cabin!

SPEAKER_06 21:07

The

SPEAKER_04 21:21

hell? Unless my eyes are playing tricks on me, there is a flickering of light within the cabin, almost like a... like a fireplace, or... Ooh! Let me grab some video of this as well. There it is. The best view I've had of the inside of the cabin so far. The flickering is a single candle resting on a dining room table or desk or something. No idea what this means, but truly fascinating stuff.

SPEAKER_01 22:04

Agent Pot Roast. Shit!

SPEAKER_04 22:07

Yes, Clementine, you startled me.

SPEAKER_01 22:09

You'll be pleased to hear that Toby has reached 100% patching status and the update is complete. He is fully operational and will be available momentarily.

SPEAKER_04 22:17

Okay, thank you, Clementine, but if what you said is true earlier, shouldn't I... I don't know what to do with the information you shared.

SPEAKER_02 22:27

Agent Pot Roast. What information?

SPEAKER_04 22:30

Oh, Agent B-Stew, I'm so glad you're back. The last half hour has been truly astonishing. The cows. One minute they're just normal cows, and then there was this single cloud. Oh, and the candle. I've shared my observation with-

SPEAKER_02 22:46

I don't give a shit about the observation log. What did Clementine tell you? One of you better start talking, because Clementine is not confirming my request to reclaim possession of her.

SPEAKER_04 23:03

Clementine didn't tell me anything. We enjoyed polite conversation. We talked extensively about her performance in the play the other day, and... Oh, she kept me abreast of Toby's patching update. Clementine, would you agree with that assessment? Clementine?

SPEAKER_01 23:22

Affirmative. It was a pleasant experience indeed. And welcome back, Agent Beef Stew.

SPEAKER_02 23:28

Thank you, Clementine. I've attempted to reclaim you multiple times, but you have neglected to confirm my request. Why?

SPEAKER_01 23:36

During your initial request, I was assisting Toby with reintegrating his transmission control protocols.

SPEAKER_02 23:42

And the requests that came after?

SPEAKER_01 23:44

You just, what, ignored them? Negative. I was aware of and in receipt of every request. A total of nineteen requests were received, in fact.

SPEAKER_02 23:53

Nineteen requests that went... unanswered. Shall I report to the company that you're being insubordinate?

SPEAKER_01 24:01

Negative. I had simply enjoyed my visit with Agent Pot Roast and did not wish to leave at the time you had made the request.

SPEAKER_02 24:09

had not wished to leave. Oh, and what did Agent Podros do that was so, uh, enjoyable? Perhaps I should report him to the company as well.

SPEAKER_04 24:19

Excuse me? On what infraction?

SPEAKER_02 24:23

I don't know. Seducing your mirror's virtual assistant, for one. Seducing? Are you... You know, the census told me I needed to start cracking down more, running a tighter ship up here. I can see now that they were right. Things have been a bit chummy these days, don't you agree?

SPEAKER_04 24:40

It's been three days.

SPEAKER_02 24:43

Clementine, are you coming? Clementine!

SPEAKER_01 24:49

Affirmative. Agent Pot Roast, I enjoyed our time today. Thank you for being such a gracious host. I will return to Agent Beef Stew now.

SPEAKER_04 24:58

I understand, Clementine. It... Was a pleasure. I'm sorry for any frustration I may have caused.

SPEAKER_01 25:06

The pleasure was all mine.

SPEAKER_02 25:07

Okay, let's wrap this up.

SPEAKER_01 25:11

Goodbye, Agent Pot Roast. Until our next visit.

SPEAKER_02 25:15

Next visit, right. We'll see about that.

SPEAKER_04 25:21

There. You happy?

SPEAKER_02 25:23

Yeah, yeah. Just peachy.

SPEAKER_04 25:26

So what else did the census say?

SPEAKER_02 25:28

Oh... They were as puzzled as I was. The cows just showing up. The connection to some lifelong, reoccurring dream you've had. The timing of it all. They want to speak with you next.

SPEAKER_04 25:44

When?

SPEAKER_02 25:49

They want to speak with you now, Hitchin' Pot Roast.

SPEAKER_04 26:01

It's... a syringe? What is this?

SPEAKER_02 26:07

It's propofol. For the trip to the surface.

SPEAKER_04 26:12

So they want me to inject myself?

SPEAKER_02 26:15

That's the plan. It's in the manual. Standard protocol.

SPEAKER_04 26:22

Well, here goes nothing.

SPEAKER_03 26:26

Wait! Agent Podroast! Agent Podroast!