Listener discretion is advised. Last week on six Shifts Incorporated, one of them
is talking to that detective I told you about. Go over there and make
it stop. Heads is trash. I take it back. You don't get
to cry. I've been barely scraping by for millennia. Where were your tears?
Then consider this my resignation. Oh hi, Sarah, I'm gonna help
you get the team together for an emergency meeting. Due to the law of
revelation, Monica is unfortunately no longer with us. Heaven is out of power.
The human Spirit is currently sitting on Heaven's throne. They are marked by
the sign of the Trickster, and they've managed to trap the Almighty in a
computer simulation. They all died before you. Now, someone deleted the original
report. We did not start this fight, but we will win this war.
I'll be fine. I just need to You may have noticed that I
stopped commenting on where I'm recording from. Whiskey Jack thinks that there's somehow able
to listen in when I'm recording in pinpoint where we are based on what they
hear. So now I'm using a filter to cut out any background sound and
make us harder to trace. Apparently the power I'm using doesn't utilize towers or
satellites like ordinary tech, so that's how they can still attack my mind and
not know where we are. It's a mixed blessing anyway. The day after
my first check in with Marley, I was working a shift at Club Cafe
with Steve, and that's where this footage comes from. Steve and I are
hanging around behind the counter waiting out a lull between customers. Oh hey,
I read something in the news today about your manager. That's awful. I'm
so sorry. Yeah, it sucks. It's scary too. I hope they
catch the person who did it. There's this flicker of malicious anger that crosses
his face when I'm not looking spooky. They probably won't because nobody really cares.
Sure people pretend to care now, it's what you're supposed to do.
But after a while, maybe a few weeks, maybe a few months,
nobody will even remember she died. Her case will go cold like all the
other ones and quietly fade into the background. People only really care if they
feel like their own lives are in danger. People also care when somebody with
a lot of money dies. But that's only because you might get paid to
care In the end, everyone's only pretending. I don't know what to say
to that. You know I'm friends with this detective Ropet Skylar. Okay,
I'm thinking about quitting not here but my side gig for six Shift Incorporated.
I was thinking about all the meetings I've had with Detective Marlene, how hinky
everything is with that company, and I'm just exhausted of always being stretched so
thin. But you can't quit? Why not? How is he going to
save up enough money to move out? Excuse me? Oh, don't pretend.
I know you're dying to go back to Edmonton and buy a place of
your own. How you talk in your sleep? Sometimes loudly? Does Kobe
know? Sea Boy? He sleeps like a baby. Don't worry your secret
safe with me? Honestly, I don't blame you. So you really think
I should keep working for them? I think it's your best bet, and
I think he didn't want to lose his best source of information on Haiti's daily
operations. Having me around was probably the only thing protecting Steve from woll best
not to think about that. At the end of that shift, I received
an unexpected visit, Vanessa? What are you doing here? The no nonsense
attitude, the relentless motion, There's something threatening behind her eyes. She whips
out a formal letter and practically shoves it in my face. I look positively
bewildered. Did I mention I'm still behind the counter. I'd been in the
process of removing my work apron when she assaulted me. The draw strings of
my apron are dangling uselessly at my sides. What is this letter? What?
Hang on? Can you give me like five minutes? I need to
clock out in oh? I cannot give you like five minutes. All the
information you need is contained in that letter. Vanessa turns on her heel and
is about to leave when wait, She halts, and I quickly skim over
the letter. What if I have a question about subsection thirty two C of
my NDA? Wait, I never signed an NDA. All stick Shift Incorporated
employees signed an NDA. I have yours right here. She opens a folder
under her arm and reveals a document with my signature on it. But that
doesn't make any sense. I never signed the paperwork does not lie mix Henderson,
and you would do well to heed my notice. If you continue leaking
proprietary information to third parties. Stick Shift Incorporated will be forced to take legal
action. And you don't want that, do you? What? Proprietary information
and third parties? Good day Mix Henderson. And then she just walks out
like a force of nature. Oh hey, a new file appeared. It's
from fifteen years ago. And huh, this is the one with the people
on the moon. Didn't we already? It's weird. It's label has remastered.
Okay, and it looks the same so far. We're on the moon.
Hackade comes out to enjoy the view. Oh I didn't realize the other
person with her was Hermes and he's bouncing around enjoying yourself. Always wait,
did that sound like? Why am I not surprised? You should try it?
Loosen up a little. Oh my god, it is something's wrong.
Yes, you're not bouncing. I think that is very wrong. I'm being
serious. Something is Something is out of alignment, unbalanced. You're on vacation.
Can't you let work go for a bit? Learn to play a little.
Earth will still be there when you're done. I don't think a man
you burned it, But Haiti, you're killing the vibe. You're ridiculous.
You know that she almost figured it out, then didn't she? That wasn't
really Hermes, it was you. How long were you impersonating Hermes? You
rarely ask the right questions, so I will answer the questions you should have
asked. There are rules, Skylar, ancient ones, laws that even the
gods must obey, like the law of revelation. The living create gods for
a purpose, whether it be to make sense of the world or to change
it in some way. Isn't that backwards? Aren't the gods supposed to be
the ones who created us? Yes? And no. When a child is
born, their soul bears the mark of the gods and archetypes who have had
a hand in their creation. Oftentimes this follows ancestral lineage, but not always,
which means I Greek, French, Catholic, Celtic, and Cree.
I've managed to keep the fae away from you, but entities from the other
mythologies have all stayed to claim on your soul. I need to sit down,
But this story is far older than you, Skylar. When the colonizers
came, their gods attempted to rewrite everything, but they couldn't change. They
aimed to destroy. That's awful, whiskey Jack. Yes, Skylar, thanks
for answering the questions that I didn't know to ask. You're welcome, Skyler.
Anyway, after Vanessa surprised me at the club cafe, I went to
see Detective Marley. Here's some audio from that conversation, and then she handed
me that letter. But you never signed anything, no, are you sure?
Of course, I'm sure. I have no way of proving it,
but I'm telling you they've forged my signature. You can't prove that yet,
but my source may be able to track down some footage or audio that does.
Plus, they've been searching for someone reliable to sort through files for them.
Peace better than what you're getting from sick shift here. You should message
them. Thanks. I'll see what I can do about this Vanessa person,
which leads me to the next file. It's evening and we're in Yaletown looking
down on Detective Marley. He's sitting in a black car parked outside of a
luxury apartment building. Okay, now, Vanessa Lewis is walking into frame.
Detective Marley gets out of his car and approaches her. Good evening, miss
Lewis, wand if I ask you a few questions. Vanessa looks annoyed.
Wait did you see that? Of course he didn't. So there are a
couple other people in frame. I thought they were all just random strangers,
but Vanessa made eye contact with one of them and nodded. I can't fathom
why, because if this were a business call, you would have approached me
in my place of business during business hours. The person, Vanessa added to
is sneaking up behind Detective Marlin with Is that a bow and arrow? Oh
no, so surely this is not a business call, Detective Marley. Is
it Cupid? Of course it's cupid. When the arrow hits Detective Marley,
he doesn't even react except four who Wow, I didn't know that shade of
ready even existed. A woman comes forward from behind Cupid and smiles at Vanessa.
But if this is about pleasure, she grabs him by the tie and
leads him into her apartment. And we are inside now Cupid and the woman
that I'm guessing is aphrodite. Nope, I'm done. Time to go wash
up my eyeballs with bleach. It's weird that Vanessa could see them, but
Marley couldn't. Right, the gods I mean, but why didn't they explode
when she saw them? Why didn't they explode? For that matter, why
doesn't Whiskey Jack explode every time I talk to him? Are they casting some
sort of protection? Or are those not their true forms? Who were the
watchers? Early on, whiskey Jack told me that there are many watchers?
But why don't the gods and other mythological beings explode when the watchers are recording?
Maybe the watchers aren't alive. Ah, it's late, I need to
go to bed. This show was made possible in part by our Kickstarter backers,
Apocalypse Cowboy on Twitter, Stephen Lafon from the Whichever Path podcast Duane Farber
in nineteen eighty five, the podcast by Charie Madewell. Special thanks to our
mus on paper Treon Olivia. Thank you so much for believing in us.
If you like to support the show, consider becoming a patron. You can
also support the show by rating, subscribing, and sharing with others. Sharing
is carrying, after all. Stick Shift Incorporated was written, produced, and
set in Vancouver, BC, which is the unseated shared traditional territories of the
Coast Salish peoples, including the territories of the Musquiam, Squamish, and Slavewatooth
Nations. This episode featured the voices of check Off, Frederick s Gregory Hailey,
C McCarthy, Stuart Moyer, Takudzwas, Sharon Kimi, and Dietrie Marie
Bowie. Music for the show was composed by Anthony Louis Sanchez. If you'd
like to hear more of his work, visit Anthony Louis Sanchez dot com or
subscribe to his YouTube channel Molto Rubato eighty eight. Think you know what will
happen next? Tweet us your theories or hop into our discord server linked in
the show notes. Stixshift Incorporated is a Microphones and Monsters production. You can
find Stixshift Incorporated wherever podcasts are found, or at stixshift dot com. That's
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