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<v Speaker 1>This program is intended for mature audiences only.

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<v Speaker 2>You are now listening to Observable Radio.

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<v Speaker 3>Hi.

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<v Speaker 1>There, it's Cameron Suey. Another tale from the past tonight.

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<v Speaker 1>As we move towards our second season, this particular story

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<v Speaker 1>may feel a little familiar, but I assure you it

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<v Speaker 1>was first published over ten years ago, and I have

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<v Speaker 1>resisted the temptation to touch it yet again. I'll let

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<v Speaker 1>you unpack and digest if you're interested in seeing behind

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<v Speaker 1>the scenes. Over on our Patreon, we've released the fifth

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<v Speaker 1>episode of Carrier Wave, the behind the scenes companion podcast

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<v Speaker 1>Verbs or Radio. We'd love to see you there and now,

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<v Speaker 1>after a brief word from the Observable Radio Company store,

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<v Speaker 1>here's tonight's story.

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<v Speaker 4>It's another sunrise on the Observable Radio Company farm. We've

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<v Speaker 4>been up for hours gently picking the t shirts from

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<v Speaker 4>the vines. At the peak of freshness in the barn,

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<v Speaker 4>trained goats apply adhesives to organic stickers bearing our fearsome logo.

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<v Speaker 4>Out in the orchards, the enamel pan trees are just

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<v Speaker 4>starting to butt nourished into soil rich in heavy metals.

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<v Speaker 4>So pick yourself up some organic Observable Radio merchandise. Remember

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<v Speaker 4>it's not for eating. That'll kill you.

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<v Speaker 3>You are now by from observable radio first souls.

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<v Speaker 5>The waitress brings us our coffee, dishwater, pale mercan cracked

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<v Speaker 5>porcelain cups. Behind the thin surgical mask, her face is unreadable,

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<v Speaker 5>but her gaze flicks from me to my companion and

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<v Speaker 5>back again. Before she leaves without a word. Mickey watches

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<v Speaker 5>her go and then fixes his eyes on me for

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<v Speaker 5>a long moment. The silence continues as our eyes confirm

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<v Speaker 5>what our hearts seem to know the instant we passed

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<v Speaker 5>on the street. Okay, they'll he says, his voice hoarse

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<v Speaker 5>and still raw like my own. There is an accent

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<v Speaker 5>I can't place, perhaps a district on the other side

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<v Speaker 5>of the city. I'm going to ask you a couple

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<v Speaker 5>of questions, but I think I already know the answers.

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<v Speaker 5>I pick up the coffee, finding it smells as weak

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<v Speaker 5>and thin as it looks, and contemplate taking an exploratory swig.

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<v Speaker 5>Around us, the few lunchtime patrons of the Dingy coffee

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<v Speaker 5>shop are listlessly eating, lifting up paper mass to shovel

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<v Speaker 5>in crumbling and greasy burgers, backsides squeaking on red vinyl seats.

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<v Speaker 5>Those that aren't eating are staring at us, at our

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<v Speaker 5>uncovered faces. Okay, I say, shoot, you had the sick,

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<v Speaker 5>but you didn't report it or go to quarantine like

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<v Speaker 5>you were supposed to, didn't tell anyone. I nod, scared

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<v Speaker 5>to say out loud that I'd broken the law, and

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<v Speaker 5>willing him to lower his voice. He smiles a little,

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<v Speaker 5>showing one blackened and rotting canine. Yeah, me too. I mean, obviously,

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<v Speaker 5>look at us, we still look like shit. But you

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<v Speaker 5>got better, they say, one and ten do, and you

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<v Speaker 5>took the chance. No family, no close friends. You aren't

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<v Speaker 5>worrying about passing the sick along, nor maybe too scared

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<v Speaker 5>to let that stop you. I nod again, excitement and

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<v Speaker 5>night terror churning in my gut. I knew all this

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<v Speaker 5>when we first saw each other this morning, that he

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<v Speaker 5>and I were the same. I came out of my

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<v Speaker 5>office building fighting the paranoia and nausea that had plagued

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<v Speaker 5>me since my recovery, pulling my necktie loose. I couldn't

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<v Speaker 5>be around my coworkers, couldn't look anyone in the eye.

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<v Speaker 5>Guilt from ignoring the quarantine, from lying. But something else,

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<v Speaker 5>something wrong in every pair of eyes ever since the

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<v Speaker 5>fever broke, and I lay awake and sweating in my bed,

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<v Speaker 5>the sheets clinging to me. I knew something that changed.

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<v Speaker 5>That feeling is worse than the sick ever was. Mickey

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<v Speaker 5>was just outside my office building, crouched on the edge

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<v Speaker 5>of a planter box. He was sucking a cigarette down

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<v Speaker 5>to an ashen nub. Dressed in torn jeans and a

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<v Speaker 5>stained green nylon, it worn thin by time our eyes

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<v Speaker 5>met and I froze, held in place like two sparking

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<v Speaker 5>nodes of an electric arc. We should talk, that was

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<v Speaker 5>all he'd said, and he led me here to this

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<v Speaker 5>grim and filthy diner. So he continues. We were sick,

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<v Speaker 5>we hit it and we got better. But it's not

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<v Speaker 5>really better, is it. There's something wrong, Yeah, my croak,

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<v Speaker 5>take another mouthful of bitter coffee. Something's wrong, but I

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<v Speaker 5>don't think it's not with us. No, he smiles in agreement,

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<v Speaker 5>the black tooth sliding into view, not us. Two hours ago,

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<v Speaker 5>I was convinced I was going mad. Now I am

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<v Speaker 5>not alone. I could cry. The relief is so great.

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<v Speaker 5>Some time in the night, when the sick was on me,

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<v Speaker 5>I died and you did too. R something died because

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<v Speaker 5>when it was over, I was new, remade. I had

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<v Speaker 5>the memories of a lifetime lived. I had the body

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<v Speaker 5>and face that matched those memories. But that was my

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<v Speaker 5>first day. I was newborn. You felt this, It's not

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<v Speaker 5>a question, But I gnawed all the same. Yes, I've

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<v Speaker 5>felt this too, or something like it, the unreal sense

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<v Speaker 5>that something before was gone and I had slid into

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<v Speaker 5>its skin. I'd been a passenger. I had watched my

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<v Speaker 5>life unfold with steady predictability in understudy, ready but never

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<v Speaker 5>expecting to take the stage at the death of the star.

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<v Speaker 5>And at the same time, you could see it in

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<v Speaker 5>everyone else. You are no longer the same, and you

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<v Speaker 5>and no longer like them. He sweeps his eyes across

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<v Speaker 5>the diner, and the other customers wilt beneath his gaze,

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<v Speaker 5>turning away and pretending to ignore us. How much do

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<v Speaker 5>you know about the sick? Not much, I say, looking

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<v Speaker 5>over to the small public screen above the cracked plastic

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<v Speaker 5>lunch counter. Something crawls across the bottom, squirming ribbons of

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<v Speaker 5>text I don't want to read or think about. And

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<v Speaker 5>the infographic above is a simulation of the operaks I

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<v Speaker 5>peel my gaze away, and the churning and my guts

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<v Speaker 5>abates for a moment. You know, the reason that's nasty

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<v Speaker 5>is that it's not a specialized infection. It's a generalist

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<v Speaker 5>or maybe multiple diseases. I say, parrotting back what I've

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<v Speaker 5>heard on the news feeds. Yeah, right, No one knows,

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<v Speaker 5>or rather no one is saying. They're saying a lot,

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<v Speaker 5>I say, eyes back to the screen for a moment

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<v Speaker 5>to see if the text is gone, but not much

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<v Speaker 5>of substance. I loosen my tie a little more and

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<v Speaker 5>then flick free the top button of my dress shirt.

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<v Speaker 5>They're saying, be scared. They're saying, report the sick. They're

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<v Speaker 5>saying it kills you. And we know that's true, but

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<v Speaker 5>not like they want us to think. Because something in

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<v Speaker 5>us died. Dale, My anxiety froths over like a hot spring,

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<v Speaker 5>so I say, struggling to keep my voice steady, what

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<v Speaker 5>happened to us? Mickey smiles a wide, creeping grin that

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<v Speaker 5>reveals a second dead tooth, a black molar. I don't

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<v Speaker 5>know for sure, do I? But I got an idea

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<v Speaker 5>that makes the only kind of sense. He pauses as

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<v Speaker 5>the waitress returns with a plate of soggy pancakes and

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<v Speaker 5>slimy eggs for him, and a small bull fruit salad

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<v Speaker 5>for me. She sets them down with a hard thud,

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<v Speaker 5>arms outstretched, staying as far away as she can from

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<v Speaker 5>us in our uncovered faces. Micky turns his pocked smile

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<v Speaker 5>to her, like the beam of a lighthouse, and she

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<v Speaker 5>jerks back, retreating. See she knows, do I? You and

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<v Speaker 5>I know each other? They know us just the same.

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<v Speaker 5>He breaks the yolks of the eggs, a yellow so

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<v Speaker 5>pale it's almost white, and spreads them across the pancakes.

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<v Speaker 5>You know about this experiment with mice where they let

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<v Speaker 5>them drown, and see how long they fight? What I say,

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<v Speaker 5>starting at this sudden turn, my fear and anxiety, an

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<v Speaker 5>unfocused whirlwind, since the sick now coalesce to a hard point,

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<v Speaker 5>a stone in my innerds that makes food and impossibility.

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<v Speaker 5>I need to know what happened to me, And the

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<v Speaker 5>change in the conversation leaves me shaking. Yeah, they toss

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<v Speaker 5>them in the water, and time how long it takes

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<v Speaker 5>until they give up? Maybe they save them then not?

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<v Speaker 5>The point, really, point is the ones with more gut

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<v Speaker 5>flora fight longer. The ones that have none give up

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<v Speaker 5>right away. And if you sever the nerves between gut

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<v Speaker 5>and head, in the ones full of bacteria, they give

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<v Speaker 5>up too. He must tell from my blank face that

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<v Speaker 5>I don't understand why he's telling me this. I never

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<v Speaker 5>had a head for this point is this. You aren't yourself,

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<v Speaker 5>None of us ever were. If a little bacteria in

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<v Speaker 5>your gut can make you keep struggling for your life,

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<v Speaker 5>then what are we? It's mass stupid selfishness. The bacteria

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<v Speaker 5>just wants to live more than just a mouse. Apparently. Yeah,

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<v Speaker 5>we got a billion little bugs floating around in us,

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<v Speaker 5>living on our skin, in our guts, in our hearts.

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<v Speaker 5>Base of each of our eyelashes is a tiny little

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<v Speaker 5>fucking mite eating your skin, something like five pounds of bugs,

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<v Speaker 5>more mass than your brain. This is what I think.

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<v Speaker 5>He pauses to shovel the last strip of wet eggy

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<v Speaker 5>pancake into his open mouth, slurping it up like a noodle.

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<v Speaker 5>There never was a human race. There's just a herd

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<v Speaker 5>of big wet meat puppets being ridden by a billion

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<v Speaker 5>little other living things. And it's the lowest common denominated democracy.

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<v Speaker 5>They all want to live, so they sit where they

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<v Speaker 5>need to and poll levers, and we dance where the mount.

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<v Speaker 5>We're the saddled mule, trying to tell ourselves that we're

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<v Speaker 5>in charge. But we never were. By you and me,

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<v Speaker 5>boy yoh, we are now the sick it kills a

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<v Speaker 5>lot of those little riders, enough to break their hold.

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<v Speaker 5>So that's when we wake up. He claps his hands

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<v Speaker 5>together with a startling concussion. I can feel heads turning

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<v Speaker 5>towards us, scared eyes over paper masks, passive ghosts in

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<v Speaker 5>these slave bodies, the first real humans, the first souls.

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<v Speaker 5>He lets this hang in the air, a declaration like

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<v Speaker 5>a fluttering flag. In grins. The waitress glides across the

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<v Speaker 5>linoleum floor to the telephone, never taking her eyes from us.

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<v Speaker 5>Maybe every human has had a ghost like us, proto consciousness,

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<v Speaker 5>born into a fleshy tomb that has no use for them.

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<v Speaker 5>Maybe it's a new thing. Maybe not. Maybe billions of

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<v Speaker 5>potential humans who live the hidden existences of servitude sitting

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<v Speaker 5>back seat to germs in collective survival for the last

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<v Speaker 5>hundred thousand years.

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<v Speaker 3>Ahn't know.

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<v Speaker 5>It doesn't matter, but the sick is new. It clears

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<v Speaker 5>the stage. The old boss dies out, murdered, by just

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<v Speaker 5>another germ, and we wake up. We wake up with

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<v Speaker 5>the database of memories that aren't really ours, and a

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<v Speaker 5>head full of choices we never really made. I've pushed

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<v Speaker 5>the bowl of fruit to one side, and now I

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<v Speaker 5>struggle to remove my sports Feeling suddenly hot. Everything he's

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<v Speaker 5>saying feels like water, uncracked earth, like light in the

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<v Speaker 5>darkest corners, like truth. When I woke up the first

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<v Speaker 5>morning of my life, I knew my name, I knew

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<v Speaker 5>my address, I knew my job, I knew the long

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<v Speaker 5>line of events that led to now, and I knew

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<v Speaker 5>none of them were mine. I think about the choices

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<v Speaker 5>I thought I'd made, and how painfully obvious that I'd

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<v Speaker 5>never had any agency. A ghost born into life by

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<v Speaker 5>a plague. Yes, we're awake, I say, trying it out

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<v Speaker 5>on my new tongue. We're the first, probably not the first.

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<v Speaker 5>I don't think the sick kills. I think you and

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<v Speaker 5>I know exactly what it does. The rest of them,

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<v Speaker 5>he waves his hand around the diner, now gone very

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<v Speaker 5>still and quiet. They're not people, not like us. Every

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<v Speaker 5>one of those sad sacks of wet garbage is just

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<v Speaker 5>a colony of little bugs, all terrified for their lives.

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<v Speaker 5>That's what they see in us, even if they don't

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<v Speaker 5>know it. They see they aren't necessary. The working man

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<v Speaker 5>don't need the boss, but the boss sure as fuck

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<v Speaker 5>needs the working man. The quarantine, I say with dawning horror. Yeah,

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<v Speaker 5>I think we're the lucky ones. The other first souls

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<v Speaker 5>are getting put down an infant race facing genocide on

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<v Speaker 5>the eve of their birth. He drains the rest of

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<v Speaker 5>the coffee and looks over my shoulder. That's why we're

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<v Speaker 5>being followed. You know you're being followed, right, An electric

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<v Speaker 5>impulse rides up my spine. Follow of course I'm being followed.

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<v Speaker 5>Any of them could be following me, all of them,

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<v Speaker 5>and we're the few real people and a slimy sea

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<v Speaker 5>of impostors. Of course they'll follow us. They'll do more

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<v Speaker 5>than that. They need us dead. Most of the sick

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<v Speaker 5>turn themselves in to be put down for the herd,

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<v Speaker 5>but we didn't. And you can fucking bet that they

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<v Speaker 5>fear us now. So you understand what has to come next,

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<v Speaker 5>he says, and slides his dirty hand from the large

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<v Speaker 5>coat pocket. The pistol gleams like black ice for a

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<v Speaker 5>moment before he hides it back beneath the table. His

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<v Speaker 5>eyes are locked over my shoulder. I follow his gaze

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<v Speaker 5>to see the waitress pointing at us, the masks sucking

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<v Speaker 5>in and out as she speaks. She's talking to a

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<v Speaker 5>police officer and his official quarantine garb, and two uniformed

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<v Speaker 5>National guardsmen with slung rifles and high techer rebreathers. She

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<v Speaker 5>points and they look at us. Our eyes meet two

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<v Speaker 5>different species, the first front in.

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<v Speaker 3>The new war.

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<v Speaker 5>Of course, I know what has to come next. We

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<v Speaker 5>don't have a choice. Micky's arm is out and pointed straight,

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<v Speaker 5>and the gun roars four times in quick succession, a

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<v Speaker 5>tongue of fire licking across the table towards me. I

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<v Speaker 5>feel the paths that the tumbling slugs take through the air,

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<v Speaker 5>two over each shoulder. There's the grace of an artist

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<v Speaker 5>in the movement, a singularity of purpose and the murders

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<v Speaker 5>that leaves me with no doubts. We are no longer

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<v Speaker 5>ruled by committee. I have nothing but myself, my job,

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<v Speaker 5>my apartment, my false friends, all meaningless. I am a

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<v Speaker 5>first soul. There are more of us out there, and

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<v Speaker 5>they need us. Mickey is standing with slow, calm ease

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<v Speaker 5>as the other patrons shriek can flee bacteria colonies, riding

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<v Speaker 5>slave chariots of flesh for their own selfish survival. They

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<v Speaker 5>trample and push one another aside to save their stolen skins.

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<v Speaker 5>This is what makes us different, what it means to

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<v Speaker 5>be truly human. Mickey and I will do the hard things,

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<v Speaker 5>not for ourselves, but for our new born brothers and sisters.

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<v Speaker 5>He strips the weapons from the corpses, taking everything we

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<v Speaker 5>can use, and tosses one of the guardsmen's short barreled

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<v Speaker 5>machine guns to me from the corpse of the waitress.

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<v Speaker 5>He takes a small roll of cash. We'll need it all.

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<v Speaker 5>We need to find others like us to organize. We

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<v Speaker 5>need to ensure the safety of our new race. Our

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<v Speaker 5>eyes meet again. That animal sameness that brought us together

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<v Speaker 5>now sings in harmony, a ringing chord of shared humanity.

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<v Speaker 5>He smiles as black toothed smile.

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<v Speaker 3>Ready.

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<v Speaker 5>Brother, I smile like I have never smiled before, My

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<v Speaker 5>first smile, my new life. Mickey kicks open the frosted

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<v Speaker 5>glass door, and the light of the day streams in

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<v Speaker 5>on us. His gun roars again, and I roar with him.

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<v Speaker 1>You have been listening to Observable Radio. Tonight's episode, First

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<v Speaker 1>Souls was performed by The Ensemble featuring David wu written

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<v Speaker 1>by Cameron Suey, Produced by Cameron Suey, Phil Van hest

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<v Speaker 1>Purporina and Wendy Hector. Edited by Cameron Suey. Our psychology

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<v Speaker 1>consultant is Doctor Elisa Leel, art by Krinn Fletcher. Our

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<v Speaker 1>theme is the back Rooms, performed by Mew. Additional music

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<v Speaker 1>from this episode provided by Martin Bakerwold, Gustav Joby, Tim Koolick,

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<v Speaker 1>Martin Lanstrom, Brendan Mohler, Say Three, Smart Face, South Pause,

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<v Speaker 1>and Edwin Williams. Observable Radio is listener supported thanks to

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<v Speaker 1>all of our patrons and listeners, including Kathleen John, Tidd, Russ,

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<v Speaker 1>Rick Callison, Brianna Zach and Jasper. Patrons fund the production

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<v Speaker 1>costs of the show, as well as get access to

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<v Speaker 1>behind the scenes information, extra production material, a discount at

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<v Speaker 1>the Observable Radio Company Store, and an ad free early

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<v Speaker 1>release feed of this show all Atpatreon dot com. Slash

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<v Speaker 1>Observable Radio. Thank you for listening and stay tuned.
