by D.J. Sylvis
ROGER
Recording. This is Roger Bragado-Fischer, Communications, Moonbase Theta. As per your … explicit instructions, I have begun monitoring the personal messages of all active personnel. Please note my misgivings as put on official record in the previous week’s reporting. And the week before. And the week before that.
(sigh)
As your directive remains unchanged, my written report, and several relevant audio messages, have been attached.
NARRATOR
Hi, this is D.J. Sylvis, creator of Moonbase Theta, Out! In the first season of the show, Roger brought you a series of official reports on the Base shutdown. Now in Season 2, we’re going through the same sequence of events, but what you hear will be anything but official. Personal thoughts, private messages, secret confessions – we’re going to pull back the curtain.
ROGER (from S2E4)
I can’t – there aren’t even words right now. They can take that list of “new Base directives” and fold it until it’s all corners, and shove it right into their collective –
ROGER (from S2E5)
Okay, so we made up an astronomical event, and caused a … tiny bit of a panic. And we got caught.
ROGER (from S2E6)
I don’t know if they’ll let all of this through. I don’t see why not, the only person incriminated is myself.
NARRATOR
And of course, we’ll be going deeper into the relationship between Roger and Alex, exploring both their perspectives on the distance, and the love that has held them together.
ROGER (from S2E1)
Alex, I … know we’ve been waiting a long time, and now it’s going to be a few weeks longer. Months, I suppose. It hurts here, too. There’s a lot I can’t wait to say, looking into your eyes, holding you so goddamn tight. I’m sorry. I’ll be home soon.
ALEX (from S2E1)
It took too long to find each other. I’m not giving up, and I’m sure as hell not letting you give up on me. Você é de comunicação, então fala comigo. Pelo menos fala alguma coisa, usa suas palavras bonitas. Start from … it’s probably not realistic to start from the day you left, but start somewhere, tell me how you’re feeling, what’s been inside your head since last year. All the things you haven’t wanted to say, I need to hear them. You’re too far away to stay this … far away.
NARRATOR
But that’s not anywhere near all of the story we’ll tell. We’ve got four other folks involved in Base Theta’s shutdown sequence, and this season you’ll hear from each of them. You’ve had a little taste of Wilder in a bonus episode, but believe me, it just gets better from there:
WILDER (from S2E2)
I made a deal, though, about the tardigrades. Nessa took a shine to them, and I can’t say no to her. Don’t know of anyone who can. So we’ll keep that experiment a bit longer, “Growth Ratios and Biological reaction to Extended Anhydrobiosis due to Radiation.” I like sayin’ th’ full names. It reminds people I’m not just a pretty face, and an arm that nobody can take their eyes off.
(her arm buzzes again as she flexes)
That’s right, darlin’. You know you’re gorgeous. Crush that pop can for me.
(we hear crinkling aluminum, she laughs)
That’s what I’m talkin’ about. Honey badger ain’t got nothin’ on us. We don’t care.
NARRATOR
And you’ll meet our Base Security officer, Michell L’Anglois. Make what you might of him.
MICHELL (from S2E2)
Replacing a three-person team isn’t great – c’est un emmerdeur, comes down to it – but the way things are headed on Earth, I’m not surprised. I hope they stuck them right on the wall with São Paolo, managers too. Braindead intolerant douche-rats. At least up here, they went to stasis, so I can run things the way that I want.
(brief pause)
I’m keeping an ear on the chatter around Base, it doesn’t sound like they known much of what’s really going on. We’ll see how things shake out, they could all be in the mines before long. I’d love to see that comm lead do a real day’s work. “Broadcasting, this is Roger Bragrado-Fischer, professional blowhard.”
NARRATOR
And I’m really looking forward to sharing more of the vivid life of Nessa Cheong:
NESSA (from S2E3)
I love this place, I love the feel of it, I love what I’ve … cultivated. Everyone winds up here on their breaks, Even Ashwini has peeked out a time or two late at night, mumbling to zirself and poking zir nose into the cultured proteins. I’ve had more time to get to know Wilder, she’s so sweet and of course that accent absolutely kills me. We’ve been in charge of the experiments in the lab, lots of time to talk in between delicate shutdown procedures. We’re both a bit taken with the tardigrades I was telling you about. She lets me take them out and they toddle around the farm like baby puppies.
NARRATOR
And of course, I’ve perhaps had the most fun of all writing for Dr. Ashwini Ray. But here’s a bit of a surprise – zir scenes won’t be quite as solely focused as the rest of the season, because you’ll also be discovering our surprise sixth character on the Moonbase – the computing system ze’s named ‘Tumnus’:
ASHWINI (from S2E5)
I should have named you Igor. Robby the Robot. Or C-3P0, though you’re not quite that obsequious.
TUMNUS
You said you chose Tumnus because the character was helpful, but also duplicitous.
ASHWINI
A parent always hopes zir child will carry on some of zir best attributes.
TUMNUS
Yet you did not program me to express dishonesty. It is not written into my code.
ASHWINI
Some things you just have to learn, my faithful friend. You have to choose. I may be the … well, not the White Witch, that much is for certain, but the antagonist in this tale. It is my role to slowly seduce you into … if not into a dark side, at least a little moral ambiguity.
NARRATOR
And of course, all of this is just the barest beginning. We’ll have guest stars, surprise reveals, I’ll probably spend the bulk of the season locked up in Feelings Jail, and of course there’s the flashback episode we’re producing for International Podcast Month … I’m SURE that’s going to surprise you. So, now that we’re almost at the end of the promo, here’s the big reveal – we launch Season 2 on Sunday, August 18th! We have ten regular season episodes, not counting the IPM episode, which we’ll be releasing every two weeks, and that should take us right through the end of the year. It’s going to be one hell of a journey, one I can’t wait to share. So join myself, Leeman Kessler, Gabriel Taneko, Tina Daniels, Cass McPhee, Elissa Park, Tau Zaman, and Jen Ponton as we bring you the second season of Moonbase Theta, Out. Add it to your podcast apps, check us out on Twitter and Monkeymanproductions.com, and if you’ve got a bit of cash to spare, consider becoming one of our backers on Patreon for early access, behind the scenes info, and that great feeling that comes with helping to make the art you love possible. I’ll leave you with that and get back to work – well, after giving Roger the final words as always:
ROGER
Moonbase Theta, Out.
