CreepCast - I Talked To God

Episode Date: September 21, 2025

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or go to explorevolvo.com. Welcome back to Creepast. Today we are doing a little double-headed feature, starting off with one of the stories that is in our subreddit, our slash creedcast, called esoteric isotopes, which I don't like. that isotopes are ui yucky yucky num-n-n-time ui-you-y-y-y-y-y-y-y-y-y-y-y-y-y-y-y-y-y-y-y-y-y-y-y-y-y-y-y-y-y-y-y-y-y-y-y-y-y-y-y-y-y-y-y-y-y-y-y-y-y-y-y-y-y-y-y-y-y-o, yeah. An isotope is a variant of an element that has a different number of neutrons compared to the standard. They're also the little bugs that are in fish's mouth whenever you see them. No, that's not, no. You ever see the movie?

I don't even think it's... You ever see the movie, The Bay? Yes, that's the story we're reading. Yes, I've seen the Bay. That's the story we're reading. Esoteric yucky bug. The story should have been called. Already giving it a docket for not calling the story, esoteric yucky bug.

Already docking points from it. I literally know nothing. It's not all. It's not all isopods that do that. It's just like the one lous thing. No, no, no. All of them do that. All of them do that.

Okay. Have you seen the picture of a bunch of isopods around a bag of and they're extremely esoteric? There's a bunch of isopods, ron Doritos. I mean, do you blame them? Hold on. This is an important image. I don't know.

Sometimes I feel like I'm on the show with my grandfather. I don't know. If I'm being completely honest, I don't really, I don't think I really know what esoteric means. Teacher Isaiah, could you tell me what esoteric means? No. All right. Then I'll ask my real teacher, ask Jeeves, esoteric.

Okay. Intended for, or likely to be understood by only a small number of people with a specialized knowledge or interest. That's kind of funny. That's ironic that you wouldn't tell me that, too. It feels like you were being esoteric yourself. I don't know what you're talking about. Dude, I know. I like that

picture. I like the picture. I want to eat them. I want to boil them and eat them. The giant roly-poly-looking things? They're their good lobster, dude. What do you mean? They're the good lobsters are the rats of the sea and these isopods that have obviously good taste

next to this vintage bag of Doritos I think would taste delightful. You're telling me that if you cooked up an isopo that had a belly full of Doritos that it wouldn't taste good, I don't know. Okay, so this has nothing, the story that we're reading today, that has nothing to do with isopods.

It was written by User Project Fade Touched. I think this is the only story they've posted to the subreddit, but had some upvotes, and Harry on our team said that we should check it out that we would like it. So we are going to be doing that now. So Project Fade Touched, thank you for writing. Thank you for putting it in our subreddit. It means a lot to us. For anyone who wants to read it or support the author, we'll have it linked in the description.

And thank you so much to our beautiful audio listeners on Spotify and Apple Podcast. Appreciate you for the amazing. ratings there. And also thank you to our beautiful patrons. And guys, just want to let you know to hear before too long. New merch is on the way. Not sure if it's this week. Can't really, I don't know. But a new merch is coming. So all the people that have been fiend in for some new fabric, let me tell you, the new fabric we have is, uh, is quite legit. And it is very isopod coded. So, uh, without further ado, let's get into it. Esoteric isotopes. So Oh, dude, it's going to kill you to say this first line.

All right. I was never a very religious man. Clip that. I made a joke a while back that you're the person Veggie Tales warned me about, but you are in like the Saturday morning cartoon way of like, go ahead, say the bad word. Say the bad word for your mom will hear.

I was never a very religious man. hell I wasn't even a very good man please clip that most of my life has lived thank you so much thank you so much thank you for the clippers for doing that all right that's the last time i'm saying it unless there's another great one but that's just awesome well you just want a clip of me saying i'm not the good hell i wasn't a very good man oh hell okay most of my life was lived in direct contrast almost every tenet of any religion i sat there listening to the raspy breath escaping my lungs. I was never a religious man, and even now in my final hours, I reached out to know God. I said no prayers to fall upon absenteers. All I could think about was my life

in the events that put me here. Spring of 1969. Ooh, is this a little Vietnam story? I hope so. I awoke in the morning after a night of terrible sleep and stretched out as far as the space of the small cop would afford me to. Slid myself up and over its edge, slipping my feet into my black combat boots. Oh, it is. The chatter of over. over a dozen other men drowned out any private thoughts I might have had, which was fine because a strange feeling of sadness had overcome me. Popping open a small trunk, I retrieved my uniform and donned it, buttoning the olive green shirt over my white undershirt.

Slay. As I walked over to the edge of the tent. What? I just said slay after the, uh, it just seemed like he was serving real there with the olive green shirt over the white undershirt. I just thought he was slaying. Oh, like, I don't like you saying that. Um, don't do that again. Thank you.

As I walked over to the edge of the tent, one of the older men shouted to me. Dick, hey, dick. Glanced in his direction to see the sergeant in charge of the platoon ever since our first lieutenant bit the dust coming towards me. Sir? I said snapping into an attentive stance. At ease, boy. I felt, have you been wanting to be like a, like a sergeant really? I've wanted to do that stupid fucking, well, I'm not going to say stupid, I guess I don't really know.

I just, whenever they're sitting there, like, They throw the gun around to do. I've always wanted to not only know it, but I've wanted to lead one so long. And they hear all the little, you know what I mean, people throwing the gun around. It's oddly satisfying. It's stemming for my tisms is what I would say. did you have something this morning is there a reason that you're in this like state what's that what did i do you're just so amped up you've jumped me on the first sentence for everything you've ran

like three micro bits by yourself completely unated i'll stop you're like a weed eater just firing on all fucking stop i fell to the ad-ease stance and looked expectantly at him you out on the horn. Apparently something's happened that requires your attention. A raised an eyebrow only to be met with a shrug as he turned to go chase down some of my other squad members. I walked to the tints edge, pulled across the lip to open it, and exited into the heavy air, thick with moisture. Mornings in Vietnam were always like this. Hot muggy. The intense rain through the night hadn't helped as a blanket of fog had settled upon the ground almost so thick it felt like you were waiting through water. I hurriedly made my way to the

radio tower, stomping through the muddy ground along the way. At the top of the tower, I found the radio telephone operator waiting for me with a solemn look on his face. Upon seeing me, he stood and shook my hand. Son, well, I think I'll just let you have this. He handed me the receiver from the radio, and after fiddling with the console, I could finally hear a voice through the static. Richard? Richard, can you hear me? The voice belonged to my mother, Congresswoman from my home state. Mom? Richard, I'm pulling some strings and bringing you home.

It's your father. He... The grief was so laden in her voice that didn't even need her to finish the sentence. Honestly, I don't think I even needed this call to know. The night prior, I had the strangest dream. It was hard to recall all of it. It had started with me locked inside a dark room.

I could see just a slit of light coming from a very far distance away from me, leaking into the room ever so slightly. I could tell the space I was in must have been enormous. In the dream, I could see figures pacing outside of the door. I could hear them arguing and yelling, but I couldn't make out the words they said. It was then that the door swung open to reveal my father, dressed in a lab coat, which to me felt strange because my father had been a stay-at-home father for most of his life. Something almost unheard of in those days, of course,

but he was adamant to support the political career of my mother. strode over to me for what felt like he yawns. Each step echoed in space around us. As he finally arrived, I was looking down at him from dozens of different angles at once. I'm sorry, there's nothing I can do. I've tried. I've failed.

Please tell him I tried. The dream warped and I was now looking down on my father in bed. I'm just one angle this time. Looking far too old, much more frail than he had when I left. Looked back up at me and his face contorted into horror. he tried to wriggle out of the bed but it was like his limbs simply wouldn't function

as he struggled to move he opened his mouth to speak no sound escaped him but from the movement of his lips I could garner the words he said no no sound escaped him so I guess that is what it would

sound like then just moan it From his lips, I could garner the words, I'm sorry, again and again. Then I woke up. Richard, honey, are you there? The voice of my mother brought me back to the present moment. Yes. Set there, numbly.

Listen, you'll be home by the end of the day, okay? We need you home. Sharon, Sharon is inconsolable. And Michael, well, he's Michael. In 1969, they're going to have him home by the day. the end of the day. I just want to say, I didn't, I didn't want to stop the flow. But it was very funny to me that there was words like my dad came out in a lab coat. And it made it seem like he's like, which was strange because he was a guy who landscaped yards or whatever.

It's like the way that they presented the lab coat thing was funny. Yeah, I don't know. I, I get, unless it's like, unless the base is nearby, I don't know, right? Or is he in. no he's in v he's in vietnam oh yeah he said the vietnam mornings yeah put combat boots he's talking to a platoon sergeant because the lieutenant got killed so yeah he's in he's in combat what his model is in vietnam well i guess what were they was it c130s back then what was the transport plane i don't know if the c130's been around that long unabomber bomber well i don't Is that the name of that big black one that's like it looks sick? What's the name of that one?

That's a unabomber, right? The unabomber is Ted Kaczynski. Oh, all right. What's the nickname? What was the big black one? Okay, well, it was the C-130. It says that the two transport aircrafts were the C-130 and the C-141. Okay.

So yeah, okay, yeah, you could get there in one day then. I think like the flight over the ocean is like 11 hours or something like that. I just, I just literally Google. I just Googled, could you fly to Vietnam to America in one day in 1968 and said, no, you could not fly from Vietnam to United States in one day in 1968. Just want to say that. That's what Google says. It says air time would be 26 hours.

I like how this guy made a story for our subreddit and was like really pumped about it. And we're really like, I don't think this timeline's right. I think this is wrong. Incorrect. Yeah. Now, if he was flying on the Unabomber, Ted Kaczynski. Flied through the air. What is that?

It's a Unabomber. What is that? What is that actual airplane called? Which plane are you talking about? It's the fucking big black one. That's like kind of flat and wide. Oh, the B-2? Is that it was called B-2 bomber?

That's what I was talking about. That's what they flew. Yeah, that's what he flew home. I'm like sick. The stealth bomber? Yeah. The stealth bomber? He's sneakily going to break the laws of time and get home from Vietnam to America in one day. Okay.

So the B2 production ended in the year 2000. So I don't think in 1969 he would have. We don't make him anymore? Had access to one. Yeah. No, they still make them. I'm saying that they, that's when they started. It was first made in 1988 and the production was from 1980 to 2000.

You know those things cost over. a billion dollars. Yeah, easy. Chum change. Anything to get our boys home, right? What could we be carrying? That's worth a billion dollars. It's two billion, actually. It's two billion. That seems like such an excessive

amount of money to put into a stupid fucking plane. Anything to get our boys home, just randomly getting like really political about it. So, someone, someone crashed one during a test flight, too. Was he fired or killed?

I mean, he had to be killed. I'm sure he was fired. But it was on landing at like, he lived the crash, but like the plane was destroyed. Just $2 billion. Right. Yeah, I think $2 billion for a stupid fucking plane is

not worth it. Think about what you could do for $2 billion, man. Think about how many Dave and Busters you could open with $2 billion. That's, uh, how many day it costs a minimum of $11.8 million with a requirement of a significant portion around $4 million to $6 million to open a divin busters all right okay hold up with $2 billion you could open about 400 company on locations I just want to say that that's what we're missing I mean like I'm not trying to get political or anything but that's what we're missing

I thought you said anything to bring those boys home. Well, I mean, you know, that's before I knew. I mean, even though, even though the B2 bomber wasn't really bringing anyone home, it was a bombing plane. I thought that it dropped the people off. That's why they called the bomber. It took a big parachute plane. No, it drops bombs. That's why it's called a bomber.

It's kind of like sour cadence. It's very obvious now, but, you know. Do you think the ones people jump out of, the carriers, would be called bombers? Man, God, it's sick. Isn't it? Isn't that kind of cool? If you're like, bombs away, boys, and he dropped all the people, be fucking cool. Okay, I'm pretty sure every aerial combat unit jumps out of C-130s.

So it's just like the standard, the back door drops open and they run out of it. What the fuck is this? Is this the unsubbed podcast? Why don't we get back to? fucking this horror story. Okay, all right, all right, yeah. Okay, whatever, whatever, whatever. Okay, I'm not going to get mad. I'm not going to get mad. Sharon, my younger sister by five years, was only 18. She had absolutely been a daddy's girl from the time she could speak, so I could imagine she was devastated. Michael was our younger brother, and he was only 15. I've been in Vietnam for

four years at this point, so I missed his becoming a teen era. I'd gotten letters, though, describing how difficult he had become from my mother. Apparently, he was a real rebel, having been caught drinking, smoking reefer, even got himself in some hot water when he burned down an abandoned factory. All right. Stood up and I could hear my mother saying something on the radio,

but all I could think about was my father. I wasn't there in his final moments. The worst part of it for me was that I wasn't even drafted. I chose this, stupidly, of course. Instead, I should have stayed home. I should have let my parents get me set up with a cushy government job. I didn't see them in four whole years. Now I never would again.

My mother was accurate with the information. It wasn't long after a helicopter landed to evacuate me to the nearest friendly airport and out of Vietnam altogether. Some 16 hours after waking up, I was home. Some 16 hours after waking up, I was home, stolen from the war into the dead at night. Upon landing in Washington, D.C., I was greeted by a driver. or holding a sign with my name on it. We rode quietly through the night to my family's townhouse in the city. If I thought the air in Vietnam was thick,

it was nothing compared to the sombered stillness that awaited me in the house. In spite of being one in the morning, I could hear Sharon upstairs crying, layered into the far too loud song, fortunate son blaring from Michael's room. My mother was sitting on the stairs, awaiting my arrival. Her eyes were puffy and red as she strode over to embrace me, and the moment my arms wrapped around her, she began to sob. I held my mother there for some time before I went to comfort Sharon.

I noticed Michael's door was plastered with anti-war stickers, peace signs, and other hippie shit. After I got done trying and failing to pacify my sister, I went to his door, which was locked. I sighed and went to my parents' room. I glanced at the ceiling where I looked down at my father in my dream, expecting nothing, only to be shocked by what looked like someone had taken a torch or a lighter and held it just below the spot. enough to cinch the plaster only in the shape of a ring. I walked over and got on to the bed, reaching out on my tippy toes to brush the circular ring spot.

Soot or ash came off onto my finger, which I rubbed together and smelled. It didn't smell like soot or ash. It smelled like oranges and pine needles if you burned them together. Buried my father that weekend. The entire time I was back home, Michael wouldn't so much as look at me, let alone speak to me. He was a lot different from when I had left,

gangly and taller, with long hair down past his shoulders. He was sprouting peach fuzz along his lip, and he always wore an olive green jacket with a graphic banty underneath it, even to the funeral. A few weeks passed, and eventually my mother began to insist, I take that cushy job instead of going back to Vietnam. Ultimately, I decided she was right, where she began to plead for Michael's sake.

She had me honorably discharge. It set me up a lab in the city. Esoterotronics. It was a What kind of pushing government job is that? You have a laugh called esoterotronics. It was a leading government funded research site for electronics. Something I had actually shown surprised with this kid in the army.

Time, time out. It was a leading government funded research site for electronics, and it's called Esoterotronics. It's like being like, I worked at an artillery place called Boomy Big Bombs. It was a governmental leading funded artillery. It's, I mean, to the story's credit, if it was a public business that the government was just using and funding, then it could be any name. But if it's an actual government job like he's describing and not just funded,

then, yeah, I feel like the government calling it. The big, boomy, big, big fun time house. Want to take a quick break from the episode to thank today's sponsor, Zoc Doc. I don't go to the doctor as much as I should. And if you are spending this much of your time listening to a podcast about fictional monsters,

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Zocdoc.com slash creepcast to get in on this incredible offer today. Thank you all so much to Zoc Doc for sponsoring the show. It really does mean the most. And we are back to the episode. I was constantly fixing up radios and other gear, so it fit me well. I began pretty small there, mainly doing office administration type of work. over the course of the next few years, however, I went back to college and graduated. This resulted in a bump up the ladder, so to speak, so I was now able to take on more advanced tasks. Winter of 1984.

I paced the length of my office, staring at a black port across the room. Currently, I was working on coming up with a solution to infant mortality and a... The solution to infant mortality? The one, the secret code. Infant mortality and unpredictability and integrated circuits. Are those two things that are linked? Circuits and infant deaths? He's just sitting at his desk holding like a baby doll and a computer chip.

And he's like, there's got to be away. But technology just isn't there yet. If only I had more time. He has a test covered in baby dolls. He just like swipes it off. The chips would pass a benchmark test in the lab, only to fail once released to consumers or placed in lab equipment. Despite this issue, my higher-ups seemed too worried about it.

Don't worry about it, Richard. I'm sure the answer will come in time. Just keep at it. They say to me nonchalantly. Not a very expeditious mood for a company whose profit margins were being harmed by these chip failures, I would think to myself. I gave up for the night and decided to leave it for another day. I left the office behind, returned my home,

that same townhouse where my parents raised my siblings and I. Mom had passed away four years back and left it in my name. Probably because no one even knew where Sharon was, Michael was imprisoned for repeated counts of arson. I pulled my escort into the driveway, where I noticed a light on one of the upstairs windows. Quickly got out of the car and headed up to the steps to the paddy, The door was ajar, having been clearly kicked open.

I quietly pressed on the door, making sure to tiptoe as slowly as I could to avoid making any noise. Glancing to the side table, I quicked myself with a heavy silver candlestick, carefully placing the candle onto the table. So I crept along the hall, I began up the stairs, and in my moment of nervousness, I forgot all about the loose step a few steps up. Upon pressing my full weight down on the floorboard,

let out a loud groan. I froze, looking up past the banister towards the light coming down the hall. Nothing, no sound. As I continued to make my way up the stairs, a familiar sin assaulted me, causing me to freeze again. Citrus and pine needles, they had been burned together. I had to press on, trying to find the source of intrusion into my home. Once I approached the top of the stairs, the smell was stronger, much stronger. Rounding the banister at the top, I finally saw the light.

origin was from Sharon's old room. The door was cracked, light smoke was coming from the room. I dropped the candlestick holder, which clattered to the ground with a thud and ran to the door, swinging it open. Sharon lay across the bed that once belonged to her, in her room, which was completely unchanged from the day she left. To her side, her outstretched arm had a rubber hose ripped from somewhere in the house, tied around it at her bicep. Needle hung from the vein at her in her elbow. To her side was a small plastic baggie of a yellow powder accompanied by a spoon and lighter heroin. I looked on and hoar at my baby sister, who had come home to what? Die? I ran over to her and pressed my finger to her neck upon seeing her eyes rolled back into her head. No pulse.

She was dead. Sank to my knees and began a sob holding her head against my chest. It was quite some time before I found the strength to move. And when I did finally come back to my senses, the room around me was almost as nightmarish as her body. Holes have been punched into the walls, and it seemed Sharon had taken red lipstick and written all over them. I scanned some of the writings. Dreams and eyes, Father lies. Rings so round and round and round.

Can you smell the oranges too? Take me to the forest. I can't save you. I'm sorry for what he did. I'm sorry. Sorry. I couldn't make sense of the insane scribbling and scrawling she had left on the walls, but the smell of oranges was all too familiar.

When it hit me, it hit like a truck sinking into my gut. Hesitantly, as if my body refused to obey, my eyes dragged to the ceiling above Sharon's lifeless corpse. No, it can't, but it was. A small ring of soot and ash was imprinted onto the ceiling. I stood now, my leg shaking, climbed onto the bed, beside Sharon. My hand extended towards a spot, only this time it was hot, hotter than a stove I could barely get close enough without a feeling as though I was going to burn me. What was this?

It's this stuff. Was it something from heating the heroin? Was this how my father had died? Was he secretly an addict? I got back off the bed and removed the needle from Sharon's now cold arm. took the heroin and flushed it down the toilet before calling 911. They came fairly fast to remove her body. No need to check if it was laced or, you know, tag or anything like that. Just get rid of it. They came fairly fast to remove her body and didn't ask about the riding on the walls or obvious lack of drugs. The police came and asked me questions.

I answered honestly and told them what I had done with the heroin. Offered condolences and then left. The house that had already felt empty now felt like a pit of endless darkness and despair. This place had claimed two of the people. people I had loved. I decided it wouldn't claim me to. Then a few months, I had listed the house for sale, and within a few more, it had sold. With it came a change for my life, because in the spring of 1985, I both met my wife, who lived within the same complex I had moved into, got a huge promotion at work for absolutely no reason whatsoever. Interesting thing of it.

It jumped like, would it jump like? It jumped five years and now two years. two years yeah interesting and pretty much this oh wait no no no 15 years because it's 60 69 yeah yeah yeah so a long time and the big thing is he's basically fallen into this i wouldn't say mundane but kind of like formulaic life comes back home and his sister has died of a heroin overdose i guess i'm wondering also the mom is past two now so it's just it's just it's just the only one still alive's his brother yeah him and his brother Okay. Yeah, I'm trying to see. Yeah. After that, we get another jump of two years, spring 1986.

My life was slowly coming together now, I felt like. Better late than ever at all, I suppose. I was now married to my beautiful wife, Elaine Cook. She quickly became my whole world. She inspired me to do better, to be better. Despite having been abandoned as a child, orphaned at the age of two, she was incredibly strong-willed and persistent. She had worked herself to the bone, getting ahead in life, making sure her past never defined her. Things at work had taken a turn in March of 85 when I was both taken off the infancy mortality project and assigned to finding a way to deal with high-temperature diffusion and chipsets.

This promotion came with the higher clearance than before, and I gained access to portions of the building I didn't know existed. Originally, I had worked in the labs found in the second sub-basement. to my assumption, the last basement. To my surprise, when my new clearance came, I was informed I would be in the 11th sub-basement from now on. I remember the conversation pretty vividly. My manager, Timothy Ruth,

who was also a high-ranking army general, had come into my office in the morning. Still no luck on the infancy mortality, Dick? No, unfortunately not. Well. He just has a bunch of baby dolls. He's like, I don't know, there's got to me. being a clue.

No, just a bunch of dead battery babies on my desk. He's just like, he has a slingshot. Yeah. All the babies, all the babies always have like goggles and helmets on and like a giant

bull's eye on the wall. He's just rolling them into the wall. They're still, they're still dying on impact, Sergeant. At ease, dick. Just,

just all night he's got he's got a clipboard and he's like walking over to the dolls and writing notes and then putting it back in the slingshot that's all right not every problem is going to get solved immediately

that said we're out discussing this problem I'll keep trying sergeant thank you sir I teach not every problem is going to get solved immediately as they're flying in between the two of them like straight into the walls his smile was friendly there was a twitch in his brow something in his voice I've poisoned the same for me I apologize

It's something in his voice Like annoyance I hadn't heard before Wait Am I being fired No no no no no A brilliant mind like yours No no no no That's the most condescending should have ever

Heard my life dude No no no no A brilliant mind like yours Slingshoting the babies into the wall With goggles and helmets No You're actually being promoted Getting a nice fat bonus

To your pay Plus new security clearances I nodded my head in the nest Will I still be in this office and in the same lab? General shook his head. No. Son, you'll have the new office and a lab, both on sub-basement 11. My eyes grew wide. Sub-11?

Wait, there aren't even buttons for that on the elevator. How? When? Put his hand up to stop me. You'll be using the elevator you didn't even know existed before now. You'll need this. Reduced a new badge, this time with a magnetic strip running along it. follow me I did as I was told

and followed the general out of my office which was immediately flooded by a few men who proceeded to grab anything that belonged to me and toad it after us just arms full of baby dolls

leave the baby dolls dick I can't it's my life's work I'll never know I looked back and began to object when one I looked back and began to object one of them started man handling

sensitive equipment Yeah, the slingshot. But the general waived as we continue down the corridor. It's just that infant mortality is so far removed from cybernetics that I'm sure it's going to come into the story somewhere and that's why. But it's so abrasive initially. Well, we've had, we've only had, we've had so far, we've had three deaths of, but not, but none of them have been infants. So just, it just feels jarring, I think. You know what I mean?

Yeah, yeah. We rode the elevator back up to the ground floor and packed. a few more hallways up to a door I'd seen a few times, but never paid a second glance to. It was labeled Supply Closet Omega, which now that I read it seems somewhat odd. Now that I see the closet

was labeled Omega, that was suspicious. Hmm. A closet labeled Omega in a giant building called Esotericronics. It seems kind of weird that there's an Omega here in this building called Esotericronics and I've been firing children at the wall

for the past 13 years every single room there's just babies flying over these babies keep dying god damn it when will it be enough yeah we need more babies

the general inserted my keycard into a slot beside the door which unlocked with a hiss and swung open Inside the room was a series of computers with men and women sitting at them working intelligently. Across the room, a set of elevator doors waited me. You'll be working alongside these men and women here when it comes to contacting us with project updates. Through the elevator, you'll find an access to sub-levels 3 through 11. Go ahead and head down to your lab.

And you'll be briefed by your colleagues. Your office is just there. And he pointed to another door, which now had my name on it. I walked up to the office door and opened it. sin of oranges and pine needles wafted out of the office, which seemed old and unused. When I closed the door again, glass rattled slightly.

I could see that the lettering used to spell my last name was much older than the lettering used to spell my first. And I could also see the outlines of residue and the shapes of letters spelling my father's name underneath it. Do you think he's just being tested on? No, I think the idea was that he thought his father was stay at home, didn't have a job, program.

Flash forward a year, and I was no closer to a solution to this problem than I was infancy mortality issues. You kind of quit. The babies won't stop falling. Yeah. Damn you, baby! Damn you to hell! No matter what I tried, what combination of elements were used or methods of cooling,

helium still seemed like the best option. I left the office on a cool spring night, air damp from recent rain, and drove home to my two-bedroom apartment I shared with the lane. My wonderful world greeted me as I came into the living room, slipping off my shoes and sinking into the couch. She sat down beside me and crawled up to me, stroking my face tenderly as it led out a long sigh and pressed my fingers to my temples. Rough day.

She asked. I nodded. Well, tell me about it. Not particularly, it's just that we're no damn closer to a solution now than a year ago. It shrugged my chest now almost nervously. Well, I have some exciting news. I looked up and she reached behind her slowly pulling it. And she reached behind her slowly pulling out. And she reached behind her slowly pulling out a pregnancy test.

My eyes honed in on the blue shade of the tip. I stammered over my words. What, wait, are we, we, I'm going to be a dad. She nodded her head excitedly and I wrapped her up in my arms and I jumped off the couch, picking her up and dancing around. This baby's guy, I hate to say, but this baby is fucking dead, dude. It's such a bummer. It's, it's such a, it's such a.

a bummer to be like, we're so happy. Just to know, I'm like, there's no fucking way in hell that baby is lasting. They've mentioned infant mortality three times. They've mentioned infant mortality rates far, far too often to have any kind of, to have any kind of hope that this baby's going to make it to fucking two. Yeah, right, bro. God.

Daddy wants to introduce you to my. slingshot. Yeah, that's what I was going to make a joke about how that the story now enters an interesting moral complexity because it's like, you know, his whole career is slingshotting babies. But now that he has one of his own, will he be able to put it in the slingshot? I think what's going to happen if I can try to set my own bear trap is that the dad, which by the way, by the way, bear trap with the baby died thing.

I know the story brought it up, but I, it's mine. It's mine now. So that's fine. I think that we're heading in an area where the dad tested on something on the main character when he was a baby and it's getting ready to be like, you know, like the cycle continues kind of thing. Yeah. I don't know what that experiment is,

but I do think that it's like a generational kind of meme. Yeah, yeah. I think so that that's why he's able to see it. And I think all of his kids, it's probably why his sister and brother are so messed up. Yeah. They're older than him. No, his sister was five years younger than him, right?

Yeah. Yeah, I think they all were, but I think all of them been experimented on. We kissed deeply and went to the bedroom to celebrate. That night for the first time in a year, I dreamed. In the dream, I was floating once again in that black room where only a sliver of light could be seen. This time, there were no figures moving in the light beyond. The light began to fade.

Soon, I was enveloped in nothing but a pitch black darkness. It's if I shut my eyes tightly. In the void, I could see small dots. No, clusters of dots. The rings rotating around them and each ring containing its own dots. I recognize these as atoms. So dots floated freely above my head. I counted the electrons.

Around me floated atoms of melanatham, barium, copper, and oxygen. Soon, the metal atoms would dance around me, combining them pairs with the oxygen ones to form powders and solids. then fire, blazing hot from underneath, as if a portal to hell it opened up. And I could feel the flames lick me from underneath. It came and it burned everything around me until all at once it disappeared. What was left was a shiny, black floating disk of ananthinum, barium copper oxide, perfect material for my problems, a superconductor capable of handling the heat of hell,

woke up in a sweat with the lane beside me and jumped out of bed, which garnered a groggy response from Elle. So excited, I didn't even recognize that all too familiar smell in the air. I ran into the living room and dragged out a blackboard where I hastily wrote down the formula of this new inorganic compound. CUBA 015 L.A. 1.85 oxygen 4. You have a one point? A point, whatever.

I sketched out the structure instead. back to look at my work. Yes, this was it. The solution to my problems. I quickly went over to the phone and began to dial the number to the lab before a clock on the stove caught my eye. It was only 3 a.m. No one was even awake or there right now. I couldn't sleep. When Elaine woke up around five, she came to the living room where I'd sat staring at the blackboard the entire time. Richard? I smiled at her. Elaine, this is it. The solution to the heat. Point eagerly at the blackboard, which she glanced at and gave me a groggy thumbs up before going back to the bathroom. Another hour passed, and Elaine left to go to the hospital she worked at as a nurse on base in Maryland.

Finally, I was able to get ready and head out myself for the lab. I was so eager to share my discovery that I had to drive back 10 minutes in and get my key card. When I got to the lab, I could hardly contain myself. I entered the supply closet and revealed my findings to my colleagues and a team of workers who relayed the information to the general. It was a few hours later when he would arrive, coming down to the 11th sub-level and into the lab. Richard! Good news, I hear! He opened his arms wide and then came in to shake my hand. His grip was tied on my hand.

Yes, sir, very, very good news. A breakthrough! Said excitedly, clasping the open hand and shaking it. I've discovered the key to our heating problem. This is wonderful, son. Tell me, how'd you do it? Oh, sir. That's the funniest thing about it. It was a dream, actually. caught a glance between the general and one of my colleagues, followed by a small nod. Then he turned his gaze back to me. Walk with me, son.

I did as I was told and fell on a step beside the general. A dream, huh? We approached the elevator. The doors opened and we stepped inside. As the doors were shut, the second time of my time here, saw men entering the lab to take things out. Sir? What do you know about your father's son? stared at him in his stunned silence before asking quietly.

My father? The elevator lurched, and its doors opened. We couldn't have gone farther than a floor or two. Yes, son, your father. I understand he was a stay-at-home father for most of your life. What do you know about before your life? I raked my memory for stories about him before me being born, only to be slightly shocked. I knew absolutely nothing.

I responded as much, and the general nodded. I suspect that they'd keep it quiet. It was her duty, after all. He stepped out into an enormous room with computer tower. and monitors active, all of them stationed by men in radiation suits. Two of the men got up and brought out suits of our own. The general indicated for me to suit up, and I did. Looked at one of the men and said,

Make sure all that info from upstairs gets out to IBM. They'll know what to do with it. A man nodded, got on the elevator and sent it. Strode over to some consoles, which showed on its black screen of dots surrounded by interlocking rings, each ring itself containing multiple dots. and Adam, sir?

The general chuckled. Well, kind of, but no. We walked to a door on the far side of the room and entered a hallway, which shot out for a few hundred feet before turning sharply to the right. Your father worked here, isn't sure you noticed by the door. In the late 30s and early 40s, he worked on a top secret project. You know it as the Manhattan Project. Down here, we just called it another part of Project Gabriel,

as we will with your superconductors, unofficially. Officially, that information is on its way to IBM. I know I was saying like I was a part of a greater test, but that's just funny that it's like, to me, the Manhattan Project is just another project. That's what it's like in this sick and twisted mind of mine. Still remained silent until we neared the corner.

But why, sir? You stop just before the corner. The general turned to look at me directly, sizing me up and down. son what you're about to see is highly classified but with your dream and this new information you've brought us I think it's finally time to let you in on this project turn the corner to yet another hallway this time a single door lay on the right side of it

all the way at the end there's no light coming from under end and a feeling in my stomach like waves against the bow of a ship hit me hard my legs felt like iron as I dragged them along after the general The door at the very end of the hall had a key pat to its side and the general stepped in between me

and the pad to enter a cone. With the green flash of light in a very loud flood noise, the door hissed and swung open. Inside, lights began to cut on one by one, revealing an even more enormous room than the first. In the middle, when my eyes finally saw it,

my jaw fell open and I sank to the ground. The general just stood there, arms crossed. son this is project gabriel the center of the room suspended midair by some sort of electromagnetic energy field being propelled by several giant obsidian colored panel in the center of the room suspended midair by some sort of electromagnetic energy field being propelled by several giant obsidian colored pillars so tarnished set of interlocking rings upon each of which had dozens of bloodshot eyes oh it's an angel they have they have an angel inside of inside of an electromagnetic prison. At its center, a ball of hot, energetic plasma was cracking and spitting electricity, which would contact the field around it and dissipate.

My God. What is that thing? General put a hand on my shoulder and shook, prompting me to stand up. According to it, it's the angel Gabriel. Looked on in horror at this tortured being. what what

General walked closer to the obelisk on the far right which had wires coiled around its face leading to a console General typed something in and then stood back as crackling beams of plasma shot from the obelisk and into the center of the angel led out the most unearthly wail of agony a whale that pierced my brain

and caused it to rattle in my skull I grabbed my head and fell once again at the ground Stop! Stop it! The general came to my side and helped me up to my feet. Hmm, sorry. I had to be sure. You see, Richard, you are special.

Your father was special, too. You can understand. Communicate with the angels. We aren't sure why. We don't know why only some people can and why some people seem entirely removed from them. But we suspect it has something to do with bloodlines dating back to the very oldest peoples.

We'd know more only Well, no matter the pain We inflict Gabriel won't reveal all his secrets It swayed on my feet The pain in my head dying down But remaining present But why? Why do this? The general looked at me

With a straight and unfeeling face As he answered Because we were losing the war, son We were losing the war And Germany was going to bring about The Book of Revelations He told us Pointed out the angel now

He came to your father one night and told him of the impending end of the war and that soon your father would be and that soon your father would impregnate your mother with the second coming of Christ who would grow to lead the Christians in a movement called the rapture a mass exodus to the last livable place on the planet

there God would come and give us the tools to start again to make a heaven on earth the general just cracked out of his mind you are Jesus Are you serious? That's awesome. What? Me? Wow. I'm Jesus.

Are you saying that I'm Jesus Christ? Meanwhile, the angel's like, oh! Yeah, the angel's like, Ah! Why don't I think it's a good? If you had an angel there, I like how the angel flew up one day. His big stupid fucking eyes floating around.

He's just like, hey, no, seriously. By the way, Hitler's going to blow up the world. And they're like, imprison that thing. They're like, lock it away. Yeah, like it came down to visit him and they all jumped on him to hold it down. Like, quick, quick. Put it in the time prison. Put it in the time prison.

No. And then immediately the general is like, yep, your father impregnated your mother and brought a bow. And your father totally, your father totally filled your mom up. And your Jesus. You ain't got to, okay. No, no, no. Yeah. You're the main, you're the main character.

No, you don't have to. No, seriously. That's what happened. No, you don't need to. I get it. I understand how that works. I've heard that. How funny.

How funny when it was like, why do you think it was, do you ever think it was weird that you were born with a beard? Yeah, it's just like, he's just like that. explains how I always walk on water. Yeah. Or what? Do you ever thought it was strange how you have holes in your hands and feet and that you were born with a beard? Well, they just said I was, they just said it was a birth defect.

No, you're Jesus Christ. Yeah, the entire story, he's wore like the purple sash and like the, the white robe. And he's like, wow. He's not a white robe and everything. He's just like, I can't believe I got a job at Esoterra Trots. They're, and they've imprisoned the angel Gabriel, apparently. Yep. Also, the angel was like, hey, you guys should probably stop Hitler.

And then they caught him. I mean, it's like, what I mean is, hey, like, he came up, but he's like, no, seriously, I'm telling you, this guy's going to, like, fucking blow up the world or something. Like, he's like, he's like giving him, like, a kind of a cool head. up. And they're like, uh-huh, that sounds good. Sededatum! And they're like, like, why? Like, why? Why do this?

Uh-huh. It's like, uh-huh. Yeah, tell me more. And behind their back, they're raising, they have a frying pan that they're gripping. Yeah. Ding! The, uh, the, the, uh, the, the, uh, what you're just kind of weird is like, I mean, they're, we're probably getting to this, but it's like, it's not even like they're trying to harness his power. The guy literally just flew in and he was like,

oh, no, seriously. If you, seriously, like, fuck, you should, like, watch out because it's going to be crazy. Because he's just like, why I do this? Because we're losing the war. And it's just like, well, all he did was tell you that Hitler was going to blow up the fucking world. I assume what it's saying because they're like, Project Manhattan was just a part of project to Gabriel.

I assume it's saying that they gave the Americans the ability to create nuclear weapons, I think is what's being implied. The look on my face was pure incredulity, despite the evidence. Your father, the diligent soldier he was, came to me and reported what he had been told. We couldn't allow that. So we scoured ancient text, and we found a way to the trap, and we found a way to trap Gabriel. They looked at some, like, old scrolls. They saw a giant butterfly net.

Of course. It's like, the dad went and stood underneath. The dad went and stood underneath a giant cardboard box with a stick propping it up. I'm just like, oh, Gabriel, I can't hear you. Can't come over here? I did you be close, sir It's nothing, just come here I got to tell me you

Hold on right next to the box They have a giant spinning Frine pan As soon as the box drops Just Teat teat Teat teat Teat

Go to sleep, go to sleep, go to sleep Go to sleep, go to sleep So we so we scoured ancient text and we found a way to trap Gabriel your father called to him and as you can see he came

glancing back I could see each bloodshot eye was on me now staring as if asking pleading for help I looked back at the general Gabriel here gave us the secrets to cracking the atom open

he gave us the power of God himself he gave us the language of God it was that he walked over to and gently padded the monitor by the obelisk. Microchips, processors, the etchings on the boards, sigils of the heavens designed to move and control energy to manipulate God's power. I think I've talked about that on this show before, right?

You know, people like will make that connection that microchips look like ancient sigils, like they are entrapping supernatural powers, and that's how they work. I think I've talked about that before. Cool concept, definitely cool. There's also some other stuff in here that, yeah, picking up on it's just a lot of information happening at once like we believe that people that

can speak to gabriel dates back to ancient times so that's likely in reference to the nephalim right half human half angel hybrids um those are something we saw on mother horse eyes another adaptation of that idea uh and then there's stuff like uh will lead us there's going to be a rapture but we need a new Jesus to lead us, but then the quote-unquote Christ figure that appears around the time of the rapture is actually the anti-crise, so perhaps it's a negative instead of a positive. But like I said, there's just a lot being divulged at once. In a flash, I recalled my dream during my time in the war.

Dark room, my father's face, pleading and apologizing. He tried to stop you to free Gabriel. General looked at me with a raised brow. so we did tell you something I dreamed it in Vietnam before my father died the general nodded I see

yeah your father became quite the autistic sorry I see I'm quite the autistic I see I see yes

your father became quite the autistic the altruist, at some point decided what we were doing here was unethical, disturbed. He tried to make a case saying how we won the war. We diverted the rapture and stopped the end of our world. A fool's

thought. How could he know that? Maybe we only delayed it. And even if we did avoid it, there was so much more Gabriel had to tell us. Still has to tell us. The giant butterfly that people. Puffed out my chest defiantly now. My father

son. No. This has to stop, General. This is wrong. You know it. I know it. Do you know what evil you're bringing down on this world? What if God...

Son! God is dead! Gabriel himself told another dreamer we used to have under our thumb. She was so in tune that she could sit in this very room for hours alone with him and bring back so much information. Only none of it was particularly useful, so we cut her loose. He says that, he says that

you should always like, you should always like take meat out of the freezer and put it in the refrigerator if you want to turn to frost properly. God damn it, Gabriel, we already know that. He says that hot wheels are a lot better than matchbox cars. Okay. All right, we have got to find someone.

We got to find somebody. He says, uh, Gabriel says, be sure to check your credit history before you apply, because if you do it at the application, there could be some unseeing things. And you know, you trust the company, so. Gabriel says to always ask the car

dealership for the Carfax on the car before actually buy it. And Gabriel said, Simon says, is a little better than Boppet. But he says he likes to play both. Because it's obviously a sister, right?

Right, right. Yeah. That's talking. So it's like, it's like sisters sitting there in for like 17 hours, just having this. Yeah, Gabriel says that, Gabriel said that his favorite comedy of all times, Kung, pal. It's like, they're like, what about, is there anything cool with like solving cancer? Let me ask. No, no, nothing about that. No, no, he says, no, no. But he does have Boppet.

He does have Bopit if we want to play that. But he does. He does have a pretty cool. streak on bop it god damn you i like the uh the idea that as soon as sharing got out she's like well i should probably overdose now it's probably all i got left going or was it was it the existential crisis of being like god's dead i can't handle it so i'm just going to fucking get high yeah i mean but if you don't trust anything they're saying and they don't have good info then why would you trust the god is dead thing i thought because she said gabriel said that that's what they that's what

he said. Is that not what Gabriel said? Oh, yeah. Gabriel's giving her good info. It's just not useful to them. Yeah. So he's like sitting there. He's like, no, seriously, like the best way to do mac and cheese is to bake

into the oven and have like a little crispy layer on top. Also God's dead. You also want to figure out that like when you're reseeding your lawn. Hey, what is that last part? When you reseed your lawn, you want, no, no, no before that. Oh, yeah, God's, he's been dead. He's dead. He's gone.

Yeah, he's been gone a while. Why do you think I'm down here? I mean, what the fuck do you think I'm doing? Why do you think I'm stuck inside of this box? Do you think that that would happen otherwise? Flashes in my mind of my baby sister, sitting here in the dark with the angel before her. Sharon? General simply stared back and then said,

Correct. She threatened to tell on us. So we... She threatened to tell on us. It's such a funny line. Correct. She threatened to tell on us. So we did what had to be done.

Unlike your father, she had no family we could threaten to keep her in line. I like the idea that like a local beat cop could take down the government angel operation. Hey, so my job esotericronics, they have a giant angel down there. He's talked to me about Boppet and reseeding my lawn. uh okay i also like because they said that the way they started this program is his father who was already working for the government

came to them and was like hey an angel told me we have to stop hitler and they they didn't just like fire him they were like really and then imagine they think it's fake the whole time and then they get him there and the angel actually shows up and they're like oh my god is there a way that this connects it with joseph smith at all Because does this not read like Joseph Smith? Yeah, look, do you can, I take enough flack from the Mormons. All right, if you want to start a fight there, you go right ahead.

I'm not sort of, I'm just saying that Joseph Smith, he talked to the angels like that. I didn't, I, that was a legitimate question. It could be no. I was just wondering. I thought, I thought Joseph Smith talked, well, okay, yeah, sure. You know, buddy, this is the Joseph Smith story just for you. Better be careful making jokes like that, then we'll. Okay, cut that.

Oh, God. Cut that from the episode. Oh, Lord. That's a historic moment. That's a historic moment. That's the first time you've ever had a spastic cut that. Usually I'm the person that says cut that. Cut that or bleep that or do something.

Do not believe that in the episode. The rush of heat to my head overwhelm me. And I rushed the general in anger. I didn't think first. I could only act. He sidestepped and I rushed past into the field of electromagnetic energy, which reacted violently. Time seemed slow as the rotating rings beyond me came to a near halt. A booming voice within my head echoed out.

Help me! Help me! Help me! Please! Suddenly, time returned to me and I was ejected outwards back onto the floor. The general shook his head. Now, son, please. Let's be pragmatic and reasonable, shall we? You do have a family. You wouldn't want anything to happen to your lovely wife and soon to be baby, now, would you? I froze. How did he know about the baby?

Is my house wiretapped? Are they surveilling me? I stood to my feet, shaken to my very core. You sick, bastard. Leave them alone. Then work with us, son. Work with us. Think of all the discoveries to be made.

The advancement for humanity. I rocked back and forth. Woozy. Looked again to Gabriel. whose eyes bore sadness and pain I could scarcely imagine. Decades of torture, unnatural capture. Decades more to come. No, I wouldn't do it.

I wouldn't condemn this being to an eternity of torment. I couldn't. I stood tall with the false bravado. Well, I've never been a very religious man. The general smiled warmly, and then I replied. But I won't let you do this. The smile faded, turned into a grimace of annoyance. I made a run for the console this time, aiming to smash it or grab the wiring.

Suddenly, a gunshot rang out, echoing through the chamber. Warm blood read down my back and chest. I looked down to see a bullet hole directly through me. I clutched my chest and turned slowly, gurgling and coughing up blood, expecting to see the culprit of my death. The general stood there, arms folded behind his back with the look of disappointment. I swiveled my head around, and there at the door was a lane, pistol in hand. No tear in her eye.

I fell to the floor. No air in my lungs to protest or inquire. I heard the sound of her footsteps as she walked up to the general side. Too bad he didn't agree, Daddy. The general nodded. Yes, well, we always have the backup. And he placed his hand on her stomach. Don't worry, I got pregnant by Jesus.

So now I will have Jesus two or three. Back up Jesus. Back up Jesus. As I lay there, I listened to the raspy breath escape from my lungs. I was dying, no doubt about it. I really wasn't a very religious man, and I offered no prayer to God in my end. Despite this, as I lay there, life fading away. I can see the bright and warm light at the end of the tunnel, black.

I've stood my father, smile on his face with the hand extended, my mother and sister at his side. Despite ever being a religious man, I was going home. And that's the end. That's the end. So I I like the concept I don't really know how isotopes come into it I guess because

I guess it's kind of drawing that Adams look like biblically accurate angels which is a cool concept and it brings up the thing that I like about like circuitry being sigils and stuff like that or runes. Yeah the microchip thing. Yeah the microchip thing.

I like all that. I like the stuff about an angel being imprisoned and like I like the details about the family when it was kind of a mystery as to what they were writing about what the burned hole in the ceiling means how they're able to communicate with each other all that was interesting I felt like it got bogged down with a lot of the like general details a lot of the exposition at the end like the things about him being Jesus never came into play amazingly the infant mortality never came into play either that did it pull like that just got brought up a lot didn't go

anywhere. The only thing I can think is that do you think that it was supposed to be a rapture never came up, stuff like that. So do you think that the infantile mortality rate thing? Do you think that was at all linked into us supposed to be like, uh, that they have tried to bring back like the second coming of Christ before, but they keep dying or something? You know what I mean? Like it sounded like he was trying to solve the cure to like SIDS like sudden infant death syndrome or

something. I thought that it was something. like that too i'm just just you know food for thought i'm trying to see how it ties in because there's a lot of themes that tie in the idea of like the capturing the angel the problem i think that like my biggest stipulation with it is that the general it's just when someone is so overtly evil and the motive just seems so just kind of silly it just it's like the sheriff embraska i wouldn't say it's as you know bombastic and fucking crazy as that but it is this thing where it's just like as this angel came down and warned us about Hitler, so we captured him.

And it's like I get man is inherently evil, but I guess I just wish that there was more. Like the idea of like, well, he has so many secrets to tell us. I think that like that's, I think that's fair. I just, I don't know. I guess it just wasn't totally bought in on that. And that like kind of like crazy motive. And then then this idea of like, well, you know what? I'm, I won't do it.

I'm going to stop you, whatever. and then you can just get shot and that's just kind of the ending. I guess just like if you're introducing that thing, it'd be nice to have him just kind of play around with him more. It was just kind of very quick, I guess. You know what I mean?

It's a lot to take in very abruptly. A lot of it given more time, I think, would do better. I think maybe instead of the general explaining a lot of those things at the end, they like, you know, since our main character's a scientist, he can kind of figure stuff out as he goes a bit.

Vietnam didn't even really factor in. to the story like I thought it would. Maybe he had some experience or vision in Vietnam that related to combat or something that, like, connected to his father's visions of World War II, perhaps, or something like that. Yeah, the only thing that I think was supposed to be there, the only thing that I think that Vietnam helps with

is that it's just the parallels with his father. Like, I think his dad was, like, active during World War II or whatever. But then also I'm wondering if, like, oh, because he had this military job, if that's literally the justification to why he would get this government job. Yeah. You know.

Yeah. Versus it being like, well, I don't know. I just, I got hired because like maybe that's just like two. Because my mom's a politician, which didn't really come into,

except for mentioning maybe that because his dad was in this program, his mom was given political favor, maybe. But I also don't think you need the ending where he's going to heaven and seeing everyone. I go also him being like, I'm not a religious man. It's like you have undeniable evidence of the super. supernatural in God.

You're looking at an angel. So maybe you become that really quick all at once. Yeah. I don't know. There's a lot of good elements. I think if you cut a lot of the fat and use that time to expand more on stuff the general reveals at the end, so it comes more natural and isn't dumped all at once. I think it would read more naturally because I like the concept of like humanity imprisoned

an angel, which is actually a concept in an ARG that's been floating around. a YouTube series that's been floating around called Angel Engine that is about a group of scientists that imprison an angel and use it to try to make like a perpetual energy system. And then like it's about heaven like I haven't watched it and I'm not that big of a fan of it because all the art for its AI, which I think is really lame and dumb. but the concept of it is interesting. The idea of humanity imprisoning an angel

and then like the supernatural war behind the scenes. Which I saw, I was listening to one YouTuber talk about it and he raised the point that maybe it's actually kind of smart in a meta sense because the series is about like humanity imprisoning a power they can't understand to try to get things that they want and it's using AI. Maybe it's like a statement about AI because it does it. But it doesn't directly critique AI and the whole thing's like made itself off of

AI. So that may just be accidental like irony, you know. But anyway, I mean, I doubt it. I doubt it has that many metal layers behind it. I think that this story, though, like I like the, like I agree, I like the idea of the, you know, capturing a spiritual essence and that has like, that's the thing that's been like progressing technology and all this other stuff. afford for the past like hundred years or decades or whatever you know in the uh or the decade

it's only the 40 or the 80s but uh and i i tell you i like that elaine is in on it i think that i just i think to do something that makes it feel satisfying because her coming in it's just like there's a bunch of kind of cheesy things where you come in it's like oh my wife is here and it's like sorry daddy i guess you know he's he's a fucking he's a fucking he's a idiot and he's like it's okay what I we have all that

uh I think like it would have been interesting if he's like stressed and if she would have made a really big emphasis on like reproduct like being like we need to have a kid like we need to have a kid and like putting a big emphasis on that

to where you could have developed some of that kind of like weird uh just kind of like some of the things in the background to where if you reread it you're like oh fuck that's why she was being so pushy with this or whatever. I think there's a lot of ways that you can get that going. Also, I think you could have had Gabriel trying to talk to you

or something. You work at this job and you're getting all these signs and these different things. I'm still wondering where like the orange sent came in. Remember they kept putting like an emphasis on that. The orange and pine.

Yeah, the orange and pine. Maybe that connects that. You could connect that back to some memory he has or some visual. Because again, the mystery phase was the best part of it. And it had some of the rest of questions.

Which is, you know, that's the best phase of any of any story is the discovery or the adventure of everything of like basically just all these clues being left around for you and stuff it just felt like a bunch of pieces that just a lot of loose ends that just didn't really feel like they came together once again though i think that that's it's pretty fun also i mean did you like the fact that they that it was an actual angel um you know what i mean like could it could it have been something where it's like what they thought was The story was, if the story was about that, then that'd be fine, I think. Like Angel Lynch, if it was about humanity imprisoning an angel, but where it's kind of like set dressing amidst everything, it's like, well, how did they imprison it? Like, what does that mean to imprison an eternal being like infinite power, you know? Like, did they use angel capabilities to imprison it? Probably not because it had to talk to them first.

So it's like, it's something. maybe if it turned out to be something that isn't an angel or like a fallen angel if it said it was Gabriel but it turned out to be like who's Abidon the the demon of the pit or whatever another a powerful demon or something that could be interesting and it used the angel

powers to imprison it but humanity thought they had an angel that could be cool if humanity thought they had an angel and like also it wasn't trapped but it was just there on its own will and it was feeding stuff to where then you could be like is this like is this good you know what i mean like is this a thing that we is that you like this idea of trapping something just feels kind of i don't know it just isn't

it's not hit me hit me super well or even like how in i don't know if you've ever seen an evangelian but uh the way that they did the way that they show or the way that they like uh basically show angel sometimes is just in human form in this one character it'd be kind of cool if it was just one character or it was just like one humanoid person that was in like a cell or something that's like trapped somehow um just a just the just the back and forth it's just the the the biblically accurate angels things are just they're huge it's just such a loud thing i don't know i mean i'm rambling by this point at the end of the day it's an interesting idea but it just it was a little all over the place for me i think i like the ideas i think there was good writing

bits in there. I think that maybe just workshops of the way the details come out and stuff because I liked it. I enjoyed it. I thought it was a good read. Maybe think of and I would want to see more done with it. I'd like to see more from this author. So it makes me think of a Jacob's Ladder

meets Angels in the Outfield. That's what makes you think of. Actually, it reminds me of Jacobs I thought that it was going to lean more into that side of, you know, like, where it turns out he's back in Vietnam. Yeah, or just like this whole idea of like, just, you know, such a thing of faith and the afterlife and all that kind of stuff, but it really plays into

his death in the war and stuff like that. All in all, though, fun story. Also, cool to see it come from our community and stuff. A lot of fun. Thank you guys so much for watching this week's episode. Thank you to all the audio platform listeners on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. We appreciate it. And thank you to our very supportive and very beautiful patron supporters as well.

It really does help us out. If you're interested in writing and you're interested in just being, fucking creative in like a storytelling aspect and you want somewhere to show it, put it on our subreddit. It's awesome. Not everything needs to be gold. You know, it's just fun seeing where people's minds are coming from and seeing how people are getting

inspired by each other here. And I think that we've read a lot of really great shit. So please be creative. And start writing. We will see you next week. Bye-bye. And if the angel Gabriel ever tells you to hurl babies into a wall with a slingshot, um,

you know, I'm not your dad. So do what you want. POMAYOR I don't know. I'm I don't know. Click. You know, Thank you.