The Amelia Project - Episode 30 - Baby

Episode Date: November 22, 2020

“Look at that... A mansion. A mansion in the jungle...” Episode 30, Season 3. With: Julia Morizawa, Julia Thorne, Lani Minella, Lory Martinez and Arturo Tovar. Written by Oystein Brager. Story editing by Philip Thorne. Directed by Philip Thorne and Oystein Brager. Sound design and music by Fredrik Baden. For full credits see our website. The Amelia Project is an audio fiction series. We recommend starting at the beginning. Congratulations. You’ve reached the content warning. The Amelia Project is about death, mishaps, mayhem and misfortune. And cocoa. If you’re not comfortable with this, stop listening. Now. The Amelia Project is part of the Fable & Folly Network. Find and support our sponsors at: fableandfolly.com/partners Check out this episode’s sponsors: Kitty Poo Club: Get 20% off your first order when you set up auto-ship by going to KittyPooClub.com and entering promo code AMELIA. ISSUU: Get started with Issuu today for FREE or if you sign up for a premium account you will get 50% off when you go to ISSUU.com/podcast and use promo code AMELIA. Website: ameliapodcast.com Transcripts: ameliapodcast.com/transcripts Twitter: @amelia_podcast Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/ameliapodcast Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Summer's here, and you can now get almost anything you need delivered with Uber Eats. What do we mean by almost? You can't get a well-groomed lawn delivered, but you can get chicken parmesan delivered. Sunshine? No. Some wine? Yes. Get almost, almost anything delivered with Uber Eats. Order now. Alcohol and select markets. See app for details.

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I may still be in lockdown, but today I'm celebrating. In fact, the whole Amelia Project team is celebrating because we have been declared best audio drama in the Discover Pods Awards. And not only that, but we were runner up for best overall podcast, a category that contained enormous shows by the likes of Conan O'Brien and Gimlet Media. So I'm treating myself to a glass of verve cliquot and want to say thank you to all of you who voted for us. It really means a lot to us that we have such engaged and active listeners. So if you voted for us in the Discover pods, if you've reviewed the show on your podcast

app, if you've said something nice on social media or simply told a friend about the show, thank you, thank you, thank you. It's things like this that motivate us to keep going and to keep faking deaths and crafting new identities. Before we start the show, I've got one more person to thank in particular, and that's Kate Sukayasu, who has become our latest super patron, and on her birthday no less. So thank you, Kate. Hope you had a wonderful birthday, and thank you from the bottom of our hearts for your generosity. Right, you may remember that at the end of the last episode, Amelia and Alvina landed in a place that wasn't quite Russia. Enjoy today's new episode. I can hardly see anything out of these dirty windows. It's just... jungle. I take that back. Look at that.

A mansion. A mansion in the jungle. Yeah, vámonos, pues. Por aquí. Ya llegamos. She says we're here. And where the hell is here? Who knows? Can you ask? I tried asking in the car, but all she wanted to talk about was her rash. This heat is giving me a rash. This car seat is giving me a rash. You don't want to know how far up my thigh this rash goes. Señorita Sabana. Diego, ¿qué pasó mientras estábamos por allá? Nada, nada, señorita. Those Those guards are armed. I noticed. Wow. This place is beautiful.

Falling apart, though. What is this place? Let's talk once we're on our own. Por aquí, por favor. Si pueden esperar aquí, alguien vendrá a buscarlos en unos momentos. No tardará mucho. Gracias. What did she say? To wait here until someone comes to get us.

When is that? Soon. She didn't specify. I'll ask. I'm kind of thirsty anyway. It's locked. The door's locked. Yeah. Emilia, they've locked us in. I know. Just calm down. We're prisoners. Or hostages. Or something.

I guess it could be for our own safety. How? I don't know. They take our phones, then they lock us up. Just don't jump to conclusions. It's not like the way we treat clients makes sense to them at first. At least our clients know why they're there. Why wouldn't she tell us why we're here?

Maybe she doesn't know. I don't believe that. Let's just hope whoever we meet next can give us some answers. Until then, why don't we just try to relax? I'd like to know why we're in a hospital. They haven't even put us in a waiting room. There's another patient right there. Do you think they're going to harvest our organs?

Why send us in a private jet... Rusty! ...halfway across the world just to harvest our organs? So what's your theory? What is this place, anyway? Could be an old plantation. Plantation-turned-hospital? Well, a hospital of sorts, but it's completely makeshift.

Look at that bed. It's tied together with rope. Perhaps it's a military hospital? Huh. They tricked us. The reason they didn't let you fly is because they never intended on taking us to Russia in the first place. But why take us to South America? And where in South America are we?

Somewhere they need a field hospital in the middle of the jungle. Which means that there's a war going on? Oh, God. What? We're in Panaragua. Ugh, you're kidding me. We're in Panaragua? I think we've landed in the middle of the Panaraguan civil war.

Ugh, shit. Just our luck. From sharing a taxi with a cannibal straight into one of the most bloody conflicts on the planet. What does the Panaraguan military want with us, though? To think that less than 48 hours ago I was in Burman Sea. I had a dentist's appointment today. If this is a military hospital, what do you make of the lady in the bed over there? Wounded soldier?

But she doesn't look like a wounded soldier. She's pregnant. Even soldiers get pregnant. Sure, but it just doesn't get pregnant. Sure, but... It just doesn't add up. Oh, I just had an idea. If she's a civilian, then maybe... Of course, her things.

Quick, before she wakes up. The cupboard next to her bed. Bingo. Cell phone. Congratulations. You've reached me. If you're a client, try our other phone. You cheat. If you're Alvina, no, I haven't read the case file, and I'm not going to. If you have a cocoa delivery, come straight in. If neither of these apply, please leave a message after the beep. Toodaloo! Hi, it's us. I don't know if you've got access to your cell, but things have turned weird. We're not in Russia. In fact,

we think we're in Panaragua. Do you know anything about this? Maybe we've missed a message or something. They took our phones. Anyway, we'll call again when we know more. I really hope to see you soon. The Amelia Project. Created by Philip Thorne and Oistein Braga. With music and sound design by Frederik Baden. Episode 30. Baby. It's been nine hours and they haven't even given us a snack bar.

I'm hallucinating. I'm seeing scones with butter and jam and cream and... Hello? Who's that? Who? Hello? The voice. Hello there, lady.

That voice. I can't hear anything. Oh, I think your hallucinations are worse than mine. It's not a hallucination. There's a girl in here somewhere. Please, help me! It's okay. You can come out. Okay, you're scaring me. Hello?

Where are you? I'm going to get us some food and water. Hello? Where are you? I'm going to get us some food and water. Hello! We need food in here. We're starving. This is no way to treat your guests. What's happening? Quiet. someone's coming

Why are you making so much noise? We haven't had any water or food in over nine hours A German can go up to 48 hours without water Not in this heat My colleague is hearing voices, she's losing her marbles That's no good, we need her marbles Well then, come with me. I'll take you to the cantina. Perfect. But be quick and only one of you. I'll be right back, I promise.

Are you still there? Yes, they've gone. You can come out now. I can't. I'm trapped. It's so dark. Can you please help me out of here? I don't know where you are. I want to escape. Well, at least you've come to the right person. Have I? Yes. Helping people escape is sort of what I do. Although it's hard when I don't know where I'm helping you escape from.

Sorry. Oh, it's fine. We just have to figure it out. Where to start, though? Why don't you tell me your story? Okay. I woke up and it was completely dark. Yes? I didn't know where I was or anything. And then you appeared out of the darkness.

Interesting. You're only seeing darkness, but you can see me? Yes. Could you really be in my head? I don't know. Is that where I am? I don't know. Or, hmm.

I have another theory, but I need to test something. I'm really sorry about this. Could you feel that? I'm sorry about slapping you, but I'm trying to figure out if you're this unconscious woman. I didn't feel anything. Okay. You're probably not her then. Or you just can't feel anything. Okay. You're probably not her then. Or you just can't feel anything.

Do you have any memories from before you woke up in the darkness? No. Can you move? Just a little bit. It's tight in here. Tight? Do a kick. Why?

Humor me. Here goes. Aha! Can you feel this? Yes, I can. So, if I press here, just below her belly button, how many fingers would that be? Two. That settles it.

You're a fetus. What is that? You are the fetus in this woman's womb. That's a surprise. I seem to have stumbled upon a tele are the fetus in this woman's womb. That's a surprise. I seem to have stumbled upon a telepathic fetus. Okay. Can you help me, though? I need to get out of here.

I don't think I can take this any longer. In theory, I could easily get you out, but I don't think that's a good idea. Why not? A cesarean section is risky. It's better to just wait for this to end naturally. For me to die? No, no, for you to be born. What do you mean?

I guess since you've only just gained consciousness, there's a lot you don't know. Well, currently you are inside your mother's womb. You have to be in there for nine months in total, but judging from how much your mother is showing, I would say you've got very little time left. Your predicament is completely normal. All humans start out like this.

All humans start out squeezed into a ball? That seems cruel. Well, in the words of Cornelia Funk, the world is a terrible place. Cruel, pitiless, dark as a bad dream. I wonder how you know so many words. You've never even seen a ball. I don't know. Of course. Telepathy.

You're just emoting. My brain must be translating that into language. Listen, lady, I don't know what you are talking about, and I don't care. Just get me out of here. Get me out of here. Get me out of here. Hey, stop kicking your mother. Get me out of here. Get me out of here. Please stop. Please. Get me out of here. They're there now. Hey, hey, hey.

Get me out of here. Listen, just stop. Get me out of here. Okay, stop. I'll help you. Will you? Yes. Thank you. Not at all.

Now, listen carefully. Here's how this is going to work. Okay. Extracting you from your current situation is not going to be easy. But luckily, you happen to have stumbled upon the best in the business. Yes? We will have to use a very secret procedure, which is known under the codename... Birth.

You've never heard of birth, have you? No. Good. Now, this procedure requires careful planning. It could take weeks. You will have to be patient. Do you think you can manage that? I'll try, as long as you can set me free.

To make the procedure as smooth as possible, I need you to make sure that your head is facing downwards, okay? Well, I'm upside down now. I'll just stay like this. Good. I think we're all set then. That's it? But how are you going to do it?

That is a trade secret. All I can say is, you'll know when it's happening. How? Well, you'll know when it's happening. How? Well, you'll start by feeling some tightening. The space around you will start pressing like it's trying to push you out. That does sound very pleasant. Then after a while, these contractions will get more frequent, and then this opening will appear, and there will be a very bright light. You have to

move towards the light. Allow yourself to emerge, and that's it, really. That's it? Yes. Once you're out, why don't you scream your lungs out? Why? That will be our secret sign that everything has gone to plan. Okay, I'll scream. Good. Now, I guess we're not getting paid for this one. Paid? Actually, how about we defer your payment for about 18 years? Okay. Once you finish your education, you promise to come back and find me. We could do with a telepath. You'll repay your debt by working for us. Anything to get out of this stuffy bag. Memorize this phone number. 00-44-20-38-07-36-34. Thank you so much, miss. I predict a bright future for you. This is when we normally pop open the champagne, but you shouldn't have any. And I don't think this field hospital stocks Veuve Clicquot.

Rude! I won't have you pushing me around like that. Alvina, calm down. I got two bottles of water and some bread. Bet they were very rude about it. Why are you holding that pregnant woman's hand? She's the mother of a client. It's hard to explain. You've really lost it, haven't you? I'm so sorry. Here, have some water.

What's going on? Oh no. I think her water just broke. We have to get a doctor. Hey! Hey! Hey, we need some help in here! This woman is going into labour! Help! We need a doctor! Quick! Hello!

We hope you enjoyed this episode of The Amelia Project. Stay tuned for the epilogue, but first, the credits. This episode was written and edited by Einstein Breger, with music and sound design by Frederick Barden. The episode featured Lani Minella as Baby, Julia Morizawa as Amelia, Julia C. Thorne as Alvina, Lori Martinez as Amelia, Julia C. Thorne as Alvina, Lori Martinez as Savannah, Arturo Tova as Diego,

and Alan Bergen as the interviewer. The Amelia Project is produced by Imploding Fictions with graphic design by Anders Pedersen. If you want to support the show and join our community, consider becoming a patron. As a $5 patron, you'll be able to join all our video live streams, including our Christmas party with the whole gang on the 12th of December. Simply go to ameliapodcast.com and click on support the show. Thank you to our super patrons,

Jem Fiddick, Angel Acevedo, Sophie Leveso, Sophia Anderson and Kate Tsukayasu. And now, the epilogue. Now that went well, didn't it? Yes, it did. We got you out, didn't we? And everything went fine. We upheld our part of the bargain, yes? That you out, didn't we? And everything went fine. We upheld our part of the bargain. Yes, that's right. Isn't it?

Isn't it? Hello? Are you still there? Hello, hello. Hello, are you there? Hello? Hello? Hello? Are you there? Hello? Network, where we discuss the unprecedented times we're living through. Can your manager still schedule you for night shifts after that werewolf bit you? My ex-boyfriend was replaced by an alien body snatcher, but I think I like him better now. Who is this dude showing up in everyone's old pictures? My friend says the sewer alligators are reading maps now.

When did the kudzu start making that humming sound? We are just your normal millennial roommates processing our feelings about a chaotic world in front of some microphones. World Gone Wrong, a new fiction podcast from Audacious Machine Creative, creators of Unwell, a Midwestern Gothic Mystery. Learn more at audaciousmachinecreative.com. Find World Gone Wrong in all the regular places you find podcasts. I love you so much. I mean, you could, like, up the energy a little bit. You could up the energy. I actually don't take notes.

That was good. I'm just kidding. You sounded great. So did you.