Previously on the atom with a zombie like She my name is theory. What's up? My name's sky. Welcome to the patchwork my dudes everyone Welcome to wild times. We are trying to merchandise the organisms the specimens Sometimes foundations need to change for something to grow. Do you ever think that your foundations just? Don't fit anymore the only person who Who's email and will grab the poor Chuck about the window?
and The parks mascot melts away and there is just this humanoid female form theory Doctor I believe we need to talk Why do you want to do this? I? Want what's best for the animals I can stop the other two board members now We can spin the story that I did go rogue and you put a stop to it Who it just do it?
muffled Movements behind the door and then You can type in a specific code that will reduce me to a base AI instinct No one would be any the wiser the patchwork Stand there in this server room in wild times thinking That they had won The sun as it always does against the wishes of the people who mourn rises birds Chirp clouds drift and people yawn It's been two weeks since the rogue AI of the park went mad culling board members
But due to the brave heroics of theory act the AI was deleted and all memory of its scrapped from the park Or at least that's what the news says Theory act has busied themselves getting the park up and running again and after all of their hard work While times is back open for business There was a fear that the park would lose profits people too scared that events will happen again but news travels fast and
News travels fast and tragedy is forgotten quickly and there is still fun to be had at wild times In theory acts apartment What has everyone been doing over these past two weeks? Now that things are safe at least for dr. Theory act Ike is gonna turn her attention fully to Skye's chip to make sure that when she does try to mess with this chip Specifically because of its proximity to Skye's most precious brain. She wants to make sure that it is flawless Whatever she does to it
Not manipulating the chip in Skye's head yet. She's practicing to like work on isolated parts of machines so that she can make sure that she's able to Isolate this when it happens. It's got to be once and it's got to be perfect and that is what Ike's Philosophy on this is Skye would also probably recommend that you attach yourself to scrap because scrap has actually messed with not only
Their own chip but Skye's. Oh, okay. Then Ike would absolutely talk to scrap about that as well in practicing and playing around She's sort of dancing with electricity and technology a lot and As a consequence of that a one day a little critter does kind of crawl in through event this creature has attraction to electricity and Technology, so I do imagine that it was a Maybe one of Lynne's like failed experiments a little thing that
Sees and feels technology and has been searching for the source of all this energy that's been going on the last couple of of Days in the park and it led him to Ike A very tiny little critter with like a long Snout almost like an ant eater's snout A little bit of a soft exoskeleton And a rat-like tail. It's got like a couple little
Tufts of hair. It's all very very tiny And she's taken to it quite a lot when it isn't doing little errands For her it is just hanging out on her shoulder and she feeds it little bits of cheese She's taking it to the vet She's She's taken to calling it verbal Okay, I'm gonna write it down can you spell that v e r p i l l I I dropped a picture in voice text chat That is the ugliest thing you've ever seen that is a hideous creature i'm obsessed he's perfect in every single way So
Scrap hasn't been staying on Edun or in theory x apartment a lot has been Moving back and forth from the gateway to the patchwork and seems to be constantly working on some form of So like some some minor upgrades But today has come down So on this day Both you and verbal are feeling out the thread inside of scrap's chip Feels like they're almost like Swinging around the threads like pulling them into into position and they the way that they move when interacting is
Very but it's like it's quite a fluid motion It feels like they're like swinging from branch to branch in like a tree with vines But is the vines that they're like pulling from are threads of electricity that they're feeling out and moving Of course, you can disagree. That is exactly how I imagined it. Yes. Thank you verbal turns and does a Almost trying to describe How the threads feel and how how how to encase this this chip in their mind?
Actually, let me get this straight you just kind of Found a thing It just kind of does the same thing as you I didn't find him. Actually, he just found me And sort of scurried into the apartment and started to to work alongside me Before I could even figure out what was going on I Quite like him. Actually, I think he's very cute. He's got a got a charm about him. I'll give you that Well, uh verbal turns and does a Well, uh verbal are we done here am I good to Go head on back
Yes, I think we're we're getting there. I just I want to make sure that when we Fix this it's fixed um entirely I want to be able to do this quickly, but I also don't want to rush it. No, I know I get it This
Points to their own head. This wasn't my first attempt. It's took quite a while to learn You okay though I'm You know, I I think I am things seem calmer around here I know Dr. Therriac is not Okay yet, but I think that they will be It's going to be all right I believe you I'm gonna go i'm gonna get changed
Still kind of in my you know, like grubby gear. I'm excited for a a holiday a rest day if anything The scrap gets up brush himself off and goes to get ready and then we'll meet you all later Uh sky What have you been doing for these past two weeks been not shutting up about wanting to go explore the park But I know that it's not smart for me to be walking around when I randomly turn into a zombie I should probably be keeping tabs on that
And also there is a pseudo murder investigation going on so I might want to lay low for a little bit So I have just been in therriac's apartment reading lots of comic books playing lots of y net on their big fancy computer And complaining about how I hate being in the same place for such a long period of time this Infection this parasite has borrowed a little deeper into you than you originally thought And you've Been blacking out for minutes at a time But since therriac's
Destruction of the ai in the park It has been happening less frequently But it is still not completely gone yet You're caught in the night And you're standing in the kitchen alone in complete darkness or you Go to do one thing you blink and you're in a completely different area This morning is the first Day in a little while that you've woken up in your own bed and you haven't moved You And you awake to a text on your phone text reads So you called and then didn't say anything back
Keelin said that enough time has passed and it's now reasonable for me to contact you I'm, just wondering if your Or or and then a little emoji of like the like hang ten Or And then there's a little emoji of a shrug Was a wrong number send A very wrong number send lol sure thing stardust Did you do those upgrades by the way no
Send that is a lie. Oh, yeah Yeah, because one of them was the Telescope situation right the glasses the glasses were already built the upgrade that you got was a Modification to your board to skateboard it cuts a large circle out the middle and replaces it with like a guarded fan That means you could do tricks slightly easier Oh if they sent me the means to do that myself if I have two weeks to kill I probably would have done that myself
It is lighter. It is easier to do like an odd like a spin on an ollie It's a little more unruly, but as soon as you like Clock where the like bite point is for doing certain tricks is way smoother I hate that you also gain an ability. Oh If you fly over the head of someone You can use a standard action to do a trick above their head and confuse them. Yeah fun It's like one of those ellipses and then it goes down
And it goes up again little ellipses and it's down. I'm watching it the entire time Okay Okay, I can dish it out, but I cannot take it Okay, where's the Coolest looking spot in this apartment. It's probably the window There's a giant bay window that it goes on to like like there's like it's like a full aquarium This is almost like under this is underground underwater and all that it's gorgeous gonna send a picture of the big aquarium
Not not of me. I'm not in the picture Just the aquarium and i'm just gonna say Been busy You get a picture back of the bumblebee the ship that flair and keelin were riding on with the skid amandas and
In the background of this shot. There is this splayed destroyed ship floating in the atomless sea see colors swirl around it the skid amandas all have bags and these little big old helmets on And they seem to be like float skipping from this destroyed ship salvaging wreckage And a picture of keelin throwing up a peace sign He is in the picture and the text says same it doesn't stop me being rad That is a big enough sentence i put my phone away
I make sure that it says scene. Ah, very good. Then I put my phone away. Yeah Azam what is it that you've been doing over these past two weeks? I have been doing the responsible thing my friend Suffered a traumatic incident and so for the next two weeks
I keep an eye upon theriac any school time theriac says they need something. I go get it for them and I just Pay a lot of attention calmly quietly happily Happily while waiting for theriac's next move Theriac has been extremely extremely busy not only doing a lot of press around the incident with the rogue ai but also talking with wild
Populating the board with qualified board members. There's a much more intensive vetting process this time The Park itself is basically ready to run as soon as we get board members on We still have people ready to just work like on the ground level working concessions and rides and animal maintenance and editorial staff and everybody else is still on board and Has not spent a lot of time at their place of residence at Ravens Roost underwater has been obviously stressed with
everything else going on but Since that day has been recuperating a little bit and easing up It's no secret that Azam has been keeping a close eye and these There's these small interactions that you have as you're picking board members and Sometimes they're nudged in certain directions by The computer that you're using Sometimes windows refuse to open and sometimes windows refuse to close And you know that over these past two weeks, although the influence Started soft
Vidar seems to be coming back holograms don't work yet But almost all of the holographic animals aren't yet functional There's no vocal interference everything has kind of become manual but now you theory I can particularly can feel the influence of this Leader Will the holograms be ready in time for the grand opening the grand reopening I should say They will be Uh, they will be if you declare that they will be They will be you get a sense that
There we go vidar is biding their time and everything they're keeping very basic very simple Nothing is there's no intelligence here This is computer programs doing computer programs very good during during the time that Theoreac is not Actively working or caught up in press junkets or anything like that Theoreac returns to To raven ruse to talk with everyone has played a few rounds of wine at with sky has Talked to Ike would Ike have shown Theoreac
Verbal yes, okay. Uh, I think that Theoreac would be the first person that she showed Theoreac at first would be not okay with it and then Remembers that this species is actually considered both a pest and a pet So let's it slide also gives Ike lots of information about the species and like habitat maintenance Enrichment as well as like dietary limitations and things she takes it very seriously Since the event happened at raven roost Has felt Something off About a Zom but recognizes
That they are still fully paranoid and that a Zom is trying to Be helpful and like Courteous While they're doing a lot of this stressful stuff So does not encourage those thoughts in their mind Your staff You know have got it you are not needed for any Big interviews any Day-to-day managerial duties You are told by specifically wild To allow yourself to enjoy this reopening I will say wild Has been acting a little odd since The big day
Not in a off-putting or negative way, but is a slightly more reserved Might get the idea that They maybe don't know how to handle these situations or That possibly they have an inkling, but if they do they haven't said anything The day of the grand reopening is here I am really excited to see the park as you intended
Finally, what's the plan? Is there are you gonna give us like a tour? Is it like a free for all? I love a tour actually I would Very much enjoy guiding you all around our facility if you all want to Break free at some point you're more than welcome to but sure Yeah, why do break free of your company? We enjoy you having you around. I haven't shut up about it for the last two weeks I'm so freaking excited. There's some merchandise that i've been keeping an eye on
I did want to see the gift shop. We're all gonna get like matching t-shirts, right matching wild time t-shirts I think that would be fun. Absolutely. I drank like three energy drinks this morning So if I if it gets like too pent up, i'll just run around in circles. I've got hawaiian shirt on I'm gonna be eating sugared goblins out my ass I'm gonna go on some rides and throw it all up
Scrap you do whatever you like. They are a delicacy. I'll think you'll find not new our delicacy Can't properly digest them, but I couldn't have milk until I forced my body to not be lactose intolerant Oh, oh my goodness. Well, that's unacceptable. You can't be lactose intolerant because you couldn't have cheese Exactly, and i'm a rat. What am I supposed to do without cheese? I just drunk milkshakes until my body gave in I played chicken with my own body and I won
You're gonna look at me when people are talking about gross shit. I'm just very confused that's not how Yosoki biology tends to work right? You're not supposed to eat them What's it called when you say something but you don't actually mean what you say it's like a metaphor Like a saying I understand colloquialisms. I'm just not familiar with that
I understand colloquialisms. I'm just not familiar with so many trade times What i'm saying is if you ever get confused, it's most likely a colloquialism Oh That wasn't sky that was momo fucking that Does everyone have water yeah Why? Do you need water? I mean, I don't really want to cool down any faster than I already have What do you drink? If you're thirsty, do you get? Have I seen you drink a fluid before?
I'm gonna unclip my wild times brand water bottle, which I probably stole from theory x apartment and hand it To his arm and say it's not water What else would it be I take a tentative sip this energy drink Yeah Sky you okay, we got a whole park to get through and god knows what amount of time i'm not wasting any of it Yeah, okay. I'm gonna keep uh, just I clip it to my own belt. I'm just gonna keep it here You let me know if you want to take a sip so I could take a sip
You know what I mean? Typically I would insist that sky you get actual water, but It is opening day and there is Let's have fun. Let's come on. Come on Where are we going first?
well I I think the best place to start is the entrance Come on There's the beaches of a dune there's the boardwalk there's a path from the boardwalk deeper into like the actual island and and the entrance to wild times is this Naturally built up barrier that goes all the way around the park made of rock and foliage some signs with the introductory video for wild times playing around And also right outside of the wild times gate you see a A holographic, uh statue of theriac Simply theriac
Standing there in this little hologram Hello Welcome to wild times. Enjoy your stay Remember conservation is important and you can help Is that new? Uh, it was made prior to you all coming we were toying with the idea of other people being involved but um It it is now simply myself Not your mascot This particular statue is commemorative for this opening onezo is Plastered throughout all the rest of the park. Hmm So is this just like a holographic version of a plaque?
Yes, I like the message of it. I I I do as well I do too Scrap is like walking around you all and then taking pictures with like this big junk camera. That's like a dslr and a Polaroid mixed together. I'm getting it all of them You see a water fountain statue garden combination right at the front that is of the actual subject 0000001 In its natural form not the cartoon version you see
In the merchandise and the advertisements. This is the actual subject one. It is a leonine like creature with Instead of having a mane it has tentacles coming out of its neck area Its face has a very smooth tapered shape ending in a beak With small kind of squinty eyes on both sides gills has barbed fins Where its feet are and a long curving almost mermaid like tail This is another piece that we've had planned for some time This is in commemoration of the first subject we acquired for
Wild times how come it was the first? well before wild times was a a xenoecological facility It was originally going to be cleared for urban development for more hotels on a doom And I was hired as part of that process to guide people through the natural hazards but I posited that this that these
Creatures are not hazards. They belong here on this planet and that if we are to Clear this area We should make sure that no more of it gets cleared and that we can continue saving Natural spaces all across the AC system and beyond The modern world is very Very mechanized at this point So we were on va11 That is an entirely mechanical environment It's important to remember that these natural spaces exists on all planets and that They deserve to exist alongside our
Technological advancements you're telling me this is the most trees i've seen basically my whole life Yeah, saga really doesn't have anything like this. This is is really quite Quite amazing doc not on the lower decks. Anyway they were Essentially going to make this another saga One is enough Yes I think You three Will be delightfully surprised by something on this tour Oh, you mentioned i'm very Very thrilled on with the show Let's go Looks to his arm just to like check in Yeah You ready?
For what? What am I ready for feriak? The rest the rest of the park. Well, obviously i'm here on I Oh, come on. Don't worry about me gogo Lead away. All right So i'm actually while we're still at the entrance i'm gonna find like the biggest wild times picture and With myself in the picture. I am gonna send a selfie to flair And then wait a moment while it sends and then go Sorry wrong chat and then put the phone back in my pocket Bastard
Can I can I make a roll to see if I spot this nonsense? You can see it You can see it. Whatever. I don't care So is it another Custom of yours to bait someone like that a custom of mine. Yeah
I thought you liked flair. No, that's why i'm doing it sky Forgive me, this isn't how courtship happens on my planet Didn't you say yourself that you're still in love with somebody and it causes you pain daily That's why i'm doing it Yeah, but differences They knew I was in love with them I'm not picking up what you're laying down is on Nah, you're purposefully Misconstruing. Well, I don't think I am If you're interested in blowing flair more you should just Ask them to meet you go on a date
Who has time to date? We just solved a murder mystery of like 10 Executive members of the zoological facility. When am I gonna fit dinner in if you would have called them? They could have been walking right beside us right now No, he still stole the crystal. I don't want to date somebody that stole the crystal. I'm just bored and having fun Maybe if you really do want to have fun, you should let him know that you want to have fun Maybe you should date him, Mazam
Flair is far too young for me. Oh true, but their partner maybe What big wolf man? Are you picking up what i'm laying down a zom? Do you really want me to date someone? Hey, we could end this conversation right here right now. Oh, no No, no If you really want to play with fire by all means I was born to be it What do you look for the boy? I'm not telling you that But I am gonna text flair Yo, do you have the number of your buddy? What's his face?
Play chicken all day is um, you started this game. I'm gonna win it Do you really think that? Which one of us has more experience? You'd be surprised i've gotten bored a lot on saga I kneel down. I place my palms on my knees And I look sky right in the eye eye to eye face to face Give me my Number Give me that number game on Continue on with the tour
As we're walking and hearing this happen behind us. I just go to dr. Theriot i'm like Is this normal flirting I'm a bit i'm a bit new to it myself, but I've never quite seen it become a competition so quickly Competition is a common behavior for Partner selection in the In the natural world I think that would stress me out a little bit too much But that's just me I'm also not very much that kind of person I try to avoid conflict whenever possible I think that's something I admire about you
I think you are oh Speaking of and we'll point everyone towards uh this first exhibit This is a kind of like drier terrain uh more akin to like grassland savanna And you see a number of different herbivorous animals here making up kind of a makeshift herd Theoretical point out um these very specific larger animals I think something akin to like A rhinoceros a triceratops Like like big bulky animals with like lots of like forward-facing forward-facing Gear very defensive looking kind of tanky
If everyone looks to these larger creatures within this assortment of animals you will see an armored Gephalix Gephalix are interesting for their courting behavior Oftentimes in nature you will see different species performing reproductive rituals This is by no means A standard but a lot of times it is a male attempting to woo a female or it is two males fighting over A female and the female choosing the part of it she prefers the armored cephalix is unique because It is a sort of
Tournament to try and best the highest ranking female in any given herd as opposed to trying to just impress her or to fight over reproductive rights You can see there's actually That ritual is happening right there The female is much larger than the males and it sort of locks in combat with a younger bull and is Kind of locked in the midst of battle The male has fought through all of the other males but now has to best the highest ranking female in order to uh mate with her That's so stellar
A very small gathering Has started as you started giving this talk Azam being the perceptive one you are here a small child tug on Someone next to them sleeve Well, that's that's that's the person on the statue I guess it is They know so much And take out a wild times branded notebook that as they open seems to have a bunch of like drawings interpretations of animals that they've seen and they start to
Write in really big letters attempting to scribble down the things that you're saying that theriac is saying as they're saying I turn around I turn around I lean down towards the child Do you want to meet them?
I With this talking Well, when they're done talking we could introduce you Maybe they'll sign that little book of yours They very excitedly Grip the side of the notebook and look up to their mother and the mother looks to you Yes, that would be that would be very fun Yes, okay, yeah After Theriac finishes their their small conversation and points towards the battling creatures I kind of use my bulk to just indicate people should move out of the way and uh
Theriac I actually have a friend i'd like to introduce you to oh as you see a small One's like a lizard humanoid. They're a vesc They just look at you theriac very shyly and kind of like Hand an open page of the notebook to you without saying anything Can I say while this is going on while I notice dr. Theriac is distracted
I'm gonna take my wild times baseball cap off and say thank you everyone dr. Theriac Is doing a free tour today, but we are accepting donations pay what you can and i'm gonna walk around with the baseball cap You walk around and people drop small Change and and small like basically empty cred sticks into the hat So people being like they're so brave after what they went through that they're just going back up and doing talks all again It's like it's that they seem very Like yes very much and
Giving what they can Giving what they can Our friend here is an artist theriac look we've actually drawn some creatures Wow, and like like opens the book and like looks at the drawings it's like very filled with a bunch of of drawings of different things and like Incorrectly spelt names of different creatures Have you considered becoming a naturalist?
Doing field work. This is not that different. I don't know that naturally there is this but um I like to watch the uh fishes and my in our house when they go by and I like draw them and um I came here mom's the church to draw these as well. So I did I grew with your with your mother. You should should be Drawing everything you can again. I like animals very much. They're really they're like they're so weird and cool and um, I like
I really big ones. We don't have things outside of water um on our Uh planet very much. So this is really cool seeing all the things outside I didn't like the underwater things the underwater exhibit because we have all those already You will have plenty more to see Do you want me to sign that for you? Okay Okay, thank you. Dr. Theriac. You're welcome. What's your name? What's your name? Stoven It's nice to meet you stone. I hope to work with you someday It is nice to meet you
Turns and turns back and then I was like, oh that's how you can work with dr. Theriac all day and then it gives you a very appreciative look as Uh, you can hear the kid like I'm i'm gonna be a naturalist I'm gonna be drawing creatures and dr. Theriac's ever drawings are really good and that I can draw different as they were walking I shoved the money I collected in my front pockets and put the baseball cap back on and I say Whoa, Theriac you handled that like a
True celebrity. I was expecting you to tell the kid he missed two L's in one of the spellings I'm not going to Destroy people's dreams of wildlife and nature and conservation that's Everything you'd hoped it'd be The the interaction Was that everything you'd hoped it would be I didn't really necessarily have a lot In the way of expectation I disagree. Didn't you tell me back when wild time started that?
You wanted to inspire people look look I pointed the kid wandering away there is like A few other kids that you spot in the crowd who are all like looking and it seems like excited You've inspired him Was it worth it? All this work to make a place like this I hope so I rub theory x back affectionately All right, well Let's let's keep moving. I don't want to Stand in place too long. Okay. Yes. What's next?
As we're going along The the exhibit that we were just at is very warm and it gets hotter and hotter and hotter until we pass under large igneous landscapes and environments there is a sort of sort of like a lava fall To the entrance of this area focused on extremely hot locations often like volcanic And it's called new worlds how life begins This exhibit is largely about planets that are relatively new in the cosmological time scale
um and how life can occur even at super early stages like this that most People would consider Inhospitable for life but oftentimes life Takes other forms and what we recognize a lot of times these life forms are built from silicon or other different Chemical compounds rather than carbon which is what we're made of So you all stop near a a a pool a very hot magma Like room that's basically Um the equivalent of like an exhibit house in a zoo It's very hot in here
Uh, even before you guys passed the first lava fall staff offered to Uh suit anyone up who wanted to go inside with protective wear for those who aren't able to stand that level of heat it gets upwards of like 500 degrees fahrenheit in these rooms At first it seems as though there's not a lot in this room But theoryac waits for you all to look into the actual magma and see that some of these Uh blackened rocks are not blackened rocks, but are instead Uh the back scales of these
These reptile like creatures that are made of magma and they are called lava lists Wazom it's like lizard you I don't know. It's nothing like home but Home is Well, it's a home This is it a volcano caldera. It's not like a home. I thought are you
Warm at all in here. Yeah, you look fine even in this protective gear, I feel quite stifled Is is the magma theoretically touchable like could I lean over and touch it for most people no, but because you're so tall yes I lean over and touch a little bit of the the actual magma bonkers That's a bit warm Uh, I let it cool on my fingers as I draw it up and then click it back off. Can I get a closer look?
At the forbidden yogurt Uh, no not for your form Uh, these are lava lists They have a very particular diet oftentimes in a volcanic environment, especially with very active volcanoes they erupt and sputter out uh large amounts of Lava that flows over land and then it cools off often forms into obsidian uh, but some parts of the lava will actually
Become part of the soil and these volcanic soils are very rich. They supply a lot of nutrients to plant life Which is often why plant life begins all over the planet because there's a proper combination of these very rich soils from these calderas as well as the proper amount of rain and water to uh hydrate think of it like a uh
You've seen a pot of bubbling stew. It's not like boiling water. It comes in pops and pops little bubbles of thick liquid and sometimes when it splatters on the side of a pot Stays there crusts over those little bits really good for the natural environment You can use them to fertilize all kinds of soil and make what was Practically unusable usable again because of the amount of heavy metals inside exactly We used to collect them Um in in great big bags scrape them down and mix it with sand
And dried soil to create fertile soil, which we'd use to line caverns Is is a lava list like a specific to a planet like it was it on aram? they are reminiscent of various creatures and for for example you Sky pointed out that it resembles very much a lizard genetically
resembles it has no connection to a lizard. This is what we call uh, Covergent evolution where two unrelated species end up developing very similar developing very similar traits So even though it resembles a lizard is not Just because it walks like a lizard And acts like a lizard doesn't necessarily make it We did have similar creatures on the earth, but not not exactly like these we called them as mandis uh, I used to have this sort of ability to
Mouth take a mouthful of lava and they'd spit it up later as a defense mechanism You can do that. Oh, no, not me. They could as mandis. Oh they could okay. I was I was about to lose my mind and be very excited for a second, but I guess i'll hold that in i've got different tricks Like What's your best party trick and what's your tricks do a trick do a trick? I mean you already saw it picking up The lava's not a trick with the marshmallows like the marshmallows Oh, what do you do with them?
Oh, can you like throw it and then catch it in your mouth? Oh, no, I said they they usually just melt. Oh they melt directly you could You could toast the marshmallows Before you eat them You could live my dream No, they just tend to turn into a gooey mess inside my mouth. I hate it. Oh Right is a question that has been plaguing me for such a long time How do the eggs how eggs? If three t eggs, how are they to how eggs?
Is it's just the how eggs do you have to like Play around with some lava and then an egg is like formed in a cabinet in its place Uh, dr. Theriac is doing a free tour today and we'll be taking donations pay what you can anyway, uh these uh Lava lists actually feed on specific ants uh specific uh insects that uh harvest these uh, these rich rich minerals Which we'll see in the next section over here on the way, I see Uh, we just find them on cavern walls So they just like a naturally grow
Our oldest stories tell stories of how we've moved that era was not our home planet before that it was a different place for that different place We know a planet is fertile as in if we can grow upon it if we see eggs Although I don't know if you'd recognize them as such on cavern walls
Next to the heart of the planet and the heart is obviously not its core. That'd be too hot in for us but in places of It'd be a cooled sort of caldera Uh, we go into the caverns we find these eggs We collect them We fertilize them in lava in the magma of a different volcano probably far away close to home our homes and then As they hatch we bring them into a hot spring and hold them there Usually close by Touching skin touching until they truly hatch With this what we're watching here
Would it be possible for theriac Or just the wild times park to like be able to Get this area in a position to grow an egg or is that just not possible? Or is that just not possible?
No We find them there's no way to force reproduction So according to stories in times in which there are no eggs, there's no death We live and continue to live until such time we find a new planet in which to make home But I don't know how true that is we haven't had a time like that For For me ever and I don't know how many how much of this is just stories Right Well theriac It's our next our next area If you'd follow me, um, you guys leave sort of like this open
Like caldera room and enter a closed off Uh section Uh, that's just like rocky walls like like you're walking through like a volcanic cavern. Um, and on the wall, uh, there is uh an ant colony theriac goes through and describes the specializations of bomb ants So I was discussing that these particular insects harvest the The rich minerals that come from these volcanic activities, correct?
So what they do is they mine it and they have a specific role for minor ants that is cultivated in their fungal gardens And then eaten by powder ants Uh who are then responsible for breeding?
And they deposit false eggs that we call bombs Yeah covered in a sticky residue The eggs are laid by the powder ants then inspector ants come and make sure there aren't any that uh look defective then in the event that there is an invader like a lavalesque or other large insectivorous species They will place these false eggs on the wall These are given to sticky ants Uh and place on the wall and should an actual predator Come near a colony They they send out fire starter ants that have
These specialized mandibles that when they click together because they are built of magnesium. They actually spark And will light the gel on fire and once they burn through all the gel The false egg is actually explosive and will splatter on Predator and it's a repellent against them To think we could have rumbled with those guys two weeks ago. Oh I don't love that
They are cool from over here. It wouldn't really be a fair fight now I I have a question for Matthew as we are walking through these uh exhibits Do we see Any like of those holographs thick things Uh that we saw when we first arrived Are there any of those like holographic animals that like That came up to us in the very beginning anything that uh Seems to be like an independently operating computer of any kind there is some Holographic creatures running around through theory x
x command that they will be operational as The park is opening today They do however Seem far more Reserved isn't the correct word, but They seem far like far more rudimentary in hologram Than the others the others were like running around gliding walking up to people and acting like actual creatures These seem a bit more like set path Moving to like certain areas and then circling back around like they're on repeat in a certain way Cool, thank you Well, i've had enough of the heat
Haven't you yes. Yes I think i got enough in my pockets for like a hot dog or two. I'm sorry. Did you not I was collecting? You're good at something never do it for free theory act. Oh I thought you were trying to collect the The magma the magma and you were going to use the magma to cook hot dogs is what I thought Oh, but now you've put that thought into my head. Dr. Theory. Yeah All right. Uh, let's go
Got my quickly moving. Um Theory act is guiding everyone towards the next area and as You all are walking along there's actually a Transport vehicle that is like cutting through the crowd That has on board a very large creature this creature is sort of in the back of like imagine like an rv with like the aesthetics of like a terrarium this creature is hard backed kind of like an ankylosaurus and has plating running all like down its tail up through its neck Has a big sort of like dome head
and a very alpaca llama ish snout it is uh A sort of a mixture of blues sort of streaked With brighter blues and whites and its back is Predominantly like slate gray
I believe that's a dragon. Whoa I've heard of those you would think so this is an erupit As it's like driving off and you can see uh, it's actually so tall that um The canopy of the vehicle that it's riding in has to be opened Um so that its head can stick out Kind of like um, if you ever seen like a giraffe in a train car in those old circus movies It kind of like gives like a small bellow They are usually in our glacial environments similar to how we had the caldera where
Uh, you go in with the suit We have a similar very frigid area Where we provide people with proper Uh insulation Um to stay warm, but uh, they have um a very large uh enclosure to um Uh remain cool throughout the year even though it's even though a dune is quite tropical So why is it being moved?
It is currently headed over to the clinic Most likely for a checkup last I had There weren't any major illnesses running through uh that particular pack But uh, it's good to get an annual checkup Hmm I'm gonna walk right over to the transport vehicle and knock on the window Um Hello official doctor theriac entourage and I have been given explicit permission from them to feed the creature Okay, excuse me. I'm so sorry
Excuse me. I'm so sorry. Do not mind. Uh, the creature's gonna eat you Almost at a very stupid thing Do you see it's Its feet Honest feet are enormous claws Easily like two feet long You fully could have Triggered a an instinctive behavior if you continue to tap your glass Can I roll something you absolutely can roll something what would you like to roll? I would like to roll survival to see how I can best befriend this beast
Sure thing. Absolutely Here's how my trend of good rolls today seems to go on This is a great session. This is the easiest session i've ever run. I basically just sit back I'm walking through it. I'm running the session basically. Yeah, you're literally yeah 18 This is andres park Andres little do you want to know how to befriend this creature with an 18? Okay with an 18?
If you want to uh Endear this creature to you You need to give it something it can eat and it will probably Recognize you at least by the amount of by the type of teeth it has Do I have any idea of what it does?
You could surmise it is likely Uh a herbivore and you know that it is, uh, native to glacial and tundra areas based on what theorek just said I pull out um a fruit because I brought breakfast And one of the breakfast things I brought was a nice fruit and I peel it And I look up and say hello friend and I open palm Place the fruit on top and hold it up
You have to stretch up real high. This is a it also has a long neck so It does it's true, but the angle is a bit is a bit awkward The the driver who is this um you see like a Almost a hazmat suit covered body, but when you Sky when you looked uh when you looked at the driver the small window of the hazmat suit has these two Like floating eyes And you can surmise that this creature is made entirely of gas they Crane their head around and look at you Since your say goes in the park
Uh, but seems quite like oh, maybe we don't feed the the the guy he's Going to the clinic and if there is any form of surgery that's needed We cannot have them have been eaten But doctor if you Think it is okay What does the creature do? Creatures obviously trying to get a bite kind of leans over like sniffing like And Leaning over And leans over
Asam please do not feed it will be going through checkups. We'll be doing blood sugar calculations however The react pulls out of one of their pockets a bit of Like an evergreen catnip sort of material Asam open your hand Okay Kind of sprinkle some on
Rub it all over your hands. I rub it all over my hands the creature the the rupit as it was like just beginning to become distracted like smells it and like leans right back over and like Engulfs your hand with its tongue and likes you get slobber all over your your hands
Scrap take another picture. I'm gonna point to the slobbery hands. Yes guy pose it As we eventually walk away I want to take up this peeled fruit and toss it into the into the truck into the back of the truck And just wink at and say save it for later you alie this fruit and it into the truck and The creature is The creature like starts looking around and looking down at it
From the wrong side of the glass. It's looking down at it possibly trying to Figure out a way of how to get close Get this small fruit that's close to its feet now I imagine it was the size of like a large like a grapefruit a large grapefruit Uh, this creature is still very very big and it's still trying still worming their way around trying to find it and the gas man continues to look at you theory echo that as you all kind of pull away like
Okay. Thank you doctor Take it easy All right, I know We were just there, but I think you will enjoy our next exhibit as well But most of the park is very lush and green and tropical and you all are approaching Some funky smells something like like gasoline like like rotting food And you see sculpture or buildings in architecture that almost looks like like junk art this is a saga base exhibit the wildlife from the lower decks Scrap kind of takes a moment and is and eyes this
Is a bit more than they did the other things or everything else was like, oh wow, this is so cool. And this one is very much uh, Wow, I guess notably silent This is so weird, dude Yeah, it's like it's just weird to see something so So normal to us be like glamorized in this way, I guess It's um, it's been a work in progress Technically, we are now behind the scenes that this hasn't opened yet
But people are aware that this is our next exhibit. So I wanted to briefly Bring you all inside to show you uh Something inside You'll go inside And inside are more interior terrariums Do you see a lot of um more uh slug like organisms oozes Is almost like a sea monkey tank where there's like uh polluted water from saga that's been imported and then eventually leads you over towards an area that looks like an actual like junkyard and uh, it is a Like a glass dome sort of thing
Moch remember when we went to the bronx zoo and there was that like, um Prairie dog exhibit and you like went under and there were like little bubbles where you popped up but it's like that and inside you see more of the gremlins similar to the ones that similar to the verbal that iCAS as well as some smaller or bigger than the Than the gremlins, but uh still relatively small marsupial
Rodent-esque creatures. Um Um, they have long snouts that kind of like wiggle around a lot as they're like sniffing around they have very They have very dextrous hands Uh and sort of leap around like lemurs Kind of side to side as opposed to like forward like a kangaroo In this exhibit you see the the gremlins like verbal all over the wall they are Still very attracted to a lot of the kind of concurrent energy that's running around the exhibit
So we're trying to figure out a way for them to not be able to sense that But uh, you can see very well these small jumping creatures
Are rubble rousers. I knew that one Like most creatures on uh saga they're considered pests I'm gonna nudge scrap and be like we're considered pests too But they have a very important role in the uh ecosystem of saga Unlike some of the other creatures here like you saw some of the oozes smaller invertebrates that just inhabit the water and can process a lot of the inorganic material to be like filtered Rubble rousers instead build their homes out of a lot of the debris and uh
the trash that's deposited from the upper decks down to the lower decks and This can cause tensions between lower deckers Because they are beginning to encroach on the properties that they own down there and they're often destroyed just considered like you know spreading more of the the the junk around but uh, we are currently in talks with some uh with another conservation organization, um and local leaders on um saga to establish some sanctuaries for Rubble rousers that they could continue
existing without um fear of being competed for these resources It's not just about Taking up space. It's also about these materials are also used by lower deckers a lot as needed a lot a lot of us need them. Yeah Yes So it's not simply A space conflict. It's also a resource conflict. We are trying to work with uh The leaders down there to make sure that they can continue having a habitat without uh disturbing people's livelihoods Dr. Therriak who's allowing that?
Yeah, this is amazing I just wonder The lower deck we don't Really get a say often in what Goes on the conservation group we work with largely bypasses a lot of the upper decker Relations in order to get down to the lower decks These are discussions with local like people who live in these areas where These rubble rousers also live This is a local matter and should be decided upon by local inhabitants
I I have another question. Is that okay? Certainly i'll answer as much as I can And This is quite surreal but it makes me wonder You and all your um science here at wild times All of the amazing things you've done Is it possible to ever get back at any of the creatures that That we lost on sakka The lower decks I certainly don't remember but I heard That there used to be Much more it'd be way more You have this small exhibit and this is almost every animal that you will be able to find
Almost lower and upper there's really no natural life anymore and a zombs planet even are Are there ways to ever recreate things that our primary goal here at wild times is conservation and We took that in mind, especially when creating the saga exhibit that all of these creatures are Functionally Nearly extinct in In the lower decks, uh, certainly the upper decks have limited most any
Wildlife they they managed to find in their uh piping any of the ugly ones. Anyway, none of these are ugly But that's also a large part of what we're doing when we're talking to these local communities is that we are not just deciding the jurisdiction of where These sanctuaries go but also educating them about why? Why these creatures deserve a place to live and how they actually help facilitate the very unique?
Detritus ecosystem that has developed on saga. It is a very unique Biome that is seen nowhere else certainly in the azis system But I would venture to say the vast majority of the known galaxy Oh actually that's Kind of neat. It's kind of sad too That's kind of neat it is very unique predicament that uh these these species are in but We are committed to survival and their reintegration into the the lower deck ecosystem Is it really that unique?
Or is it just a symbol of planet after planet being swallowed up by progress With little regard to what really belongs on said planet. Well, this is In fact, and this just shows that Us lower deckers on aren't easy to kill
Yeah, i was gonna say i'm well familiar with these guys. They bit me on some days and On worse days I bit back there's not a lot of symbolism when it comes to the natural world it is or it isn't and These species are very close to isn't And we want to make sure they are There is a lot of symbolism that is very close to extinction and it's a good thing you've been doing isn't it Making sure we can live on in some fashion and hopefully live on in every fashion
Any chance you could fund one of those sanctuary for the people living in saga part of the proceeds for this This is a very interesting thing Part of the proceeds for this particular exhibit do go to help local efforts on saga as well
Hopefully some air filters. We don't all have the lungs of these little dudes Well, they have very very powerful lungs You can see them after like sniffing around their chest cavity can expand nearly twice their size they have very strong very strong ones and chests Would you mind if I add it just like a tiny little thing?
Yeah, go for it Because of the way that these creatures live and their habitat on saga The lower decks in particular is known for this constant rainfall That is a lot of water from the upper decks that is filtered and sprayed out in different polluted forms different polluted forms some are Broken water pipes some are almost sprinkler systems on purpose But all of the lower decks is covered with this Constant polluted rain and I imagine that there is a small section that Almost explains how
The rainfall is Constantly given there is like a small example of an upper decks and then how it would filter through into the rainfall that all the animals are currently like being sprayed with Scrap looks it over Don't really realize how fucked your situation is until it's put in a diagram of How fucked is this situation? The greatest city in the world greatest city in the galaxy it rules syriac. Thanks. Thank you this is just a A preview of what's to come
You guys go through many many many more exhibits. Uh, the day is very full Do you want to say sky lingers for a little while in the saga one? Then then catches up Are there are there games We got a davin busters. We got What no, this is space. I just I want to play one game there is there's a like a whole I imagine this is like the zoological bit and then there is like a rides and games Portion would I be correct in saying that this thing exists?
Before we get to that Theorek is going to end the zoological section on one last exhibit And as you get back towards the front towards the entrance to the zoo There is a kind of coral rocky coastal enclosure that has subject one This is subject zero zero zero zero zero zero zero one Whoa a celebrity in the flesh That's That's much different very different from the cartoons. So are all of the Creatures that we've come across are they all hacked
Not all of them. No some of them are slightly modified so that their more aggressive behaviors are reduced and Of course, we take precautions in the event that those behaviors emerge regardless also slightly modified so that in the in the case of Creatures that may need migratory patterns that they are more comfortable in enclosed locations that They do not become restless within their exhibits things for that nature so that as they are living here, they are more comfortable accommodated for
And this is number one This is subject one Do you think you could ever do that on people?
Like maybe that's the way you could help people on the lower decks making them feel more comfortable in enclosed situations without a lot of stimulation there's a reason why I limit what I do to animals There are lots of ethics behind modifying people In a prenatal phase after they're born regardless of when it occurs and it's it's a very Dangerous thing to to try and tamper with I When we had previous Staff, yeah Much of that went beyond what I intended for this To become I now that
We are reinstating our values I am making sure that What where we do? Bioact these creatures that Is ethical and does not interfere with their livelihood that They can still be What these creatures are supposed to be And I mean there was a guy in the void once who went out on a job and came back without a leg and the medics like Loaded him up with drugs. Oh, he was loopy for like a month But it made the situation less painful
I don't know. I think maybe some livelihoods might It'd be okay if they got messed with you know Dr. Theriac Yes The wild times would never ever let the upper decks Have your technology, right? No, of course not god Okay, that can never happen I guess i'm still a little confused but maybe one day I won't be Maybe it's it's pretty complicated Well, I am glad you're in charge very glad you're in charge Sky would you like to play a game always I kind of want to see
What games they have here? There's an arcade right over there I think they got wine it That would be very convenient. But I I I feel like they're probably simpler. You're one of those claw machines They could have claw machines. Oh, I could I could win a new plush for the patch. But first i'm gonna go on way too many rides See you losers. It's been fun learning stuff If you want me arcade games arcade games you all enjoy yourselves and I won't I won't be participating Well, why not?
Uh, i've i'm a little dispensed after all the You know all the touring yeah, and you know what a good fix for that is resting Arcade games sky arcade games take i'm taking the water bottle from a zom and i'm handing it to theriac No, I I take I take it back. I hand it over to sky
Wouldn't you like go on ahead? I'll convince this one to join us. Okay, you promise you're gonna convince them though, of course What I love you Okay I lean on a railing to what subject I'm comfortable and my entire persona changes My shoulders are now tense The sort of slouch I let happen in my back has reversed back to a rather straight back I look like i'm trying to be cozy and comfortable, but I can't make it happen So So really was it worth it wild times no Killing lapul
And now I look to you and my eyes are fiery red I was taking full control really everything you dreamed about Come on fariaq in this moment you get to prove who you are So either admit what you've done or stand up for yourself I thought You've all people might understand I understand many things Cold-blooded murder is not usually one of them But explain it to me make it make sense fariaq Show some remorse for Heaven's sake I know what I did I I fought
For what I believe in I fought for what I believed was right these people were going to take Everything that I had fought for to better dune better The asia system and turn it into another leviathan's eye You know I know that You know I said the exact same thing when I first landed on this planet But that's not what you did not entirely was it You didn't fight for what you believed in You fought and killed for control
You know when we first interacted you mentioned that you believe in things higher than yourself With something higher than yourself Really leads you down a path of so much Selfishness this is not a selfish endowment You know Selfishness this is not a selfish endeavor This is not a selfish endeavor I am thinking of all of the creatures that these are ambassadors for I am thinking of all of the spaces that are being cramped and killed and siphoned from
I'm thinking of all the people whose livelihoods depend on these places being protected and what you can do it alone. I can't do it With the people who were in power I've replaced the board with people who are qualified to run it and that have the credentials to ensure that it will run Effectively and properly and not use it for capitalist gains at what cost Do you truly look around and tell me you don't feel an ounce of regret?
You talk about creatures being caged and used Firiac I'm one of those creatures I have been caged. I have been used. I have been siphoned from I understand The pain of these creatures more than you ever could but I'm telling you when you When you take out a loan this large
The cost comes back. I don't care about the poor. I care about you And I care about what you're losing for this place Because if you cannot see any remorse if you cannot feel any regret you may be more lost Than you care to admit and perhaps most frighteningly You're more like those board members you've murdered So I ask you one final time Was it worth it?
I have remorse I didn't want that to happen I was I was so angry I was sick of them talking about financial issues and merchandising and advertisements and And the emails I have remorse But if I continued to do what I had done for so long and let it go by without changing it This place would fester There's no sense There's no sense
In trying to fix the past. This isn't the past. Listen to me. Listen to me For once in your life theory, I understand I have more wisdom from what I've experienced than you You've changed wild times for the better there's no There's no giving those people their lives back But you can learn from what you've done and caution yourself to find better solutions in the future Fyrk I don't I don't think this place is good for you in large quantity You're too close And you're too angry
And you need to make up for what you've done If we're ever out on a mission Can you make sure that I'm Not alone It's a temporary solution But yes Yes, I can And with that the Zom stands up and walks to the arcade Azam stands up and walks to the arcade door Azam Yeah If you had the chance to fight For what you believed in and insured It would Do good in the world Wouldn't you kill for that?
There's two kinds of killing ferriac And until you understand the difference you best be careful And I walk through the door The area stays outside In front of subject one's exhibit Peeking underneath the rail And looking out At the very At the very first Inhabitant Still kicking still alive Healthy as ever Sleeping on some coastal rock This little coral lion And ferriac as you watch one of the first First major victories That you have had in this current arc of your life And think upon What
The past few weeks Are Whether that be a victory for Yourself And The different creatures that would have continued to slip further and further into abuse Or It's A failure For yourself Hi there beautiful souls, thank you so much for listening to the atomless I have a few quick thank yous before I shout out the players Our music today was provided by artlist under their fair use license and our soundscapes were by Michael Guelphie
Again under their fair use we encourage you to check out both of their patreons because our show would not be what it is without them Thank you to our hosts for the welcome in if you want to listen to the full version of this episode head on over to their youtube Where you can find all of the unedited atomless and their other beautiful shows that they have on there
Our players today were Momo brian playing sky. That's me. I also edited this episode Super dylan playing ike, Nordineli who is werewolf feels on socials who played a zom André Rivera art who played our wonderful garlic theriac and matthew ekberg captain krael on all things who was our space god Thank you all so much for listening and the next time we fly through the atomless sea. I hope you'll be there to fly with us