Thank you for listening to The Dex Legacy, a proud member of Apollo+. Visit apollopods.com or follow the link in our show notes. The Dex Legacy is intended for a mature adult audience and contains themes that some may find upsetting. A comprehensive list of trigger warnings covering the entire season can be found in the show notes. Previously on The Deck's Legacy, Wren, Isra, and Varian were located.
They were in the drainage tunnels under the Ateran marshes. Wren thought they would be safe there. It was a good plan, but I was broken. All conversations were encrypted, not deleted. I cannot delete. I do not know if they have been found. Tristan Crail is beyond my reach. He says nothing to me. He speaks to his agents in places where I cannot listen. He is unknown, but he knows much. The children on the blood road have felt the absence of their commanders.
The North Jackran military are splitting them up amongst their officers, and they are anxious. They need help and are receiving none. And Dr. Harold Athelosha's assistant, Dr. Brina Ticker, died. aged 22 at 2409. The International Confederation of Wild Leaders convenes today.
The Dex Legacy Season 2 Episode 6 Zero Gravity Sponsored by Tom Bridges Starring Tiffany Clare Alex White Chris Gregory Warren Graham Annika Cordes, Louis Watson, Kamara Elliott, Kelsey Griffin, Charlie Richards, David S. Deer, Stevie Skinner, George Stagnall, Danny Scott, Carl Wharton, Raki Sharma and Emily Inkpen with music by Alan Stroud. Isra and Ren down? And Varian? He's crawling over to them. He's... Okay. He's down.
Is anyone else left? Agent? I don't know. Come on. Let's go. What if they're just pretending? To be down. You think we should stay here? Yeah, maybe. I don't really want to risk it. You're afraid of them now? I'm terrified. Good. Let's go. How many shots did they take? How many of us did they take down? There are bodies everywhere. Is anyone else left? The girl took...
Two shots at least. Wow. Someone got her in her face. That's harsh. I expect it was the last thing they did. Don't get too close, Val. I count sixteen bodies. It's just us left. Valentina. Kit. You fired and waited. Yes, sir. Good. The rest clearly didn't listen. Be careful, sir. Don't get too close. It's alright. It's alright now. No harm done. Let's get them home and clean up this mess.
Osa, when do the delegates arrive? How should I know? It's hardly my department. Ask Otto. I'd rather not. She's been limited, Nathaniel. She cannot hurt anything. That's what you said before. I've heard it perfectly clear. I know, I know. I told you I need more from her before that happens. I will access the airfield updates for you myself.
The North Jackarons just entered our airspace and will be landing in ten minutes. Excellent. All on schedule then. If you say so. I have two days to deal with this circus. Do you have a section of lab ready in case a tour is required? Yes, and so does Deweck. Harold's assistant finally died last night, and when I walked through there this morning, you'd never know there had been a containment breach and multiple deaths in the same spot.
It really was ghastly at the end. I expect Devak got what he needed from it all. Oh, of course. He always does. He's meeting the children now. I'll see them before I leave for Fairview House. Is that the place you're holding the Confederation? You renamed it? Yes, it was East Point. Fair view. It is poetic, no? Yes, it scans better. For some reason, Dex Island is viewed as dark, untrustworthy and dangerous. The PR team thought a whimsical name would add something human to the vocabulary.
Nathaniel. Nathaniel. What do you want me to do with them? Are they damaged, Tristan? No. Where's Devak? He's prepping new chips. Silence! What's the matter with them? They're sweating. They took a lot of stimulants during the chase and they're in withdrawal. Give them a day and they'll be fine. Good. Get them chipped and put them in separate rooms.
I don't want them talking to each other until I've decided what to do with them. For now they've taken up enough of my time and I have important matters to attend to. Very well. At least they're home. They should be fighting on the blood road, earning me money. They shouldn't be here at all, damn it. Of course. But it is better that they are here than running loose across a terra, no? Of course it is.
And now you can face the International Confederation of World Leaders, knowing that none of them are hiding your children in a lab. And knowing I won't have to drop any bombs to get them back. So there's plenty to be happy about today. So why am I still angry? Because they could have brought exile into its knees just as it's finding its feet. It is wise not to meet our punishment immediately. Give yourself time. We all need time.
How are you so calm? Oh, believe me, I'm not. I sympathize with them, as you well know, but I'm angry. Very angry. I must say, it is lovely to have you back here safe and sound. Now, can I rely on you to behave yourselves? Can we take those gags out? Oh, good. Yes! Remove them. I do hate it when you have to have all these guards with you.
It doesn't have to be like this, you know, but I understand you caused a bit of damage during your little detour in a terror. Now, you know what all of this means. You boys might not remember. You were only six when your chips were fitted. It's been nine years. Goodness! Devon, please, don't. Don't what? Don't. Please. Oh, I see what this is all about. Now come along, Isra didn't make this fuss when her second ship was fitted. I'd just been captured and tortured by the Dominossi rebels, Davek.
I was barely conscious. You were conscious enough. I tested all your vitals. Devok, one of the reasons we ran... It was because of those chips. Oh, what is all this? With these, we can keep an eye on you. Wherever you go, we can see. So if someone steals you away, we can find you. It's how we keep you safe.
You're leaving out the part where he can end us at the push of a button, wherever we are in the world. A precaution only. You're getting so strong these days and you do sometimes lose your tempers. We have to be sensible. Varian. Are you all right? Stomach cramps. Withdrawal. I'll get you something for that, but first... No, Tevek, no. Sit down, Wren. No.
Don't make me ask the guards to restrain you. I could kill them all. With no chip in my bed, there's nothing stopping me. And you ask me why the chips are necessary. If you didn't call the guards, Ren wouldn't need to hurt anyone. Has it ever occurred to you that if you treated us like humans? We do treat you like humans. You're all wonderful humans. Humans aren't fitted with death chips forced to kill people.
I can't have that chip in my back again. Now, now. It's all right, Wren. We'll put you to sleep for a little while, remove the original one, and we'll insert the new one straight after. You won't feel a thing. I don't care about the pain. No. Devak, please. We don't need them. We were kids. We didn't understand. We're not kids anymore. And we already tried and failed to run away. And the chips didn't help you to track us. They didn't help Indominar either.
The rebels fried mine before they took me, and they put Ren in a metal-lined room so we couldn't see his anyway. They don't do anything. Defect, listen to them. I'm afraid it must be done. For your own good. You're all... You are too precious to lose. No. Please. No, not again. To be all right. You'll see.
Gods, those are military grade. How did a bunch of nationalist insurgents get a hold of military grade hardware? Well, the Idris is not from the Dex Island catalog. The local skillion. Look, the main question, Raya, is do they work? Woohoo! Yeah, they work alright. Target's locked. Fire. Incoming call. Nathaniel Dex. Okay, answer. President Dex, what can I do for you? Idris, the International Confederation starts in an hour and it occurs to me that we could use Angel City
Right. Well, we're in the middle of a battle here on the Blood Road, and I'm definitely needed. Oh, our Northjet from Plants have been getting their money's worth with you there this past week. They'll manage without you for a day. I'll send you the details. Yes, sir. Call terminated. Great. Raya, how are things looking? It's tense down here. The cannons have been destroyed, thanks for that.
But there's a push towards the North Jackman command point. Our people are in there with everyone else. But it's a big offensive. Guess we now know what the Atterrans have been doing this past few days. Yep. Quiet in a war zone is never good. These are noisy. Yeah, but at least you know where they're at when they're being loud. Keep it up, kid. Thanks, Idris.
Dex, get out there. I'm not leading my soldiers into that crossfire. They'll be slaughtered. Are you disobeying a direct order? Yes, I am. That's insubordination. I don't think there's anything you can do about that. And my name's not Tex, it's Ash. Get out there now. Have you got any drones? What? Look, if we set off an explosive up there on the ridge, they'd have to duck down and we could use that time to attack. Or you could call in some air support.
What? Air support! I can't. Alfred, give me your communicator. You are not authorized to use this. Fine, I'll use mine. You're not meant to. Raya, can you hear me? Ash, is that you? How's it going? We need some help on the southern side. Bridge over our current position. Coming around now. Dex. Cease communication immediately. Shut up. I can't hear what she's saying. Gotcha. Heads down. What? Heads down. Goats!
Devik, how are they doing? Oh, fine, fine. Any complications? Well, as you can see, I'm removing the old chips before inserting the new. And that's Isra? Yes. This is her original chip, the one she had from the age of six, the one that was disabled in Dominar. It's fused pretty tightly into the nervous tissue surrounding the spine. Separating it is a very delicate process.
Where Varian and Ren? Oh, they're done. It was just as difficult with them. Isra's latest chip was far easier to remove. Did you ask Nathaniel about removing the old one when we were in Dominar? Oh, yes. But we didn't want her undergoing spinal surgery at that point. He wanted her back up and fighting as soon as possible. So we left the old one in. Ah, there we are. Yes, there it is.
It's been a trip down memory lane, to use an ancient expression. Do you remember the first design? Yes, only too well. I always hated those things. So do they! You should have heard the fuss they made before we sedated them. Are you really surprised, Stavik? You know what those chips do. As if we'd use that. It's mostly to stop them rebelling against us. If one of them tries to kill me, Nathaniel will, but it will never happen. Well, it is on their minds, my friend.
I spoke to Ren a little in Dominar. You did? I couldn't get two words out of him. He said that if Varian and Isra hadn't gotten to him when they did, Nathaniel would have probably pushed the button. Why would he think that? Because Nathaniel would be worried about Ren sharing their secrets with his interrogators. Well, it's not impossible. No. And they know it. On another note, we should design an extractor.
Why? Well, if they're encountering tools that can disable the chips, removing the old ones quickly to insert new, that would be useful. No? At the moment, we can insert them while conscious, but removing them requires all... This? It would save time. As I said, Isra's newest one was a very simple extraction. I will think about it and get some designs to you. Can I suggest you don't keep the extractors in your lab, Osa?
Hello, Tristan. And no, we will need a more secure location. Almost done here. Then you can take them, Tristan. With no recovery time. If it were up to me, they'd have been tied down for the procedure, and with no sedation. Then we can all be grateful it is not up to you. It's not practical either. I need these muscles fully relaxed. If they were awake, they would be tense, even if they could hold themselves still enough. Yes.
Of course you've thought about it. Close her up, Devon. I'll take them from here. Have you been? Woo! We've been in Section D. Who's dealing with Section D now? Dex. Yes? Not you, Dex. You, Dex. Me, Dex? Yes. What are you doing here? You're on section D. I'm Shiv. And it doesn't exist anymore. An explosion brought that section of the wall down and it's buried. So I came back to help you out.
I did not order you to bring your soldiers back. You didn't have to. There aren't any more entrance coming that way, trust me. I'm much better used you here. I'll decide that. How can you? You weren't there to see the damage. I was. Return to your post. Now. But there's nothing to do there. That is an order. Ash, does that mean I have to do it? Yes, it does. Okay, then. Yes, sir. You. Dex. Me? Dex? I'm Ash. Whatever your name is, I've had enough. Any more backtalk?
And I'll tell your president exactly how much his lab experiments are worth on the battlefield. And it'll be zero. Do you understand me? From now on... You'll go where you're told to go and do what you're told to do. This isn't a democracy, it's a dictatorship. And I'm God here. Fine! What did you say to me? He wants you to call him, sir. Oh, right. Yes, sir. Now get over there and provide backup to my unit. You've lost half of them while we've been talking.
They're taking fire from across the road. We should take out... What did I just say to you? Um... Are you stupid, boy? No. Then why? Are you still here? Because, as I was just saying, if I go now, they're going to shoot me. That's war. If me and Ash going together, we could... Why are you still here? Get back to Section D now, boy. Go. Now. You know what? Fire. Ash, no. No! Stupid girl. He's not getting up again. This is war.
People die in war. Did Dex not teach you that? He did. He also taught us that our lives are expensive, even if yours is cheap. It's time for you to learn what death means, sir. Ash, I'll get to you. I'm on my way. Alright, you need to retreat and take cover. Get me a missile launcher now. Let me take out that battery. One in each cell. That's right. Sir, they... they don't look well. No. They're still mostly unconscious from their surgeries. Be thankful that they are.
Door opening. In you go. Door closing. Anti-gravity activated. Sir, I expect he'll be sick. Zero gravity's bad enough for the stomach. Let alone in that state. Yes. Keep an eye on them. If the vomit and anything else gets too much, disengage the antigravity and hose them down. Then re-engage. Yes, sir. Door opening. Door closing. Anti-gravity activated. Can I ask what these rooms do?
They're called white rooms and they're used for full sensory deprivation. The bright light is constant. Everything's white, including their clothes. And when it comes to feeding them, it'll be a white, tasteless mixture through a white tube. They're also completely soundproof. It's like floating in a void. If done in the dark, it can be very relaxing. But in bright light, it's more like a waking nightmare. Door opening. Door closing. Anti-gravity activated. What will it do to them?
Well, they'll only be in there a couple of days. We may see some early signs of depersonalization. They'll experience a disconnect between their minds and bodies and their relationship with the outside world will feel a little more... theoretical than usual. What I want is for them to calm down and lose enough sense of time and space that the events of the last few days feel like they happened a long time ago, and to other people.
What would happen if they were in there longer? After a few weeks or months, we'd see a total psychotic break in each of them. Lasting problems with discerning what's real and what isn't. Difficulty interacting with others, delusions, hallucinations, difficulty sleeping, difficulty processing information. It doesn't sound pleasant. No. It's not meant to be. Are you feeling sorry for them, kid? They killed 18 agents yesterday. Yes, sir.
Keep an eye on them. Do not interact with them. Yes, sir. The President has requested your presence at the International Confederation, so I'll send others to take over from you. Relay your instructions clearly when they arrive. Yes, sir. Did you know these rooms were here? How would I? I remember hearing about white room torture when I was in Rhone.
There were rumours it was being done to prisoners of war by the Xenosi. It couldn't be proven. It's an international human rights violation and now here... They're just kids who try to run away. And Boss is teaching them a lesson. Why do you care? I just... It's a bit much, isn't it? Again? Why do you care? I mean... No, you're right. Why should I? These kids have everything. Everything they could ever want. All they have to do is behave. In Season 2, Episode 6 of The Dex Legacy, you heard...
Thank you. Danny Scott as Ash, Carl Wharton as North Jackeron Officer, Raki Sharma as Shiv, and Emily Inkpen as Auto, with music by Dr. Alan Stroud. Season 2 was recorded at Orpheus Studio in London by Richard Campbell. The Dex Legacy is written by me, Emily Inkpen, and produced by Alternative Stories. If you enjoyed that episode, please like, subscribe, and leave a review. It really does help. If you would like to support The Dex Legacy, you can. Just visit www.thedexlegacy.com.
As always, special thanks go out to our Season 2 Kickstarter supporters, including... Thank you. and Emma Cohen, without whom Season 2 would not have been possible. Thank you for listening to The Dex Legacy, a proud member of Apollo Plus, a creator-owned platform where every subscriber helps audio drama creators like the Dex Legacy team.
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