2. It's Not The Fall That Kills You

kilometers per hour. Upon impact, a number of things happened to the body at once. The skull may shutter. They also may disconnect from the rest of the heart, pumping blood into the body cavity, depriving the brain of fresh oxygen. The sudden impact could cause the blood vessels, even sells themselves to rupture, but to one point five gallons of blood can leave the body a human water balloon, flowing

from beneath the surface into the light. Some may take solace in the idea that you may blackout from the terror before landing, or have a heart attack from the stress. But as they say, it's not the fool that kills you, it's the landing. This scene has been playing in my head, over and over a fever dream, constantly on repeat the seconds leading up to my brother's death, because this is how I imagine him, my brother being attacked and thrown

to his death from thirteen stories. I say attack because that is the only scenario that makes sense, because I knew my brother and my brother would never go out of a thirteen story window voluntarily. Never, and yet suicide. It's the official cause of death on Michael's death certificate. But it's like my father always told me, never trust the official lion. The world needs to know what really happened and who is responsible. January seven, two pm Jenna

ma Marca. He most recently passed mile marker over two days to Arlington at this rate, that is, if I don't make too many stops. Can I help you with anything else? Jack? Yeah? Actually, that truck behind us, how long has it been there? The Model four XT cargo truck has remained point three miles behind us for two hours? Is that model man? No, Jack, it is a fully automated com cargo vehicle. Would you like me to go online for more information? As Jenna. By the way, Jenna,

can you introduce yourself? I'm Jenna and what are you, Jenna? I'm your connected virtual assistant? Well not connected? Correct? I am currently not connected? Would you like me to No, Jenna, stop asking. I will tell you if I want to connect you got it, Jack, Jenna is my only companion on this voyage. Isn't that right? Jenna? Apparently before this trip she was just my c v A. But now I think I'm getting attached. Jenna? Can you die up a sarcasm? Another I don't want to fall in love

or anything. Whatever you say, Jack, Yeah, here's what we know. Three people died of apparent suicides after participating the Next Corps of Human trials of this soon to launch product shut. I mind that they eliminates the need to sleep, and one of them was my m Michael. Okay, September. I'm late, not good. There was my first day in Next Corp, my first day of my new job as Max full as personal assisting. Can I help you? I'm Jack Locker. I'm head to see Mr Fuller, Hi Jack, Mr Fuller?

Really dirty? No, it's followed. It gives me an opportunity to introduce you know. I was confused. The problem was sleep, as in that I hadn't had any I knew it was a risk not sleeping because it was my first day at next Corp and I needed to be sharp make an impression. I took the risk of staying up all night because sleep deprivation was tolerable. The alternative was not. The alternative was night terrors, which actually makes perfect sense.

I been grieving and I was having me some fever dreams, and these nightmares were getting worse. They were evolving, becoming more lucid. I would wake up to the sound of tapping on my bedroom window and this metallic smell, like rust and the cane leaves. In the nightmare, I see him. Their brother was standing outside of my bedroom window, tapping on the glass, his face stretched in anguish to formed and flattened and still caked with the blood from the

four that killed him. It's dislocated draw, preventing him from saying wherever it was he had come to say. It was like my brother's spirit was just just holding on, just clinging desperately to its last physical contact me for this nightmare a hundred times, for the last time there was something new. He wrote a message on the glass layers, spelled out in his own body, fluid and blood. Two words luck. It's such were my nightmares. So I chose not to happen, at least not before my first day

and Next Corp with Max Fuller. Mr Fuller, I just wanted to say how much this means to me. I mean, no, no, no no, no, I get it. No, no need for the continued gratitude thing. Look, I'm happy to have you here, Jack, and we've got some work to do, so just up here on the right. On my first day, Max introduced me to the top minds of Next Corp, which coincidentally also happened to be some of the top minds in the human enhancement industry. They operated out of a reclaimed

warehouse in the dog Patch district of San Francisco. The innovations that spring from this neighborhood are respon in school for a considerable portion of California's GDP, which is now the fourth largest on the planet. Everything here has reclaimed wood, ship lab and rusty colors. It's a form of curated authenticity, built on the graveyard of the past and decorated with his bones. Has a strange chili sort of fields. Unnatural everyone. This is Jack, Jack Lock. He'll be working with us.

I'm sorry, what I don't understand. This is Jack who will be working with us. Yeah, I got that. Isn't this We'll talk about Jesus. I'll go first. Hey Jack, I'm Finn Connolly. Yes, hey, I've heard of you that the Steve was in the act of human enhuntment. Okay, yeah, sure. And this is Cassandra Berkeley. She's a partner and our staff psychiatristicest woman in the building. Nice to meet you. Uh huh, Max, Can we speak in the hallway? We can do that later, can't Max? Fine? Gentlemen, be sweet,

don't worry. She's always like that. Well not always, was her. Me little this morning, it was just ten minutes ago. We're making bets on how quickly you'd be ejected from the building, and yet here you stand. Wow, so I'm not very popular around you. Well, to be completely honest with you, there are dozens of applicants who are better suited for this than you know of Fens. Anyway, you're here now for whatever reason, Max has taken a shine

to you. And this silent young man who apparently has no opinion on you whatsoever is Eddie Binder, who's our team physician. Nice to meet you. It'll be good not to be the new kid. How long have you been? A little over month? Eddie Year is going to oversee our next round of human trials. Next round. Didn't realize you that human testing before, well, it wasn't entirely successful. You don't hear about the unsuccessful ones to you that? Yes, of course that makes sense. Yeah, has Max told you

what you'll be doing around here? Because we are all curious. I'm not sure. I think he wants me to help organize his thoughts. Uh, that sounds ambiguous. Good luck with that. Oh pro tip, you should get on cast as good side because you don't want to be on our bad side. I need you on something, Maddy. Could you show Jack around, catch him up on some of the new new I can Jack, I'll catch up with you a little bit. Okay, God's babe, how about we start with the lamp really

incredible stuff. It became immediately clear to me that Eddie didn't get him. He knew little about what went on before, and even less about what was happening now. I couldn't piece together why such a medio come man would find himself in the midst of all these geniuses. Where they failed to comprehend or capture is that next CORP is

ground zero in the next wave of human innovation. That he and now I two were inside these hors witnesses to that elusive moment that has powered American progress for the past two dred and seventy years. And this time

the stakes were higher than ever. This time the mad scientists were engineering us reroute in our neural pathways, reprogramming our brains to enable us to author ourselves and enhance our human condition and ways that were previously unimaginable, pinked up so far enough and long to have a phase too human trial. I know, they seemed like fairy tales right way further off. I was shocked to find out how far along they were too, How many people were

in the initial trials to phase one. It was tiny thirty. Yeah, it's no way to do large science. But for the company's purposes, I guess it was fine. I mean, they already knew the drug worn't so why did they shut down the trials there? I don't know. I'm new here to remember, you'll have to ask Max or Cass or Finn or my predecessor, Dr Reynolds, though I'm not sure she'll be willing to talk to you. Her name is sort of Verboning. If you get me. Yeah, why okay,

nobody tells me anything. I don't need to know. Yeah, I look, I'm just messing with it. It's probably easier that way, man, exactly. This guy guessing right, it's a good uh. Here is the brake room, best snacks in the building. Dr Abby Reynolds Hobby was Next Corps clinical physician, tossed to monitor and tract the health data of the trial subjects. I had to sell number, but nothing else. Abbe Reynolds did not want to talk about Next Corp

as she cares blocking my number. It took three days and full Burner first to get to this point right here. I swear to God, if you keep calling from a Dr Reynolds, I'm not from next Corporal, from the competitor. I'm not a report. I'm definitely not a Max Fell the fanboy. I'm going to find out what happened. No, I'm sorry my brother while he was there at Next call my brother, who is Michael Corbyn? Doctor? You try

to protect him, didn't you? The others too? And if you weren't for you, the others would be well, they wouldn't have survived. Viva. Let me be clear, dr un As, you are a hero, and now you can save the new ones too, New ones. I need your help. I can't. I can't help you, not the help. Yes you can, Yes you can, you can, Truesdale, I'm sorry, Truesdale. You'll have to talk to David Truesdale. He was in the trials.

He's a vet. He was in the group in Tehran and the p K Eagle Trials like the Super Soldier program. Jesus Christ, how do you believe everything you read? They were pumping those boys up on cocktails of methemphetamines and no tropics, nothing that advanced, just very expensive ones. Hold on, write this down and Jack, Yeah, I'm blocking you again, but I might need more information After this we never speak again. Do you have a pen or not? Yeah? Sure?

The program i'd been named p K Eagle is one of those conspiracy theories you occasionally are about the US government's attempts to make Captain America. Well, apparently this particular rumor had truth to it. Hob He gave me an address down in Bay View, providence shelter. It was located in a narrow back alley, abandoned cardboard and tired blankets, vets, nomadic got upunks, homeless families trickling down from the encampments.

You know, and to see so rich. The site of hopeless people is stock and I found you're still on a car, wrapped in a tad marine comeback jacket. He was not a friendly prisons I'm gonn't take the risk of being traced back to next cool, so I had to disguise my identity. Excuse me, Mr Truthdale, Who are you? Can I say? Dr Piz? Who are you? I'm Jim Jim Crane. You're a cop? No no, I'm here to ask you a few questions like a cop. No, no, listen,

I'm here about the next corporate huh. Okay, I just want to talk to you about the drug trial there. How would you describe your experience? Is this a survey? Oh no, no, no, I just check your questions somewhere else. Did you know Michael Corbyn Corbin? You know the name Mikey, Yeah, Michael, Michael Michael Corbyn. Okay, progress, Mr Treuesdale, you may be entitled to a considerable someone money. What you do know

what happened to Mr Corbin? I don't ye, skinny kid real talk all right, Yeah, sure, that's that's accurate, always making jokes. I wouldn't know. All I know is that you are listed as one of the potential plaintiffs plaintiffs. Took me some time to locate you, Mr Tuesdale, But if you were in next Corps trials, the same clinical trial with Mr Corbin, you stand to recoup a large

sum of money. If we find that next Corp is implicated in any way for what we're wrong, class action suit of this kind could be settled or awarded a generous judgment. Yeah, what happened to him? Well, Mr Trusty else he jumped off the building ship. Yeah, I found that dream that you know? Nah, I just must have heard it is so uh you two must have really bonded there during the next court trouser. You know something else? May I ask what was it like? Can you tell

me about your experience retreated? Well? Well, I said, my experience was pretty good. I mean, all things considered. They were nice, didn't talk down to me like most of the v A hacks, Like, yeah, I get it. My eggs is scrambled, but like you as those responsibility right, you had PTSD when you came back from Yeah, it was on the ground in Tehran, the real ship show. I mean, you'd have to be a box to come

back from that easy. And then the way they dumped you back in the world like everything's gonna be fine, like hey, bat on the back of the parade, and then you do back in the nine to five and man, they had us on no stems over there, like the ones that give you lads of focus, and I swear to God, make you kid like a Yeah, I read about the program. They shut it down right when we all came back junkies. But next course, how did they

treat you? They treated me like a human being, gave me money and a place to stay for a little and what was it? Dround like oh what the drugs? Yeah, yeah, ship different the stems they had us on over there. It felt like all my energy got shifted hard into my extremities. Like one minute, this full body with a spine and the chest and an asshole, and then you bite down on the capsule and all of a sudden you're nothing but eyes and eyes beat and a finger

on a trigger. But it's not clean, like you're still aware that your muscles are taught, your jaws clenched. You know, one of the biggest things that they had to do for us metically in that program fucking didn't too, Man. I clenched my jaws so hard I broke two boulders. How did you get pulled into the next core? I saw the yeah looking for steady work, and when I called, they jumped at the chance to work with someone who

did the ship out too. I think you finally have someone to tell a difference between their products and their stringy ship. Uncle Sam was pumping in US and the drugs were better next level. When they put me on their next core, it was fantastic. Black ops me again, but better me, like more learned. No, not just that, not just alert. I was grounded. All the doubt, all the bad thoughts that the agitation, paranoia, their self hatred,

they don't fucking evaporated. Man, you take shut eye, you feel like a god, like you're watching the game from above and you can see across time like everyone else is moving in slow motion. I had all the energy that the old drugs gave me, all the focus, but I was relaxed, like I was floating, like when I was a little kid. It was perfect. I could do anything. But then one there's no magic pill too. Somewhere along the line, rent comes to what do you mean? How

do what? I thought there'd be some sort of miracle drugs with outside effects. There's always a crash at the end of it. Man, It's the law of pleasure. Like gravity, what goes up must come out. You gotta pay the price. Are you all right? Sometimes? Just even talking about it, I get the twitches. Have you had any more contact with the next quarter? Have you spoken to Max Fuller since? Yeah? Just ben Benjamin? Who's Benjamin? Okay? Mr Truthsdale. Mr Trusdale

touched me. I'm leaving the questions. It's fine, I'm gone. I'm gone, Mr Truthsdale. Mr Truslane touched me. Touch question. It's fine, gone gone, David Trusdale. If only I knew then what I know now. I left the shelter and headed back to work. I was in with next Corp, but so far another the fouls that I had access to said very much about the human trials and the test subject I had come across wards not exactly stable, so I'd have to keep playing until I found a

way into the inner Santum. And the daily life of a start up assistant is hectic and tedious at the same time. Up at five in the office that buy seven together and sort Max's correspondents of the day and bring it to him in the order of importance. Sometimes I'm thrilled about my decisions with Max is like having to defend the dissertations. Sorry, you have three messages from Dina Hall from whet past. I know, but I need to connect. You know, I don't think you do. You don't.

You keep reminding me about Dina, which means you seem to think that press is now what we should be focused on. Yeah, but see, yes, it's going to be here before we know it, if we wanted to, if we want to pass. I told her. You can tell her louder. Okay, tend meeting with all the heads of departments to go over a new developments, business strategy, et cetera. A right, the daily report for Max, who normally doesn't attend, and give it to him to read in the after.

You know, you don't have to tell me everything. Marketing says. Okay, there's a reason I don't attend those myself, right, I need you to be my filter. Max gives me the answers to every question asked at the morning meetings, which I usually type up with my desk while shoving lunch down my front. More correspondence, more to filter. Six thirty I talked Max through his medians and calls for the

next day. After three weeks of what was standard my numbering intern level work for the day, we're going to question what the hell I was going to be able to accomplish with this game. Don't forget. You've got a breakfast meeting with the A r C group to go over the last quarters. And that's when I got the video. You need to take that. No, just an old buddy. Sorry. Eight thirty at before the hotel, All right, put it. Thanks, Okay,

I'm going head out get some rest. I've got a text message from a block number, just a link to a video called Algernon. The scene cuts into a laboratory. The subject step began acting erratic at roughly two fifteen hours without sleep. At first, it was one or two familiar voice dr Abby Reynolds. One by one day all began exhibiting similar behaviors, pacing, digging at the bottoms of

their cages until their claws began bleeding. Cortisol levels spiked off the charts, and one by one, in rapid succession, they began attacking each other themselves. They are eating each other. I am, I am terminating this round of testing, be euthanizing the subject. This is I've never seen anything. If this was the result of the animal testing rats devouring themselves, chewing each of his faces off, then how the hell

did next Scorpe get permission to have human trials? And these data points had to have been omitted in the application of a third party review of the tests. Had to have been not just sugarcoated. They had to have baked a brand new seven layer cake. I had to And if we assume that it was Dr Aby Reynolds who send the video, that would make her complicity. It would also make her a massive liability for them. So how much did they pay her to shut her up?

Hero Mars? When I got home that night after me and David Truth still popped three milligrams and Zanex washed it down with three fingers of bourbon. The zan X was my brother Michael's anxiety disorders of family trade. I found the Unfield prescription and the things he'd left behind, so I took you. I only used it occasionally, strategically, like when a death conform my grain was kicking in after thirty hours without sleep. Sometimes it worked toward off

the darkness my night terrors. I just needed to turn my brain off and check out. I remember my head hitting the pillar. I remember the ice melting in the bottom of the bourbon glass, and I remember feeling a draft on my face and realizing my bedroom window was open about an inch. And I remember, as I was slipping into oblivion that had never opened the window before because it had been sealed shot by decades of paint enamel. I bolted straight up, despite my very serious need for

real sleep. There's an accent booze I swallow. It couldn't stopped my heart rate from suddenly searching, and I shot the window, startled through my apartment in a haze, my mind race, and despite my completely impaired bodily function, I took a quick inventory. Something had been in my apartment. It was as if everything has shifted just a few inches off. I've been hoping for some indication that was on the right path, something to tell me I was

getting close to exposing what was being covered up. And here it was. I had hit a nerve. I couldn't think straight. I'd been awake for over thirty hours, and I wasn't going to get any of that precious sleep now, which I needed in order to keep going, in order to get to the truth about Next Corp. And why Max Fuller would want to push his revolutionary human enhancement technology to market despite the risks. What's that? That's the low battery alert. If you'll sell at five, the vehicle

will power down if we do not recharge ship. All right, find a nearrow station. Close your eyes. I let's return to the boy. The boy on the ice. That's it. The boy's body has gone numb, and he's staring with bright burning eyes at the winter stars, appearing in the sky, trying not to think of his brother, his identical twin brother,

who who has already fallen through the ice. The final breath frozen in his lungs is lifeless, eyes fixed towards the depths below the bottomless dark, a mirror image of himself.

Tomorrow's Monsters, starring John Boyega as Jack Lock, Darren Chris as Max Fuller, Marley Shelton as Cass Berkeley, Clark Gregg as Walter Fuller, sah And Gauja as David Truesdale, Nicholas Takoski as Finn Connolly, Claire Bronson as dr Abbie Reynolds, David Chen as Michael Corbin, su Hila Elettar as Jenna, Victor Rivera as Eddie Bender, Robert Pralgo as Agent Batty, Steve Coulter as Senator Berkeley, wrote A. Griffiths as Rainy Webb,

with additional performances by Helen Abel, Jason Williams, Michael Anthony, Robin Bloodworth, and Teresa Davis. Our first assistant director is Michael Monty. Our second assistant director is Sarah Klein. Sound and music by Ben Lovett. Additional sound design and editing by Benjamin Belcolm, Justin Robowski and Mike Reagan. Casting by Jessica Fox thick Pen. This episode features the song Through

the Eyes from the album Mirages by Michelle Nobler. Our executive producers are Scott Shelton, Shelby Thomas, Alexander Williams, and Matthew Frederick. Written by Dan Bush, and Nicholas Takowski. Created by Dan Bush and Conald Byrne, Directed by Dan Bush, Produced by both Flint dan Bush and John Gleega. Tomorrow's Monsters is a production of iHeart Radio, Flynn Picture Company,

Psycopia Pictures, and Upper Room Productions. For more podcasts from My Heart Radio, visit the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to podcasts.