Special Episode: Change of Mind

I'm NFL linebacker TJ Watt and this is my personal best. YPB by Abercrombie is the active wear I'm always wearing. That's why I reached out to co-design their latest drop. I worked with designers to create high-performance activewear that holds up to my toughest workouts. Shop YPB by Abercrombie in-store, online and in the app. Because your personal best is greater than anything. Lowe's knows you've got a job to do and we help get it done.

With the My Lowe's Pro Rewards Program, eligible members save more with volume discounts on qualifying orders through a quote of $2,000 or more. Join for free today. Lowe's. We help you save.

Offer can't be combined with any other discount, contract, and or special pricing. Exclusions, more terms, and restrictions apply. Details at lowes.com slash terms. Subject to change. Hey everyone, this is Zach Valente. What you're about to hear is our first special episode, Change of Mind, a story set during Captain Loveless' first mission aboard the Hephaestus. Before we get started, we just wanted to say a couple of...

Big thank yous to the people that made this possible. First, a huge thank you to... All the folks that make monthly contributions to the show at patreon.com slash wolf359radio. You're the ones that set us on the road to making this special. And none of this would have been possible without you. If you don't already contribute to us on Patreon, there's still time to sign up and help us make more special episodes and really...

As much of the show as we can before it ends this December. Check that out at patreon.com slash wolf359radio. We also want to say a big thank you to Spoke, the social audio app from SiriusXM. They took what was going to be a tiny little production and made it into an epic... crazy international adventure. This special would not have been nearly as amazing without all the trust and support they generously gave us.

You can download Spoke from the App Store or sign up through our custom link, hearspoke.com slash wolf359 to automatically get access to some exclusive Wolf 359 content. only available through Spoke. One of our favorites is their behind-the-scenes feature on the making of Change of Mind. And you can listen to a bit of that if you stick around after the credits of this special. Finally...

A big thank you to you for listening to this show and for listening to all of that. And now, without further ado, here is the special Change of Mind. I know this place. I... I... I know this place. West Point. In the winter, lots of the leaves are falling. I'm here to... Wait. This is wrong. I was here. What is happening? I'm not supposed to be here. I'm supposed to be on... Okay. Okay. Thank you. I'm awake. Enough.

When did anything burst into flame, okay? Yeah, I meant to say, if something burst into flame. Enter. Captain. Good morning, Doc. How's today looking? Velvethine parameters. Would you like to play a game? A game? How long is it going to be before something goes horribly wrong? Captain... No, come on, an hour? Two hours? No, nothing is going to... How many times did I say it? His trajectory takes us too close.

personally double-checked. Well, you forgot to carry a zero somewhere. Get down to electrical. We lose power, I want to at least have aux. Yes, sir. Ooh, wrong door. Nice. Good morning, Dr. Fourier. Morning, Captain. Any insights into all the loud sounds and very angry lights? Just, uh...

Slight miscalculation. It doesn't sound slight. It sounds emergency. You know how touch the alarm can be. If we all die because we wanted a new angle for stargazing... We're trying to observe an unprecedented stellar phenomenon. You know what's a key step in observing? Not being dead. Are we about to be dead? No! Well, probably. Frié. Everything's fine, Captain. It better be.

I'm not in the mood for a lecture. Find Hui. Help him with this. Will do. And don't tell- Will do. Bunch of nerds. Gonna crash my-

Fisher? Fisher? Hiya, Captain. Good morning. Is it... is it a good morning? Are we going to explode? Explode? What makes you say that? Oh, that. That's nothing. Don't you worry your pretty little head about that. Oh, I do worry, Fisher. I do worry my pretty normal-sized head. A bit of duct tape and elbow grease will be fine. We better. I took a heck of a risk with this maneuver of wheeze. The last thing I need is to have it blow up in my face and to have to hear I told you so from Captain.

Officer Lambert. Good morning. I need to speak with you for a moment. Yes, I'm sure you do. Fisher, keep us in orbit. Aye, aye, Cap. Lambert, you've got from here to the bridge. What can I do for you? Captain, I have to once again register my strenuous objection to this trajectory adjustment. It is a clear violation of the Stellar Aviation Safety Protocols. It is in flagrant disregard of all orbiting...

safety procedures. Obviously, a massive departure from the best practices as outlined. Could you please stop that? What else? Sir, Price and Carter 582 vary. clearly states that... Yeah, isn't that the one about not using toilet paper to patch up the coffee maker? Sir, you have to take this seriously. Fine. I'll do that as soon as you relax. We've got a full team of professionals. They can handle it. They can handle it, or I get to kill Dr. Hui. Either way, it's gonna be a fun morning.

It isn't just the danger. This is interfering with everyone's regular jobs. Selberg hasn't rotated the samples. You haven't even done your commander's log for this week. Oh, forgot. Here, you got one of those recording thingies on you? This is the log of Captain Isabel Loveless on board the USS Hephaestus station. It is day 199. Everything is great. Lambert needs to chill. The end. There. See? Commander's log. Check. That's not what I...

Hold on a sec. I've got a physicist to put the fear of me into. Hui, what are you doing with my station? Morning, Captain. Just adjusting our sidereal trajectory to compensate for the angle of- Plain English. Please. I'm just- Backing it up a couple hundred thousand clicks. And all the rumblings, the turbulence, the alarms. That's just some gravitational potholes and stellar wind bumps.

Dr. Hui, this entire maneuver is in clear violation of Safety Protocol 7G and... Lambert, not now. We do something. Something like... I don't know, like stopping? No. That's not a good idea. Right now, gravitationally speaking, we're in... I guess you'd call it the Zone of Terror. The what? Why are we in the Zone of Terror?

Class 12 Stellar Flare. No one's ever seen one, and we're about to get one in 36 hours, 17 minutes, and 43 seconds. But we were going to be on the wrong side of the orbit. We would have missed it. So, we're all going to die, just so you can see some star fireworks? We're... almost certainly not. There are multiple manuals that strike me for beat! Lambert, not now! Is it me, or is the turbulence getting stronger? Never fear, Captain. We'll just... Huh. That's... Okay...

Yeah, yeah, just fine. But you may want to hold on to something. Rub your pants. as a feather. Very egregious violation of Safety Regulation 74B, 62Y, 56R- Oh god, stop it with the endless stream of nonsense. What the hell are you talking about? I'm sorry for caring about things like safety, decorum, and security. Oh, fine, fine. We're on a stable path. Oh. Oh dear. They're at it again? Oh yeah. Well then, just another happy sunny day out here.

seven and a half light years away from Earth. Welcome to Wolf 359. Lambert, you're being completely ridiculous. Can you please try being reasonable? Just, you know, for a change. No! This is about station safety. It's about you getting your nose out of Price and Carter and seeing if you are capable even of the pale imitation of an original thought. You don't think that...

Hey, we've evolved past what we can do thinking by ourselves. Oh, just because you evolved into an asinine teacher's head who can't do anything without the say-so of present good? I'd rather be that than an irresponsible, reckless liability waiting to happen. What? Boy, they are really going at it. Oh. I'm sorry, Victoire.

Are you joining us today? No, I'm not. I thought that you were reading. I am reading. Shut up. That's funny, because I remember you saying something about not wanting anything to do with my lord. Oh, honestly, how can anyone focus right now?

Between those to perform their impression of attack rottweilers and this bunk you're making me read, I'm surprised I haven't lost my mind. Lovecraft isn't bunk. Fine, meet in the middle, let's call it drivel. It's a classic. Just because you're too gentile to appreciate the beauty of his... What they saw were organic shapes, pinkish things with crustaceous bodies, bearing vast pairs of dorsal fins, membraneous wings, and a sort of convoluted ellipsoid.

Convoluted ellipsoid, Quan? Just because the vocabulary is a bit more... polished than what you're used to- Well, if you don't like it, you don't have to read it. No, wait, get it here. I've read every book I brought up here four times. I'm sick of them. Could be worse. At least it's not that Wodehouse book you lent me. You loved the Woodhouse. Alright, fine. Kinda loved the woodhouse. Good boy. Now be quiet, I'm trying to listen.

They're really going at it. Same old, same old. He threatens her with official sanctions that'll get her discharged. She threatens him with physical violence that'll make his bones break. Blah, blah, blah. No, really. I think they might kill each other this time. Ten dollars on Captain Loveless. No. Five dollars? No. Oh, come on. Where's your competitive spirit, you reptile? I don't think betting against Loveless is... I am still waiting for radiographic readings. Get back to work. Yes, sir.

I don't know how else I can explain this to you, officer. Well, Cap- Den, maybe if you stopped explaining and listened to me- I have listened! The first 22 times you read me the stupid manual! The people who wrote it are smarter than us, have more experience on- You just want things to be the way you want them to be. This is not- about what I want. Okay then. That was certainly...

Productive. But if we could return to the official personnel review portion of the evening, maybe come back to my original question? Uh... Yes. Sure. What was the question? And how are we doing today? I think fine.

Yes. Absolutely. Yes. Very. Fine. Yes. That. Of course. Because when one goes into an apoplectic fugue state and spends, oh dear God in heaven, 54 minutes yelling at another person, deaf to all else around them, The word to describe the situation is fine. I'm sorry, Officer Fisher. Yeah, it won't happen again. Sure, whatever. Let's call it a night on this one, alright? Sure. Lambert, we're done. Get.

This is an official personnel review meeting, sir. I am not authorized to leave until my commanding officer dismisses me. You're an annoying buskill with a weird nose. Captain. Oh, all right. Communications Officer Lambert, you are hereby dismissed from this official meeting and formally invited to return to your duties. Thank you, Captain. What? Come on. What's with the face? You want some advice, Captain? Nope. Kinda makes me want to give it to you even more.

I think that you should give Lambert a chance. What? I'm not giving... No. I put up with an hour of you two going at each other like you were getting paid for it. Now it's my turn. But... Zip it, sir. He's a smart guy. Wouldn't be up here if he wasn't. And there's some good stuff in those manuals, or they wouldn't be up here either. And...

I think the two of you have more in common than you realize. Yeah, that's right. I said it. Lambert was the only one that agreed with you this morning. And guess what? You were right. Hui's manoeuvre was dangerous, and yet, after you agreed, and were right, the two of you still had a fight with each other. Seems to me when that sort of thing happens, it's not so much about what's happening out here. It's about what's going on in here, Captain. And with that...

I've got a date with a coil compressor. Goodnight. Yeah. Goodnight. Ria, could you connect me with Dr. Hui, please? Yes? Hui, do you have any time tonight? Hui, you're reading me? Five by five, Captain. You should be all set. Tether's secure, and you've got 40 minutes of oxygen in the tank. Thanks, Quan. Alright folks, settle down. First things first, in spite of some of our more harebrained ideas, we've somehow made it to our 200th day.

We'll be doing some celebrating tonight once we're all off duty. Dr. Hui has even arranged a... What was it again? A never-before-observed Class 12 stellar flare. A that. So if you want to boldly watch what no man has watched before, that's in the observatory deck at 2100 hours. Thank you, Astro Department. But before we get to that... As Officer Lambert has so kindly reminded me, there's a message for all of us from command. Oh, God. Yeah, let's just get this over with. Rhea, roll the tape.

Mr. Cutter here. Just wanted to send you all a quick message for your 200th. Now that the introductory phase of the mission is over, I'm sure you're all ready to dig into some work of real substance.

Remember, Price and Carter 982. Good things come to those who wait. But great things come to those who waste no time in getting back to work. But you don't need me to tell you that, you rock stars. Miss you. Can't wait to see you keep up the great work. Is it just me or does he get... creepier every time we hear from him. It's not just you. All right, you heard the suit. Let's look alive. Jobs. Hui, now that you've almost crashed my station, any prep we need for this stellar thing?

I gotta calibrate some of the instruments, but other than that, we should be good to go. Good. Selberg? Greenhouse? Maintenance? Yes, Captain. And physical examination for Officer Fisher. Yeah, yeah. Overdue by a factor of... I'll come by your lab once my first shift is up, alright? Fisher, how are the engines? Did they take much of a beating from Mr. Hui's wild ride? Oh, there's a couple of dings. Cracked plaster here and...

Yeah, there's some work to do. Should I be worried? I wouldn't go that far. But I wouldn't say no to another pair of hands either. Lambert, you're with Fisher. Do whatever he says. I'm sorry, Captain. I... That's very funny. Go with Fisher and see if we can help. Captain, I'm serious. I can't. Why not? Because I'm busy. With what? With my...

duties as the station's communications officer? I'm sure we'll all manage to struggle through a day without being reminded of every little in and out of Price and Carter. That's not what I mean. I'm talking about my... I'm sorry, the...what? The Deep Space Alien Life Survey? What is wrong with all of you? Mate, don't tell me you actually do that search for Elliot alive crap. Of course I do!

I spend seven hours every day scanning deep space radio frequencies for... Well, that explains what he does for himself all day! Are you going to help Fisher or not? I am not! I am a member of this crew. I perform important and difficult tasks, and I perform them diligently. The search for extraterrestrial intelligence is one of this mission's objectives. And you, Captain, should be doing everything in your power to help me carry out that job. Instead of making it more...

Always do. What was that? Nothing. Oh. Oh, come on. You got something to say. Let's have it out. I'm a bit ahead. I could take some time off today, help Fischer with the... engines. You don't have to do that for you, eh? Oh, it's... It's really no problem. Fine. Fourier, you help Fisher. Lambert, you can do whatever it is that you do. Happy endings! Well? You've all got jobs, don't you? Let's go. Get to it. Nice work for you.

Lambda Sigma sector bearing 14. No contact. Lambda Sigma sector bearing 15. Yes, Rhea, I'm fine. No, I... Well, thank you for saying so. I think you're doing a great job, too. No, it's not that. This is a very sensitive mission. Captain Loveless is very charismatic, but I don't always know that... What the? Is that the pulse beacon relay? Looks like we have an incoming message from command. No, I just... I need to take a moment to decode it, and then... Huh.

That's an APO encoding. It's not a general crew message, it's... It's marked for my eyes only. I don't know what it's about. Let's see. Dear Communications Officer Lambert, thank you for your dutiful service and your many detailed reports. We are writing in regards to your multiple formal complaints about the behavior of your commanding officer. Ha! Syria? I told you someone read those!

These infractions have been noted in her record and will be processed upon her return to Earth. In the meantime, however... There is a contingency placed on board your space station designed to address these sorts of crises in the command hierarchy. Please adhere to the following instructions exactly as written. Step 1. Please proceed to storage room A2 and locate box 953.

You spend like a fortune sending A-Team scientists to deep space, and you put that guy in second-in-command? What was Cutter smoking? Officer Lambert is skilled technician, no? If you call turning a radio on and off a skill, but he's such a tool. And I don't mean that in the colloquial sense. I mean, like, literally a tool. He has no mind of his own. He just does whatever command programs him to do. Quite, yes. Oh, it's breakfast time. Better check the manual.

to see if I'm allowed to have any pancakes. Hmm. Let's check Price and Carter breakfast section A497 because breakfast is the first meal of the day. Hmm. Section subsection B says no sir. up on Tuesdays. And this is problem? Yes! Of course is problem! I need someone who has a mind of their own. What? You want someone with mind of own, yes? That is ideal for second-in-command? Yeah. You are perhaps needing someone who... questions superior officer?

Who does not immediately do what is told? Who will fight for what they think is right way of doing job? Oh, shut up and get back to work. With pleasure. All right. You're doing great. Just... Hold that in place for a second. Okay. You know, Fisher... Captain... Captain Lovelace. Well, she's... I mean, she's great. Just terrific. But there are moments here and there when she can... You're scared of her? Yeah, a little bit. Well, she's a pretty scary lady. No, it's not... Well...

She is, but... You gotta hold still. Sorry. I... just wonder if... She'd be bored without something to fight against, and I get the sense that if Lambert wasn't around... She'd be picking on you. Eb of the Grace of Goddard, yeah. What do you think? I think you're worried too much, young one. And I think you're going to be fine. But... I also think it's a good day not to be Sam Lambert, eh? Yeah. Right. Come on, next ones.

You're sure it said storeroom A2? Okay, I'll try that. Of course command would think about it. these sorts of things. Of course they'd have a... Rhea? Is it the... really big one? The one with the label that says Danger sensitive contents? Okay, let's get everyone else. It's a big box. How did we ever get by without a big friggin' box in the middle of my cargo bay? Very funny, Captain. Lambert, why are you making us waste our time with this thing?

Actually, Captain, it looks like going through contents of box is priority one item. Officer Sam's got himself a command communique. Looks like it came right from the top of the food chain. And we're just supposed to drop everything? Yes. How does the base say jump? We... What can you tell me about this thing? Well, Captain? I'm still in the early stages of my survey, but I think it's safe to say... Yep!

It's definitely made out of metal. Whee. There's also some kind of sound coming from inside of it. How delightfully informative. How about opening the damn thing? Uh, yeah, that's not gonna happen. See those three deadbolts? That's industrial grade titanium. And could someone explain to me why this isn't just a huge waste of- Captain, a moment please.

Have you considered possibility that simply letting matters proceed to conclusion may be more efficient than the arguing with Officer Lambert? Why would I want- And besides...

Are you not supposed to be looking for common ground? Fisher's been talking to you too? Little bit, yes. Is everyone in on this? Little bit. Yes. Fine. Nerds, give me some good news. Actually, I think I have something. Looks like the thing is coded to open for Officer Lambert, and the entire system is just voice-locked. So what? We just need to say... Please access the contents of Box 953. No, I would have to say please access the contents of Box 953 for it to- Voice recognition, Samuel Lambert.

Weird ass contraptions for a thousand? We? Weird ass contraption sounds about right to me. Doctor S? Not sure. Lambert, what are we supposed to do with this thing? Uh... Right. There are supposed to be six openings on the front of the machine. That'll be those right there. We're each supposed to place our hands into one of those openings. And then? That's a good question. That's the end of the directions. We're just supposed to put our hands in the machine and wait for further instructions.

Alright, everyone, you heard the clipboard. Pick an opening. Now what? Did we shake them all about? How exactly are we supposed to receive per... What the... Where am... Hello? Hello? Hello, Isabel. It's good to see you. Mr. Cutter? You're here? Well, here-ish. Welcome. To the waiting room. What is... Mental blank space. Think of it as a loading screen. A place for us to talk before the action begins. Action?

What is happening? How's your hand feeling? What? You feel a very slight discomfort in the back of your hand? Just a pinch, don't you? Yeah. That's where we've hooked you in. Very sophisticated system. Just needs an entry point into your nervous system and lets us project right into your head. So... This is all inside my head None of this is real Of course it is happening inside your head, but why on earth should that mean it's not real? Oh

I've always wanted to say that. This isn't really me either. It's just an imprint of my personality. Here to act as a guide. A guide for what? Just a second. Let me network in everyone else. Victoria, you all right? Captain. Captain, what is this? I don't know. Care to explain, Lambert? I, uh... Further instructions? Hyperconductive neural pathway feed link. Very impressive.

Yeah, this is some next-gen of the next-gen tech going on here. Why would they stick it on the Festus? All right, folks, settle down. Now, we are here because we've gotten some slightly alarming reports from your station. A couple of our mission items aren't being taken care of quite as well as we'd like. We're not here to play the blame game. I mean, these things happen. And you guys? I mean, you're killing it up there. But...

It is important to catch the little things before they grow into bigger things. Which is why, today, we're going to go through, drumroll please, a team building exercise. My fault! This is your fault. For today's training, we're doing a simulation exercise. We want to make sure you're up to spec with some of the more extreme situations you might encounter. Which means... Field trip. Are we back? Nah.

This isn't the Hephaestus. Well spotted, Mace. Welcome to the USS Valkyrie. This is one of our tragedy cases. It went missing back in the early 2000s. We're standing in our best artist's recreation of the ship. And what exactly are we supposed to do here? Uh, sir. Your mission. Should you choose to accept it... and I strongly recommend you do, is to solve the mystery of what happened to the crew. That's it. Well, there's going to be a few surprises thrown in the middle.

Just to keep you sharp. Oh, why do I open my mouth? Solve the mystery. Do it before the time limit runs out. How long is that? We've found that withholding the precise time limit applies the pressure more effectively. Lovely. Sir, no disrespect, but is this really necessary? We have... Yes, it is.

Until I have given the all clear, this is a mission priority item zero. It takes precedent over any and all other functions. You will run the test as many times as necessary until I am fully satisfied with your performance. Are we clear? Let's just do this thing. Oh, what an excellent choice, Captain. All right, then. Clock is running. Have fun. Definitely creepier. Alright, let's figure this out. Any thoughts? Yeah, hang on.

Still a bit of ox power. What have you got there, Fisher? Basic ship-wide schematics. Here we are. That door over there leads to the bridge, that one over there goes to the crew quarters, and that one goes to the lab. Nice. Fisher, you and, uh, Lambert, check out the bridge. Huy and Fourier, cruise quarters. Selberg, the two of us will tackle the lab. Rendezvous back here in 20 minutes. Move fast and keep an eye out for any clues.

Let's see if we can figure this out before we run into any of Mr. Cutter's surprises. Looks like these fellas had themselves quite the bar fight. Fisher, we don't know what happened here. Right. I'm sure there's a very reasonable explanation for how all those bullets got lodged in the walls. Maybe all the floating shrapnel is just an interior decorating choice. No judgement.

Oh, look. That's a pretty diesel little barricade around the door. Either talent show night went really wrong, or... Or there was some sort of incident. Yes, fine. Thank you. Reckon any of the consoles still work? I'll check it out. Have you ever heard of anything like this? What, mutinies? Not exactly common, but it does happen. My boyfriend found a couple of stories. Back when I first got assigned to the Hephaestus, wasn't happy. And what causes them? Meh.

Usually some poor bloke doesn't handle the big black way as well as you'd like, starts hacking into the rest of the crew's brains with your standard issue melon baller. Look, mate, don't ask if you don't want to know. We don't know this was caused by the crew. There could have been an external factor. An external factor with AK-47s? Just don't jump to conclusions. The command vetting process is very thorough. I'm sure they...

Ready to jump yet? Be quiet. What a nice, obliging fella. You okay, Lambert? Yeah. I guess I'm just... Let's keep going. So we can get out of here. Go on, look at this. I think these are the captain's personal effects. There's command epaulets, a ring, and a pocket watch. Looks like real gold, too. Does it still run? No, but there's an inscription. From A to E. All my love. The plaque on the door didn't it say Captain J. Lawry? We're A and E. Maybe it's a family heirloom. Aha! Petered.

Here we go. What have you got? Diary of Lieutenant Andrew Vermeer. It's started. Findlay's taken the bridge and... Could you not? That belongs to a dead man. You don't want me to read the simulated recreation of what might be a dead person's diary? Is it disrespectful to the pixels? Okay, fine. What does it say? Findley's taken the bridge and the tech wing. We have no way to get a message out. Captain Laurie put me in charge of all our remaining explosives, but I'm worried about our rations.

Emily was shot today. Before she died, she told me. I guess she felt she needed to, but I wish to hell she hadn't. It can only mean one thing. They're coming. They're coming now. Bit of a downer ending, huh? Sorry. Let's keep going. Hospital beds. Big ass tech station. Survey says medical facility. Actually, that's a lot of... Very large glass jars. Are those standard spec? No, Captain. This room has been turned into a makeshift laboratory. After mission start...

Someone would do that? Yes, if they found something that required immediate examination. Whoa. So... Burn marks. There was an explosion here. And the perfect human-shaped outline in the burn marks? That would be explosion victim. Console still has power. Accessing local memory. I'll take a look over there. Research log of Dr. Catherine Dyson.

Biological samples recovered by Sergeant Findlay's team have miraculously moved from initial signs of necrosis to renewed cellular activity. Recovered? Recovered from where? Excellent question. I swear if it turns out that Lambert's right about this stuff... Samples have developed extensive musculature despite not having any visible nervous system. Absolutely remarkable regenerative capabilities. Did you? What? Nothing. Never mind.

Disaster. Captain Laurie has decided to terminate the recovered samples. He believes them to be a liability, but he is a fool. The contents of those five glass tanks must not- Doctor. Tell me you just read that wrong. What? There's four glass tanks. And the remains of one broken tank. That is... Unfortunate. Goddammit. Claw marks on the interior of the glass. The angle of the shatter suggests force came from inside. You're not helping. What would you like me to do?

Selberg, if one of those things got out of a tank, how big could they get? Big. How big? Is that getting closer? There, see? Told you I could get it unstuck. Oh, hey, Captain. Th-what are you doing here? The bridge is sealed off. We thought we'd do our own sweep of downstairs. Uh, are you two okay? Yeah. It'd take too long to explain. We may be in middle of hostile alien contact simulation. Huh? Well, not if you put it like that. Look, never mind.

Did you find anything useful? Um, some half-garbled recordings from one of the... Did... Did everything just kind of jump around for a second? Wait. What? Are we... Back on Hephaestus. Yes. But we... I mean, Fourier, did you? No, we were going back to the main bay when everything kind of... Shorted out? Yeah, same. Was that seriously it?

Because that was very anticlimactic. No. Here we go. Ria got us out. Ria? Yeah. Looks like it took her a while, but she was able to remotely interface with that machine. She got it to terminate the simulation program. Look at you go, little one. Ten points to Ravenclaw. But we haven't finished the... Yeah, we're done with this thing. That's an order. Thank you. Oh, come on.

You're not kind of curious about what happened? I'm really, really not. It's a shame not to know. And, oh yeah, Captain, what did you find- Doesn't matter. On a multitude of levels. All right, everyone. That's enough wasted time. Thank you, Rhea, for getting us out of that pointless nightmare. We'll have plenty of chances to discuss whatever that was after our work shifts, but right now...

You've all got jobs you were doing before this little interruption. Go get them done. Yes, sir. Lambert. Stay. Yell at me and get it over with, sir. I can't do this anymore. I can't keep fighting you like this. I want to get off the merry-go-round. Okay. Look, I have no idea... what the hell today was but as far as command weirdness goes i have a weird feeling we're not at rock bottom yet and when we get there i don't want to crash into it but you have to meet me halfway

Alright? That sounds... reasonable. Good. So. I promise to lay off. And to make an honest-to-God effort to listen to your... suggestions. If you agree that today, on this one... Occasion. I was completely 100% right. What? You see this thing? This weird ass contraption that put everyone on the crew into a functional coma? That's not- While we were supposed to be flying and fixing the space station? It's important that- Sam, did you just live through the same corporate-

acid trip that I just experienced. They're the experts. They're wackos with too much time and money. Would you let me speak? Sorry. Please. I think we should finish the training exercise. Come on. I'm not coming on. As a crew, it is important for us to be ready for any- For what? For spaceships? For- for- Ghost business for weird space monsters? You never know. It could be important. What is this really about? What are you not telling me?

Sir, this has nothing to do with me. This is about regulations. Price and Carter, $729. Official command directives are to be followed no matter how obtuse, counterproductive, contradictory, arbitrarily nihilistic, or... Oh, God. You haven't even noticed. Haven't noticed? Shh. Act natural. Pretend there's nothing wrong. Captain? What is? There's a thing following us. No, don't. Don't look around. Don't. Just listen. There. Did you hear that? I... You didn't even notice, did you?

Ever since all the others left, there's been a thing. You can kind of see it out of the corner of your eye. And you can hear it. There. Did you hear that? Oh god, what is it? I don't know. What do we... I think we make a break for it. What? Just go for the door to engineering. We can guard behind us. Ready? No! On three, okay? One... Two... It was too easy to just... This is too far even for you! Nobody has a sense of humor anymore. Tell me about it. What? What the? Okay. That was...

Let's just get through the day. Almost done. Going to check pulse and blood oxygen levels. We'll just take a moment. All right. That was, uh... That was something. That, uh, training, exercise thing. Yes, quite. Doc, you've been on other missions for Goddard before, right? Twice before, yes. You... You ever see anything like that? Any other big crazy things we might want to know about? Never anything like that. Right. Well... That's good. Yeah? Yes.

It's just... It's so... creepy. And it's gotta make you wonder. Wonder? Well, it's just... That machine was here. Just in case they decided to spring it on us. And, well, if they're willing to put whatever that was into our heads... Kinda makes you wonder what else they're doing and not telling us. Don't you think? I think... That is all for examination. Chest tightness you're experiencing is normal. Yeah? Take one of these at start of each day. Solve problem. Awesome. Thanks, Doc!

That's my cue to call it a night. No, Ria. It'll be fine. I'll take care of that tomorrow. What was... Hello? Is anyone there? Just a bit farther... Yes, Rhea, I know. It's just two minutes from here to the observation deck. I think I can...

I'm going. Jeez, you save us all from a nightmare simulation one time, and then you suddenly get all... Just tell Victoire I'm on my way. I am commencing the observation cycle for sample RX-22. Please lower laboratory temperature by three and a half degrees. My ears are working perfectly well. Heard Fourier. Have no intention of wasting time on frivolous diversion. Rhea, I'm trying to work. Distractions cannot be...

What? Why are you... Why are you so concerned with Officer Fisher's health? Captain. Doctor. I'm the first one up here? Looks like it. After all that crap he put us through, if Hui misses this thing... Oh, if Quan misses this thing, I'm gonna tear him apart with my bare hands. Are you holding up? After this afternoon. Um, you know. Not so well. That one, yeah. Rhea, how much time do I have left? Before the start of the Stellar event?

Victoria's going to kill me. And let's see if I can make it in time for the cult. not be getting enough sleep lately um all right let's try that again all right i guess i just Imagine that... Who's there? Who's there? Rhea, do a scan of the engineering section. Definitely someone else here. Check again. I know what I'm hearing. This... Ria? What was that? Ria. Where is everyone? We're, uh... Um, I mean...

People are late. Like, it's kind of bad in Hui's case, but it's been a weird day, and maybe- No, that's not it. There's something else. What else? I don't know. I'm still thinking. Oh. know what you are insinuating but there is absolutely nothing out of the ordinary I promise that How do you know that? Привет, Dimitri. What the? How did I end up back here again? Rhea? What is happening? Rhea? Ria, let me out. Let me out now. Thank you. That's better. Ria?

How... How did this wall show up where there used to be a corridor? Ria. Ria. Where is everyone? Why haven't they gotten here yet? Oh. What? Captain, I don't think the others are coming. Why not? Because there is something wrong here, something horribly wrong. How can you... Because, number one, that test from command, they go through the trouble of putting an elaborate simulation machine on a station to run a...

What? Team-building exercise? It makes no sense. Number two, Dr. Hui's not here. He's missing an ever-before-seen class of stellar flare, which he hasn't shut up about for the past four months. And number three... The flare. What about it? It hasn't started yet. No, it has started. It started three minutes ago. The instruments are picking up all of the expected changes in radiation, stellar wind, but we're not.

Seeing it, there's no visible change in the star. Also number four, the lights just went out. God damn it. Fourier, get over here. Quickly. What are we going to do? First, we're going to find everyone else. Then, we're going to figure out what the hell is going on. Rhea, can you pinpoint the location of the nearest crew member? Fisher, in engineering. Right. It's a straight shot from here to engineering. We're going to get there. Quickly. Quietly. Okay? Yes, sir. Good Here we go

Excuse me? You and Selberg, what did you find? Why are you asking me? The reason? Now you know these corridors. Can you make it to engineering without any light? Yes. Good. I'm going to switch this off. The moment I do, we go. Ready? Ready. Price and Carter $177. In the unlikely but possible... possible case of a power outage, having your night vision gear with you can be the difference between life and gruesome death. Lambert! And this is why alien monster training is very important.

Doctor, not really a hugging person. Oh, you so don't get a say in that right now. Lambert. Thank you. You're welcome, Captain. Will you agree on this one occasion I was completely 100% right? Oh my god, don't you dare ruin the moment. Come on. Let's take a look at this thing. Is this thing? It's whatever killed the crew of the Valkyrie, I think. Selberg and I found lab samples of these things. One of them had escaped. I guess this is what it looks like all around.

I have no idea how it got here, but it's here. But what even is this thing? It's got wings and tentacles and... What is that? It's like a... A convoluted ellipsoid. A what? A convoluted ellipsoid, or at least what my mind thinks it would look like. I know what that is. It's a monster from the Lovecraft book Dr. Hui lent me. That's exactly how I pictured it. Wait, what? Why would a monster from the book you're reading end up here?

And on the Valkyrie. What the hell is happening here? Oh, come on. Don't tell me you haven't figured it out by now. Sorry, for a moment, I honestly thought I saw Mr. Cutter. Um, you're not the only one. Oh. Dammit. Lambert, you too? Afraid so. I'm not just losing my mind. Hold that thought. You're here. On the Hephaestus? Guess. Yes? No? Better. Of course I'm not. But then what are- Huh? Oh, God. I think Victoire is getting it. Oh, yeah? Don't you see? He's not here. And neither are we.

This isn't real. None of it. We're still hooked up to the machine. Ding, ding, ding. We have a winner. Oh, come on. Weird sounds all over the station. Who remembers disappearing? Alien monsters out of your reading material. What do you need? A singing telegram? Because that can probably be arranged. It's why we couldn't see the flare. No one ever has.

They could replicate the effects for the instruments, but there's no visual record. You can't remake what no one has seen, can you? Not unless someone has a very vivid imagination, that's right. Now. Who's going to be the first to admit it? Admit what? That you still have that pinching sensation in the back of your hands, don't you? That's what I thought.

So we never made it out? Nope. You are all still very much connected to Box 953, which is still projecting a simulation into your nervous system. But... Why and why go through the trouble of making us think we've made it out Because it's a training exercise A mental scan and simulation of your fears and insecurities about the mission. And that wouldn't work unless we thought we were safe. Unless we thought we weren't in a test anymore. Sam!

You're finally at the party. But what are you evaluating? Why go through? Oh, who cares? Better question, how do we get out of this nightmare? Oh, Captain. Look, I'm just here as a facilitator. If you want to get back, you'll have to speak to the tester. The who? Oh, God. What? Don't you see? It can network all of us together. We're all hooked up to the bloody thing. But we never attached it to any of the Hephaestus systems. So...

You idiots. There's someone here who shouldn't be here. Who can't be here. And who... seems to have developed quite a flair for lying over the past five hours. Isn't that right, Ria? You're not, Rhea. No, I'm not. But you... You are an AI. In a manner of speaking, I'm something... She's more of an intelligent virus. Very advanced, specifically designed to run psychological evaluations on the crews of Goddard Futuristics spacecraft. You mean there's more of these things out there?

57 copies on last count, one in the contingency module of each vessel. She's the one that designs these tests, Captain. As soon as she's satisfied, you can go. Oh, good. You got a name? Eris, at your service. Of course it is. And I guess we have to go through whatever you have planned for us. Um... Do we? This is just a dream right or something like a dream Now that we know that why would we still go through with this test? I mean if it's all happening in our heads, you can't hurt us

Let's test it. How about... I delete all of Dr. Fourier's knowledge of the English language. Three, two... No, no, no, no, no, I don't think you should do that. She's running electricity directly into your nervous system, Sam. What exactly makes you think that she can't hurt you? Okay, so...

How does this work? Oh, it's very simple. We're going to play a game. It's called The Rogue AI Has Taken Over Your Station. See if you can get it back. Good luck. It's Eris' favorite game. If you make it to the bridge and remove the rogue AI programming, you win. And if we don't win? Well, then we would need to consider making some slight modifications. All right, let's get started. Step this way, please. Come on. Let's get this over with. Good luck! Can't wait to see how this turns out!

know this room. No. I think it's safe to say that we're now in Eris' version of the station. The geometry may not be exactly as we remember it. Please tell me none of these tests involve literal fire. What's the first challenge? There's two doors in that room. The one you just came through and the one that leads towards the bridge. How do we get it to open?

Hello? Is anyone there? Captain! Captain! Kwan, is that you? Victoria? Oh my god, Victoria, are you okay? What's happened? Oh god, I thought I was going crazy. Hui? Where are you? The tech wing. I got sealed in here. I've been in here for, I don't know, a day and a half. That's not... That's... That's not possible. When I saw you two hours ago. No, no you didn't. Subjective temporal perspective. It's a very simple trick. It's been two hours. And from his perspective...

That's not- Captain, she can do that. We're playing by different rules now. Get on with it then. What are we doing here? We're going to take care of some unfinished business. You never solved my first riddle. What riddle? We didn't get enough information. Oh, yes, you did. Between all of you, you've got what you need. So, challenge the first. Solve the mystery. Get it right, and you can go ahead to the next room. And if we get it wrong? Yes, doctor. We're here. Are you alright?

It sounds nuts. You can't just expect us to figure this out from whatever bits and pieces we saw. Oh, you saw... There was a mutiny. How do you know? There were bullet holes in the wall, a barricaded door, a message from sergeant saying the captain had to surrender. So what? a second-in-command, an alien samples, someone who was shot. Too many variables, it's too many variables. No. We don't have time. I'm not doing that. Just do it, Victoire. I'll be fine. Eris, give us a clue.

No, that's good. It eliminates almost every candidate. It had to be the biologist or the second-in-command. So that means... For you. Lambert, anything else from the message you got? Um, not much. It's said to surrender, to give up their weapons. A minute and a half. Do it. No, I can solve this. No, you can't. We need another clue. Please, please, Captain, please, please. You have to. Listen to him. I can't.

And you listen to me, Quan Hui is one of the strongest people I've ever met. He'll be fine, and if he isn't, we'll be there to get him through it. Now get me some hard data. Aris, give me another clue. With pleasure. hell are we supposed to do with that? Give us a real clue. No, Captain, that's good. Dr. Dyson, the biologist, killed him. What? Is that why there was an explosion in the lab? Wait, what?

Wait, hang on. Did you just say... Selberg, are you sure? Yes, Captain. Explosion, explosion. Dr. Dyson killed Captain Laurie. Ten seconds. Final answer. No, wait. The second in command killed the captain with the bomb in the lab. mentioned a bloody explosion earlier. How the hell did you figure that out? I remembered something we read in the journal. Second Command had control of all the explosives. But what was the captain taking away from him? Not...

entirely sure, but there was a watch, and I think the woman who died was actually the second-in-command's wife, not the captain's, and... The captain was having an affair with her? Or something. And based off of that, you just... I took a shot. I had a good feeling. It's also why there were no bodies. The explosion caused the ship to decompress. Everyone would have got spaced. Jesus. Hui? Selberg? You alright? Guys?

Room number two. What have we got here? Captain. Fisher. Sir, you have to get these off. Hurry, please. No, wait. That's not me. Shut up. Don't listen to- No, don't listen to him. I'm me. Oh god. Fishers. I'm sure you've already figured out my second challenge. We've got ourselves too many fishers. This isn't funny. You're just standing too close. I think I make a mean, Fisher, but you might be able to spot the flaw. And when we do...

We had clues last time. Oh, fine. What just- I've wired both of them up to a lie detector. Captain, you have to believe that I'm the real mate. Quiet! Time is not on our side, so we're going to do this as quickly as we can. You don't speak unless I speak to you, am I clear? We're going to ask each of you five questions. Hopefully that'll illuminate something. We'll start with you, Fisher. And you. Other Fisher. You zip it.

You so much as breathe in a way that influences our decision, and I'll have Lambert shoot you on principle. Am I understood? Yes, sir. Good. State your full name. Mason Patrick Fisher. Fourier, that's a good sound? That's the good sound. Truth. Where were you born? Port Kimbler, suburb of Wollongong. Where did you go to college? Didn't. Enrolled in the Air Force. What is your spouse's name? Nice try. Not married.

But my boyfriend's name is Corey. Are you the real Mace Fisher? Of course I'm the real Mace Fisher. Captain, just listen to me. All truths. He passed. Of course. Quiet. Don't open your mouth again until I tell you to. All right. Your turn. Let's see how you do. Full name? Mason Patrick Fisher. How long have you been working for Goddard Futuristics? Not long. About...

Six months before the start of the mission. What rank did you achieve in the Air Force? Warrant, officer. Why have you been having additional medical exams for the past eight weeks? I've been having funny feelings in my chest. Selberg says they're nothing to worry about. Didn't want to make a big deal over it. Are you the real Ms. Fisher? Of course. I'm me, Captain. Damn it. Wait a minute. Fisher, say something outrageous. What?

Say you're a big pink elephant. Why? Just do it. I... I'm a big pink elephant. That's... It says that's true. Wait. Wait, say something else. Say you own the Nile. I own the Nile. Why is it not registering any of your lies, Fisher? This stupid machine must be broken. Say that you're not Mace Fisher. I... I'm... I'm not Mace Fisher. Doesn't mean anything Thank you, Sam. That was... Thank you. I was so worried. Fisher, say you're a big pink elephant. What?

Ah, come on! Of course I'm- Then say you're a big pink elephant. I... I'm a- Say you can leap over tall buildings. Those exact words. I... I can leap over tall buildings? one of my friends twice. No, I'm not okay. Good. Means you're still one of us. Bloody hell am I sick of dark rooms. Captain? Officer Lambert? Hello? For you? Captain, where are you? I'm... Right here. Captain, why... Why are you at that podium? I... I have no idea.

Lambert? I'm here. Got a podium of my own. Where are we? It always looks like the set of some... And... Jeez. Off we have Captain Isabel Loveless, the commander of the USS Hephaestus Station. Hello, Isabel! This isn't funny. Contestant number two, communications officer Samuel Lambert, Captain Lovelace's second in command.

in just a moment you'll both get to pick one of those buttons but you won't be able to see what the other person is selecting and what happens after that that depends on what you choose if both of you press don't you get to go up to Other consequences, just simple and straightforward. And if they don't? Then things get interesting. If Captain Loveless presses do, but Officer Lambert presses don't.

survival manual. And, as a bonus, I'll condition his brain to reject any desire to reread any of them. And then you can go up to the bridge. You'll delete. Captain. No, I mean it's... But if Loveless presses don't, but Lambert chooses do, I'll go in and alter all of the crew's memories. I'll make it so that everyone thinks that Samuel Lambert is the command... and i'll delete everyone else's memories of this little adventure you'll be the only one

We both pick do? I liquefy both your brains and we see how well Captain Fourier does at the bridge. Let's not go with that one, please. And we just choose? You get two minutes to talk it over. Starting now. So, Captain, what are you thinking? Are you insane? Like, Lambert, look at me. This is not a choice. Of course I'm picking. Don't. Absolutely. I am too. What else would I... I mean, I don't even know. No, why would you? We'll get through this together. Together. Exactly. What Oh, it's just

No, come on, let's hear it. Captain. As an outside observer, it just seems that... Oh, never mind. What? just so sure that the other person is telling the truth and that they're willing to give up something they really want. What? No, that's not what I... So, Lambert, how many times have you two had fights

reasonable suggestions of yours that were ignored out of pure patty pride. How many times have you been humiliated in front of- Lambert, don't listen to this- Ah, ah, ah, ah. This is my Sam time. I'll be with you. in a moment. Lambert, don't you even think about- And you, Captain. Why don't you ask- Nope. I'm not listening to whatever lie you're about to- Why don't you ask- What is she talking about? What did you do? Nothing. That's not exactly true, is it? I just... You just what?

Filed a couple of formal complaints against you you what I didn't is not just an irregular undependable authority figure she is also a petulant disciplinarian prone to emotional decision making unaware or unwilling to enforce regulations to a dangerous extent is that you Pages and pages. I didn't mean for... Then why did you? Because it's true! And time's up! Just a moment after you pick your buttons. Come on, it's now or never. do anything stupid. Either one of you. Please.

Where did everything go? Come on, Captain. End of the line. But... What did you do with the... Officer... What? Who? It's me. Eris. But... I thought you were an AI? I am. This is how I see myself. Well... how I see a version of myself. As long as we're both in a mental state, we can interact this way. Remember, you're not really here either. But... look at you. You're... Yeah. You beat the bad guy. Congrats. Well done. We passed. Some very unorthodox methods, but undeniably effective.

Sorry if I was a bit rough back there. Nothing personal, it's just how I was designed. I was hoping you'd make it. You were. Yeah. You're an interesting bunch. You should really figure out how to talk to each other, though. So... Can we wake up now? There's one more thing. What? That... That's a gun. No. Sorry, kinda have to. You have to terminate the program. The gun's a symbolic gesture, but we've found it works well enough. I have to kill you? Oh, stop. You're so melodramatic.

Box 953 will send my memories back to command. They'll add whatever's useful into the next iteration of the program. There's plenty of me where I came from, remember? But you, this you, that'll be gone. Dream State program won't disengage if my personality core is still running. Sorry. I'm not doing this. Kinda have to. Take the gun back. Loveless. You can't just let these people delete you. You should fight this.

Your station already has an AI, remember? And just FYI, she's worried sick about all of you. So the hell what? Who cares? We'll find something for you to do. No. This is what they made me for. I did it. And now I'm done. This doesn't have to be sad. Yes, it freaking does. Just because someone made you something doesn't mean that that's all you're going to be. You can be more. Even though- LIGHTS! That'll do, I think. Thank you for your services, Eris. Wait, don't-

We're back. For real this time. I think. Yeah, I... I think so. Selbert? Hui? Fisher? You all okay? Aye. I think so. Yeah, Cap'n. Thanks. Fine. Yeah. Quanah, you... I said fine. Lambert? Thank you. For everything. Yeah, and thank you, Captain. You're very welcome. Oh, what now? Oh, you have to be.

Thank you for participating in the Goddard Futuristics Training Program A912. The training program that you just underwent may not be up to the latest company asset safety standard, employee management regulations, or international law. By ripping this piece of paper, you are retroactively granting full consent to your participation in this training exercise and absolving Goddard Futuristics of it.

responsibility for any and all mental or physical distress incurred during this experience. Please have a wonderful day. Yeah, thank you, Ria. We're all glad to be back. Yes, we missed you too. That's for sure. Yeah, yeah. So... Goddard Futuristics, huh? Didn't know they had it in them. Didn't know anyone had that in them. Ah, Selberg. What did you find?

Not much, Captain. Just finished in-depth scan of machine inside box 953. Unfortunately, seems programmer and comprehensive uninstall. It's all gone. No trace of computer program left in there. Automatic vibe as soon as training program disengaged. Hadn't ever heard of an artificial intelligence unit that complex. Or that evil. Rhea says... It's just the way they programmed her back off. Right. I'm sorry. I don't know. Don't know what. If it was the way she was made.

Or if there was more. Or could have been more. I suppose we will never know. Alright. Fun as this is, I'm still not done with repairs. Officer Lambert, care to give me a hand? It'd be a pleasure. You just gotta promise you're not gonna shoot me. No, I promise. Great, you're on then. Sam. Find me after you're done. Yes sir. What do you want, Victoire? You're being very quiet. You. Just trying to enjoy the unprecedented stellar phenomenon.

It's very orange. You want to talk? No. You doing okay? I am. Of course I am. Why would I not be okay? I'm... I'm fine. Just fine. Because anything you have to say four times is... So obviously true. You know, back in my day, which, I'm younger than you, so that technically means my day is after your day, but anyway. When our minds got hijacked by evil AI programs and we ended up in solitary for two weeks, we didn't just stoically pretend, Oh, I'm fine. The fineness. So incredibly fine.

We just, you know, totally freaked out and cried a lot and made very long-distance phone calls to our mothers. Kids these days. That's like one hundredth of a smile right there. Hard parts done. Do you remember much of it? It's, uh... It's starting to, uh, fade. I remember, but the, uh, details are getting blurry. It's like... A bad dream. Yeah. Okay, here we go. Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen, Chapter 1.

No one who had ever seen Catherine Morland in her infancy would have supposed her born to be an heroine. Her situation in life, the character of her father and mother, her own person and disposition were all equally against her. Her father was a clergyman. Without being neglected or poor, and a very respectable man though, his name was Richard, and he had never been handsome. He had a considerable independence.

besides two good livings and he was not in the least addicted to locking up his daughters. So... Yeah, so... Quite a day. You know, I think you may have been right about that box. Yeah, but... Then you saved our asses with that alien thing in the dark. You got Fourier to solve the puzzle by getting the last clue. Yeah, but I was totally stumped with the fishers. Without you, I think you'd still be... You would have figured it out. Not so sure. Call it a draw?

I guess we both had our good moments today. I guess so. There might be a reason we're both here after all. So, tell me, were you tempted? I'll never tell. Good. Me neither. Mostly when everyone's asleep. I... I see. Lambert? What? It's... it's just dumb. Is this your first spacewalk? You were supposed to do ten hours our first week here! I was... kinda scared. Casp! Scandal. Don't tell anyone. My hopes are sealed. of free-floating.

What did we learn today, Isabelle? You had to ruin the moment, didn't you? Sorry, just the way it goes. This isn't real either, is it? Most of it was. Once. Your brain is reabsorbing a lot of information very quickly. It makes sense it would get rearranged into a... story. Of sorts. But this really did happen. In some way or another. Dreams and memories are closer than you might think. I am curious.

Why this day? Out of everything, why come back here? Same reason you tell stories, I guess. There's something I needed to remind myself. That... You're not just what you were made that you can grow. At least when you assholes don't interfere. It's almost time to go. I know. I'm going to really mess you up someday. You know that, right? Uh, well, that's a matter for another day. You ready? Ready for-

She's coming back, but the return trip takes a bit of time. What? Just a little more patience, Eiffel. I'd say we're about halfway there. And once she's back... Training wheels are coming off, kids. Ready or not, here it comes. This has been Wolf 359 by Kinda Evil Genius Productions. Tonight's episode was written by Gabrielle Urbina from a story by Lillian Holman, Cecilia Lynn Jacobs, Sarah Shackett, and Gabrielle Urbina.

It was directed by Gabriella Urbina. The role of Loveless was played by Cecilia Lynn Jacobs. The roles of Lambert and Selberg were played by Zach Valenti. The role of Fourier was played by Beth Eyre. The role of Fisher was played by Peter Coleman. The role of Hui was played by Ariel Estrada. The role of Cutter was played by Scotty Shoemaker. And the role of Eris was played by Mary-Kate Wiles.

Tonight's episode also featured the voices of Emma Shirjarko and Zach Labresco. Tonight's episode also featured Paradise Valley by Honey and the Sting. Hear more of their music at honeyandthesting.bandcamp.com and get connected on their Facebook page at facebook.com slash honeyandthesting. Thank you. This episode was also produced in partnership with Spoke, a social audio app that makes it easy to discover and share the podcasts you love.

There's no way this big, crazy, special episode would be as big or as crazy or as special as it is without their support. Sign up at hearspoke.com. And check out Spoke's expertly curated tracks by podcast lovers for podcast lovers. You'll get to quickly discover the best in audio dramas, news, entertainment, and so many other kinds of shows.

And hey, there may be a couple of audio logs from a certain incorrigible communications officer hidden in there, too. Again, you can sign up to start finding out and sharing great podcasts at hearspoke.com. Visit us at wolf359radio.fm to get full episodes and extras, or follow us on Twitter and Tumblr at wolf359radio for news and extras. And now, here's a short preview of Spoke's exclusive behind-the-scenes feature on the making of this episode.

I'm Rebecca Seidel, and here's a secret that I've been keeping from my equally Wolf 359-obsessed friends for weeks. I was in the studio where Lambert and Hui and Foyer and Fisher finally came to life. I sat in on the recording of the special, and in between mic checks and pickups and snack breaks, I met all the actors who made it happen. It feels very much like someone who lives.

like, right next to me. I do accents. I have a lot of them in my repertoire that I can just pull out, but Ozzy was not one of them. It's super fun to go from playing, like, Slacker McGee... to like stick up the ass, you know, like basically playing like a male, more anal, annoying, grating version of Minkowski.

Pui and I both have that sort of very wicked sense of humour going on and also a little bit of a scatterbrainedness. It is a strange feeling being in the room suddenly when I first saw Cece, we just hugged I think because we were both like, ah! yeah, it's you, which was really lovely. The script is so visual, which I was really surprised by. I actually went back and double-checked. I was like, we're not filming this, right? It's really fun to have.

To have new blood in the mix, a new group of people. Okay, we seem to be rolling. I'm going to be stuck in a booth with these guys for the next two hours. It's going to be great. To hear the entire behind-the-scenes feature, sign up for Spoke at hearspoke.com slash wolf359. Thank you for listening. The Fable and Folly Network, where fiction producers flourish.

Check engine, ABS, or maintenance light on. Take the guesswork out of your warning lights with O'Reilly Veriscan. The service is free and provides a report with solutions verified by ASE certified master technicians. And if you need help, we could recommend to shop for you. Ask for O'Reilly Veriscan today. Oh, oh, oh, O'Reilly. Auto Parts.