EPISODE 69: We find Ourselves Within the Frozen Heart of Abyss

0:01It's going to interrupt mygins and my Twenty are singing.

0:41I mean, it's not the first time, but it's the first time we've seen them reappear this quickly multiple times. I'm almost to the quiet reading room, Mr. Kelly. I hate to pull Zeke out of his Sunday morning service, but he said to grab me if they change up the routine. Apologize for me as well, Marshal. Brother Bass, what an unexpected pleasure. You here to join our worship service, come to testify. Uh, no, no, Mr. Keetons. Sorry, I actually, I need to talk to Zeke really quick about an issue we noticed up in operation. I feel you. I'll grab Brother Zeke here for you. You just hang tight for one moment.

1:20Thank you. What the hell? Huh?

1:27Lomi, everything okay? Oh, snap. Is it Kendra? Huh? No, no, no, no, no, but no, no, she's fine. No, they're still 13 weeks away. No, Mr. Kelly detected the radar blips again, except this time they have disappeared three times in an hour, only appearing for 70 seconds or so each time, then blinking out for two or three minutes. Huh, that's new. Appearing and disappearing in the same area? Don't have that much information. Uh, Mr. Kelly? I have Zeke here with me. Has their appearances been close to one another these last few times, or spread out? Oh, sorry to get you out of church, Zeke. They first appeared about 25 miles out at our west, 3 ,000 foot altitude for a full minute.

2:11Then blinked out and reappeared 20 miles to our south about two minutes later, same altitude, but for 45 seconds. They blinked out and were just to our northeast at 32 miles. 2 ,500 feet for 90 seconds. That was five minutes ago. Now they haven't been back since. Hmm. Sounds to me like the aliens are circling us or looking for something. Maybe one of them did a Roswell someplace nearby. Come on, Zeke. We've been through this. It is not aliens. Zeke, is it them aliens again? Oh, it's going to be the aliens, all right. You just watch. Okay, Tommy. I appreciate you filling me in so quickly. I'm going to finish up down here, and then I'll come up and you can show me the playback of the hits and readings.

2:55See if we can figure out what this is. Sounds good, Zeke. At the moment, the prevailing theory up here is aliens. It is not... Everybody, until we can definitely identify what it is, let's not go jumping to extraterrestrial explanations.

3:13Got it, Marshal. We'll see you up here in about an hour, Zeke. Marshal wants to cover it up. He's government. It's an alien government cover-up, y 'all. Little gray man getting up all in our Kool-Aid. The man is covering it up. It's not even noon yet on Sunday, and I'm already getting aggravated. All right, well, I'm going to head back into church. You always invited. I've got an empty seat reserved for you up front each Sunday, Beth. I'm good. Hey, Zeke, what do you hear, like, right now? From inside. I'm not sure. Oh, yeah. Yeah, we let Jesus come in and try his hand with the drums. You know, my man is great with a hammer and wood.

4:01A phenomenal carpenter. But, uh, yeah, he don't play the skins all too well. But it is like they said in Psalm 98-4. We're making a joyful noise onto the Lord. And I'll give you that. But big guy never said his chosen son, Jesus, would have perfect timing, though. Awesome. Chief, we're about to start testifying. Coming back in, Jesus. You don't hear that. No. No, Zeke, I hear Latin chanting. Mind-numbing Roman Catholic chanting. I'm struggling just to stay awake at the moment. But when the door opens, I don't know what you're on about, lawman. But I tell you this, what you get out of church is what you put into it.

4:48And you are always welcome to come in. Maybe another time, buddy. You gave me 10 to 1 odds on them aliens. I know the big guy don't like moneylenders in church, but I am coming for my money, Baz Marlowe. Don't be trying that whole, I'm getting older and I don't hear things, but I shake hands with little green men. Next thing best be happening is you handing me 500 American U.S. greenback dollarinos, you best believe. And don't believe in dealers. Don't believe in aliens. What about the dog man of a problem?

5:19I will never fully understand this place. Alright, one last time.

5:38Yeah, I'm good.

5:47And I can assure you both, I know no more than either of you. I received the same message from Dr. Jovac as you. It says, major, major discovery made. Everybody needs to come to the meeting room. This is bigger than the... In this part, I'm unclear on. Bigger than the creation of the McRib. I don't understand. What in God's name is a McRib? Knowing Jovac, it makes sense in his adult brain and nobody else's. Was he always this out there? Hmm. Carlton was actually one of the most promising minds in the field of applied physics. It was until 1967, when he was at MIT, that he became enthralled with a Dr.

6:31Timothy Leary, and thereafter became, well, excitable. Wow, that actually explains quite a bit. What was it that he and Shepard were looking into, anyway? I'm not quite sure. Several evenings ago, I observed Dr. Jovac working on an equation trying to prove out the... And then he simply froze in place. Concerned this was a stroke or a medical emergency, I turned to look at him and he said, Kaluza Klein. Who's that? Calvin's sister? Kaluza Klein is in the theory? Oh, sorry, Agent Fowler. Kaluza-Klein is a theory in theoretical physics that tries to unify gravity and electromagnetism by adding an extra spatial dimension beyond the three that we know.

7:17Named after Theodore Kaluza and Oscar Klein, basically it suggests that those two fundamental forces might come from the same underlying framework if we look at things in five dimensions instead of four. Wait, the fifth dimension? Oh, you don't think that that's... That's exactly, exactly what I think. Oh, they started the party without a ship. Ladies and gentlemen, standing before you now is Dr. Carlton Edvard Jovac, the first scientist in the history of the world who has solved for not only engulfing a region of null space in a hypercharged gravitational bubble that acts as a gravitational tide lock, but has also determined a way to locate, target, and grab that gravity signature from one brain into our own any time we want.

8:06My middle name is Edvard, but I didn't know I was known to Weedon. Gentlemen, please dispense with the pageantry and proceed to the point where you describe exactly how this miraculous feat may be achieved. Well, although a good magician, magician never reveals his tricks. Presto, I'll let this one pass. The answer boils down to on what has been in front of us the whole time. And that would be what, Grandad? Oh, no, seriously. It's right there. In front of us. You can all see the... Yes, we can see the... Doctor. Why don't you walk us through the theory behind how that will solve our dilemma? Oh, I thought you'd never ask.

8:50Okay, you should all be sitting down. Um, we're already sitting, Doctor. Oh, hell yeah, on the chairs and everything. Well, in string theory and brain world cosmology, our universe is considered to be a three-dimensional brain that exists within a higher dimensional space. Space. The higher dimensions might be beyond our perception, and the brain itself could be interacting with or adjacent to other brains in the bulk. The interactions between these brains could involve complex phenomena, such as gravitational attraction, attraction, or repulsion across the different dimensions. A station traveling between brains within the bulk would experience gravitational or other forces based in the proximity to other objects or stations in the bulk.

9:35The sensor data you brought back from the Canadian station proved that part out. In my hypothesis, a station that is equipped with a particle accelerator might produce specific gravitational or quantum effects that create a strong attractor effect. This attractor could have the power to pull the station from one brain to another or to anchor it within the current brain. especially if there's a null space or gravitational distortion that creates a gravitational well strong enough to overcome the station's motion through the bulk. What we, all of us here, and those on the Canadian station, mind you, need to do is...

10:09This section has been classified by the United States Department of Defense under U.S. Code Title 50, Chapter 44, Subchapter 4, Section 3161. Intriguing, to say the least. Have you run simulations on the theory? We have ran them four separate times. Each time we were able to isolate, tether, stabilize the environment all around the station until the entropic signature of the host brain passed, leaving the station within our native brain once the gravimetric envelope it is encased in synchronizes with thermalization with our own entropic state. We're resetting the computers to run the simulation first thing tomorrow morning.

10:53morning. We figured everybody would want to check this puppy out. Puppy? I swear you're a puppy. Hey, boy. Somewhere. And we shall all convene tomorrow morning when we shall all review the data and simulation ourselves. Oh, you all may go now. Dr. Chovek and I will shut down the monitors in the main labs and see you upstairs for dinner later. Oh, goody. It's Sunday, so Miss Alice is making me dino nuggies for dinner. How fun. Oh, the dino nuggies fear and run from the terrible Jovexaurus Rex. In my mouth you go. Right. Enough loony tunes for me today. Oh, I'll head up with you. I'm meeting Tommy just before dinner.

11:37Meeting Mr. Kelly before supper? Gonna help the lad work up an appetite, are we? Hmm? Oh, he just wants to show me a new Excel formula he came up with that makes the V lookup so obsolete. The Dewey Decimal will mock it for how old it is. Surprised you're showing each other codes this soon in the relationship? You can relax, Agent. I'm being very discreet about the work we do in here. Nothing gets told to Tommy. And I don't know that I'd exactly call it a relationship. Tommy hasn't told me his feelings. Yet. Feelings? Trust me, love. Once you mount him and ride the bull for two or three minutes, he'll be ready to profess his undying bleeding feelings.

12:26They all do regardless if they mean it or not. Why would anyone fancy the opposing team more honestly? I'd prefer to know more about how we feel in regard to one another before we engage in any copulation activities or sexual congress. Oh, love. When you talk about shagging like that, it makes me want to ensure all my tax returns are complete. I know, doesn't it?

12:58Bloody hell. Smells like... Zeke in an airplane loo after eating his spicy crisps. That is rancid. Hmm? Hmm. Smells like aged feces, rotting food decay. Also some urine and... I think axle grease? Maybe some other petroleum product. Very pungent indeed. Oh, how the hell can you... How even... The fuck is that? Agent, no!

13:43It's... It's a... Bumble. A toddler by the look of him? It's a bloody wild creature! Get out of my line of fire! Again? Shh! Please lower your voice, Agent. He's scared enough as it is. Put that thing away! Oh, God, that reeks! Ugh! Hello there, little Bumble. It's okay. No need for that. We're not going to hurt you. I'm a doctor. I help all sorts of people. And bugs. And insects. And one time I caught a lobster and I let him go and he had a little bit of this thing on his, like, underbelly. So, anyways. Sorry. I won't move any closer. I promise. We just want to make sure you're okay. Jocelyn, please radio upstairs to Zeke and the marshal.

14:46Let them know we have a visitor in the ice tunnels and ask them to stop by the galley and pick up a... Lettuce, cabbage, anything leafy and green. Smells like our young friend is an herbivore.

15:04Yeah, I'll tell him to bring gas masks and mop four gear too. That thing is repugnant. Oi, station. We're gonna need people in the ice tunnels.

15:22Taken absolutely no chances with this little one and their arrival. We have excellent medical facilities, but she weren't built to ever contend with the birth. I have specialists flying in from Christchurch, an obstetrician, OBGYN, neonatalist, and anesthesiologist who will be arriving two weeks prior to your due date. They'll be here for the birth, then a few days after, just to ensure everything is good with the wee baby. We more or less have an entire NICU facility being sent down here and will be set up in the large quarters across from my birth. We call that Ward 3. I seriously doubt we'll need it, but better to have it not need it than not have.

15:57If there were any place in all the Southern Hemisphere you'd want to have the baby, this station is it. All things considered, Melbourne sounds quite nice this time of year. Kendra. Look, Dr. Timms, I can't... We can't thank you enough for everything you've done to make this all happen. It's okay, Marshal. Being a first-time mom is pressure enough. Doing so at the South Pole and being the first American to be born on Antarctic soil? That's even more. Not helping, Catherine. Trust me, love. We have everything well in hand. When you first see the face of your little... Oh, almost slipped up. You both sure you don't want to know the sex of the baby?

16:39Positive. Well, you know, I mean, I would... Yep, we are both positive, Catherine. Don't want to know until they are born. Wait, they as in NB sense or twins? Are we having twins? It's baby singular, Marshall. You're not having twins. Pretty sure Charlene would have sniffed that one out months ago if it were the case. Now, let's talk about the events leading up to the baby's arrival on December 19th. I want you here in the morning of the 18th. We'll clear out room one just for you and make sure trauma's all prepped for the big day. We'll hook you up to every monitor we have to keep an eye on you and the baby the entire time.

17:18We'll have all the specialists here for the big day and make sure this goes as smooth as if you were up in muggy old Melbourne. Say, did you know not only will this be the first American baby, but the fourth ever? I was curious, so I looked it up. There were two in the late 20th century, one Chilean and one Argentinian, I think. And then in 2001, a Brit doctor gave birth a month early at a Rothra station. I guess the little one will be among the first children born in Antarctica. Another one for the history books, Marshal. Suppose we should be thankful that this hasn't managed to leak out to the press yet.

17:50I know how much you love the limelight, honey. I can only imagine the drama angles the birth of the ice sheriff's baby stranded out the South Pole would come up with. Let's just focus on you and now, sweetheart. Let the press be for now. Catherine, how confident are you the baby won't come earlier than the end of December? I can't be. We can protect the most likely timeline, but you'll find that babies decide themselves when it's time to pop on out. All I can say is we'll continue to watch and up the frequency of wellness checks to weekly about a month out, just to make sure there are no surprises.

18:25Anything else we should keep in mind? Nothing you aren't already doing, really. Keep taking the vitamins I prescribed, watch for any signs of labor, let me know about any severe headaches or vision changes or swelling. We already talked about the pain management for the birth plan, delivery methods. Nope, I'd say that other than continuing your evening walks around the station, stay on a balanced diet, keep well hydrated, we've covered all the bases that needed to be covered. No, man, you ain't gonna believe this one. Marshall, I don't know what you lads are getting into out there, or what David Big stuck his head into this time.

18:58Lord knows I'll be called down momentarily, I'm sure. But this requires a bit of adult attention. You're damn near 50. Johnson called for you and me to come down to the ice tunnels. Said an iceberg got in time. A baby one. What? I thought we were calling them Bumbles. Honey, go. Deal with that. I'm fine here. And I understand. We're pretty much done anyway, so it's not a problem. You sure? Hmm. Oh, snap, little man. This one of them I shouldn't be calling bath times. Stand by, Zeke. Sorry, Kendra. My bad. Honey, I'm serious. You should go and figure out what all that is about. I'm just going to go get a quick bite in the galley.

19:45I better do that now before you come back smelling all like Bumble. Okay. Zeke, I'll suit up and head down to the tunnels, meet you in five at the door into them by the beer can. Sounds good. I have to stop by the galley and I'm going to pick up lettuce and kale. Apparently, we already take our food joint for ice cream now, I guess. Ooh, kale. That sounds really good. I think baby actually wants a salad after hearing that. Stay safe, sweetie. Be back soon. You too, little deputy. Scientist. Mm-hmm.

20:23Recording started.

20:29Oh, wow. That smell. It's like you and Taki. Okay, number one, rude. Number two, can't have Little Bit coming to the station. It just don't belong in there. Anyway, got us a baby Icefoot chowing down his second head of lettuce and third bunch of kale over there. He's a hungry little bugger. I'm calling him Little Foot. I call dibs on naming him, by the way. Talk about smelling them coming a mile away. Sheesh. Yeah, it's best to breathe out your mouth for now. It does help, man. So that's a bumble, huh? Well, I guess there's no denying they really exist anymore. Oh, no, you were actually right.

21:10Bumbles don't exist, because that little man right there is an Icefoot. Right, because rebranding is what matters most right now. Thank you. Finally, someone who gets it. Zeke, what's more important, what we call him or how we deal with it? Yeah, all right, all right. I feel it, I feel it. If this was a baby bird or a squirrel that ran into our house back home, Mama would just chase it out with a broom and that was that. Just, man, I don't feel right with Littlefoot. Now, I agree with you. I'd feel better if he knew for sure he'd make it back safe to his people. How the hell did he even get this far into the station?

21:45None of us can even take three steps into those tunnels and not without putting nasty grams from ops on the radio. Yeah, not through the station proper, that is for sure. You would have been smelt for sure long before you made it this far. There are tracks coming from the other side of the tunnels. Well, then that means he either came through the emergency exit hatch and down the ladder, or more likely wandered in through the emergency door down by Tunnel C, over by the ice berms. Huh. I'm trying to think if the crew did say they've been seeing most signs of ice feet down that way in the past week.

22:19All right, let's lead him back that way, and then we'll be back. Stay back, a few feet behind me. I apologize for raising my voice to you, but he obviously hates men. I suspect his is a female-led tribe. He's only responding positively to me. Sorry about my tone once again. No apologies necessary. Yeah, that was my bad, little man. Should have lived with that part when you got here. Dr. Lorenz here said that she and Jocelyn found Littlefoot. They said he was being all cautious, but let them approach and wasn't all worked up once he saw they were girls. Sorry, women. Man, I've got to get better at this.

22:58When I tried to handle some veggies myself, that did not go over very well. Hey, where is Jocelyn? She said the smell was making her overly nauseous, so I told her I'd handle this and for her to go on. Okay. Now we still have the same question on how to handle this. I mean, we're nearing the end of the winter season, and the Bumbles will be heading back to wherever it is they live during the summer. What are we going to do? Well, not sure there's ice feet. Here's much you and I can do. Little man wants something to do with us, man. Hey, Dr. Lorenz, you have been down here a while now. This long and minus six-degree temps is going to catch up with you pretty soon.

23:39You sure you don't want us to take over? I'm okay for a little while longer, Zeke. I've been trying to solve this problem the last little while, and I think I may have a plan to resolve everything. Okay, Doctor, I mean, this is more your expertise rather than Zeke or my own. What's your plan? It comes down to the old question of nature or nurture. However, in this instance, the answer is both. Nature. We're not built to survive in his natural habitat, and I'm pretty sure if we bring him to any heated room or area, he won't stand for it. There is also the smell that he emits. We need to bring him back outside and get the other Bumbles to come to us.