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