Trash Planet contains themes of desperation and
poverty. We portray a comedic, absurd, and violent
world. For a full list of content warnings, please
see the episode description. You guys are scooting
around. You have a miserable night inside this
rubbly building. You're pulling out the fruit
snacks. You're pulling out the gorp. Over time,
we're watching this shape get closer and closer
on the horizon. At first it was exciting, and
now it's taken so long. You're just like, mm
-hmm, yep. And so this thing that is approaching
is approaching at a walking pace. Over time,
it comes into focus a little bit more. The sun
is dawning over the horizon. Beautiful green
sky. Good morning, trash planets. And we see
a big, crazy patchwork sail. Like, imagine the
sail of a tall ship. It's scooting towards you
slowly. And beneath it, we see a big structure
that is just sort of a bunch of shit heaped up
underneath it. Uh, this is a roving sledge. And
so what a sledge is, is we took this, like, 20
to 30 foot patch, and we made it float like we
gave it skimmer engines. but it's going real
low and slow, so it can just scoot around the
wasteland using low power, just going where it
needs to go, a little bit of wind power, a little
bit of jet power, and a bunch of us live on here,
and this is a roving sledge. So what we're seeing
are tents, and we're seeing like ramshackle little
buildings vertically, and this thing is so perilous
as it's going, it's just like... Like it's like
barely scooting over hills. It looks it just
zooms down at the other side of it, too Oh, man.
Oh, man. No, it's okay. They got it Yeah, I think
it's closer we see, you know, the main sail is
patchwork sails doing some of the work We got
jet engines on this thing, but beneath it We
see like a little personalized sail which Emma
would recognize immediately if she was awake,
but she's not this is handmade It is a big cartoon
tooth Like, a human tooth on a black sail, a
big white tooth. As this sledge comes closer,
there's someone on the deck of it, and it truly
is walking pace. Like, there's also people just
sort of, like, lightly jogging next to it. There's
somebody on a really small skimmer just scooting
out, like, I don't know if they're scouting or
if they're looking for things, you know? This
is sledge life. It's like, you have your people
who stay on the sledge, you have your people
who go out and get supplies or take care of it.
And so, when it gets closer, Somebody on the
little skimmer zooms up to you, and you see another,
like, crazy Robin outfit, big colors and patterns,
scrappy, flapping in the wind. The skimmer looks
beat to shit. It is threadbare. It's like four
pipes and a seat. And so this person zooms up
to you and goes, Tooth problem? Oh, yeah, I'm
sorry. Tank Bosman, honorary Robin. I was deputized
by Enla. And I shake, I reach my hand out, like,
to shake hands. And then the birthday boy also
has a hand out. They look at you unreacting.
They're just sort of like, Enla? Yeah. Yeah.
She told me if there's ever an emergency and
she's out of commission. A tooth emergency. I
guess. I don't know. She didn't really specify
what kind of emergency. She just kind of told
me what to play. Do you need a dentist or not?
I mean, I haven't had dental work done in a long
time. All right. Saddle up. Get your shit. Okay.
Yeah. But like you know Enla, right? No, but
I said rovin right? Oh, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. What's
your sledge? The one that she came from all right,
man, let's see those teeth. You're clearly addled
in the brain And so you've been invited to go
hang out on a rovin sledge Yeah, are you guys
gonna gather up camp and get out here I'll ask.
Hey, do you have Do you have room on the sledge
for a night pig carcass? Night pig carcass? Yes,
we have one in here and I'm sure it could help
feed your camp for a few days. Yeah, it's as
big as a Jeep Wrangler. and then we smash cut
to all of you hanging out on the deck of this
sledge with a beautiful barbecue happening behind
you like they just hauled this pig out here you
got bits of it hanging up blood's dripping off
some of it is already being barbecued some of
it they're like trying to skin it they're trying
to move for parts and we see a bunch of different
people rushing around this sledge is maybe 20
by 30 foot it is hovering like a foot and a half
off the ground it's real low like it's a little
spooky and when you step on you notice one of
the rovens is like judging your weight and is
like, all right, call it three stone, and then
just hucks a bucket off the side. Like somebody,
like, you know, they're very careful about the
weight of what is coming on and what is going
off. Yeah, there's maybe five or six people here.
This main roving you were talking to, they've
got like a blue scarf. They're like Meridian.
This is the 230, obviously. Uh, so. Of course
it is. So I'm Meridian. We have Doraway who's
working right now, but we can get you in right
afterwards. Oh, cool. Cool. Yeah. I haven't had
dental work done in a really long time. Priorities
tank. Can you look after unless she's... I mean,
with all due respect, Connie, I don't think hers
is a tooth emergency. Yes, but these people might
know medicine. I think it's pretty clear they
know dentistry. Which I know, dentists are also
doctors. Yeah, do we know any dentists? Are we
roasting someone on there? We have one dentist
listener who's like, fuck these people. And so
now we are now in downtime. You guys are just
kind of going to be on this sledge scooting around
until you tell me you want to go elsewhere. But
yeah, it's always two downtime actions. And you
can wake up whenever you want. People are taking
care of you. You got knocked pretty hard. But
when you're ready, yeah, who would like to do
a downtime action first? Also, Tank, you are
going to have to get your teeth done. Is that
going to be one of my downtime actions? Maybe.
I don't know. Oh, and it bears repeating. So
the actions we can do, acquire asset, build trust,
community project, escape stress, patrol, personal
project, recover, train, and a new one, community,
which it will take off a little bit of stress
in the short term, but there's also a long -term
effect that you don't know about because just
like real community work, you never know how
it's gonna go. So yeah, just putting that out
there. That is an option. So Meridian is chatting
with Tank, who's just been the chattiest so far.
So yeah, we're heading south right now, headed
to the Big Pig for quarterly check -ins. No,
that's what I would have done too, yeah. Who
are you, dude? What is this? Tank Bosman. Should
I know? I mean, I'm kind of the newest member
of the Fresco Fuzz. You'll hear about me, I'm
sure. All right. They look at you suspiciously.
Are you a big tickball person? No. No? Well,
the cool thing about tickball is it's a mix of
rugby and wrestling. Meridian just walks away.
Meridian's got shit to do. So this sledge is
heading south and the library is north. Guys,
I don't think we're going to make it to the library.
They're kind of going the other way right now.
I don't know, Connie, you're usually the one
with the big plans, but... Maybe it kind of seems
like we might need to regroup. I'll just, I'll
talk to them. I'll talk to Meridian. Meridian,
you've been most gracious letting us rest on
your sledge, but could I trouble you to go northward?
We need to, we have a destination that we really
need to get to, and our skimmer was unfortunately
wrecked halfway through, which is why we needed
your help. Tumblebrat? They're looking at your
blue head, and something in their eyes, you're
not quite sure what you're looking at. Yeah,
like you've been speaking, they're just like
not listening to what you're saying. Like they're
just trying to get a read off you. Yes, but that's
not relevant right now. We could - Why'd they
kick you out? Is this necessary? You tell me.
I mean, strangers we don't know with an unconscious
roving for all I know, you beat her up. I don't
know what you're - You know, it would let you
onto our sledge, sell you some pig. I mean, I
appreciate the pig. Okay, I - Wait, they're selling
us Okay, fine. If it'll help you trust me a bit
more. I attacked a speaker. In my opinion, he
had it coming, but it happened. So here I am.
Endless a friend. Why would I... Honestly, that
offends me more than you bringing up my past.
We're just trying to get to the library. Give
me a fortune roll. So straight D6. That's a four.
All right. Okay. Meridian kind of looks at you.
like really takes a beat and you watch them kind
of look off into the distance. It's your first
time being around a lot of Robins at once. And
they're just really on a different rhythm than
people in the city. Like you feel yourself trying
to give out a lot of urgency and a lot of like,
ah, the directions, the thing, you know, Meridian
is looking at the horizon for a second and like,
um, and they close their eyes for a second and
say, when I was in the city, the temple kicked
me out of one of the volunteer centers for smoking.
What were you smoking? Couldn't tell you smacks
you on the back walks away But that was a success
I mean, I don't know something interesting there.
Yeah, who would like to do a downtime action
here? Tank is ready for his his tooth appointment
So you smell delicious night pig barbecue. I
think a weird thing about night pigs is that
the meat disintegrates so quickly. Like that's
one of the reasons that we aren't like farming
night pigs and stuff. They're very difficult
to manage. They're incredibly violent. And also
we've got to eat or do something with all this
right now. And so there's just big like food
energy. Like you're Setting all this stuff up.
You're like, oh smells so good feeling good.
And then someone leads you up to like, okay This
is doorway's office. She'll take a look at you
and door opens and you see like a horror show
like medical situation It's all white. It's all
like plastic surfaces reflective that kind of
dirty yellow latex and like 40s medical stuff
You see a figure in all white with like huge
teal gloves like face mask on the whole deal
She goes all right lay it on me I'm here to just
get some, like a dental checkup. Doorways says,
I was told this was a dental emergency. I was
told that you were unconscious. No, no, it wasn't
me. It was someone who was unconscious. I'm operating
on an unconscious person. Where is this person?
Okay. I'll be right back. I was told this was
for me, but obviously there was some sort of
miscommunication. I'm going to go get NLAB. Are
you awake or not? And then, I'm like... Like
groggy. Yeah, you were just, like, stuck under
Tank's arm next to the nanite birthday boy, still
on the front. And I returned back with Enla,
and I'm in a nurse's outfit, and so is the birthday
boy. I'm here to learn. Doro is like, all right,
all right, get her on the table. And are you
awake at this point? Yes, definitely a little
dazed and confused as to where the hell I am
What is going? We're I'm here to fix your teeth
my my teeth. I'm just told there was a dental
emergency Dental um last I remember was a night
pig and some cake like Emma nothing like it was
the whistle like to signal Any nearby rovens?
Or was it a specific dental face? I feel like
it was any roven. Yeah, it was any roven. But
I think that what has happened is they were emergency
signals and they're a dentist thing, you know?
Like that's what's happening here. Okay, okay,
okay, okay. Open wide. Sticks her finger in.
She's like, beautiful chompers, lovely. Tank
is right behind the dentist taking notes. Would
you say you have a problem with any of these
teeth? No. Then why the fuck are you in my office?
That's a question I'd also like to know. One
coin please. Okay. Whoa, whoa, whoa. Hold on.
I was kind of told that we have a dental emergency.
This seems like a shakedown right now. No, I
will give you one coin if... You teach me a little
bit more about dentistry. I'm a bit of a medicine
man myself. Doraway looks at you intently. Smash
cut 80s montage. You spend one of your downtime
actions just like doing dentist shit, being a
dental assistant. It's great shit. Does that
give me extra care? We'll actually take that
as a community project, as you get plus one community.
Hey, our community has someone who has medical
training of some sort. In dentistry. So Emily,
you skedaddle out of there, your head is ringing,
Doraway has got like a bone saw out, and she's
like, at first it's a scary shot, and she's like,
I never use this, I just keep it in case we do
an 80s montage. Okay, okay, that makes sense.
Step one, get bone saw. I think you're having
a beautiful day shadowing your way. She's working
on routine medical stuff. Like you see a few,
there's a couple of Rovens around who are not
part of this sledge, who genuinely did come out
here on skimmers, just looking at like cavities
or pain or whatever it is. So you get to see
a lot of people's mouths today. And that's one
of your downtime actions. Remove too stress.
There you go. Yeah. Yeah. Enla, you're back on
a skimmer sledge. I think the camera tracks with
you as you are kind of stumbling down. This whole
place is crazy. Like there's no it's all ropes
and ladders and shit piled up and stuff falling
under your feet. People are annoyed at you because
you don't know how to move on here. So, you know,
you're just clanking around. A little bit shocking.
Your first time back on a sledge in a minute.
Yeah, I envision that Enla, as soon as she like
steps outside out of the dentist office, she
immediately realizes where she's at. maybe not
recognize the exact sledge, but no, she's on
a sledge. Can I just say like camera wise, I
totally imagine this as like one of those single
take things that like follows Enla from the back.
She steps outside and it's like super overexposed.
Her hand goes up to her eyes or her eyes. Yeah,
no, I love that. That's exactly what I was picturing.
So that's great. So yeah, Enla's going to be
like, oh crap, back on a sledge. So. I think
for her, the biggest thing is trying to feel
better. So yeah, she doesn't have anything wrong
with her mouth, but her head really fucking hurts.
So she's going to try to find some healer that
could potentially help her without harm. Okay.
Tank is doing nurse stuff right now. Do you think
you would go to your buddies or would you go
to one of the rovens here? I mean, not the tank
isn't great, but he seems like he's very invested
in the dental school that he's going through.
So I think I'm going to do my best to try to
see if there's maybe a roven that works in head
injuries that's around. OK, all right. Give me
a fortune roll. That's a six. Oh, all right.
So we see you know, we're that beautiful one
shot We spend a lot of time and coordination
and money on this incredible It was three weeks
of shooting for this one shot, man. We worked
really hard So you're stumbling around this ship
is different than yours yours headed It was a
lot wider and a lot slower and you only went
on established routes. But yeah, this one's just
ranging around freely. You would guess there's
about 15 people that sleep here regularly. You're
noticing hammocks, you're noticing little cubbies.
And you notice in particular someone with kind
of bosen energy who has a clipboard. This is
the person who was dealing with your weight.
Like as people were stepping on, he was hucking
stuff onto sledges that are trailing on ropes
behind. And so this guy is wandering around looking
at stuff. Yeah. It's like big, thick guy, like
a fat, stable, missing one arm and seems really
on it because the second you walk up, he double
takes at you and is like, photos enlarged while
you wait. Hey, Patria. It's actually inla now.
Good. Catchy. Yeah. It's a little faster. You
have grown a whole lot. Thanks. Yeah. How's your
old man? I mean, last I checked, he was pretty
good. Yeah. Yeah. You know, still zipping around,
doing his thing. He's with the skimmers now,
right? Yep. Yeah. Okay. Yeah. And mom's up north,
you know. Yeah. Okay. Yeah. Heard the spoolie
had a flip a couple weeks ago. Oh, really? Yeah.
Everybody's okay. Oh, good. Good. That's good
to hear. Yeah. Man. Good to see you. How's city
life? Oh, city life is great. I've made some
amazing friends. You met them as they came on
board, I guess. Yeah. Yeah. I actually, I kind
of hurt myself pretty bad in that. in our last
little fight with the night pig. All right. Take
a seat. Take a seat. OK. It just wanders you
through an incredible weird route, up ladders,
down ladders. It's like those videos of Chinese
apartment buildings where it's like you go up
some stairs and you're like deep underground
and then you go down some stairs and you're on
the 13th floor. You know, very beautiful. So
Patrick, as he's walking, he's like, yeah, we've
been doing OK out here. You know, doorways running
a tight ship. I really appreciate our crew. I
got some concerns about Tarby. I mean, you know,
she sucks. It's always hard to have somebody
that's difficult on deck. I haven't seen you
in so long. You settle down. I like where I'm
at. It's not the same as the spoolie, but it's
nice to have something new every day. You must
know about that living in the city. We certainly
have quite a lot of adventures. so he's taking
you into a back office where you see a real proper
bed and this is clearly for the use of like people
who need it like you know you're not sleeping
on a bed just to sleep on a bed out here and
so he starts opening drawers he's pulling out
various objects and clanky little bits he's like
okay candle aromatic salts uh i got the he pulls
out some like massage tools you know those spiky
balls and shit you know he's like if you want
these i don't really know what to do with them
Doraway would know but she's busy Can I borrow
them? Absolutely. Sweet. Inlet takes them and
puts them in one of her mini pockets. He didn't
mean take, but he cocks an eyebrow and he's like,
okay. It's like, listen, all right, I'm going
to come back for you in about two hours. Do whatever
you need to do. It's good to see you safe, kid.
I mean, the city's rough these days. Yeah, but
there's pros and cons for sure. You heard about
that serial killer? Yeah, shank shank, right?
Yeah. Yeah, pretty rough stuff pretty pretty
scary. Yeah sure Well, I'm glad to see you. Okay.
Glad to see you still focused on what matters.
Of course my art and that's all that really matters
Patrick is like like I Mean you're still doing
that. Of course I am and I don't know this last
Slash brushes it left me with feeling. I just
it's more important than ever. So You look at
your spiky massage ball. You're like, there's
something there. What am I going to do with this?
Disinspecting it, turning it around. He's like,
all right, we'll leave you to it. Heads out.
And you are going to roll 2D6, because NPCs roll
their quality level. And this is a quality guy.
That is a two and a four. OK. You fill in two
segments on your healing clock. All right, I
am healed. Hey, okay. So what does it look like
when you just really truly get to breathe for
a minute? Well, due to my new trauma, and less
become more obsessed with her art. So her breathing
means that she can start to like sketch out and
plan her artwork. So she is started to go around
the room and find any pieces of like random pieces
of paper or fabric that she can draw on and she
started to maniacally draw different diagrams
to build her next invention. Beautiful. Doesn't
sound very relaxing, but I'll take it. Who would
like to go next in downtime? Lottie right now
is trying to act normal at the meal, but she's
got two juice brands stopping her from doing
that. So she's just like, she found that the
hide of the pig is close enough to leather that
it's palatable to her. Another thing like they
give us skewers with the pig on it. You're just
eating the skewer But not only that people keep
getting annoyed with her because they get shocked
while they're walking How big is the shock is
it like static shock or like like electrocute
shows your skeleton It shows your skeleton. Oh
my god, you're having a bad picnic. There's a
very unhappy, singed -looking roving like 10
feet away. Amazing. Lottie, what would you like
to do with your action? I know one of the actions
I want to take is recovering. I don't know if
I can get medical attention while my... G -Spring
is actively trying to prevent something from
helping me, but I could try that, or I could
just try like resting. Yeah, you could go to
one of your buddies, you could wait till Tank
is free at night, or you could try to find a
roving to help you out. It is a stab wound that
feels like something rovings would be able to
handle. Absolutely. It has been no help so far.
So you have your weird barbecue, your flash and
electricity, I think it kind of tingles and hurts
you every time it goes on. and you're eating
your weird objects and you're, these robins are
not super sociable. They're extremely busy. You
know, nobody is just chilling out on the deck.
Like you three are just cluttering up the area.
Can I add another, another thing adding to their
busyness is like the sledge is being swarmed
by vertebrates a little bit because Tank is still
delicious and monsters and we have a big barbecue
happening. So like the ones patrolling around
just have to be kicking away. Oh my god, they're
actually trying to like, like people do eat vertebrates
and so they're like, Tank, get out the back,
like just dangle your legs off. It's like vertebrates
sprinting up after you. Sledge at walking speed.
Yeah, this is fun. Let's call it that night.
We've been tooling around all day. Stars are
out. Beautiful night on Trash Planet. You are
still heading south. You're going at a walking
speed. So this will take you, I don't know, two
weeks to reach the Big Pig. So you have plenty
of time before you're anywhere in particular.
I think it would be really funny if I went to
the dentist while Tank was working there. All
right. You head up. It's the end of the shift.
Doorway is covered in blood. What's up, shithead?
I'm in my internship now and I learned bedside
manner. The doorway's like, yes, yes. Sorry,
sorry. She said I have to, like, degrade the
patience. You have to give them reasonable expectations,
okay? You have to show them that you're not soft
because the world is not soft, okay? Anyway,
what can we do for you? Tank, how long have you
been working here? Approximately six and a half
hours. You brought your uniform with you? I think
you should know that I always bring my uniform
with me. Good to know. Yeah, so I have a stab
wound on my shoulder. Can I have somebody maybe
other than Tank try to fix it? I know it's not
a tooth, but I figured you guys can handle stitches.
Doorway looks at you Tank is like, are you disrespected
by this? I am a little disrespected. I've taken
care of her many times. And now that I have more
training, I'm being disrespected like this. But
sure, if you want to go with me, I could charge
you one coin and then that would. Well, it's
just that Tank has the birthday boy attached
to him. And I'm kind of in the middle of my sentence,
like a jolt of electricity. Oh, let's fortune
roll. Let's see, does your electricity help out
the birthday boy? Give me a straight D6, just
the one. I got a six. Don't worry the birthday
boy will scrub up as well you do the Michelangelo
painting of the two fingers reaching out You
know God and man Zack between birthday boy like
instantly perks up looking a lot more solid something
it shudders like old -school Wall Street the
way that those numbers take over except that
all the way up his body and now he's in scrubs
Would you like Tank to roll or would you like
Dora Way to roll? I'm gonna go ahead and let
Tank do it. Okay! Alright, alright. Tank, what
are you gonna do? I am going to roll care. I
think part of this this 80s montage, like we're
doing a lot of medical stuff and then for a brief
second it cuts to us in like an old lady type
home with a bunch of like needlepoint like stitching
and she's teaching me how to sew. Makes sense,
makes sense. That was my training for sewing
up wounds. Makes total sense. Please roll care.
Does Tank get a plus one? Well you've got the
birthday boy on you. I'll allow it just in this
scenario. Get the birthday boy. You've got the
experienced eyes doorway. She's just this wiry
little old lady. Like she's been around forever.
She's cool Give me a six, but I also rolled a
one that is three segments on your recovery clock.
Yeah. Yeah punching air right now Take describe
your incredible sewing job. That is so good.
So effective Tank uses like a really fancy stitching
method like almost like a when you have like
an invisible hem in it's just like immaculate
I think you do a perfect flawless it's like you
said you pull it through and the thread disappears
like it's so elegant and then you just embroider
a little like tb perfect where are we at on that
clock now three out of four a lot of you feel
a lot better you feel a lot less tapped congrats
to you Doraway is just talking she's just like
You've probably been around long enough. We're
about the same age, aren't we? It's good to use
this medical expertise. You know, it's good to
be out here helping the people. What do you do?
Oh, I'm a little bit of a pharmacist in a way.
Okay. Okay. That's respectable. Plants. Yes.
What's your favorite plant? Oh, but there's so
many. Um, I think melons are so much fun. I've
been trying to grow my own lately. That's extraordinary.
Did you know that they have an incredible paste
powder? Like, they can become a very, very strong
adherent if they are properly treated with. And
she gives you some, like, chemicals and some
names of things. You have gained some information
about the properties of ennobly. Awesome. I can
make super close. Yeah! Who would like to do
a downtime action? I think I'm gonna de -stress.
Like many a ship, I assume that there are dice
games aboard. Yes! So I'm 100 % gonna join in
on whatever gambling is happening on this ship.
This is now a Liar's Dice podcast. I fucking
love Liar's Dice. I think it's one of the best
gambling games. Alright, you follow your heart
and your intuition and you find two teenage girls
slacking off in a corner. They are throwing dice
and hanging out. they look up at you suspiciously
is there room for one more whatever this game
is i'd love to learn depends what you're putting
down one coin buy -in let's do it incredible
all right roll your de -stress and then give
me a fortune roll to find out how this goes and
i will take one coin from you if you do bad uh
okay this is the de -stress roll the second one
will be the fortune roll it's three I'm at three
now. Okay. Responsible. Yeah. Now the fortune
roll. And the two. You lose one coin. It's just
gone I think what happens is you feel the thrill
of you know gambling will it happen Is this the
one and then you just watch this girl cheating
like shit, you know, she's good at it She's smooth
and she absolutely hustles your ass So we are
down one coin, but are we down to because the
dentist you're right. We're down to yeah Yeah,
but we haven't added the gains for selling the
night pig yet. That's true. Okay, let's clean
that up who would like to handle that negotiation.
It's gonna be one roll. We flush back to Meridian
standing next to this night pig carcass. Tank
is holding it like a fish in a dating profile.
Meridian is saying one coin. No, look at the
size of this thing. Obviously it's at least three.
Give me a roll here. Give me some kind of thing.
This could feed your sled curb. Who knows how
long? It's counterpoint. It's dirty meat. Look
at it. It's disgusting. You know, this goes on
for 45 minutes. This takes forever. First wave?
Sure. That's a three. One coin. Who would like
to do another downtime action? Tank is wrapping
up his his education. There's a graduation ceremony.
There's like a bunch of chairs like set out and
there's only like three people in the audience
and doorway is like up there handing me like
a degree we like shake hands both for a picture.
And then after after tanks new education I think
the it starts to set in on him that like he's
got a big game coming up and He needs to prepare
the the sludge is big, right? He's gonna go try
and find someone who deals in juice especially
like maybe someone who's like got like a unique
niche juice Do you want to give me a fortune
roll? Yeah, this is not your actual role to see
if you get it. This is just that's a six All
right. So you're scrambling around on this sledge.
You're looking for juice. You're looking for
people to know about juice. You keep finding
yourself back on the main deck just because it's
so uncomfortable traveling on the sledge. Everything
is so small and so cramped and you don't know
your way. You keep kicking stuff over. So you
just keep coming back out on the deck. I open
a door. I go in the room and then I open the
other door and suddenly I'm back on the main
deck like, what just happened? And so watching
you is Meridian in the blue head scarf. And they're
just like, what are you looking for? I'm looking
for a juice hookup. They open like a bandolier
type thing. Like they undo some layers. They
take off a, you know, and you see bandoliers
of juice vials. Different colors, different vibes.
What's your poison? I don't know. I'm kind of
a meat guy. So I'm actually kind of like... the
prophet of a meat god. So I think it's my calling.
Meridian looks at you, sees that you are absolutely
telling the truth and does not question this
whatsoever. Meridian's just like, all right,
man. It starts uncapping, like just grabbing
vials out, looks at one, sets it aside, looks
at the other, says, this one's a bit of a robust
blend. Ooh, I like that. There's depth. There's
tenor to it. Any tasting notes? It's like a scream
in lowercase. Powerful, restrained, dripping
in verve. That's the word, right? Verve? Yeah,
I think so. Okay. I thought so, too. Meridian
hands you a blood red vial. Just looks like blood.
You feel a crackle of energy off it. The birthday
boy goggles up at it suspiciously. I keep forgetting
he's there. Two coin. Two coin for the wildest
ride of your life. Two coin for the slip and
slide of violence. Deal. Hands smacked together,
predator handshake, wah! 80's sting. You have
acquired juice vial. This is a vial of meat juice.
This is the meat suit. We cut over, Lottie, you've
been on a deck chair just sort of watching this
happen. What's your take on this situation? Lottie
is just looking at Tank extremely confused because
she knows that he's not lying in that bit he's
saying about being a prophet. Tank, you've spent
the group's money. How are you feeling about
that? Tank does not think about it at all. In
this moment, he's not thinking about the rest
of the group. Yep. Also, he doesn't get paid
for the screening slides, so in his mind, it's
like, yeah, yeah, I get to spend some of this
money sometimes. Who would like to go next? I'll
go. All right. Enla, what are you up to? OK,
so Enla is gearing up to want to create more
artwork, but also sees that there's a potential
problem here with her skill level with some of
her art project ideas that she has. So she would
like to train. Ooh, what are you going to train?
I'd like to train on prowess, which includes
fight, sneak, and wreck. I like that this is
the art. You're like, well, I have to learn how
to destroy and sneak. Well, if I'm building,
the logic is if I'm building something out of
trash, I need to be able to wreck said trash
to be able to pull parts off of it. There you
go. What does it look like in the moment? Bullshitting
at its best. So in the moment it looks like me
jumping off of the sledge at various times as
we're going over the mounds of trash and picking
up assorted things and just like going absolutely
crazy on them. I'm obsessed at this point, right?
I'm traumatized. So I'm literally imagining like
tugging and pulling and jumping and just like
constantly just trying to get all the little
pieces, any piece of anything off. And Liz making
her own personal like, you know, those rec rooms
where you go and just smash stuff. That's exactly
the energy, yes. That's the whole planet, baby.
Oh, man. Okay, so the scene is bright sun overhead,
sledge creaking along, an endless sprinting off
the back, scooping up an arm pole, like loud
noises, things shattering, things getting thrown,
sprinting right back up the sledge, hop back
on, covered in scratches. This continues for
some time, sounds like. I find myself like a
long pole bar -shaped thing and just like start
beating things with it. So yeah, that means I
get, that's just one, right? Or is there anything
that's there? Yeah, we don't have any bonuses
on the prowess. Just one up for my prowess. Incredible.
How are you feeling after all this? And Liz,
it's nice to have a little bit of touch of home
being back on a sledge, but it's also like a
little bit of a feeling of failure because she
wants to get back to where she can do more of
her art and She's learned from experience that
people on sledges don't really care for art,
for her own art at least. The simultaneous, oh
no, it's too real. The artists need for their
art to be seen and also the absolute horror of
someone seeing your art. Yeah, that's interesting.
There are people on this ledge, there are people
looking over and watching you sometimes. There
are people on little skimmers zipping around
and you're just in full public view just sprinting,
sweat trickling down your forehead. You're tired.
You feel frantic, gnawing energy. Then after
some time, someone sort of waves at you and it's
Doraway. This is the medical lady, mad doctor
energy. And she's like, hi, sweetie. Hey, Doraway.
She reaches forward and puts both hands on your
shoulders. And she's shorter than you. So it's
kind of like eighth grade prom kind of vibe.
Both shoulders. She looks you very sincerely
in the eye and she says, I was so sorry to hear
about your uncle, Reddy. Yeah. Yeah. I don't
know. I'm kind of still holding out hope that
He's okay, but it's it's been a while since anyone's
seen him. Robins never die, right? Robins never
die. Yeah. Well, a lot of them have been not
dying lately. So. Oh. Solo Rangers, you know,
that's why it's good to be on a sledge, isn't
it? Much safer than the city and, you know, not
corrupting and able to focus on what really matters.
Health. Yeah. She grins at you, her teeth are
perfect. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And I could not believe
she still has both of her arms on your shoulders
like you're just having this whole conversation
like, uh, um, I could not believe what happened
to Volper Tanger. I mean, I hope that does not
happen to you. All right. You have to promise
me that you won't let the city influence you
like that. Wait, Volpe? What about Volpe has
been influenced by the city? Well, they were
cast out. You haven't heard? No. This story takes
a long time. She has both hands on your shoulders,
little brittle old lady hands, takes so long,
you're sweating, sun overhead. Well, of course,
you know, they stole from the skimmers' trust,
and so then the Rovens obviously, we can't jeopardize
that relationship, so they said you have to bring
it back, and they wouldn't, and so obviously
they're out of good graces for now, until the
situation changes in some way. Vulpurtinger?
We're talking about Vulpurtinger? Yes, the puppet
bitch. I just, I feel like I just saw them and
they didn't say anything about us. Where? You
look in her eye, sharp look in her eye. Where?
They came by the city and we waved from afar.
Why don't you give me some kind of a role here?
I'm calling a risky standard. Up to you if you're
going, sure. Persuade, feels like a persuasive.
Five. That's a five, okay. She's still looking
at you, for some reason this works. She doesn't
know what happens in a city. She's like, hmm,
well. They have to bring the exosuit back or
else you know what happens to thieves. And you
do know, uh, they cut off your hand. Wow, I just,
I would never have pegged Volpe as a thief. That's
what happens when you move to the city. Your
priorities change. I mean, they wouldn't shut
up about their stupid puppet show. And this is
exactly why I left. Like, you guys are so judgmental
and the city isn't all bad. She finally takes
both her hands off your shoulder and she says,
We depend on the skimmers' trust to live. We
depend on them for our equipment. We depend on
them for our way of life. We need that relationship.
We cannot jeopardize it for something as foolish
and temporary as art. As just anything, any one
person is not worth all of us out here living.
Surely you can understand that. Of course I understand
that. I just mean that... I found some really
amazing people in the city, and growing up it
was always about how scary and evil and bad the
city is, but I found that it's actually kind
of warm and nice. She just looks at you. I don't
think she's hearing you. She's sensing the threat.
Kind of purses her lips. Well, you be careful.
Above all else, you be careful. Of course, you
too, doorway. Take care of those teeth. Yes,
ma 'am. Show me your teeth. Enla smiles real
big. Six out of ten. She walks away. Thank you,
Enla. Who would like to go next? I want to recover
the juice burn I have that's making me hungry
for objects again. Because I only have one tick
on that, so it should be easy to get off. Alright,
well this is a one -clock, so you're gonna get
it no matter what. What is the thing that Lottie
does in your solitude, in your hangout -itude
that is gonna take care of this problem? Towards
the evening as everyone's winding down and having
like their dinners and stuff like that Lottie
is kind of like Trying to retrain herself to
have normal foods So she cooks up some a regular
meal, which currently looks revolting to her
and it's just like using it to supplement the
junk she's eating and trying to, like, wean herself
back onto food. We've still got that huge night
pig, like, roasting on a spit. So beautiful,
so juicy. It's a big, beautiful barbecue. Everybody's
chatting, having a great time. Lottie is picking
sadly at this incredible meat, an unbelievable
privilege, and looking mournfully at a pile of
what that is also on the plate? The lettuce from
the same pig. Ah, it's a living. I do love that
you've gotten this again. Because you said the
first time that this is something you've had
before. It's like a juice burn. You just keep
getting it. I think that kind of works that way
with juice burns. The more often you get something,
the more likely you are to get it. You are down
to one juice burn. You are still emitting a little
bit of electricity. Who would like to go next?
I think I'm walking around the deck of this thing,
like maybe looking at an old discarded magazine
with like parts in it to try and think about
what kind of skimmer we're going to get next
when we make this stop. And I'll walk up to Tank
and be like, so we definitely don't want to skimmer
with a gun, right? I feel like that's out of
our price range at the moment. Oh, yeah. I think
everything's out of our price range. I spent
our last two coin. What why I did this was like
a good opportunity to get some juice for my big
game on juice Also, I think we need to head back.
We wasted too much time here I don't think we
can make it to the library in time for for for
my game For your game. Yeah, it's it's it's my
first game It is your first game, but tank. Have
you thought about have you thought about what
you're doing to us you? everything so far you've
it's all been about you yeah of course we're
gonna go back for the game because because we
all care but but do you care we've got johnny
law on our back because you put us on jim bob
mars capone but i thought i thought this was
like a give and take like i help you guys out
and it's like i do it for bone meal and i thought
maybe i could also have some stuff that i care
about it seems like all of our priorities center
on what you care about you put us in danger this
Entire mission? And you spend the last of the
screaming slices money on juice? Is that how
you're helping us out? I thought it was like
a community pile, right? You guys don't consult
me when you spend the money, so I thought maybe
I could just spend the money. I didn't think
you guys would care that much. It just seems
like I'm not a real part of this group. I'm just
the big muscle guy who you call when you need
help. Is that why you're gathering other people
to be part of a different group? Well, maybe
I am. And Tank's just gonna storm off. Oh, right.
And the camera pulls out on this mighty sledge,
scooting along at a walking pace, his vertebrae
snapping at the entrails of the night pig, sun
setting in the horizon, another dusty, beautiful
day, wild and free. And eventually Meridian walks
up to you, Connie, and Meridian is immune to
drama because they live on a really small vehicle
and have to stop caring about these things. So
Meridian just kind of like gives you the sup
nod and says, resin. What? I was smoking resin.
Do I know what resin is? Just plastic, dude.
I wasn't asking a character. I guess I respond
It's a silly thing to get kicked out of a good
institution over I know and the food was bad
Well, at least there was food Cheers to that
and you see Crescent over a pile of trash the
bright blue chips of fresco home sweet home right
back where you started a couple days ago with
basically nothing to show for it how's connie
feeling right now it's worse than disappointing
i think like part of it is that we the thing
we have to show for it is the birthday boy which
is a crazy bit of technology that we as far as
i'm concerned we can't do anything with And we
lost our skimmer. We lost our money. Maybe lost
a friend. Yeah, exactly. My trust with Tank.
Mechanically, my trust with Tank is super frayed
right now. But whatever. It's time to just get
back to work, put my head down, and keep working
the work that I've been doing for the last year
and a half. So we see Connie, big purple poncho,
rippling in the wind. Meridian. Walks away, but
as they go they lean back over their shoulder
and say if you ever want to burn down a temple
Just let me know I'm absolutely game Don't let
anyone else hear you say that but I appreciate
the support Then the song plays and the camera
pulls up and we see four bodies scooting off
this sledge, silhouettes sprinting through the
dark, like running through sand, running on these
trash piles, difficult, exhausting, covered in
sweat, scraped up. It's the rest of your night
getting back home. It's twilight by the time
we're there. And then we see all of our troublemakers
doing what they do, getting ready for another
day tomorrow. Enla, where do we find you? Inla
is back at the screaming slice up in her little
roof tent and she is trying to capture the realism
that she did on the side of the night pig before
the birthday boy took over and she is just like
so she's just finding problems with every single
drawing that she does and crumples up every paper
and throws it away or she's trying to paint and
then the canvases she just punches through the
canvases so it's just like a pile of trash to
the side of her because she's just trying to
capture that again. want to make it look perfect.
Lottie, where do we find you? Towards the end
of the day, Lottie is up in the greenhouse just
where she keeps some of her stuff. She's been
dwelling on her time in the rebellion back when
the Grinders eventually took down Medallion.
And she feels humbled by what just happened.
The team had been on a roll for a while and then
all of a sudden one errant piece of technology
leaves us with nothing to show for it and down
a skimmer that she was real fond of. So she comes
to the conclusion that she's probably gonna need
some help and opens up a box that has something
she hasn't worn in a long time. It's an old jumpsuit,
used to be orange, now it's just a faded dark
brown with the logo of the grinders and a pocket
patch on the front. Really cool shot. We see
the box spread out in front of you, Lottie looking
down, her expression unreadable. Honey, where
do we find you? Now I'm feeling the weight of
the world bearing down upon us. It's been what
Natalie said. We've been on a roll, and then
all of a sudden we kind of just have nothing
again. But what we do have is a whole bunch of
new threats that we gathered. Firstly, the giddy
girls still aren't happy. We did let them live,
but I don't think they're exactly grateful about
that. We have our job with the tender mercy,
which is gonna be a lot harder now that we don't
have a skimmer again. And of course we have Trent
Dort breathing down our necks with maybe the
scariest threat Connie has ever heard. So he's
gonna spend every night going up to the perch
in the upper chips that Halbert took into that
one time, using his telescope to study the stars
but more importantly to watch all of the satellites
that pass by overhead. He is trying to get a
handle on every single satellite's path, if they're
in geosynchronous orbit, whatever happens. I
think the shot we see is Connie perched up on
this perilous little ledge, blowing in the wind,
white hair, purple robes, bathed in moonlight,
telescope up, and we see the telescope shot.
If you can really find it, then you can see all
these individual pieces moving in perfect...
unison in the universe and then you blink or
maybe your eyes unfocus or maybe you cough or
maybe you breathe wrong and you lose it. It all
just spins out of control. Tank, where do we
find you? So Tank gets back to his apartment
with Burt that boy Intel. He's just like pretty
upset. He's given a lot of help to the screaming
slice and it seems like when he asked for a little
in return it was like shot down. and not appreciated.
You keep flashing back to when Connie said something.
What was it that hurt you the most? When Connie
called Tank selfish, I think that really upset
him because he's given a lot to help out the
Screamers. When I get home, luckily Tank's like,
you know what? Screw those guys. I've got a game
tomorrow. And he takes off his shoes, he sprinkles
a little salt in them. He lays down in his bed
and stares at the ceiling. And he doesn't sleep
very well, because tomorrow is his big shot.
You're listening to a Hypergallant production.
If you like what you heard, leave us a rate and
review. Check out our website at hypergallant
.com. Thank you to The Dren, The Serfs, Crime
of Passing, Perverts Again, and our own Rabbit
Sullivan for the use of their music. Thank you
to Morgan Davey, Malcolm Craig, and Gregor Hutton
for use of their game, A -State.