the last echoes
When all that's left is an echo, no one's voice is small.
Welcome to The archives
Faced with the ultimate choice - to join with the galaxy’s greatest power or walk away - the leaders of Kielash scour the archives of the Collected for answers. Voices from the past, each the last recorded moment left of their respective world, lead them closer and closer to the truth and their decision.The Last Echoes is a cozy political sci-fi audio drama fueled by hope and finding meaning in small, ordinary moments.
Episodes
Episode 0 - Who We Are
The leaders of Kielash are on their way to the Collected Archives, looking for answers.Featuring
Chijioke Williams as the First Attendant
Seamus Winkin as Commander Hughlo
Trace Callahan as The ArchivistRelease date: March 16, 2023
Episode 0.5 - No One's Voice is Small
TrailerRelease date: March 26, 2023
Episode 1 - Touch the Ground
Featuring
Tal Minear as Jai
Chijioke Williams as the First Attendant
Trace Callahan as The ArchivistRelease date: May 1, 2023
Episode 2 - I Still Look Just Like Me
Featuring
Brion Kerry as Orosh
Chijioke Williams as the First Attendant
Trace Callahan as The ArchivistRelease date: May 15, 2023
Episode 3 - Keep My Hands Busy and My Mind Free
Featuring
Jimmie Yamaguchi as Des
Chijioke Williams as the First Attendant
Trace Callahan as The ArchivistRelease date: May 29, 2023
Episode 4 - Harmony
Featuring
Michelle Kelly as Shast Ehv
Chijioke Williams as the First Attendant
Trace Callahan as The ArchivistRelease date: June 12, 2023
Episode 5- Remember Green, Remember
Featuring
James Reily as Las
Chijioke Williams as the First Attendant
Trace Callahan as The ArchivistRelease date: June 26, 2023
Episode 6 - I Choose Them
Featuring
Evan Tess Murray as Kavlin Do
Chijioke Williams as the First Attendant
Trace Callahan as The ArchivistRelease date: July 10, 2023
Episode 7 - Keep the Ones You Can
Featuring
Mike Cuellar as Dr. Elpan Drist
Chijioke Williams as the First Attendant
Trace Callahan as The ArchivistRelease date: July 24, 2023
Episode 8 - Stars
Featuring
Ishani Kanetkar as Trast
Trace Callahan as The ArchivistRelease date: August 7, 2023
Who We Are
The Last Echoes is written by Trace Callahan with editing and direction by Evan Tess Murray.Sound design and engineering by Trace CallahanFeaturing the following voices:Seamus Winkin - Commander Hughlo
Chijioke Williams - The First Attendant
Trace Callahan - The Archivist
Tal Minear - Jai
Brion Kerry - Orosh
Jimmie Yamaguchi - Des
Michelle Kelly - Shast Ehv
James Reily - Las
Evan Tess Murray - Kavlin Do
Mike Cuellar - Dr. Elpan Drist
Ishani Kanetkar - TrastOur theme song is "Vast Enough to Hold Them" by Trace Callahan
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Prologue - Who We Are
[AUDIO] Inside the Attendant’s office aboard a space station, engine hum can be heard through the floor.COMMANDER HUGHLO [recorded]: Attendant,On behalf of the people of Kielash, thank you for your invitation. We are keenly aware of how carefully and deliberately the Collected Worlds choose new members It is a rare honor to be asked.[AUDIO: An electronic swoop as the recording’s volume lowers. Commander Hughlo’s transmission continues under the dialogue below]COMMANDER HUGHLO [recorded]: We too, have always made a point of research, planning, and testing. Those traits made us a world powerful and prosperous enough to gain your attention, and those same traits now govern our response.FIRST ATTENDANT: Hmm. Thoughts?ARCHIVIST: They sound like a careful people.FIRST ATTENDANT: They sound afraid.[AUDIO: an electronic swoosh as the recording is paused]ARCHIVIST: Ma’am?FIRST ATTENDANT: We’re the greatest power they’ve ever seen. We swallow broken galaxies and make them into something better, something whole. We’re the monsters and heroes in their legends. And we are so far beyond what they know, they can’t quite take us in.[AUDIO: another swoosh as the recording resumes. COMMANDER HUGHLO’S recording continues under the conversation between the ARCHIVIST and FIRST ATTENDANT]COMMANDER HUGHLO [recorded]: My delegation and I will arrive at your Archives three days after this message reaches you. We are aware both of the honor, and the tremendous weight of this decision, and know you will respect our need for a few final answers before giving our own. Commander Hughlo out.ARCHIVIST: But they’re coming here anyway.FIRST ATTENDANT: Yes, so get ready. The records they’ve asked for are in your keeping. You’ll meet them in three days.ARCHIVIST: Yes, Attendant. I’ll be ready.FIRST ATTENDANT: Make sure you show them who we are.[MUSIC] A stuttering, synthy background with a lonely melody of repeated, scattered bells.Trace: The Last Echoes, a sci-fi audio drama, will be available beginning May 1st, 2023. This prologue features the voices of Seamus Winkin, Chijioke Williams, and Trace Callahan. When all that’s left is an echo, no one’s voice is small.[MUSIC FADES]
Trailer - No One's Voice Is Small
[AUDIO] A futuristic, electronic swoop rises, bringing in a series of voices. The voices are shifting continuously, weaving in and out of each-other with one at a time coming to the forefront. As they shift, snippets can be heard over a rhythmic bed of electronic working noise[JAI - You treated this place like it really mattered, like some huge important…SHAST EHV - —they had time to adapt, to learn each-other’s ways long—KAVLIN DO - We have spent what feels like a lifetime trying to change the world…DES - —rest wanna start a whole new batch of traditions…DR DRIST - Although loss of sight is usually the first symptom, our recent success seems to’ve had less….SHAST EHV - Our leaders will take care of it in the best, most harmonious way.LAS - If I had to pick a day to hold on to, take with me…TRAST - Hey, when whatever this is is all over…JAI - … elbow room but, you know my feet didn’t touch the ground…OROSH - There’s so much for us to learn to catch up…DES - ….old ways up in words and soft blankets until it’s easier…[AUDIO - the recordings become more jumbled as this goes on}LAS [singing{ … spring’s a bright young morning, the promise of a day….KAVLIN DO - May we stand together, hand in hand against the time and may whatever we become…DES - [singing] … autumn’s soft surrender helps to sleep the cold away…TRAST - …room left in here… … little ones…LAS - I keep thinking about…DR DRIST - We’re not better…TRAST - … keep telling him there’s a weight limit…LAS - … yes I know better…OROSH - …definitely ahead of me in science, but I think I have her beat in equations!TRAST - … me extra when I’m home…[AUDIO] the voices all increase in volume making it harder and harder to distinguish.[AUDIO] a rising swooping sound cuts off all of the voices and working noise except oneDR. DRIST - Save us, please!
Episode 1 - touch the ground
[AUDIO) We begin on a space station, hearing the hum of the slow turning engine. The room is large and nearly empty.ARCHIVIST: Welcome to the Archives. Our record for review today will be from section 27: Historical Worlds. The planet Ellori is one of our oldest samples, from the fourth wave before the Founding.Please note that any opinions expressed in these samples belong solely to the speaker on record and do not reflect the views of this station, the archival union, or the Collected Archives itself. If anything in this review causes listener distress or confusion please report to the nearest attendant for assistance. Potential sources of distress include homesickness and colonization. Please also note there will be time for questions and observations once the sample has concluded.[AUDIO][At the sound of an electronic swoop, the sounds of the space station fade away. They are replaced by a windy, grassy plain.]JAI: Sure is cold out here. It was so bright out when the meeting broke up this morning I just took off without my sweater. Typical, you’d say, and you’d be right. There’s no way I was going to spend my last day on the planet tucked up in my room or in some looming building with lights buzzing and doors beeping. So here I am at the edge of the woods again, shivering. If only I had my big sister along nagging me about things like sweaters and making sense, and lunch.(JAI cont) I needed to say goodbye, I guess. After all the time we spent out here pretending the city didn’t exist I couldn’t just… leave. What was I, four when you first dragged me outside the wall? Four, terrified, and absolutely Not going to tell my sister I wanted to go home. You treated this place like it really mattered, like some huge important secret you were finally going to let me in on. No way was I giving that up.And you were right.[AUDIO] The grass and stony ground crunches underfoot as our speaker walks slowly toward a city throughout this recording.(JAI cont) All that time poking around in the dirt and playing with weeds, and we somehow made it into our lives. Maybe after tomorrow, once us noisy colonists are gone you can take your students out here and show them everything. Let them dig their hands into the dirt and feel it like we did, let them fall in love with the weeds. Maybe they’ll find something as special as our Bluestar, and change the world.[AUDIO] The footsteps stop and Jai crouches down.They just… smell so good. All of them, even the grass. That green, bitter, windy smell the walls keep out along with everything else. I’m… I’m going to miss that smell. Think the ship monitors will know if I take a bit of it with me? One of the grass pods maybe? A seed cone? They wouldn’t space me for breaking some kind of “alien plant species intermingling” regulation, right?It’s a huge honor. I know you said you’d rather stay here and enjoy all the elbow room but you know my feet didn’t touch the ground the day they asked me to go. Jai Garonn, the dirt-scientist going into space and making a new world? Can you imagine how much Mom must have bragged? I know it’s about the soil, not me, but they need Me to make it so, well… ok I bragged too. Me and my useless bluestar weeds, turning rocky fields into farmland, freeing the new world from vat-food.Geh… I hope I can. The first landing team took samples and it seems like what worked here will work even better there, but… I won’t know until we get there and get it to work. Can you imagine if it doesn’t happen? If they cart my dirt-loving self halfway across the galaxy and it turns out I’m wrong? It’s a good thing there won’t be any fuel left for sending people Back!(JAI cont) I’ll make it work though, somehow. LIke you always said sis, we’re like these weeds. We’ll grow through stone and thrive on sunshine and stubbornness if that’s what it takes.[AUDIO] The footsteps resume, on harder packed ground quieter with less crunching.Heh. We… all of us, that’s something we’re taking with us you know? This place. This forest we’ve kept alive for generations just because it was the last one, just because we couldn’t lose. This field full of rocks and grass so brittle it seems dead but keeps growing back. We’re taking all that stubborn, hard, hardy life that’s inside us and we’re going to build a world with it.[AUDIO] The footsteps pause.And I wonder… if while we’re building, making forests and farms and cities without walls, if we’re going to use all of that rocky life in us up. It’s special, you know? What happens if we use so much, make that new world so rich and green that we forget how to grow in anything less? Maybe we won’t lose it, but we won’t pass it on to our children, or theirs. Will we make a world where even the people are soft? Part of me thinks that would be the best possible thing, the goal really, to make a world so gentle that we don’t have to be hard, but I don’t know. It’s who we are. It’s how we grow.(JAI cont) Listen to me, going on like I’m one of your professors. I just… I want to know that while we’re making a new home, we’re not just forgetting this one.I miss it already. Crowded, loud, rules and all. Since the selection I’ve been itching to get out of here, to get my feet off this rock and go but… I think I’m homesick already. Can a person even Be homesick for a place they’re still in? I guess maybe they can, or I’m just getting emotional over seed cones for no reason. Or something.[AUDIO] The footsteps resume, a bit slower and softer.Anyway, I should head back. There’s a little left to pack and I promised you one more Chef-Jai cooked meal before I go. You won’t hear any of this until I’m way up in the sky, but I want you to know I love you, and I’m taking a bit of you with me when I go. And if you do come out here after I’m gone, dig your hands in the dirt a bit, and tell it I say hello.Love you sis. I’ll see you tonight.[AUDIO[ Jai sighs, and the audio continues for a bit before the electronic swoop again signals a change. The sounds of Jai’s world fade away and the sound of the space station returns.ARCHIVIST: The speaker, we believe, is a young farmer selected for the journey from Ellori for their work in plant-based soil rehabilitation. A few journals of their work on the newly inhabited planet Neshtef still exist today though their methods are considered inefficient compared to newer synthetics. The people of Ellori continued to inhabit their world for a few more generations, sending more and more citizens offworld to found new homes as their own resources dwindled. The final recording traced to that world was from 85 years after today’s sample but was unfortunately lost in the Great Glitch.This concludes today’s record. This recording will be available for review by our next session. If you have any questions or wish to comment on today’s experience, please visit an attendant and they will happily record your response.[AUDIO] With a softer swoop, the sounds of the hall fade out to be replaced by the sound of a smaller, softer room. An office.FIRST ATTENDANT: Well… That was a pointless dive into ancient history. Why Ellori?ARCHIVIST: You told me they asked for our story, Attendant, and stories have a beginning.FIRST ATTENDANT: They shouldn’t need stories, or convincing, or coddling. We’ve offered them membership, not entertainment.ARCHIVIST: They want to know who we are.FIRST ATTENDANT: And so you’ll show them. Help them choose then, Archivist, and quickly.ARCHIVIST: Yes ma’am.[MUSIC[ A sparse, lonely repeating motif with a sound like crystal, a shifting bed of strings underneat.CREDITS: The Last Echoes is written by Trace Callahan with editing by Evan Tess Murray. Direction is by Evan Tess Murray. Sound design and music are by Trace Callahan. This episode features Tal Minear, Chijioke Williams, and Trace Callahan. We are so glad you’re here to share these stories with us. To find us online, look for Lastechoes pod, on Twitteer, the Fediverse, and Tumblr or visit our website lastechoes.com. We’d love to hear from you.Thank you to our season one supporters, including Maddie, Rebekah, Kate, Anne, Christopher, Holly, Tina, Stephanie, and Caroline.Keep telling your stories, the Tuesday lunches and late nights with friends, the paperwork and sunrises. Together, our stories make our whole world. And when all that’s left is an echo, no one’s voice is small.
Episode 2 - I Still Look Just Like Me
[AUDIO) We begin on a space station, hearing the hum of the slow turning engine. The room is large and nearly empty.ARCHIVIST: Welcome to the Archives. Our record for review today will be from section 27: Historical Worlds. Today’s sample is from one of the oldest homes of the Collected Archives, the planet Vadd. For any visitors seeking the usual review of our last recorded session, the Archives must apologize. That recording was somehow damaged during transmission and is with our data specialists for repair. We will be advised as soon as it is once again available.Please note that any opinions expressed in these samples belong solely to the speaker on record and do not reflect the views of this station, the archival union, or the Collected Archives itself. If anything in this review causes listener distress or confusion please report to the nearest attendant for assistance. Potential sources of distress include military service and battle. Please also note there will be time for questions and observations once the sample has concluded.–[AUDIO][At the sound of an electronic swoop, the sounds of the space station fade away. They are replaced by a fountain somewhere in the quiet part of a citadel. The burble of the fountain almost covers up the constant hum of a nearby power. Throughout the recording several plops can be heard, like the sound of pebbles hitting the water.OROSH: Hi Mom. Hi Dad. It’s Orosh. If you’re wondering why there’s no video I promise the recorder you gave me works, but it turns out something in the soil here messes with the signal. If you really want to see me full of jagged lines and bright out of context pixels let me know for next time. It’s only been a week so I still look just like me.I do wish you could see the place I’m sitting in though. It’s… There’s a fountain right next to me. Water comes up out of the top of a planet and flows down into sides intto the basin, and there are flowers and fish carved all over the edges. I’m sitting in one of the flowers. The fish… th- they- they have… eyes and it’s just a little creepy after a while. I’m still not sure how I feel about food that can see me?. Just.. just imagine it though. The water flows all the time. There’s another fountain closer to the center of the city, a bigger one with water coming out in three different places but I like it better here. It’s peaceful.You were right about how loud it would be. At home we’re pretty far from the mines and the port traffic’s only a few times a day. Here there are ships coming and going all the time, and the ground-shuttle’s everywhere. The traffic never stops and the lights are always on. They put night-shields on our windows to help us sleep but it’s still brighter than my roommate and I are used to.Oh! I- I think you’d like Rel. She’s from Aldeir, that planet we used to see sometimes early in the morning right near the horizon. She was studying to be a tech mechanic there so that’s probably where she’ll end up here too. She’s Definitely ahead of me in science but I think I have her beat in equations.(Orosh cont.) First week lessons were a lot, but I can’t believe how much I didn’t know about our own history! Do you know how many worlds our people went through before they finally found the perfect home? Vadd’s the fifth central world. The other four just… we used them up I guess? Resources gone, water dried up, dusty and tired and only livable if you have domes like we do back home. I guess they started off nice enough but… well, Vadd’s lasted longer than any of the others by centuries! They say we got it right this time, and we’re on the forever-home.Oh, I’m supposed to meet with one of the attendants tomorrow to talk about my placement. I thought we’d have a little more time before picking a specialty but that’s ok. They’ll talk to me about service too. You know how we wondered about this academy being free? It is, but I do have to go into service for a while as part of it. I can be an attendant if I pass all the tests, or I can be a defender. Rel and I are probably both going to go for defenders. They talk up how important planetary defense is, b- bu- but all I ever see are a few patrol shuttles overhead. There’s no Enemy, jus- just Vadd and the moons and gathered worlds, so what are we defending from? We figure we’ll see some of the world that way, maybe learn how to fly, a-and the service term’s shorter than for attendants, only three years unless you decide to stay!After that I… I’m thinking about building, architecture, design, or even materials. I-I-I know it’s different, but you don’t understand. All that math, here on Vadd it’s beautiful. Everything is built in harmony, and made to fit in the world. There’s even a whole bridge made out of stone from Our Moon! Just think of it, a great sweeping arc of Kef-stone polished until it gleams, with- with a river of all things flowing underneath. They said they built it that way to honor Kef, and its people, and everything we’ve given to the gathered worlds. It’s-It’s funny because when we’ve packed the stone to send here, you’ve both told me it was to honor Vadd, and its people, an-and everything they’ve given to us.(Orosh cont.) They… they talk about that kind of thing a lot in class here, how everything we do, and everything we give is to honor our home and all the other worlds gathered together, and how receiving the gift is one honor and giving it is another. There’s so much here, and so much comes from here. It’s… It’s a wonder to me that they could want anything we have, let alone need or honor it. I mean, all we gave is rocks which we have a Lot of, but, but if they want to celebrate our rocks and our people who am I to say no? And I think… I think I could build things like that too, beautiful and meaningful and making the most out of the bits and pieces other worlds can send here.I guess that’s kind of what they’re doing to us too. Most of us are from off-world, you know. A bunch from the outer moons and mines like ours, but… but even more from the newer planets. There are a few students here from Vadd but they’re not really in our classes. Maybe because they’ve been here all along, so the central world history is old news to them? There’s so much for us to learn to catch up, but I’m doing fine.Um… I know I said it when I was leaving, but I need to say it again. Thank you. Thank you for letting me come here, for letting me see the Center an-and try a life away from home. I know you’ll have to find someone to take my place in the mine, and it’ll be shaky for a while and I also know you didn’t want to tell me that. “Parents do so kids can dream”. Isn’t that what you always say Mom? I’m dreaming, but I’m going to do too. I’ll make you proud. I’ll make you glad you sent me.(Orosh cont.) Love you. I’ll send this out tonight. Send back when you can! Bye![AUDIO[ The audio continues for a bit before the electronic swoop again signals a change. The sounds of the city and fountain fade away and the sound of the space station returns.ARCHIVIST: This recording was sent out with the last transmissions to leave Vadd. The fifth Center was destroyed the next morning in a planetary strike by a force still unknown to this day. The planetary defense force our speaker mentioned was too small to stop whatever happened and there were no survivors. After several days without transmissions a trade ship from one of the nearby gathered worlds found the shattered planet but no signs of any remaining danger. It is said the members of the original reformed Defense Force each took a piece of Vadd with them as a token of their oaths.This concludes today’s record. This recording will be available for review by our next session barring any delays as our data specialists work to repair the recently damaged record of our last session. If you have any questions or wish to comment on today’s experience, please visit an attendant and they will happily record your response.–[AUDIO] With a softer swoop, the sounds of the hall fade out to be replaced by the sound of a smaller, softer room. An office.FIRST ATTENDANT: Interesting choice. Better than the dirt farmer at least.ARCHIVIST: Attendant, why my archive? Why lost worlds?FIRST ATTENDANT: It was their choice. They said “We can see the news, talk to the living. History tells us more.”ARCHIVIST: It can, if you look in the right places.FIRST ATTENDANT: And you’ll make sure they see the right places, won’t you?”ARCHIVIST: Of course.[MUSIC[ A sparse, lonely repeating motif with a sound like crystal, a shifting bed of strings underneat.CREDITS: The Last Echoes is written by Trace Callahan with editing by Evan Tess Murray. Our diector is Evan Tess Murray. Sound design and music are by Trace Callahan. This episode features Brion Kerry, Chijioke Williams, and Trace Callahan. We are so glad you’re here to share these stories with us. To find us online, look for Lastechoes pod, on Twitteer, the Fediverse, and Tumblr or visit our website lastechoes.com. We’d love to hear from you.Thank you to our season one supporters, including Maddie, Rebekah, Kate, Anne, Christopher, Holly, Tina, Stephanie, and Caroline.Keep telling your story, the study sessions and coffee with friends, the park visits and daydreams. Together, our stories make our whole world. And when all that’s left is an echo, no one’s voice is small.
Episode 3 - Keep My Hands Busy and My Mind Free
[AUDIO) We begin on a space station, hearing the hum of the slow turning engine. The room is large and nearly empty.ARCHIVIST: Welcome to the Archives. Our record for review today will be from section 27: Historical Worlds. Today’s sample is from Thelddin, one of our now uninhabited mechanical mines. Before we begin I would like to take a moment to update you on the situation with our first reviewed record. The specialists believe it will be available for listeners in a few more days although there may be a few places where the audio is beyond repair. We will be advised as soon as it has been restored to the best possible quality.Please note that any opinions expressed in these samples belong solely to the speaker on record and do not reflect the views of this station, the archival union, or the Collected Archives itself. If anything in this review causes listener distress or confusion please report to the nearest attendant for assistance. Potential sources of distress include the sound of severe weather. Please also note there will be time for questions and observations once the sample has concluded.[AUDIO][At the sound of an electronic swoop, the sounds of the space station fade away. They are replaced by the sound of a storm, wind gusting against stone. The sound echoes as if inside a large stone room.[AUDIO] A rock being dragged over stone.DES: Oof! Well, that storm came up quick. Good thing we’re already snugged up in here. Just give me a little time and it’ll be as sound as the house ever was.[AUDIO] A baby squeals and makes small noises as Des speaks. More noises of rocks being moved.DES: Hm, probably sounder if I’m being honest, which I suppose I should be, given everything. I’ve always felt that good conversation helped hard work along, and since everyone’s busy in the living cavern except you and me, and you’re barely old enough to hold your head up, I guess conversation falls to me. I’ll record it though, so that someday when you want to know who that old man was and they talk to you about Nanny Des you’ll have something other than echoes and tall tales to go on.[AUDIO] The scrape of a trowel.It’s odd to think, you won’t remember any home but here. Sure, you were born under a warm sky but by the time you have any idea what’s going on the wind’ll have worn all our old places away. Eh… You’ll likely find the caverns a comfort, safety and home, not gloomy and dark. Heh. Maybe it’s for the best. Maybe after a few more kids are born here and you start growing up, there won’t be as much longin’, pinin’ for the sun and the outside. Let me tell you, right now it’s so thick you could drink it.[AUDIO] Happy baby squeal. The baby babble and sounds of trowel digging and scraping continue under Des.DES: They’re still talkin’ about how much to tell you, you and any other kids we have I mean. There’s a group that wants to teach you just like they were taught, history and nearby planets and even surface agriculture just in case things heat up again or something. Some of the rest want to start a whole new batch of traditions and make history start with today, with movin’ in. Ah… I guess I don’t see how you can begin any kind of story with “We moved off the surface and into the caves and it was much better, and then Des built a wall because he knew how, and then the wind stopped comin’ in.” Too many questions live on the edges there. No. We’re a curious species, humans. You’d never let that stand.Our story began a lot earlier than that, kiddo. Hmm. We could start it when we came to the world maybe, and some other stubborn fool like me was building a wall, except this one was under the sky, houses for new colonists, farms and wind towers. We could start it when we first tapped the core, when energy became easy and cheap, when money from the other worlds started comin’ in. We could maybe even start with the first cold summer, a bunch of scientists and politicians runnin’ around tryin’ to decide what was happenin’, what to tell the rest of us, and whether to wait until after the last big shipment from the core went offworld.[AUDIO] The trowel digging gets a bit more forceful.DES: The answer, for the latter when you’re wondering, was yes. They waited.We could start there. [heavy sigh] I’d rather start earlier, with that other hopeful human and that other wall.[AUDIO] The trowel sounds are back to normal, mixed with baby babble and the sound of rocks being set down.DES: I bet we’ll talk about those days outside like it was paradise, like there were rivers of honey and no one had any work to do, like we never fought, were never cold.[AUDIO] A rock dragging over stone followed by continued trowel scraping and rocks being put down.DES: That’s what we do with change, we wrap the old way up, words and soft blankets until it’s easier to hold, until it gives us some comfort. Truth is there were a lot more of us than you’ll ever see, a lot of brave, bright people, a lot of greedy ones, and everyone else in between. I think at last count some eighty of us made it to the cavern today. We might find a straggler or two before they’re frozen, but there were eight billion people here.
[AUDIO] Fast digging and a high pitched baby squeal.DES: We lived stacked up in buildings so tall you’d think you could walk out onto the roof and touch the stars. You couldn’t. You’re young enough for fairy tales but trust me, the stars are really far away. Good thing too, since they conned us.[AUDIO] The baby starts to babble a lot under Des’s next words.DES: “But Des, that was people, right? The stars didn’t do anything.” I can hear you arguin’ with me already, and you’re right but let me have my stories and my little bits of poetry and lying. I’m building you a wall after all. It’s a fair trade.This wall’s just the start you know. By the time you’re walkin’ around we’ll have taken that livin’ cavern and walled out spaces for everyone. We didn’t bring much, too busy tryin’ not to be noticed while they were shippin’ us all offworld. Food and fuel and enough material to make a home here, to live out some years and make a go of it. There’s plenty of room left for everyone to have their own place, somewhere they can go to get away and think, or just enjoy some quiet. I think I’ll make mine here, by the outer wall. Maybe if the wind dies down and the world warms up I’ll hear the change.It’s not a solution, holing up in a cave while the world freezes. We’re meant to live out there. We’re meant to eat food that grows under the sky, and to feel the sun and wind, to drink water that runs in open air. This cave, this wall, our tiny cluster of people clinging to the skin of the world, we’re just waitin’.[AUDIO] A rock dragging across stone, and the baby laughing.DES: By the time you grow up, that world out there will be a myth, or a memory, or it’ll be better enough for us to try again. Maybe we’ll have learned somethin’. Maybe we got lucky and we did stop in time, and with so few of us left the core’ll have a chance to recover. Maybe someday we’ll tear this wall down, and the wind won’t steal the breath out of us. Twenty years is what we’ve planned for. Long enough for you to grow up.[AUDIO] Happy baby squeal and babbleDES: Long enough for us to learn a new way of livin’. Long enough, maybe, for those offworlders to forget how rich we made them, and forget that some of us slipped through their nets.Meantime, while we wait, I’ll make you a place where the wind can’t find you, where the stone can hold in warmth, and where nothing will crawl over you while you sleep. I’ll make enough walls for all of us. That’s good enough for now. It’ll keep my hands busy and my mind free. I’ll build all the walls we need, and leave tearing them down for you.[AUDIO] The baby laughs and makes small noises until the end.Now let’s get you back in your basket. I’m thirsty. My hands could use a break. And I’m sure your father’ll have missed you by now.[AUDIO[ The audio continues for a moment before the electronic swoop again signals a change. The sounds of the storm fade away and the sound of the space station returns.ARCHIVIST: This is the longest intact sample from a series of recordings found in the ruins of a community on Thelddin approximately sixty years after the planet was deemed uninhabitable and depopulated. The people who emigrated from Thelddin have merged into most of the societies in this region, but occasional expeditions to the ruined planet still uncover new artifacts. Unfortunately, no record was made of any inhabitants remaining behind, nor is there evidence of anyone surviving beyond the first generation.This concludes today’s record. This recording will be available for review by our next session barring any delays as our data specialists work to repair the recently damaged record of our first session. If you have any questions or wish to comment on today’s experience, please visit an attendant and they will happily record your response.[AUDIO] With a softer swoop, the sounds of the hall fade out to be replaced by the sound of a smaller, softer room. An office.ARCHIVIST: Ma’am, I know it was an unexpected choice.FIRST ATTENDANT: They weren’t even one of our worlds.ARCHIVIST: They almost were. Do you think th-..?FIRST ATTENDANT: Could we have saved them? I doubt it would have been worth the expense. Choose something less… small next time won’t you?ARCHIVIST: … small [sigh] Yes.[MUSIC[ A sparse, lonely repeating motif with a sound like crystal, a shifting bed of strings underneat.CREDITS: The Last Echoes is written by Trace Callahan with editing by Evan Tess Murray. Our director is Evan Tess Murray and sound design and music is by Trace Callahan. This episode features Jimmie Yamaguchi, Chijioke Williams, and Trace Callahan. We are so glad you’re here to share these stories with us. To find us online, look for Lastechoes pod, on Twitter,Tumblr, and the Fediverse, or visit our website lastechoes.com. We’d love to hear from you.Thank you to our season one supporters, including Caroline, Stephanie, Tina, Holly, Christopher, Anne, Kate, Rebekah, and Maddie.Keep telling your story, the babysitting, the thunderstorms, the hard work and quiet plans. Together, our stories make our whole world. And when all that’s left is an echo, no one’s voice is small.
Episode 4 - Harmony
[AUDIO) We begin on a space station, hearing the hum of the slow turning engine. The room is large and nearly empty.ARCHIVIST: Welcome to the Archives. Our record for review today will be from section 27: Historical Worlds. Today’s sample is from Iveh, one of the earliest settled worlds in this quadrant. We will be observing a history lesson taught by an Attendant. As promised, I have an update about the damaged recording. It has been restored to the fullest extent possible and is once again available for replay. Thank you for your patience.Please note that any opinions expressed in these samples belong solely to the speaker on record and do not reflect the views of this station, the archival union, or the Collected Archives itself. If anything in this review causes listener distress or confusion please report to the nearest attendant for assistance. Potential sources for distress include rioting and civil unrest. Please also note there will be time for questions and observations once the sample has concluded.[AUDIO] [At the sound of an electronic swoop, the sounds of the space station fade away. They are replaced by near silence, a quiet room. We can occasionally hear people shifting in their seats.SHAST EHV: All right, that will do Zell. You had it mostly right. This world was founded by citizens from several older worlds, but long before we came here we were united. The people who journeyed here gathered on a cold and distant moon to build their ships and prepare. They had time to learn and adapt to each-other’s ways long before trying to make this place a home. That’s why we’ve done so well here. Harmony.Here.[AUDIO] A glitchy, draggy sound as Shast Ehv uses her interface. The recorded sound of a forest with a river, birdsong and water sounds dominant, fills the room.SHAST EHV: Here’s a live feed of the river not far from where we sit now. Let’s take a look at how harmony was achieved when we created this home, and how it reinforces itself.[AUDIO] A swooping staticky [sound as the view shifts. We still hear the forest.SHAST EHV: Take a look at the tallest trees, and watch how their uppermost leaves form a nearly complete canopy. Light does make it past them to the ground below but it’s filtered and muted, made gentle enough for the moss and those berries Aldev likes so much to grow without scorching or drying.[AUDIO[ The static-swoop again, another shift in view. The water is quieter.SHAST EHV: When the first people arrived here they realized the sun was bright and close enough to burn most of the plants they wanted to raise here, so forests like this were planted anywhere they wanted to use for farming.[AUDIO] Another static-swoop. The river is louder again.SHAST EHV: Diverting the river to flow here also cools the area and keeps the food plants well watered. They in their turn nourish the soil which keeps the trees healthy. Harmony. We have sought it for so long, on so many worlds. We’ve been close. I thought…[AUDIO] A chime interrupts, and with a quick swoop the forest sounds stop.SHAST EHV: Ah! I see your question on my screen Zell. Well done. Your spelling is getting better.No the others will not be joining us today. After the unpleasantness of last night they decided it would be safer for them to view a recording of class later, at home. I’m very glad some of you were able to come today. I know some of what you saw on the broadcast screens was confusing, and even frightening, and I’m sure you all have questions but today we’re covering history. Your families I’m sure would prefer to explain at home, in their own words.There is a tie-in though, to history. Here.[AUDIO] A rippling electronic swoop up.SHAST EHV: If you’ll tap the glowing J on the right of your screen you’ll see part of today’s reading, a page from the journal of Esdo Ehv. We’ve spoken about him before, the Attendant who was tasked with recording our world’s first hundred years. Some of the words are a bit smudged and hard to read, so follow along carefully.[AUDIO] a mid-range staticky swoopSHAST EHV: “When they came, from their tired moons and sickening worlds, they were grateful. They smelled fresh air and drank fresh water. They smiled at the sky and whispered promises. They would join us, add to us, add their own note to our world’s careful harmony. They rejoiced and brought that joy to us.”“But in a year, no more, those whispers were raised voices and raised hands. Those promises turned to demands, and only the strictest of measures was able to preserve harmony. We could not allow them to destroy us. We could not allow them to poison our world and our minds. Some gave in. Some learned to live within the law. Some… did not.”“The Hollow Ships were made, and those who couldn’t maintain the harmony of the world were sent back to their old homes. It took less than two years from their arrival to that launch, but we were changed forever. Our leaders vowed to only bring in new citizens with the greatest care, to make sure that everyone who comes here is part of our Harmony.”[AUDIO] An abrupt glitchy swoop.I’ve never seen scenes like we saw last night. Those- those strangers, those offworlders reminded me of the people on the Hollow Ships. We endured two years of escalating violence and unrest during Esdo’s time. I hope we don’t live through the same ourselves. Now, mark that journal for reading again later. It’s part of your homework for tonight.[AUDIO] A chime interrupts[with a sigh] Yes, Zell, I see your question. What did they want? The same thing those… people from last night want. They want to take. They don’t see the careful harmony. They just see a world with more water than theirs, with richer air, with abundance. They see it and they want to have it and they want us to use our resources to fix the worlds they broke. And we can’t. Our world has water because we made sure it would. It has fresh food year round because we build the environment that way. The air is clear because we limit how many people and vehicles we allow to exist here. They are lucky to have been chosen to join us, but they don’t understand how fragile the balance is.If we helped the people in Esdo’s time, you and I might not have grass and trees today. If we gave all our resources to these new offworlders, our world wouldn’t have what it needs for the future. Harmony requires balance. No do not balance your tablet on your head Aldev that is not what I am talking about. We have talked about this.Now, as I said, we’re not going to talk about the… unpleasantness of yesterday. Our leaders will take care of it in the best, most harmonious way. Let us inste- Aldev I said put the tablet down.[AUDIO] An electronic swoopSHAST EHV: Let us instead pick up where we left off yesterday with fractions.[AUDIO[ Another glitchy interface sound begins a moment before the electronic swoop again signals a change. The sounds of the storm fade away and the sound of the space station returns.ARCHIVIST: The speaker in this sample, Shast Ehv came from a long line of Attendants and leaders. Many of her live lessons were broadcast to children throughout Iveh. This last recorded lesson gives us a rare glimpse into the effect of the offworld riots on everyday life. The planet-wide defense action which ended those riots, known today as the Ivehn Charge, irrevocably shifted the ecological balance of the world, and survivors of the Charge were quickly relocated.This concludes today’s record. If you have any questions or wish to comment on today’s experience, please visit an attendant and they will happily record your response.[AUDIO] With a softer swoop, the sounds of the hall fade out to be replaced by the sound of a smaller, softer room. An office.FIRST ATTENDANT: That was well chosen, though it seems to have made them nervous.ARCHIVIST: Of course it did Attendant. The uh… newcomers didn’t have the best end.FIRST ATTENDANT: Nor should they expect to, if they disrupt things.ARCHIVIST: That’s… yes. That’s why I chose it. If they do join us they need to know-FIRST ATTENDANT: How to behave. Yes. Well done. We’ll have their answer soon.[MUSIC[ A sparse, lonely repeating motif with a sound like crystal, a shifting bed of strings underneat.CREDITS: The Last Echoes is written by Trace Callahan with editing by Evan Tess Murray. Our director is Evan Tess Murray and our sound design and music are by Trace Callahan. This episode features Michelle Kelly, Chijioke Williams, and Trace Callahan. We’re so glad you’re here to share these stories with us. To find us online, look for Lastechoes pod, on Twitter, Tumbr, or the Fediverse, or visit our website lastechoes.com. We would love to hear from you.Thank you to our season one supporters, including Caroline, Stephanie, Holly, Tina, Christopher, Kate, Anne, Maddie, and Rebekah.Keep telling your story, the lessons, and quiet conversations, the new friends and hard choices. Together, our stories make our whole world. And when all that’s left is an echo, no one’s voice is small.
Episode 5 - Remember Green, Remember
[AUDIO) We begin on a space station, hearing the hum of the slow turning engine. The room is large and nearly empty.ARCHIVIST: Welcome to the Archives. Our record for review today will be from section 27: Historical Worlds. Today’s sample is from Tiroh, then a rich farming world. Please note that any opinions expressed in these samples belong solely to the speaker on record and do not reflect the views of this station, the archival union, or the Collected Archives itself. If anything in this review causes listener distress or confusion please report to the nearest attendant for assistance. Potential sources of distress include mild cursing. Please also note there will be time for questions and observations once the sample has concluded.[AUDIO] [At the sound of an electronic swoop, the sounds of the space station fade away. They are replaced by a rushing stream. There’s a little wind.LAS: Well I… I guess I’ve turned it on, though I don’t know what I’m supposed to say.[AUDIO] small, mechanical noises followed by the long sound of a line being cast out into the water. The sound of the line being played out continues as Las speaks.LAS: It’s um… It’s… It’s sunrise, or just about. The stream’s a bit high and fast from last night’s rain. I guess that’ll be good for the green too.The launch isn’t until almost dark, so I have most of the day. I figured to spend the morning here. Otherwise it’s just too long a goodbye.Ah![AUDIO] A splash the fishing line being reeled inLAS: Heh, eh, ah! Hah! Almost had ya!You can see the farm from here, you know. It looks just fine. Plenty of green, neat rows of it just like always. You’d never think, just looking…[AUDIO] the line being cast againLAS: [with a slight laugh] I think this recorder’s scaring all the birds off. Usually I’ve company when I fish. Then again, the fish are scarce too.Glad it’s clear out. If I got to pick a day to hold onto, take with me it’d be one like this.[AUDIO] the soft ticking of the line playing out, then being slowly reeled in as Las speaksLAS: I think the thing I’ll… I’ll miss most, besides all of you of course, is this quiet. Up there everything will be tied to generators and computers and engines, even the air. I expect you get used to the drone of it after a while but… eh.Funny that we’re leaving in spring. You’d expect it to be later.[AUDIO] A few clicks as he fiddles with the reel, then the sound of the line being cast againLAS: Remember that song, the one about the seasons?[LAS - singing]: IF SPRING’S A BRIGHT YOUNG MORNING
THE PROMISE OF A DAY
THEN AUTUMN’S SOFT SURRENDER
HELPS TO SLEEP THE COLD AWAY[AUDIO] the sound of the line being reeled back in slowlyLAS: I keep thinking about it. About how Tiroh’s like a year, and the year before was the Andoli moon, and the next year will be some new place, except all the seasons are generations long.You’d never know it without putting your hands in the ground or counting the crops, that we’re almost to Tiroh’s winter. I hope once we get there there’ll be enough left to keep things green for you, at least for long enough.[sings again]
TILL WE RETURN TO SPRINGTIME
LET ME DREAM, LET ME REST
AND REMEMBER SUN, REMEMBER GREEN, REMEMBERI just wish it were earlier, that we still had some summer left, here.[AUDIO] faster clicking as the line is pulled inLAS: You all hope once we’re on the orbitals I’ll move on, find a partner, have some children and go looking for our next spring. Maybe I will, but I’m not there yet.[AUDIO] reeling the line in quickly followed by a small splashLAS: Damnit, lost the hook.[AUDIO] a couple of footsteps and the sound of a metal lid being openedLAS: They say the orbitals are more efficient, but you know I have to wonder. Why didn’t we start off with them then?Tiroh’s beautiful, and ours. Why use it up first? We’ve had orbitals before, on the last three worlds at least. Why didn’t we just set them up right away?I know, that’s a question for some leader or scholar or Attendant at the Center, not someone like us, but I still wonder.And yes, I know better than to ask once I get there, I’m not a comple- Ooh! Hey![AUDIO] fast reeling and finally, a splashLAS: There we go! I was beginning to think I’d have to get on that rocket without any luck at all.Well, time to go then. There’s long enough for lunch before I pack.I don’t know if this is the kind of message you all wanted but, I hope so.[AUDIO] Las hums a bit more of the song, the words “springtime” and “let me rest” coming through the humming while walking toward the recorder and turning it off][AUDIO] an electronic swoop again signals a change. The sounds of the stream fade away and the sound of the space station returns.ARCHIVIST: The speaker in this sample, Las, was part of the orbital farming community which eased the transition from depleted Tiroh to the world Haised. Although we have since learned how to monitor our green worlds and keep food production demands low enough to prevent permanent damage to their ecosystems, the shift from Tiroh’s surface to orbital farms proved to be too late. This recording was discovered while the orbital station was being dismantled and moved. The inhabitants of that station were dispersed to nearby worlds by that time.This concludes today’s record. If you have any questions or wish to comment on today’s experience, please visit an attendant and they will happily record your response.[AUDIO] With a softer swoop, the sounds of the hall fade out to be replaced by the sound of a smaller, softer room. An office.FIRST ATTENDANT: Hmm… You do love your farmers, don’t you.ARCHIVIST: They asked me for.. Unplanned moments, ordinary people. I think they find it more honest.FIRST ATTENDANT: They’re dragging their feet. I’ve had just about enough of it, and of your farmers and children. Show them something special next time, something real.ARCHIVIST: I- yes. I will.[MUSIC[ A sparse, lonely repeating motif with a sound like crystal, a shifting bed of strings underneat.CREDITS: The Last Echoes is written by Trace Callahan with editing by Evan Tess Murray. Our director is Evan Tess Murray and sound design and music are by Trace Callahan. This episode features James Reily, Chijioke Williams, and Trace Callahan. We’re so glad you’re here to share these stories with us. You can, find us online as Lastechoespod, on Twitter, Tumblr, and the Fediverse, or visit our website lastechoes.com. We’d love to hear from you.Thank you to our season one supporters, including Maddie, Rebekah, Anne, Christopher, Kate, Stephanie, Tina, Holly, and Caroline.Keep telling your story, the fishing trips and sunrises, the old songs and new adventures. Together, our stories make our whole world. And when all that’s left is an echo, no one’s voice is small.
Episode 6 - I Choose Them
[AUDIO) We begin on a space station, hearing the hum of the slow turning engine. The room is large and nearly empty.ARCHIVIST: Welcome to the Archives. Our record for review today will be from section 27: Historical Worlds. Today’s sample is from Hune, once one of the most successful trade centers of the sector.Please note that any opinions expressed in these samples belong solely to the speaker on record and do not reflect the views of this station, the archival union, or the Collected Archives itself. If anything in this review causes listener distress or confusion please report to the nearest attendant for assistance. Possible sources of distress include mention of an election. Please also note there will be time for questions and observations once the sample has concluded.[AUDIO] [At the sound of an electronic swoop, the sounds of the space station fade away. They are replaced by the muttering and rustling of a crowded room.KAVLIN clears his throat and the muttering and movement quickly fades to silence.KAVLIN DO: Citizens, my friends.To all who have supported me on this long journey, let me start with thank you. We have spent what feels like a lifetime trying to change the world, trying to hold the hearts and minds of a people whose options have felt closed for so long they have forgotten to dream. We have weathered the disdain, disbelief, and discord our opponents have aimed at us. We have risen to every challenge, and we have done so with fire in our bellies and courage in our hearts.What we began two years ago in a common room, our spark of passion, belief, and duty may be paused today but it is not ended. The voters had a choice, and they chose against us. We now have a choice of our own.[AUDIO] the crowd grows briefly restless with a few coughs and the sound of people shifting in their seatsI choose them, and I ask you to join me.KAVLIN DO: I choose them because I believe that beneath the fear, beneath the worn and weary eyes and hands around us are the spirits of people who would choose hope if they could reach it. I ask you to join me in bringing that hope just a few spans closer, so that the next time they have a chance it won’t feel too far away to be real.I choose them because I know that the hateful, divisive words they shout and whisper about us every day are born in fear, that they see our joy and our community and it stirs them to anger, but that somewhere within them they’re longing to join us. I ask you to join me in showing them our faces every day. Some of them will never turn to us, but for those few who will, I intend an open door.I choose them because without them we are too few, and without us they are too downcast, but if we can come together we still have the power to change this world before it is too late. I ask you to join me, and to remain steadfast, because it is not too late.Not quite.Today’s defeat means that our world will most likely send them our answer soon, and then, within a blink, we’ll be one of their outer worlds. The changes coming within the next few years will be vast, and so quick that they might seem unstoppable.But we have time.If we regain the throat of this world, if we can cry out against the fate of our neighbors just once before being consigned to the dust and darkness, before being asked to leave, to become, to join, then we can remain whole.KAVLIN DO: To those who chose against us, please, listen to what we have been saying. There is no power at stake now. You’ve given that away but hear our voices still repeating our plea for time, for sense, and for care. It is easy to choose fear. It is easy to give away your power and let someone else make the decisions, to watch and to wait. But what begins as easy will end in tears if we let it. We all love our world. It’s home. It’s our history and our future, unless we surrender it to the hunger and might of the great galactic giant.To those who celebrate tonight, the victors, the newly elected committee, I ask three things. I ask first that you set aside time to listen to our cause before you answer them. Now we’re not opponents, but a group of citizens who want to express ourselves. Whether me, or some other speaker, please give us a day to be heard in rational conversation.I ask second that you take steps to preserve our history, that if we become part of the Collected you work with us to ensure we still retain our world’s memory. We have come so far, learned so much, and for it to all be lost in the dust would be a tragedy.Finally, I ask you to let anyone who wishes to leave before we join them do so. They have thousands of worlds with billions of people on them. The few thousands who would go are a speck of dust in the galaxy. Please, give them that choice, that chance to remain themselves.KAVLIN DO: We, and our fate, are the sum of our choices. Today’s has been momentous, and has started a wave which will crash against the shores of our world until its end. May we stand together, hand in hand against the tide of change, and may whatever we become be something we can live with.For your support, I thank you. For your belief, I admire you. For your faith in me, I stand humbly before you, and for your choices, I remember you.Thank you, and good night.[AUDIO] the thump of a mic being tapped and placed in a stand[AUDIO] an electronic swoop again signals a change. The few sounds of the room fade away and the sound of the space station returns.ARCHIVIST: The speaker in this sample, Kavlin Do, was a rising public official much like one of our Attendants. According to local accounts that speech, given hours after Hune signed the Articles of Membership was his last act before resigning. There is no record of him after, nor of any other political reaction or unrest in response to Hune’s joining.This concludes today’s record. If you have any questions or wish to comment on today’s experience, please visit an attendant and they will happily record your response.[AUDIO] With a softer swoop, the sounds of the hall fade out to be replaced by the sound of a smaller, softer room. An office.FIRST ATTENDANT: You have ten seconds to explain yourself!ARCHIVIST: You told me to show them something real.FIRST ATTENDANT: Something real! Something convincing! Something stirring! NOT reckless, violent, dangerous dissent! I should have you removed!ARCHIVIST: Do was a voice for peace and unity. There was nothing violen-FIRST ATTENDANT: Enough!ARCHIVIST: You can’t expect them to make a decision this important without looking at more than one si-FIRST ATTENDANT: Be quiet!!! [takes a breath]. Fine. It’s done, but from now on, no farmers, and No Politicians!ARCHIVIST: Just… truth, then.FIRST ATTENDANT: You understand me then. No more… interesting choices.ARCHIVIST: Yes, ma’am.[MUSIC[ A sparse, lonely repeating motif with a sound like crystal, a shifting bed of strings underneat.CREDITS: The Last Echoes is written by Trace Callahan with editing by Evan Tess Murray. Our director is Evan Tess Murray, and music and sound design are by Trace Callahan. This episode features Evan Tess Murray, Chijioke Williams, and Trace Callahan. We are so glad you’re here to share these stories with us. To find us online, look for Lastechoespod on Twitter, the Fediverse,Tumblr, and Twitter or visit our website lastechoes.com. We’d love to hear from you.Thank you to our season one supporters, including Caroline, Tina, Stephanie, Holly, Christopher, Anne, Rebekah, Maddie, and Kate.Keep telling your story, the hard decisions, the stirring words, the arguments and new moments of forgiveness. Together, our stories make our whole world. And when all that’s left is an echo, no one’s voice is small.
Episode 7 - Keep the ones you can
[AUDIO) We begin on a space station, hearing the hum of the slow turning engine. The room is large and nearly empty.ARCHIVIST: Welcome to the Archives. Before we begin, a note. I have been informed that the record from our last session was judged as inappropriate and irrelevant in relation to the central question. I have therefore been asked to offer an apology, and suggest you ignore the contents of that record in your deliberations. I apologize for wasting any of your time and hope you will hear only what you need to, in future.Our record for review today will be from section 27: Historical Worlds. Today’s sample is from Meandall, which while never part of the Collected, has often been a key part of our region’s history.Please note that any opinions expressed in these samples belong solely to the speaker on record and do not reflect the views of this station, the archival union, or the Collected Archives itself. If anything in this review causes listener distress or confusion please report to the nearest attendant for assistance. Potential sources of distress include mention of a plague, mention of death, and discussion of medical symptoms. Please also note there will be time for questions and observations once the sample has concluded.[AUDIO] [At the sound of an electronic swoop, the sounds of the space station fade away. They are replaced the sounds of a city. Distant and not so distant traffic whizzes by quickly, breaking up the dull rumble of hundreds of generators. Close by, machines hum and whir with an almost musical regularity. These sounds continue uninterrupted throughout the recording.ELPAN DRIST: [with a sigh] All right, here goes.Day 47 - Evening report, second ward South. Dr. Elpan Drist recording.Since this morning’s report, we’ve lost three patients. Two, I mentioned then as critical. The third was a surprise. She still had both her sight and sense of smell as of a few hours ago. Her decline was quick and complete. With these three the ward has lost a total of thirty-seven patients within the last two weeks, just over thirty percent.And… I think we’re supposed to be celebrating. A thirty percent loss two weeks after symptoms present is drastically better than our control ward, which has had between sixty-five and seventy-five percent losses in that timeframe. Half the loss. It’s a good sign for the regimen we’re testing.Although loss of sight is usually the first symptom, our recent success seems to have less to do with preserving any of the senses, and more to do with addressing the issue of muscle control. In the final stage, almost all patients struggle both to breathe and swallow. It may seem like a step backwards but we’ve decided to ignore the recent trials which preserved sight and focus on our three longest-term survivors.ELPAN DRIST: Our research team has a few more tweaks we’d like to make before we start with the next round of patients, and we’re hopeful tha-No. No I- I I…. I can’t. I- I mean, Who’s listening to this report? I know none of my recordings are making it to the general public, and you’re going to add as much spin and hope as you feel necessary no matter what I say, so what the hell?Thirty percent in two weeks. More than half of the world infected and that number growing how quickly now? Are we gonna figure out this cure while there are still any people left to use it? I read the news, even in here. Shutting down the shipyards for upgrades? You mean shutting them down because there aren’t enough healthy and skilled people to keep them going anymore. You need us all here on the ground in the hospitals and food plants. And even we’re spread thin. I asked for two replacement staff a week ago. After all, not all of the thirty-seven started off as patients.We’re doing our best, but we’re tired, and there are only so many hands. We’re making mistakes, and I…It doesn’t matter. We all know it wouldn’t have saved him. No one un-withers.ELPAN DRIST: I wish I could say these words in person. I wish whoever listens to these was down here with the sound of all these people breathing, and the smells, and the waiting that’s heavy enough to feel in the air. I’m sure you’re in the sky where everything’s still clean, breathing filtered air, making choices. Maybe if you were down here you’d make better ones. Maybe your pride wouldn’t be so loud if you had the noise of the ward around you. They offered us an alliance, twice. They offered us help, food and medicine and enough people to keep the world going. It’s not like it was before. We’re not better than them. We’re dying. Who cares who’s in charge of a sick world? Who cares what flag we fly? If you were down here you’d-[sigh] But you’re not. I am, and I don’t make policy. You sent me here to cure the Withering, and I will.So fine, back to the test. This new regimen seems to preserve sight the longest. We’re still not sure why. Several of our patients have held on for more than six weeks, although their muscle control and strength faded just as quickly as the rest. Of the first group, three are still… here. We’ve been testing them daily for new antibodies, cellular changes, altered brain activity since no one can seem to figure out exactly what the Withering is attacking.Without that, we’re just stabbing in the dark.I can’t believe I’m saying this. I know I should just leave the report there and go back to my rounds, but…ELPAN DRIST: We’re running out of time. We’re running out of people, and supplies, and energy, and hope. So while I still have a little of that last thing left I have to at least try.Save us. Please. Send them a message and ask to join them. Let them set conditions. Give them all the tech and ships and data they could ask for. Beg, if you have to. Take a page from my book there because I’m begging you. Either get their help saving us, or get as many healthy people away from here as you can before you lose everything. Leave me. Leave my patients and my crew and everyone in the other wards. We’ve been exposed so much we’re a danger but I know you’ve managed to keep some areas safe and free of this.So even if you can’t save us all, keep the ones you can. We’ll keep working on the cure, but just… save us.Elpan Drist signing off.End recording and send.[AUDIO] an electronic swoop again signals a change. The few sounds of the city fade away and the sound of the space station returns.ARCHIVIST: Today’s sample was the last logged report of a doctor Elpan Drist, one of Meandall’s specialists in infectious diseases. Meandall presents an interesting example. As the recording hinted, they were offered membership more than once, most likely due to their reportedly superior ship-based technology. They declined each offer. Unfortunately, by the time a cure was found in one of the Collected worlds, the population of Meandall was too far gone to be restored or resettled as a whole. Their remaining people were absorbed by nearby worlds and their land and infrastructure sold to offset the cost.This concludes today’s record. If you have any questions or wish to comment on today’s experience, please visit an attendant and they will happily record your response.[AUDIO] With a softer swoop, the sounds of the hall fade out to be replaced by the sound of a smaller, softer room. An office.FIRST ATTENDANT: Better. Gloomy, but better.ARCHIVIST: I.. I’m… heh, I’m glad you approve, ma’amFIRST ATTENDANT: Showing them the consequence of independence. I suspect they’ve learned the lesson we intended. One more, Archivist. We’ll give them one more session to make up their minds. Make it count, won’t you?MUSIC[ A sparse, lonely repeating motif with a sound like crystal, a shifting bed of strings underneat.CREDITS: The Last Echoes is written by Trace Callahan with editing by Evan Tess Murray. Our director is Evan Tess Murray, and music and sound design are by Trace Callahan. This episode features Mike Cuellar, Chijioke Williams, and Trace Callahan. We are so glad you’re here to share these stories with us. You can, find us online as Lastechoespod, on Twitter Tumblr, and, the Fediverse, or at our website lastechoes.com. We’d love to hear from you.Thank you to our season one supporters, including Maddie, Anne, Kate, Rebekah,Christopher, Tina, Holly, Caroline, and Stephanie.Keep telling your story, the hands held and tears shed, the hugs and long, winding talks. Together, our stories make our whole world. And when all that’s left is an echo, no one’s voice is small.
Episode 8 - Stars
[AUDIO) We begin on a space station, hearing the hum of the slow turning engine. The room is large and nearly empty.ARCHIVIST: Welcome to the Archives. Our final pre-selected record for review will be from section 27: Historical Worlds. Today’s sample is from Venlor 2, the larger of Par’s habitable moons. Please note that any opinions expressed in these samples belong solely to the speaker on record and do not reflect the views of this station, the archival union, or the Collected Archives itself. If anything in this review causes listener distress or confusion please report to the nearest attendant for assistance. Potential sources for distress include mild cursing, mention of warfare and battle sounds. Please also note there will be time for questions and observations once the sample has concluded.[AUDIO] [At the sound of an electronic swoop, the sounds of the space station fade away, replaced by the sound of a quiet landing platform. Night sounds, a distant hum from the city and slight wind can be heard faintly outside. The area echoes as TRAST works and speaks.TRAST: Oh! Damnit!AUDIO: A clang as metal hits stone, a few footstepsTRAST: Spoiled. I’m used to having another set of hands around. I hope he’s settled in sir. You know your business, but he’s my son and he likes to worry. Get his hands busy and he’ll forget I’m down here for a little while. I shouldn’t need longer than that.[AUDIO] Cloth rustling,a few soft impactsTRAST: Sure am glad we didn’t ship all the part-stores along. Can you imagine me trying to fix this with what my partner has at home? Plumbing tape, thread, some really stale bread the birds haven’t gotten yet. It’d be like one of those survival adventure shows where they use their shoes ascooking pots and somehow come home whole. And you know this ship’d never forgive me for it. Every time we took off there’d be that cough saying “remember when you patched me up with bread? Hope you like turbulence you cheap bastard”.[AUDIO]: A couple of metallic clangs, a spinning click, more rustling. Small fidgets and clanks continue as TRAST speaksTRAST: Everyone’s out of the atmosphere. Stars, it’s amazing to look at. We’ve never had all the ships together like this before have we? Well, all the ships but mine. Usually what? It’s patrols of three or solo scouts. Even the big missions only take a squad or two. There must be something pretty compelling up there to get us all ordered into space.And it’s quiet down here. It really shouldn’t be. Not like we’re the bulk of the population or anything but I guess everyone’s glued to their news feeds or watching the sky. There’s no traffic sound either, almost all the ground shuttle pilots are up there with you and I guess no one has anywhere to go. Almost peaceful.[AUDIO] The rustling and tinkering noises ramp up hereTRAST: Hey, when whatever this is is all over and we get back down will you do me a favor sir? Don’t tell Tef I spent half the operation on my back in the dirt? He worries, just like our son, and if he hears something was wrong with my ship, I’ll hear about it every launch. He’s already talking about retirement. He has all these ideas to visit parts of this place we haven’t seen, the neighbor moons, even some of the planets nearby and it all sounds… really good, but I’m not ready. I don’t know how to explain that.[AUDIO] Two clicks as switches are flippedTRAST: Looking good up there sir. Thanks for leaving a spot for me on the end. Just need to get this line changed out and do a launch test.[AUDIO] Another spinning, clicking sound, fast and ringing. More tinkering clicks as TRAST continuesTRAST: I mean, every time I try to explain the DF to him I sound like a damn recruiting video. My family’s been Defenders since the Ihven Charge, since before this moon even had people on it, and I guess some of the rhetoric soaked in. That’s what he said when Losek joined up. Well, that and a lot of things I’d rather not put on record sir. He’s a good man. He just doesn’t like us- and I quote - “flinging ourselves face first into every bit of danger in the universe on a whim”.[AUDIO] Aftew a few clicks, a staticky boop of acknowledgementTRAST: Aha, here’s the split one. Let’s just….[AUDIO] A few metclic clinksTRAST: Ugh. Got it. Now where’s that replacement?[AUDIO] Small metal objects clank and roll as TRAST rummages through them, mutter-singing to herself.TRAST: Right then. This is the fiddly bit so…AUDIO: A series of twisting ratchet sounds, clicks, gears, and a high ting end with another less staticky acknowledgementTRAST: There! Now just… closing up.[AUDIO] A metal door thunks as it closes, followed by the sound of shifting fabric and a person moving. When TRAST speaks next, the echo is nearly goneTRAST: Ok, now to test it.AUDIO: a high electronic chirp followed by a repeating sound, a series of pulses getting gradually quieter before beginning again. This continues as TRAST speaksTRAST: And while that’s running, I’ll pack. Hopefully there’s room left in here. Tef let the little ones stuff one of my bags with snacks.[AUDIO] Buckles jingle as a bag is dropped on the ground. More bags thump as TRAST speaks.TRAST: I keep telling him there’s a weight limit for scout ships and a weight limit for Scouts but he always tries to feed me extra when I’m home. Did that Collected fleet give you any idea what was coming, or how long we’d be up there? I may not be ready for retirement, but I do like coming home.AUDIO: The click of a switch being flipped. The packing sounds resume.TRAST: Test is looking good sir. One more cycle to go. I’m a little surprised there’s no one else on view yet with how urgent the orders were. I half figured we’d be fighting by now, or at least staring down some kind of invaders. It looks almost as quiet up there as it is down here.[AUDIO) We begin on a space station, hearing the hum of the slow turning engine. The room is large and nearly empty.TRAST: Sir? Are you… Stars, I know you can’t hear me but I hope you’re seeing this. How did they just… Where did they come from? Long range didn’t pick up a thing! Damnit I need more time![AUDIO] A low, approaching rumbleTRAST: There’re so many…AUDIO: A quick rising electronic swoop. More approaching whooshes, coming in faster.TRAST: Ground support, are you seeing this?... Yes I know. My ship wouldn’t launch. I’m down here doing repairs.… LIke ants. You’ve got t- … What do you mean all of them? We put the Surface Defense up there too? … Well we need to call them back, those ships are coming Here!I… I know you don’t. Just find someone who c- oh.
AUDIO: Low, almost soft thumps, the sound of several distant impacts. A new alarm joins the rest of the noise.TRAST: Oh… I… I know these ships.What?Oh stars...[AUDIO] Amidst the impacts and far away whooshes, and the alarms sounding, a low rumble grows, louder and louder until it’s all we can hear. It ends in static.There’s a moment of silence before an electronic swoop again signals a change. The sound of the space station returns.ARCHIVIST: Today’s sample was salvaged from the wreckage of a small scout ship after the Great Glitch. There is no record of the identity of the invaders. The moon’s inhabitants and its orbiting defense force were completely destroyed. Work is still being done to rebuild a settlement on both of the Venlor moons, as the centuries of work on the surface’s soil is too precious to lose. Both moons will be repopulated shortly and will add substantially to the food capacity of the Collected Worlds. Meanwhile, the search for the invading force continues.This concludes today’s record, and the list of records pertaining to your inquiry. If you have any questions or wish to comment on today’s experience, please visit an attendant and they will happily record your response. I am afraid I cannot stay. I wish you wisdom in your decision, and luck.Thank you for hearing us.MUSIC[ A sparse, lonely repeating motif with a sound like crystal, a shifting bed of strings underneat.CREDITS: The Last Echoes is written by Trace Callahan with editing by Evan Tess Murray. Our director is Evan Tess Murray, and sound design and music are by Trace Callahan. This episode features Ishani Kanetkar, Chijioke Williams, and Trace Callahan. We are so glad you’re here to share these stories with us. To find us online, look for Lastechoespod, on the Fediverse, Tumblr, or Twitter, or visit our website lastechoes.com. We’d love to hear from you.Thank you to our season one supporters, including Caroline, Stephanie, Tina, Holly, Christopher, Kate, Anne, Maddie, and Rebekah.Keep telling your story, the workplace chats, the projects, the time with family, and the quiet times alone. Together, our stories make our whole world. And when all that’s left is an echo, no one’s voice is small.