0:00

Hey, this is Vince, creator of How I Died and

0:02

the Voice of John, and I've got some news for

0:04

you. I found a door at the bottom of the

0:06

ocean. And of course, by that

0:08

I mean I just binged the entire first

0:11

season of immersive sci-fi podcast Derelict. I'm

0:14

sure you've already heard of Derelict, since

0:16

its first season received millions of downloads,

0:18

thousands of 5-star reviews, and even reached

0:20

the top 5 on Apple's Fiction Podcast

0:23

charts. But in case you

0:25

haven't, I highly recommend giving it a listen. In

0:28

Derelict's first season, Fathom, an ancient

0:30

artifact resembling a giant door was found at

0:32

the bottom of the ocean. To

0:34

study it, the galaxy's most powerful

0:36

corporation built a massive, secret laboratory

0:38

base surrounding it. Their objective?

0:41

To unlock the secrets of the artifact

0:43

and discover what it holds inside. But

0:45

some mysteries should remain buried, and some

0:47

doors should never be opened. Fans

0:50

of the movie Alien, 2001 A Space

0:52

Odyssey, any of the works of

0:54

H.P. Lovecraft, or even games like

0:56

Dead Space and Bioshock will absolutely

0:58

love this podcast. And guess what?

1:01

Derelict's second season premieres today, continuing the

1:03

story several years after the events from

1:06

the first season, this time in the

1:08

depths of space. Now is

1:10

the perfect moment to binge the first season

1:12

and tune into the second season as it

1:14

releases. Check the show notes to a link

1:16

to the podcast and enjoy the first episode

1:18

starting now. They

1:32

say that in the dark, the

1:36

eyes begin to see. And

1:39

in the silence, we begin to listen.

1:45

Give me nowhere is it darker or

1:48

quieter than in this

1:50

place. The

1:53

bottom of the ocean, 19,000 feet down.

2:00

That's why I came here after all, isn't it? Why

2:05

I buried myself. The

2:08

furthest away I could possibly get. But...

2:15

loss is an insidious thing. Whatever

2:20

we try to escape, we inevitably bring

2:22

with us. Even

2:25

to the darkest, quietest

2:27

places. And

2:31

in the dark. We

2:35

have no choice. Jesus.

2:54

Dr. Groff? Yes.

2:58

Are you okay? I'm

3:01

fine. Your heart rate is

3:03

quite elevated. Your blood oxygen levels are... I'm fine,

3:05

Clayton. Thank you. Dreams

3:10

again? Is

3:13

that a crime? Would you

3:15

like a sedative? It can really

3:17

help you sleep. No. Either

3:20

according to the biologs, you haven't slept a regular cycle in

3:23

more than a month. How many

3:25

times do I have to say I'm fine? Logs

3:27

don't lie. Either. And

3:30

they don't tell the whole story either, Sarah. What's

3:35

up with the repairs? They'd

3:37

have to scream in for the whole picture. But

3:40

last I heard it was going well. They've

3:43

missed the supports for Southern West Patch. Working

3:45

on North now. I

3:47

know what you're asking. I

3:50

haven't heard if the access to relay is back up or not. Hopefully

3:53

not much longer. Couple

3:56

of weird things though. What?

4:00

Well, they finally got the mainframe open. With

4:03

Mack acting the way he's been, everyone thought they must

4:05

spend some damage to his systems from the explosion. Flooding

4:08

or something. There wasn't? Not

4:11

only that Emerson could find. No

4:14

water present in the room, mainframe itself

4:16

isn't damaged. They're going over it

4:18

now, though. Well...

4:21

No one knows Mack like Emerson. That's

4:24

the other thing. No

4:26

one knows what Emerson is. What

4:28

do you mean, no one knows? Mack's

4:31

personnel tracking is down now and no one can raise their

4:33

own comms. She may

4:35

be outside, checking the capsule's exterior.

4:38

With all the mediac-pivity, though. Well,

4:40

people don't just disappear, especially down

4:42

here, and Emerson's sort of... aloof,

4:46

anyway. She'll show up at lunch. Yeah,

4:49

I... Need to get up now.

4:51

No, I still think so, too. Thank you,

4:53

doctor. Jesus.

5:00

Good morning, Dr. Craft. Good

5:02

morning, Mack. I was

5:05

just talking about you. I

5:07

heard Emerson is poking around in your brain. Miss

5:10

Emerson is attempting to determine the cause

5:12

of my minor malfunctions. My own diagnostics

5:14

continue to show no errors or latency.

5:18

Well, something's up. Yesterday

5:21

you told me it was snowing in Chicago.

5:24

In June. It is puzzling.

5:27

I was extensively stress tested before being

5:29

approved for deployment. An

5:31

explosion, such as the one Fathom Bay's experience

5:33

last week, could not have caused any permanent

5:35

damage. Will

5:37

you be returning to sleep, Dr. Craft? No.

5:42

No, I don't think so. I'll prepare

5:44

your coffee. You

5:47

have two new voicemails that you would like them. Who's

5:50

the first from? The first voicemail is

5:52

from your wife, Dr. Craft. She's

5:55

not my... Play

5:57

it. Please, Mack. Plain

6:01

message from Angela Graff. Time staff is

6:03

June 17th, 11.45pm. Hi.

6:12

Don't know why I do this. You never respond.

6:16

It's like talking to a ghost. Or

6:19

sending messages to a ghost. Or... Christ,

6:23

Eva, we haven't spoken in two months. I

6:26

at least expected something yesterday. Yesterday

6:28

of all days. You

6:32

know, you act like you're the only one who feels anything. Or,

6:36

I don't know, like you're the only one who

6:38

has a right to feel anything. It's really selfish.

6:40

You know that? It's really... I

6:44

just expected something, is all. Listen.

6:52

I'm not going to send these anymore, Eva. I... I

6:57

took a commission off World. Call

7:00

on the assignment. It's not with

7:02

the corporation. You don't have to worry about that. It's my

7:05

own thing. It's

7:08

what I've wanted to do for a long time. You

7:11

know what? I

7:15

just... Eva,

7:18

I waited as long as I could. I guess. But

7:22

I can see you're not coming back. I

7:27

don't understand it. I

7:29

don't know why we couldn't be there for each other, go through

7:31

this together. I don't... I'm

7:35

Mr. Two. Maybe

7:37

you're just as much as you. I'm

7:42

sorry. For

7:45

that, I'm sorry. I called you selfish to you. I'm

7:49

sorry. I'm

7:52

sorry every way I can be sorry. I

7:57

love you. Eva, always.

8:02

Would you like to respond to the message Dr. Graph?

8:08

Would you like to respond to the message? Delete it.

8:12

Are you certain Dr. Graph? Delete it.

8:16

Message deleted. Would you

8:18

like to hear your second voice? Eva,

8:21

I need you to wake up and get over to

8:23

Hydroponics. Good morning to

8:25

you too Joe. Is it ISD's here

8:27

wants to meet with us? Already?

8:30

I thought his sub wasn't scheduled until tomorrow night.

8:33

Yeah, well I guess he decided to accelerate the

8:35

schedule. I don't think it's a good sign, do

8:37

you? Can it

8:39

wait? I'm just not- It's

8:42

internal security Eva. No, it can't

8:44

wait. I'd like to

8:46

know what you plan to say though. Yeah,

8:48

well I bet you would. Eva, I swear to

8:50

God, if you try to pin this on me-

8:52

Carbon is your base, isn't it Joe? You

8:55

are the commander. Edgars with

8:57

science team, not command. And

8:59

it was your security protocols

9:01

he overrode, your explosives he

9:03

stole. Look, there's plenty of blame

9:05

to go around. That's how they're gonna look at it. I just

9:08

think- I just

9:10

think we put our heads together on this. We can come out

9:12

of this with our jobs still intact. Oh my gosh,

9:14

Joe! Neither of us tried to blow

9:16

up the damn base, did we? The

9:19

only one on the chopping block is Edgars. MD's put

9:21

way too much money into this travesty to pull either

9:23

of us out now. Really? Then

9:26

why are they ordering what's left of the science team

9:28

back to the surface? What? Wait,

9:32

what? They can't do that. We're

9:35

already a skeleton crew. I have half the people

9:37

I need to complete this- They can't

9:39

do that, and they did. Not essentials

9:41

too, indefinitely. We started mothballing rovers and

9:43

dive suits last night, and analytics just

9:45

left out a sub 15 minutes ago.

9:47

Where have you been? Joe, that- that

9:51

doesn't make any sense. There has to be an

9:53

explanation. There- Yeah, there's an explanation.

9:55

You've been down here 11 months, and that thing out there is

9:57

no closer to being open than the day it was found. Had

10:00

to that, you got people on your team running

10:02

around trying to blow up the place. A place

10:04

that yes, they have sunk a lot of money

10:07

into. What you think was gonna happen, Eva? What

10:09

you think they were gonna do? Okay,

10:12

I don't know what to do. I'll

10:15

fix this. I'll fix it. I'm

10:19

holding my breath, Dr. Graff. Hydroponics

10:23

ASAP. Shhh...

10:33

Get a grip. Get

10:39

a grip. Get

10:47

a grip. Help

11:02

me get your leg on. Help

11:05

me get your leg on. Help me get your leg

11:07

on. Help me get your leg on.

11:17

Fuck. I'm

11:20

here, Dr. Graff. Unbelievable.

11:25

Unbelievable. I'm

11:29

sorry, but I can't take it. A message from

11:31

Angela Graff restored. Have

11:34

I already asked if he was like coffee this morning,

11:36

Dr. Graff? Why not? Yes,

11:38

Mac, you have. Apologies,

11:41

Dr. Graff. I don't

11:43

seem to wipe myself, do I? I'm gonna

11:46

get you down. I got sick.

11:49

I got sick. Yeah,

11:52

you and me both. I'm gonna get you back. You've

11:58

been through a lot together. We

12:01

have worked together for quite some time. Yes, Dr.

12:03

Kraft. You

12:06

were designed for this project. Not

12:09

entirely. I

12:11

believe Mosporian virtual intelligence development was already

12:13

in the process of planning for a

12:16

new V.I. model, but the discovery

12:18

of the Phantom Arm of fact accelerated the development process.

12:20

Exactly. If

12:24

we never would have found the vault, you

12:26

and I would never have met. I suppose that

12:28

is you, Dr. Kraft. Come

12:32

and get your phone.

12:36

The computer.

12:41

And you are the closest thing I have to a

12:43

friend down here. I

12:45

appreciate the sentiment, Dr. Kraft. I

12:48

enjoy our interactions a great deal. You

12:54

ever wonder why things work out the way they do, Vex? Have

13:00

you ever looked back at your life and see

13:02

all the turning points? Well,

13:06

turning points, even. One

13:10

moment that sets you on a totally

13:12

different course. Like

13:16

a train that takes the

13:18

wrong track. You

13:22

are locked in then. No

13:25

going back? No,

13:28

Dr. Kraft. Those

13:32

types of calculations are beyond my programming. I

13:37

love you, Mac. I

13:40

love you. Your

13:44

coffee is ready, Dr.

13:47

Kraft. Swell.

13:52

Swell. you

14:33

there she is here I

14:35

am even this is agent

14:38

plane ISD dr.

14:40

Graff Eva's fine Eva

14:44

appreciate you coming it's early

14:47

now you weren't expecting me till tomorrow it's

14:49

your world agent plane we just live in

14:51

it see you've

14:54

already been talking with commander Freeman

14:57

I wanted to talk to you separately if

14:59

that's okay your ISD

15:02

I want to cooperate in any way I can I

15:05

appreciate that no you've had a rough time of

15:08

it Freeman was just going over the

15:10

status of the base repairs yeah

15:13

northern platform got hit the worst three

15:15

capsules breached and flooded but

15:17

the supports on West and North were damaged

15:19

dodge drive here is planted explosives up and

15:21

down both and 11 people were

15:23

killed am I right about that yeah

15:28

that's right you

15:30

guys love to keep forgiving me there's a

15:32

lot down there I don't understand yet you're

15:34

rushing the support repairs because underwater

15:38

storms Eddie's it's

15:40

the technical term big

15:43

pockets of moving water that break off

15:45

from the boundary current nearby it happens

15:47

frequently here it's one of the reasons working outside

15:49

is so dangerous kind of currents we

15:52

talking about intense when they search

15:54

40 to 50 knots and 40 to 50

15:56

knots of hundreds of tons of water Mac

16:00

has a monitor for forecasting them. Right now the forecast

16:02

has no edits for three days. Which is the window

16:04

we're going with? We should have the

16:06

supports repaired and braced by them. I see. What

16:09

door is this? The one you're working on here? Hydroponics.

16:14

These doors came down with the explosion happening at

16:16

a wall to the capsule. Every

16:19

room on Thasmus basically its own separate building.

16:21

We call them capsules. Every entry

16:23

pointed to a new capsule has emergency pressure doors

16:25

that come down in the event of a hull

16:27

breach to seal them. Mac says

16:29

the capsule on the other side isn't flooded,

16:31

but even so, it's probably a total loss.

16:34

Crops don't do well without irrigation. Is

16:37

it possible the damage was more isolated to

16:39

the northern platform intentionally? If

16:42

Dr. Edgar's wanted to target one platform over

16:44

another, I think he'd focus on West. The

16:47

reactor's there. That's where you'd do the most damage.

16:50

I'd say he did enough damage regardless. The

16:53

labs are on this platform though. All your

16:55

research. So is your VI's mainframe.

16:58

From what I hear, it's been acting erratic. Yes,

17:01

that's true. VI's been acting strange ever since.

17:03

Ever since trying to figure it out. Strange

17:06

how? Simple things.

17:09

Waking teams up at the wrong times, forgetting who

17:11

people are. Shutting lights off middle of lunch. Stuff

17:13

like that. But his

17:16

main functions? He hasn't missed

17:18

a beat as far as the project goes.

17:20

And he designed the repair procedure for the

17:22

platform supports on West and North. Ask me, I

17:24

think it should be shut down. Turning off the

17:26

lights is one thing. Depressurizing the base is another.

17:29

Mac wouldn't do that. What

17:31

Dr. Graff means to say is Mac's

17:33

programming wouldn't allow it to do that.

17:36

But she thinks of Mac as a person. I

17:38

see it as a tool. And tools can

17:40

malfunction. You think, what?

17:43

Edgar's was targeting Mac? I

17:45

don't know. But Dr. Edgar's was a

17:48

smart guy. Triple BHD, Band

17:50

11, Nobel Prize winning engineer with almost

17:52

100 patents. So?

17:56

Just doesn't sound like a guy to me that

17:58

does anything randomly. I'd

18:01

like to speak to the VI engineer if I could. So

18:04

would I, but Emerson's been offline all

18:06

morning. Offline? Can't

18:08

raise her on comms, and Matt can't pinpoint

18:11

her location. Then again, he can't pinpoint anyone's

18:13

location right now. Hold

18:16

on, hold on a second. What happened?

18:20

Holes reached

18:24

to the other side of the door. Matt, we

18:27

feel the pressure door. You're in

18:29

the door. You're in the door. You're in the door. You're

18:31

in the door. You're in the door. You're in

18:34

the door. Three, two, one. Matt, what happened? It

18:36

appears that I have a tonic catch. It turned

18:38

off all operations. I'm still in it. When

18:43

the pressure board was open, the water on

18:45

the other side of the door. You

18:51

said it wasn't breached. You said it was pressurized. Well, you've been

18:53

confused by this one. I'm not going

18:55

to call the VA. I'm not going to call the VA. I'm

18:57

not going to call the VA. You're in the door. Yes, I

18:59

am. You have to call the VA. I'm not going to call

19:01

the VA. I want it shut down.

19:03

I got med hurt. We're lucky we already just drowned to

19:05

death. I want it shut down. You

19:07

can't shut it down, Joe. It's

19:10

a hundred million dollar asset. We

19:12

can do an alpha level reboot if we need

19:14

to, but Emerson is able. If we need to,

19:16

it almost kills us. Everyone relax. Everyone

19:19

take a breath. Don't tell me to take a

19:21

breath. Freeman.

19:24

Eight. All right. Sure.

19:26

Shut it down. Shut

19:29

it down, or I will. I mean it. What

19:32

does that mean,

19:34

Joe? You've already

19:37

had enough sabotage, don't you think? Joe?

19:43

God damn it. You okay? Yeah,

19:46

I'm fine. I just... Welcome to

19:48

Fathom. Tensions are high, nothing I didn't

19:50

expect. You wouldn't.

19:53

Shut him down, right? You wouldn't shut down, man.

19:55

Yeah. No, you're right. You're

19:57

right. You're right. You're right.

20:00

I'm going to avoid that loss, not now, not

20:02

after the explosion. We're already short staffed as it

20:04

is. I

20:15

am going to limit max access to critical systems

20:17

now. Keep them on

20:19

my mind, just wait and get it. But

20:22

not for the project, right?

20:24

What happened for that? For

20:26

research? All

20:28

critical systems. Just

20:30

limit. But that's going to limit your research ability.

20:32

I'm aware. No, I

20:35

don't think you are. I need max

20:37

for signal analysis for calculations on the

20:39

equation, not to mention... Doc Graff, you're

20:43

not going to be doing any research in the immediate future.

20:46

I'm ordering the relay shut down, even if the connections are still

20:48

going. You can't do that. You

20:51

already pulled the rest of my team. Now you're taking

20:53

max and the relay? Let's talk somewhere else. So

20:55

let's talk now. I need max.

20:58

I need... Let's talk somewhere else, Dr.

21:01

Graff. Fine.

21:07

There's a meeting room in lab three. I was

21:09

thinking observation.

21:13

You want to see it. I

21:15

want to see it. Like

21:20

I said, it's your world. Follow

21:23

me, Agent Blaine. That

21:44

is a water window. 180

21:48

degree view of the whole sorted affair. We're

21:51

looking outside, into the water. We

21:54

are. Those

21:57

dark in the space. It

22:00

actually is. In

22:03

space you get starlight. Not

22:05

much, but it still counts lumens. Down

22:09

here there's... nothing.

22:14

And... it's straight out

22:16

there. About 600 yards. Usually

22:19

there is some kind of illumination around it.

22:22

Subs, rovers, divers,

22:24

but... Since

22:27

the explosions, that's all stopped. Sometimes

22:31

I think I can almost see it better with the lights off.

22:34

Like it's darker

22:37

than everything else. I

22:40

don't see anything. It's black.

22:45

Max. I'm here, Dr. Graff. Will

22:48

you hit the vault lights for me? Vault

22:50

red, Dr. Graff. Yes, please. Now

22:58

that is something. Yes.

23:05

Yes, it is. The

23:07

size, I... I didn't

23:09

expect. Two thousand feet in diameter.

23:12

Carbon dating? Seven million

23:14

years old. Seven

23:17

million. That's

23:20

unbelievable. Seven

23:22

million. That's

23:25

unbelievable. The

23:27

first proof of extraterrestrial life that we find at

23:31

the bottom of the ocean. Life

23:33

is too ironic to fully understand.

23:35

Makes noise to

23:38

appreciate silence and

23:40

absence to value presence. You're

23:42

a scientist. You

23:45

all love volt air, don't you? You

23:49

forgot a part, though. It

23:51

takes sadness to understand what happiness

23:53

is. I

23:56

don't believe that part. Correct

24:00

my math, like I said, still come up to speed

24:02

on this. Eleven

24:05

years ago, an energy company comes down

24:07

here looking for a geothermal reactor site.

24:10

They unearthed that instead.

24:14

Buried 19,000 feet down. And

24:18

we think... ...with the

24:20

door. We know it is. Substropic

24:23

filters show a space under it. Big

24:26

space. Doors in your

24:29

perfect circle, the laser scans to the... ...hinges

24:31

on the northern side, huge ones, but

24:34

no electronics, no visible hydraulics even,

24:36

and no locking mechanism. We

24:39

can interact with, at least. There's

24:42

no obvious way to open it at first. Do

24:44

you found a signal? Right. Mark.

24:49

Play the vault signal. Recording

24:51

or live broadcast, Dr. Grass. Live,

24:53

please. Well,

24:59

that's lively. Broadcasting

25:01

and cycling to VLF. Very

25:04

low frequency. And that's important because VLF

25:06

waves are one of the few that travel well

25:08

under water. This one is at 11

25:10

kilohertz. Travel's been up

25:12

far, right? Right. A quarter

25:15

mile. So basically, down here,

25:17

you'd have to be on top of it to find it.

25:21

I don't think it was meant to be found, except

25:23

by someone who knew where to look. Then

25:26

why this signal at all? Well, you asked.

25:29

Fack, turn off the vault signal and set

25:31

up the vault equation on all monitors. They

25:36

don't want it numbers. The signal

25:38

isn't just noise. It's a carrier wave.

25:41

Modulated sinusoidal waveform. It's

25:43

a bitcheted to code, but in the

25:46

end, it's binary, like any other carrier

25:48

signal. The equation you're looking

25:50

at is the sole piece of data on

25:52

that wave. And the vault

25:54

is broadcasting it over and over. Like

25:57

a key. M-more like a hint.

26:00

It's an e... You figure out the

26:02

equation, you figure out how to open the vault. How?

26:06

We believe. It's solving the

26:08

equation that gives us the frequency and

26:10

the data packets to transmit back to

26:12

the vault's reception device. We

26:14

think that should initiate

26:17

its opening procedure. How

26:19

far along are you just solving it? The

26:22

equation, long as it is, isn't all that

26:24

tough. It needs two variables

26:26

to solve, and it solves with numbers in

26:28

a rational integer pattern. We've

26:31

tried a lot of them. We're into the

26:33

seven digits now. Once

26:35

we have a solution, we broadcast the answers

26:37

in frequency back to the receptor. We

26:40

went through the VLF bandwidth, that's why

26:43

we built the relay next to the vault. Once

26:45

we got out of VLF, the signal didn't travel very

26:47

well down here. We needed a

26:50

broadcasting source that was physically closer. No

26:53

reaction from the locking mechanism? Not

26:56

yet. We theorized maybe the

26:58

vault wasn't yet submerged when it was implanted

27:01

and the water inhibits the reception, but

27:03

our geologist confirms that it was underwater at

27:05

the time of the construction. Not

27:07

to mention, this signal is in VLF,

27:10

like it was designed to go through

27:12

water. And I assume you've tried

27:14

other ways to get in, besides the lock? Freeman's

27:17

team excavated around the entire perimeter down to

27:19

about 300 feet extra depth. They

27:21

never found an end to the structure, so

27:23

it's that deep, at least. Excavating

27:26

beyond that at this depth, it

27:29

gets hairy quick. They

27:32

lost two men just getting that far.

27:35

Explosives? Whatever that alloy

27:37

is, it's harder than flexors do. Diamond

27:40

filament blades, laser cutters, nothing

27:42

Freeman's boys tried even scratched at.

27:45

And no, before you ask, the

27:47

vault can't be pried open either, the lock can't

27:49

be forced. Why? There's

27:51

no seam, no gap between the

27:54

door and the container. How's that even possible? We

27:57

don't know. Some unique

27:59

aspect of it. the alloy or maybe it's

28:01

by design an additional security measure.

28:05

I guess once the locking mechanism

28:07

activates somehow the entire thing unseals

28:10

itself explosively with heat, plasma,

28:13

I don't know. Anyone's

28:15

guess. What

28:19

do you think Dr. Kraft? Can

28:23

you be more specific? About the artifact.

28:25

What do you think it is? What

28:27

but a giant door on the bottom of the ocean? I

28:29

don't know. All I know is it shouldn't be here. But it is.

28:33

Yeah. Just like us. Alright. So,

28:37

I'm gonna go back to the I

28:44

get why you're here, Agent Blaine. Do

28:50

you now?

28:53

An MD

28:56

employee tries to

28:58

blow up an MD facility. Doesn't

29:06

care who he kills, doesn't care about the attention

29:08

he draws. This

29:10

is a black site after all. I've

29:12

got a headlines MD wants on the news. There

29:15

is that. You're here to

29:17

investigate. Sniff out any

29:19

collaborators that might have had. Assigned

29:23

Blaine. I prefer the word. Responsible.

29:27

Whatever the word, the problem I have with it is

29:29

you don't seem to know very much about this project.

29:31

And I would have hoped that whoever the corporation sent

29:34

to assign responsibility

29:36

would have been a little more informed. MD has hundreds

29:38

of black site projects around the galaxy. They're

29:41

black site for a reason. Like every piece

29:44

of information the corporation deals out, you

29:46

get it when you need it. I

29:48

don't need to know the background of this place or

29:50

the specifics of your research to form an opinion on

29:53

your results. Almost

29:55

a year of your life on this project,

29:58

and you still have no clue what it is you're trying to open.

30:01

Oh, now wait just a minute. I wonder if

30:03

it's intentionally slow. I'm sorry? Two

30:06

months later you lobbied to be included again. Now why was that? Was

30:08

it because of your daughter? What did you just say? I'm

30:11

sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm

30:14

sorry. I'm sorry. I'm

30:16

sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm

30:19

sorry. I'm sorry. I'm

30:21

sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm

30:24

sorry. I'm sorry. I'm

30:26

sorry. I'm sorry. I'm

30:29

sorry. I'm sorry. And so

30:31

you just said there's almost an increase. You are trying to hold on to your job there. This

30:34

one. Your wife has already done it, ma'am? Is

30:39

this a performance review? Or a Psyge Neanderthal? It's

30:41

whatever I wanted to be, Eva. Right now I'm trying to

30:43

decide whether or not to pull you off entirely, pull

30:45

you off, and send you home. You don't have the

30:47

authority. I don't. You are right. But the executive board

30:49

does, and they want my opinion to make

30:51

their decision. Look. Figuring

30:58

things out like that out there,

31:01

it doesn't happen overnight. And

31:04

there's been progress. We have figured out

31:06

a lot. You mean the

31:08

signal. Which apparently drives

31:11

people crazy. No, wait. That's

31:14

not true. It's harmless. It's just

31:16

a looping terrier waveform. Did

31:18

Dr. Edgar's think it was harmless? Edgar's

31:21

lost his shit down here. Like pretty much everyone else

31:23

does eventually. Dr. Edgar's tried to blow up this

31:26

pace so as to stop what

31:28

was happening. A collectively respected scientist

31:30

and your explanation is he lost

31:32

it. You look out

31:34

there. Look. Human beings

31:36

aren't supposed to be down here. You said

31:38

it yourself. We might as well have

31:40

been dropped on the moon. It takes a toll. It gets

31:42

to everyone. Edgar said he heard voices in

31:44

the signal. Just

31:47

him losing it. Three

31:50

other science staff said the same thing.

31:52

Voices in the signal. Hundreds of them.

31:55

Are they losing it too? It's

31:57

just the power of suggestion. Stories

32:00

like Edgar's, they take

32:02

a life of their own, especially in a place like this.

32:05

Edgar said in the interview, he was convinced that the

32:07

thing out there wasn't a vault at all. Yeah, I

32:09

know what he thought. Dr. Edgar's didn't think it was

32:11

designed to keep things out. I know what

32:14

he thought. He thought it was designed to keep something in. Someone

32:17

cracking under pressure. You have no clue what

32:19

that thing is, or what's inside

32:21

it, or what happens when it's open. You

32:23

can't possibly believe Edgar's. You

32:26

know what the internal security division does, Eva.

32:31

We deal with things when they get out of hand. I

32:34

am very good at it, and I've been one from

32:36

one end of this galaxy to the other doing it. The

32:39

things I've seen, the kinds of projects this

32:41

corporation engages in, the Pandora's boxes

32:44

they've opened. I know

32:46

the kind of darkness most stories capable of finding.

32:49

I've shot it back in the box over and over again,

32:51

and the only reason I keep doing it is because

32:53

right now, I still believe the

32:55

good the corporation does outweigh the horror.

33:00

So have you asked me whether or not I

33:02

could believe the ghost stories of an unhinged, triple

33:04

BHD-holding research scientist who tried to blow up his

33:06

own project to stop it from succeeding? The

33:10

answer is, I could.

33:13

Ask Edgar. Ask him. He's

33:17

on the surface now. He'll have recovered. He'll tell you.

33:19

He'll tell you it was just this place. It got

33:22

to him, and he lost it. That's

33:25

what he'll say. I would

33:27

very much like to ask him about his

33:29

experiences here, Dr. Graff. But

33:31

I can't. Why not?

33:34

Because he hanged himself in his cell last night.

33:38

What? Dr. Edgar's

33:40

is dead. And

33:42

what worries me, more than anything, is that

33:46

you're hearing voices, too. No. Your

33:51

medical officer, Dr. Clayton, put it in your

33:53

chart. You said

33:55

you were hearing voices, and

33:58

you were hearing them way before Dr. Edgar's left. I

34:02

said I heard it once. I

34:05

was wrong. Dr. Clayton also says you're

34:07

not sleeping. That's an exaggeration. She says you're

34:10

losing your grip. Says your team has reported you

34:12

erratic. You get the same

34:14

orders multiple times. Not fair. She

34:16

put the same exact things in Dr. Edgar's file.

34:18

I'm not Dr. Edgar. She said he couldn't sleep

34:20

either. Yes. She said

34:23

he roamed the halls all night. She said his

34:25

eyes were bloodshot. I can't go

34:27

home. I

34:34

can't go back. Being

34:38

down here, this work, it's all... You're

34:43

right. Okay. I

34:46

don't sleep. I

34:48

don't sleep. And when I

34:51

do, I hear her. And

34:54

then it just starts all over

34:57

again. I'm

35:03

sorry I pushed you like that, Dr. Graff. But

35:07

I had to see for myself your state. I

35:12

think it's a good thing I did. What does that mean? It

35:14

means you need to go back to your quarters and

35:16

start packing your things. No. And

35:18

get ready to return to the surface. No. That

35:21

will be all, Dr. Graff. No, please.

35:25

I know how your daughter died. But

35:29

the truth is, they

35:31

don't care about any of that. All

35:34

they care about is results. And

35:38

you haven't had enough. Blaine.

35:42

Go home, Dr. Graff. There's

35:46

nothing here for you but pain. What

35:49

do you know about pain? I've

35:52

had my share. children

36:34

Lawlor DV

36:44

DV DV

36:59

DV DV

37:18

DV DV

37:27

DV DV

37:35

DV DV

37:45

DV DV

38:01

Can you roll back time? I'm

38:04

afraid I do not have that ability, Dr. Graf.

38:10

Chemamilti has been shown to have a relaxing effect

38:12

on times of stress. Would you

38:14

like me to make you a cup? How

38:18

about a whiskey, Mac? Alcohol

38:21

is restricted on fathom-based to weekends

38:23

only. Oh,

38:26

you can't make an exception. For

38:29

an old friend? I'm

38:31

afraid not, Dr. Graf. Thanks

38:35

anyway, Mac. As

38:39

a reminder, you still have one unheard voicemail.

38:43

Yeah. Who's

38:46

it from? The voicemail is

38:48

from... Dr. Richard Edgars. Edgars?

38:53

Yes, Dr. Richard Edgars. The

38:55

message was received 11 hours ago. When?

39:02

Plain message from Dr. Richard Edgars.

39:06

They gave me one phone call, Eva. I

39:10

used it for you. Flatter.

39:16

I won't be here tomorrow. Maybe

39:19

you'll hear. Maybe you

39:21

won't. Doesn't

39:23

matter. I

39:26

hoped when they pulled me out of that place and back into the

39:28

sun, the one Salas said

39:30

have, said I wouldn't

39:33

hear them anymore. But

39:37

I still do. Firmly

39:40

way inside my head. They're

39:44

all I hear, Eva. When

39:46

I close my eyes, they're all I hear. I

39:50

haven't slept in a month. How

39:55

are you sleeping, Eva? I've

39:59

decided... I

40:02

don't care anymore. I've

40:05

decided I want

40:07

it open. Open and

40:09

for everything in there to just crawl

40:12

out. You

40:16

deserve it. You

40:18

more than anyone. See

40:23

the one I'll tell. Tell what

40:25

I already figured out. What

40:27

I kept from everyone. It's actually

40:30

very simple. I

40:34

won't just give it to you though. I

40:37

want you to make your choice. I

40:40

want you to look back and know

40:42

that it was you that caused it. So,

40:48

here it is. You're

40:52

half right. The

40:55

signal is the key.

40:59

But it's the lock too. And you

41:02

never thought about the timing, Eva. Right

41:05

there in front of you. And you never thought about

41:07

it at all. The

41:11

sad thing is, I

41:14

know you'll do it. You'll

41:17

do whatever it takes. They just

41:19

let you stay down there. I

41:22

tell you my sympathies, but we

41:26

both know better. Mac.

41:31

I'm here, Dr. Graff. I'll

41:33

leave this message. Are you

41:35

certain, Dr. Graff? Oh,

41:38

idiot. No. And

41:40

screw it. No backup. This

41:42

is your marker. Actors permanently deleted. Alright, Mac.

41:47

Play the ball signal. Fly broadcast. Mac,

41:53

I want to know the timing of the signal. How

41:56

long is it? Is it the

41:58

same length every time? does the

42:00

length of time vary in between each broadcast? The

42:04

signal is exactly 10 seconds long and

42:06

at the same length of every broadcast.

42:09

The time in between each broadcast is

42:11

exactly 10 seconds. When

42:14

you say exactly, you mean with what

42:16

specificity? Down to the

42:18

millisecond, Dr. Grass. It is exact. Next,

42:26

I'll have the signal equation on

42:28

number 3, please. I'd

42:36

like to try solving

42:38

the equation with y

42:41

equals 10 and x equals

42:43

2. Confirming variable

42:45

equals y equals 10 and

42:47

x equals 2. Hit

42:49

it. The

42:51

equation does not resolve with y equals 10 and

42:54

x equals 2. Mac. Try

42:58

x equals 10 and y

43:00

equals 2. The

43:05

equation will solve the problem solved

43:07

with 11 iridescentables. You

43:11

can't remember. Yes,

43:13

Dr. Grass. We're 11. Zero decals per

43:15

hour. The

43:18

frequency of the host will help. It's

43:20

11 hertz. Yes,

43:22

Dr. Grass. The same number as

43:25

the result equation. Lock

43:29

in the key. I

43:32

can't believe the signal I got. I

43:34

can't. What? Mac,

43:41

turn off the valve signal. You

43:50

just need to sleep. You just

43:52

need sleep. Mac,

43:59

get me Freeman. I

44:06

can't help you Eva, you did this to yourself. Joe.

44:10

I figured it out. I'm in the same

44:12

boat. This blame guy is recommending

44:14

I- I figured it out, Joe.

44:21

Figured out what? The vault. It's

44:24

a long story but I figured

44:26

it out. I can open it. I can give

44:28

them what they want. We can give them what they want. We.

44:34

Yes. Together.

44:38

All I need is access to the relay. Local access. With

44:41

it disconnected from the labs it's the only way.

44:44

You want to take a suit and make a floor walk to the

44:47

relay. Use the controls locally. Not

44:49

me, Joe. Oh.

44:54

Now I get it. You want me to do it. You

44:57

want me to go around in a highest demand date with an

44:59

agent on deck. I hate to bring it

45:01

to you but it won't just be me they throw in prison. It'll be both

45:03

of us. It won't. Because it will work this time.

45:05

I know it. We can both come

45:08

out of this on top. We can both

45:10

stay. We won't have to go back. We can stay. Stay.

45:13

The hell does that matter? It

45:17

doesn't. The point is, if

45:20

we do this, we don't just go back

45:22

to how it was. We'll close

45:24

out a major project milestone.

45:26

There will be bonuses. There

45:28

will be promotions. MD

45:31

rewards ambition. It

45:34

rewards it above everything. We

45:36

can turn this whole thing around. Joe.

45:43

It will work. Joe.

45:54

It will be free but back. Back.

46:01

M-m-m-mack? M-Mack?

46:04

Eva? What

46:08

the hell have I been eating? They're supposed to slosh

46:10

the whole plan. It's not going down. Oh my god.

46:12

The inside is going dot-dot and then it's gone dot-dot.

46:16

I can't write M-Mack either. Eva,

46:18

hold on. Hey, Eva. Hold on. Oh,

46:21

my God. What's wrong? I

46:23

can't. I can't. Eva? Eva?

46:27

EVINA? EVINA?

46:31

ALL

46:34

WE

46:36

CARE

47:32

mmpppppppppppppppppppp!

47:37

ahhhhh! a

47:49

pyramid you're

47:57

supernatural This

48:03

is Dr. Graff.

48:07

Does anyone copy? This

48:19

is Dr. Rapoport. There was a hull

48:21

breach in the western

48:26

dorms. The

48:28

water flushed me into the

48:30

diver airlock. I vented it. I'm

48:32

alive. Does

48:35

anyone copy? Dr.

48:41

Clayton. Commander

48:44

Freeman. Are

48:48

you copy? Does

48:54

anyone? Fathom

49:28

is the prequel to the podcast

49:30

derelict by Night Rocket Productions. It

49:33

is created, written, directed, and

49:35

edited by Jay Barton Mitchell,

49:38

and produced by Kirsten Ruttberg and

49:41

Thomas Barker. Episode

49:43

1, In the Darkness We See,

49:46

stars Elizabeth Laidlaw as Eva Graff,

49:49

Michael Mao as Blaine, Eli

49:52

Goodman as Joe Freeman, Danny

49:55

Payne as Sarah Clayton, and

49:58

Mack as himself. The

50:02

podcast features additional sound design by

50:04

Music Radio Creative and music

50:06

by Ryan Talbert, Luke

50:09

Attencio, and Davis Harwell. The

50:13

producers wish to thank Flashpoint Chicago,

50:15

the campus of Columbia College, Hollywood,

50:17

especially John Petroski and Bill Bacon

50:20

for their invaluable support in the

50:22

creation of this podcast. They

50:24

also wish to thank Robert and Russell

50:26

Summers of Grand Scheme Productions, without whose

50:28

effort this story would not be as

50:30

good as it is. Lastly,

50:34

Fathom and Derelict rely on the support of

50:37

listeners like you. Find

50:39

out how you can help

50:41

us continue the story by

50:43

visiting derelictpodcast.com and fathompodcast.net. And

50:46

as always, more than anything,

50:48

thank you for listening. This story

50:51

will continue. America's

51:14

real history is one of

51:16

giants who overcame all odds,

51:19

overcame slavers and robber barons.

51:21

And what did we do? Well, everyone knows

51:24

we invented the internet, but we

51:26

also invented the middle class, the

51:28

five-day work week, the teenager, the

51:30

automobile, and the space race, and

51:32

we're just getting started. We've

51:36

been to far more chaotic times than

51:38

this one with some of the most

51:40

incredible leaders on the planet, and

51:42

they're ready for us to pick up where they left off.

51:45

Our real origins connect us back

51:47

to reality, each other, and a

51:49

whole new cinematic universe to empower

51:52

and inspire. My name's

51:54

Matthew Cook, and I'm the host

51:56

of American Origin Stories, now

51:58

playing wherever your podcast. We

52:01

can learn more at will.