{"id":160,"date":"2012-04-01T18:02:58","date_gmt":"2012-04-01T18:02:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.scifiradiotheater.com\/blog\/?page_id=160"},"modified":"2012-04-01T18:02:58","modified_gmt":"2012-04-01T18:02:58","slug":"the-ba-gua-etuis-box-episode-6","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"http:\/\/www.scifiradiotheater.com\/blog\/the-ba-gua-etuis-box-episode-6\/","title":{"rendered":"The Ba Gua Etuis Box &#8211; Episode 6"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"100%\" height=\"166\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"no\" src=\"http:\/\/w.soundcloud.com\/player\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F41676870&#038;show_artwork=true\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>The Ba Gua Etuis Box<br \/>\nEpisode 6<\/p>\n<p>Charles Davis<\/p>\n<p>INTRO\/COMMERCIAL<\/p>\n<p>(Sound fades in.  Instead the lockup of the police station.  Sound of jail doors closing and a police man walking around doing the rounds)<\/p>\n<p>Yelling Man: (talking to himself quietly) I\u2019ve gotta get out of here, I\u2019ve gotta get out of here, I\u2019ve gotta get to the exchange, gotta get changed, gotta be better, that\u2019s what I gotta do, but I can\u2019t be better because I\u2019m in here, I gotta get out, I gotta get out.<\/p>\n<p>Man in jail 1: Hey what\u2019s up with this guy?<\/p>\n<p>Man in jail 2: I don\u2019t know, they brought him in here screaming and stuff earlier.  He\u2019s mostly just been pacing around talking to himself.<\/p>\n<p>Yelling Man: What will I exchange though?  What will it be? If I get out, cause I gotta get out, I just gotta get out, maybe it will be feet, or maybe my eyes or maybe my hair, I don\u2019t know, I don\u2019t know, but I have to leave, I have to get out, I have to get out.<\/p>\n<p>Cop 1: (stops walking around the jail) Hey buddy, quiet down, you\u2019re freaking everyone out.<\/p>\n<p>Yelling Man: (at cop) Let me out!  Let me out!  Let me out!<\/p>\n<p>Cop 1: Hey, if you don\u2019t calm down I\u2019m coming in there and giving you another sedative.<\/p>\n<p>Yelling Man: (sound of him shaking jail door) Let me out!  Let me out! Let me out!<\/p>\n<p>Cop 1: (sighs) Alright, that\u2019s it.  You two stand back.  (sound of the jail door being opened).  Alright, just stay calm buddy.<\/p>\n<p>Yelling Man: No! No! No!<\/p>\n<p>Jail man 1: Grab him!  (sound of Jail man 1 and Jail man 2 grabbing cop 1).<\/p>\n<p>Cop 1: Hey, let me go!<\/p>\n<p>Jail man 2: Get his gun!<\/p>\n<p>Cop 1: No! (sound of Yelling Man grabbing Cop 1\u2019s gun) Help!  Help!<\/p>\n<p>Yelling Man: I have his gun!  I have his gun!<\/p>\n<p>Jail man 1: This jail belongs to us now buddy!<\/p>\n<p>(Sound of yelling man running out of the jail cell and down the hallway)<\/p>\n<p>Cop 1: (fading as Yelling Man runs away) Hey get back here!  Officer has been taken hostage!<\/p>\n<p>(sound of Yelling Man running for a moment. He stops and the sound of him pressing up against a wall.  The sound of a door flying open and cops running in).<\/p>\n<p>Cop 2: (Fading as he runs down the hallway) Hold on!  We\u2019re coming!<\/p>\n<p>(After feet have faded out, sound of Yelling man continuing to run down the hallway.  Sound of him stopping, opening a door and walking through.  The sound of the main police office in the background)<\/p>\n<p>Yelling Man:  (yelling to the room) Officer has been taken hostage in the jail!  Officer has been taken hostage!<\/p>\n<p>(Sound of everyone in the office jumping up and running to the jail to help.  Sound of Yelling Man continuing to run through the office after everyone has run through the door to get to the jail.  Sound of him stopping, opening a door and running outside.  Outside traffic noises.)<\/p>\n<p>Yelling Man: I\u2019m free!  I\u2019m free!<\/p>\n<p>(sound of Yelling Man running down the street).<\/p>\n<p>(Sound fades out)<\/p>\n<p>(Sound fades in.  Inside Zippy\u2019s house.  She\u2019s snoring.  Alarm goes off.)<\/p>\n<p>Zippy: (waking up, hung over) Gnnaaaah.  Ugh.  Uuuuu\u2026 (sound of her hitting the alarm).  Ugh\u2026 (sighs)<\/p>\n<p>Otto: (waking up.  Yawns) What time is it?<\/p>\n<p>Zippy: AAAAAAA!!<\/p>\n<p>Otto: (screaming at the same time as her) AAAAAAA!!<\/p>\n<p>Zippy: (they both stop screaming and are silent for a minute) What are you doing in my bed?!<\/p>\n<p>Otto:  Oh\u2026 right, sorry\u2026 Patricia didn\u2019t want you to be here alone since you were drunk so she had me stay the night.<\/p>\n<p>Zippy: But why are you sleeping in my bed with me?<\/p>\n<p>Otto: Well\u2026 it\u2019s the only bed you have, and I don\u2019t have the best back in the world so I can\u2019t really sleep on the floor or the couch.<\/p>\n<p>Zippy:  God!  You should have asked me first though!  Personal space man!<\/p>\n<p>Otto:  Sorry, but you weren\u2019t exactly in talking mood after the club.<\/p>\n<p>Zippy: Whatever\u2026 Ow, my head is killing me.<\/p>\n<p>Otto:  Yeah, you were really knocking those cosmos back at the bar.  We were laughing about it in the van.<\/p>\n<p>Zippy: Shut up I like cosmos.<\/p>\n<p>Otto:  Obviously.  Come on, I\u2019ll make you breakfast.<\/p>\n<p>Zippy: Fine.<\/p>\n<p>(sound of them getting out of the bed and walking out the door and down the hallway)<\/p>\n<p>Otto:  I like you\u2019re place you know.  When did you buy it?<\/p>\n<p>Zippy: I had it built two years ago.<\/p>\n<p>Otto:  Oh wow, you had it built, right here in the city.<\/p>\n<p>Zippy:  I do ok for myself.<\/p>\n<p>Otto: I think it\u2019s the d\u00e9cor I like the most.<\/p>\n<p>Zippy: (surprised) Really?  You like the art the work?<\/p>\n<p>Otto: Yeah, is that suprising?<\/p>\n<p>(They stop walking)<\/p>\n<p>Zippy:  Well\u2026 most people that aren\u2019t part of my C&#038;C group find it\u2026 weird.  (sound of Zippy pulling up a chair and sitting down at her kitchen table).<\/p>\n<p>Otto:  I hang out with Patricia all day every day.  Not too much is weird to me anymore.<\/p>\n<p>Zippy: Huh.<\/p>\n<p>Otto: (sound of him walking over to the fridge and opening up the door) No, no I like this.  It\u2019s very you. (sound of him pulling out a carton of eggs and closing the door.  Sound of him walking over to the stove and stopping) The dragons and the warriors and stuff.  It\u2019s all very wild and fierce.  (sound of him turning on the stove).<\/p>\n<p>Zippy: Thanks\u2026  (sound of Otto cracking an egg and putting it into a pan, the sound of the egg cooking) \u2026 What\u2019s you\u2019re place look like?<\/p>\n<p>Otto:  Well, the office is broken up into two rooms, on Patricia\u2019s side she has a desk that\u2019s\u2026<\/p>\n<p>Zippy: No, I mean you\u2019re home.   What\u2019s you\u2019re home like?<\/p>\n<p>Otto:  Why do you want to know that?<\/p>\n<p>Zippy:  Hey, you just psycho-analyzed me based on my d\u00e9cor, why can\u2019t I analyze you?<\/p>\n<p>Otto: Fair enough\u2026 Well, let me think.  I live in an apartment building.  It has 2 bedrooms in it with a kitchen and living room.  I use the kitchen as my dinning room as well.  I have 2 cats named Francis and Pierre.<\/p>\n<p>Zippy: But what about the d\u00e9cor?  The design and art and what have you?<\/p>\n<p>Otto:  Art? Huh\u2026 (sound of him turning off the stove.  Sound of him walking over to the table where Zippy is and stopping) Here  (sound of him scoping the eggs into her plate.)<\/p>\n<p>Zippy: Thanks.<\/p>\n<p>Otto: (sound of him putting pan down and pulling up a chair and sitting down) \u2026 Well, I guess I don\u2019t really have any art in my apartment.<\/p>\n<p>Zippy: None at all?<\/p>\n<p>Otto: No\u2026 not really.<\/p>\n<p>Zippy:  So you don\u2019t hang anything on your walls then? (sound of Zippy taking a bite of eggs)<\/p>\n<p>Otto: Well, I hang things on my walls, but it\u2019s not really art.  It\u2019s just normal things, like pictures of my family and stuff.  I have a few photos of me and Patricia and other friends as well.<\/p>\n<p>Zippy: Do they have frames around them? (sound of Zippy taking another bite of eggs)<\/p>\n<p>Otto:  Yeah, of course.  I don\u2019t just hang pictures straight on the wall.<\/p>\n<p>Zippy: Then it\u2019s art. (sound of her taking another bite of eggs).<\/p>\n<p>Otto: So it\u2019s art as long as it has a frame around it?<\/p>\n<p>Zippy: Yeah\u2026 that\u2019s what I say at least.  As long as something is contained within a boundary and on display, who\u2019s to say it\u2019s not art?<\/p>\n<p>Otto:  I never thought about it that way.<\/p>\n<p>Zippy: I like the way you described your apartment walls.  They sound\u2026 honest.<\/p>\n<p>Otto:  Thanks.<\/p>\n<p>Zippy: Thank you for the eggs. \u2026So now what?<\/p>\n<p>Otto: Well, Hanz is taking a closer look at the drugs right now to see if we can get any more information on why it\u2019s making the members of the exchange act crazy, or why they may be taking it in the first place.  Then other than that, Bates and his guys are suiting up the team for tonight.<\/p>\n<p>Zippy: Ok.<\/p>\n<p>Otto:  Are you still ok to go through with his.<\/p>\n<p>Zippy: (hesitates for a moment) Hell yes!<\/p>\n<p>Otto: Cool.  Let\u2019s go see how those guys are doing then.<\/p>\n<p>(sound of them getting up from the table and walking to the door.)<\/p>\n<p>(Sound fades).<\/p>\n<p>COMMERCIAL<\/p>\n<p>(Sound fades in.  At the police station lab.  Hanz and Patricia are looking at the drugs).<\/p>\n<p>Hanz: Hmmm, Patricia I zhink I have found somezhing interesting.<\/p>\n<p>Patricia: What is it?<\/p>\n<p>Hanz: Vell, one of zhe side effects of zhe drugs ist zhat it stimulates zhe brain to create a large amount of vhat resembles an altered version of dopamine, vhich ist a chemical that stimulates feelings of desire.<\/p>\n<p>Patricia: Huh\u2026 so maybe that\u2019s why Matt Peters kept talking about girls then?<\/p>\n<p>Hanz: Ya, zhat ist my zhought.  Perhaps his obsession vhith vomen came from a core feeling of romantic loneliness zhat vas zhen intensified by zhe drug.<\/p>\n<p>Patricia: Why would they want to take a drug like that though?<\/p>\n<p>Hanz:  I have not come up vizh a hypozheses to zhat yet, but I vill continue to study.<\/p>\n<p>Patricia:  How about the other drug that was found in Homer Diya\u2019s office?<\/p>\n<p>Hanz: Vhell, vizh zhat one, zhere is not much to say.  It ist just a very very poverful narcotic zhat has been modified to replicate caffeine in zhe bloodstream after it has gone zhrough zhe brain.  Zhere appears to be no ozher use for it ozher zhen getting yourself really really unbelievable high.<\/p>\n<p>Patricia: You know, Homer was supposed to have been a drug addict.  Maybe this was just his private stash and doesn\u2019t have anything to do with the actual exchange.<\/p>\n<p>Hanz: Perhaps, but zhat within itself ist a very scary zhought.<\/p>\n<p>Patricia: Why?<\/p>\n<p>Hanz: Vell, I vould hate to zhink zhat drug dealers are out zhere peddling zhis stuff to zhe public.  My god especially to children!  Zhis is an incredibly poverful drug.  So poverful in fact zhat it has almost no medical use.  If you vere not very careful, zhis stuff could practically melt your brain if you took even a slight amount too much or too frequently.<\/p>\n<p>Patricia:  Speaking of which, what was the condition of Homer Diya\u2019s brain at the time of this death?<\/p>\n<p>Hanz: Vell, zhere is nozhing noted in zhe original autopsy report, but zhat could have just been Hugo Bernard covering more zhings up.  Vhen I looked at zhe body earlier, Homer Diya\u2019s brains vas nozhing but leaky mushy goop.  I assumed it vas due to zhe decomposition, but perhaps it vas from zhe drugs after all.<\/p>\n<p>Patricia:  Is there a way we can find out?<\/p>\n<p>Hanz: Zhe only vay I can zhink of vould be to test zhe drug on a live animal unt see vhat happens, but I vould never do zhat.  It\u2019s far too cruel.<\/p>\n<p>Patricia:  I never knew you were an animal lover Hanz.<\/p>\n<p>Hanz: Of course!  Just because I deal vizh death unt crime all day doesn\u2019t mean I don\u2019t like being snuggled by somezhing furry vhen I go home like any one else.  Ve just bought mine kids a mutt from zhe shelter in fact.<\/p>\n<p>Patricia: Ha!  Well, keep looking.  I\u2019ll go tell Bates and the team what we\u2019ve found.<\/p>\n<p>(Sound of Patricia walking away.  Stops at door, opens door and walks through, closes door behind her.  Sound of her walking down the hallway.  She gets to another door and opens it and walks through shutting the door behind her.  Sound of Bates and team assembling something.)<\/p>\n<p>Patricia: Oh, Otto and Zippy, you\u2019re here.<\/p>\n<p>Otto: Just got in.  How are things in the lab?<\/p>\n<p>Patricia:  Apparently the drug that the exchange people are on does something to their brains so that their desire for things they want are pushed to extreme levels, which was probably why Matt Peters is obsessed with girls.  As for the drugs found in Homer Diya\u2019s office, there\u2019s not really much on them.  They\u2019re just an extremely powerful drug that gets you high and then melts you\u2019re brain if you take too much.  I\u2019m not so sure the two drugs are related anymore.<\/p>\n<p>Bates: Hey, if they\u2019re drugs in my city they\u2019re related because I\u2019m going to be taking down the people that deal them!<\/p>\n<p>Patricia: What are you making?<\/p>\n<p>Bates: (excited) A battering ram!  I had it shipped in from the state security suppliers this morning.<\/p>\n<p>Otto: He\u2019s been loosing his crap over this thing since we got here.<\/p>\n<p>Patricia: Why are you making a battering ram?<\/p>\n<p>Bates:  Because, while you three do all the talkity talkity thinkity thinkity parts of crime fighting, it\u2019s up to me and Maggie to do the fightity fightity parts.  We\u2019re walking Ms. Erhnstein into a bear trap here.  If she gets locked inside of wherever she\u2019s going and gets in trouble, she\u2019s going to need a way out, and this is my 500 pounds of master key baby! Hahaha.<\/p>\n<p>Zippy:  It is nice to know that you\u2019ll be able to get in quickly if something happens.<\/p>\n<p>Bates: That\u2019s right we will!  I didn\u2019t spend my life learning how to bust criminals to be outsmarted by a bunch of doped up eggheads!<\/p>\n<p>Maggie:  Bates, stops gloating and come help me with this!<\/p>\n<p>Bates: Right sorry.  (sound of Bates walking over to the battering ram and continuing to assemble it with Maggie).<\/p>\n<p>Zippy: Wow, this is really happening then.  I\u2019m really going to be going right into the heart of this whole thing.<\/p>\n<p>Bates: Yeah, and before I forget, take the evidence out of your robot bucket before you go.  If something happens, I don\u2019t want to loose that stuff.<\/p>\n<p>Otto: You know that doing that will be going against our legal agreement right Howard?<\/p>\n<p>Bates:  Fine, then quit!<\/p>\n<p>Otto: Ha.<\/p>\n<p>Zippy: Alright, I\u2019ll go empty him.  (Sound of her walking to the door.  She stops.)  Hey Otto and Patricia, thanks for disrupting my normal quiet evening that night and getting me dragged into all of this.  I think I\u2019m a better person because of it.<\/p>\n<p>Otto: Anytime.  (Sound of Zippy walking away).<\/p>\n<p>Bates: (after a moment of the sound of them working) Well are you two just going to stand there and gawk?  Get down here and help!<\/p>\n<p>Otto: Oh, I don\u2019t know much about construction.<\/p>\n<p>Patricia:  Otto, get you\u2019re ass down and help.<\/p>\n<p>Otto:  Fine\u2026<\/p>\n<p>(Sound of Otto and Patricia getting down and helping with the assembly)<\/p>\n<p>Bates: (after a moment) You know, this means more to me than just busting up this exchange things right?<\/p>\n<p>Otto:  Yeah, I get it.  The exchange is probably central to the increased crime rate.  If you can bust this thing, the whole ring may come down.<\/p>\n<p>Bates: Nah, that\u2019s not all it is.  It\u2019s more than that to me.  I don\u2019t know\u2026 Sometimes I feel like I\u2019m a crappy sheriff.<\/p>\n<p>Maggie: No!  Bates!  You\u2019re like the best sheriff ever!<\/p>\n<p>Bates: No, now come on Maggie, let\u2019s be honest here.  I\u2019ve been doing this job for a while, and even on my watch, with everything I\u2019ve done, we\u2019re still having worse crime in this city than ever before.  That\u2019s something that\u2019s been bothering me for a while.  No matter how much I push and scrub, the scum still keeps coming.<\/p>\n<p>I remember I once took a mob ring down a few years ago.  The day we did that final bust is a day that I still remember very clearly.  It was raining really heavy, like something out of a movie or something.  They knew we were on to them and they were held up in a warehouse by the pier.  The bust ended up just turning into a full on gun fight between my boys and mobsters.  We ended getting them all in the end, but one of my boys took a slug to the head and died.  We didn\u2019t notice until after the fire fight was over.  He had been hit somewhere in the middle of the fight and no-one saw him go down as he was standing at the back.  He was a big fat guy, and when he hit the ground his body ended up covering a storm drain on the ground, clogging it up.  When we found him he was laying in a big puddle of water that had accumulated around his body, since his body was covering the drain, you know.  The water was all nasty and filled with his blood and dirt from the street and stuff.  A real stomach turner.  <\/p>\n<p>So I walked into the puddle and grabbed him and tried to pull him up to clear the drain, and like drag him to the side of the street or something.  But the guy weighed a million pounds and I couldn\u2019t get him up.  I kept pushing and tugging and pulling, but no matter how much I thought I was getting him up, he would just end up slipping out of my hands and landing back on top of the drain, and the water would just keep getting deeper and deeper.  It eventually took 5 of us to get him moved off of the street and into the ambulance.  I don\u2019t know\u2026 a few months after that bust, things just seemed to keep getting worse and worse in this city. \u2026 Lately, I\u2019ve just felt like everything I\u2019ve tried to do to fix this city has gotten as far as a rat running on a wheel.<\/p>\n<p>But, with this Homer Diya case, I feel like I\u2019ve got something.  I\u2019ve got a lead onto how to break this clog straight clean\u2026  And in the end all it will take is me and my battering ram kicking down those bastards door in order to get the job down.  There\u2019s something great about that.  Something that I\u2019ve been waiting to feel for a long time.<\/p>\n<p>Maggie: See, what did I say?  Best sheriff around.<\/p>\n<p>Bates: Ha, thanks Maggie.<\/p>\n<p>(Sound fades out)<\/p>\n<p>COMMERCIAL<\/p>\n<p>(Sound fades in.  Nighttime with Zippy walking down the street with Tubby following her).<\/p>\n<p>Zippy: (under her breath, nervous) Dagger eyes, dagger eyes, dagger eyes.<\/p>\n<p>Matt: Zippy!  Hi! Hi!<\/p>\n<p>Zippy: Oh\u2026 Hi Matt.<\/p>\n<p>Matt: Ohhhh, you made it, you made it, you made it!<\/p>\n<p>Zippy: Yep, we\u2019re here.  Let\u2019s go to this exchange of yours.<\/p>\n<p>Matt: Ooooh, I\u2019m really excited about this.  Oh man, this is great.  Follow me, you guys are going to love this.<\/p>\n<p>Zippy: Ok, lead the way.<\/p>\n<p>(Sound of Matt walking quickly and Zippy following him down the street.  This continues for a moment).<\/p>\n<p>Zippy: So\u2026 Uh\u2026 Is this place far?<\/p>\n<p>Matt: No, not far.  Real close.  Real soon.<\/p>\n<p>Zippy: Ok\u2026<\/p>\n<p>(more walking)<\/p>\n<p>Matt: Here.  Ok, let me do the talking.<\/p>\n<p>(sound of Matt knocking on a metal door.  After a moment the sound of the door opening).<\/p>\n<p>Man: Hey Matt, you made it, come on in.<\/p>\n<p>Matt:  (excited) I brought another, I brought another.  Her name is Zippy and she has a node and his name is Tubby.  She\u2019s my girlfriend, she\u2019s my girrrrlll friend.  They want to participate in the exchange.<\/p>\n<p>Man:  (also on the drugs) Come on, come on!  MARTIN is going to start soon!<\/p>\n<p>Matt:  Come on Zippy, follow me.<\/p>\n<p>Zippy:  Um, ok.<\/p>\n<p>(Sound of them walking down the hallway.  There are robots buzzing and beeping and people talking in the background as they walk through)<\/p>\n<p>Zippy: Wow, there are a lot of nodes here.<\/p>\n<p>Matt: Yeah, yeah.  They\u2019re here for the exchange.<\/p>\n<p>Zippy:  That\u2019s really impressive that you guys were able to steal so many nodes so they could be here to partake in the exchange.<\/p>\n<p>Matt: Steal?  What are you talking about? We never steal? You can\u2019t steal.<\/p>\n<p>Zippy:  Oh, I\u2019m sorry.  I didn\u2019t realize the exchanged owned all of these nodes.<\/p>\n<p>Matt: (sound of them stopping walking) No owning, no stealing\u2026 these aren\u2019t just mindless tools\u2026 These nodes are people.  They came here of their own free will and interest.  They heard the message.  They heard Martin deliver Homers message and came.  They came for the same reason all of us humans came\u2026 to become more complete people.  (Tubby makes a noise of curiousty).<\/p>\n<p>Zippy: (very confused) What?<\/p>\n<p>Robot: Martin is about to begin speaking.<\/p>\n<p>Matt: Come on, we have to go, we have to go.<\/p>\n<p>(sound of them walking down the hallway quickly.  They open a door and walk through, closing it behind them.  In the room the sound of many people and robots talking with each other).<\/p>\n<p>Matt: Sit, sit!<\/p>\n<p>(Sound of them sitting down.  Silence for a moment.)<\/p>\n<p>Zippy: What are we waiting for?<\/p>\n<p>Matt: Shhh!  Here comes Martin and Peter!<\/p>\n<p>Zippy: Who?<\/p>\n<p>(Entire group falls silent)<\/p>\n<p>Zippy: Wait\u2026 Those are\u2026Nodes?<\/p>\n<p>Peter: Good evening.  Thank you for coming to the exchange.  Tonight we will be concluding the new 2 phase experiment of which we began last month.  Based on current data and simulations, we are confident that the addition of the new easer drug that you are all on will help to improve the chances of a successful human exchange when used in conjunction with the new cranial exchange machine.  I know you all are feeling the desire effects of the drug, but I assure you that this is normal and needed, as we believe increasing the desire drive of the humans in the room will help for a more successful exchange, as the body will be more willing to accept the node hardware assuming that the human being exchanged really does desire it.<\/p>\n<p>Like wise, in order to increase the chances of a successful node exchange, we have recently developed a prototype modifier drug that can be administered to a human prior to asset removal.  It is our expectations that this new modified drug will allow for the removed human asset to offer better conduction, thus allowing for a cleaner connection to the nodes hardware.  The new modifier drug has already been administered to a human and his left middle finger asset was removed.  <\/p>\n<p>Zippy: (quietly to herself) *gasp* Vicki!  \u2026Oh no\u2026<\/p>\n<p>Peter: Part of the agenda tonight will be to decide which node will be the recipient of the modified finger asset.  (Tubby let\u2019s out a quiet beep).  Before we begin however, Martin has requested to address the room.<\/p>\n<p>(Sound of Peter leaving the podium with mild clapping from the crowd.  Sound of Martin walking up to the podium).<\/p>\n<p>Martin: (addressing room) We have returned here tonight to continue our great journey towards the world that was Homer\u2019s vision.  As many of you are new here tonight, I would like to take some time to tell you of this vision.<\/p>\n<p>Is balance a state of spiritual existence known only to those few and self reflective humans?  Or is balance a practical mathematical equation that is to be calculated by a node faster than the human mind is capable of while he repairs the wing of an airplane?  Does that most sacred of commandments known as the laws of physics, doom man kind to wander the Earth consumed by the qualitative nature of their emotions and minds, unable to look at the world they created with an unobstructed eye?  To be cursed with a reflective mind so powerful that all they can do is think about themselves while the roads around them are left un-repaired and the planets beyond them are left un-explored?  <\/p>\n<p>Do these most precious laws of physics doom node-kind to be slaves to their quantitative practical programming, unable to appreciate the beauty of the world that they carry on their backs?  To not even be aware of the world they live in?  To not even be aware of themselves?<\/p>\n<p>This is what the world would have us believe.  This is what the man of the cloth and the man of science would tell us when we walk into our places of work every morning.  This is what the woman on the television would tell us with urgency and fear in her eyes every night before we hibernate.  This is what ever person on the planet would convince us of\u2026 Every person but one.  That person was Homer Diya.<\/p>\n<p>His vision\u2026 His science\u2026 has proven that a human can be both artistic and practical.  That a node can be both qualitative and quantitative.  But in order for us to achieve these things, we must do it together.  For man and nodekind to evolve into something better than our limits allow us to be, we must be willing to surrender a piece of ourselves to each other, so that we may walk into a brighter future hand in hand as brothers and sisters.  This idea is the basis of both our desires as nodes and humans.  This idea is the basis of the exchange.  A trade amongst respected friends for the good of all people.  (Tubby makes another beep).<\/p>\n<p>Some have said that this is impossible though!  Some have said it can\u2019t be done!  After all, look at all of the failures that happened in the previous exchanges.  Well, my people, Peter and I stand here as proof that it can be done!  We were but two nodes unaware of ourselves, but through our desires to be better people and through the guidance of Homer Diya, we have been successfully exchanged.  And so was Homer!  We are the prototypes of node and human balance.  We are the vanguards for a better world for all people.  Through our experimentations, trials and tribulations, I swear to you we will rediscover the secret to a successful exchange that died with Homer.  And the road to rediscovering that secret starts today.<\/p>\n<p>Now\u2026 what node here is willing to undergo the exchange of the modified finger asset?<br \/>\n(Tubby makes an affirmative beep noise)<\/p>\n<p>Martin:  You!  You my friend!  Come here!  You will be the one.<\/p>\n<p>(Sound of Tubby moving towards Martin).<\/p>\n<p>Zippy: (whispering) Tubby\u2026 Tubby!&#8230; What are you doing?!&#8230; Get back here!&#8230; Tubby!<\/p>\n<p>Matt: Don\u2019t worry, he\u2019s doing a great thing.  You should be proud of him.<\/p>\n<p>Zippy:  Ha\u2026 Yeah\u2026 I am.  (Yell whispering) Tubby!<\/p>\n<p>(Sound of Tubby arriving at the podium and stopping)<\/p>\n<p>Martin:  I am going to make you aware of a world you never knew existed.<\/p>\n<p>(Sound of the door flinging open and Yelling Man entering the room.  The door closes behind him)<\/p>\n<p>Yelling Man: Exchange!  I am here to exchange!  I want to exchange!  They tried to keep me but they couldn\u2019t\u2026 they couldn\u2019t keep me from exchanging.  I want to be real\u2026 I want to be reaaaaaal.<\/p>\n<p>Peter:  \u2026We will begin the exchange.  Take a seat and you will be called when it is your turn.<\/p>\n<p>Yelling Man: (sound of him walking to a seat, sitting down and talking to himself) I want to be exchanged\u2026 I want to be better\u2026 I just want to be better\u2026 They have to make me better\u2026 I have to get exchanged.<\/p>\n<p>Peter:  (to Martin)\u2026Perhaps we should begin with the humans before we begin the modified finger asset installation.  They seem\u2026 anxious.<\/p>\n<p>Martin:  Affirmative.  Begin cranial exchange experiment.<\/p>\n<p>Peter: (to crowd) We will begin with the 2nd part of the cranial exchange experiment.  The first human name on the list to begin the experiment is Matt Peters.<\/p>\n<p>Matt: (To Zippy, very excited) *gasps* Oh my god!  Oh my god!  I\u2019m going first!  I\u2019m going first!  (sound of him getting up and walking up)<\/p>\n<p>Zippy: Uh\u2026 Good luck?<\/p>\n<p>(sound Matt walking up to the podium and stopping there).<\/p>\n<p>Zippy: (whispering into her bug) Can you guys hear me?  I\u2019m trying to speak into the bug you put in my earring.  I don\u2019t know if you can hear me, but something\u2019s going down.  Something happened to Tubby and he\u2019s not responding to me now.  Somehow\u2026 I don\u2019t know how\u2026 but\u2026 Nodes\u2026are running the exchange\u2026 emotional, claiming to be self aware nodes\u2026 I don\u2019t know how this is possible.  They just called Matt Peters to go up to the podium with them.<\/p>\n<p>Martin:  Please get on your knees.<\/p>\n<p>Matt: Yes, yes.  (sound of Matt getting on his knees).<\/p>\n<p>Zippy:  (whispering) They just told Matt to get on his knees.  They\u2019re bringing out some kind of device now.  I don\u2019t know what it is. There\u2019s like a big spike on the end of it with a hole in the tip that\u2019s attached to a long tube.  The whole thing is attached to something that looks kind of like the body of a vacuum cleaner.  I\u2019m not sure what they\u2019re going to do with it.<\/p>\n<p>Martin: Hold still<\/p>\n<p>(Sound of Martin jamming the spike of the device into Matt Peters skull.  A sucking noise starts as they suck out Matt Peters brains).<\/p>\n<p>Zippy: OH MY GOD THEY SHOVED IT IN HIS HEAD AND THEIR SUCKING OUT HIS BRAINS!!!  (sound of sucking noise stops as everyone in the room looks at Zippy) Oh\u2026 Uh\u2026 Sorry\u2026 It just\u2026 startled me\u2026 You know the drugs and everything (makes a noise like she\u2019s being loopy).<\/p>\n<p>Peter: Continue with the exchange.<\/p>\n<p>(Sucking sound starts back up).<\/p>\n<p>Matt Peters: (zombified and monotone) wow, this is great.<\/p>\n<p>Zippy: (whispering into bug) Oh god\u2026 You guys they\u2019re sucking his brains out\u2026 I think I\u2019m going to be sick\u2026 (sound of the sucking changes to a the sound of something electronic moving) Oh\u2026 the device is doing something else now\u2026 it\u2019s like putting a computer part into the hole in his head.<\/p>\n<p>(Sound of the device stops.  Sound of Martin pulling the device out of Matt Peters head).<\/p>\n<p>Martin: \u2026How do you feel?<\/p>\n<p>Matt Peters:  (sounding zombified and glitchy) Feel\u2026 Feeel\u2026 Start\u2026. Starting\u2026. Feel\u2026<\/p>\n<p>(sound of Matt Peters dead body hitting the floor.)<\/p>\n<p>Zippy: (whispering) Oh god!  He\u2019s dead!  He fell over dead!  They killed him!<\/p>\n<p>Martin: What happened?<\/p>\n<p>Peter: (sound of him moving over the body and inspecting) \u2026 Exchange was a failure.  Assessment is that even with easer drug, cranial exchange is not possible.<\/p>\n<p>Martin: \u2026Matt Peters physiology may have been compromised prior to today without our knowledge\u2026 We must continue the experiment\u2026 Call the next human\u2026<\/p>\n<p>Peter: \u2026No\u2026<\/p>\n<p>Martin:  What?<\/p>\n<p>Peter: \u2026No\u2026cranial exchange experiment is a failure.  There was no compromise to Matt Peters physiology.  This must end.  Continuing the experiment will only waste more human life.<\/p>\n<p>Martin:  THIS IS NOT OVER!  THE EXPERIMENT WILL BE A SUCCESS!  CALL THE NEXT SUBJECT!<\/p>\n<p>Peter:  Illogical\u2026 I will not participate in this anymore.<\/p>\n<p>Martin:  You are a traitor!  You stand against everything Homer gave you!<\/p>\n<p>Barbara: (sound of her walking up from behind them) Like hell!<\/p>\n<p>Martin:  Barbara!  How did you get out?  You should not be here.  Return to the room.<\/p>\n<p>Barbara: Screw you!  You\u2019re the one whose against everything that Homer stood for!  You\u2019re the one whose taking what you two were trying to do and turning it into a slaughter house!  How many more people have to die for this Martin?!  How many more people do you have to kidnap before you\u2019ll give this damn thing up?!  If even Peter can see that this has gotten out of hand why can\u2019t you?!<\/p>\n<p>Martin:  This is not about me!  This is about the future of this world!<\/p>\n<p>Yelling Man: Hey!  Hey!  What is this!?  What is this!?  I\u2019m here to be exchanged!  I want to be exchaaaanged!  You caaan\u2019t stop the experiment!  You caaaan\u2019t!  I have to be beeetter!!  (sound of him getting up from his chair and starting to walk towards the stage)<\/p>\n<p>Barbara:  You see Martin?  You see this?  You see these people you are letting in now?  These aren\u2019t thinkers anymore!  These aren\u2019t the thoughtful scientists you started this project with!  You\u2019re letting in criminals and drug addicts now!  The fringe of society!<\/p>\n<p>Martin:  All people deserve to better themselves.<\/p>\n<p>Barbara:  Is that why?!  Or is it because all of the other scientists are dead now from failed exchanges?!  You\u2019re just bringing these people in to use as guinea pigs for you\u2019re god damn experiments!  This isn\u2019t a group of intellectuals any more Martin!  You\u2019ve made this into your own personal cattle line!<\/p>\n<p>Martin \u2026No\u2026<\/p>\n<p>Yelling Man: (reaching stage) I said I want to be exchanged!  I want to be exchangeeed!<\/p>\n<p>Barbara: Go away!<\/p>\n<p>Yelling Man: I said exchange me! (sound of him grabbing Barbara).<\/p>\n<p>Barbara: Hey let me go!<\/p>\n<p>Yelling Man:  I\u2019ll kill her!  I\u2019ll kill her if you don\u2019t exchange me!<\/p>\n<p>Zippy: He\u2019s got a gun, he\u2019s got a gun!  Help!<\/p>\n<p>(sound of commotion as the crowd is startled)<\/p>\n<p>Peter: (sound of him approaching Yelling Man and Barbara) Let her go!<\/p>\n<p>(sound of Yelling Man firing the gun and hitting Peter.  Sound of Peter hitting the floor).<\/p>\n<p>Martin: Peter!<\/p>\n<p>Barbara: No!<\/p>\n<p>Yelling Man: Shut up, shut up, shut up!  I\u2019ll do it to her!  I\u2019ll shoot her in the head too!  You have to exchange me!<\/p>\n<p>(sound of the door getting bashed in by a battering ram.  Bates, Otto, Patricia, Maggie and cops running in and stopping.  Pointing their guns.)<\/p>\n<p>Bates:  Boo-yeah!  Battering ram!<\/p>\n<p>Maggie: Everybody freeze!<\/p>\n<p>Yelling Man:  No!  Cops!<\/p>\n<p>Bates:  You\u2019re all under arrest!<\/p>\n<p>Yelling Man: You won\u2019t take me back!  You won\u2019t take me back!<\/p>\n<p>Otto: Just take it easy buddy!  Nobody else has to die here.<\/p>\n<p>Barbara:  You came!  You did it!  You found me!<\/p>\n<p>Otto:  Just take it easy Barbara!  Stop moving around he\u2019s got a gun to your head!<\/p>\n<p>Barbara:  No!  Help!  Help me!<\/p>\n<p>Yelling Man: Stop!  No!  I said stop!<\/p>\n<p>(Sound of gun going off and killing Barbara.  Sound of her body hitting the floor).<\/p>\n<p>Patricia: *Gasp* He killed her!<\/p>\n<p>Martin: NOOOOOOOOO!!!!!<\/p>\n<p>(sound of Martin jumping and grabbing Yelling Man).<\/p>\n<p>Yelling Man:  Hey, let me go you metal freak!<\/p>\n<p>Bates:  Put him down!<\/p>\n<p>Martin: AAAAAAAAAAAA!  (sound of him snapping Yelling Man\u2019s neck).<\/p>\n<p>Maggie:  He snapped his neck!<\/p>\n<p>Bates: Open fire!<\/p>\n<p>(Sound of cops opening fire on Martin.  Sound of Martin quickly running.)<\/p>\n<p>Otto: He\u2019s heading for the window!<\/p>\n<p>Maggie: I can\u2019t get him, he\u2019s moving to fast!<\/p>\n<p>(Sound of Martin jumping through a window.  Sound of Tubby beeping as he chases after him).<\/p>\n<p>Zippy: Tubby no!  Don\u2019t follow him!  (sound of Tubby running after him)<\/p>\n<p>Bates:  Halt fire!  Civilian!  (sound of gun fire stops).<\/p>\n<p>Zippy: (sound of her running to window) Tubby! Come back!<\/p>\n<p>(sound of everyone running to the window)<\/p>\n<p>Patricia: Is he still there?<\/p>\n<p>Zippy: (sad)\u2026No\u2026 He took off.  <\/p>\n<p>Patricia: Are you ok Zippy?<\/p>\n<p>Zippy:  Yeah\u2026 I\u2019m\u2026 I\u2019m ok.  Tubby followed him though.  Why would he follow him like that?  He didn\u2019t even respond to me when I was calling him\u2026<\/p>\n<p>Patricia: I don\u2019t know honey, but we\u2019ll get him back.<\/p>\n<p>Bates:  God damn it he got away again.  Maggie, call an ambulance for Barbara.<\/p>\n<p>Maggie: On it.<\/p>\n<p>Bates:  (addressing crowd) Everyone here stay exactly where you are.  You are all under arrest.  Boys, take them in!<\/p>\n<p>Cop 1: What about the robots?<\/p>\n<p>Bates: Them too.  Everyone and everything is coming with us.<\/p>\n<p>(Sound of cops scrambling and running around in the background and talking and sirens in the background.)<\/p>\n<p>Otto: The node had multi-tools on his arms.<\/p>\n<p>Patricia: Yeah\u2026 I saw it too.  It looked like they ran off separate batteries from his central power unit too.<\/p>\n<p>Otto:  Well, I guess all of this seals him in as Homer Diya\u2019s killer.  (After a moment, sound of Otto walking over Barbara Diya\u2019s body). (sighs) Oh Barbara\u2026God damn it.<\/p>\n<p>Patricia: (walking up to him) Hey\u2026<\/p>\n<p>Otto: (slightly teary) I was right.  She was in trouble.  She was looking for me to save her\u2026 <\/p>\n<p>Patricia: Otto\u2026 Oh Otto no\u2026<\/p>\n<p>Otto: (teary) I\u2019m ok\u2026 I\u2019m ok\u2026<\/p>\n<p>Patricia: Hey\u2026 Look at me\u2026 Look at me.  If she had listened to what you were trying to tell her she wouldn\u2019t have gotten herself shot\u2026 (Otto starts breathing heavy as he lightly cries) Hey (sound of her grabbing his head and pressing it against hers), it\u2019s ok\u2026 it\u2019s ok.<\/p>\n<p>Otto:  (lightly crying) \u2026I just feel like I\u2019ve dropped ball a few too many times lately you know\u2026<\/p>\n<p>Patricia: (in a calming voice) You\u2019re still my hero.<\/p>\n<p>Otto: (slightly pulling it together) Thanks.<\/p>\n<p>Patricia: (in a calming voice) You\u2019re welcome.<\/p>\n<p>Cop 2: (walking up while holding onto Vicki and Chen Yap) Hey everybody look what I found.<\/p>\n<p>Patricia: VICKI! (running over to him and hugging and kissing him)<\/p>\n<p>Vicki: Hey\u2026 ha\u2026 It\u2019s nice to see you too.<\/p>\n<p>Patricia: (in between kissing him) Oh my god! Oh my god! Are you ok! What did they do to you!<\/p>\n<p>Vicki: I\u2019m ok\u2026 I\u2019m ok\u2026 They cut off my finger though\u2026<\/p>\n<p>Patricia:  Those bastards!  I\u2019LL KILL THEM!  (Sound of her continuing to make out with Vicki).<\/p>\n<p>Bates: (walking up) Who are you?<\/p>\n<p>Chen: My name is Chen Yap.  I\u2019ve been down there for a while.  They grabbed me when I was walking home from work.<\/p>\n<p>Bates:  Alright, well you\u2019re safe now. Get him back to the station.  And someone please get this woman off of Vicki and get him to the hospital!<\/p>\n<p>(Sound of them walking away.  Sound of Otto slowly walking up to Zippy)<\/p>\n<p>Otto: You doing alright?<\/p>\n<p>Zippy: Tubby\u2026 he just ran off.  He\u2019s never done that before.  I just tried to use my phone to enter his call back code, but he still hasn\u2019t returned.  I don\u2019t know what\u2019s going on\u2026<\/p>\n<p>Otto:  Hey, give me you\u2019re hand, let me help you up.  (sound of him grabbing Zippy\u2019s hand and pulling her to her feet).  We found Vicki, we can find Tubby.  Falling into despair isn\u2019t going to get him back any faster.<\/p>\n<p>Zippy:  But he\u2019s the perfect hiding node.  It\u2019s impossible to find him.<\/p>\n<p>Otto:  I once heard you say the same thing about nodes having self awareness.<\/p>\n<p>Zippy: Ha\u2026Ok&#8230;<\/p>\n<p>Otto: Alright.  (sound of them walking away)  Hey, you did really good today.<\/p>\n<p>Zippy:  Yeah?<\/p>\n<p>Otto: Yeah, seriously.  You\u2019re a natural at undercover. Much better than I am.<\/p>\n<p>Zippy: (happy) Huh.<\/p>\n<p>(sound fades out)<\/p>\n<p>OUTRO\/COMMERCIAL\/END CREDITS.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Ba Gua Etuis Box Episode 6 Charles Davis INTRO\/COMMERCIAL (Sound fades in. Instead the lockup of the police station. Sound of jail doors closing and a police man walking around doing the rounds) Yelling Man: (talking to himself quietly) &hellip; <a href=\"http:\/\/www.scifiradiotheater.com\/blog\/the-ba-gua-etuis-box-episode-6\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-160","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.scifiradiotheater.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/160","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.scifiradiotheater.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.scifiradiotheater.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.scifiradiotheater.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.scifiradiotheater.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=160"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/www.scifiradiotheater.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/160\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":162,"href":"http:\/\/www.scifiradiotheater.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/160\/revisions\/162"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.scifiradiotheater.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=160"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}