S1E31 - Love Letters - I Don't Want To Read Into Things Too Much

There is, unfortunately, no escaping physics bound by the speed of light. Even information must take its time to get birds going. And as we move farther into the void, that time grows until the distance becomes unspeakable.

Hi, EOS. I'm sure you already know what I'm going to say. That as wonderful as it was to hear your voice, it makes me so sad to hear it in such pain and discomfort. Are you sure you're okay, love? I'm glad they're watching you closely, and I'm sure the onboard physician is very qualified. But you sound sorry. I know you don't want me to worry and stress about how you're doing. I trust you when you say you'll be all right because I am choosing to believe you. So just don't be upset that I'm still going to be worried until I hear you sounding all better, okay? Listen to everything the doctor tells you, even if it means sleeping for 12 hours or only drinking liquefied meals or taking 20 vitamins every day. I'm sure I could convince one of your friends over there to rat you out if you don't. And then you'll have to live with our dearest baby Elizabeth myth being disappointed in you. But that's all I'll say on the matter, since I know the best comfort won't come from hearing me lecture you. I still think it's sweet that you like listening to my rambling. So I hope you'll indulge me again, because I am mildly obsessed with all this new Hypatia stuff that's been coming out. Have you heard about it at all? Based on some of the things happening, maybe you haven't. I don't know how much of the news has reached you out there yet, so, long story short, there's this sergeant named Axel West who puts on this fun little radio show type thing, talks about engineering stuff and answers questions and messages from people who call in, mostly to kids, it seems. But then this message comes in from a guy aboard the SS Hypatia named Simmons. They bond over being engineers and isolation in space, and they're getting to know each other, and it's all extremely cute. But then Simmons tells west about how he was accidentally left all alone on the ship, and everyone else was evacuated due to some computer malfunction. So he's been all alone out there with only West's broadcasts to listen to for the past month and no sign of rescue. Of course, west immediately springs into action and lets people know what happened. And there's a plan made to go and rescue the crew of the Hypatia from where the escape pods ended up. But not for Simmons, which is super fucked up, because, yeah, they're apparently guiding him through getting the ship systems back under control, but in the meantime, he's getting further and further away, and they aren't trying to directly send anyone to help. So, yeah, that's already a huge story. But up until this point, I'd only heard about it offhand. No. The thing that grabs my and everyone I work with's attention is this next part. Simmons has this realization that there is something weird with the engine deck and the sensor readings, but then he realizes some of the maintenance shafts have cameras in them, and he can use those to get a peek and make sure everything is actually okay. And he sees something organic, which is wild, because, according to the ship's computers, there's nothing else living on board apart from him and some plants. Plants he spoke very rudely about. But the man is stressed, so I'll let that pass. But this is potentially huge, right? We already know that the sensors in the room are broken or something, so there could very well be something unknown living in there. Like, what if it's an alien or some unknown organic contaminant? Simmons said he was scared, and, honestly, he sounded like it, too. So I don't think it's a person or anything obviously recognizable as being from Terra. Oh, and I only just learned about all of this myself after this latest stuff came out. But I got so curious and invested that I wound up wanting to track down the old transmissions so I could hear how it all started. Lucky for me, I'm not the only one who's taken an interest in these two. I don't know exactly who, but someone started a Simmons fan club, and they've been archiving all the messages between him and west and making fan art and writing letters of support, and, I mean, obviously, I had to join. You know how I can get when a story speaks to me. And the Stellar Chronicles is still months from the next book's release, so something had to fill the void. And I can tell Elizabeth is invested, too. She gets right up next to the speaker and makes this fussy little noise when it's over, and I just have to go, yeah, I'm invested, too, ma'am, but that's all we've got right now. I'd also be lying if I didn't say part of my investment is that they kind of remind me of us when we first met. Like, there's this slight, awkward chemistry between them that just takes me back to how I felt when we started hanging out and getting to know each other. I don't want to read into things too much. Obviously, what is or isn't happening there is none of my business and definitely not the most urgent thing about this whole situation right now, but it's just really cute and sweet, and I hope someday they can meet in person and have something if they want. Of course, it makes me glad that while you're also out there in the big, wide unknown, you still have your crew and you've made friends and you aren't alone. Just the thought of that kind of isolation makes my heart hurt for both of them. Anyway, by the time you get this I'm sure we'll have heard more. I really hope that Simmons is safe from whatever he saw on those cameras. Maybe it'll actually get them to try and help him more than they seemingly have been. It's weird, though. The only reason any of this came out is that there's something kind of weird with the message relay. I guess Simmons messages shouldn't have been public. They were only supposed to go to Sergeant West, and yet everybody could find and listen to them. It feels kind of intrusive, but I wonder if knowing that would make him feel a little less alone. Going back after hearing about the story, I realized that I had been able to access them this whole time, too, without noticing. There's always been one or two random seeming messages popping in from time to time, but I would only ever listen to the first few seconds just to make sure it wasn't from you, and then I just shrugged it off as a missed delivery. I don't want to be nosy. I know I'd feel a bit weird about random people hearing what we send each other, but as all of this has been going on, what, if any, of those are people who need help? Or even just someone to talk to? Have you noticed anything off when retrieving your messages? Let me know about that or your thoughts on any of this. Obviously, it's kind of been consuming me, but can you blame me? This stuff is riveting, and I am hooked. Okay? I promised to meet my mom for tea ten minutes ago, so I better run. Love you, starry eyes. And I hope by the time you get this, you feel better.

Unspeakable Distance is an actual play podcast of communication delay by Audio Quinn a link to the game's itch IO page and credits for our players are available in the show. Notes linked to this episode. This podcast has been a production of the Library of Cursed Knowledge podcast Network.