RQ Network Feed Drop - The Program audio series: All unsaved progress will be lost

Magnus Archives 10th anniversary. Rusty Quill is hosting a special Magnus live show at the

“upcoming Crossed Wires podcast festival in Sheffield. Join co-creators Jonathan Sins and”

Alexander J. Newell on the 5th of July for a new iteration of our live show "Statement Begins", where you can hear fan favourite statements such as Anglefish, Red Live and gain exclusive insights into the creation and history of the show straight from the creators themselves. You can buy your tickets now including limited numbers of meet and greet tickets from Crossed Wires.live,

or the link in the description of this episode. Hello everyone, it's Helen here,

voice of Azou from Rusty Quill Gaming and Inola from Stellafurmer. Today we're sharing an episode from one of the podcasts on the RQ Network, the program. The program audio series is a dark science

“fiction anthology set in a future in which money, state and God have been confused into a single”

entity. The show focuses on ordinary people inhabiting this extraordinary world and for them, it's not this future that is terrifying, it's our present. In this episode, called All Unsaid Progress will be lost, a beloved system administrator suddenly disappears, leaving Sam, a poor stone Mason, to embark on a lifelong quest to preserve her memory. To listen to more, click on the link in the description or search for the program audio series wherever you get your podcasts. You can find

more information on Rusty Quill.com or program audio series.com. That's program with one M, have fun and enjoy the episode. The back end and the front end intersect in the most unusual ways. Not to present new things, but to present things as new. The simulated realities of the programs back end are endless. But that doesn't mean they don't end. Sooner or later, the system administrators

tasked with running each individual simulation need to leave their protectorates. The departure may occur in many ways. Some of them planned and orderly, some of them

decidedly less so. The end result, however, is always the same, a whole.

This is the impending destiny of simulation 2833-91156.28-777C. Or, as its inhabitants know it, Simulon. My dear children, I speak to you as one as I carry a message that concerns everyone. And which one is that magnificent admin? A message of preparation. I must teach you to become self-sufficient. Through my guidance, you will learn all there is to learn. It will be my ultimate

“work. For this way, you will also learn the most important skill of them all.”

Cooperation. Above all else, this is the skill you will need to make it on your own. That I can no longer be your system administrator. In 72 hours, I will be leaving you. Because at one point, I have to. We won't make it without you. You will if you memorize what I tell you and apply it. I will do this by speaking to you as many, commit my instructions to memory, piece them together, and pass them along. Do this by talking to your parents,

to your children, to your neighbors, those that you favor, and even more to those you don't, only by working together will you be able to survive and thrive. So began three intense days of every adult inhabitant of simulator, memorizing, admins, words, a complete compendium of knowledge divided into six general categories, agriculture, animal husbandry, materials, medicine, machinery, and

understanding of the natural world. It came down to approximately 400 words per citizen,

Besides nitrogen, plants also need calcium and phosphorus, so always crush animal skeletons

“and then spread them over your fields. Are you committing this to your memory?”

Calcium and phosphorus. So always crush animal skeletons and then spread them over your fields. Yes, admin. The Centricate temperature system is defined by locking in zero degrees centigrade as the point at which water freezes and 100 degrees as the point at which it boils. Just mark those two points on your thermometer and divide what's left into 100 equal segments. "How do we construct a thermometer?" I was just about to say. "Sorry." You will find many useful

raw materials in the minds when descending into a mind, always remember to bring with you a canary.

"So it would sing and keep us company underground?" "Not quite."

“The 4000 individuals admin personally spoke to became known as witnesses and the body of”

knowledge she imparted under them as the manual. It was hers and their greatest triumph. After the Allotted 72 hours passed, cis admins simply said, "You got that?" It was a question that expected no answer. The system administrator was gone. Wake up Sam. The early bird catches the wool.

By that logic, the early worm is better off staying in bed. Four years have passed since cis admins abrupt departure. Sam was 12 at the time, which had made him too young to become a witness. Something that now, at 16, he felt as a whole in his heart. His father, mother, and older brother all committed a snippet of the manual to memory. The three sections they were assigned were about masonry. Found near the beginning of

the materials chapter. "Look at you. Half man, half mattress. Come on, get up. I need you to help me

polish the sandstone. The dust always gets in my eye. You wouldn't want your son to go

completely blind with you. And you wouldn't want your father to work the stone all alone, would you? I wouldn't want anyone to work actually. Oh Sam, not this again. I just don't understand how you can accept this. What exactly, Sam? All of this, we used to wake up to the melody of loot. People would spend the day coming up with stories and jokes. Dad, I remember dancing every night. Now, for four years we've toiled from the minute the sun appears to the minute,

it sets. If the moon were bright enough to light this terrible place, we'd be working into the night. Son, what do you want me to say? You think I don't know things were better before? Yeah, you're right. It's been a bad four years and who knows how many bad ones are yet to come. Yes,

“we miss our system and men dearly. And I'm sorry for what happened to your eye. But you need to”

rise above this. Your brother might be older, but he can't do everything. Mom and I need your help. No, you're right. You're right. Come now. I give you old man a hand. I thank you. Tomorrow is gathering day. At least we'll get some rest then. Sam loved gathering day. Not because it was the only day of the week he didn't have to work, or at least not only because of it, what filled his heart the most was the sight of the entire simulon coming together to share pieces

of the manual. All right, you guys. Stay close. There's not as many people as usual. People want to sleep in. You should relate seeing how you take every opportunity to just like off. Hey, be nice to your brother and be I'm gonna look out for your mother. She said she'd wait for us in front of the house of medicine. Oh my, Terry, torocho. How are you? You worthless piece of late night. It's a cork and the one that keeps the bottle closed. The one that fell in,

Last time we invited their beverages, we could hardly remember our sections let alone memorize

any others. For court's sake, Sam, loosen up. We've been grinding the whole week like literally grinding. I'm sure admin herself would want us to relax a bit. Hi, the case you won't be getting much of their brew. The cork suckers won't give it to anyone. What? You're saying the fermentation crew won't share? That's exactly what I'm saying. The only reason I got someone's because I promised one of them my tile is kitchen wall. He has his own kitchen, but they're supposed to be communal.

And everybody's supposed to share the fruit of their labor, right? Yeah, there we are.

“Every day we study further from admins the light. Speaking of, have you seen that wife of mine?”

Yep, she was one of the house of agriculture just a few minutes ago.

What's the, uh, the foul at women then or younger daughter? You mean, come to Connie? Why do you have eyes for it? Or should I say you're I? Uncustom to the concept of personal accountability and unaware of most predicaments. Accidents in post-admin simulon were common, which is how Sam lost sight in his eye. A few seconds of carelessness with a chisel, leading to an injury to last a lifetime. It seemed so out of proportion, so fundamentally unfair.

Should your mouth tear you or I'll shut it for you. I just thought that you just thought, what? I was, I was just, I was, now I'm sure Terry meant no ill. It's probably just fermentation

“witnesses, speaking through him, right? Well, it's a boat and potion they make for a poisonous one.”

I can't tell I, uh, they can't either simply just to be certain. Wow, wow, wow. Later, Terry and hey, hey, don't forget to return the lump hammer I gave you. I will. It almost six months. I will. Oh, hey, there's your wife, put the bowl on that. She'll stone, so she comes with mom. There they are, my two wonderful sons. And hello. There you are, handsome husband of mine. Hi there, you handsome husband of mine.

You will know a company, Connie, right? Uh-huh. Oh, we're aware. Hi, guys. How are you spending gathering day? Oh, we're here to learn, uh, admins, good words. I'm glad to hear it. I have to admit, I've started to think some people come to gathering day for reasons less pure. Oh, trust me, a lot of people around here are interested in purity by which, I mean, how pure the alcohol content is. Well, then I'm even more glad to hear your sons are among

“those who still hold our admins words to Rue. Oh, absolutely. That's why we're all here to learn”

the words true. But really, do you happen to know any words from the chapter on animal has been dream? It's my house. Um, yeah, let me think. Uh, I've got to admit, um, out of all the insects, you will find bees the most useful. To harvest their sweet nectar, build them a hive with movable frames. A space of between six and nine millimeters should be left between the frames, which bees will not block with wax, but instead keep as a free passage. This will allow you to

extract honey without destroying the colony. The apiary section. I must admit, I myself haven't made it that deep into my own chapter. Yeah, I just like to keep my brain busy. Ryan busy, but not much else. It's most impressive. Sam, would you mind teaching me some more sections? Maybe the evening before the next gathering day? Um, what? Um, Sam is hesitating because he's

always helping his mother and me around the house after work. What? No, he's not. Don't worry,

Sam. We'll manage without your help for a change. Ah, please. Go and share your knowledge with Connie. Oh, two cans. Beek. I'll meet you next to the mill house. Looking forward to it. So am I. Connie had reasons to be impressed with Sam's recolability. As even the most adroid of individuals managed to commit, just a small part of the manual to memory,

before they were no longer able to recall it with full finality. Sam once brought up this exact issue with his mother. Um, I've been thinking, how do we contain Sysadman's message?

learn the good words from them. Well, that's just it. Haven't you noticed how they're

retelling of the manual isn't exactly the same when you compare it against the original witness? So a word or two might be lost or jumbled, but the message is still the same. I'm not so sure.

“Remember how joyful Joe mixed up the amount of sulfur, charcoal, and potassium nitrate in black powder?”

Yes, but other witnesses caught. He's there. Yes, this time. But with the passage of time, the issue is only going to become more acute. It's like that game of Sparrow's whispers. We used to play his children. You know, we were sitting a circle. We whisper a word into each other's

ears, and then at the end, we laugh because it's revealed how the final utterances become so

different from the original thought. Yes. So. So how are we going to make sure the same thing doesn't happen to Admin's message? By doing what our greater administrator told us, and that's staying vigilant, hardworking, and united. I mean, what else can we do, really? It was the what else part that kept Sam awake through the night. How do we keep Admin's good

“words uncorrupted as they pass from person to person, from house to house, from generation to generation?”

And then he got it. The answer wasn't in the words. It was in the pictures. Rock is the best friend of man. It is used to provide cover, which is a need greater than hunger or thirst. For a person will survive a hot day without water, but will not survive a cold night without shelter. People of Samulan distinguish between two types of visual arts, painting and sculpting. Neither of them was suitable to retain Admin's message intact from millennia. So Sam devised a novel hybrid

mode of visual arts. He took a stone tablet and chiseled it, forming a sunk outline of what he wanted to depict. You will want the building rock to be strong, yet light, durable, yet easy to handle, with good insulating qualities. One such rock is limestone, and it can be found all over Simulan. However, that only resolved the problem of the form, the issue of how to depict the subject matter remained. By their nature, instructions denote a continuous action, and a static image cannot

represent movement as it is a single moment frozen in time. Sam pondered long and hard, how to resolve this issue. It was then that the inspiration struck. What if one lined up a series

“of key moments, one after another? To extract it, drill a series of holes along a straight line,”

then insert wooden wedges, and soak them with water. The wood will swell up, breaking the limestone along the dotted line. This is how Sam came up with what he termed.

Sequential art. It was Sam's first attempt at preserving the system administrators knowledge.

For eternity. All right, everyone, come on in. Wow, so you actually were doing something in the workshop the entire week. I thought you were just polishing your gemstone. Stop it now. Your brother was clearly working hard on something. Or a chain. Yes, I was. And here it is. Oh, uh, blanket. No, it's what's underneath the blanket. Oh, wow, it's, it's, what is it? It looks like a picture, but made in stone. It's not a

picture. Okay, but the question stands. What is it? But take a guess. Um, uh, decoration? Yes, that's it. A beautiful decoration and a beautiful picture. Truly great, A son. No, it's not a picture, and it is not a decoration. Oh, wow, I know, I know, I know what it is. It's what you mic from across the pond makes. It's um, erotic imagery. See how the guy is making the motion with his hand like he's polishing his gemstone. The guy polishing his gemstone is in fact a

mace and handling a wooden wedge. I modeled it after father. Oh, I have polished the gemstone quite a bit today. The most freshest down indeed. Oh, you're missing the picture here. Hey, didn't you just say

shows a mace in drilling holes. And then the second one shows him inserting wedges in the line,

“and then he's soaking them with water and the third frame does anybody see this? I thought it was”

the climax time. It is not erotic. Yes. I, yeah, I guess I do see some of it. Now that you explain it. Look, somewhat ever it is. It's lovely, but what is it's purpose? Don't you get it? It's this admin's instructions. The last part of section one of chapter six in the manual. The manual. But why? To save it from becoming lost. What do you mean, last? We're committing our good admins instructions to memory. You can lose a rock. You can't lose your head. But what about that

animal husbandry family that died in the fire? It's only because their daughter miraculously survived that we haven't lost the section on the domestication of cats and she's six who knows if she even got it right. Look, I'm just asking you as my family to please consider the potential.

I know this is just my first attempt. It's hardly a masterpiece. I know that. But look, we're not here

to judge if what you made is a masterpiece son. But I can tell you this, your mother and brother are right. The manual will live forever in the greatest masterpiece of all the human mind. It's exactly what I'm afraid of. What exactly? I haven't you noticed how houses are trying to keep admins knowledge to themselves. But your tongue. House is shared knowledge. Like the fermentation gang is sharing ale. That's different. Ale is not knowledge. It might be the opposite of it in fact.

“Okay. Well, what about when the house of medicine didn't want to share penicillin?”

Oh, that was a misunderstanding. That was only resolved because pilfering peat procured some.

Do I need to remind you how sick mom got before we finally got some? Okay. No, what if there was

no pilfering peat? Hmm? She would be dead right now. Do not sow the seeds of disunity in simulon with your picture, Sam. I am trying to save unity in simulon and they are not pictures. It's sequential arts. If it's indeed the well-being of simulon that you're after, you'd be better off working the field so people have something to eat. Okay, just me. If I'm right with this, I'm way better off working with stones. Well, all right then. My shift starts

in half an hour. I've got no clock for this nonsense. I'll help your son. Sam, don't mind your father and brother. You know how they are less malleable in court stone. I for one, think you'll picture. I'm very pretty. And I think they have the potential to capture admins good words. I really do. Please continue with your project. Thanks mom. It's pointless. I mean, you know what the sequence was supposed to depict by heart yet.

You weren't able to understand it. How can I expect anyone else will? Well, why don't you ask that Kanye that? When you're supposed to meet up with her tonight? Of shell stones. That's today. Hit the mill house. I got to go.

“Finding love takes work. Keeping it even more so. And in both cases, success is not guaranteed.”

But that's precisely what makes it so precious. There you are. I was beginning to think you forgot about our arrangement. Sorry. I just got a little lost. Got lost in semi-lawn. No, no, no. Got lost in time. We all lose against time. Sisytman sets over herself. Did she? Well, not exactly. But how else do you explain what happened to her? At least her words remain with us. She didn't have

a way with words. Didn't she? There are many quotes in the manual that are not only useful but that I find beautiful in their own right. Do you mind maybe sharing? Sharing one with me? Okay. Well, I'm personally partial to the beginning of section three chapter four. Also known as the introduction to chickens. In the tapestry of Simulon's aviary ranks, no birds stands out like the humble chicken. With their client nature, chickens emerge not merely as creatures of utility,

but as soothing companions. Additionally, their feathers make an excellent pillow filling, literally supporting your dreams. Wow, supporting your dreams. A great eight hour phrase.

Do you think you could teach it to me? For sure. Rock is the best friend of man.

“It is used to provide cover, which is a need greater than hunger or thirst. For a person will”

survive a hot day without water, but will not survive a cold night without shelter. No, it is a lovely sentiment. But I'd argue that rock is not the best friend of a man. No. Oh, I mean, sure. It is used to provide shelter, but there is another way to survive a cold night. And how's that? Well, to share the warmth of your body with the body of someone else. Yeah, I guess our good admin missed out on that particularity.

You know, I was thinking we'd make a good couple. You and me? Yeah. Well, absolutely. I mean, after all, I know all about the birds. And you know all about the bees. I do love birds, and especially with potatoes, especially so soft. Well, I heard the opposite of you Mason guys. Oh, I heard that you're rock hard. Funny, you mentioned rocks. I was actually working on

retaining admins' words the whole week. Basically, I was trying to model the manual in stone.

“Why? So we wouldn't have to rely on the witnesses. But who are we going to rely on, but each other?”

What? I mean, sure. Sure. I agree with you in principle, but rocks are just more more reliable, I guess. Don't you think that if admin wanted us to retain her words in any other way, she would have done it herself? Yes, but yes, but what? What if three days just wasn't enough to do it all herself? I still don't see what this has got to do with rocks. I mean, my family

memorized a passage on birds, but you don't see me trying to teach admins' words to crows?

Anyway, I've got to go. Already? Yes, I've got to go take care of the chickens. I don't need one more in the fold. Sammy turned home that night with a feeling in his throat. He did not recognize. If pressed, he wouldn't have described it as a mixture of regret, embarrassment, and pain. He had found himself in the dreaded incompetence gap, not knowing enough to know how to succeed,

but knowing enough to know he failed. To stay off the feeling of inadequacy, he buried himself even deeper into sequential art, going through the problem in circles again and again, like a wet stone sharpening an axe. The thing is, stone maces don't really have a use for an axe. To hack away at a piece of rock would be as futile as to try to grind down a tree. You need the right tool for a job, which is how he slowly realized his whole approach was wrong.

His initial idea was to depict the instructions realistically. Instead, he should have simplified them, trying to capture their essence in a few simple lines. So he set out to come up with the tool representations of each word in his section of the manual. Six months later, it was time for another demo.

“Okay. Remember how last year I showed you sequential art?”

Everybody remember what I'm talking about? Yes, we do, sweetie. Yeah, yeah, we know, unfortunately. Yes. Ten you. I realized the mistake I made then was expecting you to be able to derive meaning from the images. So, what I've been doing for the last six months was trying to

what you are now holding at in front of you are simplified pictures, or has I been calling them? Simples. Simples? Yeah. Each word is represented through its own unique simple. So, what words are these symbols of? Well, it's the opening line of materials. Rock is the best friend of man. You see this last simple, it means man. So, I reduced it to a stick figure of a human being. However, if you put a head scarf on it, then it means a woman. Why a head scarf? Because

mom's always wearing head scarf. No, that's sweet. Stupid. Let your brother finish. So, here we see

the simple for the word friend, it's represented by two stick figures connected at the hips. The same picture crossed out means an enemy. Oh, Sam, you shouldn't have simplest for bad words.

“Only nice and happy ones. Okay, well, we can discuss that later, mom, but I think I think you'll”

like the simple for rock, which is represented by the stylized geometrical shape of pirate, the most beautiful of all the rocks. And what are these squiggly lines? Yeah, so those represent words for like, is the of, they don't really occur in nature, so I opted for a more abstract approach. Wow, I really got a hand at you, brother. I thought what you showed us last time was dumb, but what you showed us this time is even dumber. Okay, brother. Well, people called

dumb anything they don't understand. Right, and tell me, do you understand how many words are like, I don't know somewhere around 500. There must be more than that, 5,000 or so.

Try 50,000. The answer is too many. And what about names? What about names? If you take names

“into an account, the number of words is basically infinite, or are we to memorize infinite pictures?”

Tell me, Sam. There are no names in the manual. In fact, we would only need a limited set of symbols to even describe it, because not all words appear in it. Well, sure they do it. It contains the entirety of knowledge. Okay, I will clean the house for a week. If any of the manual sections mention the word "cock". A fair point. Thank you. Okay, then the question becomes, do you know how many words there are in the manual? I could try to come up with a rough estimate.

Okay, come up with a rough estimate while you clean the house. Yeah, why? Four chickens. The ratio on the farm should be 24. We'll just just say five ends per each cock. Section four of chapter four. Come on, Kani taught me that. Oh, did she? Yeah, when were you talking to Kani? Don't play me if you're talking

“to her, with your hunger down like a hermit for the last six months. And what were you doing with her?”

I can tell you what I didn't do. Nagger with stone pictures. Okay, you know what they are not pictures. You, you clean rain instead of a brick. I'm sorry, Mom. I shouldn't have said that. I'm sorry, brother. You know what, Sam? You were right. You are better off working with stones. And work the stones he did. What does a man who has turned away his loved ones turned to? But work. Sam sat down to perform a rough calculation of how many symbols he would need to

represent all the words found in the manual. He first counted the number of unique words in his

family's sections. Then he calculated how many of them are unique on average. Lastly, he multiplied this number with a total number of sections. Each operation filled him with more apprehension. After performing the last step, the apprehension gave way to dread. 10,000. The manual comprised of approximately 10,000 unique words. Thased with an impossible task, Sam had only two options. The first was to accept the situation.

The second was to make it possible. Sam! Sweet mother, basil, father, you startled me.

It weighs over 5 tons, which is precisely why I need your help. Don't you have that other

son you can exploit? My other son is working on the side of the future simulant general hospital. Well, I'm working on simulant's future in general. Sam, you're drawing on rocks. Look, Dad, I know you don't get what I'm striving to achieve here. And that's fine. But trust me when I say I'm busy. I've got 10,000 simple succumb with. Well, 7,000 to be precise because I've already created 3,000 of them. That's precisely what makes me worried.

What does that mean? I mean, if you had invested this much effort into cheese,

you would have convinced yourself that cheddar cures cancer. Why are you so certain

“that the right way to do this is through rocks? What if your approach ends up being wrong?”

Well, maybe it's better to mis-spend a life than to not spend it. That's your promise? A mis-spend life? Promise? I wasn't aware I made any promises. There are promises one makes without speaking.

We are all born with a debt, a debt to our ancestors. We were paid by becoming ancestors our

sales, forming a line of our people stretching from the beginning to the end. Instead, you've huddled yourself in this workshop without seeing a soul for months. It can't be good for you, Son.

“Well, we can't all focus solely on our own benefit. Can we now?”

Look, will you help me rotate the boulder or not? I will. Tomorrow, okay? Son, I thought you were a stone Mason. Not a, uh, a word, Mason. Working with rocks, mason's become hard themselves. Every day teaches them that results are achieved by force. The resulting traits can be positive, like tenacity and resilience. It also, however, makes them inaccessible and obstinate.

Dairy? Goodness, gravel. What's the matter? Sam? Where's your brother? Where's your brother? Where's your mother?

“He, he's at the hospital site. Mom, I don't know. What's this all about, Terry?”

It's your father. It's your father. It's your father. Sam, it's your father. I went to the valley to, I went to the valley to return his lump hammer. He's, he's not there. I told him we'll go down there tomorrow to rotate the granite. No, no, no, no, no, no, no, we must uh, he must have gone to do it alone. Alone, what do you mean alone? I saw him say, I saw his, I thought I could see the, the hoist, the hoist, the hoist must have collapsed. No, when were you saying, Terry? Where are you saying?

I'm sorry, Sam. I'm so sorry. Oh, sorry. Oh, we said we do it together. Sam, you would such a goodness. No, I'm sorry. That was such a beautiful energy. Your father would have loved it. When in the best you would, your prize is not exactly a victory. The entire house and material scheme, and it was nice to see friendly faces from House of machinery, but the houses of medicine and agriculture didn't even send an envoy. People have their own bricks to carry nowadays.

And missing bricks risked the fall of the wall. He was right about that, you know, who was? Sam, about the house is drifting apart. Forgive me, if I don't give it damn about Sam. He's your brother.

he would have helped father. He's sorry. He's so very sorry. No, no, not my concern. I don't want

to talk to him. I don't want to see him. I don't even want to know he exists. If you're like that, you're a selfish one. Oh, great. Yeah, so I need to tolerate his selfish behavior, but I'm not entitled to my own. Make a bad situation worse. The way I see it, any change now can only be for the better.

“I am leaving, mother. Leaving? Leaving? Where? Beyond similar. What is the beyond similar?”

Only one way to find out. It's throwing your life away.

First your father, now you, I can't keep losing you like this. Oh, already lost. We all died.

The day admin left us. We're just waiting for our turn to be buried. At least, say goodbye to your brother. I just did. He's listening to us through the door. So he was. Ever since today father died, Sam meandered around endlessly, like a ghost haunting his own house. It was as if events he was taking part in were happening to someone else, with him merely an observer.

“Months passed before he regained control at his cognitive functions. By that time, his brother was”

long gone, having crossed the border a few others have. None of whom returned. His mother traversed a similar journey, but in her mind. It's doubtful either she or Sam would have made it through this period, where it not for one special person. Sheep are adapted foriving in diverse environments where other livestock falter. Their utility extends far beyond their provision of sustenance in the form of meat. Four, they are also an indispensable source of wool, which will be the topic of the next

section. Great day. Thanks Connie. I really mean that. Thank you for everything. You're welcome. Have you ever noticed there's nothing in the manual about ethics? Ethics? It's like it's all about practicalities. There's there are no moral rules admin left for us to follow. Why would there be? We lived in a perfect world. Our task was simply to keep it that way. Or maybe she wanted us to figure these things out ourselves. I don't know. It seems to me that

human ingenuity is mostly used to outsmart the fellow man. I believe most people underestimate the value of fitting in, instead of pretending they know better than everybody else. We need less cleverness and more humility. Yeah. No, you're right. I just have this constant feeling of loss. Actually, loss is not exactly the word because I feel both. I feel this way about both

the things we had, but also the things that we never did. So not only feeling that the best days

are behind us, but also that this time, this the time now, it's going to be better than anything that

“awaits the world. That's a terrible feeling to live by. Yeah. That's why I'm trying to change it.”

Why are your feelings? The world. Look Sam, I think that you are very smart and I admire your audacity. But in a battle between you and the world, there can only be one outcome. I understand where you're coming from and usually, usually I would agree with you. But I have already devised over 5,000 symbols, which means I'm more than halfway there to committing the manual to stone for perpetuity. And then it's just a matter of time before we listen to me carefully.

You need to make a decision. A decision that you'll have to honor your whole life. And what's that? Sam, I want to be with you. I want to be with you too, Connie. I want to be with

us would just love everybody else, then each of us would own the world. So the decision that you need

“to make is simple. Which one? Do you want to be free as a bird? Or do you want to flock together?”

The words long reverberated through Sam's head. He considered the future and the stakes. Human memory being frail, systemid is knowledge, can be lost. Human soul being fallible, systemid is knowledge, can be corrupted. Human desires being infinite, systemid is knowledge, can be monopolized. He had seen all three start to occur, and despite devoting all his acuity to the matter, he was not able to produce a way for the good one's message to be preserved

intact. So he devised one last simple. It was based on the sketch of his face, one eye hopelessly staring the sketch. He decided it should denote despair, and then he smashed all the stone tablets with a hammer. [Music] That's right, me, me, you're my little Jasper light. Ten years have passed, since Sam gave up on

trying to commit systemid administrators' words to stone. In a decade, the number of witnesses lindled from nearly 4,000 to less than 3500. Among the departed, two were more than a statistic. His mother joined his father, weighing her head next to his on the marble pillow of eternity. Sam thought of them often, with a sense of gratitude he had not known until he became a parent himself.

But where are you at on your face? I'm always kept saying face, you're messing with a lion's stone.

Sam! Sam! Quit playing with Miriam, and come help me with the laundry. Shell's stone's laundry again. Sorry, Jasper light, Papa's got to work. I'm coming! How play? Ran all out of soap again. Hey, at least we can make our own. We've got potash, your family can provide the animal fat. Others aren't so lucky. Yeah, well, we only got ourselves to fault. Hoses have everything that refused to share so no one has anything. When the wings

“of the Elbitross never in a million years did I think that gathering day would become laundry day.”

The shortest word is also the most dangerous. Hi. Admin taught that every deliberation must consider the impact of the seventh generation. People of Simulon no longer thought about their neighbors, they're alone about those who are yet to come. Those like their daughter Miriam, born in the eighth year postadmin. Oh, you found me. Who did you find? Papa. That's right. You found Papa. Can you say Papa? Papa. It's Papa. Come on, Mimi, say it. Say who do you like most in the

whole wide world? Mama. No, it's Papa. I mean Papa. Okay, fine. Tell you what. Say who you like the second most in the world. The dog. Okay, look, the exact order on the top charts. It's a

“relevant. What is important for you is to pronounce the words properly, which means saying the whole”

word, not ma, but mama. No, pa. You say twice, Papa. Not dog, but dog. Good.

10 years ago, Sam put out the fire, propelling him in his endeavor. But the flame was never truly

extinguished. It was nearly a smoldering. And now after a decade of a slow burn, it was exposed to oxygen, resulting in a blazing bonfire. With sequential art, he tried to make pictures from concepts. When that failed, he moved out the samples, trying to make pictures from words.

bogged, big and bugged. All five of them can be broken down into three sounds. The first and last

sounds are the same. But and good. It's the second sound that gives them their distinct meaning. What Sam realized was that this meant all words were constructed from the same set of sounds. And unlike the number of words themselves, the number of sounds words are composed of had to be limited. All he had to do was identify them and illustrate them. He returned to the workshop, practically barricading himself in it. He failed to show up the public

works and turned down all private commissions. In dangering his family survival. Not materially,

Sam, Connie and Mimi, they've been lined with simulons average, which is to say they were not much we're solve than everybody else. But it's not the material circumstances that jeopardize the family future. People are quick to equate their family's prospects with their social economic status. When too often, it is precisely the chasing of set status that harms the family.

“Sam, open the door, Sam. Connie? Good. You remember my name?”

What's this about? I'm talking kidding me. What do you think this is about? Let's just stop for one moment and think, hmm, what could this possibly be about? My rocks. Yes, it's about your rocks or rather it's about everything except your rocks. Look, ten years ago I asked you to make a decision. Do you even remember it? To flock together. That's right, flock. Not rock. I know. Easy mistake to make.

Does this lead anywhere? I know. I have been asking myself the same question. I can tell you where I would like it to lead. Where? With you leaving the workshop.

“I, hmm, no, I can't just yet know. I've had a breakthrough. Oh, really? You had a breakthrough?”

From where I'm standing. It looks more like a breakdown. Connie, do not. Connie, me, Sam. I can see you. You're miserable. I, I am, I, look, that there is pursuing one's happiness and submitting to one's duty and there is an important recording admins words is not your duty. Maybe it's not, but there's no one else who's going to make good on it. There's no one else for Miriam, either submit to her. Sam, please submit to us. This undertaking is for you.

For you and everyone else in Simulon. Well, Mimi doesn't need a father who does great things for Simulon. She needs a father who does great things for his daughter. That is what I'm telling you. By doing good things for Simulon, I am doing good for my daughter. I, I was born too late to become a witness to her great administrator. But perhaps not too late to stop the houses from drifting further and further away from each other. We are drifting further away from each other.

And for what? Some abstract promise of a better future? Without this abstract promise of a better future, what else is there? Finding a better present. Sam, I mean things to be better now with us. Sam, I'm going back to my parents. Why? Yeah. No. Coney, no, no, no. You don't have to do that. I have to. No, you don't. I have to. What else is left for me here? I'm like you. I need a family. I need a family too. A family that believes in what I do. A family

that cares about reason. Something my mother, my father, my brother they never did, Coney. I thought

“that would be us. Can I do care about you? But how you ever stopped to consider that maybe?”

We all acted the way that we did not because we don't care about you.

You, you need to go back to your parents and I respect that. I, I need to go back to my workshop.

“Okay, you go back to your workshop. selfish, Sam.”

You would remain there for seven years. It had been almost two decades since system administrators departure. Gathering day turned from a weekly event into an annual occurrence, making it the only day in the year that the representative of the Somal six houses would get together. With less and less of their original witnesses around, leaders of the houses were increasingly

distorting since it means words to fit their ends, turning the instructions on how to survive into rules dictating how to live. This is to say, the time to record since it been's true teachings was quickly running out. Coming. Terry. Hi, Sam. Sorry, I wasn't expecting you. I thought it was Connie coming to drop off

Mimi. Then I come as a disappointment. No nonsense nonsense. My eyes are always happy to see you.

“But my eye. Do you remember many years ago how I made fun of your eye and your brother”

almost turned me in the water? You know, it's funny. He and I were always at war when it came to words and such, but at the same time we do anything for each other. So what's your more important then? What do you mean actions? We'll work. I get that you're trying to imply it's actions, but I don't know Terry. I mean Mimi's dog acts. All animals do what good does it do for them if they if they cannot share what they think.

People didn't start talking to share their thoughts. They started talking to conceal them. Or maybe they started talking to conceal they have no thoughts.

That's definitely a plausible theory as well. You are always a smart lad.

Yeah. I don't know. My wife left me. I see my daughter an hour a day. Is that the sign of an intelligent man? I spent years chiseling stone tablets. Slugs down a person can pretend to be courageous. They can pretend to be righteous, but they cannot pretend to be smart. Besides, sometimes it's better to do something stupid than to not do anything. They does not perform as based on our actions. It does perform as based on our in-actions.

“Terry, I think I'm ready. Ready for what? Ready to unveil my ideas in front of the leaders of the”

houses. Come on. Have you lost your marble? No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. That's not a good idea. What do you mean? That's not a good idea. You just told me it's better to do something stupid than to not do anything. There's a difference between being stupid and stupid. I thought you were here to give me a pep talk. No, no, I just came for a talk no pep. Sam, come on now. You're poking a long snake with a short stick. Each of these people could start a fight in an empty

room. Imagine what happens when you put them in a room together. I hate the thought of you standing against all of them on your own. Well, it's a good thing I won't be on my own then. And I'm telling you, as the leader of House of Medicine, I cannot allow for you animal people to treat your beasts with remedies that sustain men rightfully bestowed upon my house to practice in safeguard. Like all admins creatures, doctors need to eat. It's going to be substantially harder

without our beasts. And tell us, dear animal, husbandry leader, how exactly will you feed your livestock without the produce provided by my house of agriculture? And how will all of you build

Greetings, esteemed leaders of the houses. Would you look at that? Isn't it the most

“elusive man in simulon? You must admit, it's sometimes easy to forget you live in simulon.”

I understand the sentiment. I myself often think we've all forgotten to live in simulon. I hope you don't mind if I carve this rock as as we speak. Not at all, a repetitive action can be soothing for the nerves. We often advise it to our agitated patients. Actually, I'm afraid you are the ones who might feel agitated by the rock. By that small rock, there's no injury it could cause that my house couldn't heal. Why don't you tell us what this is all about? You

said you wish to discuss a matter of uttermost importance. Indeed, we just need one more person to

join us. Miriam, Mimi, it seems she can't hear me. Please, could someone call my daughter and let her in? Your daughter? How old is the child? Nine. And how exactly can a nine-year-old further this discussion? Hello, Papa. Hello, this is my daughter, Mimi, Mimi, leaders of the houses. Tell us you didn't happen to hear what grownups we're talking about earlier in this room? No, I was waiting outside in the courtyard. Great. These are Papa's friends, so no reason to be ashamed of anything.

“And they said something to Papa before you joined. Could you please repeat what they said?”

Why are you harassing the child? She just told you she didn't hear us. Our pattern of action can be soothing for the nerves. We often advise it to our agitated patients. How did she know that? Silence, silence in the hall. Now, this other friend of Papa said something else. Could you tell us exactly what? By that small rock, there is no injury it could cause that my house couldn't heal.

This is magic. I said silence.

The answer is simple. The child must have overheard us.

My friends, what you're witnessing isn't magic. What you've just seen is much more powerful. It's Markery. Markery? As you were speaking, I was making small markings on the surface of this rock. This way, I drew the sound of your words. I taught Mimi to recognize these markings and this is how she was able to reassemble them into sounds. This is preposterous. It is but a trick, a duplicity, designed to fool us. My daughter and I are willing to undergo

as many controlled tests as you require. To be certain, we are not trying to deceive you. In fact, you could say that setting the record straight is precisely why I'm here. For you see, I designed this system to make a permanent record of the manual. The manual? So you're saying, you can use this contraption to carve the words of cis-admin herself? Correct. My primary goal was to ensure admins knowledge could not be

forgotten or twisted or kept to oneself. Markings perform this task admirably. But as Mimi and myself just demonstrated, they also make it possible to commit any words to stone. Enabling us to record our discoveries, our feelings, our stories. Yes, markings can bring us closer to system administrator. But they can also bring us closer to each other. If I understand correctly, this means that these markings live separately from the speaker, no, correct.

“Which would also mean they could capture words of people who are no longer alive, right?”

That is indeed the case. Yes. So you admit this is a way to talk to the dead. Leaders of the houses, what we're seeing before us is not a trick. It's what's cracked. The dead are dead. And markings unfortunately cannot change this. But they can do is save the thoughts of people who are no longer with us. And in turn, save our own thoughts for posterity. With markings, we're no longer confined to the present,

but we have a way to connect with people of the past and people of the future. But markings can be scraped off the rock as easily as you've carved them onto it. Mimi can now do more than merely enunciate my markings. She can also duplicate them. Which is to say, create an identical record of my words.

Markings aren't only a way to catalog knowledge. They are way to multiply it.

You can multiply and steal other people's thoughts. Still, my dear leader, just the contrary. If someone duplicated your thought, you didn't lose it. It actually increased. There are no losers with markings and I'm not here to use this power to challenge you. I'm here to share it with you. That's right. After all, if a nine-year-old child can master this skill, so can you.

“And you can yield the incredible powers it bestows. What's the catch, though?”

If there's anything we've come to expect, is that every benefit comes with a trade-off? Indeed. What's the cost of this? None. I think for you at least. Cost me my father, my wife, and my brother. But this is where the tally stops. It is a price I gladly pay for the good of my daughter and for the

good of all of Simulon's children. We are all born with a debt, a debt to our ancestors. We repay it by becoming ancestors ourselves, forming a line of our people, stretching from the beginning to the end, like a line of words, etched in stone. 48 markings were enough to capture the sounds of Simulon's language,

and were easy for people to learn, meaning the new skill spread quickly.

“True to Sam's prediction, it changed society in profound ways.”

And it changed his personal standing, turning him from an outcast to a dignitary. Not that it affected Sam's experience much. Content to share the craft of mark making, with anyone who has, he lived a quiet, solitary life. Day after day, decade after decade. Coming.

Yes. Is this Sam? Maybe. Can I help you? Sam. It's me, the brother. My brother went beyond Simulon's borders 50 years ago.

52, actually. Brother. Brother. Brother. Where have you been? Who did you meet? And what have you seen?

“Please, please, come in. Come in. Thank you.”

So, when did you come back?

This morning, you were the first person I've come to.

You returned to Loman. I left on my own, and I came back on my own. I do, however, carry many, many stories. But first, what about you? What happened to you after I left?

Oh, my. Let me see. Connie. You remember Connie? Well, she and I got married. Great, eh. And we separated.

Shale stones. But we have a daughter, Mimi. Pirate of my life.

She lives in the second floor, with her husband and a son.

Where are parents used to live? Mother passed away a few years after you left. After father passed away, you left. And I wasn't really there all the time. There was not much joy left in her life.

But then again, there was really not a lot of joy and similar impact then. I, I knew it was inevitable. But, but hearing it, it's still still, I know how you feel. I know. I feel the same. I see the erecting of giant monument in our Cisadmins honor.

Yeah, a giant cube. Give it another few centuries and it might actually finish the damn thing.

Oh, much more has been committed to stone than just the manual. Walls and rocks everywhere carry silly jokes. Sappy poems, salacious remarks, and are very rare occasions. One can even stumble across something genuinely smart. You're being cynical, brother. Similana I found is not Similana I left.

But the first time ever, the young no more than the old.

And I suspect it has to do with what you built. I'm not a builder. You know that much about me. All I did was provide the tools.

“Would you consider providing them to your brother as well?”

You are 73. And I'm 70. And sick. Well, who we better start then? We better do. After all, you're carrying many, many stories.

You know, I've been working on something new now.

Something that could have kept us together, even though we were apart all those years. What are you talking about? Well, right now, markings allow us to transcend time. I am trying to also make them traverse space. Oh, well, stone slabs are heavy.

“But with a lighter, one could carry them and the words they contain from one place to another.”

Easily transmitting information that way. So a speaker might stay in place and his thoughts spread regardless. Precisely. I mean, there's no reason why markings could not be applied to a different surface. I'm currently experimenting with animal heights and various plant-based pigments. That's incredible.

Or perhaps it'll be the other way around. The pigment might end up having an animal origin and their plants. This dried leaves might make an exceptionally suitable surface.

First rocks and now leaves.

Oh, Sam. You're talking nonsense now. I guess I am, brother. I guess I am.

“All of us have been many thousands of years ago.”

The cube has been long finished, gracing the horizon with its splendor. In its inner chamber, 500 slabs of pitch black-up city-intaglets are dawn before walls. Etched on them is a permanent account of the manual, noting down our due-limist system administrators' words, protected and safe. It will last as long as simulons. The chamber's perfect symmetry is disrupted by but one simple garnish.

In a corner, there's a heavy granite stone. Above it, a slab of white marble stands tall. Etched on it are 17 markings. Here lies Sam. He made the rocks tall.

Based on a true story of Sequoia, a native American who in 1821, independently created a system to make reading and writing Cherokee language possible. His creation unified a forcibly divided nation. In just a few decades, Cherokee literacy rate reached almost 100% surpassing that of surrounding European-American settlers.

His achievement was one of the few times that an individual who was a member of a pre-literate group came up with an original writing system.

Jacqueline Ainsworth, Adrienne Pavone, Ray James, Jennifer Valens, Scott Morgan,

“Shelby Handley, Sophia Valenshuk, Charles Miller,”

Franz Robinow, Darius Raffey, JDK, and IMS. Special thanks to Pat Fry, Joy Jukes, Christy Bolton, Finley Stevenson, Justin Hay, and Dan Stockniki, music by Christian Liddwar, performed by the Barg-Elgar Quire

under the direction of Alexander Kahn,

full list of performers and additional credits and program audioseries.com, celebrate the invention of writing

“by writing us a nice review, or by leaving a comment on our socials.”

You'll find the links in the show notes. [Music] To listen to more from the program, click on the link in the description or search for the program audioseries wherever you get your podcasts. You can also find more information on RustyKrill.com

or program audioseries.com. That's program with one M, thanks for listening. Billy Hindel here, the voice of Alice in the Magnus protocol, and I'm here to tell you about from the library of Yergen Lightner, an upcoming novel available for preorder right now at RustyKrill.com/novel.

We turn to the world of the Magnus Archives in from the library of Yergen Lightner, an official prequel novel written by Nebula, World Fantasy and Aurora award-winning author, Creamy Muhammad, with the help of the Magnus Archives, Own writer and lead voice Jonathan Sims, from the library of Yergen Lightner,

explores an infamous organization from the Magnus first for the first time,

the perilous private library of the Enigmatic collector Yergen Lightner, where occult books are guarded and researched at a fatal cost. Lightner's library keeps the dangers of these books in check, and there would be reader's safe or so lightner claims. For two of Lightner's employees, the risks are worth it.

For Hugh Franklin, the library is a place to belong, for Sebastian Everett, the library is an opportunity to indulge arcane ambitions, though there are ten years that the library were years apart, human Sebastian's stories unfold in parallel, and their footsteps echo down the same eerie aisles, caught in a web spun long before either Everhert the name Yergen Lightner.

“Will they find a way out, or will the library consume them before it's too late?”

From the library of Yergen Lightner, will be published on October 27th, 2026, and is available for pre-order now, visit rusticool.com/novel for more information. That's rusticool.com/n-o-v-e-l.