002 | Voice

[burger_king]

It's a little after midnight, the cobblestones slick with fog on this mild late August night. Polly Nichols, a divorced mother of five, makes her way down Brick Lane on unsteady feet. A victim of drink, like so many other members of the working class at this time, and where there's drink there's desperation. She turns down on Whitechapel Road to earn enough coin for a bed for the night. Her new bonnet will surely do the trick.

Three hours later, two cart drivers come across a body in Buck's Row. In the dim light of early morning they can't know for sure but, as one of them told the police later, she looks to me to be either dead or drunk, but for my part, I believe she's dead. The way her throat was slit ear to ear confirmed that belief.

Want to hear the rest? Tune in to the Overlook Podcast. The first episode is available now on your favorite podcatcher.

Happy Friday the 13th.

Comments

[burger_king]

Pretty sure she wasn't around for them much to begin with. [ Says the kid of an alcoholic. ]

And thanks. True crime is my anti drug, it's nice to get an outlet for it.

[darkpants_warmfeeling]

True crime. So this is a history podcast? Not fiction?

[Things that no longer have as much cultural resonance in the 22nd century: Jack the Ripper.]

[burger_king]

[ That's weird. Super weird. Why wouldn't the serial killer equivalent of the Titanic live through the ages? ]

We're taking some liberties for the sake of entertainment, and who knows how much of what I know from back home that actually applies here... but yes. There's a foundation of history.

[darkpants_warmfeeling]

What you know should still be true here. Most of the time Earth's history is pretty consistent across different imPort worlds... until you get to the Cold War, at least.

[burger_king]

That's interesting. Popular culture always gave me the impression that history depends on the smallest details - any change even in the smallest detail could lead to an entirely different outcome.

[darkpants_warmfeeling]

I've heard those stories. One bug dies in the past, and suddenly the future has a whole different face, right?

Guess it doesn't work that way in real life. There are whole species missing from this Galaxy that should have affected Earth's history. Things could be a lot stranger here than the floating cars and different cities.

[burger_king]

Huh. Somehow, I feel like my entire life up until this point has been one big lie. [ Not really. ] Entire species?

[darkpants_warmfeeling]

The Protheans. They used to be the dominant empire in our Galaxy, and they were interested in ancient humanity. We found their ruins and their tech on Mars. From what I hear though, this universe is empty. It's just us out here.

[burger_king]

Sounds like something out of vintage science fiction. Is this something that's been reported from several different worlds, or is it unique to yours?

[darkpants_warmfeeling]

My Earth isn't the only one to be touched by aliens... but I'm pretty sure my world is the only one with the Protheans.

It's strange, though. The Porter likes to bring people from my Galaxy in from different timelines, different versions of recent history. It gets confusing fast.

[burger_king]

Different versions? I know people come in at different times- [ His own Riverdale people are confusing enough. ] -but are you saying that they have a different recollection of the same events?

[darkpants_warmfeeling]

Yeah... even different identities. My commanding officer, Shepard, is a woman named Jane where I'm from. But I've met plenty of people from the same ship as me who got brought here from a world where he's a man named John.

[He chuckles ruefully.]

That took some getting used to, believe me.

[burger_king]

I can imagine. [ This is the first he's hearing about it, but the thought that there could be a different version of him or Archie or Betty out there is... unsettling. The timelines were bad enough, thanks. ]

How long have you been here?

[darkpants_warmfeeling]

Four years. Minus a few days I spent Ported out in 2015.

[He sighs.]

It's been a hell of a ride. There's not many imPorts left who were around when I first showed up.

[burger_king]

[ He gives a low whistle. Damn. ] You must know the ins and outs of this place pretty well, then.

[ And he'd like to ask a lot of things - about registration, the government, Lachesis who he's only just learned about - but to ask you need to trust and he doesn't trust this guy. Being here a long time doesn't mean anything. ]

[darkpants_warmfeeling]

I like to think I do. I spend a lot of time helping to fill in new people about what's what. But there's always more to find out. So much of what really happens here goes on behind the scenes.

[burger_king]

That much I've gathered. [ Always the case, in his experience. ] Are you in touch with the ImPort ambassadors?

[darkpants_warmfeeling]

Yeah, a little bit. Especially with Ambassador Amidala, since I live in Maurtia Falls. If there's anything you need or want to know, she can probably help you out.

[burger_king]

Amidala - got it. Thanks. You've been a big help.

[darkpants_warmfeeling]

Hey, no problem. Happy to. Good luck with the podcast, Jughead.