Friday, Dec 8, 2017 • 21min
Episode 1 - Zale Indigo Ravenheart
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"How quickly can this be done? I don’t have much time. I leave planet Earth tonight."
Season 1, Episode 1.
With Alan Burgon, Dave Moskin and Julia Morizawa.
Written by Philip Thorne.
Directed by Philip Thorne and Oystein Brager.
Music and sound design by Fredrik Baden.
For full credits see our website. ameliapodcast.com
The Amelia Project is an audio fiction series. We recommend starting at the beginning.
Congratulations. You’ve reached the content warning. The Amelia Project is about death, mishaps, mayhem and misfortune. And cocoa. If you’re not comfortable with this, stop listening. Now.
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Talking about
Speakers
(4)
Interviewer
Zale Indigo Ravenheart
Oystein Brager
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Transcript
Verified
00:06
Congratulations. You've reached The Amelia Project. This phone call isn't happening. If you're not serious about this. Hang up. Now. If you continue, there's no way back.
Share
00:24
Good choice. A new life awaits. You'll hear back from us within the hour. If you don't hear back, please consider the whole thing a hoax. Leave your message after the beep.
Share
Zale Indigo Ravenheart
00:38
How quickly can this be done? I don't have much time. I leave planet
Earth
tonight. I’m being launched to Antithon in 10 hours. I can't get out of it. My father won't let me. I need help. I need you to intervene.Share
00:50
My name is Zale Indigo Ravenheart. Founder and Archpriest of the Apostles of Antithon. Get back to me. Please. Quick help.
Share
01:19
The Amelia Project by Philip Thorne and Oystein Brager, with music and sound design by Fredrik Baden. Episode 1: Zale Indigo Ravenheart.
Share
Interviewer
01:50
Interesting. Hello, come in.
Share
Zale Indigo Ravenheart
01:57
Could you draw the curtains? It's just..
Share
Interviewer
01:60
Certainly.
Share
Zale Indigo Ravenheart
02:03
Nobody, Nobody, is allowed to know I'm here. Those two Italian guys in the lobby. Are they trustworthy?
Share
Interviewer
02:09
Joey and Salvatore?
Share
Zale Indigo Ravenheart
02:10
They don't look trustworthy.
Share
Interviewer
02:11
Those boys are hard as
Biscotti
, but don't worry, they're working for you. We're all working for you. Amelia is at your service.Share
Zale Indigo Ravenheart
02:20
But what I want is probably impossible.
Share
Interviewer
02:24
“Without faith, nothing is possible. With it, nothing is impossible. ”
Share
Zale Indigo Ravenheart
02:29
Faith?
Share
Interviewer
02:30
Relax, make yourself comfortable, grab a chair.
Share
Zale Indigo Ravenheart
02:33
What?
Share
Interviewer
02:34
Relax, grab a chair.
Share
Zale Indigo Ravenheart
02:36
There is no chair.
Share
Interviewer
02:39
Of course there is.
Share
Zale Indigo Ravenheart
02:40
No, there isn't.
Share
Interviewer
02:44
You have no faith.
Share
Zale Indigo Ravenheart
02:46
No, faith has got nothing to do with it.
Share
Interviewer
02:48
I’m telling you there is a chair, you’re choosing not to believe me.
Share
Zale Indigo Ravenheart
02:51
Look, this has nothing to do with what I believe or not, okay? I can see with my own eyes! Or rather I can't, I can't see you see, that's the point. I can't see the chair because it's not there. The chair. It doesn't exist. Fact.
Share
Interviewer
03:08
Pity. It's a very comfy chair.
Share
Zale Indigo Ravenheart
03:11
Prove it to me.
Share
Interviewer
03:12
What?
Share
Zale Indigo Ravenheart
03:13
Prove there’s a chair. Go on. Go on. Sit down in it. You can’t. you have no evidence.
Share
Interviewer
03:21
Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence.
Share
Zale Indigo Ravenheart
03:26
You're really strange. You know that?
Share
Interviewer
03:29
What was your name again?
Share
Zale Indigo Ravenheart
03:30
Zale Indigo Ravenheart.
Share
Interviewer
03:31
Call it even. I looked you up on the google before you came in. Zale Indigo Ravenheart.
Share
03:43
This was the first hit. What am I looking at?
Share
Zale Indigo Ravenheart
03:49
It’s the countdown. Days, hours, minutes, seconds.
Share
Interviewer
03:52
A countdown to your death?
Share
Zale Indigo Ravenheart
03:54
To my departure from
Earth
.Share
Interviewer
03:57
Eight hours, 20 minutes, 35 seconds.
Share
Zale Indigo Ravenheart
03:60
Yes. Does that give us enough time?
Share
Interviewer
04:02
Well, that rather depends on the complexity of the task and the funds you have at your disposal. How do you intend to, leave Planet
Earth
?Share
Zale Indigo Ravenheart
04:12
In a
Cannon
.Share
Interviewer
04:14
You're kidding.
Share
Zale Indigo Ravenheart
04:15
I wish I was laughing.
Share
Interviewer
04:18
And this was your idea.
Share
Zale Indigo Ravenheart
04:19
It's the only way to get to Antithon.
Share
Interviewer
04:23
Antithon?
Share
Zale Indigo Ravenheart
04:23
It's a long story and we don't have time.
Share
Interviewer
04:25
There’s always time for a story. At Amelia we collect stories. Ah, if these walls could talk...
Share
Zale Indigo Ravenheart
04:33
But they can't, can they?
Share
Interviewer
04:36
I'm sorry. Did you just ask me if our walls can talk?
Share
Zale Indigo Ravenheart
04:38
I mean, this isn't being recorded or anything, is it?
Share
Interviewer
04:42
No. I'm interested in how someone decides he wants to be fired into space from a
Cannon
, goes out of his way to publicise the exact time and date, attracts huge attention, then realises eight hours, twenty minutes and thirty-five seconds beforehand, that maybe it’s not such a bright idea after all.Share
05:03
Can I guess? You’ve lost your faith. Whatever this Antithon is, you no longer believe in it.
Share
Zale Indigo Ravenheart
05:11
Yeah. It’s not that simple.
Share
Interviewer
05:14
Okay, what is Antithon?
Share
Zale Indigo Ravenheart
05:17
You may find it hard to believe.
Share
Interviewer
05:18
I expect nothing less.
Share
Zale Indigo Ravenheart
05:20
It requires a leap of imagination.
Share
Interviewer
05:22
You're sure you won't take a seat?
Share
Zale Indigo Ravenheart
05:24
There is no- What is that?
Share
Interviewer
05:28
I believe that is a chair.
Share
Zale Indigo Ravenheart
05:29
Where did it come from?
Share
Interviewer
05:31
Do you believe this is a chair?
Share
05:33
Ceci n’est pas une pipe?
Share
05:34
Sit down and tell me about Antithon.
Share
Zale Indigo Ravenheart
05:39
Would you mind turning that down? It's, it's stressing me.
Share
Interviewer
05:46
Sit down, tell me about Antithon.
Share
Zale Indigo Ravenheart
05:50
For every aspect of life there’s an opposite right? Fire and water. Light and dark.
Share
Interviewer
05:56
Life and death.
Share
Zale Indigo Ravenheart
05:57
A thing can only exist by having an opposite, something to compare it to. I mean, how would we know what good is if there were no evil?
Share
Interviewer
06:04
I agree with that.
Share
Zale Indigo Ravenheart
06:05
Everything exists in pairs.
Earth
is no exception. Earth
has an opposite.Share
Interviewer
06:11
And that’s Antithon?
Share
Zale Indigo Ravenheart
06:12
Yes!
Earth
and Antithon are on opposite sides of the sun. They circle the sun at one hundred and eighty degrees from one another.Share
Interviewer
06:19
Like twins!
Share
Zale Indigo Ravenheart
06:20
That’s right! Their identical distance from the sun, means
Earth
and Antithon have the exact same conditions. Same Atmospheric Pressure
, temperature, gravity.Share
Interviewer
06:29
And presumably life?
Share
Zale Indigo Ravenheart
06:30
Precisely!
Share
Interviewer
06:31
Wow! I think this calls for a cup of
Cocoa
. Salvatore. Two cocoas please.Share
Zale Indigo Ravenheart
06:38
Each one of us has a counterpart on Antithon.
Share
Interviewer
06:44
What proof do you have for the existence of Antithon?
Share
Zale Indigo Ravenheart
06:48
Everything has an opposite. The universe needs balance. Antithon revealed itself to me in a vision.
Share
Interviewer
06:58
Ah. So you haven’t actually seen it?
Share
Zale Indigo Ravenheart
07:02
No, well. How could I? The sun blocks it from view. It’s perfectly hidden. Even from the most powerful
Telescopes
.Share
Interviewer
07:09
So it's a matter of faith... Ah, Salvatore! Grazie mille!
Share
Zale Indigo Ravenheart
07:14
Oh, my...
Share
Interviewer
07:25
Good, isn't it? I have it specially shipped from Les Deux Magots.
Share
Break
Interviewer
08:48
Okay. Let’s say, for the sake of argument, that Antithon exists. After all, without evidence of its absence, who am I to disprove it, hm? Let’s say it really is a second
Earth
. Why are you and your followers so hellbent on getting there?Share
Zale Indigo Ravenheart
09:08
Why?
Share
Interviewer
09:09
Yes. Haven’t we established it would be exactly like
Earth
? It would just be more of the same.Share
Zale Indigo Ravenheart
09:16
But Antithon is our counter-planet. Not just geographically. Everything there is inverse. Every decision you make on
Earth
is played out twice. On Earth
and on Antithon. Your counterpart always does the exact opposite…Share
Interviewer
09:32
So going to Antithon means you can turn your life around, go down the roads you chose to ignore.
Share
Zale Indigo Ravenheart
09:37
Wouldn’t you like to know what would have happened if you’d made different choices? If you’d studied Art instead of Physics, gone to
Africa
instead of America, if you’d taken up that job offer in Paris, if you’d just kissed that girl...Share
09:50
That’s what tonight is about. When I founded the Apostles of Antithon two years ago I started the online timer to give myself a deadline. It was always my intention to be the first person to get to Antithon.
Share
Interviewer
10:06
To meet your counterpart?
Share
Zale Indigo Ravenheart
10:08
To switch places with him.
Share
Interviewer
10:10
Or her?
Share
Zale Indigo Ravenheart
10:11
What?
Share
Interviewer
10:13
Look. It’s a nice story. And you tell it passionately. I can see how you’ve attracted such a following. But tell me, did you actually ever believe this stuff yourself or was it just a way to get famous and make money?
Share
Zale Indigo Ravenheart
10:26
I still believe in it.
Share
Interviewer
10:27
No, you don't.
Share
Zale Indigo Ravenheart
10:28
I do.
Share
Interviewer
10:29
I don't believe you.
Share
Zale Indigo Ravenheart
10:30
That's your choice.
Share
Interviewer
10:31
You’re messing with me! The reason you’re here is you don’t want to get in that
Cannon
right? You want us to fake your death?Share
Zale Indigo Ravenheart
10:40
Can it be done? Do we have enough time?
Share
Interviewer
10:42
Well, frankly, you've put yourself in a very difficult position. You have eight hours, 14 minutes and six seconds left.
Share
Zale Indigo Ravenheart
10:53
Shit shit shit.
Share
Interviewer
10:54
We might be able to help. There’s nothing we like more at Amelia than a challenge. But, given how little time you’ve got and the danger you’ve put yourself into, haven’t you considered, you know, just legging it?
Share
Zale Indigo Ravenheart
11:09
Where would I go? They'd find me!
Share
Interviewer
11:12
Your followers?
Share
Zale Indigo Ravenheart
11:13
My apostles. They've poured their heart and Soul into this.
Share
Interviewer
11:17
And their money…
Share
Zale Indigo Ravenheart
11:18
Yeah, that too.
Share
Interviewer
11:20
What do you think they’d do?
Share
Zale Indigo Ravenheart
11:22
Well, I’m supposed to lead the way. Show it can be done. If I chicken out they’ll think it was a scam. They’ll, They’ll feel betrayed. They’ll want revenge. I have no choice. I have to get in that
Cannon
. But I don’t want to be shot to Antithon.Share
Interviewer
11:38
Because it doesn't exist.
Share
Zale Indigo Ravenheart
11:40
Because my life would be a nightmare there. When I founded Apostles of Antithon my life was a mess. Two divorces, an estranged son, trying to wean myself off a
Cocaine
addiction. I had hit rock bottom.Share
11:56
That’s when Antithon revealed itself to me. All those things I could have done differently! I envied my counterpart on Antithon so much! It drove me crazy. Then I realised: I was the chosen one! Antithon had chosen to reveal itself to me! My destiny was to be the pioneer who leads the way there.
Share
Interviewer
12:19
So you founded Apostles of Antithon and set the timer.
Share
Zale Indigo Ravenheart
12:22
Yes. And it was a hit! I mean, I couldn’t keep up with all the emails. Had to hire a secretary!
Share
Interviewer
12:28
Who wrote to you?
Share
Zale Indigo Ravenheart
12:30
Well, at first it was, you know, people like me. Victims of bad decisions that had led to dead ends.
Share
12:37
Then the media got interested. They thought I was batshit crazy, but I was good for ratings. My name started trending on Twitter.
Courtney Love
wore an Antithon T-shirt to the Emmy’s
, Lady Gaga
mentioned me in a song, Marilyn Manson
became a follower. My name started trending on Twitter. They wanted to do a documentary on me, but production could only have started next month, after I’d already been launched to Antithon.Share
Interviewer
12:59
Well, that's a bummer.
Share
Zale Indigo Ravenheart
13:00
I did a lot of interviews, though.
Share
Interviewer
13:02
How did it feel to get so much attention?
Share
Zale Indigo Ravenheart
13:05
Like I was living someone else’s life! Taxis, talkshows, restaurants, hotels, gym membership, a new flat.
Share
Interviewer
13:12
You've been living the high life.
Share
Zale Indigo Ravenheart
13:14
Which is the problem.
Share
Interviewer
13:17
Life in the fast lane not all it’s cracked up to be huh?
Share
Zale Indigo Ravenheart
13:19
Oh no, no, no, it's fantastic. My life is wonderful! Which means I no longer want to switch with my counterpart. His life must be hell!
Share
13:34
Please! Help me! I can’t go to Antithon!
Share
Interviewer
13:38
Hm. Time to put metaphysics behind us I think. The only thing that’ll get you out of that
Cannon
alive, is physics.Share
Zale Indigo Ravenheart
13:46
Whatever it takes.
Share
Interviewer
13:47
Have you brought the tech specs for the
Cannon
?Share
Zale Indigo Ravenheart
13:49
Hm-Hm.
Share
Interviewer
13:49
Excellent. What length is the barrel?
Share
Zale Indigo Ravenheart
13:52
Twenty-four feet.
Share
Interviewer
13:54
Your weight?
Share
Zale Indigo Ravenheart
13:56
A hundred and twenty-six pounds.
Share
Interviewer
13:57
Height?
Share
Zale Indigo Ravenheart
13:59
Five feet eight-point-eleven inches.
Share
Interviewer
14:02
Location for the launch?
Share
Zale Indigo Ravenheart
14:04
Edgworth common.
Share
Interviewer
14:04
I'll have to check that on a map.
Share
Zale Indigo Ravenheart
14:07
Everything alright?
Share
Interviewer
14:11
Computers. Pesky things. Still getting used to- got it! Edgworth common, Black Bull Pub, cricket ground, Wayoh Reservoir, Blackburn Woods. Hmm. Eight hours, ten minutes and one second. That means the launch takes place at… 11:30 PM.
Share
14:27
We’re going to have to control your flight and limit the distance you’ll be launched. We’ll use
Gunpowder
to make a flash and a bang, but only a small amount and not in the chamber. In place of Gunpowder
, we’ll use a tank of Compressed Air
. Once it’s burst, it’ll provide the Propulsion
. I suggest we let Salvatore operate the Cannon
. He’s experienced with firearms and nobody will dare get near him.Share
14:46
A hundred and twenty-six pounds, five foot eight point eleven inches, that means...
Share
14:52
The square of your
Velocity
exiting the barrel is equal to the square of your Velocity
at the base of the barrel, plus twice the distance you travel along the barrel multiplied by your Acceleration
. With a final estimated Velocity
of 66 miles per hour, and an initial Velocity
of 0 metres per second, and taking into account the length of the barrel which is 7.32 meters; your Acceleration
comes to…Share
15:08
59.6 metres per second squared. If we raise the barrel 39 degrees, you’ll reach an altitude of 23 metres and cover a distance of 59.05 metres. That will get you safely over Blackburn Woods and allow you to land in Wayoh Reservoir. You’re a good swimmer?
Share
Zale Indigo Ravenheart
15:23
Good would be stretching it.
Share
Interviewer
15:24
Okay, but you can swim?
Share
Zale Indigo Ravenheart
15:26
Hmmm.
Share
Interviewer
15:26
Joey will be out there in a dinghy, but it might take a while to find you. We can’t pinpoint your landing to the spot. We’ll provide you with a whistle, that should make it easier.
Share
Zale Indigo Ravenheart
15:35
And my followers will believe I’m gone?
Share
Interviewer
15:37
By the time their eyes have adjusted from the flash, you’ll be far from sight. It’s the middle of the night, remember. It’ll be pitch black. Oh, that reminds me, we better give Joey a good
Searchlight
.Share
15:49
Now. Have you given some thought to your
Reincarnation
?Share
Zale Indigo Ravenheart
15:53
What?
Share
Interviewer
15:53
Your new life. How and where would you like to come back?
Share
Zale Indigo Ravenheart
15:57
I don't know.
Share
Interviewer
15:59
Once our surgeons are done with you, you’ll barely be recognisable. Even so, you don’t want to risk being found out. So I suggest you go somewhere far away.
Share
Zale Indigo Ravenheart
16:08
That sounds good.
Share
Interviewer
16:09
You want to go somewhere you can continue living it up. Otherwise what’s the point; right?
Share
Zale Indigo Ravenheart
16:12
Right...
Share
Interviewer
16:14
Macedonia
.Share
Zale Indigo Ravenheart
16:15
Macedonia
?Share
Interviewer
16:16
Very cheap. Your savings would take you a long way there. You’ll be able to live comfortably for a few months until you’ve found your feet and can set up something new.
Share
Zale Indigo Ravenheart
16:23
Where is
Macedonia
?Share
Interviewer
16:25
There's just one problem.
Share
Zale Indigo Ravenheart
16:26
What's that?
Share
Interviewer
16:27
Amelia is not a charity. Our services come at a cost.
Share
Zale Indigo Ravenheart
16:31
Of course.
Share
Interviewer
16:31
Amelia is expensive. We’re the best in the business.
Share
Zale Indigo Ravenheart
16:34
Okay…
Share
Interviewer
16:34
So after you’ve paid us, you’ll be too broke even for
Macedonia
. That would mean starting from scratch, a life of poverty. And that’s exactly what you want to escape from. So that would be kind of ironic, wouldn’t it?Share
Zale Indigo Ravenheart
16:45
Yeah.
Share
Interviewer
16:46
So, you're in a bit of a bind.
Share
Zale Indigo Ravenheart
16:48
Yes.
Share
Interviewer
16:49
Luckily, I have a solution.
Share
Zale Indigo Ravenheart
16:51
Yes.
Share
Interviewer
16:52
Has it struck you that there’s a certain overlap between Amelia and Antithon? People are attracted to Antithon because of the idea of starting afresh. At Amelia that’s what we offer. We help people who’ve reached a dead end to transition from this life to another.
Share
17:09
I suppose.
Share
17:10
You said you have some high profile followers? Musicians and celebrities?
Share
Zale Indigo Ravenheart
17:14
That's true. You'd be surprised!
Share
Interviewer
17:16
I want the names of everyone who’s contacted you. I want access to their emails. I want all the information you’ve got on your fans and followers. At Amelia we’re always looking to get our number into the hands of interesting and influential people. Give me your network and your disappearance is on the house.
Share
Zale Indigo Ravenheart
17:34
Well, I guess- hang on a minute!
Share
Interviewer
17:36
What?
Share
Zale Indigo Ravenheart
17:37
How do I know you'll do what you say? You might just blow me to pieces, and who would know? Okay, prove that you won't do that.
Share
Interviewer
17:45
I can't.
Share
Zale Indigo Ravenheart
17:47
So how can I be sure?
Share
Interviewer
17:49
You can't. You need faith.
Share
Zale Indigo Ravenheart
17:52
Faith.
Share
Interviewer
17:54
Eight hours, five minutes and eight seconds.
Share
17:59
You know, you can torture yourself with doubt, or you can start looking forward to your new life in
Macedonia
.Share
18:08
Do you like
Champagne
?Share
Zale Indigo Ravenheart
18:10
Sorry?
Share
Interviewer
18:11
I hear the
Champagne
in the Balkans
is intolerable. Better have a glass now before you leave. What do you say?Share
Zale Indigo Ravenheart
18:18
I could do with a drink.
Share
Interviewer
18:20
Excellent! Salvatore! Bring us a bottle of our finest
Veuve Clicquot
please!Share
18:27
You're making the right choice. Trust me.
Share
18:30
Ah, lovely! Salvatore, would you mind opening it? You know what happened last time.
Share
18:39
Zale Indigo Ravenheart. Congratulations! A new life awaits!
Share
18:54
The Amelia Project is produced by Imploding Fictions, in Association with open house theater-
Share
Interviewer
19:09
Could you draw the curtains? It’s just..
Share
Zale Indigo Ravenheart
19:11
Most certainly.
Share
Interviewer
19:12
Nobody is allowed to know I’m here. I don’t have much time. What I want is probably impossible.
Share
Zale Indigo Ravenheart
19:18
“Without faith nothing is possible. With it nothing is impossible. ”
Share
Interviewer
19:22
Faith?
Share
Zale Indigo Ravenheart
19:24
Relax, make yourself comfortable, grab a chair.
Share
Speaker 6
19:28
The Amelia project was produced neither by imploding fictions nor open house theater Vienna. It didn't feature Allen Bergen as the interviewer, nor did it feature Dave Moskin, As zale. You didn't hear Julia more. Izawa on the answer phone. It was neither written nor edited by Philip thorn and wasn't directed by Philip thorn or Oystein braga music and sound design. Not by Frederic Vardon, no graphic design by Anders Petersen and Julius Eathorne did not help with production coordination. This episode wasn't recorded at the studios and Gabriel Diva had nothing to do with it.
Share
20:28
The Fable And Folly Network Where Fiction Producers Flourish.
Share
Break
Charlotte
20:57
Are you the detective in town?
Share
Oystein Brager
20:59
No, I'm the obituary writer.
Share
Charlotte
21:02
Really? Someone said you solve murder cases. Murder.
Share
Oystein Brager
21:06
I'm charlotte by the way.
Share
21:08
Forgive me, but I haven't gotten past the murder part. Charlotte. The friend I now have is staying in the apartment above her aunt, Lillian's bookshop.
Share
Charlotte
21:16
She was my aunt, she was all I had growing up. I need to know why she's gone.
Share
Oystein Brager
21:23
Murder is the spice of life. I knew just who I had to see. The angel of death. We have become friends over the years.
Share
Charlotte
21:32
Careful death is ever present.
Share
Oystein Brager
21:36
Her pet. The button eyed raven moaned inconsolably. As usual. Your friends are abandoning you one by one.
Share
Charlotte
21:44
You write about death. Ow. But how much do you know about what it feels like to lose someone?
Share
Oystein Brager
21:53
The shadow in the dark woods is making its way into crest fall. Listen to death by dying on apple podcasts, Spotify or your favorite podcaster.
Share
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Zale Indigo Ravenheart
Interviewer
Oystein Brager
Charlotte