Protect the flock! From JP and Hachette!

Audio clips and transcripts

Please be sure

to include the date/time range for your recording/transcript.

Characters as cast so far by vocals:

Dr. Janssen--Nathan_p
Jeb Batchelder--Devil's Sunrise
Anne Walker--Xuut
Roland ter Borcht--EndOfTheEarth
(Young) Max Ride--Tally

(Old) Max Ride--Hannah

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Devil's Sunrise on October 4, 2010 at 6:50am

Permalink Reply by EndOfTheEarth on October 8, 2010 at 5:03am

More ter Borcht, ranting on about the difficulties of engineering an avian-human.

Transcript:
I am un geneticist.
GE-NE-TI-CIST!
I vas trained vor de sake ahf knowing how genes vork. How to use dem to make new organizam.
But vith das avian-human project, das ist not enough.
De structure needs to be redesigned almost forahm de ground up. Virst, you need to redesign human back, nervous system arrangement, und muscles vor de sake ahf supporting two more limbs. Und den, you need un completely redesigned respiratory und circulation system to handle das problems ahf high altitude vlights, und das must do dis vith das changes for das new limbs in mind.
Und dat ist das easy part. I am un doctor und un geneticist. Novere in my studies did I need to approach aerospace engineering. Ja, I know how un bird vorks, but not vhy un bird works. Und for das afian-humans, Doctor Janssen vants essentially human shape, und for das vings to be able to vold for concelement, so das easy veys of doing dis are out.
I haff vritten some letters to Docktor Gerard vith Itex Aeronoautics. Ideely, I vill have some place to begin by next veek.

Attachments:

borchthowtobuildavian.mp3, 1.1 MB

Permalink Reply by Omega on October 8, 2010 at 10:42am

Have we got any young sounding guys on here? Or someone's younger brother?

I'd assume the cages were bugged at some point, and flock interactions could potentially be interesting. But it's not worth writing unless we can get the voiceactor.

Permalink Reply by EndOfTheEarth on October 8, 2010 at 10:52am

Well, Devil's Sunrise and I are already in use. Not sure about everyone else.

Permalink Reply by nathan_p on October 8, 2010 at 12:02pm

I whipped up a little scene loosely based on the opening of STW, then did a recording to go with...

(Audio track salvaged from a video call circa the beginning of December 2005. Most of the tape was damaged but the following fragment remained.)

JANSSEN: Dr. Batchelder, the ONLY loose ends NOT tied up are your obnoxious, uncontrollable FAILURES.
(beat)
You begged us to wait until their preprogrammed expiration date kicked in. But you no longer have that luxury, no matter how soon it will happen. Get rid of those loose cannons NOW, Dr. Batchelder. Do I make myself clear?

JEB: I understand. They'll be taken care of.

JANSSEN: You show me proof of termination of those MISTAKES by oh seven hundred tomorrow, or YOU will be the one to be terminated. Understood?

JEB: Yes. (clears throat) Everything is in place, Madame Director. They're just waiting for my signal.

JANSSEN: Then give them the signal. When you arrive in Germany, this foolishness must be OVER. There is NO time to waste.

Attachments:

stw opening janssen.wav, 1.5 MB

Permalink Reply by EndOfTheEarth on October 8, 2010 at 12:32pm

Oooh, very emotional! :D

I'm still waiting to hear back from Devil's Sunrise for my own transcript. If you need/would like to do one with me, I could whip up a response pretty quickly.

Permalink Reply by nathan_p on October 8, 2010 at 12:35pm

Thank you! It took me about five recordings to get to that point; for the most part, though I was going for 'murderous rage', I only got to 'somewhat peeved'. Yes. That's how I sound when angry.

I just got my copy of STW back from the abyss, so I'll see if I can find a decent scene to rework into recording material.

(One note on the above: The original opening is really, really awkward. Thus the liberal rewording. Hopefully this isn't a problem.)

edit: I whipped this up based on the interview with the flock in Lendeheim -- mostly I chopped the Chinese scientist characters and gave their lines to ter Borcht, and I also rewrote some of the worst dialogue.

(Mid-December 2005. Lendeheim, Germany.)

A door hisses open.

Footsteps click inside.

JANSSEN: Are you collecting the information you need?

TER BORCHT: I should think not!

JANSSEN:
(distastefully)
So I would guess they're not cooperating.

MAX: What do you think?

TER BORCHT (simultaneously to MAX): Does it look like they are cooperating?

JANSSEN:
(amused)
I told you I had much of this information, but I understood you wanted to interview them personally. Very well. What do you need to know?

TER BORCHT: Maximum flight speed -- does it meet our projections?

JANSSEN: It more than meets them. Maximum has exceeded /two hundred miles per hour/ flat-out, and upward of two hundred and sixty in a steep dive.

The click of footsteps as TER BORCHT paces back and forth, observing the flock.

TER BORCHT: What is their highest recorded flight?

JANSSEN: They've been recorded at thirty-one thousand feet for short periods of time; oxygen consumption increased slightly, but not much beyond baseline. Normally they cruise at between fifteen to twenty-one thousand feet.

TER BORCHT: And their strength is up to expectations?

JANSSEN: Not quite. However, they've been observed carrying up to one-half of their own weight for indefinite periods of time.

TER BORCHT: Body-fat percentages?

JANSSEN: Low, just as projected.

MAX: Okay, this is stupid. There's no point in discussing this because there is NO WAY we're going to be weapons for anyone.

JANSSEN: You'll do what we tell you. We'll find a way to motivate you.

MAX: We don't work cheap.

JANSSEN: That doesn't matter, Maximum. Your survival depends on your cooperation. Compensating you is up to our discretion.

TER BORCHT: There is no survival -- they're as good as dead!

JANSSEN: You were designed for intelligence, Max.

MAX: And yet I still can't program my TiVo.

JANSSEN: Watch your mouth. Dr. ter Borcht is not the only one who wants you dead. Working for us is your only opportunity for survival. Remember that, Max -- without us, you are /dead/.

Permalink Reply by EndOfTheEarth on October 8, 2010 at 1:12pm

Looks good. I'll get on it tomorrow evening. Surprisingly, it makes sense both with regards to the story, and with the whole ter Borcht-desigining-the-Übermensch bit, as he would want to know what their operational statistics were before he dealt away with them.

Hopefully Tally sees this at some point, or should I just send her a message direct? Or are we using someone else for the older Max?

Permalink Reply by nathan_p on October 8, 2010 at 1:20pm

I would like to use someone else, but I'm not terribly picky.

Permalink Reply by EndOfTheEarth on October 9, 2010 at 1:59am

OK. I'll post a general request.

Permalink Reply by Hannah on October 9, 2010 at 3:18am