Deep Dive
Shownotes Transcript
This episode of The College Tapes contains violence and kidnapping. Listener discretion is advised. From luminary and atypical artists, you're listening to The College Tapes. This is episode 16, Ex Quo, by Megan Fitzmartin.
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You're not the only one who can investigate a mystery like we're on some dumb D&D campaign, Adam. We can't all be drowning in X-drama. It would be a lot easier if you were here, but you didn't call me back, and you're not supposed to separate the party, Adam. Shit, why are there so many people in America's most abandoned library? It's Friday night, shouldn't people be out? You know, like, normal people who aren't trying to discover the secrets behind some mysterious organization.
I know. What? Mark and Oliver said something about the basement, which I guess Adam also saw, but I've never seen any- Can I help you? Oh! Sorry, you surprised me. I didn't know anyone actually worked here. I'm usually cataloging and so few people use this library. Are you looking for something in the walls?
Yeah. I... uh... I was just thinking how old this library must be. One of the oldest on campus. We're very proud. Did you know Yale has some of the oldest- Does it have a basement? Pardon? A basement? I know most of these old buildings do. Of course we do. In fact, I've even heard there are catacombs further down. But they've probably been flooded with all the rain we've been getting. I've never ventured down myself. Could I look around?
I'm sorry, dear. Students aren't allowed down there. But I'm doing research on the buildings of Yale. We still can't allow people in the basement. It's not safe. We do have some books on the buildings of Yale over in the architectural section. I can show you. No, it's okay. Thanks. Sorry, I couldn't be of more help. Well, that was useless. I mean, I guess it's good to know that there really is a basement. Not that I doubt it, Oliver.
Okay, yes, I did, but in my defense, he is a lunatic. The time we have all been waiting for has finally arrived. I know that some of you are young. You've not experienced the horrors the rest of us have. You've not experienced what it's like to be ostracized. But you young ones have experienced what it means to hide your power.
To pretend like the thing that makes you special, the thing that makes you stand out over the rest, is something to be feared. To be hidden. You have spent your whole lives in hiding, fearing that someone would persecute you. And my friends, that time may be closer than we think. You could never be a gamer. I knew it. I knew it would be behind her desk. Maybe Alexis is right. Maybe I would be a good spy.
Or at least some sort of investigator. This isn't so hard, just observing and understanding what you observe. It's... dark. Clever, Caitlin. There's no light here, not even from upstairs. I mean, I closed the door so no one would suspect, but still. There's not even a little bit of light peeking in. And my iPhone light barely shines at all. How is that possible? Normally I feel like this thing is pretty blinding. Is there something that dampens the light down here?
Oh, great, just great! There goes my phone. Good thing I'm not afraid of the do- There's... feels like books. Oh, tons of books down here, just everywhere. Like a bunch of books that haven't gotten shelved or maybe catalogued? How do libraries work? This is going to kill my eyes. The theory behind sports medicine. Oh, gross. The Great Gatsby. Also gross.
Okay, you're a big fella. Metaphysical anatomy of the highly favored. For ages, man has continued to experience life at a rapid pace, growing just as we have taught the land to grow. But what if we have a chance to break the bonds of our simple bodies and achieve so much more?
That sounds like... who wrote you, buddy? Doctor... Seamus Blackwell? What... what is that? Must be coming from the Catacombs. Favored members of the Vahpi, it's been so long. I am so grateful that you would come to meet us here on this holy campus. For our hour has almost arrived.
We are lucky, fortunate for all we have achieved and all we will achieve. Huzzah. Lucky for me, Adam has a spare digital recorder. Such a nerd. Okay, I don't care what Professor Beck says. I can't stop thinking about it. I know, it's been a week. And I thought fall break would clear my head, but I can't... Especially not after... Something is wrong.
And I can't stop thinking that all the answers might be just a few blocks away in Russell Library. I have to find that basement Adam saw. Everything, everything that could possibly solve the mystery of how my life got to be such a wild mess of a nightmare. I think I could... Oh, uh, come in, Frankie. How's it going? Did you just come in here because you're bored? No, maybe. Ben just got here and they're already on the phone with their mom. Apparently she's calling every hour. I get why she'd want to check in.
Where's everyone else? Caleb and Sadie went to go look for Adam. Is he okay? Yeah, he's... Because I talked to him earlier and things were weird, but I wasn't sure if it was him or me, but if we don't know where he is, then we should all be out there. Whoa, whoa, whoa. Sunshine. Caleb and Sadie are handling it. And I stayed here for Ben. They don't want to be left alone. Understandably. And, you know, I stayed for you. To make sure nothing happens to you. Me? Yeah, you know, just in case. Frankie...
They only take atypicals. That we know. And last I checked, I'm not atypical. That we know. You're... ridiculous. All part of my charm. What are you working on? Oh, uh, I sometimes... I like to record myself think. Oh, really? Don't look at me like that. Why not? It's cute. It's, uh... It's something I picked up from Adam...
He told me once why he likes to do the radio show, not just the music, though he lives for that, but... He said there's something nice about getting the inside thoughts out. Listening to yourself talk to try and make sense of things. And they say I'm narcissistic. You're not? With cheekbones like these, how could I not be? You have a point. Sadie just found Adam. He's okay. They're just talking.
Wait, what did you say? Oh, thank God. I want to kill him half the time, but... You're still mad at him? Yeah. No. I don't know. My feelings are all over the place tonight. I get that. You're not mad at me, though, right? No, Frankie, I'm not. Good. Good. So you don't talk to other people? You just listen to yourself? Is that healthy? And we're done. No, no, no, no, no. Sorry, sorry, sorry. I didn't mean to be like...
mean about it. I only meant why don't you talk to someone? I do talk to people. I talk to Adam and my friend Jessica from high school, though we've kind of grown apart. I talked to you this week. I mean, I know texting isn't literally talking, but come on, it's 2020. It's the main mode of communication. Yeah, yeah, I think texting counts.
And listen, I'm thrilled that I was the chosen target for your rapid-fire atypical questions. Really? Because you didn't answer that many of them. Some of those conversations are better had in person. Is... that why you're here? To have those conversations in person? That's one reason. You know, you can also ask me questions about me. I'm not just my ability. No, I know, but I... I don't always know how to do that. Do what?
get to know someone without it being a debrief or a competitive argument. I get why you and Adam are friends. And I get why you and Caleb are friends. He's always been the kindest person in the room, the one who makes it easy to connect. Are you saying I'm easy to connect with? I'm saying I appreciate you trying. Not a lot of people do, and even fewer people keep trying. And you want me to keep trying?
Curious. To see your side of things. The talking to other people being a good thing side. Trust me. Life's so much better when you live it with other people. Spoken like a true extrovert. Spoken like someone who's had to fight really hard for what he's got. You think I haven't? No, I do. But I think they're different fights. Yeah. Yeah. You always been this smart? I've tried to tell you.
So, do you wanna come hang out till everybody gets back? We can try to coax Ben into playing some weird board game. Have you played Charterstone? Thanks, but I've got one more fight left in me. What do you mean? I've gotta go to the library. But we'll play when I get back. Okay? Okay. When you get back. The world does not get better. If we've realized anything in the past few years, it's only gotten worse.
Those of us who are older than you, that's a lesson we have long learned, but it took you time to see that, to believe it. And I understand. You were all raised a certain way, to hide, to live within the margins of society, to never let your power shine for fear of who might see you, who might know. And if you were found out, then you would no longer be able to survive, because that's what you were doing. That's what we have all been forced to do. Survive.
but not thrive. The world, it was not made for us. It was not made for those who are extraordinary. No, it was made by ordinary men, bureaucratic idiocies created to keep us in check. The Order, the AM, striving to understand the unknown as if those answers would diminish us. For my friends, we are the unknown.
They'd rather live against us, find ways to victimize us, push us down until we forget the power that we have deep within us. The power to overwhelm them. They are not our masters. We are our own masters! Huzzah! The moment draws near. Only one more night, friends! Professor Beck? Hi, Professor.
Caitlin, it's good to see you. I was hoping we would get a chance to talk, but I'm assuming you left campus for fall break. You never responded to my email. Yeah, I'm... I'm sorry about that. If you don't want me to be your TA anymore, I'd understand. Not at all, Caitlin. I know you've been digesting everything you learned last week. I wouldn't be a very good teacher if I expected you to just be okay with everything so quickly. That's the thing.
I was at first. I felt really calm about it. Like, everything made sense. I've known Adam and Caleb. Caleb is the empath, right? Yeah, I guess. I mean, I've known them since high school, so when they told me, it all felt okay. But the BU kids went back to Boston, and I did too for the break, and something about the distance made my head clearer, and that's not...
Actually, what I wanted to talk to you about. What can I help you with? Have you and Oliver found anything? What do you mean? Well, you guys said we shouldn't investigate, that we needed to leave this stuff to the adults. I mean, we're adults too, but Mark and the other guy came in and now it's like we're high schoolers again. I'm sorry if you feel coddled, but it's for the best. There are things happening that are much more involved, much more dangerous.
And I don't want any of you in the middle of it. We already are. Which is why I need you to let us handle it. And are you handling it? Caitlin. No, I'm sorry, Professor Beck. I respect you. You know that. But have you found anything that's helpful? What would be helpful? Please don't patronize me. I'm not. You're looking for an explanation. Something that people have tried to understand for years to no avail. No, I'm not. I'm just trying to...
To understand what's happening on campus. My campus. That's all. I think you should let this go, Caitlyn. So, you haven't found anything? Caitlyn, we said we would take care of it. Trust us. Trust me. Okay. Thank you. Will I see you next week? Sure. Of course. I guess I'll just walk along the edges of the library to find the grate that Adam saw?
Ugh, this is stupid. If there's a way into the basement, it's not out here. It would be in a back room or behind the desk so the librarians can get to it. Is she one of them? 'Cause I could have sworn there were never any librarians here before. Maybe it was stupid to do this on my own. Park? Alexis! Hey, how are you doing? You know, getting by. You? Yeah, totally. Same. Cool. Class is going okay? Yeah.
Yeah, I mean, midterms were rough, but, you know. Totally. Why are you lurking around the library on your phone? Oh, I, uh, I lost my earring in here earlier. Sorry I didn't see you. I would have said hi. Yeah, this black hoodie makes me practically invisible. You know, it's weird. It's like Lollapalooza in here today. A total of five people in Russell. I know, right?
I thought no one ever came to this library. What, uh, what are you doing here? I got an extension for practical law. Seeing if switching up locations actually helps me write the damn thing. Are you recording yourself? Yes, I am. I, um, listening back to this morning when I lost the earring. Oh, so you record yourself a lot? Sometimes I just like listening to myself think loud. Oh, okay. Did you have an okay break?
You know how it is. Too much school to catch up on. You? Same. It's like they intentionally give us more shit to do over break so we can't have fun. Yeah. It sucks. What are you working on now? Oh, uh, a sort of investigative thing. Oh, how very secret agent of you. You didn't get recruited by, like, the CIA, did you? What?
No. I just heard that sometimes they recruit out of schools like this. I think you've watched Alias a few too many times. How dare you? There's no such thing. I mean, it would make sense. What, that they recruit out of Yale? I mean, yeah, I guess. No, that you'd get recruited. It... it would?
Yeah, dude. You're like really smart. And you're into investigating things. And you hang out with Adam, who is nice, but you know, a whole other mystery. Not when you get to know him. I guess that's true for everyone.
So, what are you doing? Can I help? You want to help? Practical law is kicking my ass. But if you've got work you should be doing... I mean, I've got to wait a few minutes for the files I need to download anyway. Figured Nancy Drew doesn't always investigate on her own, does she? It's really okay. Come on. Isn't there someone suspicious we can spy on? Actually...
There is something you could do for me. Cool. Literally anything. You name it. I'm bored out of my skull. The librarian. Mrs. Nesbitt? Could you, like, distract her? Just for a minute? This really is sort of espionage-y. I love it. Thank you so much, Alexis. I owe you. You got it, Park. Anytime. Oh, and one more thing. Yeah? Can I borrow your sweatshirt?
Something feeling weird. To be here. It was- That really just happened? Did you really just give a whole super-villain speech? I've got to tell everyone this. I was wrong. I was so wrong. I shouldn't have- Get back and tell them. I forgot. Phone's busted. A little bird told me we had a visitor. Where do you think you're going, Park? Alexis? I'm sorry, Caitlin. You really shouldn't be wandering off alone, you know? You get hurt. Are you-
One of them? You mean someone with powers the likes of which someone like you could never imagine? Then yes. No, that... that's not what I mean. What do you want us to do with her, Professor Blackwell? What I meant was... How could you work with him, Alexis? He's... he's crazy! He really isn't. Poor use of that word, Miss Park. I'm not crazy. I'm a visionary. Isn't that what all nutjobs say? Or aren't all visionaries considered crazy in their time?
Aren't those of us trying to change the way the world works considered heretics? Burned at the stake, imprisoned for suggesting that the Earth revolves around the sun? No, this... this isn't like that at all. Time will tell. Alexis, if you please. No, Alexis, please. What, you don't want someone like me touching you? Ow! No, I didn't mean... Please, I know about atypicals. I know good people are atypicals, but this...
Let me go! This is what we have to do, Park. I'm sorry you got caught up in it. Just let me go. I won't say anything, I promise. Actually, your arrival was rather fortuitous, Miss Park. What? What? You see, we're out one sacrifice. Since you and your friend botched the first job, Alexis, we are missing a crucial element for the ceremony. Her? Yes, her. But she... Ceremony? Ceremony?
What are you talking about? She isn't... It shouldn't matter. We must make do where we can. And this lovely specimen might do well to replace the one you both lost. Please, no. What are you going to do to me? Don't worry, my girl. We won't do anything too terrible. In fact, you may thank us. No, no, no, no, please. Alexis, let me go. You wanted to be like Nancy Drew. What's a Nancy Drew story without a little chloroform?
Clever, Kayla. I know this is ridiculous to investigate on my own like this, but what am I going to do? Ask the BU goon squad to shovel in behind me like a Bad Three Stooges movie? I guess I could have asked Frankie. He'd probably come with me. And I think I can trust him. I want to trust him.
But then he'd want to bring Ben, who shouldn't be going anywhere, and they'd want to bring Caleb, who would certainly call Adam, and he... He doesn't have time. What with all the mooning and monologuing. Besides, I just... I need to do this on my own. Whatever this is, whatever is going on, I... They wouldn't tell me. They still won't tell me. Not the whole truth. It's like they don't trust me. Like Adam doesn't trust me. He was never going to tell me. Whatever. At least...
If I can get a handle on all of this, solve whatever mystery is going on since no one else seems to be, maybe... Maybe I can understand all of this and we can go back to the way things were. You know, before the world went sideways. And we can put an end to this bullshit once and for all. One more night, friends. The moonlight of All Hallows' Eve will bring us the power we need, the strength to finish the course. We are so close.
But how will we? We no longer have the book. Oh, we will get it back. I have no doubt. How will a book and the moon help us achieve our goals? We're people of science, Dr. Blackwell. But science is not the only answer. And the science of the unknown is still science. There are things even our brilliant, masterful minds cannot understand. Why, you've seen what I can do with my powers. The moon and the book, they are but tools to me, to us.
They are the elements we will use to remake the world, with some very special help, of course. The College Tapes is brought to you by Luminary and Atypical Artists. The series is written by Lauren Shippen, Brigham Snow, and Megan Fitzmartin. This episode was written by Megan Fitzmartin. In it, you heard the voices of Victoria Grace as Caitlin, Megan Fitzmartin as Mrs. Nesbitt, David Carey Foster as Blackwell, Zach Barrick as Frankie, Chris Gardner as Beck, and Gabrielle Archambault as Alexis.
Additional voices provided by Megan Fitzmartin, Valerie Tosi, Hugo Pierre-Martin, Tyler White, Anne-Brielle Bresnan, Jordan Dow, and Gabrielle Archambault. This episode was directed by Lauren Chippin and sound designed by Brandon Grugel. The series was sound designed by Misha Stanton and Brandon Grugel. Original score by Evan Cunningham. The College Tapes is produced by Lauren Chippin, Brigham Snow, Lillian Holman, and Evan Cunningham. Thank you for listening, and stay strange. ♪
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