Shane undergoes a transformation and Randi urges caution.
Cast
Randi Halle Millien
Shane Mark Millien
SFX and Music Contributors
SFX
Q Tone [Query]
Tone 4.wav by patchen of freesound.org
Q Tone [Response]
Tone 3.wav by patchen of freesound.org
Music
Desmond’s Letter Theme
Phantom Piano 1 by PhantomKillahBeats of looperman.com
Created by Mark and Halle Millien
Cover Art by Halle Millien
Written, Directed and Produced by Mark Millien
A special thank you to NK Jemisin for the Broken Earth trilogy, in general but specifically, she hit us all with Father Earth and that really resonated with me and the beauty of her world building, which is where the impetus for Randi’s Mother God exclamation came from.
Glossary
diving: instead of “surfing” the net, one “dives” the Q.
screen: as in “giving screen” is a term of art for giving someone well earned accolades or “props” as it were.
trim: slang for flawless, excellent, immaculate.
Desmond’s Letter:
I’ve been thinking a lot about how to approach this. Jude, Shane. I’m watching the two of you right now have an intense “conversation” about Star Wars. This has been brewing. May the Fourth was last week and the Rise of Skywalker dropped on Disney +. We didn’t go see it in the theaters so when I put it on I thought it would be this amazing opportunity for us all to shelter around something that we love. It would be a serious understatement to say that I was wrong. Shane, you were really quiet afterwards. You seemed, I don’t know, affected, but I couldn’t tell if it was because this chapter was ending or if you just didn’t like the movie. Jude, you were, happy. You thought it did what it set out to do and felt good about it. The Morgan kids, Harrison wasn’t really watching. He was doing his assigned reading while catching glances in between verses. The Bible. Helen makes him read fifty pages a day. Randi, I didn’t see her blink once, but after it was over, she turned her attention over to the ESPN app, digesting commentary about the Chicago Bulls documentary. The first time I’ve seen her excited in months is when she talks about the finale coming up on Sunday. I figured everyone felt fairly apathetic towards it and moved on. Things escalated quickly, maybe because there isn’t a lot of competition for your attention. As you’re arguing I’m moved by the mundanity of it all. I’m as passionate about Star Wars as either of you, but I can’t bring myself to care at the moment. I struggle on a daily basis about what I should be prioritizing with you. How I should be using this time we have with one another. I don’t know if it’s the right choice, but I’ve decided, I think, to be honest about this moment. Today a man named Rick Bright testified before congress. He used to be in charge of an important part of the government that spearheaded the pandemic response. He was reassigned recently. He’s testifying today as a whistleblower, a term that’s come up quite a bit over the last year or so. He claims that the administration didn’t take him seriously when he was in his former position about the potential impact of the virus. He’s saying that he was removed because he urged that funds should be prioritized for treatments that have been vetted vs those that have not. He basically said, winter is coming. By his side was a man named Mike Bowen. He runs a company that makes N-95 masks, the top of the line ones. The ones people on the front line wear. He told the committee that he voted for the president but as he sat there he was embarrassed to be a republican. So as my two boys are making me proud by standing tall in their convictions about something we all care about, well you two and me, I can’t help but think about my best friend, who has entrusted me with his children, who is a thousand miles away. Bright said the N-95 masks that many nurses and doctors and clinicians are wearing are only 30% effective in comparison to the ones that they should be wearing. This Bowen guy didn’t disagree. If this is true, then it’s like parachuting everyday with a frayed cord. Apparently, all because the president thought it would help him win re-election, somehow. I’ve come to believe these people are capable of anything, but is Roderick out there saving people, risking himself, rationing his PPE, and being lied to on top of it all about the risk he’s taking? Could that be true? What I’m angry about, but proudest of, is that even if it is true, it wouldn’t make a difference. Not to him, not to any of them. They were drafted into this war but there are so many unforeseen combatants. The Wisconsin Supreme Court nullified the governor’s shelter in place order. One of the justice’s compared the mandate to remain home to the Japanese internment camps of World War II. The republican legislature has no alternative plan, but even though they brought the case, they requested the court give them a week to put a plan together. The court declined that request and neutered the governor’s order immediately. Within hours the bars in Madison, Milwaukee and Green Bay were packed. The scientists are begging for a more cautious approach, but summer approaches with more questions than answers and impatience is making our decisions for us. Enemies surround you my friend, and I don’t know how to help, except to say that from this day until forever, I will do what I can to keep your children safe. To make good on whatever they need. When the Last Dance concludes this Sunday, I’ll be right there with your little girl, giving her the context of that mythical era called 1998 that she wishes you were there to provide. I will be there for Harrison during this confusing time and answer any questions a heretic like me can muster as he finds himself. And Helen, I will give her the space to heal so that when she is ready, her beautiful children are prepared to receive her in all her glory. I will be here, for all of you, always. And Shane, you were right. It was trash.
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