1478 – Matriarch of Space Interludes | Nothing Works, Everything Happens Ep 8

Episode 1478 – Matriarch of Space Interludes | Nothing Works, Everything Happens Ep 8

 

SCOOTER: Friends beyond the binary, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, I’m glad you're here. This is your potential friend in the deep, dark night, your future friend, maybe your bore-bud, maybe…I say that just in case you're new or you're not sure yet, and that’s okay. I’m the podcaster you don't have to be sure about. You could say, huh, well, I’ll see how it goes. So, if you're new or you're coming back for your thousandth-plus episode or you just come back to the show and it’s here when you need it, I am glad you're here. I’m here to keep you company, take your mind off of stuff, and talk for a bit over an hour as a mild, silly distraction in the deep, dark night, maybe bring you some sleepy joy and delight, tell you a tale, read you a story, hang out with you and be here for you. I’m not here to put you to sleep; I’m here to be your friend…no, I think I already said that. I’m here to repeat myself over and over and over again and be comfortable with that. Well, relatively comfortable.

 

I’m the one…I'm a relative comfort. Was that…? That was a clothing line we pitched for Sleep With Me. It didn't work out. Just turns out the marketing people were like, wait a second, you want to call your…? Relative Comfort, the only sleepwear that’s relatively comfortable. They said, no, that won't work. I said, well, the sleepwear is gonna be incredibly comfortable, but I just want to ease people into…yeah, well, who’s gonna buy relatively comfortable…? Well, I don't know, sometimes I have performance…fabric performance anxiety. I don't know if anybody else out there has experienced that one. You say, I’m supposed to…? Is this a fabric I’m supposed to be…? I don't think I’m performing quite up to the standards of this fabric. Or is this…? That’s a whole ‘nother thing. It’s a whole ‘nother podcast, The Fabric Cast. Fabric Notes, things interesting to…it’s not for fabrics, 'cause I don't think…fabrics would say, I don't need…we already heard about him.

 

We heard about him from the…he was talking the ear off of some performance fabric in a aisle of TJ Maxx, and…I don't know. It was…what am I gonna do? I mean, could I have…could I be…could I perform mildly? Mild…do you have anything in a mild…? I’m not looking for Coolmax. I mean, in that case I am, but I mean, that’s…you say, I don't know if you've…no offense to Coolmax, but you say, well…so anyway, by the way…oh boy, we're off topic early. Welcome to Sleep With Me, the podcast that’s here to keep you company and take your mind off of stuff so you could fall asleep. If you're new, what we got coming up is support so paying for the show is optional for new people and people that listen from time to time when they need it, then after the support, totally separate from the support, will be a intro meant to ease you into bedtime, and then later on we’ll have a bedtime story. I think it’s gonna be from our ongoing readings from Nothing Works, Everything Happens, I believe. All told, I’ll be here a bit over an hour. I’m glad you're here and I really hope I can help you fall asleep. If you listen to the show every night, you've been listening to the show longer than a year, you fall asleep fast or you listen to multiple episodes a night, if you're the listener who everybody counts on, me, the team, the new listeners, and the majority of listeners who only listen once in a while when they need the show, we’d love it if you could join us and check out one of these sponsors or support the show. Thanks.

 

Intro: Hey, are you up all night tossing, turning, mind racing? Trouble getting to sleep? Trouble staying asleep? Well, welcome. This is Sleep With Me, the podcast that puts you to sleep. We do it with a bedtime story. Alls you need to do is get in bed, turn out the lights, and press Play. I’m gonna do the rest. What I’m going to attempt to do is create a safe place where you could set aside whatever’s keeping you awake. That could be thoughts on your mind, thoughts about the past, the present, the future, thoughts you're thinking about, it could be feelings, anything coming up, feelings related to those thoughts or feelings that are just there, feelings that are coming up, feelings that are hanging out. You say, I gotta…can…? I’d prefer if we…can we leave this to tomorrow, please?

 

So, feelings, it could be physical sensations, changes in time, temperature, routine, you could be going through something, in the middle of something, getting over something, you could be traveling, maybe you have guests, maybe you work a different schedule, a different shift, or your work schedule has changed, or whatever it is. I’m here to keep you company and take your mind off of stuff so you could fall asleep, not to put you to sleep. But at first I just want to let you know you're not alone, and I mean that in the broadest sense that you're comfortable with, that there’s other people listening right now with you but indirectly and at a distance, within your comfort zone. But those people, some of them are regular listeners, and they…whatever it is that brought you here, they've been through something or they're dealing with something or as a ongoing basis they deal with something similar.

 

I think a lot of people listening right now, we're connected by the feelings of the deep, dark night, of not being able to sleep when we really want to and need to, and not feeling like anybody understands. Well, here it’s different. Everybody gets it and everybody…it’s optional, but everybody has the option, if they're awake and they feel like it — which that means it’s optional — to send or receive that kindness and comfort right now or throughout the show across the deep, dark night to other people that are in a similar challenge that they've been in, to wish somebody else well. I’ll tell you what; wishing other people well, like just sending them kindness as a act of service, thinking of them in a kind way, it really does feel good. I hope you can feel the goodness being sent to you, too, when you need it, or if you want to do both or neither or neither. Nil or none, whatever you wish.

 

But I just like to bring that up 'cause that’s the most important part about the show, is we're together in this, and it’s a indirect sort of togetherness, but it’s important, and you deserve a good night's sleep. You deserve a bedtime where you could get the rest you need so your life is more manageable tomorrow, a bedtime you don't have to dread, that you could look forward to or at least feel neutral about, and that’s what I’m gonna try to provide. The way it works is I send my voice across the deep, dark night. I use lulling, soothing, creaky, dulcet tones, pointless meanders, and superfluous tangents. So, I go off topic, I get mixed up, then I forget what I was talking about, I have tons of…holy filler words. I use a lot of them, or utter…I mean, I guess utter…what’s…? An abundance of utterances. That one was just a natural one.

 

This show does have an abundance of utterances, if I’m using utterance in the…you know, I made up…I haven't shared this one in a while, and I probably should keep going with the intro, but I made…once upon a time, when I was just a university student, I decided we were gonna have a themed party, and the theme was just bring a resume. We would tape everybody’s resumes up on the wall. A practical theme, but for me, I wrote my own made-up resume. Luckily this was…it was not in a PDF form; it was just printed. Just because people thought it was real…and one of the places I said I worked was instead of abundance of utterances, I said I worked at a ice cream store called Udder Delight. Then I was like…when I was writing it, I was like, it should be a non-dairy…like it’s a non-dairy ice cream place. I don't know, I went back and forth on it 'cause it was like a pun. I don't know. I accidentally thought of it somehow.

 

So anyway, then I made up another business that I submitted to my university after I graduated. I don't know why…I'm not really a pun person, but this place…I said I created a sport fishing business called Salmon Rye instead of ham on rye. But I don't know…maybe because…I don't know if I was imagining it was based out of Rye, New York, or what. Okay, back to the sleep podcast, right? So, send my…oh, utterances and pointless meanders and superfluous tangents. My voice is not traditionally soothing. That’s what creaky, dulcet tones means. When you first get here you may not like the show, 'cause whatever it is that brought you, right, maybe you were searching for it, maybe somebody recommended it, and you've had trouble sleeping on and off, or you're just dealing with something right now and you want to go to sleep. Maybe you had some expectation of what a sleep podcast would be. This show is very different than what most people expect.

 

It’s meant to be that way 'cause this is what worked for people when nothing else would, 'cause I’m not really here to…I'm taking the work out of it, right? I’m not here to solve anything. I’m just here to be here, and that does take some getting used to. For most listeners it took two or three tries. They said, I thought this was a sleep podcast, but the first twenty or thirty minutes are you going on and on and on, and then the next thirty to forty-five, fifty minutes are you continuing to go on and on and on just about something else. So, if you get here, you're skeptical, you're doubtful, you're grouchy, you're in good company; 95% of listeners agree with you and, whatever, ten times that are people that the show never worked for. We have a website set up. So, if you already know this isn't gonna be a fit or you have listened two or three times and you're like, this is the last time I’m ever gonna listen to this podcast, no problem.

 

I still want you to get a good night's sleep or eventually find something that works for you. So, I have something set up, sleepwithmepodcast.com/nothankyou. So, check that out. There’s other sleep podcasts and sleepy stuff on there. Otherwise give the show a few tries. You got nothing to lose. See what happens. Hopefully I can help you out. Like the other listeners said, I had no idea something like this could exist, or that I’ve been…I didn't know I was looking for this my whole life. One of the things that’s different about the show is that it’s a podcast you don't exactly listen to. It’s not background noise, but it’s not…you could tell already; it’s not super engaging or interesting, either. It’s somewhere in-between, kinda like when…a out-of-focus picture or sand passing through your hands, a TV on in the other room that you can't quite hear — it’s mumbling — or a show or something else streaming under your pillow that just gives you enough presence and sense…I don't know, that it puts you at ease.

 

That’s what the show is really…kind of one of the things I try to do, to settle down that chatter of my thoughts, feelings, physical sensations, and all that stuff, and to be here with you but indirectly, 'cause that was the thing; even when I shared a room with my sibling or somebody else, I just felt like I was on my own and that nobody got it. I guess that’s going back to the earlier stuff. But yeah, so, this…but this is…but the way I get it is by you not having to listen to me, like a boring professor or a friend going on and on and on, or reading you a story but they have so many asides. You say, could you do that? But I’m not gonna pay attention. They may indulge you once or twice, but then at some point they say, yeah, I gotta sleep, too. So, that’s what this podcast is here to do, and it’s…I'm not here to put you to sleep. There is no pressure to fall asleep with this show. That’s why the episodes are over an hour. It’s a sleep podcast that doesn't put you to sleep.

 

It’s a sleep podcast that’s been around for a long time, and I’m not here to put you to sleep. Again, there’s no pressure. I’m here to keep you company and take your mind off of stuff, bring you some ease and comfort, maybe some sleepy joy and delight, and counteract or be a distraction from whatever’s keeping you up, to hang out with you, to be there for you, 'cause there’s people listening who can't sleep at all or who need a break during the day, or they're up all…they need something to listen to in the middle of the night, or they have a job where they need something to listen to. So, I’m here for the entire show to the very end whether you're awake or asleep, whether you're listening to me or not, so that you never…you say, okay, I got my bore-friend there. Whether I’m listening or not, he’s there to take care of me.

 

That’s my job, to be your bore-bud, your bore-sib, your bore-friend, your borebie, your boreman, your bores, your Boris Borelaf, your chairman of the boreds, your Big Borebowski, your bore-bae, your best bore-friend f’eva, and just be here for you, just like a little bit…like a sleepover or when you and your…if you have a roommate or if you’ve had a roommate, like when you're really in that kind of in-sync-type thing…maybe you're even lying in your beds kinda singing some NSYNC or something. I don't know. Out of…maybe you're singing NSYNC out of sync and giggling. You say, that’s an analogy for your podcast? I’d say it’s a pretty apt analogy, yeah. It’s like you're in bed in a room with a roommate. You and your roommate are in sync because you're singing NSYNC out of sync, and it’s…makes…it feels good. Or the NSYNC equivalent, BTS.

 

Like, I don't know…I wish I had a stronger vocabulary so I could think of something that…so, a podcast you don't really listen to even though it’s a podcast, it’s a sleep podcast that doesn't put you to sleep, and most people don't like the show, particularly when they first get here. What else you got for us? Well, let me explain the structure of the show really quick, 'cause we designed this podcast over the past thirteen years based on what we learned from listeners of what works best for the majority of people. So, this version you're listening to is structured that way, and you can adjust the structure of the show if you become a regular listener based on how you like to listen, but this is the version that works for most people. It starts off with a greeting; friends beyond the binary, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, so whether you're new, you're coming back, or you're here all the time, you say, okay, I feel seen and welcome here, or I could feel seen and welcomed here, or I prefer not to be seen, but I don't mind being indirectly welcomed, okay?

 

Then there’s support for…so that paying for the show is optional. The reality is without the sponsors and the people that support the show, maybe there’d be a paid version of the podcast somewhere out there. But the majority of people that listen would miss out on it, and most of the people that benefit from the show would have never discovered it. So, that’s what the support…if you prefer something without ads, there’s a bunch of ways, if you listen, to get those. But most people just set the show…they start playing it, and then during the intro, which is this part of the show, they wind down, ‘cause every intro is different and it takes me fifteen to twenty to thirty minutes to introduce the podcast, but in a playful way, because it’s not about efficiency or putting you to sleep right away. The intro is about easing you into bedtime in a new way that follows a familiar structure.

 

So, I get distracted by something new or a little bit of new stuff and a little bit of repetitive stuff, in this case tonight, as you're getting ready for bed, as you're winding down. Maybe you're in bed getting comfortable or maybe you're doing some chill activity; doodling, petting your pets, knitting, looking out the window, lying on the floor, winding down to get eased into bedtime. If for some reason you fall asleep fast during the intro, you're probably better off either supporting the show, or we have a show, Bedtime Stories from Sleep With Me, without intros. But yeah, the intro is like our…it’s the NSYNC time where we're hanging out, we're enjoying one another’s company before we go to sleep, because something about that, it is magical and it counteracts that non-magical stuff of the deep, dark night, that joyous connection.

 

I mean, I think a lot of us can picture it in our mind right now, two roommates or a whole sleepover or whatever, a room full of roommates giggling and…when you are…I mean, to set the band aside, when you're…you have that kinda connection, and it’s like a indirect connection, that exists on this show. So, that’s what the intro is. Then after the intro will be some support, then it’ll have our bedtime story. All told, I’ll be here a bit over an hour, and I’m really, really glad you're here, whether this is your first listen or you've listened to eight episodes a night for ten years — I have no idea how many episodes that is or how many hours, but whatever it is — or somewhere in between, I’m really glad you're here. Me and a team of people work really hard on the show, and it brings us so much joy because we know it helps people out who are really hurting in the deep, dark night. So, I hope it can help you or it can introduce you to something that can. Thank you again for coming by, and if you're here nightly, night after night, episode after episode, if you could please consider supporting the show directly or checking out one of these sponsors, that’ll be how we continue to be here. Thanks.

 

Alright everybody, this is Scoots. We're continuing with Nothing Works, Everything Happens. This is Space Junk, Part 3. Captain had told the twins to let him do the talking. He was sure to make that painfully clear. He wasn't perfect, not perfect at all, but he was confident to keep a cool head under pressure. The twins just had to stand there, right, furrows in their brows. They didn't have anything to do. That wasn't difficult. The deal was supposed to be an easy one. A vendor on Orelius Prime, or Plime, or…not Lime; not Orelius Lime…they had come highly recommended, this vendor, from one of the captain’s long-standing buds. O/OX and O'Grey, they had repaired the last ship they'd borrowed via a note. Now, the crew had spruced it up with parts from their collection in the cargo bay. Captain was tempted to keep it, but they needed credits. This buyer here was looking for a pretty good deal, the captain told Namu as they took off. He had said those exact words.

 

On paper this was a simple ship exchange, easy money. Then Flanagan showed up. Flanagan, oh boy, Flanagan. What more can I say? You would not want to have flan again with Flanagan, or anything again with Flanagan. Their loyalty lay with whoever gave them what they wanted; credits, I don't know, platinum, other stuff. Captain never understood how Flanagan was still around. Again and again and again with the Flanagan. There was once a movie; something Benigan Begin Again or something. It was a old, ancient film, but he had never seen it. Finnegan Begin Again, I think it was called. He would not…he wishes he could begin again with Flanagan by saying no thank you, but he had aced his interview because of his skill set, but he was mysterious about having even more skills. Believable, though. I guess he should be called Flamagan, 'cause that kind of mystery…and I also have skills in other areas, but I just want…I'm just showing you the skills I have within the job description, Flanagan was known to say.

 

Beyond that I have a lot more to offer, so we’ll see what comes up here in this workplace. But that was a flam, as in a flim-flam. He was not diplomatic, not particularly fast, not particularly convincing other than in job interviews, and the type of person that everyone tensed up a bit when he entered the room. It didn't bring a comfort when he came. On top of that, Flanagan and XO/O were not fans of one another because they had worked together in the past, and the way XO/O had told things, Flanagan borrowed things without permission, and then when returned them…a bit like that sleep podcaster; borrow my sweatshirt without asking. You return it; it has a grease stain. You borrow my jacket without asking and then you say, your jacket got taken by someone else. The classic sleep podcaster conundrum. It had added up, added up to the point where she felt like it was worth the entire job’s payment.

 

She had even told him, you owe me one week worth of credits that you've earned. But he forgot…he said, I don't even know what jacket you're talking about. The jacket you…I'm sorry that someone took the jacket you loaned me, or gave it to me, I guess, right? Yeah, I was disappointed, too. Yeah, I was disappointed that the jacket you gave me was taken. I really loved that jacket, almost as much as you did. You must have really loved…so generous. Captain didn't have a hard time believing this story. It seemed a very Flanagan thing to do. Ever since, whenever they had crossed paths, dealt with Flanagan, it was never…that was…they keep their teeth…the fake smile where your teeth…your mouth’s closed. But today’s encounter, it was like a whole new level of discomfort told in a comforting way, though, and don't worry, it’ll wrap around to something comforting. To start off, the hand-off had gone well enough.

 

Credits were transferred, glasses were cheersed, hands were shaken, then Flanagan said something under his breath, something snarky. Captain tried to diffuse the situation, but Flanagan kept on and on and on. XO/O said, what are you going on about, man, Flan? Flan said, my name’s Flanagan. Say it again correctly. It’s not Flan. That brought in some tension. Meanwhile, this was a professional situation with unprofessional behavior. They were attempting to work with a buyer who was like, this is not the kinda professional behavior I expect from people I’m in the business of doing business with. Meanwhile, they got into this big debate back and forth, then they were talking about the jackets, then they were talk…and the buyer just said, I’m gonna take the ship and go. Now, the captain had the credits, so the ship was paid for, but any referrals from this buyer, any referrals at all…nope, no more repeat business.

 

Now, there was a larger problem, 'cause XO/O’s sibling, O/OX, was still working on the ship when the buyer left, working on all this authorization stuff, resetting the Wi-Fi, logging out of all the streaming services so the buyer couldn't use them. So, we had an interlude. After the interlude, the captain sighed heavily. Nemu gave the captain the look she always gave him when he sighed heavily. XO/O sulked in the corner and fiddled with settings on her new binoculars, which were more than binoculars; it was more like a telescope. Now, they had been tracking and attempting to call the buyer, following different tags and stuff for two hours, but no one was answering. Now, Flanagan, by the way, was working on the other ship, the buyer’s ship, and they imagined that Flanagan was saying, don't answer. There’s no good reason they're calling. By the way, when you take possession of a ship, even if somebody else is on there, you bought everything on the ship.

 

The buyer was green, so it wouldn't have taken a lot to sway them. Captain was sure this must have been this poor kid’s first off-market transaction. If only he’d pick up the call, captain could talk reason. On top of that, the captain was watching the fuel supplies dwindling as they attempted to follow the buyer’s ship. The captain’s life had been full of diffusing situations like this, making the most of it. Ever since he was a child, managing other people, their expectations, building consensus, bringing peace wherever he went, and comfort. Love and tolerance in a sense, most of the time, was the captain’s code. The captain was the kind of person who could pull loose ends together and tie them in a knot so they wouldn't fray anymore. He’d always been the one who could see both sides and find a mutually beneficial way forward. For the most part it was always successful, but then again, here he was, many years older, many times passed, but still trying to fix loose ends that maybe needed to stay frayed.

 

Hey Namu, is this a violation of any…are there any authority figures that would take exception to this? I mean, on paper there’s plenty of authority figures that would take exception to it. XO/XO said, by the way, if they think my sibling was…came with the ship…captain held up a hand. I know. Don't worry. It wasn't in the sale. Even though it was a verbal sales agreement, it was still a verbal sales agreement. He queued up another hail to the ship as they followed. He sent a voice memo; listen, it’s not too late for us to forget about this whole thing. You’ve paid your credits, you have your ship, and there seemed to be some sort of misunderstanding based on another misunderstanding, but there’s a crew member of our ship on board your ship. Please place them in a pod and drop them off, and we’ll pick them up and be on our way. You'll never have to see us again. Captain paused for a moment, chewing on the inside of his cheek.

 

Otherwise I’m gonna have to report this to an authority figure, because we had an agreement. So, I’ll give you five minutes. O/OX interrupted and added on to the voice memo with a stern voice; by the way, Flanagan’s nickname is Flim Flanagan, Flim Flam Again. Captain cut off the transmission and glared at her. He stared at his watch as he ticked down the minutes. This is not a good use of our fuel. This is well beyond optimal, to talk like an android. Namu nodded quietly. After three minutes a red light lit up on the controls in front of the captain, an incoming voice memo. Huh, the buyer didn't really have the wherewithal to call directly. Speak one-on-one; that’s too bad. Captain pressed a button, and it was Flanagan’s voice the captain heard. You're gonna need to give us half the credits we already paid, and then we’ll drop off the twin. It’s non-negotiable. Take it or leave it. The captain’s head rolled back on his shoulders. He signed heavily. Unbelievable.

 

XO/O stood up and started gesturing. Namu just gave the captain the same look again and began telling XO/O to sit back down because they were trying to conserve fuel, conserve fuel and feelings. Captain was like, I thought this was gonna be over. What else could I do to diffuse this situation without spending half the credits we rightfully earned? Just then, another light blinked, and it was a proper hail, a call. Wait, where they calling immediately after sending a message? That’s confusing. The captain answered the hail. Yo, hey, it’s captain here. To his surprise it wasn't Flanagan at all. It was O'Grey calling from home. Captain, we got a bit of an issue here back at home base. O'Grey? Well, yeah, you could call me that, I guess. Captain, you always call me something different. But I’m in the middle of something over here, O'Grey. What do you got? We’ve been located. We’ve been located. What do you mean located? What are you talking about? There’s about ten ships here. There’s a few of them already landing in the docking bay. Big logos, official-looking things. The ships have offensive and defensive apparatuses all over them. The captain looked over at Namu, who had convinced XO/O to sit down. His eyes widened. Can you believe this? This tale will be continued in Part 4.

 

Interlude. For most of humankind’s existence, the universe, it was like that movie with the park and the ages of Jurassics and the theory of that Ian Malcolm, who said, you know, there’s lots of ups and downs and unpredictability in life, yet entropy, a force of…that does not order things or line them up, it’s always working behind the scenes. At first this was subtle back in the beginning times, imperceptible. However, as time ticked on, it grew, changing the way all beings experienced life in the universe. Over millions of years, galaxies drifted further apart. The once-dense cosmos steadily loosened its grip. Not only were massive galaxies pushed further from one another, but so too were atoms on the microscopic scale. This altered the structure of every object and every living body in drastic ways. As the universe continues to stretch towards the infinite, it urges all matter contained within it apart.

 

All matter moves towards loosely cobbled-together collections of vaguely-related atoms. Then the human beings, they moved on. They changed phase, they changed locations, they changed forms of existence. There were beings left in this cosmos, beings of consciousness formed amidst vast clouds of expansive atoms. Immense voids of empty space separated them. Even within them they were large and spread out. Even larger tracks of nothingness were in-between the beings themselves. They spoke as giant cloud-based beings do, very slowly. You there, Albert? The volume of loosely-packed particles glowed subtly as it projected its thoughts into the ether. A dim, barely-visible form of bio-luminescence still struggled to persist. The clouds spanned an area nearly as large as the planet that had once been called Jupiter. It had long ago dispersed. Eons passed. Still here. A similar vague cloud of atoms with loosely-defined boundaries echoed in response from many light years away.

 

Celestial bodies that had once served as landmarks in space; asteroids, planetoids, stars, had all changed form and moved on. Their matter dissipated, dissipated by the tireless expansion of the universe. The space, the dark vacuum of space, spread out in every direction. Need a hug, bud? The first cloud pulsed. Again, many lifetimes passed. Oh yeah, bud. Thanks. The second pulsed back. The two entities continued to disperse outward. They pulled themselves apart at the same time they pulled further away from each other. Both bodies of matter stretched so thinly across the expanse of space that an objective viewer, were there any still in existence, would have had difficulty delineating where either of the entities began or ended.

 

Only the enormous stretches of emptiness between them gave any impression that each was distinct. With passing millennia, the entities had more and more difficult time communicating. It required more and more effort to form cohesive thoughts, let alone stay in touch. Thank you for sticking around, the first space fog pulsed into the ether. Fifty thousand years later, the second fog replied. You got it, Cecil. As the two consciousnesses drifted further apart, the universe continued to dim. Matter interacting with other matter transitioned from irregularity to very unlikely. The expanse between the loosely-defined collection of atoms became immeasurable. Their ability to communicate became more and more not easy. Tired? Projected the first. Getting there, projected the second. Let’s then rest together, okay? Yeah, let’s take a break and maybe listen to another story coming from another time.

 

Okay, this is a new story, Reset. Systems check? Wearable detected? Wristwatch online. Second extra device detected? Microbiome monitor online. Yet another add-on detected? Thinking monitor online. Good morning, Johnathan. All systems stand by. Hello, Johnathan. How are you this morning? All systems stand by. 62 bpms. Synapses 0 NFPS. Johnathan, are you with me? Initiate EP241. Checking in with tech support immediately. Bing, bing, bing. Yes, good morning, and thank you for calling WN Inc. tech support. We're here to help you be your best with science. Who am I speaking with? Hello, this is monitor system #18YQFZ288AYK. We're registered to Johnathan Dayfro of Newfoundland, Canada. Oh, good morning, monitor system…yeah, that you just listed. I have it in front of me. Just have to confirm before I repeat it back to you. But actually, you have an express support program, so what seems to be the issue? Neural still 0 NFPS. My user seems to be offline.

 

All readings are within normal, but it’s like pre-snoozing snoozing. Alright, I see. Can you transfer all the most recent data? By the way, throw in that data, too, that sweet, sweet data. Not that Data. He’s so sweet, though, isn't he? You know the Data I’m referring to? But all the data and data from the last twenty-four hours, can you share that with me? Transferring data and data and my love of Data. Okay, thank you so much. Just give me a moment. All systems stand by. Okay, let’s see here. Nothing is really looking out of the ordinary. Has your user, Johnathan, been running sub-optimally? Let’s see, sleep…they haven't been listening to that sleep podcast. They were a little bit lower past ninety days. Some elevations. Checking their steps. I’ve got a ho-hum listed here, but there’s no deviations outside of what we would expect. All systems stand by. Have you tried turning him on and off, turning him on, off, off, unplugging, resetting your router, all of that at once? All systems stand by. I’m sorry, pardon?

 

Oh, just turn the user on and off again. Sometimes it’s just a glitch. It’s some sort of…they're dreaming, maybe, the snooze within a snooze. Like, they dreamed they woke up or they dreamed they hit snooze. All systems stand by. I’m sorry, is that something I can do? Am I authorized to do that? Oh yeah, I mean, I see all the statistics here, the package you purchased. You got two of those, one of those. Okay, I’m gonna send you step-by-step instructions right now. Just be sure to shut it off and then take a two-minute break and then restart, but don't get distracted after the shutdown. You want to get the restart going as soon as you can after two minutes. Okay, thank you. You're very welcome.

 

What we say here, whether it’s running, walking, walk, walking, or talking, talk, talking or being in the m-m-moment, we're here to help their customers at their very best level. Communication disconnected. Resetting. Johnathan sat up in bed. He shook off the fog of the night before. Had the alarm gone off? Had he snoozed? Was he waking up between snoozes? He opened his eyes wide, but he was still kinda foggy, so he swung his feet down and got ready to stand up. Good morning, Johnathan. How are you this morning? Johnathan got down and put his feet on the floor and said, sorry, it was just a quick snooze. I’m ready to go.

 

The Matriarch of Nebana. Marrell’s tattered black dress brushed against the dry grass as she ambled across an open field. On her left, a matching slate mountain range towered above her. It continued across the horizon and into the distance on her right. Her hair danced in the wind, long, black, and tangled. At her feet, cherry-red berry bushes struggled for sunlight beneath the tall, golden grasses. Dense fog rolled down from the mountaintops. I grow close. I’ve come onto you now to deliver sleep. I am mother. I am the snooze. Marrell’s arms, wrapped in long, black silk, hung at her sides. Her long fingers passed through the tall grass as she walked, gentler than the breeze. A heavy cloud passed over, casting deep shadows on the ground below. She followed the darkness across the vast, open field. In time, the cloud outpaced Marrell, and as it passed on ahead, the sun’s light reflected off two curving obsidian protrusions on a hat she wore.

 

They cast highlights on the grass, opposing the shadows that passed from above. She crunched across some dried vegetation. I don't like waiting. I thirst for stillness. Crow feathers adorned her shoulders, twisting in the wind. Marrell surveyed the field as she walked. There was nothing, no one between the golds and reds. As she walked and wandered, the wind started in a new direction. Soft echoes of a lone stringed instrument carried a calm melody on the wind. Marrell smiled to herself and turned towards the music. Marrell followed the whisper of the music to the base of the mountain. It had led her there without pause. She stopped at the first step carved in rugged obsidian stone, and looked up the mountain path that stretched out before her. She had been walking for hours and had many more hours before reaching the summit. One step after another. Her eyes reflected the mountain as she stared upward. Her eyes were pools of reflection reflecting the world back at itself.

 

Call unto me, and I will come. She lifted her long dress gracefully, revealing her bare feet, and she began the long climb. One step after another, up, up, up she went. The climb was a lot of work, but Marrell had not stopped, not once. Neither had the music. It grew louder as she ascended. As she came to the top of the staircase, she saw what she was looking for and nodded. The person she saw was a monk. He wore a golden yellow robe and sat on a ledge carved into the mountain. Behind him was a sleek silver spaceship the shape of a teardrop turned on its side. It hovered silently a few inches above a perfectly circular crater. Also painstakingly carved into the mountain was this crater. A number of high-reaching mahogany logs stood on end to the opposite side of the monk. They rose tall, towering up and up and up the base of each one of these giant logs inset into the rock. Long, red fabric hung from the top of each pole, flapping loudly in the wind.

 

The fabric looked to have been freshly dyed with the juices of the berries below. The monk slowly drew his bow across the strings of his instrument, drawing out the final chord of his song, slow and steady and stringed. Oh, that long string note. The sound of that long note faded slowly without faltering. Silence replaced it save for the movement of the fabric in the wind. Be still, the monk spoke. Marrell stopped on the last step. She dug her toes into the rock. The wind stopped. Marrell stood. The monk sat. He turned and gently rested his instrument on the ground. He placed his bow down next to it. Both were silent for a time. Have you come to accept this ending? Marrell asked. I am at rest, the monk replied. There’s no rest until the end, Marrell said in response. The monk simply smiled. Hubris, she spat. I come at your call through the muck and the mire, and in the face of this you sit smug on your dry stone. Mud or stone, I am at rest, the monk replied calmly.

 

And yet, your feet are clean, Marrell said. How can one clean his feet and earn their rest if your feet have not carried you to your place of rest? And yet, you have no foot wash. How can he claim his tune is of the world when he demands all others to hush while he plays? The monk did not respond. Instead he bent down, picked up his instrument slowly, and walked to the edge where there was a viewpoint. If there was a highway, there’d be a sign. But there wasn't a sign, but he knew there was a view there. This viewpoint was the opposite of…on the opposite side of this plateau from where Marrell had climbed up via her stairway. He set his instrument down gently, studied it, careful not to pluck its strings again, then he let it go. It floated over the edge and it descended like a feather, floating back and forth, but the wind played across its strings and twing-twanged them and wing-wanged them. The sound of strange music echoed across the fields below.

 

I have not surrendered to desire, the monk said as he reclaimed his seat. I disbelieve that, Marrell said. Do you not desire another moment after this one? Do you not yearn for even more? Desire and existence are not the same. Huh. It’s a half measure, like every other half measure you offer. There is no rest until there is naught to do but rest. You forsake earthly desires, but you don't rest the way I insist people rest. You're selective in all that you eschew. Marrell mentioned…she said, I can't believe you let your instrument float down, and that it floated. By the way, your peace is one of convenience, of ego. Without a world, without moments, there is no rest. There is nothing. The monk spoke, closing his eyes and raising his face to the sky. Your order claims to bring peace to the universe, but for those of us who want to sleep, sleep in peace but sleep on demand, you don't offer that. You say sleep comes, but we say it’s not easy. You say be still, and we say we’ve tried.

 

You say all this 'cause you don't understand what it’s like. You just think you do. Your rest is naught but the placing of your rest on others of what you assume is what it’s like for everybody else, and that people that question you are just not as enlightened as you. Why don't we walk together, walk down this mountain, through the field, maybe come up the thousand steps I felt up this mountain, and then we could talk about rest? ‘Cause you'll be tuckered out then, but also full of energy. The monk said nothing. His eyes were still closed. A fine mist of rain began to collect on his face. I am Marrell, matriarch of Nebana. I’ve come to help anyone who needs it sleep and rest; children, adults, thoughts, feelings, physical sensations, any of that stuff, for free or for whenever anybody would want it, not just people that can already…that say, well, I just put my head on my pillow and close my eyes. The monk remained still. Marrell moved quickly, fluidly. She whispered in the monk’s ear.

 

She said, why don't you try walking in somebody else’s shoes? The monk nodded and stood up and started walking back down the mountain, taking the time to place each footstep in the footstep that Marrell had walked on her way up the mountain. Marrell picked up his bow because he had thrown the…let his instrument fly, but not his bow. She put it in the backpack where she had bows from other monks she had had conversations with. This was her eighth and final bow. Marrell looked over the looking place to see if she could see his instrument, 'cause she would also like to get the instruments, too. She sighed heavily and began her descent to retrieve it. It took Marrell hours to descend back down the hill and find the instrument. On top of that, it had gotten really rainy, then stopped raining, then gotten rainy, then it was humid, then there was those post-rain flying things, then it was dusk. So, she finally got it and returned back up the staircase, tired and wet, tired and wet, very tired and wet.

 

She put the broken instrument down and started to make a bed. She started to do a little bit of physical unwinding; placing her forehead on the cool, wet ground, and watching her breathing. Rain dripped from her hat with the pointy things and pooled in front of her. She lay like this for some time. The cool blue of the planet’s moon peeked over the horizon and chased away the setting sun. Marrell finally sat up and started…she liked to repair and refurbish these instruments, so she started working on it. She even took some of the tall…the billowing fabric from the tall mahogany poles, and she ripped that into strips, and she used some of it to start to rebuild the instrument. After some work plastering and tying and using things and letting things dry, she got the instrument back to where she could play it again. Now, instead of all four strings, there was only three strings left. There was one she couldn't find in the dark.

 

She pulled out the bow and she attached all five bows together so they were…it was like an eight…a one…kinda like a machine almost. So, you play one bow, but it would play eight bows on one or two or three strings. I think you know what I’m talking about. Like, the one bow…she used a stick so all…none of the bows were offset, either. So, almost as if eight monks were playing one instrument together. But this took a lot of time and then testing and then tuning. When she was finally done, she got on her knees and started to play a song. The sleepy, snoozy song echoed out over the mountain. It was barely detectable. Something about all eight bows almost deepened the sound and cancelled it out at the same time, made it like a pure vibration. The sound, though, reflected against the rocks and carried further along, along the entire range of mountains. Each note she played, or each eight notes she played, noted the passing of an hour of the deep, dark night. Each chord sent a heavy but comforting sound out across the world.

 

The land itself sighed and almost snored as her song filled the air. The grass below hung sleepily down as the melody reflected across each piece of grass. As Marrell continued to play, even the clouds in the sky even seemed to get sleepy and lower and lower and lower. A comforting darkness, like really comforting black cloth…you know that really comforting stuff? I don't know if it’s velour or what, maybe combined with Terrycloth. But this was just in the air. The entire atmosphere of the world seemed to get cozier and cozier, but Marrell did not look up. She continued to play. I am Marrell, matriarch of Nebana. I liberate all from the deep, dark night. Rest now. The comfort level started to seemingly permeate everything; senses, sounds, thoughts, feelings, taste, touch, sights.

 

The moon and the stars seemed to even come closer in some warm, sleepy embrace. Suddenly the spaceship rose up away from the rock and started to float in the sky. Marrell continued to play until the spaceship started to get cozy and comforting, and it almost seemed like it curled up and found a place to rest. Then it seemed that her whole universe was asleep and comforted. If somewhere in some pocket of rock somewhere a ship…someone couldn't sleep, they knew Marrell was there keeping them company, smiling to herself proudly as she played the instrument that carried the comfort from within her across the world. Her comfort passed on and on and on until her entire galaxy was at rest. Goodnight, everybody.

 

[End of recording]

Transcription performed by LeahTranscribes

Nothing Works, Everything Happens

 

NSYNC

https://parade.com/entertainment/26-years-ago-nsync-dominated-charts-no-strings-attached-biggest-album-debut

https://www.nolazine.com/post/nsync-the-boy-band-that-redefined-pop-and-set-the-standard-for-a-new-millennium

https://www.vice.com/en/article/nsync-debut-album-essay-anniversary/

 

Jurassic Park Impact

https://www.strandmagazine.co.uk/single-post/the-historic-tech-of-jurassic-park-30-years-on

https://theconversation.com/thirty-years-after-jurassic-park-hit-movie-screens-its-impact-on-science-and-culture-remains-as-strong-as-ever-podcast-210110

https://www.southwales.ac.uk/news/2023/june/jurassic-park-at-30-how-its-cgi-revolutionised-the-film-industry/

 

Harp History

https://live.stanford.edu/news/the-history-of-the-harp/

https://www.harp.com/history-of-the-harp/

https://lelivreetlaharpe.com/en/the-history-of-the-harp/

 

Expansion of the Universe

https://science.nasa.gov/dark-energy/

https://www.loc.gov/everyday-mysteries/categories/astronomy/item/what-does-it-mean-when-they-say-the-universe-is-expanding/

https://www.energy.gov/science/doe-explainscosmic-acceleration-and-dark-energy

 

DOWN TO BUSINESS

Your potential future friend in the deep, dark night

You don’t have to be sure of me

I’m here to repeat myself over and over again and be comfortable with that

Relative Comfort, an unsuccessful SWM clothing line

Fabric Performance Anxiety

No offense to Cool Max

 

PLUGS

Sleep With Me Plus; SleepPhones; Story Only Feed; Emily Tat Artwork; Crisis Textline

 

SPONSORS

Helix Sleep; Zocdoc; Progressive; AquaTru; AirDoctor Pro; Talkiatry; Quince; DripDrop; Cozy Earth

 

INTRO

Feelings that are hanging out

Maybe your work schedule has changed

In the broadest sense, you’re not alone

Other listens are dealing with something similar

Wishing others well across the night

An indirect sort of togetherness

You deserve a bedtime you don’t dread

Holy Filler Words!

An abundance of utterances

My themed resume party in college

I made up my resume

I said I worked at an ice cream store called Udder Delight

I created a sport business called Salmon Rye

You may note like the show at first

I’m just here to be here

sleepwithmepodcast.com/nothankyou

Not quite background noise

Your in-person friend may not indulge your bedtime asks as much as I will

Maybe even some sleepy joy and delight

Singing NSYNC out of sync

The structure of the show

The intro is about playfulness, not efficiency

I’m really glad you’re here

 

STORY

Nothing Works, Everything Happens

“Space Junk, Part 3”

Captain tells the twins that he’ll do the talking

The deal was supposed to be easy

Aurelius Plime? Prime? Not Aurelius Lime

Captain’s friend recommended this vendor

The buyer is looking for a good deal on a ship

A simple ship exchange

But then Flanagan showed up…

You would not want to have flan again with Flanagan

Captain doesn’t like Flanagan

Flanagan is mysterious

The flimflams of Flanagan

Flanagan and XO/O are not fans of each other

Flanagan borrows things without asking and then return them damaged

A very Flanagan thing to do

The fake smile with your mouth closed

The handoff went well enough

Flanagan says something snarky under his breath

XO/O and Flanagan get into it

Professional situation with unprofessional behavior

The buyer is not pleased with this behavior

The buyer takes the ship and goes

No more possibility of repeat business

XO/O’s sibling O/OX was still on the ship when the buyer left!

After an interlude, the captain sighs

They can’t get ahold of the buyer

Flanagan is, of course, working for the buyer and swaying him

Fuel supplies dwindle

The captain is used to defusing situations

The captain is used to tying loose ends up towards a mutually beneficial solution

But maybe some loose ends need to stay frayed

Captain tries to hail again

Captain gives an ultimatum

XO/O makes fun of Flanagan 

Flanagan answers back!

He demands half the credits back in exchange for O/OX

Conserving fuel and feelings

Another light blinks – a different hail!

O’Gray from home is calling

An issue back at home base

O’Gray Earl Grey

They’ve been located

Official looking ships are arriving!

Can you believe this?

To be continued…

“Interlude”

For most of time, it was like Ian Malcom’s theory from the Rassic Park

Entropy’s always doing its thing

Over time, it gets more noticeable

Everything gets pushed away from each other, even atoms

All matter moves loosely towards vaguely cobbled together collections of atoms

Pretty soon, human beings moved on into something new

Beings of Consciousness

They speak slowly as giant cloud-based beings

Are you there, Albert?

The cloud is as big as Jupiter used to be

Another cloud responds from lightyears away

Need a hug, bud?

Aw, yeah bud

Reaching towards each other while also spreading apart

Communicating over eons

Thank you for sticking around

You got it, Cecil

It became harder to communicate

Let’s take a break and listen to another story

“Reset”

System online, watch online

Thinking monitor online

Good morning, Jonathan

All systems stand by

WN Inc Tech Support

Monitor System calling tech support

Registered to Jonathan Dayfro of Newfoundland, Canada

My user seems to be offline

Pre-snoozing snoozing

Transfer over data and your love of Data

Nothing looks out of the ordinary

Sleep is a little lower

Have you tried tuning Jonathan on and off again?

Snooze within the snooze

Sending step-by-step instructions now

Resetting

Jonathan sat up in bed

“The Matriarch of Nibbana”

Morel’s tattered black dress brushed against the dry grass of the field

A slate mountain range towers above her

Her hair dances in the wind

Cherry bushes at her feet

Dense fog rolls down from the mountaintop

“I am mother. I am the Snooze.”

The cloud outpaces Morel

“I thirst for stillness.”

Morel walks

Music on the wind

She follows it to the base of the mountain

Her eyes are pools of reflection

Climbing one step at a time

She sees a monk sitting in front of a spaceship

A crater carved into the mountain

Flags flutter on the poles of logs

The monk finishes his song

Slow and steady and stringed

The monk is at rest

There’s no rest until the end

Morel calls out the monk’s hubris

How can a man be done if his feet are still clean?

He walks to the edge to take in the view

He lets his instrument float onto the wind

The wind plays his instrument

The monk has not surrendered to desire

Desire and existence are not the same

There’s no rest until there’s nought to do but rest

Morel believes the monk’s peace is one of ego

Does his order bring peace to the universe?

What about peace on demand?

Your rest is nought but the placing of your rest on others

Let’s walk together up and down this mountain, and then we can talk about rest

Morel is here to help anyone who needs sleep or rest

Why don’t you try walking in someone else’s shoes

The monk nods and walks in Morel’s shoes

Morel picks up his bow

She’s had conversations with other monks and collected other bows

Her 8th and final bow

She descends to collect his instrument

Post-Rain Flying Things

She returns, tired and wet

She does some physical unwinding before bed

She refurbishes the instrument

She could only find 3 of the 4 strings

She attaches all her bows together

Almost as if 8 monks were playing one instrument together

She plays a sleepy, snoozy song

Pure vibration

The land itself sighs and snores

Even the clouds seem to get sleepy

Really comforting black cloth

Like velour combined with terrycloth

Rest now

Comfort permeates everything

The spaceship rises and floats in the sky

Even the spaceship curls up to rest

The whole universe is asleep and comforted

And whoever can’t sleep knows that Morel is there for them

 

SUMMARY:

Episode: 1478

Title: Matriarch of Space Interludes | Nothing Works, Everything Happens Ep 8

Plugs: Sleep With Me Plus; SleepPhones; Story Only Feed; Emily Tat Artwork; Crisis Textline

Sponsors: Helix Sleep; Zocdoc; Progressive; AquaTru; AirDoctor Pro; Talkiatry; Quince; DripDrop; Cozy Earth

Notable Language:

• Fabric Performance Anxiety
• Cool Max
• An indirect sort of togetherness
• Holy Filler Words!
• An abundance of utterances
• Udder Delight
• Salmon Rye
• Singing NSYNC out of sync
• Aurelius Lime
• Flan again with Flanagan
• The flimflams of Flanagan
• Flim Flam Again Flanagan
• O’Gray Earl Grey
• Beings of Consciousness
• Cloud-Based Beings (CBBs)
• Pre-snoozing snoozing
• Snooze within the snooze
• I am mother. I am the Snooze
• Slow and steady and stringed
• Post-Rain Flying Things

 

Notable Culture:

• • Relative Comfort, an unsuccessful SWM clothing line
  • Fabric Notes, a podcast
  • sleepwithmepodcast.com/nothankyou
  • NSYNC
  • BTS
  • Nothing Works, Everything Happens

• Finnegan, Begin Again

• Begin Again movie

• Jurassic Park

• Data / Star Trek: TNG

 

Notable Talking Points:

• Feelings that are hanging out
• Maybe your work schedule has changed
• In the broadest sense, you’re not alone
• Other listens are dealing with something similar
• Wishing others well across the night
• An indirect sort of togetherness
• You deserve a bedtime you don’t dread
• Holy Filler Words!
• An abundance of utterances
• My themed resume party in college
• I made up my resume
• I said I worked at an ice cream store called Udder Delight
• I created a sport business called Salmon Rye
• You may note like the show at first
• I’m just here to be here
• sleepwithmepodcast.com/nothankyou
• Not quite background noise
• Your in-person friend may not indulge your bedtime asks as much as I will
• Maybe even some sleepy joy and delight
• Singing NSYNC out of sync
• The structure of the show
• The intro is about playfulness, not efficiency
• I’m really glad you’re here
• Nothing Works, Everything Happens
• “Space Junk, Part 3”
• Captain tells the twins that he’ll do the talking
• The deal was supposed to be easy
• Aurelius Plime? Prime? Not Aurelius Lime
• Captain’s friend recommended this vendor
• The buyer is looking for a good deal on a ship
• A simple ship exchange
• But then Flanagan showed up…
• You would not want to have flan again with Flanagan
• Captain doesn’t like Flanagan
• Flanagan is mysterious
• The flimflams of Flanagan
• Flanagan and XO/O are not fans of each other
• Flanagan borrows things without asking and then return them damaged
• A very Flanagan thing to do
• The fake smile with your mouth closed
• The handoff went well enough
• Flanagan says something snarky under his breath
• XO/O and Flanagan get into it
• Professional situation with unprofessional behavior
• The buyer is not pleased with this behavior
• The buyer takes the ship and goes
• No more possibility of repeat business
• XO/O’s sibling O/OX was still on the ship when the buyer left!
• After an interlude, the captain sighs
• They can’t get ahold of the buyer
• Flanagan is, of course, working for the buyer and swaying him
• Fuel supplies dwindle
• The captain is used to defusing situations
• The captain is used to tying loose ends up towards a mutually beneficial solution
• But maybe some loose ends need to stay frayed
• Captain tries to hail again
• Captain gives an ultimatum
• XO/O makes fun of Flanagan 
• Flanagan answers back!
• He demands half the credits back in exchange for O/OX
• Conserving fuel and feelings
• Another light blinks – a different hail!
• O’Gray from home is calling
• An issue back at home base
• O’Gray Earl Grey
• They’ve been located
• Official looking ships are arriving!
• Can you believe this?
• To be continued…
• “Interlude”
• For most of time, it was like Ian Malcom’s theory from the Rassic Park
• Entropy’s always doing its thing
• Over time, it gets more noticeable
• Everything gets pushed away from each other, even atoms
• All matter moves loosely towards vaguely cobbled together collections of atoms
• Pretty soon, human beings moved on into something new
• Beings of Consciousness
• They speak slowly as giant cloud-based beings
• Are you there, Albert?
• The cloud is as big as Jupiter used to be
• Another cloud responds from lightyears away
• Need a hug, bud?
• Aw, yeah bud
• Reaching towards each other while also spreading apart
• Communicating over eons
• Thank you for sticking around
• You got it, Cecil
• It became harder to communicate
• Let’s take a break and listen to another story
• “Reset”
• System online, watch online
• Thinking monitor online
• Good morning, Jonathan
• All systems stand by
• WN Inc Tech Support
• Monitor System calling tech support
• Registered to Jonathan Dayfro of Newfoundland, Canada
• My user seems to be offline
• Pre-snoozing snoozing
• Transfer over data and your love of Data
• Nothing looks out of the ordinary
• Sleep is a little lower
• Have you tried tuning Jonathan on and off again?
• Snooze within the snooze
• Sending step-by-step instructions now
• Resetting
• Jonathan sat up in bed
• “The Matriarch of Nibbana”
• Morel’s tattered black dress brushed against the dry grass of the field
• A slate mountain range towers above her
• Her hair dances in the wind
• Cherry bushes at her feet
• Dense fog rolls down from the mountaintop
• “I am mother. I am the Snooze.”
• The cloud outpaces Morel
• “I thirst for stillness.”
• Morel walks
• Music on the wind
• She follows it to the base of the mountain
• Her eyes are pools of reflection
• Climbing one step at a time
• She sees a monk sitting in front of a spaceship
• A crater carved into the mountain
• Flags flutter on the poles of logs
• The monk finishes his song
• Slow and steady and stringed
• The monk is at rest
• There’s no rest until the end
• Morel calls out the monk’s hubris
• How can a man be done if his feet are still clean?
• He walks to the edge to take in the view
• He lets his instrument float onto the wind
• The wind plays his instrument
• The monk has not surrendered to desire
• Desire and existence are not the same
• There’s no rest until there’s nought to do but rest
• Morel believes the monk’s peace is one of ego
• Does his order bring peace to the universe?
• What about peace on demand?
• Your rest is nought but the placing of your rest on others
• Let’s walk together up and down this mountain, and then we can talk about rest
• Morel is here to help anyone who needs sleep or rest
• Why don’t you try walking in someone else’s shoes
• The monk nods and walks in Morel’s shoes
• Morel picks up his bow
• She’s had conversations with other monks and collected other bows
• Her 8th and final bow
• She descends to collect his instrument
• Post-Rain Flying Things
• She returns, tired and wet
• She does some physical unwinding before bed
• She refurbishes the instrument
• She could only find 3 of the 4 strings
• She attaches all her bows together
• Almost as if 8 monks were playing one instrument together
• She plays a sleepy, snoozy song
• Pure vibration
• The land itself sighs and snores
• Even the clouds seem to get sleepy
• Really comforting black cloth
• Like velour combined with terrycloth
• Rest now
• Comfort permeates everything
• The spaceship rises and floats in the sky
• Even the spaceship curls up to rest
• The whole universe is asleep and comforted
• And whoever can’t sleep knows that Morel is there for them