1162 – Futurist Model UN | Make Great Pets E8

Notable Language:

• Nun Fiction
• Professional Giggle
• Flossing Bird

Notable Culture:

• Mrs. Davis
• Topeka, Kansas
• Model UN

Notable Talking Points:

• A nutshell the size of Topeka
• Futurism x Model UN
• A Bird in an Alligator's Mouth Situation

Episode 1162 – Futurist Model UN | Make Great Pets E8

 

[START OF RECORDING]

 

SCOOTER: Friends beyond the binary, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, you know, whether you’ve had Gatorade in a glass bottle or you’ve had some Lucasade or however…if…you may enjoy that Kirkland Sig…you say, oh boy, give me some Kirkland Sig…pour me a Kirkland Signature…whatever. I don't even know what it’s called. By the way, and make mine a Zero. If you say, I don't even think this gentleman knows what he’s talking about, you’re probably correct, ‘cause it’s time for Sleep With Me, the podcast that puts you to sleep. The reason the show exists is because you deserve a good night’s sleep. You deserve the rest you need to make your life more manageable. You deserve a bedtime you don’t have to dread, a bedtime you could look forward to or at least feel neutral about.

 

I’m here to try to do that for you. This show is not everybody’s cup of tea, but give it a few tries before…and see how it goes, ‘cause the show is very different. I mean, you’ve already…you probably already noticed that. Structurally what to expect, we’ll have some support; that’s how the show comes out twice a week for free, then a long, meandering intro. Don’t miss out on the intro; it’s meant to ease you into bedtime. It’s a show within a show. I know some people, they hear the support and then they want to skip ahead to the sleepy stuff, but it’s really a process, and that’s what I’ve learned over the years, and that’s what a lot of regular listeners who are here with us right now…they know what it feels like in the deep, dark night, too, and they want…they hope this podcast works.

 

If you already can’t stand me, that’s normal, too. I would say, still give the few…give the show a few tries, ‘cause that’s what most people say. But if you say, no, this definitely isn’t for me, sleepwithmepodcast.com/nothankyou has other sleep podcasts on there. But give it a try; see how it goes. I’m here to keep you company and be your friend in the deep, dark night. So, let’s see how it goes. Thanks for coming by…thanks for coming by and making it possible, my patron peeps.

 

INTRO: [INTRO MUSIC] 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. It could be thoughts on your mind that you’re thinking about, thoughts about the past, the present, the future. You know, thoughts that are on your mind that are coming up that say, hey, by the way, I noticed you lying down and trying to go to sleep. I had a couple things I wanted to bring up right now. Your thoughts, they…even if they say, ‘is now a good time?’, they never mean it.

 

Also, it seems like there is a positive way to use ‘is now a good time?’, but most of the times…especially at bedtime but even in other situations, I say, subconsciously I’m noticing you’re in a rush and you’re about to go…is now a good time? What your thoughts mean…what I believe your thoughts mean or what I mean is like, I’m really feeling some intense feelings, so I want to bring this up. So, now is a good time for me because I don't think I’m emotionally equipped to wait for this. So, is now a good time? That’s the same thing with our thoughts. A lot of times I call them…what do I call them? My brain bots, because they kinda have one function. They zoom around in your brain, they…some people may say they’re a little bit of maladaptive things. I say, well, I used to do this back when you were eleven, and I’m still functioning.

 

I don't know if they run on solar…fission, fusion, and solar, wind, geothermal; they do it all. So, they’re still running and they’re…really, they are lovable. That’s why I call them brain bots and I say they’re zooming around, because usually when something’s zooming around, for the most part, that’s cute. Our brain bots are cute; they just don’t know any other way, and really, that’s…the real part of the show that works is I’m here to keep them company. I say, gather round, brain bots. Come on…oh yeah, I did say you’re zoom…oh boy, look at you zooming around. That is cute and it probably takes some skill and talent. How do you do…how do you zoom like that? Have you ever zoomed on Zoom? Oh, cool. Yeah. Isn’t there a song…? Zooma, zooma…have you ever zoomie-zoom-zoom-zoomed-zoomed to that song?

 

Is that the song? You don’t know. Okay. Well, I’m gonna tell…I’m gonna do a bedtime story. I never really get to the point. Maybe you could monitor all the mistakes I make. But yeah, whether it’s thoughts, it could be feelings. I don't know if any brain bots are having feelings. Could be physical sensations, changes in time, temperature, routine, you could have something coming up, you could be going through something. Whatever it is, the reason I run through that stuff is so you know you’re not alone in the deep, dark night. It may feel that way and it may be…this is a weird, digital version of that, but the truth is…two things I said at the beginning; you deserve a good night’s sleep, enough sleep so your life is more manageable and you could be out there living your life.

 

That is very, very important and it means that your world will be a better place to be in, and that means our whole world’s a better place. The other side of it is, while I might not know exactly what you’re going through, I can probably relate to how it feels. If I can’t relate to how it feels, somebody listening right now can, and for most of us, we’re nodding and leaning in, maybe holding our…I’m holding my hands together right now because I say, yeah, it’s tough. It’s not easy. So, that’s why I make the show and why a lot of the other people that are regular listeners that go out of their way to support the show financially and stuff, that’s why they’re here, too. They say, yeah, this is one of the things about Sleep With Me that helps. Then what I’ll do is I’ll send my voice across the deep, dark night.

 

I’m gonna use lulling, soothing, creaky, dulcet tones, pointless meanders, and superfluous tangents. Like I said, the show doesn’t work for most people. Give it a few tries; see how it goes. That’s just what…I don't think millions of people have said it, but probably over a million people have said that to me; at first, I just didn’t like this show or I didn’t understand or I was wondering, when’s the sleepy part start? Where’s the bedtime story? What are you going on and on and on about? That makes sense because if you’ve had trouble sleeping like I have, you’ve tried a different…a lot of different stuff, you’re skeptical, you’re doubtful, you’re fed up. So, you get to this show and you hear me rambling, yeah, you’re gonna probably have some strong feelings about that.

 

So, that’s understandable and that’s part of what this intro is, and it is part of the strange thing about the show. This is a podcast you don’t really listen to, but you could listen to it. I’m just barely listenable. Some people listen to me at a mumble, some people listen to me under their pillow or across the room, but a lot of people are listening along, but they’re not paying total attention. They’re like, uh-huh, uh-huh, yeah, zoomy-zoom. Uh-huh, yeah. Uh-huh. Just like that. You say, mm, okay, ‘cause you don’t need to listen to me. Just like…kinda like a out-of-focus image or something. You say…but you don’t mind. You say, well, that’s not bad. I don't need to figure out what that image is. I’m generally aware that it’s some sort of scene, some scene with grays and hues of purple and some orange.

 

So, maybe it’s a sunrise over a mountain, maybe it’s a sunset, maybe it’s…I don't know, but that’s fine. I like it the way it is. So, it’s a show you barely listen to. There’s also no pressure to fall asleep. That’s why this show is over an hour, is I’m here to keep you company while you fall asleep, not to put you to sleep; to be your friend, your bore-bae, your bore-sib, your bore-bud, your bore-bestie, your neigh-bore, your bore-bruh, your neigh-bore, your bore-bud, your friend to keep you company. Just like if you called me, you say, hey, just talk to me for a while. I want to feel like somebody’s around, but I don't really want to pay attention to them. I don’t want to have to clean up after you or make sure…so, is that okay? I say, that’s what the show’s for.

 

Because normally you could ask for that once, but you couldn’t ask for somebody to do it for you on a nightly basis, I don't think. If there’s somebody doing that on a nightly basis, give them an award. Holy mackerel, because that’s some commitment. They must…that’s an amazing person. But so, that’s why I do it in podcast form. I say, no pressure to listen, no pressure to fall asleep. I’ll be here for over an hour. If you need a break during the day or you can’t sleep at all, I’ll be here to the very end to keep you company. What else throws people off? Most people don’t like me at first, don’t listen to the show, it doesn’t put you to sleep…give me some more good news. Okay, I’ll tell you about the structure of the show.

 

The reason the show is structured the way it is is just to benefit the most people it can and what we’ve seen over time, over 1,200 episodes or so, what has worked. It is a…slightly adjustable as you become a regular listener, but if you’re new, let me tell you why we do the…do the things…the way we do the things we do or whatever. Show starts off with a greeting; friends beyond the binary, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, so you feel seen and welcomed in. I might say something silly, I might for…not know what I’m talking about. But you say, oh, okay, I could check this podcast out and see what it is. So, that’s the greeting, then there’s support for the show because it does take a team of people working really hard to put this show out twice a week and make it sound free and easy, and the support means that you can listen for free.

 

So, that’s that part. Then…this is separate from the support, but when…sometimes when people object to the support, they lump the intro in with it. But the intro goes for about ten to twenty minutes long. It’s a show within a show. For regular listeners, it’s really a part of their bedtime routine or the part of the show they actually hear, so it is an important part of the show. But again, as you become a regular listener, you could adjust. But the reason the intro exists is to introduce you to the podcast if you’re new, but if you’re a regular listener or you’re a pet of a regular listener…like, what up, my fishes? Or other pets…when I say fishes, I mean all pets…I mean, I mean fishes specifically, but that’s also a shout-out to all pets are great.

 

So…but…oh, I forgot what I was talking about ‘cause actually, talk about meta; my dog just came down the stairs to check on me, but then she didn’t pop her head into the closet that I record in. But, whatever, she’ll pop her head in sooner or later. Okay, so, where was I? Why do we make the show? Don’t…oh, the intro goes on and on and on…oh, for regular listeners, it’s a part…but for anybody, really what it is is the twilight of the podcast. It’s a buffer between being awake and going to sleep, which has been shown to work, is having a bedtime routine. Maybe this part of the podcast could be part of your bedtime routine whether you’re getting ready for bed, you’re doing some other chill activity, you’re in bed getting comfortable, you’re in bed falling asleep.

 

That’s what the intro serves to do, to help you wind down, to lower the volume on the day, and to ease you into bedtime. Now, 2% of people skip the intro, so you could do that as you become a regular listener, but…and maybe probably 2% of people fall asleep during the intro, but a lot of people listen to intro-only episodes on our Patreon. So, it’s kind of like…just see how it goes at first and then you’ll say, oh, okay, now I know what I like. That’s why we have so many shows in the archives, too, because eventually if you become a regular listener, you say, well, I like these styles of episodes. That’s why we work so hard to stick to our release schedule, put out different kinds of content, so that there’s something for everybody.

 

Then you can go back and say, oh, I like this style episode, but also rediscover…or, not re…yeah, I guess rediscover new favorites or discover new favorites through rediscovery. So, yeah, so that’s the intro. That’s what it…the purpose it serves. That’s why it goes on and on and on. ‘Cause some people say there’s just thirty minutes of nothing at the beginning of the sleep podcast or just thirty minutes of ads or something, which just isn’t accurate. But I understand when you’re sleepless and you’re skipping around…why you’d feel that way. But that’s why I take the time to kind of explain it, because this is kind of like gently placing you in the crib, just like you would a baby. Not that I would place you in a crib and not that you’re a baby, but that general concept of saying, here, let’s ease you in here, get you comfortable.

 

So, that’s the intro. Then after the intro is support again so the show could come out free twice a week, then there will be our bedtime story. Tonight it’ll be our episodically modular series, Make Great Pets, which…pets already came up, which is pretty sweet. So, we’ll be talking about pets being great and helping people in a indirect way. Then the show ends with some thank-yous. So, that’s why I make the show, that’s what to expect. I’m so glad you’re here. I really appreciate you coming by and checking this podcast out. I really hope I can help you fall asleep. Thanks again for coming by and giving me your time, and here’s a couple ways we’re able to do it for you for free twice a week.

 

Alright everybody, Scoots here. It’s time for our episodically modular series, Make Great Pets. I almost said Nuns in Space. I’m really gearing up for some nun fiction that’s coming out. Not non-fiction, you silly goose; nun fiction, or fiction with nuns in it. I don't know if…I saw the trailer, so I’m really excited. But when you’re hearing this, it’ll probably be already out. Mrs. Davis; it comes out April 20th. It’s March 3rd when I’m recording this. Not to…anyway, that’s what I got on my brain. So, check it out. It’ll be on Peacock. You might say…you might be saying, poppycock, Scoots. What are you talking about? I say, well, what I…the other thing that was…I was thinking of, I forgot.

 

Nun-based fiction, nothing making sense…oh, the episodically mod…this is a little bit of chance to get episodically…I want to sit down and talk to you about episodically modular stuff real quick. I’m not even kidding; this is a rare moment and hopefully you’re sleeping through it or you’re relaxing. You know Scoots is human, but the idea of episodically modular…some people think it’s…I’ve never actually…I’ve never gotten an e-mail with anything about snark, but it is not snark. I just re…I re-moduled an episode. I listened to it twice to…once yesterday, then again today, and then I listened to half of it to…after…on my way to the grocery store and on my way home, while walking Koa…anyway, those details are only important in a sleep podcast.

 

But so, I re-moduled an episode or episodic…yeah, I re…instead of…wherever episodically would be, whatever letter, I put it in a different spot. ‘Cause I said, huh, I think that episode would fit better here, now that I’m contemplating on it. I said, it could go there, and then…or it could go there. Now, it could go where I was listening to it to go, but I said, well, this is the beauty of grocery shopping, bathing, walking animals, walking, and listening to a show multiple times, the episodes that are done with…that are getting ready to go out on Patreon. It was…it struck me. I said, well, I do think this…I’m feeling a certain number, and it’s not the number the episode…the order it was recorded in thus far.

 

It wasn’t even…it was a ninety…and then I gave myself time while I was at the grocery store to have the freedom from the smarter part of me, which is not…it’s subconscious or whatever. I said, what about not moving it? Then I went grocery shopping, not with a plan to…I just said, now I gotta grocery shop. What happened was, when I came out of the store, I said, okay, let’s listen again. I said, you’re right; I’m feeling that number you said, not this number. Now, this episode, oddly enough, won’t go into…now, I did have to change, ‘cause…but this episode’s number won't be changed because it hasn’t been…it’s being made as we speak, though I did have a file…I did have a folder for it, so…but this ep…I mean, this episode could get moved, too, just…but the number of slots this particular episode could go into is very…is low.

 

Well, I guess technically it’s not lower, but this episode is likely to go in one…most likely to go in…not the slot the other episode was in, but then a different one. Or…yeah, it could go in one of three slots, ‘cause there’s…no; probably only two slots, ‘cause…well, yeah. So, just…I just wanted…I didn’t mean to go super off-topic. I mean, I did, because it works for Sleep With Me, but…just, if you think sometimes…especially…people on Patreon, they ask a lot of these in-depth questions during the day, so they’ve heard kind of how I record episodes or what happens. But just in case you thought I was joking when I…now, I’m not convinced I invented episodically modular.

 

I just took the idea of classroom modules and episodic…things I barely know the definition of, and I said, I think listeners would like that freedom to know the episodes actually can be moved, and in this case, was more than likely moved. It hasn’t come out yet even on Patreon, ‘cause what happens is I listen to the episodes…I record the episodes, then I log the episodes — ideally right after I record them — on a log. Not a physical one, but on a computer. Then, whatever, this FTP thing or something…then I upload the episodes to another location to assign to one of the two editors who work on the show. Then probably…well, maybe for this, less than two months from now, but somewhere in the next…for a regular episode, then somewhere in the next two months they would download the files, which are large because they’re uncompressed.

 

Then they would edit it and take out a lot of stuff that has to get removed, like me clearing my throat or pauses that are too long or a second take, and then they upload those files, the…to…that are edited, and then I download those again. Those are still uncompressed files, again, but they’re…gone through a different kind of compression not related to the file size. They’ve been, I don't know…how did I get in…? Once I start talking, I can’t stop myself. I guess that’s…but so, then I download the files eventually, then I assemble them because they’re in parts. The parts are labeled, but…and each…actually, a little bit interesting; each editor labels the parts differently. But for the most part, it’s intro, episode…there’s intro, episode, thank-yous, teaser, and then there’s parts to the teaser.

 

Then I put the music in, the theme music or what goes out on the free show, I put it in the Supporter Zone. Oh, before I do all that, I make a basic edit. I assemble it, basically, and then I download it. Pretty close…I mean, the same assembly style that the patrons would listen to, or a ad-free episode, but it’s not the final one. So, it has weird numbers on it. Like, I randomly put in zeroes and A's at the start of the file name so that when I upload it to the thing I use to listen to the episodes, they go closer to the top. These are details of why I make the…they say, talk about episodically modular. This isn’t even related to…and I’d say, this is not…how is this…? I say, you know what? You’re right. It’s not related to a series coming up here.

 

But yeah, then I listen to it and then I take…if I’m walking the dog…I go back and forth between a notebook or just taking screenshots. I find making…taking screenshots to be very effective…of just the player and what time it is, and then I go back again and I say, what happened at sixteen…what happened around sixteen, seventeen? So, then I probably would start it at fifteen minutes in and listen to 16:17 or 16:40 and say, I wonder what I was thinking at the time. I guess I could mark up the photos and…but that works pretty well. Then I’ll make those changes, then I’ll get the Patreon episode ready, then I’ll get the Apple Podcast subscriber episode ready, then I’ll get the free episode ready. That’s how an…that’s how an episodically modular episode gets born, everybody.

 

So, yeah, so episodically modular is…I’m being honest with you, that you could move these around. So, if you’re new and you see a number of this episode, which I’m pretty sure is Episode 8, but it was…if you would have asked me two hours ago what episode number it was, it wouldn’t have been 8; it would have been 9. So, I think you can do some deduction from there. Yeah, this was scheduled to be Episode 9. Now, it should be Episode 8. Can’t guarantee it will be, though, ‘cause who knows what’s gonna come out of the story swamp in the next…but so, yeah, so episodically modular, if you’re new and you listened to all that, alls it means is that you can listen to the episodes in any order, which…not to totally stay off topic, but I’ve been reading a lot of comic books lately, and Agatha Christie.

 

Separately; not at the exact same time, because that would be…but so, I’ve been reading comic books, older comic books that were…whatever, that…anyway, comic books in a series, and Tommy and Tuppence books, which was two characters from Agatha Christie. Both of those repeatedly show me the way of setting things up. You wouldn’t think that in the middle of a limited run of a comic book from like, the 1980’s, they would need to re-set stuff up, but they knew — just like at Sleep With Me — you need a intro. Even if you do it…like, sprinkle it in, that…they knew what they were doing; so did Agatha Christie. You get to know Tommy and Tuppence again, every single time.

 

Actually, as…it makes you…if you get to…if you’re getting to know a character you already know a little bit better, even if you’re hearing…the same story told in a new way or a comic book character…how they got where they were today, or even, hey, who this person is, just in case you never heard of them even though they’re super-famous or whatever…I don't know. So, that’s what ep…to put it in a nutshell the size of Topeka, that’s what episodically modular is. That’s how an episodically modular comes to be borned.

 

So, okay, so…also, I was buying time not because our Hollywood announcer was late, but because he was…he’s just…I was just bask…here’s the honest truth about our Hollywood announcer; occasionally I like to give him the…try to give him the giggles, because there’s nothing better than sitting here recording and having a one-person audience who loves the…who is not a proxy of the audience, because Antonio’s here for you, not for Antonio. Antonio’s not here to fall asleep; here’s here to briefly…to drive, whatever, fourteen hours just to briefly say something that apparently, according to experts I could…we could record on Zoom or some other plat…I mean, there’s a great platform called SquadCast, but Antonio prefer…this is…Antonio wants his presence to be here.

 

But sometimes when he’s trying…he knows that I don’t want any noise on the microphone and I’m sitting here saying stuff that could be considered nonsensical if you were awake, and he even gave me a…he was laughing and giving me the…if you want…you say, what’s cuter than a kitten? Antonio Banderas suppressing a giggle, ‘cause it’s time for our Hollywood announcer, Mr. Antonio Banderas. Ha, ha, ha, the friends beyond the binary, the ladies, the gentlemen, the boys, the girls, it’s time to get sleepy. It’s time to make great pets. Yeah. Scooter recently did a crossover with Get Sleepy, so I had heard that.

 

So, that’s…but I was thinking of something else. I’m sorry. I was thinking of get something…but this time, meow. Yeah. Thanks, Antonio. That’s totally fine. I know…I don't know what you were thinking of. I would bet it was Get Smart, right? Or Get Shorty. He shrugged. He doesn’t even know. But probably get outta here, because Scoots keeps trying to make me giggle. I liked your fake giggle. Was that a professional giggle that you just did when you came on the mic? Do you have a professional giggle? Oh, you’re…okay, no, yeah, I’m not a actor, so I wouldn’t know. You’re professionally giggling on behalf of your characters? Not a good way to…okay, but it’s time for Make Great Pets, everybody.

 

Hey everybody, my name is Ren and sometimes I talk fast. I had a slight piece of feedback from…’cause we don’t have a…so, I have to explain everything, why I’m here and what I’m doing, and that was just a reminder that I was left. But also a note that your name is…make sure you pronounce your name Ren…Ren. Sometimes I say Rin. Ren. It could confuse people who are listening, who…if you’re listening, you’re most likely a trainee in the same program I am in, or a trainer, or you’re developing a training program based on my experiences working in this program. But just in case this is the first time you’re listening or for historical reasons…because that was what…another thing that was reiterated to me; they say, well, what if what happened with the other stuff happens with our program, but somebody listens to your recordings?

 

Maybe it would help them. No. Where…then they said, where you went wrong, Ren…and I said, you mean our program. So, I’m in a program. I’m a post-Earthly human, which is only my terminology, but I lived a life on Earth and then I headed to the big farm in the sky. For me, it was the proverbial one. It wasn’t…but I do point out there is a big farm…I mean, technically not in your sky, but…and I don't know if that’s…I don't know what you’d call it. I never asked. But they said, yeah, there’s the big farm in the sky, in…and it’s in the sky, but not the same sky as you have. But we’re not supposed to explain what post-Earthly life is like, ‘cause it’s hard to fathom.

 

Which, this might not be as hard to fathom; they said, hey, we’ve got a couple opportunities for you, and one of these is working in a program helping people at turning points in their lives. We thought you’d be great for it and you’d probably enjoy it. I said, isn’t there a beach? I know there’s a big farm in the sky. Is there a regular beach on the water? They laughed and they said, that’s not what you really want. I said, you’re right, I guess. Plenty of time for that, Ren. So, I signed up for this program, and they said it’s a new one. They gave me some basic history. So, basically…you’ve probably heard some of the myths or stories you’ve been told about post-Earthly existence and maybe even…and again, this isn’t to say this is the only way. This is just one program that’s happening now when I’m recording this.

 

Could be a different part…I could be from a different, whatever, layer of the universe. But so, there was a time on Earth where there was guardian friends or guardian angels, they were even called, who were there to help you during turning points in your lives. There was also multiple post-Earthly existences depending on…I don't know if I…well, this is what I’m told, so…but that based on your choices, they had different post-Earthly existences. But maybe those were also to influence your choices on Earth. I don't know. But at some point…I know you’ve probably heard of the Besos/Penny/Sears incidents or incidences, but they…so, there was the post-Earth existence that wasn’t great.

 

That ended up…they ended up doing away with that area and they tried to replace it as a startup-type business, but they also said, well, also, what if we send people that made not-great choices on Earth back to Earth to help people with their turning points in their lives? That did not work out. For that particular Earth, it had…luckily we had to restore it, do a…they had to do a reset or whatever, or that’s what I’m told to tell you. But so, there’s…but don’t worry. You don’t have to worry about it. You’re listening, so you’re fine. Then there was also the…I don't know if it was on the same one or whatever, but then…but the same people…’cause it was the incidences…then they…the guardian…there was a sabbatical with someone in charge, and the guardian angels…you’re fallible even when you…even at post-Earth…post-Earthly humans are still fallible, kinda like if you get oil on your clothes.

 

It’s tough to get it out, right? So, then…so, the guardian angel program also did not work out, I guess is the short version, due to Besos/Penny/Sears. They disrupted that program and that particular post-Earthly destination. So, then…so, anyway, but then they said…people on Earth still want…we want to help. We’ve been there. We know what it’s like to be fallible and human. I think it’s just in our…you say, we want to help people and we have people we remember we really care about. They said, well, what about something less powerful to help people…to help humans make better choices? That’s a program I’m a part of, which is called Make Great Pets, which really isn’t a great way to describe it. But basically, I’m sent into a pet or I appear within a pet, which is hard to describe, but you can…you’ve seen enough films and stuff.

 

I don't totally control the pet but I can influence the pet, and I’m within the pet. When the pet rests, I can record journals and check my stuff, but again, that’s too post-Earthly. It would be hard for you to understand how I’m recording something within the subconscious of a pet, which may or may not have a subconscious. So, I’m in a pet and I show up. I’m not prepared; it is like those other shows where they…I just end up there and I gotta figure it out. Again, part of our limited power, and I can only barely influence the pet to do stuff. But we’re at turning point in someone’s life and we have to figure out who that person is, which…because we’re their pet, it’s pretty…that part is kinda easy. But…’cause what are you gonna do, help the wrong person?

 

If you’re trying to help them at a turning point in their lives…so, I guess that could be a problem with the program, but I don't see it as a negative of the program. So, we’re there to help someone at a turning point in their lives. You figure it out and you help them make good choices. Now, I’m pretty sure there might be other programs running, but I can’t get a clear thing on that. So, okay…so, who, what, where, when, wow…you know, give us the real details. Yeah, so, I’m on my first…just finished up my first day, and I…this is interesting. Luckily I’m in a room with mirrors. I’m in a dorm room and it’s a suite, apparently, though I have not left the suite because I’m mostly…I’m nearly fully-contained. I’m here in the room…Reg’s room. Reg is who…is my caretaker. I am a leopard gecko and my name is Georgie.

 

So, I’m in a thing which is designed for gerbils and stuff, so I have tubes…I can move around the room a lot. But apparently…oh, you say, how do you know all this? Well, we’ll get to that, but it’ll make sense. But apparently if I get out of my cage, I’m gonna run around. But I got a lot of things…I can run around here. So, I am a…even though I’m a gecko, I’m a bit like a leopard. So, that’s cool. But on Reg’s desk, there’s two places for me to go. So, I do feel close to Reg and I do like my setup here, though comparatively…I might like it because of who…because of the body I’m in. Okay, so, we’re in a dorm room but it’s in a suite and there’s a new roommate here, where…that’s where I got all my info from.

 

By the way, whoever’s planning this, this has happened more than once, or something similar, which is really helpful figuring who, what, where, when, why, how. Those are the questions, in some sense, you want to uncover so you could get started. So, this new roommate, Cintina, came in and met Reg. Also, school is only online even though they’re all living together like…it’s in some sort of…their contained living situation, currently. Cintina eventually worked their way…they were way…in a waiting period and now they’re here, but now you can only really…most of the socializing goes on online. Oh boy, is our social calendar full online, starting tomorrow, because Reg is a big part of this college’s or university’s Futurists Club. I said, Futurists Club? That sounds interesting.

 

So, the Futurists Club and the Model United Nations Club for this university is doing some sort of simulation game for the real United Nations starting tomorrow, where they’re gonna work as a team. I think there’s other teams and other places working on this, or maybe other things. So, it’s like they’re…I don't understand it all, to be honest, but the Model United Nations Club is working with the Futurists Club. So, the Futurists Club has people that have interests like Reg outside of just model United Nations. So, I guess it’s like a experiment, right? Or if…they say, hey, let’s…because Cintina was not interest…Cintina was like, what? Is it like…how many people are at this?

 

Cintina’s mostly focused on romantic interests, to be honest…is all I heard, and also with a lot of questions about Reg’s romantic involvement, which seems to be…well, to quote Cintina, “nilch”, or something, or zilch or gilch. But so, a lot of questions that I kinda tuned out, ‘cause I said, my…and then Cintina was offering Reg a lot of unsolicited advice on dating and romantic life. But the thing was that it was…Reg was trying to redirect their attention, because Reg is barely containable with excitement about tomorrow and this thing. It sounds really cool. So, I’m gonna get some rest and then I’ll be back tomorrow to explain how things went, I guess. Oh, hey, it’s me, Ren. So, you probably just heard a pause, but really, a whole day has gone by. So, it’s the end of day one and Reg is trying to wind down. Cintina just left.

 

Or, when I fell asleep, Reg was trying to wind down. Let’s see, okay, where…should I start at the beginning or the…work my…? So, there was a lot of fireworks at the end of the day, and Cintina showed up at the end of the day. But the whole day was spent…and I guess…I don't know if…a lot of it was over my head a bit because it was happening online, but it was kinda like it was in person. Not everybody’s camera was on all the time. They were using these different platforms to communicate, and phone and text message or Facing…so, video conference or whatever…I guess that’s what you’d call it. So, there’s people from the UN…that’s the thing; Reg has tried to explain to Cintina at one point, like, this could be…there’s also futurists there that are working with the UN.

 

It’s not just…this is where Reg said, boring members of the United Nations. It’s like, people interested in this stuff. So, again, the day started with excitement, and they…well, first it was really boring, to be honest, ‘cause there was an opening thing and a bunch of speeches, but that was when Reg was having breakfast and I was eating breakfast and…so, there was also socializing going on while there was the pomp and circumstance. Okay, then they basically said…basically, each group…this isn’t a competition because it’s about the future and how could futurists and the Model…like, how could the United Nations and futurists work together? Which, I guess probably is a thing? I don't know. I never followed this kind of stuff.

 

But people that are futurists…I didn’t know exactly what that meant, but it could be someone that likes building robots, it could be someone that programs a computer, it could be someone that writes science-fiction or any other kind of speculative fiction. It’s just people that wonder what the future’s…that’s my impression. I’m not positive, though. I mean, yesterday, Cintina did say, futurists? What’s that? Reg said, people that are interested in what the future will be like. Like, tomorrow? Okay, but so, today they offer…it was like…and they actually opened up a envelope, which was cool even though it was very…just for drama, ‘cause then they messaged everybody that was a part of Reg’s team, which was just at this school, but there was other teams…and I don't know if they were getting the same thing or not, because I don't know…I don't understand that part, but it’s not that important.

 

So, there’s this…they get a challenge that they’re dealing with and they had ten years, which was — but that was by tomorrow — to develop something. It was kinda two-pronged; one was globally…there was a lot of people…there was economic…people looking for work, and a lot of people didn’t have…weren’t engaged in employment, worldwide. That was causing a lot of issues, but that was the secondary thing to something that was also happening which was also the cause of people being out of work, which was the Kaiju, which I feel like this…I don't know, I feel like this has been on my mind or whatever, but so, they were saying you have ten years to figure out these Kaiju are coming.

 

We don’t know where they’re coming from, and at some point they’re…they’ve knocked down some coastal stuff, but mostly we’ve been able to…we’re struggling with how to deal with it. You have ten years to figure it out within that environment. Now, Reg and everybody was just laughing because this…I guess this is pretty standard in fiction, so they said, let’s…is…so, they said, well, there’s an established way to deal with this, so is there a…should we come…just come up with pros or cons, which is like, giant robots, I guess. They said, this is the obvious solution. Is that why they’re doing it or is it just…? So, they debated that for a few hours, but then they said, okay, we have to have this proposal in by the end of the day for the ten years.

 

They kinda pitched other ideas, but they said, yeah, there’s really nothing better than the…especially…it would take a ton of marshaling of resources worldwide and of creative…figuring out how they were gonna finance it, but it’s something the whole globe could…of course they said there’s gonna be…they were mostly…this was the Model UN people; they said it’s a chance for everybody to work together, and by trying to solve the one thing, we’ll also solve the other one. Again, they said, maybe there’s other…these other smaller issues that they didn’t list in the brief or the challenge that we could also work on globally, but that…they said, is this possible to do?

 

The futurists kinda said, well, ten years…then they…this is…cool thing is you wouldn’t think this, but there’s historians that are futurists, and they said, not ten years to…so, they said, yeah. So, they said they couldn’t find any reason not to do the…this robot…giant robot program. So, that was it, and then they kinda put everything together. Then Reg really was…Reg is big into that kind of fiction, and Reg is kind of one of the daydreamers, they call. Reg is into the fiction and stuff like that, and so, Reg was like, well, in this movie or this show or whatever…and they said, we just have to come up with a program. We don’t have to figure out the actual specifics, just if it’s possible within this ten-year timeframe to get it…and it’ll solve these two things.

 

But Reg I really feel like wasn’t the…they had a…early on, they assigned leadership roles and Reg wasn’t in a leadership role. But Reg’s excitement and…while Reg wouldn’t be considered the most…I mean, this…Reg is a bit like me, a bit different, I’d say. But people…first, people were socially feeling…but as the day wore on, they spent, I don't know, sixteen hours together? Reg really started to get to know people and really…everybody was there…there was a couple people that dropped out that weren’t there to be team players that didn’t get what they were looking for, and there was observers there, and they were actually commenting.

 

‘Cause you would say, well, is this…if you had to clarify something…but here’s the only wrinkle that happened today other than Cintina; some people didn’t have their cameras on and so, at the socializing time, after the proposal was submitted, there was one…a couple people…one group of people or a suite that had more than one person in the Model UN in the same suite that were roommates or whatever. She turned her camera on, Gina, and Reg spun his chair around three or four times, and there was fireworks going off. But the problem was that Cintina showed up right around that time when everybody was socializing. But while Reg was like, love at first sight feelings…and Cintina caught that. So then after things ended, Reg kind of…and then Reg’s emotions crested for the day.

 

Reg has gone to bed, but Cintina wanted to start to give Reg romantic advice about Gina, because it was hard for Reg to hide it. Like, oh, well, that…we worked together all day, so I…and so, the…I don't know. I’m a little bit concerned because Cintina was like, you can’t be…I wasn’t here all day to watch you. Were you talking about this…you were talking about giant robots? So, Cintina was giving Reg a lot of advice about how tomorrow Reg needs to be very dominant and con…be in control, and…don’t do anything…so, I don't know about that. So, I don't know, but we’ll see. I guess it doesn’t really matter ‘cause Cintina hopefully won't be here. Okay, so, yeah, I guess I’m gonna get some sleep and then I’ll come back. Okay, hey, it’s me again, and…Ren. Sorry, Ren. This is…should only be one recording.

 

That’s the way it works if you’re inside a pet’s subconscious, by the way. So, okay, so day…this is my third day being here completed, and today was different. So, they said…so, the challenge that got presented to Reg and the team was like, after…so, they said, okay, you were able to establish the robot program and it did bring…it did unify a large portion of the globe. But they said also that right now it’s projected that this will just be a standstill. Then Reg said, I knew this would happen, so…but Reg…also, they said it’ll be a standstill and eventually the Kaiju will figure out…they’ll evolve faster than the humans.

 

Then Reg was already ready to work, but they said, but it was decided…you weren’t consulted about the next solution, which was to help the…start to use some of this, whatever…I don't know what it’s called, but they started to use…instead of having people, they started to make the machines more…as close to sentient as they could so that hopefully they could evolve as fast or faster than the Kaiju. So, they said the problem is that…so, there’s gonna be a standstill that we’re eventually gonna lose. Even with that…and that more than likely, that this new level of intel…machine intelligence is going to…is gonna backfire against us and could…is projected by a few…this is funny; by futurists. Futurists are concerned that this could become also either a parallel problem or the problem.

 

But Reg kinda…so, today did not go great because that was a complex challenge. But also, Reg kind of was like…started the day off on the wrong feet, Cintina’s feet, and doing a lot of pushing, a lot of interrupting, and a lot of trying to be the leader Reg is not necessarily…Reg was not being Reg’s self, and trying to make jokes that weren’t funny. Cintina would come in and crit…they say, turn…and then Cintina said, maybe I should take over. So, I don't know. Halfway through the day, I said, I gotta do something here, because this is at least a turning point…and at least Cintina got bored and Reg withdrew eventually because it was…Reg was rebuffed so many times. ‘Cause they said, well, we need to figure out a solution.

 

We know you were right, Reg, but we didn’t know that it would be this…also this other machine challenge, so we have to figure things out. Someone even said you’re acting like a big, drunk robot, to Reg. Also, Reg was constantly trying to mess…apologize to Gina. So, then…I was like, well, I don't know. I think I gotta help Reg ‘cause…but it’s like, what am I…what is the turning point here, right? Or what am I supposed to help with? Because I feel like Reg is listening to…and they said, well, Reg has kinda gone instinctual, but on somebody else’s instincts. Reg was kinda being himself yesterday and it went good. So, I said, I don't know what I’m gonna do.

 

So, I was thinking most of the day and I was doing a lot of running, and that…I guess what worked out was that I was so…after Reg started to withdraw and Reg decided to comfort me…which I didn’t even know you could comfort a lizard, but Reg just talked to me and called me over and said, Georgie, come here, Georgie. Sit by me. He even told me…and this is private, I guess, but Reg was feeling down and a little bit embarrassed. I guess the cool thing is, I can make eye contact with Reg and I was able to just use my body language to show I was being soothed because I was being soothed, but also to be soothing. I just kept trying to look in Reg’s eyes. Then Reg apologized to me for seemingly getting me wound up, but I guess that’s my state anyway. But whatever, it worked. Maybe I was kinda doing it on purpose?

 

I don't even know. So, then Reg apologized to the group and said, hey, I’m sorry. I guess I was…got…I had fun yesterday, but I don't know what’s going on with me today. Just a basic apology saying, yo, I was trying to…totally lost track of where I was and all that kind of stuff, and everybody accepted it, and Reg apologized. Even though Reg was just messaging Gina…Reg said, hey, yeah, sorry, I want to help build towards the solution. They said, well, what do you think from where we are now…because we…basically the whole day…the first half of the day had gotten wasted, right, by saying, what are we gonna do? We can’t shut down the robots. One of the ideas was to have the robots build defenses or off…and they said, well, if the robots are gonna…then they could…so, they went back and forth about these grand solutions, right?

 

Reg was like, huh, if…are we…then they asked…Reg said…first Reg asked the group, but then they asked the UN. Reg said, well, are we allowed to ask questions or establish a committee to investigate instead of taking action? They said, well, what do you mean? Reg said, one thing we never figured out was…Reg was about to say something and then Cintina came in right when that happened. Then somebody said, what were you about to say, Reg? Then Cintina was like…it kinda created a commotion and then someone said, well, were you gonna say their weak points? But Reg kinda shut down again because Cintina was like, did I hear you apologizing? So, Reg had to mute and turn the camera off. Then they said, okay, let’s establish…can we do a inquiry into their weaknesses?

 

They said, well, we’re…the UN said, well, aren’t you look…? Okay, well, we could…you could increase your budget, but of course you’re already looking into those kind of things. Then Reg kinda got…Cintina was like, do you like…you can’t apologize if you like someone. You have to…you can’t show weakness. Then…said, could you just please…I’m trying to get…I can’t focus on these things. Never…thank you for your…trying to get Cintina out of the room. Then someone else, while that was happening, came up with the idea…‘cause they kept going, like okay, this is some sort of mutually…the best we could hope for is…that’s unlikely that the stalemate would continue. Somebody’s gonna win. Then Reg finally came back and Reg said, sorry, I got interrupted again. They said, well, we’re kinda stuck here.

 

What are we gonna do? I said, wait a second…I noticed that Reg hadn’t eaten in a long time that day. Neither had I, so I started knocking my food bowl, and…but really, I was thinking of something else, which I was hoping Reg would figure out. So, I don't want to brag too much ‘cause if I say it, it’ll sound like I’m bragging. But so, I was knocking my food bowl. Then Reg said, oh, okay, yeah, I gotta feed you, huh? So, then Reg said…and then they came back and…time was going down but Reg said, well, what if we try to figure out…what does…what would the robots…what would the machines want and what would the…could we switch that committee just beyond weak points to figure out what do the machines want and what do the Kaiju want?

 

Then they kinda ended it there, and then…they didn’t socialize ‘cause everybody was kinda fed up. So, I’m gonna get some rest. I’ll be back. This is Ren. Okay, hey, this is Ren again. So, this is…so, actually, after…I guess Reg kinda made some…said, hey, today, Cintina can just stay out of my room the whole day. I don't want to have to lock my door. Reg planned out eating and said, maybe it was that I was hungry or I was a bit annoyed by Cintina. So, they had a team meeting first and Reg said, hey, I’m gonna make sure…let’s make sure we’re all eating and drinking water. Then they were talking about it, and everybody…this is college or whatever, university, so everybody was pretty cool and everybody was still having fun.

 

They knew that today was the day to wrap up, so then…but then Reg was like, wait a second, we asked what they wanted, not what they needed. They said, what do you even mean? Reg said, well, if I…if we figure out what they need, it might be different than what they want. I got so confused yesterday about wanting to be the best and impress everybody on the team. To be honest, that’s why I was acting that way and wanting people to like me, really. Everybody’s nodding ‘cause most of the people in these clubs, they could relate. So, they said, yeah, yeah, yeah, okay. To be honest, most humans could relate. You say, okay, I know what it’s like to feel a little bit left out, then to push too hard. So, it kinda made them bond more, but then when they got the brief for the day, they said, yeah, this is not…things are not looking good.

 

You’ve seen what they want, which is…the Kaiju want to access all of our half-life…anything with a half-life. That’s what they’re really trying to get at. The AI or the, whatever, will probably make us…use us as…they’re…they want to become the main…said…say, in other films…Reg even said, maybe we’ll end up being batteries or whatever. So, they said, the only thing…there was one thing in the brief…again, these kids are way smarter than me. I’m not trying to be…but they figured out…they said, well, wait a second; there’s a thing we could do where we could…what if it wasn’t a mutually assured thing? What if it was that they wear each other down? They were talking about different examples in nature.

 

So, this was a biologist futurist saying, hey, there’s all these examples in nature sometimes of one being wearing another being down. They said, well, maybe we could design something like that. They were talking for most of the day. Again, things kinda swung back, and…but it didn’t feel like…it was like, wait a second…and they had proposed those questions in the beginning of the day of like, okay, if we know what they want, what do they need? Actually, at some point, the UN came back and they said, you should be able to figure out what they need with the information you have. It’s pretty obvious, but it’s not obvious. Then they said, well, if we brainstorm and we say it, can you tell us? They said, probably. Then they kinda went through stuff and they said, okay, wait a second; so, what did you say, Reg?

 

They’re gonna use us as batteries. This was Gina, actually. Reg said, yeah. They said, and the Kaiju are trying to get to stuff that was once used or is currently used in power or offence, right? Reg said, yeah. So, said, they both are looking for…maybe this is their food, their power. You’re the one that said you didn’t eat enough. How did you know then? Reg said, well, because my leopard gecko was running around and hitting its food cup. They all had a…they never had seen me before just because I can’t come…so, Reg had to turn the camera. You couldn’t get a good view of me, anyway. So, then they went to a new model because they said, okay, they both want power in a different form, right?

 

Then someone said, you know, there’s this…’cause they said…this was the biologists; they said, well, you know, I’ve always thought about this idea…your gecko reminded me that there’s something like a gecko that lives in warm areas and it’s got a big, long snout that it keeps open sometimes when it’s hanging out in the sun. There’s a bird that lands there, and even though this thing…this big, long snout thing would usually use birds for food, this bird eats…they said, it’s the flossing bird? I said, yeah, it’s a flossing bird. They said, yeah, a flossing bird and it’s some sort of…something in evolution, and…but it’s a win-win. Both of them win. It’s not at anybody’s expense. They said, okay, so if we could come up with something with power…and they said, well, actually, that’s been the problem…we never reached that next level of fission-fusion.

 

They said, but if the Kaiju really just want to do that, maybe we could find a place for them to live where they could do that; eat all the leftovers that they want. Maybe the…but also that if the…if those robots or the machine sentience needs power, wouldn’t they just leave us alone? ‘Cause we could fix them and stuff. They might still need us, and they definitely will need us to intervene. Reg said, yeah, wait a second; what if…I talked to my gecko when it was running around, not when I fed it. Those were two separate incidences. They say, what if there’s some sort of only-human thing we could do for both of them? In addition to providing for this need, maybe there’s another need we could provide.

 

Just the fact that we’re intervening on both their behalfs so that there will be tons of power for humans and for machine beings…but also, we wouldn’t have to worry about what’s left over, ‘cause the Kaiju would eat that. They said…and then they wrote it all up. This part was a thing…and then actually…now, this one was…really thing; Reg on Reg’s own kind of…and I think it was pretty fast for feelings to crest, that yeah, maybe I don't need to be…we’re all…everybody said, let’s hang out together. Maybe we’ll play some D&D. but someone else actually in the group said, oh, Reg, seems like you…like a private message, like Gina.

 

Reg said, yeah, but maybe we just…supposed to be friends or maybe we could see how…if we’re friends online. After these…after we de-bubble, we could see what happens. So, that kinda worked out, too. So, I don't know if I did too much, but I was here for it. Yeah, I don't know. So, I don't know if this is…but I was being myself, Reg was being Reg’s self. So, I don't know, I guess it worked. So, that’s Ren reporting in, and I’m gonna get some sleep in this animal, and next time, I’ll be in somebody else.

 

[END OF RECORDING]

(Transcribed by Leah Hervoly)