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Find Reese's now at a store near you. Hello

1:37

everyone, I'm Christoph Laputka and this is Leviathan

1:40

Presents. It's a segment where we highlight one

1:42

audio fiction creator, have a conversation, and then

1:44

play a full episode of their show right

1:47

here in our feed. I hope you'll enjoy

1:49

today's guest, and without further ado, let's get

1:51

into the interview. This is

1:53

Leviathan Presents. Thanks

1:57

for watching. I'm Christoph Laputka. Hey

2:01

everyone, welcome to another episode of Leviathan Presents.

2:03

This is Christoph and I wanted to give

2:05

you an update on the Invenios Expeditions, which

2:07

is going to be the next Leviathan spinoff

2:10

show that we are deep in production on.

2:12

Robin and I and Luke and the whole

2:14

team and cast, we're here in Los Angeles

2:16

and we are finishing our last stages of

2:18

principal recording and I have to tell you

2:21

it has been such a great experience. We've

2:23

met so many great voice actors and have

2:25

been working with such amazing talent and we're

2:27

just really excited to bring the show to

2:29

you. So we think we're in the

2:31

final stretches and we expect to have this

2:34

out to you later this year, but we're

2:36

really excited about where the show is heading

2:38

and how it kind of sets up a

2:40

lot of the future Leviathan shows that we're

2:42

helping to bring to you. There is going

2:44

to be another Leviathan saga and these spinoffs

2:46

are setting up the chess pieces and putting

2:48

all the characters in place to help advance

2:51

that story further. So we're working pretty hard

2:53

at it right now and I've listened to

2:55

a good number of the episodes. This is

2:57

going to be one of our largest seasons

2:59

yet. We're going to be looking at about 13 to

3:01

14 episodes. So it is taking

3:03

a little bit long. This has been the biggest cast

3:06

that we've had, but it's come together great and I'm

3:08

so excited to share it with you. Thank you all

3:10

for being subscribers. Thank you all for being fans and

3:12

thank you all for staying with us for so long.

3:15

And for now, I'm really excited to bring to you

3:17

Desert Skies. This has been a really

3:19

fun show that I've enjoyed listening to. I

3:21

think you guys are going to really like

3:23

it as well. And what I liked about

3:25

the show was that I originally thought it

3:27

was going in one direction and was one

3:29

kind of a show and it really turned

3:31

into something else and it really surprised me.

3:34

Without any further ado, let's get into the interview. Hey

3:37

everyone, it's Christophe. And today I'm joined

3:39

by Jared Carter, the creator of Desert

3:41

Skies, which is a really captivating new

3:44

audio drama about the in-between stages between

3:46

life and the afterlife set in a

3:48

gas station located on the astral plane

3:51

of existence. And we meet a lot

3:53

of characters that have led different

3:56

lives and at first the show seems

3:58

to be about these character studies. of

4:00

love and loss and lives led

4:02

on Earth, but slowly a deeper

4:05

subplot reveals itself. And Jared

4:07

does this so artfully and

4:10

the scope of the show continues to widen.

4:12

It's a really great show and I'm so

4:14

excited to talk to you about it. So

4:16

without any further ado, Jared, welcome

4:18

to Leviathan Presents. Oh my gosh, thank you so

4:21

much. I am now, yeah, you've made my day.

4:23

Thank you for all your kind words. I'm so

4:25

excited to be here. Now

4:28

I started by calling you the creator

4:30

of Desert Skies, but that's really selling

4:32

you short. You're a whole lot more

4:34

than that. You're the producer and

4:36

you're also the star of the show.

4:38

When this is a big point that

4:40

I want to hit up front with

4:42

my listeners that you voice all of

4:44

the characters in the show and there's

4:46

a lot of characters. This isn't a

4:49

subtle, you know, a three-person play. It's

4:51

a wide cast and you do

4:54

all of the voices. Yeah, that's incredible.

4:56

They don't sound like they're coming from the

4:58

same person and I want to talk about that and

5:00

how you're able to achieve that a little bit more.

5:02

But why don't you start by telling all of our

5:04

listeners a little bit about Desert Skies and what it's

5:06

all about. Yeah. So as

5:09

you mentioned earlier, Desert Skies is really

5:12

a look at

5:14

the afterlife and so much

5:16

of it is built around

5:19

friendships. One of the things that I

5:21

really wanted to do with this show was just kind of

5:23

create an environment where people could escape to. I feel like

5:25

one of the things that we don't do great as

5:28

people is friendships

5:30

and you know, it's because there's a lot

5:32

to work through and a lot to deal

5:34

with. And so it's a lot of external

5:37

processing around those types of relationships and a

5:39

lot of just like dealing with

5:42

loss. For me, it's a purely a therapeutic

5:44

process where I just work through things that

5:46

I don't even realize I'm working through until

5:48

my wife listens. And she goes, oh,

5:50

is this like a, you know, autobiography?

5:53

And I'm like, I didn't intend for it

5:55

to be. But it is. Well, it's funny you

5:57

mentioned that because you grew up in Arizona. In

6:00

the desert and the desert setting is a

6:03

very big part of the show The gas

6:05

station is on the desert sphere of existence

6:07

Tell me a little bit about what the desert

6:10

means to you and how it's influenced the show

6:12

Yeah if you grow

6:14

up in the rural parts of Arizona

6:16

like I have you you have a

6:18

lot of experience with The desert

6:20

and the desert is a really fascinating and

6:24

Magical place, you know, it's funny from

6:26

here We all like to escape to

6:28

those places that are more green and

6:30

a little cooler because the place that

6:32

we live in is not Extremely comfortable

6:35

it's trying, you know, I reference

6:37

this at one point in the show But it's

6:39

like it's trying to kill you all the time.

6:41

You can't really go for a walk in the

6:43

desert You're dealing with rattlesnake scorpions all these thorns

6:45

and I think there's a part of that that

6:48

leads to being like this especially magical

6:51

but also dangerous

6:54

place and there was something about that

6:56

image of the gas station in the

6:58

desert that Really spoke to

7:00

me for a long time. Like I don't know if you can

7:02

see it behind me, but I have There

7:05

we go down there on like the

7:07

second Shelf, there's this

7:10

paper cutout that I made of a gas

7:12

station in the desert. I made that Six

7:15

years ago at this point. So the

7:17

idea has always kind of lived in my head I've

7:19

seen places like that in Arizona We lived right next

7:21

to a gas station at one point that was in

7:23

the middle of nowhere and something about

7:25

driving by that at night And seeing the

7:27

darkness that surrounds the gas station But there's

7:30

this safe haven within the gas station lights

7:32

just pouring out of it and you wonder

7:34

and I always wondered What

7:36

kind of people would you meet there at 1 or

7:39

2 a.m? in the

7:41

morning those travelers that are so Unique

7:44

and a lot of that was based off my

7:46

experience working at a hotel in Casa

7:48

Grande, Arizona and at that hotel at night

7:51

I would work overnight and you would go

7:53

outside and it was surrounded by nothing but

7:55

desert and I did meet a lot of

7:57

really weird people working overnight and that I

8:00

think all of those things kind of fed

8:02

into the creation of the show and the

8:04

setting that it's in. Well, there's a beautiful

8:07

allegory that you create of the people that

8:09

have passed on. They're travelers, and they show

8:11

up in the Buick and this idea that

8:14

we are all travelers, travelers through Earth, travelers

8:16

through life, travelers through different places of existence.

8:18

And that really struck me as a beautiful

8:20

frame to view life through. Now,

8:23

one of the things that, again, we touched

8:25

on before is you voice all of the

8:27

characters in the show. And there are some

8:29

really fun, different personalities, the

8:31

tight family and friendships that

8:33

are in the gas station, and then

8:36

also the friendships and connections that the

8:38

travelers coming through bring into

8:40

the story. First of all, just

8:42

mechanically, how do you create all

8:45

these different voices? Are there tools that you're using,

8:47

or is it all just coming out naturally? And

8:49

when you come up with a character, how do

8:51

you come up with the accents and the different

8:54

vocalizations? Yes.

8:57

So I

9:00

grew up like so many

9:03

class clowns and kids on

9:05

the fringe who just

9:07

love to do voices and

9:10

do impressions. There was something

9:12

that was very, you know, it's really fun. And

9:14

I realized when I was young that I had

9:16

a pretty decent vocal

9:18

range. And I loved just

9:20

mimicking everyone. One of the things

9:23

that I would do a lot once I started

9:25

driving was put in CDs and try to match

9:27

my voice so perfectly to the artist that I

9:29

couldn't hear myself anymore. And so that's just something

9:31

that I did for years. And so I got

9:34

really good at mimicking. And

9:36

then I started to really pick up on

9:38

over time, just

9:40

people's unique cadences and

9:43

how much I mean, you can have two characters

9:45

that sound very similar, but if they have a

9:48

different cadence and even

9:50

maybe like a slightly different pitch to

9:52

the listener, it's very difficult to see

9:54

the similarities in those. When it comes to actually

9:56

creating the characters for the show and their voices,

9:59

generally I'll read them. write the story first.

10:01

And as I'm writing the story, I kind

10:03

of start to hear the person start to

10:05

hear the character in my head. And

10:07

it's after that that I try to mimic whatever

10:09

that sound might be. And that's not always the

10:12

case. Sometimes it's that I'm just driving, you know,

10:14

I must look crazy. Hopefully people think I'm on

10:16

Bluetooth. There's nothing because when I drive, when I

10:18

drive across town, I'm just in there going, trying

10:21

to find like, okay,

10:24

and then I sometimes I land on something and

10:26

like, I have to build a character around that

10:28

voice. And like I did that with a

10:30

mini series that we just did. I was

10:32

driving around. And I and I

10:34

kind of got this voice that was a

10:37

little bit like what was

10:39

the movie Inside Out, you know, you

10:41

had sadness, a little just

10:44

kind of sad and whatever.

10:46

And I made this character out of that.

10:48

And I was like, I'm gonna build a

10:50

character. I'm gonna build a show essentially a

10:52

mini series around this character. And I did.

10:55

It was awesome. It's really fun. It's a

10:57

great format for the show. Every episode has

10:59

a new traveler coming in, a new personality,

11:01

it walks this balance really well of having

11:04

it has a format, it has a premise. And

11:07

there's always a new guest star kind of

11:09

coming in, kind of like the way fantasy

11:11

island and the love boat, you know,

11:13

many, many years ago, but at the

11:16

same time, you just so subtly create

11:19

this undercurrent of a connective

11:21

plot that the aperture keeps

11:23

widening towards this underlying mythology

11:25

that you've created. You know,

11:27

I, I've always been drawn

11:30

to stories about

11:34

death. There's just something about

11:37

death as a plot

11:40

device that allows people to

11:42

it gives you kind of like that

11:44

perfect hindsight, you're able to look back.

11:47

And that's when you I feel like

11:49

with these characters, they're really able

11:52

to start processing their

11:55

lives because they're looking at it in a kind

11:57

of a rear view mirror and taking in the

11:59

whole scope of it. And that's where they really have

12:01

to start to come to terms with things. And

12:04

I just, I love ghost stories. I

12:06

love that idea of like something happening

12:08

after this. One of my favorite books,

12:10

Lincoln and the Bardo, you know, focuses

12:12

on Abraham Lincoln's son and him in

12:14

like a cemetery right after he died.

12:16

And that to me is just such

12:18

a wonderful type of story. So I

12:20

went digging into just different

12:23

aspects of kind of

12:25

like ancient thought around this idea of

12:27

an astral plane, this place in between

12:29

here and like the further most sphere

12:31

of existence, which in ours is the

12:33

33rd sphere. Almost every religion is so

12:35

interesting, like has some version of this.

12:37

And there's a lot of variations in

12:40

terms of what are the numbers of

12:42

spheres and different things. And I

12:44

just kind of grabbed one. And I think part

12:46

of it was I picked the lowest number. I

12:48

can't remember which religion in particular was like 33.

12:50

And I'm like, I'm doing that one because I'm

12:53

not building 100 and

12:55

you know, 20 of these

12:57

things. And then within those

12:59

concepts, there were deities, something

13:02

like demons, you know, in some

13:05

religions that acted as sphere movers.

13:07

And I really just love that idea

13:10

of pulling from malevolent benevolent characters went

13:12

into a lot of like ancient history,

13:14

looking for personalities and different things traits

13:17

that I could build these characters out

13:19

of. You do it, you do

13:21

it really well. And one of the other things

13:23

that I thought was really

13:26

made Desert Sky so special was

13:28

it has this, you

13:30

know, every audio drama

13:33

and I, you know, I'm passionate about audio

13:35

drama has its own fingerprint,

13:37

its own soundscape that sets it apart

13:39

or makes it unique. And it's an

13:41

expression of, you know, the creator's vision.

13:44

And you have this wonderful

13:46

kind of 80s, 90s

13:49

retro throwback. And for

13:51

our listeners, definitely go to Desert

13:54

Sky's website. We're going to give you

13:56

the link at the end of the

13:58

show. But it's You've

14:00

done such a good job

14:02

of duplicating the awkwardness of

14:04

a myspace page So

14:07

fantastically and where did this 80s and 90s theme

14:09

come from? How did you decide like this is

14:11

gonna be the fingerprint? I want to put in

14:13

I'm dying to hear about that. I You

14:16

know, I was a child Somewhat

14:19

of the 80s. I was born in 84.

14:21

So I tell people I am an 80s

14:23

kid And I'm not really because I was

14:25

six when the night when the 90s rolled

14:29

around but I've always been obsessed with

14:32

The 80s when I look back at

14:34

cinema, especially horror in particular There's something

14:37

about the campiness of it and I

14:39

wanted there to be like an aspect

14:41

of campiness Which was just silly but

14:43

also really held on to that. What

14:45

for me is like this nostalgia Vibe

14:49

I find it interesting like when I look

14:51

at certain analytics I'll find that the largest

14:53

demographic is people in my age group I

14:55

think there is something about that feel for

14:57

them as well And yeah, when I built

14:59

the website, I was like I

15:02

have to get as close how did you do

15:04

that? Did you yeah, how did you create that

15:06

like it's hard to make something look that retro?

15:08

There is a plug-in. I am NOT

15:10

a I am NOT Nate. I found this plug-in

15:12

that had Like

15:14

snowflakes falling across it. It was very strange and

15:16

I just kind of took it and I modified

15:18

it and I Freakin

15:21

I love it. It just brings me back to when

15:23

we first got Windows 95 and AOL And

15:26

that's what all the websites look like is

15:28

the closest to the 80s that I could

15:31

get I'd like to talk a little bit

15:33

about some of the characters in the show

15:35

Yeah, the core and the gas station is

15:37

this main trio of the attendant The

15:39

mechanic and the cash register tell us a

15:41

little bit about each of those characters Which

15:44

are our listeners know going into listening to

15:46

the first episode of desert skies? So

15:49

the attendant which pretty much

15:51

just sounds like me, but he's he's

15:53

a little higher a little a

15:55

little more nasally he is basically

15:58

the boss of The gas station

16:00

I imagine he's you

16:03

know, I don't have even have definitive answers around this, but it's like

16:05

maybe he's 26 27 Years

16:08

old but he's really taken on like shoulder

16:10

this responsibility of this role and takes it

16:12

very seriously His job is to see people

16:14

to the next life and make sure that

16:16

nothing goes wrong in that process So there's

16:19

a lot of like stress and a lot

16:21

of responsibility around that um, one of the

16:23

things that's interesting about the attendant and the

16:25

mechanic is they don't remember their lives on

16:27

the Physical planes and so

16:29

a lot of that really plays out in the

16:31

attendant because he just wants to know he I

16:33

think more than Any other characters like desperate to

16:36

know and then you have the mechanic who is far

16:38

less serious This probably was born out of like

16:40

growing up watching the Andy Griffith show a

16:43

lot like I've seen every episode multiple

16:45

times that was a family thing that

16:48

I inherited and One

16:50

of the great aspects of the show is like

16:53

you got the sheriff Andy who is very straight-laced

16:55

You know a little bit of humor But for

16:57

the most part he takes his job fairly seriously

16:59

And then you have Barney the deputy and he's

17:02

just lovable makes jokes or whatever and you kind

17:04

of see that played out in the character I'm

17:06

just realizing it now. I think it's me the

17:08

Andy Griffith show but in the National

17:11

plane and there's so many

17:13

shows that play out like that and so

17:15

many characters like that And I wanted that

17:17

in the show because so many heavy topics

17:19

that we really needed someone who is a

17:21

lot of comic relief and so that's

17:23

the mechanic and He's

17:26

really based off of you know, somebody

17:28

told me they're like that is uh,

17:30

that's swing blade That's like the can't

17:32

remember the characters I'm

17:36

not trying to steal voices, but yeah,

17:38

he just he's he's really

17:40

funny But over time you find out

17:42

like he is a very deep character

17:45

There's a lot hidden behind the comedy

17:47

and then he is just

17:49

such a lovable guy and he seems to

17:51

delight in Everything which makes him for me

17:53

a character that I kind of aspire to

17:55

be in real life Which is someone who

17:57

can just like see the good in every

18:00

and see the good in everybody and you

18:02

know, still a little feisty. And then you

18:04

have Cash, who is the cash register at

18:06

the station. And she is

18:08

my favorite character, I think, in

18:10

the entire show, and probably the

18:12

one that I most identify

18:14

with because she's a bit of

18:16

an anxious mess in a lot

18:18

of ways. A lot of season

18:20

one, kind of, I think, surprisingly

18:22

for people, starts to really look

18:25

at Cash as a character, rather

18:27

than just like this means to an

18:29

end. And that's going to be explored more in future

18:31

seasons, for sure. And you kind

18:33

of touched on the levity. You do this

18:35

beautiful tightrope walk where you keep it light,

18:37

but yet there is a weight to these

18:39

characters' experiences. And

18:42

one of the mechanisms used, I think it

18:44

was in chapter three, was it the sitcom?

18:46

The sitcom mode that they went into, you

18:49

plugged your characters into this formula really well.

18:51

Like, were you a big sitcom guy at

18:53

the time? I

18:56

knew that I wanted this story to

18:58

grow beyond what it was. And I

19:00

felt like after I'd made the second

19:02

episode, a lot of similarity to episode

19:04

one. And I'm

19:06

very impulsive. So there's not a lot

19:08

of forethought that goes into the show

19:10

apart from I know what the endings

19:13

look like for each season and for

19:15

the series. But I want to make

19:17

sure that I am not boring people

19:19

by ensuring that the next time they

19:21

listen, it's going to follow a very

19:23

similar format, travel or arrives, whatever. So

19:25

by episode three, I wanted to make

19:28

it very clear that that's not what

19:30

the show is entirely. And

19:32

I just started thinking, and I do this every

19:34

once in a while, what's the craziest thing that

19:36

I could do? You know, what's going to really

19:38

throw people and gather their attention? And then the

19:40

other thing that I really try to do in

19:42

the show, which is a little manipulative, but it's

19:45

something that I do for myself, which is I

19:47

used to write stories to music. I would listen

19:49

to music and I would put on this like

19:51

visual play in my head. And I did that

19:53

for years when I was a teenager and I

19:55

tried to produce an emotion that I really wanted

19:57

to feel the shivers that go

19:59

down. your spine when a story

20:01

just kind of like comes together. And

20:04

what I try to do with the

20:06

show is almost a

20:08

bait-and-switch where I want

20:10

them to ride the emotional high from

20:12

comedy and from joy. But I also,

20:15

when it gets to the sad

20:18

parts, I want them to feel

20:21

that deeply. And I think

20:23

one of the best ways that you can

20:25

create that emotion is to lean into that

20:27

juxtaposition of comedy riding

20:30

alongside sadness. And the

20:33

alternating between the two, at least in

20:35

me, produces like a visceral emotional response.

20:37

And that's where a lot of like

20:39

the comedy and everything plays into the

20:41

show. It's yeah, it's emotional

20:43

manipulation but on a scale that I

20:45

love personally. But

20:48

it's actually quite subtle and gentle.

20:51

Like every single episode has a surprise

20:53

in it and it goes into an

20:55

unexpected direction, which I like, but it's

20:57

not like a jump scare or something

20:59

hard. You do a very good job

21:01

of like unfolding the cards gradually but

21:03

definitively. The place you end up isn't

21:05

the place you ever envisioned when you

21:07

started. Now the production, you know, you're

21:09

doing all the voices. I know you're

21:11

the producer in addition to being the

21:14

writer. Do you have anybody else helping

21:16

you with it? How long does it take you to

21:18

make an episode? Because I know doing

21:20

it by yourself is a Herculean task. I

21:23

timed myself, this is really sad, I

21:25

timed myself and it took me 15 hours to make

21:27

a 26 minute

21:30

episode from the time that I started writing. And I,

21:32

you know, this took place over the course of like

21:34

three or four days because my time is split up

21:37

between this and other pursuits. Over the

21:39

course of three days total was 15

21:41

hours. That was really eye-opening for me

21:43

and it helped me to realize that

21:45

most of my time is not spent

21:47

in production, it's spent in stressing out

21:49

about the next episode. Part of my

21:51

process is I'll write conflict or put

21:53

a character in a situation that it's

21:55

difficult for them to get out of

21:57

so that I have to really think

21:59

through. How am I gonna do that?

22:01

So that's where a lot of the surprises come

22:03

from is like, oh my gosh, we're here. What

22:06

could possibly happen next? And I'm thinking the exact

22:08

same thing. I don't know. I just know I

22:10

need to get to the end of the season.

22:12

So I'll toss in these difficult things. I'll work

22:14

my way through them. Once I'm able to work

22:16

my way through it, which usually takes anywhere from

22:18

like two weeks to a month of just sitting

22:20

in the outside sipping bourbon, looking at the saguaro

22:22

in my neighbor's yard and just waiting for like

22:24

the answer to come. Once that comes and I'm

22:27

not scared to put something out there, I'll sit

22:29

down and I'll just knock out the story. And

22:31

then I'll work a little bit on the voices,

22:33

making sure that I know who they are, what

22:35

they would sound like. And then I just go

22:37

in and I bust out the recordings probably in

22:39

about an hour. This is one of the benefits

22:41

for me is I'm terrible at coordinating. I'm terrible

22:44

at organization and things really have to happen when

22:46

I'm in the right mood. So we're not working

22:48

with people worked out really, really

22:50

well for me. I'm fully dependent on myself.

22:52

And if it wasn't for like the anxiety

22:54

that comes with putting yourself out there, I could

22:56

be making an episode a week. By

22:59

the way, I think you're killing it. That is

23:01

very quick. That shows you know your way around

23:03

audio editing to get us done that quickly. I'm

23:05

very impressed. I'm jealous. I don't know how. I'm

23:07

jealous in fact that. So. Yeah,

23:11

I don't know what buttons I'm pushing and I have

23:13

no idea. And this is absolutely true. I have no

23:15

idea what most of the words mean

23:18

in the editing software. I just know that they make

23:20

a certain sound and I go for it. Now,

23:23

what episode of Desert Skies are we

23:26

gonna be listening to today? Tell us

23:28

a little bit about it. So episode

23:31

one of Desert Skies focuses on

23:33

a character. His name is

23:36

Lawrence Cobb and he's you

23:38

know, a stereotypical New Yorker

23:40

accent. Which a friend

23:42

made fun of me for because he's from New York

23:44

and he's like, good job sounding like every New Yorker

23:47

in a movie. Right, right. Sounds okay. And

23:50

then, and so the story

23:52

really focuses autobiographically in terms

23:54

of like my relationship with

23:57

my wife. It focuses a lot on this character

23:59

and losing. his wife and it's

24:02

yeah, it's this I think a really sweet

24:05

episode. I think it's a good introduction

24:07

to the show because it is so

24:09

weird and I made

24:12

sure to do that intentionally in the first episode

24:14

so people knew what they were in for the

24:16

rest of it. It's again,

24:18

it's a surprising premise. I'll say it's

24:20

a little a little kooky, but wonderfully

24:23

executed in that there's so much that you

24:25

get out of this premise of the metaphoric

24:28

gas station, you know, the last set of

24:30

lights before going off into the dark

24:32

desert. And this is, as you said, an

24:34

oasis for the soul. A lot of people fall

24:36

asleep to it. A lot of

24:38

people fall asleep to it, which I was offended

24:40

by at first, but now I'm like, no, that's

24:43

awesome. That's wonderful.

24:45

Well, tell everyone about where they can

24:48

listen to Desert Skies, what you're planning

24:50

with future seasons and and how they

24:52

can support you. Yeah. So

24:54

Desert Skies is on all major podcast

24:56

platforms and some fringe ones as well.

24:59

There's another show, a secondary show, like

25:01

a sister program called Desert Skies FM.

25:03

Some people confuse the two and they

25:05

start listening to FM and it doesn't

25:07

make any sense. I'd say

25:09

start with just Desert Skies. You

25:12

can learn more at Desert Skies podcast

25:14

dot com. We have a discord

25:16

you can join us on, which is a great place

25:18

to learn more about the show. It's super it's like

25:20

we call it the most wholesome place on

25:23

the Internet. So it's

25:25

a great place to join. And then if you want

25:27

to support us, we have a membership program called Club

25:29

86, which is out

25:31

of Patreon. So it's patreon.com/Desert Skies and

25:33

they can subscribe and get a lot

25:36

of extra cool stuff. And we'll have

25:38

all those show notes included down below.

25:40

So let's jump into the episode. This

25:42

is episode one of Desert Skies. Jared

25:45

Carter, thank you so much for being

25:47

here on Leviathan Presents. It's

25:49

great to have you. Absolute honor. Thank you so much. See

25:51

you on the other side, guys. See ya. For

25:54

the best listening experience, headphones

25:56

are recommended. Hello

26:47

there! If

26:50

you don't mind waiting just a moment

26:52

while we get ready, we're

26:55

actually trying something new. We're

26:59

formalizing our process. So

27:02

this is an exciting time to be

27:04

here. I've actually written something

27:06

up, so I think I'm pretty

27:09

proud of it. It's cool. Where

27:11

am I? Please hold all

27:13

of your questions until the presentation

27:15

is complete. Everything will be

27:17

answered in time. Okay,

27:20

I think I'm ready. You

27:22

may approach the counter. Welcome

27:33

to Desert Skies, Traveler. Your

27:36

journey through the physical plane has come

27:38

to an end. But

27:41

we are so glad you're

27:44

here. And I

27:46

know what you're thinking. Where is

27:49

here exactly? I'll

27:51

do my best to explain. Desert

27:55

Skies Astral Plane Fuel and Service

27:57

Station exists on the lowest sphere

27:59

of the existence between life

28:02

and death or

28:04

as we like to say around here

28:06

between life and the next

28:08

life yeah

28:10

you have no more

28:12

reason to be afraid no

28:15

more reason to fret nor worry

28:18

whatever your needs we are

28:20

here to help my

28:23

colleague here is the mechanic or

28:26

Mac for sure yo it

28:29

is his job to service your vehicle in

28:32

preparation for the journey across

28:35

the celestial spheres I

28:38

am the attendant or Tindy for sure

28:40

I told you not to call me

28:43

that in front of the travelers will

28:45

I think it puts them at ease

28:47

I'm trying to create an error of

28:49

mystique yeah well that's stupid yeah well

28:52

nobody asked you um what what's

28:54

going on like

28:56

I said I am the attendant it

28:58

is my job to ensure you

29:01

have adequate provisions and are

29:03

well instructed in navigating the

29:05

journey through the celestial spheres now

29:10

let me tell you about a selection of

29:12

products available and

29:15

any associated

29:17

promotions second here we

29:26

have all of your road trip favorite

29:29

chips sodas sunflower the

29:33

pickled pigs feet that

29:35

induce devastating degrees of

29:37

sadness it's a trip

29:40

that's that's max favorite actually it's

29:43

just nice to feel something before

29:45

hitting the road how about one

29:47

last trip south of the border we

29:50

have an impressive selection of

29:52

over 34 varieties of microwavable

29:54

burritos everything from

29:56

breakfast brunch lunch dinner

30:00

dessert, and various

30:03

other flavors. Right now,

30:05

if you grab three, you'll

30:08

receive a portable microwave to take with

30:10

you on your journey. It

30:12

has a little cigarette lighter

30:14

adapter. Hell of a deal if you

30:16

ask me. Are

30:19

you dealing with the regret

30:22

of never having accomplished

30:24

anything significant in your life?

30:27

Honus yourself appropriately with some Flamin'

30:29

Hot Cheetos. Enough, enough, turn off

30:31

the music. What's wrong? Was

30:35

I reading too fast? That's

30:37

fine, I can start over. Where's

30:40

the rewind? No, no, don't do it

30:42

again. Look,

30:45

I need some answers. Five

30:47

minutes ago, I'm sitting at home eating

30:49

a plate of toast to waffles. Next

30:51

thing I know, I'm driving down a

30:53

deserted highway and then pulling into a

30:55

gas station in the middle of God

30:57

knows where, and you start reading off

30:59

some brain melting specials of the day

31:01

with Gimli here. I just

31:03

wanna know what's really going on. Give

31:06

it to me straight. Am I

31:08

high right now? Possibly, but that's

31:10

irrelevant. You're here because

31:12

you're dead. This

31:15

is your last stop on your way

31:17

to the great beyond. It's

31:20

our job to make sure you're prepared for

31:22

the ride. Uh-huh, and what if

31:24

I don't believe you? What

31:26

if this is all just some kind of sick dream,

31:28

huh? Some elaborate prank. Look,

31:32

I understand this experience can

31:34

be jarring, especially

31:38

if your death was sudden

31:40

or unexpected. I

31:43

can't remember, but I probably went through the

31:45

same emotions you're experiencing right now. For the

31:47

sake of argument, let's say you're telling

31:50

me the truth. What's to

31:52

keep me from driving back to the direction I

31:54

came from, huh? High-tailing it back

31:56

to my living room. No

31:58

pun intended. There, there's

32:00

nothing keeping you from that. I

32:03

mean week. We can't stop you.

32:05

But. I don't

32:07

recommend it. Yeah, Why?

32:09

Sat: Microwavable burritos, less.

32:12

What? Is that supposed to mean I'll show

32:14

you. Come. On. Follow.

32:16

Me: Are

32:20

microwavable burrito selection. Currently there

32:22

are thirty four varieties. If

32:24

you drive back the way

32:26

you came, there's gonna be

32:28

thirty five. Here

32:31

cyclical this package but he

32:33

see says got Busted brand

32:35

microwavable burritos and there's a

32:38

face lady with red hair.

32:41

Alice's Chicken all attacking style. Read

32:45

the back. Okay,

32:49

This delicious microwavable snack is

32:51

dedicated to Alice Mcdougall, who

32:54

attempted to return to the

32:56

physical realm and retrieve her

32:58

beloved cat, Wallace. We honor

33:01

her brave effort. What the

33:03

hell is this? Just keep.

33:06

In accordance with the governing

33:08

rules of the astral plane, the

33:11

full essence of this individuals

33:13

existence, desires, purpose and romantic

33:15

history has been meticulously crafted into

33:17

this Addis in style burrito.

33:20

Taste the flavor of life. So

33:24

there's ground up lady in

33:27

here. Ah no god no

33:29

that's that's disgusting on this.

33:32

isn't her physically. it's the

33:34

flavor and texture of her

33:37

existence. Which apparently

33:39

tastes like dice. Chicken and egg

33:41

cream sauce is actually pretty good.

33:44

Congratulations friend! I've heard some crazy

33:46

shit my life, but I've never

33:48

heard anything like that. But

33:53

you know, at

33:56

that i'd be chicken some kind of

33:58

chicken burrito Why do

34:00

you say that? Sawed on one

34:02

of those placemats at a Chinese restaurant. I was born

34:05

in the year of the chicken. I

34:07

think you mean rooster. Really? I

34:11

always thought it was chicken. I

34:13

think I'd rather be a chicken than a cock. You

34:16

know? Oh,

34:18

God. I need a cigarette. You

34:21

got those? Huh? A brand

34:23

that doesn't taste like devastating sadness or

34:25

contain the essence of someone's great-grandma?

34:28

Do you ever have one of mine? Thank

34:30

God. Something I can actually use.

34:34

I know these things are awful for you. I'm

34:36

not sure you gotta worry about that anymore. Come

34:40

on, buddy. Let's take a look at that car of yours.

34:43

That's the other thing. I don't even own a car. Then,

34:46

boom, I'm suddenly cruising down the highway in

34:48

a Buick Skylark. That's one hell of a

34:51

car. Sure, I'm not complaining. But

34:53

that's not my automobile. And this

34:56

isn't my beard's natural color. Yeah, here

34:58

we are. Come on. Let's

35:01

get you road ready. Hey, Nintendo.

35:04

Or whatever your name is. You

35:06

really telling me I'm dead? It's attendant.

35:09

And... yes. You are. Sorry,

35:11

friend. Well,

35:14

ain't that just a kick in the pants? One

35:17

more question. This

35:19

place. At the end of the road. What's

35:24

it like? Is it nice? Yeah.

35:26

It's real nice. Huh.

35:31

That's good to know, I guess. Look,

35:34

come back and see me before taking off. Okay?

35:38

Whatever you want, Lord of the Underworld. Hey,

35:47

Cast Register. Hello,

35:50

attendant. How can I be of service? I

35:53

always tell people that what lies at the end

35:55

of the road is a nice place. You

35:58

excel at it. by putting

36:00

my travelers at ease, attendant. Um,

36:03

yeah, sure, but what

36:05

if it's a lie? I don't know

36:07

if it's nice or not. For

36:10

all I know, it could be a

36:12

plane of non-existence. I

36:14

would assume that even a state

36:16

of non-existence is better than having

36:19

your essence converted into a microwavable

36:21

burrito. Yeah, maybe, I don't

36:23

know. A lot of people like

36:25

burritos. Attendant, as you know,

36:29

I'm incapable of lying. So

36:32

you've told me. But you're not.

36:35

I can't say for certain, but I

36:37

believe that if given the ability to

36:39

provide comfort to frightened travelers, able

36:42

to travel but one direction, I would

36:44

allow myself to express confidence that

36:46

they are headed towards a nice

36:49

place, regardless of

36:51

my uncertainty. You really think that's okay?

36:54

Attendant, I am just

36:56

a computational assistant and service help

36:58

register. A logic lead me to

37:00

believe that the existence of desert

37:02

skies, an astral plane, fuel and

37:04

service center dedicated to the comfort

37:06

and safety of travelers embarking on

37:08

their final journey. Well,

37:10

it seems to me that level of intentional

37:12

care would denote a certain amount of goodwill

37:15

on the part of our superiors. Our

37:18

superiors? I don't even know who

37:20

they are. Do you, Cash?

37:22

I'm sorry, Attendant. But as I

37:24

told you 473 times,

37:26

I'm unable to speak to that subject.

37:29

Unable or not allowed? Is

37:31

there anything else I can assist you with,

37:33

Attendant? Um, play some music? You

37:36

got it. Mm-hmm. Let's

37:39

do... Contemplative.

37:53

Mm-hmm. Well,

38:28

he's all set. Dude's just

38:30

sitting in his car with his head resting

38:32

on the steering wheel. I'd

38:35

ask what it gives, but it ain't like

38:37

I've never seen it before. I told him to come

38:39

back in here. What's his story, anyway? Jeez,

38:42

I haven't even ran the report. Cash

38:44

register. How can

38:47

I help you, attendant? Request the

38:49

traveler bio for... Oh

38:51

god, I didn't even ask his name. I got

38:53

that from him, at least. Name's

38:56

Lawrence Cobb. Requesting traveler

38:58

biography for Lawrence Cobb. Alright,

39:04

let's take a look here. Lawrence

39:07

Cobb, age 42. Looks

39:11

like it was the toaster waffles that did him in.

39:14

Choked to death watching television. When

39:16

I die, that's how

39:18

I wanna go. Yeah, well, you

39:21

are dead, so there's that

39:23

and what? You

39:27

wanna die choking on frozen

39:29

breakfast foods watching TV? You're

39:32

judgy, you know that. Anyway,

39:36

born and raised in New York.

39:39

Managed the electronics counter at a department

39:41

store. Fascinating stuff,

39:43

but you know what I want. Yeah,

39:46

I know. There you go, you

39:48

thick little man. Embarrassing childhood

39:50

memories, god, I love these.

39:54

Look, in fourth grade, choked on an ice

39:56

cube at lunch and threw up all over

39:58

the table. How

40:01

do you even do that? Hey

40:05

says his wife died her name

40:08

sounds so familiar Deborah

40:11

Cobb Deborah Cobb

40:17

Deborah Cobb Cash

40:19

do you have a record of a Deborah Cobb

40:21

who was married to a Lawrence Cobb indeed

40:24

Deborah Cobb? age

40:27

36 sudden

40:29

death Bring on your

40:31

rhythm Jesus. That's so young. We have

40:33

so many people come through here attendee

40:37

What makes you think you'd remember some random woman?

40:40

We must have had 20,000 Deborah's at desert

40:42

skies of my time and at least a

40:44

handful of Deborah Cobb's I

40:47

don't know some people just stick

40:49

with you Mac. Yeah, I guess that's

40:51

true There is that one

40:53

guy who crapped his pants dancing to you. You're the

40:55

one that I want during a school play I

40:59

still got the report pinned up in my shack You

41:01

can't make this stuff up. No, you can't

41:04

I Think

41:06

I'm gonna check on our traveler Mr.

41:19

Cobb I

41:23

just want to talk real quick. Give

41:27

me 30 seconds Please

41:30

mr. Cobb Sleep

41:35

calling me mr. Cobb. My name

41:37

is Lawrence. Hey Lawrence, buddy you've

41:40

been out here a while and We're

41:43

getting kind of worried about you worried about me What's

41:47

there to worry about? I'm already dead

41:50

Dead is is is such a

41:52

weighty word You

41:55

you left the physical plane so what it's

41:58

just one plane of existence This

42:00

is another and

42:02

down that road is another and

42:06

That's your destination. That's that's

42:08

the next life. Yeah. Well if it's so great,

42:10

why haven't you driven down that road, huh? If

42:14

it's so wonderful, what are you doing out

42:16

here in the plane of God knows what

42:18

hawking burritos with people in them? I

42:21

don't know. What do you mean? You don't know

42:23

You're dead too, right? You

42:25

must have pulled in here just like me,

42:28

but you stayed You're right.

42:30

I mean I Assume

42:33

that's what happened. But I I

42:35

don't remember a time when I wasn't working here

42:38

When I wasn't the attendant. I Don't

42:42

remember my life on the physical plane or

42:44

my real name I I

42:46

have no idea who I am

42:49

or or even how I died

42:52

Jesus that's messed up guy So

42:56

what's to keep you from going now? Get

42:59

in the car. Come on. We'll go together. I

43:01

know I'd feel better if someone was with me, you know I'm

43:04

sorry Lawrence. I can't Why

43:07

not because I like what I do

43:10

It may not seem like much to you But

43:13

to me It's everything

43:17

It's all I've ever known Do

43:20

you know how many Lawrence cobs I've had come

43:22

through here people like you who

43:24

get behind that wheel and can't seem to turn

43:26

the key and 99.9%

43:29

of the time I get them down that road. I save

43:35

them from the burrito plane of existence I

43:39

Help them move on it might

43:41

not be so bad being a burrito, you know a Lot

43:45

of people like burritos. This is

43:47

true You

43:49

know, I had a wife who died three

43:52

years ago I Couldn't

43:55

do anything without her ever

43:58

since she's been gone my life's just It's been

44:00

one pointless day after another. She

44:04

might be up there too, huh? Down that road?

44:08

How could I not realize that? Tell

44:11

me, did a Deborah Cobb ever come through this

44:14

place? She did.

44:17

Well... well, okay! I'm

44:20

gonna get to see her again. Come inside,

44:22

Lawrence. Let's get you what you need. Hey,

44:24

you got any of those corn chips shaped like

44:27

a dunce cap? Indeed we do. And

44:29

you didn't do nothing weird to it. No

44:32

need. Those things are weird

44:34

enough on their own. So

44:42

go ahead and take a look around the store, Lawrence,

44:44

and meet me at the counter when you're done. Thanks,

44:47

but I can't buy none of this stuff. I don't

44:49

even have my wallet. Then how

44:51

in the hell are you planning to pay

44:53

for all that astral grade fuel I just

44:55

pumped into your Buick? We

44:58

don't take kindly to thieves around here. Hey

45:01

now, wait just a minute. You

45:03

didn't say nothing about no payment. I

45:05

mean, what would you guys even do with

45:08

money? Uh, nothing at all. Mack

45:10

is just being an asshat. Yeah, I'm just

45:12

messing with you, buddy. Nobody's

45:14

got money this side of the physical rail. You

45:17

know what they say. You can't take

45:19

it with you when you go, yeah. Like

45:22

I said, just grab whatever you like

45:24

and I'll be waiting

45:26

for you right here. Oh,

45:30

and don't forget to grab

45:32

a map. They're

45:34

on that rack over there by the burrito freezer. There's

45:37

only one main road that you'll need to stay on,

45:39

but there's some interesting sites along the way you might

45:41

want to check out. Oh, also, it gets

45:44

cold once you get past the Martian Sphere, so

45:46

it would help to grab a- No. No,

45:49

no, no. What's wrong? My

45:52

Dabbie. What about her? I told you.

45:55

She's been through here, Lawrence. She

45:58

didn't go down that road. She

46:01

tried to go back. What are you talking

46:03

about? Come see for

46:05

yourself. See what? That's

46:08

her face. Right there. Debbie's

46:11

waffle stuffed burrito. Let

46:13

me see. It

46:16

says this delicious, microwaveable snack

46:19

is dedicated to Deborah Cobb,

46:22

who attempted to return to the

46:24

physical plane for her dear husband,

46:26

Lawrence. We honor the

46:28

sacrifice she made in the name of

46:31

love. Yeah.

46:36

I knew I remembered that name. My wife.

46:39

The only reason I ever had for living is

46:43

a burrito. A lot

46:45

of people like burritos. Okay,

46:48

I should shut up. No. You're

46:51

right. A

46:53

lot of people like burritos. But

46:56

I loved this one. And

46:58

she's gone. For

47:01

a second there, I thought there really was a chance

47:03

we could be together again. I'm

47:06

so sorry, Lawrence. Que

47:09

sera sera. Could

47:13

I have a moment alone, fellas? Of

47:15

course. Mack? Common.

47:22

Poor guy. I can't imagine

47:24

what he's feeling. The

47:26

thoughts that have to be going through his head right now. And

47:29

to think that if his wife could have

47:31

just waited, they'd be together

47:34

now. I

47:36

wonder what it feels like, Mack. To

47:40

miss the physical plane? The

47:43

people you left behind? I

47:47

remember things about the

47:49

physical plane. Real general things. Telephones,

47:53

TVs, wars, placemats

47:55

at Chinese restaurants. But

47:58

I don't remember... me.

48:01

The only me I remember is

48:04

the me at Desert Skies. I've

48:08

asked Cass to request a bio so many

48:10

times I've lost count, and

48:12

every time she says the same

48:15

thing, I'm unable to submit bio

48:17

request for current staff. I

48:21

know I've asked you before, Mac, but you don't

48:23

remember anything else about me when I got

48:25

here? Just the same stuff I

48:27

told you before, Tindy. You showed

48:29

up, got out of the

48:31

car, walked past me like I wasn't

48:33

even there dead silent. You

48:36

went inside. I started prepping your

48:38

vehicle for the journey and when I went to tell

48:40

you it was ready, you were

48:42

already standing behind the counter. The

48:45

old attendant had slipped out the back and took the car

48:47

meant for you. I

48:49

guess he was finally ready to hit the road. Funny

48:53

thing is, I never

48:55

got back. Come here. Look

48:58

at this. What's he doing?

49:00

He's chewing. What's that in his hand?

49:04

That, my friend, is

49:06

Deborah Cobb. The

49:09

full essence of her existence,

49:11

desires, purpose, and

49:13

romantic history meticulously crafted

49:15

into an artisan style

49:18

burrito. Well,

49:21

I'll be damned. I've never seen

49:23

a man sob and eat a burrito at the

49:25

same time. I

49:28

have. You said

49:30

you'd never mention that again. Hey

49:33

fellas. Hey

49:35

Lawrence, you all right? Yeah,

49:38

you know what? I am. I think

49:41

I'm ready to go. But you don't

49:43

have anything. Don't need anything. You

49:46

don't have to, but you sure you don't want

49:48

to grab some snacks for the road? At

49:52

least let me grab you a map. No need. I

49:54

ain't stopping. Well, okay

49:57

then. Sounds like you're ready. As

50:00

I'll ever be. Thanks,

50:02

fellas. For everything. And

50:23

that was the last time that we ever saw

50:25

Lawrence Cobb. As

50:28

his tail lights faded into the distance, we

50:31

were reminded of the power of love. And

50:34

its ability to cause wandering souls

50:36

to find resolve. Perhaps,

50:39

each one of them... Give it a rest,

50:42

Mac. Look. He's

50:44

turning around. Maybe

50:49

he's coming back for something. I don't

50:51

think so. He's not

50:53

slowing down. And

50:59

there he goes. Nothing

51:04

you could have done, Tindy. I

51:07

really thought he was gonna make it. Who's

51:09

to say he didn't? Seems

51:12

to me like he made it exactly where

51:14

he wanted to go. The freezer

51:16

aisle. Come on, Tindy. We got

51:19

a 35th variety now. Let's

51:21

see what it is. We're gonna need

51:23

a bigger freezer. You go ahead. I'm

51:27

gonna submit my traveler report. Hey,

51:31

Cash. Hello,

51:33

attendant. I'd like to

51:36

submit my traveler report for Lawrence

51:38

Cobb. I am ready

51:40

to capture your report. Another

51:44

traveler has coming on. Lawrence

51:47

Cobb never departed for his trip

51:50

across the celestial spheres. It

51:53

seems that he found a reason to

51:55

head the other direction. It's

51:58

different this time. Though, he

52:01

wasn't trying to return to the physical plane, at

52:03

least as far as I can tell. He

52:07

knew what the outcome of driving that direction

52:09

would be, and that seemed

52:11

to be his intention. To

52:14

follow the path that his dearly departed

52:16

Deborah had taken just three

52:18

years before, I hope he

52:20

found what he was looking for. That's

52:23

the end of my report, Cash. It's

52:30

probably time we requested a second freezer. 34

52:34

varieties of microwavable burritos is just about

52:36

all we have room for. Looks

52:38

like you're not up to 35 varieties just

52:40

yet, bud. What do you mean? There

52:43

you go. Look for yourself. Lawrence

52:46

and Debbie's Chicken and Waffle Stuffed Burrito?

52:48

Uh-huh. And read the back. This

52:51

delicious microwavable snack is

52:54

dedicated to Lawrence and Deborah

52:57

Cobb, whose

52:59

love for one another transcends the

53:01

boundaries of the known planes.

53:04

May their essences enjoy an eternity

53:06

of artisanal bliss together. Peace

53:09

the flavor of love. Another

53:11

trouble. Another

53:13

trouble. Hey

54:00

everyone, thanks so much for listening. All the links

54:02

to the show you've just heard are in the

54:05

show notes below. Definitely check them out

54:07

and subscribe to their feeds if you like what you heard today.

54:09

I hope you enjoyed this episode of Leviathan

54:11

Presents and maybe you've discovered a new show

54:13

that you'd like to binge. We're looking forward

54:15

to bringing you some more amazing audio dramas

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to discover and letting you meet some of

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the phenomenally talented creators that are driving this

54:22

renaissance in audio fiction today. Stay

54:24

subscribed to this feed for more installments

54:26

of Leviathan Presents as well as all

54:28

the full episodes of the Leviathan Chronicles,

54:30

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54:32

all the other spinoffs we have planned.

54:34

This is Christoph signing off for now.

54:37

Thanks again for listening. I'll be talking to you all

54:39

real soon. Bye now.

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