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1:30

Wake of corrosion. This

1:47

is a pre-recorded message from Professor Brian

1:49

Bunker A12. This is a public

1:52

broadcast to any survivors out there. Over

1:54

the last few months I have been sharing with you the

1:56

story of two brothers who found themselves plunged

1:59

into a world of nightmares. our

2:01

world. Right now I too

2:03

am in that world and I endeavor to find

2:05

answers in the wreckage to

2:07

discover a way forward, a way

2:09

home. As always I advise

2:12

this in our discretion going

2:14

forward.

2:19

They're back. We've got them. Alright,

2:22

we're broadcasting now. Let's go. Elliot,

2:26

Ryan, are you there? Jess,

2:29

Jess, can you hear us? We've

2:31

got you. Loud and clear. So

2:33

glad you cleared that up earlier Elliot. I

2:36

know you said you were pretending but honestly

2:38

we were a bit worried about you both

2:41

there. Like I said, I'm

2:43

not proud of that side of me. I

2:46

did some awful things and one

2:48

of the reasons it took so long for

2:50

me to leave that place was all the other

2:52

stuff they wanted me to do that I avoided. I'd

2:57

never want to hurt someone, not

2:59

unless I had no other trace.

3:00

And well,

3:04

yeah. You did what you had to do Elliot.

3:07

We know. Listen, before

3:09

we lose you again, Frankie, George

3:12

and I have been working on something. Something

3:14

for you Elliot. You're

3:18

good to go. Elliot?

3:21

Brother? Roman. Roman,

3:24

holy shit. Roman. Roman,

3:26

I thought I'd never get to speak to you properly again. Roman,

3:29

Roman, you're there. You're actually

3:32

there. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I am you

3:34

soppy git. Chill out. Are

3:36

you fucking kidding me? Chill out. Roman,

3:39

I thought you were dead. Psh, you're not that

3:41

lucky mate. No, seriously

3:44

though. I frickin' missed you. Like...

3:47

Yeah. A lot. Roman,

3:50

Roman, I need you to know that I

3:52

never meant to leave you alone. I was

3:54

just so upset. I was so frustrated,

3:57

so... Afraid. I know

3:59

brother.

3:59

Me too. And I understand.

4:03

Jess told me about what happened to you. I'm

4:05

sorry I didn't go after you. What?

4:08

No, I just... Fuck

4:10

it. Roman. Roman, I'm just

4:12

glad you're alive. I'm really

4:15

fucking glad you're alive. Oh,

4:18

brother, I missed you. I'm gonna go sort

4:20

this mess out. I'm getting Claire

4:23

and your kids back, and I'm sorting this

4:25

goddamn mess out. Then

4:27

me and you meet me and you stay

4:29

in frickin' putt. No off-grid camping.

4:32

No phone bullshit. We're

4:35

staying putt, and we are staying

4:37

together. I should have never left

4:39

you. It's just you and me, Roman.

4:42

You and me. Just

4:46

give me some time, alright? Ryan

4:48

and I are gonna sort this out. Elliot,

4:53

I don't think... Shut up. Just

4:55

shut up, okay? I love

4:57

you and I don't need to hear your excuses. Whatever it

4:59

is, whatever has happened to you, we are

5:02

getting out of this. Wow. Someone

5:05

became a hero in my absence. But

5:07

hey, I'm not complaining about this new found.

5:10

I

5:13

can't conf... Confidence?

5:17

Sorry, your confidence. I

5:19

love it. I love you. I'll

5:22

be here every step of the way. And

5:24

yes, it was me you could hear before.

5:28

I just... Well, I

5:30

wasn't fully in control. That

5:33

and I couldn't hear you. I

5:35

was tempted to go full spirit world on you.

5:38

You? You could hear him before? I

5:41

didn't say anything because I thought

5:43

I was losing it. I

5:46

mean, you can see why. Right.

5:50

Of course you did, bro. I really should

5:52

have played to that. You are such a dick.

5:55

Wait, wait, Roman. If

5:57

that was you, then you do realize

5:59

that.

5:59

Every time you did it, some creature ended up stalking

6:02

me, or anyone who was nearby

6:04

for that matter. Holy

6:06

shit, mate! I... Oh,

6:09

fuck! I'm so sorry! I

6:12

just...

6:12

I thought I was- Alright lads, we

6:15

can't be to blame for everything that's happened.

6:18

I think we all know you'd never intentionally do that

6:20

to your brother, Roman. But listen,

6:22

we've got some more pressing matters coming

6:25

up, right, Elliot? Unfortunately,

6:27

we're still trying to find- Naya,

6:30

I know where she is. Are it all

6:33

converges? Are

6:35

it all meats and twists and

6:37

turns into one? Fuck off!

6:40

Sorry.

6:42

Sorry. I know where

6:44

she is. Or the name,

6:46

anyway. St. Tail Face. School.

6:49

Turn it round! Turn it round! Back

6:53

up this road. Next left and keep going. Aye-aye,

6:55

Captain! Left

6:57

path first. I think. Then

7:00

three days from now, aye? Let's

7:05

do this. Man! How

7:08

did you know? I've got eyes in the back of

7:10

my head, bro. No,

7:12

seriously. I don't know what the

7:14

fuck is going on, but I can see and hear

7:17

all sorts of shit. Well,

7:19

I'm pretty certain I overheard exactly what you're

7:21

looking for. You're gonna have to

7:23

explain that to me someday. Like,

7:26

I've been with them, and I

7:29

don't know what the hell you're in about. The portals,

7:31

mate. They're my frickin' eyes. Jesus.

7:36

All right, well, whatever the hell this is,

7:39

I'm taking your word for it. Just

7:41

straight

7:42

on here, right? Yeah, I'll tell you

7:44

when to take the next exit, providing that the road

7:46

is still clear. All

7:48

right. Jess, how long can we

7:50

get this channel to Rome in open for?

7:52

Well, it takes a bit more power than the

7:54

usual broadcast. We've got all

7:57

sorts of connectors and wiring that I don't

7:59

really understand. going on over here. What

8:02

do you think Frankie?

8:03

Really couldn't say. We've not

8:05

had something like this set up before so

8:08

I'm not sure. I've got it set

8:11

up to warn us when it starts eating into our allotted

8:13

power for the day though so we won't run

8:15

the risk of messing with the bunker support systems.

8:18

So Elle, Jess

8:21

told me what happened to you. I can't

8:24

believe you managed to pull that off. Yeah I

8:26

know right. Still

8:28

can't believe it myself. Heard

8:30

that you actually got to see Claire? Mate

8:34

that felt like a lifetime ago. It

8:37

hurt you know like

8:40

way more than what happened with the tendrils. It

8:43

just hurt. I'm just glad you saw

8:45

her. Glad you gave her our recordings.

8:48

Remember how much you

8:48

used to take the piss out of me for those? You

8:51

never thought someone else would read or listen

8:53

to them. Yeah yeah I

8:56

know. Told you so. Something

9:00

was off though man. Wait

9:02

about what? I don't know. Just everything

9:04

that happened when Claire arrived and left again.

9:06

I don't know. I was

9:09

probably just out of it. I

9:11

just everything just felt off.

9:14

To be fair though nothing has felt right

9:16

since all of that. She didn't remember

9:18

you. Like at all.

9:21

Yeah the rifts they

9:24

make you forget stuff. Elliot I'm

9:26

sorry to say she didn't remember you even

9:28

after getting most of her memory back. Most.

9:31

Anyway it's fine remembering you is

9:34

way more important. Do

9:36

you remember when you met Jim? Um

9:39

yeah A7 right? I

9:42

wonder what happened to him. He was a

9:44

good guy. He said he was supposed to

9:46

be A12. That's why he was listening

9:48

to you. Except none of the bunker

9:51

engineering team remember him. I've

9:53

been mulling this over for a while now though and there's

9:55

no way that could have affected the three of

9:57

them. Even when Matilda, rest or so, was...

9:59

who was part of the team. She never mentioned it

10:02

once. They trained together for Christ's

10:04

sake. I just don't think it's a coincidence.

10:07

Wait, what are you suggesting? I'm

10:10

suggesting there's a lot more here than we truly know.

10:12

The shadows, the missing people, the rifts,

10:15

the rust and rapid growth. The fact

10:17

that you arrived at the site of A12 to find

10:19

it missing. It's like the three worlds

10:21

that Claire spoke of emerged, converged.

10:24

But things are different in each one. Jim is

10:26

different. I'm different.

10:29

Right? Perhaps.

10:33

No, no. Sorry, but that can't be right.

10:36

There's no Roman without Elliot. No

10:38

Elliot without Roman. There's not a world

10:40

where Elliot is different or gone or not

10:42

or whatever. He's my brother. That's

10:45

not how this works. Roman, I'm

10:47

afraid we don't know how any of this works anymore.

10:50

And you are living proof of that, my friend. Look,

10:53

we can speculate all we want and who knows, maybe

10:55

Jim was lying. Maybe he just had fantasies

10:57

about being a bunker engineer. We don't

10:59

know because he vanished. And look,

11:03

let's just focus on what we've got to do. All right. Find

11:06

Nia. Get clear. Get to the bottom of this.

11:08

Just get some answers. Anything. Exactly.

11:12

And that's all the place to start. Roman,

11:14

can you fucking see anything else? What?

11:19

Jess? Jess,

11:21

I can't hear him. What's going

11:23

on? Hold up.

11:25

Ryan? Fuck.

11:29

Fuck. It's

11:32

all right, Roman. Really, it's all

11:34

right. There are some patchy areas.

11:37

We'll sort it out. How are we looking

11:39

for power, Frankie? Uh, judging

11:42

by the drop since we started, we've got enough

11:44

for maybe 10, 15 minutes.

11:47

Roman, care to share what you told

11:49

George earlier? Well, Elliot, hear

11:51

this too. I doubt it,

11:53

but you guys will have the chance to talk again.

11:56

Why? Do you think he'll want to hear

11:59

it? I just want him to know I'm... I'm still here. I

12:01

worry that's all. I worry

12:03

he'll think I'm not me anymore. So

12:07

I've had a chance to- CONVERGEANCE. Oh

12:11

fuck sake.

12:13

Sorry. I've

12:16

had a chance to get a little bit more understanding of this place.

12:19

I say, this place. But

12:22

I don't think I'm somewhere else. I think

12:24

I really am in A12. I

12:27

know I am.

12:28

It's just that I don't seem to have a physical

12:30

form other than the Rift itself. It

12:33

in no way resembles me. George

12:35

tells me I sound just like Sarah. Claire's

12:38

friend at Ralford. And

12:40

we... we don't know

12:42

what happened to her. And...

12:46

well that worries me slightly. But

12:49

anyway, there's obviously something else that's infected

12:51

me. Or something to that effect.

12:55

I dunno. It's hard to really define

12:57

it. But that voice keeps coming

12:59

out. It's not me. But

13:02

it really doesn't have much to say. It's

13:05

always as though it's focused on a set path.

13:07

On one thing. The

13:10

C words. I think you've

13:12

heard them enough already.

13:14

It's not just that though. It

13:16

seems to want nothing more than to open this Rift.

13:19

The Rift I'm part of. Wide

13:21

open for those nightmares to charge through. I

13:24

don't know how. But I've managed

13:26

to stop it for now.

13:28

I'm hoping I don't have to try and do it again

13:30

though. Because honestly, I'm

13:33

not sure what I did. And I'd hate

13:35

to have to try and repeat it when there are lives on the

13:37

line. Or lives.

13:40

What's more interesting and... well

13:44

something I do understand though, is what

13:46

I can see.

13:48

How can I explain this? It's

13:50

like... I want

13:52

you to imagine that you're in a completely dark room.

13:55

You can't see a thing. And

13:57

in front of you, every so often these windows

13:59

open.

13:59

open up. Through each one

14:02

of these you can see something completely different. Now

14:05

some of them stay open for a while. This

14:08

one in A12 for example has been open since

14:10

shortly after I remember becoming conscious again.

14:12

And that one is in the centre.

14:15

It's the largest window.

14:17

Other small ones come and

14:20

go. Sometimes it's just another

14:22

blank space. Sometimes

14:24

I'm high up in the sky. Other

14:26

times, well there's things going

14:28

on. And the most recent, the most

14:30

recent was the school. St. Eelphies.

14:33

I think that's how you pronounce it.

14:36

I heard Naya's name mentioned there. That

14:39

one keeps flickering. Like

14:41

the open window is caught in a breeze that makes

14:43

the light from it flicker. That's

14:45

the weird thing. It's like something

14:48

is messing with it. Interacting with

14:50

it.

14:51

And what about the space between? I can't

14:54

really say that it makes me all that comfortable to retell

14:56

this part of what I saw, what I see.

14:59

I suppose

15:01

it's for the best though. So that people know. So we

15:04

don't have a repeat of what George told me had already

15:07

happened. God I hate the idea

15:09

of seeing people walk through these things. I

15:11

did before I knew this, and I do even more

15:14

so now. I hate that Claire has

15:16

gone through so many. But I know for

15:18

well that it's just her luck to have made it through each

15:20

time with only missing memories. All

15:25

right. In

15:27

the time that I've been conscious, I've seen

15:29

many windows open and close. Most

15:32

never get used and I'm sure there's hundreds more

15:34

I never see at all. But

15:36

there's some,

15:38

somewhere there are people waiting and

15:40

somewhere people find them and well

15:43

they all end up going through. Now

15:46

you might think, well that's not a bad idea. You

15:48

just lose something from your memory. And

15:52

like Claire said, you've just got to make sure it

15:54

doesn't lead to the wasteland in between that

15:56

desolate place. Except you're

15:58

wrong. wrong. I'll

16:01

tell you about the last one I saw. A man.

16:04

A young looking man, maybe early 20s.

16:06

He's

16:07

standing on the other side of this window when it opens.

16:09

He's not a cultist, he's just a survivor.

16:12

Someone like Elliot or I, out

16:15

in the wild. He's all geared up and ready.

16:18

The guy takes a charging run at the rift. Hopefully

16:20

he can escape the blistering winter he seems trapped

16:23

in.

16:24

Now, usually, when people step

16:26

through they vanish. I can't see them anymore.

16:29

But the moment a single foot cross

16:31

that threshold, a grey oily

16:33

vine snaps out from the black

16:36

I'm in

16:37

and crunches tightly around

16:39

his ankle. It's like I see it all

16:41

happen in slow motion. The man's

16:43

body goes from upright to horizontal in one

16:46

smooth motion and one by one, the

16:48

vines which are so much like tendrils.

16:51

Whip out from the darkness and wrap

16:53

around every limb. Every

16:55

part of this poor man's body until he's nothing

16:57

more than a pulped mass. Each

17:00

part of his body squeezed into and

17:02

bulging out of the next. Then,

17:06

like he's nothing more than petals on a flower, he's

17:08

pulled apart. And

17:10

I see, just about, his

17:13

body pulled back out of the edges of my vision and

17:16

the voice in my head stops only

17:18

for a few moments, but it stops.

17:21

I don't enjoy speculation. I'm

17:24

sure those of you who've listened to everything we've

17:26

been through will know that about me now.

17:28

But it doesn't take much to deduce what that

17:30

means, and I'm terrified by it. This

17:32

thing is bigger though. I

17:35

mean like seriously fucking big.

17:38

As in sometimes I see the darkness beyond

17:40

the windows move, like when your eyes

17:42

play tricks on you.

17:43

But it's not that. I know

17:46

what that feels like. I've had night terrors,

17:48

I've had sleep paralysis, I've seen

17:50

things that weren't there. This isn't

17:53

that.

17:54

This really, really isn't that. And

17:57

fuck. It's just...

18:00

God, I just hope so strongly,

18:03

hope, that I'm...

18:06

Oh fuck, this

18:08

isn't something I should be hoping. I just

18:11

don't want that happening to me. And I just

18:13

really fucking hope my physical form, if

18:16

there even is one anymore, is in

18:18

here with me.

18:19

God, how

18:22

is this even something I'm saying? That

18:25

I'm witnessing? And that

18:27

wasn't the only time you saw it happen, right,

18:29

Roman? No,

18:33

unfortunately. There

18:36

have been others. Others

18:38

to a similar effect, at least. Now

18:41

if only I could master closing my eyes.

18:44

The toll this is taking. It's

18:47

a lot. Having

18:49

Elliot will help. Any

18:52

luck with that, Jess?

18:53

No, sorry, Roman. You

18:56

said that you weren't certain how you stopped the creatures

18:59

coming through last time. But I'm

19:01

curious. Could you see them on

19:03

your side? Wherever you are?

19:05

No. The tentacles,

19:07

if that's what I should call them, are the only

19:09

things I've seen here. That and

19:12

the windows. I just

19:14

thought about it and, well, I

19:16

guess I tried to will it to happen?

19:19

I mean, what else could I do?

19:21

Well, I'm glad it worked.

19:24

One other thing, though. Elliot

19:27

said, and we've seen this in action,

19:30

that he's able to stop some creatures, or,

19:33

well, instruct them using command

19:35

words. I just wonder whether

19:37

what you did was something similar, just

19:40

on a kind of metaphysical level,

19:43

rather than a verbal one.

19:44

Perhaps

19:47

I... I'll think about it, Jess. But

19:49

aside from it happening again, I'm not really sure what

19:51

I could do.

19:52

Um, just keep an eye

19:54

on any coming through other rifts, since

19:56

we know that's how it happens. One

19:59

less thing.

19:59

I think, Roman. You said you

20:02

saw the survivor in a frozen wasteland.

20:05

Does that mean... can you see

20:08

all three of the... the

20:10

versions that Claire talked about?

20:12

Yeah, yeah. It's just like

20:14

she said. One

20:17

like home in summer, one like home in winter,

20:19

and one completely beyond all recognition.

20:22

A wasteland. Where the wind

20:25

howls and there are countless shadows wandering,

20:28

lingering. Where those

20:30

things come from. Where we converge.

20:34

Where the stars that fill the space between

20:36

us coalesce and become a whirling

20:40

arcane flight of dark. Where

20:42

you end, I

20:44

continue.

21:04

Thank you for listening. If

21:06

you'd like to hear more news and updates,

21:08

follow us on social media at Wake

21:11

of Corrosion. You can also support

21:13

the show via our Patreon at

21:15

patreon.com forward slash

21:18

wake of corrosion. Joining at any

21:20

tier will get you access to all future

21:22

episodes one week early.

21:24

Thank you so much to our generous Patreon

21:26

subscribers who have helped me to continue

21:28

making and improving the show. Finny,

21:31

Grumpy

21:31

Coy, Maddy, Colkay, Ty,

21:34

Eileen, Karen, PJ, Return

21:36

Descendant, MJ Van Steenburg, Mec

21:38

G, James, Sy, and

21:41

Bo. Thank you all so much.

21:44

Wake of Corrosion was written, directed,

21:47

and produced by Sean Pellington

21:50

and is part of the Rusty Quill Network,

21:53

with voice acting from

21:55

Adele Cliff as Jess, Kieran

21:58

Walsh as Professor Ryan. Sean

22:00

Pellington as Elliot, Lee Pellington

22:03

as Roman, Jess Cyret as

22:05

Frankie. Intro theme,

22:08

phantasm and outro theme Shadowlands 5,

22:11

Anti-Chamber were created by Kevin MacLeod

22:13

at Incompetech.com, licensed

22:16

under Creative Commons by Attribution 4.0.

22:19

Both pieces are reduced from their originals

22:21

with fade-out effects, character voiceover

22:24

and radio static effects. Morse

22:27

Code SFX from morsecode.world,

22:30

courtesy of Stephen C Phillips. Full

22:34

credits and transcripts can be

22:36

found at wakeofcorrosion.com. Thank

22:40

you for listening, and remember, don't

22:43

wander in the dark.

23:27

Hey, listener. If you own or work

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for a small business, Acast wants to

23:32

unlock the power of podcasting for your

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brand with a Pod Power Up. Pod

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Power Up is giving small businesses in the US

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a chance to win a fully paid for podcast

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including having your ad creative

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produced. To be

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in for a chance of winning, simply go

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powerup and tell us about your business

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and what you'd be promoting with a podcast ad campaign.

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That's go.acast.com.powerup. Good

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luck.