Gregory 0:00 You have many whirring eyes and strong, beautiful coiled steel legs and were made long ago when the city still stood. Brendan 0:09 I'm Brendan and I'm playing the kudu named Teacher, or Tragos. My duty is to teach the humans what they need to know so that they do not repeat the mistakes of the past. And someone has been assaulted. We cannot have them killing each other over food. Zoë 0:24 I'm Zoë and I'm playing the Manchurian crane named Tancho. I remember when the water of the marshes was red after war. And I do not wish to see that again. It is not good for the fishes and the plants who live in the marsh. Melissa 0:38 I'm Melissa and I'm playing the oribi Overrun. I have just made them a bunch of food. You know, to catch a thief is exciting. But I was also gonna go outside and maybe make some more plants. And then go fix the marsh. With some more plants. It's kind of my thing. What's under the town here? Gregory 0:56 Tunnels. It's where we get the glass. Brendan 0:59 I taught you both better than this. Gregory 1:01 So, Teacher, you're with the Dome now too? Did you teach them how to make those weapons? Brendan 1:05 No, I did not, I... Gregory 1:06 Why should we trust you anymore?! Soon you see this the shadow emerging into the light. Its skin is black metal and its legs are strong coiled steel and it's got 18 eyes spread across its face. And it slowly approaches walking on back legs and front knuckles. Lucy 1:29 I'm Lucy and I'm playing Trial the Arabian oryx. Trial is now in session. Gregory 1:36 Trial. Are they still feeding you? And it lifts one of those big feet and just like stomps on a pile of fruit and like grinds it into the ground. Welcome to Tabletop Garden, an actual play podcast where we collaborate on short, self-contained stories about interesting characters, and we do it with an agenda. I'm Gregory Avery-Weir. As always, our agenda will be to honestly portray diverse characters, pursue healthy play practices, and craft story with social responsibility. Now the conclusion to Mechanical Oryx by Grant Howitt. Melissa 2:20 I'm definitely going to come over at this point. I didn't. I was joking when I said that I left because she made that joke. Gregory 2:25 Okay. Zoë 2:25 But I'm going to come over and just sort of, now that there's a commotion, see what's going on and try to get the things attention. Like... What... what... what are you doing? Why are you... why are you doing this? These people already destroy enough themselves. They don't need any more help. It looks up at you and it says, "I need food too." And it crushes some more... another footfall of of worth of food. Lucy 2:55 Sunny? Can you tell us what it is you hunger for? Zoë 2:59 It says, "The same thing as you." And it keeps like stomping and like... it tears open a closed basket of some sort of grain. Did you say that steam was coming out of it? Gregory 3:10 Yeah, it when it punched the cage, steam came out of its fist. Zoë 3:14 So is it like hydraulic? Like... Can I can I try to freeze it if it's got water running through it? Gregory 3:21 Sure! Zoë 3:21 All right. Well, I've definitely acting with hate so I will roll 3d6. Gregory 3:27 And you're using a module. Zoë 3:28 I am using a module... oh and then I add a... Gregory 3:32 3d6 + 1d8. Zoë 3:32 Thank you for your help. 16. And I am... and doubles. Brendan 3:38 Oh, no! Melissa 3:39 Oh, no. What is lost forever? Gregory 3:42 So are you heating or are you freezing? Zoë 3:44 Freezing, I gu... well. Hmm. No. Probably heating because I might blow them up. Gregory 3:51 Okay, what does this thing look like? Or is it a beam? Is it... Zoë 3:55 I imagine it I have to contact it. So I'm going to try to scoot in. And like... is this an open air thing? Like, could I fly at 'em and try and grab him with my...? Gregory 4:03 You could definitely go in through the hole in the in the enclosure. Zoë 4:08 Sure! I'll use my bird skills and do that. So you swoop into this gorilla sized hole which you probably have to like, tuck your wings back as you go through in order to not clip them, and you... what what part to touch him with? Or maybe I just have to flap at him. I think flapping at things make sense. Gregory 4:25 Okay. Zoë 4:26 ...to warm them up and touching them to make them cold. So you kind of dive in and then flap your wings and the hydraulics that are part of of its fist tense up. And you see like his fist pop forward in that full extension that was only there for an instant as he punched. And then there's a burst of steam and bits and pieces of his arm start flying off and shards of metal go flying everywhere. And they just rattle off of the two of you completely harmlessly. But you hear a grunt from behind you and one of the guards slumps to the floor with a big shard of metal sticking in his neck. Oh boy, that's going to leave a mark. Lucy 5:10 Oh, he was so unworthy. Zoë 5:13 And the gorilla runs past you like just shoulder forward and seems to be trying to run away Brendan 5:20 Could we not come to some sort of equitable arrangement here? Perhaps you could stay and we could think of a way to help you. Gregory 5:29 Unless you are doing something else, I don't think that outcome is in doubt. I don't think that's going to stop it. Lucy 5:34 Well, do... have we discussed... do our... the things that we have can they work on other oryxes? Gregory 5:41 Probably depends on the thing. Lucy 5:42 I'm thinking of poofs. Gregory 5:45 What do you think? We called them pheromones... we called your rapture things pheromones. Lucy 5:51 Yeah, the rapture poofs. So you think pheromones would probably not work on a mechanical thing? Gregory 5:57 I don't know. I guess the question is, how much meat do you all have? Lucy 6:02 Oh, that is an interesting question. Melissa 6:04 It is. Brendan 6:05 I thought of myself as completely mechanical. Melissa 6:08 I had too. So no meat? But maybe? Gregory 6:11 I don't I don't think your rapture poofs are going to work on it. Melissa 6:15 Maybe that's... I mean it doesn't have to be a universal. Zoë 6:18 Yeah, that's that's an interesting question. I am thinking of like the terrifying flesh baby monster at the end of Akira that's kind of like both wires... like it starts out partially mechanical and then turns into meat but maybe that's because I just saw that movie recently. Gregory 6:34 I think I've been visualizing this one as also completely mechanical. Brendan 6:38 I guess I will just try to be more imposing by running toward it... them... with my cacaphony hooves. Gregory 6:51 Okay. Lucy 6:51 Which is gonna make a huge amount of noise, by the way, and wake up everybody who's asleep, probably. Zoë 6:58 Sweet. Gregory 6:59 Give me a roll. Lucy 6:59 I am now acting with love. Gregory 7:02 Okay. Melissa 7:03 Love of who? Gregory 7:03 Make sure you're marking fuel. Lucy 7:06 Uh huh. I am. Brendan 7:07 Love of justice. Gregory 7:09 1d4 + 1d8 since you're using a module. Lucy 7:12 K. Gregory 7:12 So you rolled four and two which is six, which is not a success. Brendan 7:17 The dice gods are angry today. Zoë 7:19 Overrun and Tragos: You can hear this enormous noise coming from the center of town and you see like torches starting being lit as people are woken up and you can see this kind of trail of steam moving through the Dome village. And presumably both Tancho and Trial are chasing? Sure, yeah. Lucy 7:42 Yeah. Brendan 7:43 I'm going to start booking in as fast as I can. Melissa 7:45 Yeah. Gregory 7:46 Ok. So you all run, coming together from various parts of the Dome and outside the Dome. Tancho and Trial are up front. The other two of you can't see exactly what they're chasing. You can see this dark shape, just kind of bounding through town. Tancho and Trial, you see it disappear into one of those tunnels... Hmm. ...that are spaced evenly around the outer slope of the Dome. Lucy 8:10 Hi. I'm gonna follow cacophonously. Gregory 8:13 All right. Zoë 8:13 That's going to be really loud in that tunnel. Melissa 8:17 You're very good at adverbs, Lucy. Lucy 8:21 I don't know if that's a compliment. Gregory 8:24 Death to all adverbs. So are all of you heading into the tunnels? Melissa 8:27 Yes. Gregory 8:28 All right. Brendan 8:28 Yeah. Zoë 8:29 Definitely. Gregory 8:29 You head into the darkness, the echoing, loud, loud darkness of the underground. Alright, let's pause for a moment and talk about our last agenda item. Zoë 8:50 So our last principle is to craft story with social responsibility. Because we can craft any story we will craft stories that improve the world. We won't ignore dark realities, or avoid exploring rough topics. But we will always leave room for hope and justice. Good stories and good conscience are friends, not enemies. Do you agree with that? Lucy 9:13 Absolutely. Brendan 9:14 You can tell a story about something that's dark and unpleasant or about something going wrong without glorifying that or wallowing in it. Melissa 9:23 I think if we keep doing this more, it'll be a good opportunity to... I don't know, make sure that we're not staying too optim... I don't know. There there's so much room for stories with gray area and where where the morality isn't as cut and dry than if... If you always read stories that have that sort of, yeah, fable-like black and white morality, it starts to get a little old. Or if you're always sort of reusing the same agenda if that makes sense. Zoë 9:54 Like I'm thinking of the China Mieville book that I'm reading right now that I'm probably going to return to the library without finishing. I know that China Mieville is a leftist lecturer and I know-- I'm familiar with his political opinions. And in a lot of his books, he's able to express that without it seeming forced and obvious. But in this book, it's not like that at all. It does feel forced and obvious and it takes away from the story. And I'm I'm always on the lookout for, like, at what point are we trying to tell stories that paint a picture of a world that we would like to be a part of or characters that we are proud of? And at what point is it just like showing off your high and mighty belief system? Gregory 10:37 Your wokeness? Zoë 10:38 Yeah, exactly. Brendan 10:40 My opinions. Let me show you them. Zoë 10:41 I mean, sometimes I think that what improves the world... like, being an ethical story crafter or an enriching story crafter means that you are making dark things. Mm hmm. Gregory 10:52 So we mentioned earlier the weirdness of post apocalyptic fiction in general. And this, this idea that that the setting implies that when you homogenize humanity, you make them weak and stupid. Melissa 11:08 Yeah. Brendan 11:09 I don't know that that's necessarily an interpretation. If you focus on that one line, yes, but I think it also could be something about whatever happened to make the cities fall. So much of the knowledge was lost, that the people that are left are having a real hard time surviving without help. Melissa 11:25 Well, so that the way it's worded: to use "song" specifically? "They sing songs they don't understand." Obviously, that's a metaphor for like, they don't get old language, right. But "teach us the song that makes fruit grow?" That's primitivism. That is specifically... Brendan 11:42 Yeah. Melissa 11:42 ...a reference to rain dances, right? Like that. specifically saying these people have been brought back to a place that we consider primitive. And we are the shepherds or destroyers or more powerful creatures, although... maybe you didn't have to play someone more powerful. But there's definitely I think there's a power dynamic, right? The strong, beautiful coiled steel legs as opposed to the soft brown people who tend to fruit trees? Brendan 12:08 Yeah, yeah, I'm not saying... we're we're definitely supposed to be playing caretakers, you know, folks that are in a position of power. Melissa 12:14 Yeah. Brendan 12:15 But I was objecting to the idea that homogeonizing people made them dumb. I think that the cataclysm both led to, you know, maybe a different demographics after and also lost knowledge. I don't think that... Gregory 12:28 Yeah, I mean, I think there are different readings that one could take from the setting info. Brendan 12:33 Yeah. Melissa 12:33 Yeah, but to believe in curses again. Zoë 12:35 Yeah, we get three examples. And one of them is about curses, one of them is not understanding what phantoms are (is the implication) and the other one is believing that songs make fruit grow, which maybe they do in this world? Brendan 12:46 The fall, whatever, made the cities fall, you know, definitely lost a huge amount of... they lost a huge amount of information. That's part of what I was going for with the Teacher character is, this is this is somebody who's trying to go around and rebuild things like, okay, we lost a bunch of stuff. I'm trying to bring it back. Melissa 13:04 Oh, so there's an interesting aspect. If the information was actually lost, why do you have it? Why do YOU have it? Brendan 13:15 I'm not entirely sure. Melissa 13:17 That is directly colonialism, right? Like... Lucy 13:20 Oh, snap. Zoë 13:21 There is this this kind of concept at the core of a lot of post apocalyptic fiction, which is: when the world is ruined, and if it wasn't for the society that's sort of holding a character back, that character could save everyone, right? Like a lot of post apocalyptic fiction is about I'll be the, the Postman, I'll be the, you know, the Mad Max who goes and saves people. Everyone is helpless except for this character, who once I'm not restrained by society, and once everyone else needs me, I'll be able to demonstrate my usefulness. Melissa 13:54 Hmm, yeah. Brendan 13:55 This what I'm thinking for, for this character, though, is more before the fall, they were, you know, supposed to be in charge of helping to teach... they were a teacher but you know, not necessarily considered superpowered. But after the fall, they still have their original impulses. Like, my job is to help teach people stuff. It's, it's less, I'm going to save everybody and more, "Well, this is what I'd good for. So... I know a lot of stuff..." Lucy 14:22 Teaching is definitely not free from the vestiges of colonialism. Melissa 14:29 And I think we can, I mean, we can critique the system as independent from the characters we built, right? Like, what is the system laying in front of us? And how are we trying to subvert both "this is the world we live in," and what this system sets up. Zoë 14:42 I think, tying to our earlier discussion of characters we're representing, like... The fact that we have some characters who have... we've got this, probably the least evil character, it feels like for my morality, I'd say is Teacher right? Because it's... they're trying to help people, even if they sort of clearly have this, this opinion that these people need their help and need to listen to them. And I think one of the things that I really like about this system is how it's built mechanically to make you these... things that probably try hard, but also ruin things sometimes. Brendan 15:20 Hmm. Gregory 15:21 Or ruin things often. Yeah, and I think that in and of itself is sort of disrupting that sort of colonial concept, right? Like... Lucy 15:29 Yeah. Gregory 15:30 ...these critters can sometimes do good, but they also cause harm. Brendan 15:34 Yeah, I agree with that. That's a good point. Melissa 15:36 Yeah. Zoë 15:36 I think examining this sort of thing in systems is useful, and also like examining how things are usually portrayed. If we're doing post apocalyptic fiction, which... the next story I'm considering is also post apocalyptic. Melissa 15:50 But is it solar punk? Gregory 15:52 It is not solarpunk. Not at all. It is animepunk. Zoë 15:57 But like, I think that part of that social responsibility is at least examining that stuff and trying to compensate for it. Brendan 16:05 I do like the idea that two of the characters seem to have been created to try to mold the world in a certain direction, and are maybe a little too good at it? Melissa 16:16 Yep. So are we succeeding in subverting? Gregory 16:19 I don't know. Melissa 16:19 I don't think we are, so far. And I mean, this is where we are. The soft brown people are still relatively helpless. We're the ones saving the day even as we... Zoë 16:30 Are we? Melissa 16:31 ...as we leave ruin in our wake. Brendan 16:32 I was gonna say, so far there hasn't been a lot of saving. Melissa 16:35 Well, they won't starve... not today. Brendan 16:40 They'll still starve. It's just they're going to become more dependent on having their plants grown for them, because the soil is all screwed up now. Melissa 16:48 So is exactly enacting a colonialist narrative subverting a colonialist narrative? Gregory 16:55 I don't think so. Melissa 16:56 Yeah! Gregory 16:57 But, do we want to... Brendan 16:59 Sometimes you can undermine something by holding it up and saying, "Hey, look at this." Like showing the flaws. Zoë 17:03 Hmm... Gregory 17:03 If you've got something to say about it. Brendan 17:05 Yeah. Gregory 17:06 Let's see how this turns out. Melissa 17:07 Do we? Gregory 17:07 We'll see. Okay. Why don't we chat at the end and be like, "Hey, how'd this go?" Melissa 17:12 It's seems like it's going to be pretty difficult to make any great leaps and bounds when we're playing one game once over three hours. But maybe, as we recreate this experiment we'll find ways to jump into that faster. Yeah. Sorry, guys. Zoë 17:36 No, that's important. Brendan 17:37 Yeah. Zoë 17:37 Good to talk about. You are descending into the underground area of this. You pass through this, this tunnel, which kind of opens up a bit. The first few meters are clearly dug through dirt, or kind of held up with sticks and branches. But soon it gives way to, to a kind of a square concrete hallway. Everything's cracked and worked and dripping. But this clearly was originally a crafted structure long, long ago. And you can still see things lighting up the dark a bit: mechanisms that are still working, some of the stuff that's sort of keeping this this ecosystem alive. Gregory 18:30 And that tunnel opens into a wide, like, circular concourse that looks like it could go kind of the entire circumference of the Dome. And on the outer surface of it are these walls of glass with dirt pressing against them, and some of them have burst inward and dirt is sort of poured out with roots and so on. And there's glass scattered around the floor. Others of them are still intact. And you can hear those heavy loping footfalls of the gorilla from down one direction. So most of you are land critters; how is Tancho navigating this space? Zoë 19:12 That's a freakin' great question. Is this like a tight tunnel? The entry tunnel is tight enough that you probably have to walk. Once you get to the concourse you could fly... but it's dim in here and the... it would be a bit narrow. There are beams and stuff. This this seems like it was once... like this is a larger structure that you're maybe on an upper level of. Mm hmm. Gregory 19:36 And so you can fly but it's a little close. Melissa 19:39 I think I'm probably just lagging behind them. Like I don't... I don't feel... Since we've gotten this person to stop destroying the food I'm more just following to keep up with everybody. So I'm probably just walking kind of unhurriedly behind. Gregory 19:53 Like with those bird stilt things? Maybe occasionally flapping a bit to catch up? Zoë 19:58 Exactly. It's not graceful. Gregory 20:02 And leaving damp concrete behind. Zoë 20:04 Yes, leaving damp footprints. So, are you all continuing to kind of move forward? Melissa 20:11 Yes. Zoë 20:12 Alright, you hear kind of up ahead the footsteps of this thing, of Sunny, change to be on like metal on metal and seem to be getting more distant and you come across some stairs that lead downward. The next level down has what look like rooms in the walls with counters between those rooms, and this, this circular concourse. And there are very, very faded pictures up showing like bits of food, probably, and vessels. And back behind the counters you see these machines that are still running that have a whole bunch of spouts. Tancho probably notices this very clearly that there's water kind of dripping out of one of the spouts, like these machines can produce water. Hmm, my friends! Are they shiny too, because birds like shiny stuff. Gregory 21:18 They once were shiny, probably. Now, a lot of the bright colors have faded and gotten dim. Melissa 21:23 That's fair. I'm probably not very good at keeping up with a running gorilla. So I may wander off and just continue to lag behind and look around. Zoë 21:32 You're seeing more tunnels that kind of lead toward the Dome. But most of these choked full of dirt and vegetation. The gorilla seems to be going deeper. Are y'all still just following? Melissa 21:46 Yeah, this seems a little sketch. Yeah. For now. Keep following. Lucy 21:51 I'm following. Brendan 21:52 Yeah. Gregory 21:53 Okay. You get to the... what seems like the bottom level or at least the the place at which those glass walls stop. You've sort of been seeing sign of signs of humans being present, like footsteps in the dirt. But as you go deeper, there's fewer and fewer. You're not very deep, actually. But you just... it kind of gives you the impression that there's nothing here that they need. There doesn't seem to be any food here. There's not large amounts of tools or things that can be reused or repurposed lying around. There's just chairs and machines and doors. But there is one door that is dangling off its hinges, that's a... it's a metal door and you can hear more gorilla footsteps from down there and it's a it's a dark stairwell. Brendan 22:47 I dunno... just keep going. Gregory 22:50 Is, uh... Zoë 22:50 Can oryxes go down stairs? Because I know cows can't. Or is it that they can't go up? Brendan 22:55 Yeah, I know they've gone up because during the floods in Houston, someone got a cow up the stairs into the ladies room to get it out of the floodwaters. Zoë 23:05 So I think that probably highly advanced oryxs with beautiful coiled steel legs can. Gregory 23:13 Okay, so is Tancho just separate from the group now? Melissa 23:18 Gosh, I don't know. I think that I mean, really, since we've gotten this thing away from the village, which is clearly been causing the problems I'm probably just looking around in this place. Because I doubt I've ever been down here. Gregory 23:30 Okay. Melissa 23:31 Keeping, I mean, I want to be within earshot of these people. But I think that it sounds like it's pretty echoey in there. Gregory 23:38 Okay. So you're kind of listening and listening to these distant echoes. The rest of you descend these stairs and emerge into some tunnels that are even worse kept up. These actually have dim lighting in them. The... whatever machinery and devices are here that's sort of sustainable and self maintaining is apparently still running and... even though even if some of the superstructure has collapsed. These kind of clearly kind of behind the scenes hallways curve around and you get to an intersection where there's a doorway that opens up into a kind of a large room with a lot of metal supports and machinery in it. And again, it's it's mostly dark there are weird long shadows cast. And by the time you get to this entrance, you don't hear the footsteps anymore. What do you do? Lucy 24:34 Is there more than one way to go? Zoë 24:36 Yeah, it looks like you could probably circle around and go in another side door to this area. This this, this room is decently big. It's maybe a third of the total area of the dome: a big open space with a bunch of machines. Melissa 24:52 That's weird. Lucy 24:53 I'm going to proceed. Brendan 24:55 But it's real dark? Gregory 24:57 Yeah, it's, it's, it's got lights, but there's so much stuff in here that it's, it's mostly just dim. Brendan 25:03 I was trying to figure if we needed illumination to see. Gregory 25:06 It's not pitch black. Brendan 25:07 Okay. I guess I'll a call out to it. Of course, I don't know what we're chasing. So probably shouldn't. I guess I'll ask the others. What are we chasing? I was following you two. Melissa 25:18 A... gorilla, right? Lucy 25:20 Their name is Sunny. Brendan 25:21 Like a gorilla gorilla or a... us gorilla? Melissa 25:24 One of us a gorilla. Brendan 25:25 Okay. Gorillas... but he wouldn't be eating food. Lucy 25:29 They were not eating the food. They were destroying the food. Brendan 25:33 But the humans said the food was being taken. Lucy 25:36 Hmm. I don't know that they did say that. I believe what they said was the food was going missing. Brendan 25:43 Why on earth would have none of us destroy their food. It makes no sense. Melissa 25:50 I don't know... if you don't think the humans are worthy or whatever... moral failings, blah blah blah. Lucy 25:56 No, that does not make sense. Brendan 25:59 Do any of you know Sunny? I don't believe I know him. Melissa 26:05 Uh... I stay away from things with opposable thumbs that are that size. Brendan 26:10 Generally a wise decision. Melissa 26:11 There's a power dynamic intrinsic there that I don't really care for. And I... banana trees are really just very difficult to shoot up fast enough. Lucy 26:19 I think Sunny hungers for adulation, worship, interest from the humans. Melissa 26:30 Oh, well, I mean everyone wants a shrine or two, right? Lucy 26:34 This may be a gambit to get their attention. Brendan 26:39 Destroying food in the dark of night doesn't get you a shrine, it gets you hunted down! Melissa 26:44 Well, they ask for assistance. And then you've set up a horribly abusive scenario in which you are the one that can perhaps save the day, or take what's left in the shrine or... Brendan 26:58 And ultimately their situation improves their moral failing. So... Melissa 27:05 The humans, or the gorilla? Lucy 27:07 Sunny. Brendan 27:09 Overrun, you disapprove of situations where the humans become dependent on one of us to meet their basic needs? Melissa 27:16 I think that if I asked to help with a scenario, a problem, like starvation, I will help them with the problem of starvation. If they asked for my help with long term planning, perhaps how to rotate their crops properly, I will contribute what knowledge I have. Brendan 27:37 I've been trying to teach them agricultural skills but it doesn't work when... Well, you know. Anyway. Melissa 27:44 Mmm hmm. Brendan 27:45 I'll call out, "Sunny, are you in here?" Gregory 27:48 There's no response. Lucy 27:49 That rather speaks to your moral failings as well, Teacher. Melissa 27:53 Ooof. Now, let's be nice. Ish. To one another. Lucy 28:01 I am merely truthful. Brendan 28:03 Well, perhaps we should keep searching. See if we can find Sunny. Melissa 28:07 I feel like a little less truth in life goes a long way. Zoë 28:10 Since they've been talking down the hall, I imagine it's gotten a little bit quieter. So I will probably go in the direction that the sound came from. And I may be almost caught up with them. Since that was a bit of a break. Gregory 28:20 I think that that Teacher said they were planning on searching? Brendan 28:24 Yeah. Gregory 28:24 As you as you say that Tancho kind of marches up on their bird feet. Zoë 28:30 You were quiet for a while, and I was worried. Melissa 28:33 Well, people started... Brendan 28:35 I was trying to find out what's going on. Melissa 28:37 ...and exchanging opinions of one another, which always goes well. Right. Well, this this thing came into the, into the store room and it and it began to crush the food and it was... but they've probably told you this already. Brendan 28:52 Yes, now it's in here somewhere. And I think we need to find it. Zoë 28:57 It was upset. I do not know why we're looking for it. It is no longer crushing the food. Brendan 29:01 But it may return and do it again, which will not get the humans to calm down and stop damming the river. Zoë 29:06 I suppose. Lucy 29:09 I am following Sunny in an attempt to retry their case. Melissa 29:14 Well, I guess I'll follow along! ...retry their case... Brendan 29:20 Someday I would like to understand the basis for your judgments, because they do not match up with any of the legal systems I have recorded. Melissa 29:29 Well, let's talk about the moral failings of those legal systems. Brendan 29:32 I'm not talking about morals. I'm talking about legality. Melissa 29:36 Yeah, but Trial is talking about morals. Brendan 29:38 True. You know, I'm not saying any of these were great systems. Look what happened. Melissa 29:43 Yep. All the fault of those systems. Brendan 29:46 There's a reason I haven't been teaching these. My understanding of justice is entirely derived from the actual justice that was perpetuated in previous cultures. That's the only way to understand justice: is to see how it's actually enacted, correct? So I see people with moral failings when they have problems that they cannot solve. When people are successful, I see them as morally upstanding because that is how justice works, does it not? Ah, you're a Protestant. Well, more exactly a Lutheran. Zoë 30:25 Boy. Brendan 30:26 I understand. Let's see if we can find this gorilla. Zoë 30:29 As you're kind of talking and carefully looking around this space, you step around a few machines. And you see an open space that wasn't visible from the, from the doorway, but is roughly in the middle of this room. Tancho, as you're kind of looking around, you're feeling a little more kinship. A lot of these machines are dedicated to making things warmer or colder. That's, that's excellent. And in the middle of this open space is a shrine. It's of a similar design to the ones that you've seen humans build for you. It's just some pieces of metal and pieces of machinery that have been taken apart and placed into a rough table with a with a back wall on it, but it's in enormous disrepair. There's just layers of dust on it. There are kind of tatters of paper that have have aged and yellowed with the years. No one has been down to visit the shrine in a long time. This is a strange place. Melissa 31:27 Let's snoop. Brendan 31:28 I think I can see why Sunny was hungry. Melissa 31:29 Is there any, any fuel that we can see is down here, or any like... You said, the shrine is in disrepair, is there like stuff that we could move to the side and check underneath? Zoë 31:40 Yeah, you can kind of move stuff around. And there's some junk here... you don't see any fuel, you don't see any modules. No one seems to have kind of left tribute at the shrine for a long time. And anything they previously left has been taken. Brendan 31:56 I'm gonna try to read the papers, see if I can figure out what this was. Gregory 32:00 K. Brendan 32:01 Like, who it was for. Zoë 32:03 The older the papers are, the better written they are. The language just kind of becomes more simple, more rote as it goes on. I think you all know... Well, some of you might not care. Tragos definitely knows that people don't really see much of the point of writing in this society. The way that they eat, the way that they sustain themselves: they just don't need to keep records. Brendan 32:25 Yeah, I keep trying to teach them how to write and they don't seem to see the point. Zoë 32:29 So a lot of these are from like the extreme past when folks still did or... I mean, there still are some people who know how to write but it's it's sort of like a weird hobby that they pass around. But you see kind of the some of the newer ones are for Sunny and they are asking for things like, "Please make our leaders stop fighting" or "The storms have been so strong. Please preserve us and protect us from them." Gregory 32:56 Older than that, the the name on the top becomes corrupted a bit -- or uncorrupted, I suppose -- instead of Sunny, it's Shanti, and one of the earlier ones is, "Shanti, please make this a safe place for us. Please let us live here in peace." Zoë 33:14 And you kind of hear a little shuffling from out of the darkness and the gorilla is kind of sitting there in the dark and looking tired. Brendan 33:23 You poor thing, they forgot about you. Gregory 33:25 It says, "They remember." Melissa 33:27 Who is they? In this case? Gregory 33:29 The people. Dome people. They remember. And soon they'll realize that they need me. Melissa 33:40 Well... that's a little strange. Brendan 33:42 This is exactly what you were proposing, that Sunny was trying to scare them into needing help. Sunny, this is not how to get them to trust you and want your help they're just afraid and paranoid now. Zoë 33:55 It says, "I don't need them to trust me. I need them to make the offerings happen again. Thanks thanks to you, I'm almost out." Brendan 34:04 What do you mean, "thanks to us"? Zoë 34:06 If it's fuel that you need then surely we could spare some but you you haven't made any requests! Gregory 34:16 Maybe you can spare some now. But what about a year from now? What about 10 years, a century from now? I need them to need me. Melissa 34:25 I think you are perhaps looking a bit too externally for validation. I think you should look inside yourself and find what makes you a useful person. Creature. Whatever. Lucy 34:42 I disagree; all validation does come externally. It is understandable that you have made this choice. Melissa 34:50 Um, hmm. Some validation is external. Gregory 34:54 Look, I know what I'm useful for. I'm too good at it. Brendan 34:59 You make peace. Gregory 35:03 And look where it got me. Brendan 35:06 Well, perhaps traveling around, finding places where there's conflict and where your help is again needed. That's what I do. Gregory 35:14 Go out to the wilderness and starve. Brendan 35:16 No, there's... Gregory 35:17 There's not conflict in this world. Not enough of it. Not enough for people to keep helping me. Zoë 35:24 It is difficult to trust a peacemaker who comes into your village and causes destruction. Gregory 35:31 Like I said, I don't need trust. Are you gonna stop me? Melissa 35:36 Absolutely. Brendan 35:37 Yes? The humans are tending in ways that have... we've seen before. They're awful for everyone. Zoë 35:44 Or perhaps it is possible that less of us would be better. Place less of a burden on them. Melissa 35:50 There's that. Zoë 35:51 Maybe we're not meant to be. Melissa 35:53 Hey, now. Hold on. Plants are great. Good for the atmosphere. Zoë 35:58 Not not you. The peacemaker here. Melissa 36:00 Yes. Brendan 36:02 Well, I mean, considering how the humans reacted to to difficulty with as much hostility and and hatred as they did... I believe they definitely could learn from Sunny but... you know, not not like this. Gregory 36:16 Yeah. Well, if if they're not going to ask me for help. Even after all I did to make a need for it... after I put them at odds against each other. Maybe. Maybe there isn't any place for peace in this world. Brendan 36:31 Maybe they need to be reminded. I mean, I... they don't seem to know you're down here. Gregory 36:36 They remember. Zoë 36:38 And it it kind of reaches up and fiddles with a latch on its chest. And like, opens up its chest cavity. And you can see this kind of array of fuel canisters and all of them are depleted except one, which is giving off a weak flickering glow. I have heard of a concept called "hangriness." Is it possible... Melissa 36:59 GTFO. Oh my god. Zoë 37:12 Is it possible that your your demeanor has changed because of your hardship? And that accepting a gift from from me or another one of my mechanical comrades would lift your spirits? Melissa 37:29 I would be happy to be generous. Zoë 37:31 Yeah, I'm going to open up my own little fuel cavity. Even though I would imagine my field canisters are pretty small. Since I'm a little bird and it is a big gorilla. But I'll I'll open it up with my... probably with my beak and and let the gorilla reach in and take one if it wants to. Gregory 37:53 It says, "So what? You're just going to keep bringing me fuel?" Zoë 37:57 No, I do not like coming in this tunnel. I am a bird and I am poorly suited for these conditions. Brendan 38:06 This might help tide you over until we could find another solution. Lucy 38:10 There is no solution for any of us. Where will any of us refuel? Gregory 38:14 This outcome sounds very uncertain. Melissa 38:16 It does. Gregory 38:17 Who would like to roll? Zoë 38:19 I'll roll! I'm acting with love. And I'm not using a module. Gregory 38:24 All right. You rolled a four and a five and got nine! And it says, "Fine, I will wait again. But if I can't figure out a way to live, I'll have to do what I must." And it reaches out and takes a fuel canister very ginger-- like, this is an incredibly intimate exchange that you're having. Zoë 38:47 Oh, yeah. Gregory 38:48 But it carefully extracts it and slots into one of its slots like fitting a AAA battery into one of those chargers that can handle both AAA's and AA's. It sort of fits into an inner slot in place of the this big honkin' fuel canister and it looks around at the rest of you kind of expectantly. Melissa 39:08 So. Are you bored and in need of things to do that will provide you with the things you need to live? Because I have a similar problem. What would you think about a partnership? Gregory 39:23 It says, "Oh... no? I'm not bored. I'm starving. But yes, I am willing to discuss... partnership." Brendan 39:35 I was going to offer something similar where you could maybe travel with me and I can teach the knowledge that I carry and you can teach some of the skills that I seem to lack in terms of teaching them how to get along with each other and deal with conflict. Melissa 39:50 Can't travel in two different directions at once, so you have to pick. Brendan 39:54 Also, my power cells are big enough that I could share them with you were efficiently Melissa 39:58 Look, it's not my fault I'm smol. Gregory 40:00 So it looks at Trial and it says, "You do judgment." Lucy 40:06 Yes. Gregory 40:08 Which is the right way? Lucy 40:10 That is a wise question, Shanti. I have judged you and found you wanting. However, I'm going to sentence you to time already served. You have freedom; you may make your own choice. Melissa 40:24 Is that how time works? Lucy 40:26 You need not go with either of them. Although you may. Or you may go your own path and find your own way. For whatever time, whatever limited resources allow you. That's all any of us can do anyway. Gregory 40:38 But you know what's best. What is best for me to do? Lucy 40:45 What is best for you to do is for you to decide. Because your decisions are what I judge. Gregory 40:51 It sighs. It looks at Tragos. And it says, "You and I work at similar purposes. We both try things that are impossible. And once we accomplish them, we are causing ourselves to starve. I will go with you." Brendan 41:20 That's why I move to a new place where I'm still needed. Melissa 41:23 Mobility is pretty crucial. Gregory 41:25 Where people are fighting, I will give you fuel. Where people are peaceful, but in need of learning, you will give me fuel. Brendan 41:35 Agreed. Based on my travels, there are going to be plenty of places where we both are well fed. Violence and ignorance frequently cohabitate. Gregory 41:44 It nods and it says, "All right, I guess I'll try and clean this up." Brendan 41:49 Happy to help if I can. Gregory 41:51 So it will help reduce hostilities as it walks among the people of the dome. They look at it in wonder like they're seeing a fable and seem to calm down a bit. And it just goes over to the weapons and holds the entire bundle of spears in its hands and snaps them over its knee. And then it it goes and helps Tancho dismantle the dam that they'd set up to divert the river and it... Melissa 42:20 I still make plants in that lake. Zoë 42:23 Yeah, we'll need to remediate it for a while. Melissa 42:25 Excellent. Brendan 42:25 Yeah, all that flooding will have killed off some of the plants. Zoë 42:27 For sure. Gregory 42:28 And once that's done, it heads off with Tragos to search for war elsewhere. Melissa 42:35 That actually sounds not boring. Zoë 42:36 Are you going to go with them? Melissa 42:37 Hell no. They are boring. That quest is not boring. Brendan 42:44 Tragos looks very relieved. Maybe I'll have a chance to teach actual agriculture if someone doesn't just come around and magic the plants every five minutes. Zoë 42:56 It's okay. The small goat will be busy making plants for me for while now. Brendan 43:01 Awesome. Melissa 43:01 Um, I'm not a goat. Still not a goat. Gregory 43:09 And you're able to watch over years and decades and centuries as you find out what happens when the people of the Dome make their own decisions. So! Thank you for playing with me. Lucy 43:30 Thank you! Melissa 43:30 Thank you for running, yeah. Brendan 43:32 Yeah, thanks. Zoë 43:33 Thank you. Gregory 43:34 So what do we think? Brendan 43:36 I didn't get to see Lucy make someone happy by farting on them. Melissa 43:38 Oh my god. Lucy 43:40 It was poofing! It was poofing, not pooting! Brendan 43:44 Poofing, poofing. Melissa 43:45 Woefully underused. Yes. Gregory 43:48 So we talked about that difficulty with the colonial, paternal "we're going to help these poor folks, these poor primitive folks." How did that develop after we talked about it? Lucy 44:02 I mean, I thought the last act was a little bit more... I mean, it's like, I thought, you know, we were thinking about our place in the world, our characters, you know, and I thought that was pretty interesting. So... Brendan 44:14 Yeah. Melissa 44:14 And we I mean, I think the solutions offered to home-gorilla, were definitely different or could... Brendan 44:20 Home-gorilla?! Melissa 44:21 ...were probably different than they would have been otherwise. If we hadn't had that discussion, right? Stop them, let them keep going. Kill them, whatever. Like, I don't know. That decision was clearly made with the knowledge that this could be honed in such a way that was helpful with minimizing the amount of trouble it caused. Gregory 44:39 Any further comments? Melissa 44:42 Some stuff about the system, I think is interesting. The system has no progression, right? So if you were to have a character persist, there's no mechanics in these 200 words for leveling up or getting new abilities or whenever, except for the module breaking stuff. Gregory 44:57 And you can get new modules but there's no explanation of like, does the GM just come up with them? Melissa 45:03 Oh, I think I had assumed it was: you have three installed modules. Anything else... any other modules you get have to be swapped out. But if that's not true, then yeah, you can just keep grafting on until you're some sort of Frankenstein's monster of a constructed entity. Gregory 45:17 Speaking of Akira. Zoë 45:19 Yeah! Brendan 45:20 There's other systems where your overall stats don't necessarily go up. It says it says happy people build shrines. There's kind of like this incentive to keep making people happy. So you can get fuel and maybe improve your module. Melissa 45:33 Yeah, because I don't know that any of us used all three of our modules right? Two at most, probably? And I ended with 10 fuel courtesy of a generous handout. And that was a... I mean, I would say it was what, a three hour session of actual playtime, maybe two and a half? So it would be interesting to see what this the system looks like over the long run. And what the evolution of... If this group played this again, what would the brown people be like as this continued? Because clearly our perceptions of this have shifted, right? That would be cool to see. Gregory 46:07 Awesome. See you next time. Mechanical Oryx was written by Grant Howitt and was a winner of the 2017 200 Word RPG Challenge. For more by Grant Howitt, visit: rowanrookanddecard.com Tabletop Garden was created by Gregory Avery-Weir. The music for this campaign is "Amphibian Circuits" by Dirtwire, available under a Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial Share Alike 3.0 license. For more Tabletop Garden and to find out how to follow us, visit tabletop.garden. Check out the other podcasts created by people who participated in this campaign: Ludus Novus, Audacious Compassion, the Future Proof Podcast, and EXO 101: Introduction to Exobiology.