Forward, Darkspeed!

The truth. Lost. The word was spoken to no one, but it reverberated off the hutboard of Atlas Youth's upcraft like a confession. He had ignored the warnings of the Zerowin Synod and allowed the mendacious archcasters of the lithic tide to obscure his true course once again. This time, there would be no going home. Thank you. Wow. Laika Torbison, everybody. Laika, on behalf of Harris Brothers Books, thank you for taking this time to read from the newest installment of the Dark Speed saga, Faster Dark Speed. Huh, folks? And if you're okay on time, we can open it up to some questions. Yes, of course. Anybody? Hands is fine. Yes, you. Hi, Laika. Huge Dark Speed fan since, like, forever. I'm sure a lot of us are. I just think the world your mother created is so important. Each of her books is like, you know, it changed the course of my life. At last, Dark Speed is practically like my Bible. Within you, Dark Speed, I actually proposed to my fiancé using Atlas' speech to read Yalika at the Citadel. Wow, that is amazing. Mom would have loved that. She was one of a kind. When I heard you were going to pick up where she left off, I thought, that felt so right. And I read your book over this past weekend, and I'm a little confused. Can you explain the choice to focus on this new rocket fuel shortage thing out of nowhere? And this weird mineral czar guy? Well, you know, I mean, Mom didn't really leave a roadmap for where she saw Dark Speed going. But I think that she trusted me to be faithful to the spirit of it while still finding some ways to make it my own. All right. But why didn't you use all of the great stuff that your mom set up, like the durads or the Kill Whim Heresy? Or the vision at Blood Point Valley. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, well, I really think that when you read the next one and you see the big picture, it'll all make sense. Thank you. yes you hi yeah um is there a reason why in your book the characters don't say the stuff they would really say or do the things they would really do a reason sorry are you asking uh look mom and i are different writers there's no way around it but i love dark speed just as much as you all do and i want to see mom's story finished properly with heart and a sense of adventure and that involves making choices and taking some big swings and actually writing uh and honestly sometimes i feel like you people will just not give me the benefit of the doubt so i'm sorry uh yes you forgive them like they can't imagine how hard it's been for you to be thrown into all this Thank you. That's very nice to hear. Is there a question? It's going to be all right. The best Dark Speed stories are still to come, and they'll be written by you. Thank you. Okay, let's call it there, then. Laika will be signing autographs in the New Fiction section in ten minutes, so I hope that you'll join us there. Let's hear it one more time. These people hate me. They don't want my autograph. Of course they want your autograph. You're Luella Torvison's daughter. Upcrafts away. Susan. There you go. Thank you, Susan. Hi. Who should I make this out to? I hope that wasn't too much in there. I just, I felt I should. Oh, it's you. Thank you. No, that was very sweet of you to stick up for me. I knew your mother. We worked together. I'm George, George Flacros. I used to call your house when you were very little. Mom's George. Yes, you were her, um... I think she usually described me as a research assistant. Oh, my God. What are you doing in Sacramento? Oh, I live here. This is where Luella would come to see me. Oh. I haven't been well, Laika. Otherwise, I would have contacted you sooner. Ideally, we would have met before she passed. Um, right. Are you here with someone? Listen. Your mother didn't invent the Darkspeed stories. She received them with my help. But it's all truth. Zara wins the lithic tide. We can continue her work. Your book is false, but it's not your fault. Yeah, please let go. Back away from her, man. All right, I'll go. Meet me at the Magnolia here in town tomorrow at noon, please. Wow, what a creep. Yeah. Thanks. Make this out to Steve, please. Oh, actually, can you write, thanks for saving me from that creep? Taking the reins on a story everyone already loves has to be a little scary. Can you keep the magic that drew people to it in the first place when you know there are people out there who believe getting it right is a moral obligation? This is The Truth. I'm Jonathan Mitchell. And this story is about legacy, expectations, and what happens when a story starts making demands of its own. And before we continue, The Truth is an independent show. And right now, listener support is really what's keeping it going. The ad-free feed directly pays the writers and actors who make these stories possible. And without enough subscribers, we can't keep making new episodes. So if these stories matter to you, if you want the truth to keep existing, this is the moment to help. You can subscribe at thetruthpodcast.supportingcast.fm. There's a link in the show notes. thetruthpodcast.supportingcast.fm. Now back to Forward Dark Speed. Micah! Hey! Micah, you got Dan and Jack here. Hey, how's the book tour going? It's pretty great. Just finishing up in Sacramento. Sacramento. Beautiful city. Well, we'll keep this short. It's just a quick update from the Dark Speed movie side of things. By the way, Luella hated this stuff. She was always like, make whatever movie you want. Just let me write. No, no. I find it really interesting. Thanks for keeping me in the loop. So we just had our big weekly development meeting here at Primordial, and we're sitting on some pretty big news. Right, Dan? Are you ready for this one, Laika? Because Lincoln Server, Best Supporting Actor Oscar in tow, is returning to the franchise as Atlas Youth. Oh, that's great. So there's going to be another movie? Oh, where all systems go. And Lincoln wants you to know it was just business. He loves the character. He loves your mom, the whole Dark Speed world. And he's signing on for six more movies. Six? I didn't even realize that. That kind of makes you want to have a little martini, huh? So yeah, that's going out to the trades next week, along with an official announcement of the next Dark Speed movie, which will be... I'm not ready for this. Oh, gosh. At last, Dark Speed. How about that? We're going back to the beginning. How did we get here? You mean you're adapting the first book again? Mom's book? Yeah. Didn't you just make that movie? Yeah, like eight years ago. It felt like, why not go into this next phase with the most iconic Dark Speed story? You know, with the confidence and clarity that comes from having already told it. With some changes, of course. Subtle changes in emphasis. But what about my book? Faster Dark Speed is what happens next, right? Officially. And we're just not adapting it? We're not not adapting it. We're just not adapting it now. Yeah, but hey, Dan. Can I talk to Dan? Yeah, you got me, Leigh. Don't do this to me, Dan. This gives everybody an excuse to ignore my book. If the movies just skip it, it's like it's not real. Yeah, listen, like, the reaction to... Yeah, it's selling. It's selling, but it's also... Like, it's the fans, okay? They say they don't feel like it's real Dark Speed, and a movie has thousands of people and millions of dollars. Yeah, okay, well, just let me show you what I have planned. I'll send you a treatment, the whole plot for the next book. It's going to put everything into context. You will see. I'm working on something really special. If there's anyone on your side, it's us, right? Okay, and we'll always hear you. Yeah, you're aligned to that whole magical Torvazen thing. But the people want real dark speed. And Lincoln Server and Atlas Youth and at last dark speed. It doesn't get any more dark speedy than that, huh? Right up, over here. This is great. Oh, thank you for coming. Have you eaten here, the Magnolia? No, I haven't. It's lovely. It's an old-fashioned cafeteria, but with a modern global twist. Food from everywhere. I started coming every Sunday once I qualified for the discount. My daughter drops me off with the newspaper, and I'm in heaven. Oh, you want to go through? Oh, I think I'll just get a coffee. Oh, gosh. With your hair up like that, you look just like your mom. Listen George I still don feel great about our interaction at the reading so this is not meant to encourage that kind of behavior I know, and I'm sorry. We've just lost so much time, I felt I had to reach out and grab you. Let's go. The fact is, I don't meet many people who really, like, knew my mom, and like, even worked with her. and I realized that maybe you'd have something that you kept from those days, like notes that she kept. Oh, Luella never kept notes, no need. Okay, but maybe letters or anything that could help me convince people that I'm not, that I am doing what she wanted. It'd be different if she hadn't gone so fast after the stroke. We could have written one together It's just that it's been too easy for people to make up their minds that everything she did was genius and everything that I do is wrong. And if they really loved Mom and all the decisions she made, then, well, I'm one of those decisions. She picked me. Whatever, I'm sorry. Lika, the frustration you're feeling is completely understandable. Yeah? I think you may be under a psychic attack from the lithic tide. Okay, see, this is... I really can't... Wait, I can help you, but you've got to listen. For 78 years, I lived here as George Flaccus, but before that, I was someone else. A Zerowin soldier from the other side of the universe. Jesus, maybe I should go. Why? Because you think I'm hopped up or demented? All right. Do you remember outplacing from the books the Zerowin technique for making someone suddenly feel that they're somewhere else entirely? Yeah, of course. Okay. Give me your hand. I really shouldn't be doing that. Old as this vessel is. Here. Drink your coffee. You warm up. How? My God. Where I'm from, the war your mother wrote about is really happening. My people have fought the lithic tide fearlessly for centuries. But our enemies learned of a key weakness. That we, Zerowind, draw our power, our will to fight from our connection to our own history. So they began to erase that history, warping it, stamping it out, and meanwhile killing us in droves. We realized it was a lame matter of time before they wiped us out completely. So we decided to send our history somewhere else to create a backup, something our descendants could find later. Earth. Well, Earth was really the only choice. If we sent our message anywhere else, it would be seen as a threat, an upstart religion, a subversive propaganda. But on Earth, under the right circumstances, a story will be spread even if nobody believes it. It just has to amuse them. So with what little strength they had left, our priests began the transmissions. They also sent me the consciousness of a Zerwin soldier to look for someone on Earth who could make her a truth resonate. A storyteller. Mom. Luella. She was hardworking, so talented. And it just so happened she was looking for a spark. And now, thanks to her, well, look around. 400 million books sold. In over 60 languages. Movies, video games, even a theme park. All dedicated to my people. My faith. By the time my descendants arrive, this whole planet will be their church. as long as the story gets told in full. Like a... Will you help me complete the Dark Speed histories? When can we start? I bought this house as soon as I could afford it. It never lived more than a few miles away. It didn't guss it up much. I hope you don't find it depressing. But longitude and latitude, this is where the transmissions are clearest here. So all those trips out of nowhere and she was just coming here? Do you know how crazy that drove my dad? She never told us anything. I'd call her when I determined that broadcast was coming. Their time was the movement of the planets. She left that stuff to me. That's George stuff, she'd say. Well, go ahead. Sit in that chair. And then I'll just, I'll hear it? Oh, you'll know when it's happening. See, I think there was some bottled water around here. It always did just seem a little too good to be true. How did a lady from Minnesota think of all that? I mean, you know, she was smart, but, like, how'd she get it so right? Here. This is warm and very old, but you should stay hydrated. Okay. Jesus. You look just like her sitting there. I'm sorry, I'm getting nostalgic, Dot. I'll wait in here so I don't distract you. I have butterflies, but we're back in business. Anything you need, you just say so. Okay, thank you, George. Oh my god! It's good! It's really good! With a clarity of purpose that seemed to ward off even the dust and darkness, Atlas Youth descended the stone steps of Kilwim Catacomb. The dew rods had revealed all. He was the true prophet of Lung. The priest at the bottom of these stairs was an imposter. A lithic suit urge. And the hunt for Kermis fuel? The struggle with hack the minerals are? These had been illusions. Psychic predations of the lithic tide. He felt his every muscle animated by holy certainty. No one could stop him now. Wow. Like, seriously, all I can say right now is, wow, this stuff sings. Yeah. I mean, it's really just a treatment with a few fleshed out scenes, but it's, I can't stop. And so the whole last book was a dream? Yeah, it was, it was, well, it was sort of like a weaponized hallucination, but. That's genius. It just feels like we're all, we're back in there, like it's right. Are your editors just like over the moon right now? Millie's pretty excited, yeah. I'll tell you who's also very excited is Lincoln. I sent it to him. I couldn't help myself. And I think, I mean, I think this is the next movie. I think we open with that catacomb chase. And then the catacomb is a spaceship. I don't know if they're just coming out of the... People are going to be shouting at the screen like Dark Speed's back. Yeah, Dark Speed's back. They're going to be chanting Dark Speed's back. They're like Dark Speed's back. Dark Speed's back. Really though, I think we do a meeting here at Primordial. A chance for you to tell us, Micah, hey, I'm Lincoln, your vision of the rest of the story. Friday. Friday. Yeah, yeah, I'd love that. Tell everybody I cannot wait to show them what really happens next. Great. And in the meantime, hey, just keep it coming. Good morning, George. I brought donuts. Oh. And I got stuff for sandwiches, too. Let's get to work. Oh, so thoughtful. My daughter read me your treatment, by the way. You're splendid. Oh. No, I cried. George, really? You have Luella's same feel for the little moments, the emotional detail, the exchange. You wrote after Atlas rescues bride Muriel. They will see you at my side and know they've lost. That's it. That's my people, summed up right there, whether it was ever really said. That was Luella, too. She knew when to add a little flourish like that. Well, I'm just so glad that we're doing this right. And I want to make up for lost time. I am ready to go nine, ten hours straight in that chair. Yeah, well, we can't control how fast the transmissions come. They can't even know for sure that anyone's tuning in. It's all one big, intergalactic act of faith. I just want to help your people however I can, George. I owe you everything. Well, okay. Better sit. It's time. Oh, all right. Let's see what those Zara Wins got for us today. I sorry I sorry I sorry I sorry He dies He dies George George George! Oh, uh, whoopsie-daisy. I dozed. Atlas Youth. He dies at the Cadizac Liberation? Wow, we're already there. How is that possible? George, how is the hero of the story dead? Well, of course he does. It's a central event to my faith. Atlas Youth sacrifice a kandesak. It's what happens afterward. Like a... Lincoln Server just signed a six-picture deal, George. Well, what difference does that make? What difference? He's Atlas Youth. And I have a meeting Friday where I'm supposed to tell him what he's doing in those six movies. You want me to tell him that he's in two pieces at the bottom of a moon lake? His love survives. George, this is the one thing that cannot happen in Dark Speed. But it is what happened. But it's suicidal for the franchise. I'm going to be sidelined, retconned. I'm going to be self-publishing out of my garage. Just, they're going to call it fanfic. Okay, what would Mom do? What would Mom do when something in your history wouldn't resonate with our people? Well, I left that up to her. She was the writer, after all. Luella always just seemed to get it right. Why does that upset you? Laika. And we'll continue in just a moment to hear all of our stories ad-free. Go to thetruthpodcast.supportingcast.fm Now back to Forward Darkspeed. Laika, I hear you're still in Sacramento. Why the hell are you still in Sacramento? Yeah, I'm just, well, I'm finding it easy to work out here. It's quiet. The ideas are just flying. God, I wish I knew what that felt like. You better keep them flying right into my inbox. Actually, there is something I wanted to run by you. Okay. So last night I woke up in the middle of the night and I had something in my head, sort of a what if. what if it's time to adjust how the character of Atlas Youth operates in the Dark Speed saga? Uh-huh. Because whereas now he's, like, right in there, so present, what does it look like, hypothetically, if he's... Laika, we got a little surprise for you here. Somebody special stopped by the shop. Laika, Lincoln's over here. Oh, uh, oh, oh my god. Whoa, hello, Lincoln. I am such a fan. We met, actually, at the- So, the within from here. Yeah, I remember. Hey, listen, uh, I'm on my way out, but I wanted to let you know how excited I am about the new stuff. I am so, so glad that you like it. Yeah, and not to butt in, but it sounds like we are in sync with Atlas. I see him taking an even more active role in the next few chapters. Right, right, more active than- I mean, he is the hero, Link. Sure, yeah, no, but in a lot of ways, he's been mostly reacting. You know, I want to see what happens when he hits that driver's seat for real. I'm thinking the next three movie posters are just Atlas, alone. You can only tell him apart by the battle damage to my uniform. Oh, my God. Like? That's exactly what I was thinking. That's great. Okay. Wow, all right. Accidental story call. Is that easy? My bad. Also, what about Nye Patch? Oh, yeah. Yes, that's great. Oh, look, they just burned out the short ribs. You really should try some while it's hot. Okay, here's an idea. What about the afterlife? What if Atlas fights a parallel battle in the afterlife, so he's dead, but Lincoln still gets to do action scenes? There's no real Zerowin afterlife, per se. There's a state of psychical pain. Ugh, Belique, yes. Shit, that's right, I forgot that's been established. What about dream sequences? Who's heroines are very into dreams. I don't know. Or Atlas could come back as a memory. A memory that gives people advice. I've seen shows that do that. Could we just skip Atlas getting killed somehow? What? Skip it? I mean, if we're careful about it and we keep everything else the same, then think of it as a flourish. To leave out the sacrifice at Kannazak is more than a flourish. That's a distortion. That's exactly what the lithic tide was. Okay, okay. It was just a... Sorry, we're brainstorming. Listen. The Zerowin's power, all of this, relies on our story being told as it happened. Please don't forget that. Now, I get that this part of the story disappoints you, but seeking as a Zerowin, to me, it's... It's like we're just getting to the good part. Bride Muriel, Atlas's protege, inspired by his sacrifice, founds a new religion. She takes on the lithic and cursive leagues. She becomes a jurotic beacon, a messiah. But Bride Muriel is played by Lucille Jimenez, the Olympic gymnast. She's not an actor. We can't build an entire franchise around her. Oh, so then stop worrying about actors. Just write the books. Yeah, but they aren't just books anymore. Their IP, their brand strategies, their... If I get this wrong, then the execs are going to squeeze me out. And then when your descendants get here, their history is going to be an edgeless market research, nothing. That's not going to happen. You're a gifted writer, Laika. And there's power in the truth. It's like your mother used to say, we know better than everybody else, George, because we know the real story. But it was easy for her. She started out as nobody with nothing. And I am underneath all of this. And I'm dealing with investors and business managers and millions of fans who are always comparing me to her. I'll probably just be fighting my whole life just to hang on to this, and none of it's going to really be mine. I'm tired, like I better call Nicole to pick me up. Can you come to the transmission house tomorrow? Another transmission already. This one will be different. I promise. Everything's all set for that meeting tomorrow. Like, Lincoln cannot wait. Better save room for that celebratory martini because, in my opinion, we can't lose. Gosh. I feel like I just can't catch my breath this week. Do you mind if I sit? No. See, the timing's less important today. Here. Take these. What are these? Pebbles. Well, keep them apart. They're from the park, but they could have come from anywhere. It's another technique. You never made it into the books. It's a form of outplacing centered on an object. That's something I should be trying at 78, but I've knitted something into these, a memory, a moment I remember with Luella that stuck with me. I'm sure it's been changed by time, but whenever you want, you just tap them together twice. Tap them together twice? Yeah, it's just a trigger. Silly, I know. That's very sci-fi. Well, I am what some of that stuff is based on, you know. I think I finally heard you yesterday. How I can really help you. And well, whenever you're ready, I'll give you the room. Tsk, tsk. Air conditioning would not hurt. Just a window unit. Mom. In the summer, I'm coming out of these transmissions just drenched. I was having so much trouble with this last one, George, I kept asking myself, why would Atlas Youth accompany Red Yalika to the trials at Starlit Citadel? Well, Atlas is holding off an army on the other side of the galaxy. Red just stole his girlfriend. It doesn't make any sense. Why would anyone write it like that? I knew that's what you would say, George. I brought it up to Ryan and Laika at dinner. Don't worry. I didn't tell them about this place. But I told them the plot required something that nonetheless just didn't feel right. And I described it to them, best I could. And Laika had the answer. She told me, Atlas Youth should say to Red, I didn't want you to be alone. Can you believe that? Just, I didn't want you to be alone. Atlas wouldn't have said that. You have to make a story useful to people, George. More than just a list of names and events. It has to be something they can identify themselves in, consider their own lives through. And Leica gets that at five years old. She's just got that instinct. I didn't want you to be alone. Oh all right I ready Let see what these Zara wins have for us today My God. Thank you, George. That's the answer. I figured whenever you want, you could use those pebbles to remind yourself that you and your mother have always been writing this story together. Dark Speed is yours, too. But those motorcycle stunt guys have the most insane stories. They're the originals. Yeah, right. That's great. Admittedly, not the coolest about women, but man. That's awesome, Lincoln. And Mike, if you're ready, I think we get to it. The reason we're all here. Laika Torvason, Miss Darkspeed herself. Hey. Hey, everybody. Okay. This, I've been looking forward to all week. No joke. Laika's going to walk us through what she's been calling the future of Darkspeed. Laika, whenever you're ready. Yeah, sure. Thanks, Dan and Jack. Mike. Lincoln, everybody Darkspeed is moving into a new phase we're reaching the crux really the point of the story that my mom was trying to tell it's gonna feel different and that's good the next novel Forward Darkspeed here's the cover will kick off a whole new trilogy new adventures centered on the classic Darkspeed themes of trust prophecy and family. Something will be gained and something will be lost. After the discovery at the Kilwin Catacombs the journey to Lithic One and the distress signal from Cadizac all in the treatment that you read will move to an altogether different setting. A funeral. For the Zaruins will suffer a loss at Cadizac. A loss that would seem to doom their movement Or is it this sacrifice that allows the Zaru'ans to move on, to change, to become something new, something they were always meant to be? We see heads bent in prayer. We see flowers on a silver coffin. And in that coffin, Bride Mariel. Bride Mariel is dead. Oh my god. And then we see Atlas at the dais, just completely drained of tears. And he looks out at the crowd. And he says, They think they killed our friend. But they only brought her closer to us. We carry her with us now. Inside of us. She will accompany us through strife, sorrow, imprisonment, and torture. Azarwind need never despair. Because Azarwind is never alone. Suddenly, two mourners throw off their cloaks, cable guns, it's a lithic attack Yes Holy shit, I'm gonna make a million of these Hello? Hi, uh, sorry, is George there? Is this Laika? Yes Hi, Laika, yes, uh, well, I'm Nicole I'm George's daughter. Oh, hi. Is George okay? Well, Dad fell this weekend. He's all right, but I think it set him back a little. All those clarity issues from before we changed the meds, did he tell you about all that? Just, I mean, a little bit, but is there anything I can do to help? I'm back in L.A. now, but... You know, I'm sure he'd appreciate you coming by. Sure. Your family means a lot to him. We're at Mercy General, so, you know, if you have some time. He's still pretty much just sleeping a lot of the day, though, so I, you know, don't expect much. Thank you. Can I just have a moment with him? Sure, no problem. Hey, George. It's Laika. God, how did this happen? I feel like we were just talking. Can you hear me at all? I brought you some food from Magnolia. You know how hard it is to sneak food out of there. I'll just, um... Just leave it with the nurse. I just, um... I just wanted to tell you that the meeting went great. And I should have called you right after, but I figured it out. How to keep Katizak in the story with just a couple changes to make the big movie guys happy. Kinds of changes that mom would have made, I think. And they loved it. We are full steam ahead. Yeah, sometimes when you're writing, the answer just comes to you. Like, something that solves all your problems at once. And, well, so I switched Atlas out for Bride. because the sacrifice itself is what's important, I think. And, you know, loyalty and family and all the themes are... They're there. It works perfectly, and we're never going to have to change another thing. Gosh. I hope you can hear me. I was hoping that you could, um, I can't get the pebbles to work, George. I tried this morning, but it was such an amazing gift. But when I tap them now, nothing happens. And I got worried that it meant that I changed the story too much. that I distorted things. Did I? I hoped... I hoped that you would tell me that it was okay because you left it up to me, George. You told me that... You said that it was up to me. Oh, God. Am I... Am I why you fell? And what about the transmissions? I can't receive them without you. How was I supposed to know that it would happen just like that? I'm... You know the kind of pressure that I'm under, and I could feel it all slipping away from me. Maybe... Maybe they got to me. The lithic tide. Is this them? Maybe they... They confused me somehow. We can keep fighting. There's still time to change things. I can fix it. I'll take it back, and then you'll get better. Because there's power in the story as it happened. Look at everything it's done so far. I can get it back. I had it once, and I can get it back. Real dark speed. I promise. I promise. I promise. To hear more original stories like this, go to thetruthpodcast.com. You can also follow us on Instagram, strands, and blue sky. Our handle is thetruthfiction. Forward dark speed. was written by Hunter Nelson and directed and sound designed by me, Jonathan Mitchell. It was performed by Liz Limecooler as Laika, Michael Cullen as George, Jacob Williams as Jack, Hunter Nelson as Dan, Brian Morbido as Lincoln Server, Daniel Delgado as Luella Torvason, Autumn Gomez-Tagley as Nicole, Louis Kornfeld as the moderator, and David Bluffband and Mary McDonnell as the fans. And if you love our show, please subscribe to our ad-free feed. Go to thetruthpodcast.supportingcast.fm. You'll hear the show without interruption, and you'll be helping us make more stories. I'm Jonathan Mitchell, and you have been hearing The Truth.