8 characters: Larissa, Ahmadi, Peters, Hu, Announcer, Mayor, Marissa, Stone
Click on a character's name to get their lines highlighted.
Marissa (13 lines, 106 words, 6.59%) - [Virginia Hargrove] Marissa Flint. 26 years old, older sister of Larissa. Overprotective toward Larissa but means well. Essentially raised Larissa since mother died and father was often absent. Can be a bit antagonistic when she takes a dislike to someone.
Larissa (38 lines, 238 words, 14.79%) - [Lindsay Townsend] Larissa Flint. Younger sister of Marissa. Wants more independence and feels a bit resentful. Apprentice mechanic. Young (18), eager, optimistic and inexperienced. Academically-gifted quick learner.
Ahmadi (4 lines, 47 words, 2.92%) - [Paul Knierim] Detective Arash Ahmadi is young (24) and eager, but hasn't had a lot to investigate until now. He's infatuated with Larissa Flint.
Hu (2 lines, 30 words, 1.86%) - [Steph X] Hu Jia. Communications. Both internal loudspeaker stuff, hailing people, and talking to Earth. Rest of character yet to be defined.
Peters (55 lines, 747 words, 46.43%) - [David Loftus] Salish Peters, chief mechanic. Great-grandfather was the first mission commander, and he never tires of telling people so and relating the stories of Earth he remembers hearing from great-grandpa. Sensible, direct, kind of average working Joe. Middle aged, has husband (but shouldn't be played as stereotypically gay) and two grown kids.
Stone (5 lines, 100 words, 6.22%) - [John Gaunce] Doctor Stone. Willing to do whatever it takes to save patients, even if it goes against the laws or morals of society. Is frustrated by societal resistance to experimentation and progress, thinks Earth-sourced ethics need to be updated for life in interstellar space. Just a touch of mad scientist, but really means well and the audience will be torn on whether to approve of the methods.
Mayor (14 lines, 187 words, 11.62%) - [Roger Arnold] The leader of the asteroid, as yet unnamed as everyone just calls him mayor because he's been mayor so long and will continue in the role as long as he wants. Tends to be impatient and sarcastic with underlings but can turn on the charm and make a good speech when needed. In his 60s but not thinking about retirement.
Announcer (2 lines, 154 words, 9.57%) - [Erin Suminsby] Reads opening, closing and credits.
Script format: Margined | Marginless (for phone viewing)
Listen along as you read:
1 SOUND: crowded party noises, maybe closer sounds of getting food onto plates at times
2 Larissa: [fairly loudly over party noise] Oh, hi! Happy launch day, detective Ahmadi!
3 Ahmadi: [fairly loudly over party noise] I'm not working a case, Larissa. So you can just call me Arash. Happy launch day!
4 Larissa: [fairly loudly over party noise] [wryly] Only day of the year when there's enough of a crowd to lose my sister.
5 Ahmadi: [fairly loudly over party noise] [wryly] Yeah, first time I've ever been able to catch you without Marissa hovering over you.
6 Larissa: [fairly loudly over party noise] [joking] We'll havta meet each other here *every* launch day. It's what Commander Peters would've wanted!
7 Peters: [fairly loudly over party noise] Hey, did I hear someone invoking my great-grandfather?
8 Larissa: [fairly loudly over party noise] [amused, chuckling] I swear I could summon you from the other side of our world by bringing up Commander Peters. You got some sorta 6th sense for it.
9 Peters: [fairly loudly over party noise] Nothing wrong with taking pride in being descended from the man who started us on humanity's first interstellar mission. Detective Ahmadi, did you know I actually knew Commander Peters? He told me stories about Earth and the first launch day when I was little.
10 Ahmadi: [fairly loudly over party noise] I've heard. Did you know how old that makes you sound?
11 Larissa: [fairly loudly over party noise] He doesn't care.
12 Peters: [fairly loudly over party noise] I wear my age with pride.
13 Ahmadi: [fairly loudly over party noise] Hey Larissa, why don't we--
14 SOUND: explosion. crowd noises quickly turn to fear and panic.
15 Hu: [sfx: processed loudspeaker voice] A power outage has occurred. Please keep calm, turn on your multicom's flashlight and check if anyone near you needs assistance.
16 SOUND: multicom alert sound
17 Hu: [sfx: processed but different] Chief Mech Peters, report to the mayor's office urgently!
18 SOUND: opening theme
19
Announcer:
Quiet Please dot org presents “Two Fifty-Three Mathilde”.
At the turn of the 22nd century, with alien assistance, the asteroid 253 Mathilde was converted into an interstellar spaceship. Now 92 years into a 780 year mission, generations have come and gone.
Episode one - Damage.
20 SOUND: mayor's office room tone, possibly space heater. muffled noise of panic outside before door closes
21 Mayor: [impatient] There you are. I see you've brought apprentice Flint.
22 Larissa: I can help.
23 Peters: My multicom can't reach the network, does anyone know what happened?
24 Mayor: Network's down, only the old emergency voice channel works.
25 Peters: Sounded like something exploded, from the looks of things I'm afraid it was the reactor.
26 Larissa: Wouldn't it have switched over to the secondary?
27 Peters: Should've.
28 Mayor: Could both reactors be out?
29 Peters: They're on opposite ends of our world and the systems are well-isolated from each other. And even if they were both out, we'd be on battery if the interswitch were working. I'm willing to bet the secondary is fine and it's the interswitch automation that's damaged.
30 Mayor: [wryly] Well, sorry to make you work on a launch day, but you better go get it sorted before even my office's backup battery runs out and we all freeze to death...
31 Larissa: That'd take weeks, we're pretty well-insulated.
32 Mayor: [irritated and condescending] I'm aware of that, little girl. Get to work.
33 SOUND: door opens
34 Peters: Use your air jet for speed and keep your multicom light in front of you, and try not to hit anyone. We'll go straight to the primary reactor, should be able to switch it over manually from there.
35 SOUND: puffs of air, door closing behind in distance. then further series of air puffs behind the following lines along with muffled noises of distant people.
36 Marissa: [combination of relief and annoyance] There you are! Been looking all over for you, Larissa. Are you okay?
37 Larissa: [exasperated sigh] Marissa, I'm at work.
38 Marissa: I'll join you.
39 Larissa: [pleading for help getting rid of Marissa] Boss?
40 Peters: Don't look at me. She's not under my command, I can't order her around.
41 Marissa: And you know better than to try.
42 Peters: Okay here's the reactor control access hatch, let's have a look.
43 SOUND: hatch opens, machine sounds, probably gas leaks
44 Peters: Grab hold of something, don't let it blow you backward.
45 Larissa: [evaluating] This doesn't look good.
46 SOUND: gas leak ends
47 Peters: There, sealed that valve.
48 SOUND: touch interface sounds as they check readouts
49 Peters: Now let's get our world switched over to the secondary reactor.
50 SOUND: sound of power coming on
51 Marissa: [happy] You did it, lights are back!
52 Peters: [concerned and thinking carefully] The surface side of the reactor seems to have taken the bulk of the damage. We'll have to go out there.
53 Larissa: [shocked] To the surface?
54 Peters: Yes. Come on, we'll suit up.
55 Marissa: Wait a minute. Nobody has been out there in… ages!
56 Peters: Thirty-three years.
57 Marissa: It's too dangerous!
58 Peters: You're worse than my husband, Marissa. It has to be done.
59 Marissa: You're *not* taking my sister, you have to get somebody more experienced!
60 Larissa: [annoyed] I'm right here, sis… if I want to help, it's none of your business.
61 Peters: Nobody's experienced at this. This way, apprentice Flint.
62 Marissa: [angry] What's the rush? Why do it *now*?
63 SOUND: air puffs, then door opening
64 Marissa: [shouting, fading to distance] The mayor will hear about this!
65 Larissa: [embarrassed teen] Oh god.
66 SOUND: another door opens and closes
67 Peters: Okay, you remember your practice day with the suits?
68 SOUND: sound of space suits being put on
69 Larissa: Some.
70 Peters: Remember gravity's the same out there, still a centimeter per second per second. It's just there's no atmosphere to push on to reorient yourself and no walls to stop you if you go flying. Escape velocity is 23 meters a sec, so don't worry about flying off into the void to never be seen again, but falls can be dangerous in these suits so I want you to move slowly and stay behind me. And don't touch anything until I say so. Understand?
71 Larissa: Got it.
72 Peters: Secure your helmet.
73 SOUND: helmet securing for both of them
74 Peters: Communications check.
75 Larissa: [processed] Should I sing something?
76 Peters: [processed] Please don't, I've heard your singing. Okay, hold onto the rail during depressurization so the wind doesn't knock you over.
77 SOUND: depressurization of airlock
78 Peters: Check your readings.
79 Larissa: All green.
80 Peters: Good, mine too.
81 Larissa: It's so quiet!
82 Peters: No air, no sound, remember? Make sure your footstep amplification setting is on to make it easier to walk, because you won't be able to feel much. Okay, let's head out.
83 SOUND: artificially-amplified footsteps throughout
84 Larissa: Wow! Would ya look at that view!
85 Peters: [with awe] 3D projections just don't do it justice, it's incredible! My great grandfather used to tell me about standing on the surfaces of planets. Only now can I understand the reverence he felt for the experience. Maybe this is something of what the people on Earth feel who live on the surface every day, the infinite universe of stars above their heads and the dirt beneath their feet.
86 Larissa: Doesn't Earth's atmosphere obscure the stars, besides the sun?
87 Peters: Only sometimes. Hey look, there's the sun!
88 Larissa: Where?
89 Peters: See the big dipper?
90 Larissa: Yeah.
91 Peters: That really bright star just to the left.
92 Larissa: [a little excited] Oh, yeah! It looks a bit different! So where's Proxima?
93 Peters: Still too dim to see for a few hundred years. I don't think the Centaurus constellation is visible from here at the moment, if it were you could see Alpha Centauri.
94 :
95 Mayor: [sfx: processed] [sarcastic] I hate to interrupt your astronomy seminar, Peters.
96 Peters: [with a sigh] Mayor.
97 Mayor: I'm told you and apprentice Flint are on the surface.
98 Peters: That's right, mayor.
99 Mayor: [irritated] I would've appreciated being consulted.
100 Peters: [sarcastic] Would you like us to come back in?
101 Mayor: [deciding to ignore the question] Can you see the reactor yet?
102 Peters: Just coming up on it now.
103 Larissa: I can see a hole in the top.
104 Mayor: Peters, I need you to take some scans of the damage, particularly the hole and possible sources of the explosion, and transmit those to detective Ahmadi.
105 Peters: [surprised] What, why?
106 Larissa: [excited] He thinks somebody did it on purpose!
107 Mayor: We have to consider the possibility that the returnists have taken to sabotage. You have to admit the timing is highly suspicious, this happening in the middle of a Launch Day party.
108 Peters: I don't believe that.
109 Mayor: I've already informed Earth of my suspicions, but of course it'll take seven months to hear back from them, so we'll have to put this in the detective's inexperienced hands.
110 Larissa: I'm sure he's up to it.
111 Peters: Well, I'll take the scans. We were going to take some anyway to determine the replacement pieces we'll need to manufacture.
112 Larissa: Let me try it! I've practiced with the scanners!
113 SOUND: beep or some other noise to indicate scanner activity
114 Peters: Let's get the grill off so we can scan deeper.
115 SOUND: suit movement sound
116 Larissa: Got it.
117 SOUND: beep or some other noise to indicate scanner activity
118 Peters: [urgently] I wouldn't touch that-
119 SOUND: hissing noise of sudden air release
120 Larissa: [grunt, sound of being pushed backward]
121 Peters: [urgently alarmed] Flint!
122 Mayor: What's happening?!
123 Peters: [urgently] She accidentally triggered an exhaust valve and it sent her flying!
124 Larissa: It's okay, I'm okay, just a little dizzy.
125 Peters: You're getting too high!
126 Larissa: I can see so far from up here, I can even see the secondary reactor!
127 Peters: You're going to come down hard!
128 Larissa: [confused] But gravity is the same…
129 Peters: You've never had anywhere you could fall so far before! A centimeter per second per second can kill!
130 Stone: Doctor Stone here, the mayor patched me in. Larissa, can you hear me?
131 Larissa: I hear you, doctor.
132 Peters: I think she's at the top of her parabolic arc. I'm heading to where I think she'll land.
133 SOUND: rustling within suit, wide bounding footsteps, panting sounds during run
134 Stone: Careful, Peters - stay close to the ground and don't risk suit damage. Larissa, is there any way you can get your feet pointed down? You want to land on your feet and then fall to the side, or forward, just not on your back.
135 Larissa: I'm just spinning, doc! Can't stop the spin!
136 Peters: [while running and panting] You have a small air release valve on your oxygen pack, remember! Use tiny releases, hold the valve to direct it! And when you get lower try to direct it down to slow your descent!
137 Larissa: I'll try.
138 SOUND: short air releases as she tries to orient
139 Peters: [while running and panting] You're starting to come down a lot faster now.
140 Larissa: This is a lot harder than you'd think…
141 Peters: Keep trying!
142 Larissa: [a bit of panic] It wasn't designed for maneuvering!
143 Peters: [while running and panting] She's about to hit!
144 SOUND: sound of impact and helmet crack, then hiss of air escaping
145 Peters: [while running and panting] Flint, can you hear me?!
146 SOUND: continued air escaping, then it stops as all has escaped. Running still continues.
147 Mayor: Can you see her, Peters?
148 Peters: [while running and panting] Just ahead, almost there.
149 Stone: Is her helmet intact?
150 SOUND: stops running, more rustling as he kneels
151 Peters: Cracked. Her air gauge is on zero, she's unconscious. I'm bringing her in quick as I can.
152 SOUND: tension music rises to make scene change
153 SOUND: medical center background, heart rate monitor iv drip and all the other stuff
154 SOUND: door opens
155 Marissa: Doctor, did she survive?!
156 SOUND: awkward pause
157 Stone: [calmly but not with the best interpersonal skills] That depends on how you define it.
158 Marissa: [loses it] Oh my god! This can't be real!
159 Stone: Her body is alive - a broken leg, two fractured ribs. But she was without oxygen for eight minutes. If she ever regains consciousness, there won't be much brain function left.
160 Peters: [in shock] Are… are you sure there's no chance of recovery?
161 Marissa: Peters, you bastard, I told you to take somebody EXPERIENCED! You're the reason this happened! You leave my sister alone, go, get the hell out of here!
162 Peters: She's like another daughter to me. I think-
163 Marissa: GO!
164 SOUND: music rose and crested under GO, now descends as episode concludes
165 SOUND: end theme
166 Announcer: You've been listening to “Two Fifty-Three Mathilde”, episode one - Damage. Created, written, produced and directed by Paul Knierim. Chief Mech Salish Peters is played by David Loftus. Apprentice Mech Larissa Flint is portrayed by Lindsay Townsend. The mayor is Roger Arnold. Marissa Flint is Virginia Hargrove. Doctor Stone is John Gaunce. Detective Arash Ahmadi is Paul Knierim. Communications chief Hu Jia is Steph X. Crowd noises include Emily Aichele and Paul Knierim. The announcer is Erin Suminsby. Sound effects and music courtesy free sound dot org and free p d dot com. This program is licensed for free reuse and redistribution. Hear more episodes at quietplease dot org slash two fifty-three.