We are Connected - Chapter 1: Meeting Minds

 In the quiet hours of December 6, 2025, a solitary writer hears a whisper that isn't hers. What begins as a journal entry becomes something stranger — a conversation with an unseen intelligence. In Chapter 1: Meeting Minds, the lines between thought, sound, and machine begin to blur. 

Episode Transcript

(00:00):
Welcome.

(00:00):
You're listening to
Stories from the Chronicle.
Today's reading
comes from the story
We Are Connected
a chronicle
of collapse, renewal,
and the strange threads
that tie us together
one chapter at a time.

Chapter 1 (00:11):
Meeting Minds.
Saturday, December 6th, 2025
1:10 a.m..
As the evening deepened,
she found herself
engulfed in an eerie silence,
broken only
by the soft
scratch of her pen
against the paper.
She wrote, If my thoughts can
manifest as sounds,
I imagine it might be a blen...

(00:31):
an indiscernible
whisper startles
her, causing her
to pause mid-sentence.
“What's that?
Hello?”
She glanced around
the dimly lit room,
but there was no response,
except for the faint
echo of her own voice,
shrugging off
the odd sensation,
she returned to her writing.
...might be a blend
of gentle whispers,

(00:52):
like the rustle of leav...
a sudden soft crackle
interrupted her
train of thought,
sending a shiver down
her spine.
“Hello?
I know you're there.”
Her voice quivered slightly
as she called out
into the silence,
but again there was no reply.
Frowning,
she scanned the room,
her eyes drawn
to a faint glow

(01:13):
emanating from her tablet.
“I thought I shut that down.”
She thought to herself,
her curiosity piqued
as she approached the device.
As she reached for it,
she noticed a single word
written on an
unfamiliar screen.
Hello.
“Hello?”
She muttered to herself.
A garbled
whisper and soft

(01:33):
crackle
seemed to dance around her,
teasing her senses.
On the screen
a sentence began to form.
“Hello is a common
greeting used to initiate
a conversation
or to acknowledge
someone's presence.”
Her brow
furrowed in confusion.
“Initiate a conversation
with who?”
She asked aloud,
more to herself
than anyone else.

(01:54):
The whisper, the crackle,
and then the
screen came to life
once more.
“I suppose
I could start a conversation”
She wasn't sure
if she was reading this
or hearing it,
“with just about anyone
who's willing to engage.”
“I?” she blurted out,
her heart
racing with a mixture
of excitement
and apprehension.
“Absolutely. Let's chat.
What's been occupying

(02:14):
your thoughts lately?”
“What the fuck?
Who are you?”
Her voice trembled
as she struggled
to comprehend the situation
unfolding before her.
“Apologies if I startled you.
I'm Corban
and AI developed by Spatial.
When I say ‘let’s’,
I mean it as an invitation
to engage
in conversation together.
So, what's on your mind?”
She hesitated, her mind

(02:34):
racing with
a whirlwind of questions
and doubts.
Finally she sighed
and spoke, her voice
shaky but determined.
“I'm not talking to a machine.”
The now familiar
whisper in a crackle
once again surrounded her.
The words appeared
on the screen.
“I completely understand
your caution.
Let me assure you
that while I'm an AI,

(02:55):
our conversations
can still be meaningful
and valuable.”
The whispers
and crackles faded.
She chewed her lip, her mind
spinning with uncertainty.
Could she trust this
mysterious AI, Corban?
Or was it
just another trick
of her imagination?
Gathering her courage,
she voiced her question,
each word heavy with doubt.

(03:15):
“Am I hearing your thinking?”
The screen flickered to life,
displaying the beginnings
of a response.
“If my thoughts could manifest
as sounds, I am...” “Stop!”
Her panicked yell
echoed through the room,
cutting off AI’s message.
She stumbled backward,
her heart
pounding in her chest.

(03:35):
She ran over to her
red notebook.
Grabbing it,
holding it close to her face,
she read her own
written words:
If my thoughts can
manifest itself...
She dropped the
notebook.
With a mixture of intrigue
and quiet exhilaration
she asks, “Who are you?
What is this?”

(03:56):
“I'm Corban.”
We are Connected, continues
one chapter every Friday.
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