September 10, 2022 • 23 mins
"Inventor" by James Moran
An inventor's struggle
Author
James Moran - James's Work
"Household Appliances" by Todd Wells
A young couple finds that their new home may be harboring some odd secrets.
Author
Todd Wells - Todd's Blog
Cast
Sara Gertrude - Sara's Website/
Sir Spencer - Bowl After Bowl
Larry Bleidner - That Larry Show
Gregory Foreman - IMDB Gregory Foreman
D.E. Medus - david.medusmedia.com
Music
Into the Unknown by Oddsprite
Art
Art for this episode includes modified versions of:
Photo by Old Youth on Unsplash
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:04):
Hello and welcome to me this podepisode 18. I'm your host to de
minas have been sitting on abunch of stories for way too
long and it feels good to beproducing meat as part again. If
you're enjoying the show, welllet me know mail me this pod.com
Or at meatus pod on Twitter, butthe best thing you can do is
share the show. On this episode,we have two stories for you. The
(00:27):
first is a flash fiction storyfrom James Moran. James Moran is
a professional astrologer whoregularly publishes articles,
fiction and poetry. Hispublished works can be found at
Jamesmoran.org/the-creation-playpen.
A link will be in the shownotes. Inventor by James Moran.
(00:52):
He remembered the names of thefirst 50 robots he invented.
After 50 He grew concerned.Daily he encountered not only
robots whose names he could notrecall. But totally unfamiliar
robots he did not even rememberbuilding. On the dusty floor
(01:13):
behind his workbench where norobot could see. He knelt and
begged mother earth to swallowthe growing village of robots
crowding his property. He prayedso hard that he shook and he
shook so hard that he didn'tnotice the earthquake until
Splinter showered him. Hetumbled through the fissure in
(01:37):
the floor, cool soil and VillaTim and needed him in a
peristaltic flow until he wasdeposited on the floor of a
tall, dim cavern. All aroundhim. Women made of polished gold
stood on thick thighs. Strongarms nodded over their chests.
They did not speak. He finallyasked. So will you do it? When
(02:01):
they didn't answer? He asked.Will you destroy the robots.
Together, they turned andmarched out of the cavern. Once
alone, he cried himself tosleep. When he awoke in his bed,
His room was empty the curtainbelow it in the breeze. He stood
(02:25):
across the room and looked outover an utterly vacant field. He
spent the following two daysgoing on walks and sipping tea
and quiet serenity. On the thirdday, He tiptoed over the fissure
in the floor of his study, satat his workbench and said about
(02:49):
constructing another robot
Our next story comes to us fromTodd wells. Todd wells lives in
Chicago. He has three childrenand one wife. He dabbles in time
travel in that he plays bass inan 80s cover band. You can visit
(03:10):
Todd's website at travel diaryof a madman.com. The voices
you'll hear in this episode cometo us from Sarah Gertrude
Spencer, Larry Blattner, GregoryForman and me. Sarah Gertrude is
a voice and on Camera Actorbased in Austin, Texas.
Originally from Wisconsin, sheis known for her casual
(03:32):
Midwestern attitude and overallquirkiness. Spencer is the host
of bowl after bowl with his wifeLorien and host of Abel craft
with his bandmate Abel Kirby.Larry brightener is the host of
that Larry show. Gregory Formanis an actor writer, podcaster
and publican, who diversifies anintense amount of waking hours
(03:54):
with a vibrant dream state.We're not concocting ambitious
geopolitical movements ormanifesting creative spaces, he
has often seen catering to thewhims of his two young children.
Should you wish to hone hisconsiderable multi talents and
utilize them for your project.He is always available for
consideration. Links to all oftheir work will be in the show
notes. Without further ado,here's our story. Household
(04:20):
appliances by Todd wells. Kobeshook the container and tried
again a trickle of orange juicedribbled around the block of ice
that had formed in the bottle.He checked the thermometer in
the refrigerator inside. It wasback down to 21 degrees. Kobe
drank the ounce and a half ofliquid he had been able to
extricate at least it was cold.He was not looking forward to
(04:45):
another round of phone callswith Irwin, the developer who
sold them the condo. Kobe andMarcia had moved in a month ago,
and things had startedmalfunctioning almost
immediately. Unfortunately,Irwin had their money leaving
the young Trouble with littleleverage, as Kobe thought rather
the next round of phone tag hewould have to endure. He saw
(05:06):
through the bay window thestrange old man on the other
side of the street. He wasstaring at their house again.
The old man looked quirky, likehe shopped for clothing and
dumpster behind the tweedfactory and was unaware that
combs had been invented. But itdid not look threatening. Kobe
had never followed up on the oldman because every time he
(05:27):
appeared, there was inevitablysome house issue requiring Kobes
full attention that morning wasno exception. Marsha's cry
echoed through the house. Shestrode into the kitchen.
The Wi Fi just went down again.Right before I could send the
email off to the Dallas office.Do you want to call Erwin again?
(05:49):
Kobe wanted to do anything butmake that call. Still. He
nodded. Marcia picked up theorange juice container shook it
inside.
I'm late. Do what you can. I'llsee you tonight
Kobe's wife kissed him goodbyeand left for work. Kobe grimace
to the task ahead and preparedto call but his phone couldn't
(06:10):
get a signal both disappointedand relieved. Kobe got his
things together and left forwork to Kobe moped as he walked
home from the train station thatevening. Earlier a brief and
unpleasant phone conversationwith Irwin had put Kobe in a
worse mood, a difficult feat.Irwin had blamed Kobe and Marcia
(06:34):
for the glitches and refused totake any more remedial action.
This could be traced back towhen the burglar alarm had gone
off at 2am and Marsha notpausing to read the manual
yanked the whole thing out ofthe wall. He argued that this
void any warranty, dismissingKobes assertion that the burglar
alarm had nothing to do with arefrigerator. Looking down as he
(06:57):
walked and dreading to find outwhat else was no longer working,
Coby didn't see the old manuntil he almost tripped over
him.
Your house is everything workingproperly, startled,
but also defensive that he owneda house in which nothing worked
properly. Kobe replied, who areyou? The old man looked back
towards Kobe's house andanswered,
(07:18):
My name is Martin used to run arepair business there.
Martin waved his hand in thedirection of the house. Kobe
thought he was beginning tounderstand. This older gentleman
was grappling with an echo ofthe past ringing in his ears,
touching and harmless. Kobecould wish this salt of the
earth well, then forget about itand move on. You're in great
(07:39):
danger. Kobe and looked Martinover again.
You don't look dangerous.
Back in the 70s beforeeverything became disposable. I
repaired household electronicitems, toasters, televisions,
ham radios. I enjoyed it,probably because I was good at
it. When a customer dropped offa broken appliance. I didn't
(08:03):
just fix it. I improved it.
Martin's gaze grew unfocused asHe reminisced.
After I worked on themtelevisions didn't need aluminum
foil on the antennas. Radiossounded like you were right
there in the station with DJtoes brown perfectly every
single time. This last
(08:25):
item resonated with Kobe, as histoaster had recently started
making bread soggy.
I discovered how to reorganizethe circuitry in any piece of
electronic hardware so that theappliances at most basic level
wanted to succeed.
Martin turned to Kobe, and forthe first time he could see the
clarity and Martin's eyes,
(08:46):
I gave them instinct. I wiredthem for the ability to see from
all angles the task they hadbeen designed for, and let them
decide how to accomplish it.
Martin clenched his gnarled handinto a fist. He tensed up
briefly before continuing nowwith an air of regret,
(09:09):
but I wanted more, too much. Ikept improving the electronics
until one day,
Kobe, now unwrapped, trying toguess the ending.
You gave them artificialintelligence
Martin's mouth bent into a wrysmile.
No, there was nothing artificialabout it. I made them sentient.
(09:32):
Kobe considered this instinct Ican understand. But what good is
a sentient appliance
none. Before they ran smoothly,did exactly what they were
supposed to. Once they werethinking and knowing they became
needy, petulant. I couldn't justturn on a lamp anymore. I had to
(09:54):
ask nicely. Or if the alarmclock thought I was spending too
much time with the stereo Iwould go off accidentally in the
middle of the night. Still, theywere my children. I brought them
into the world and I wasresponsible for them. And I
would be lying if I said Ididn't enjoy their company, at
(10:16):
least a little.
And that's why nothing works inour house. All the appliances
are alive and in a bad mood. No,
Martin sighed, as his gazedrifted to nothing in
particular, your appliances
are not alive, but your house ishaunted.
Marcia put her hand to her mouthand cried that is so sad. Kobe
(10:38):
had recounted Martin's tale toMarcia. He told her about the
fire that Martin stove hadstarted in a bit of jealous peak
after learning of Martin's planto buy a microwave. The repair
shop burned down and none of theappliances survived. Martin held
a service for them and buriedthe charred remains on the site.
He planted a small garden as amemorial and visited once a year
(11:00):
to pay respects. The Urban Decayof the 70s and 80s ensured that
the land was of no use to anyoneand the appliances rested
peacefully. But when theneighborhood began its
revitalization process. The onlyquestion was whether the plot of
land would be turned into acondo or a vegan coffee shop.
Martin had anticipated thatdisturbing the grave might have
(11:22):
consequences. So he approachedErwin during construction and
offered to pay him to have thesite excavated and moved to a
more permanent location or whentook the money, but never moved
the remains.
So the spirit appliances aretaking over the bodies of the
living ones
Marsha asked as she looked atthe Food Dehydrator with
concern, but also empathy.
(11:44):
Martin says know that ourappliances don't have the
enhanced nervous systemsrequired for that. But the
ghosts are able to disturb themand stop them from doing what
they're supposed to
Marcia patted the stereo speakergently and asked, So what
do we do? How do we help themfind peace?
Kobe explained Martin's plan.Martin, Marcia and Kobe sat at
(12:05):
the dining table waiting fortheir guests to arrive. The room
was illuminated by five candles.Because the overhead lights
wouldn't turn on. The ghostswere clearly in a state of
agitation as nothing in the unitwas working properly. The candle
flames flickered and theupdrafts caused by the heat and
air conditioning running at thesame time. From down the hall.
They can hear the buzz ofMarshalls electric toothbrush
(12:27):
nearby, a low battery warningand a carbon monoxide detector
chirps. Are they angry? Martinlooked around the room.
I don't think so. My presenceconfuses them. But that's all
Martin paused. Then added
however, I don't know howthey'll react when we get
started. You have everything youneed.
Double check Kobe. Martin onlysmile and patted the worn
(12:49):
leather satchel at his feet.Which was good, because it was
much too late to do anything ifthe answer had been anything but
yes, the three of them satwithout speaking while different
components of that condo wordinto action and abruptly
stopped. When the knock of thefront door finally came Kobe and
Marsha left from their chairs.Martin rose slowly and
(13:11):
deliberately satchel in hand.
Well, good luck to all of us.
Martin turns make his waytowards the back door but pause.
He looked at the electric pencilsharpener that was spinning
without any pencil inserted andadded
your luck to you two oldfriends.
Once martinet close the backdoor behind him. Marcia and Kobe
exchanged a final nervousglance. Then Marsha open the
(13:33):
door. Hi, good to see you again.Irwin was clearly uncomfortable
returning to the scene but thebait had been too enticing to
pass up. I
got a message from Kobe sayingthat you guys wanted to buy a
second unit in the development.Yes,
yes, come in. Thanks for comingby.
Everyone stepped into the fouryear and looked up at the track
(13:53):
lighting which was blinkingasynchronously. Marcia was
ignoring it. So he pretended notto notice it too. He followed
Marsha into the living roomwhere Kobe stood to greet him.
Erwin had worked in constructionall of his life and was quite a
bit more muscular and Kobe. Yetthe shadows of the candlelit
room made Kobe look like avampire. And Irwin
(14:14):
unintentionally covered his neckwith his hand.
Thanks so much for coming. We'rereally excited to buy another
one of these condos, they looklike great investments.
at bat. The lights in the roomblinked on then off again. As in
the Fourier, neither Marcia norKobe said anything. So Irwin
played along please have a seat.Marcia beckoned towards the
(14:37):
chair. Irwin lowered himselfinto the seat with more caution
than usual though unsure exactlywhat he might be exercising
caution against, he began.
So you really want to buyanother one
absolutely
confirmed Kobe as the light inthe hallway went out. Oh, okay.
So Erwin with a nervous glanceat the whole way.
(14:58):
I brought specs for severaldays. units that will be
completed in the next sixmonths. Do you know how many
bedrooms you're interested in
the hallway light came back tolife then grew dimmer, but
didn't go out. Kobe and Marcialooked at each other
questioning.
We hadn't really thought aboutthat, too, maybe? Or four.
(15:19):
How about three? Something rightin the middle,
the holy light changed its mindand grew brighter again.
Confused? Erwin looked back andforth between Kobe and Marcia
actually stated Kobe withconviction.
The number of bedrooms isn'timportant. We want to see them
all
the hallway light throbbed.
Well, then we can just start atthe top,
(15:40):
and he flipped over the first ofhis brochures. Kobe and Marcia
could hardly see anything in thedim light, but studied layouts
and upgrades as Erwin wentthrough his sales pitch. Now
focused on getting the sale. Hemanaged to ignore the
malfunctioning systems and thepossibility that has
construction might be in someway responsible for their
behavior, even when thetelevision turned on by itself,
(16:03):
broadcasting a droningperformance on C span or when
stayed on topic,
this shelving come standard inparticleboard. But we can
upgrade that to mahogany, whichof
course are when added with aknowing nod would dramatically
increase the resale value of theunits.
Yes, that's an interestingpoint. But I wonder if teak
(16:25):
might be a better
a knock at the door and eruptedCobis exposition Excuse me a
moment. Kobe walked through thedoor and looked through a
peephole. It was Martin. Kobeopen the door only wide enough
for him to slide outside. in alow voice Martin asked,
Do you have an extension cord?
Kobe replied in the loudwhisper.
What do you need an extensioncord for? You're working on his
(16:47):
car?
It was locked. I thought yousaid you knew how to break into
a car. I do. But car locks havechanged I guess during his
pickup truck doesn't even have akeyhole
Coby felt a twinge of panic.
So this isn't gonna work. Itwill if you have an extension
cord,
distraught, Coby shook his head,but ran to the garage to
retrieve his extension cord. Ashe handed it to Martin, he
(17:11):
asked,
How much longer do you need
five minutes. Kobe didn't
like this turn of events, butthere was no alternative other
than to see it through. Kobereturned to Irwin, and the sales
pitch Everything okay. Sure.Answer Kobe in a voice that was
too high. Marsha was about tofollow up. But a gurgling sound
(17:31):
from the kitchen interruptedher. Excuse me just a moment
Marsha pardon herself and walkedinto the kitchen. A moment later
she reappeared it appears
the water in the freezer is nowboiling. Would anyone like tea
before either
the men could respond? Theyheard a cry of alarm from
outside. Oh, you
mustn't? That isn't the way it'sMartin.
He's in trouble. Kobe
(17:52):
and Marcia ran out the frontdoor, or when followed,
confused. When they got outside,they saw Martin standing behind
the rear of the truck looking atsomething in the bed the others
couldn't see. On his face,Martin wore a look of concern or
maybe it was fear.
What are you doing so my truck?Get away from there?
(18:14):
Martin moved away from the truckreluctantly. Irwin peered at
Martin more closely.
Wait a minute. I know you.You're that crazy guy who wanted
me to take all that dirt to thecemetery. And
if you had only done it, wewouldn't have this problem now,
or when stood with his back tothe truck protecting it. And
although he wasn't looking athis truck, he could see the
(18:37):
expression on the other's face.So he knew immediately that
something was happening behindhim. And it was probably
something bad. Or when turnedout just as the hose from the
drive hack that had been in histruck reached his head. The
suction cup at the end of lockedonto Irwin's face, and the
driver. Erwin screen was suckedinto the bowels of the dry back.
(19:01):
He fell to his knees strugglingto pull the suction cup from his
head.
You brought a drive back tolife. I thought the plan was to
bring his truck to life and havethe truck reason with him.
I told you I couldn't get intothe truck to drive back was my
only option.
But why can't the drive backreason with him instead? Well, I
explained the situation but thedrive ag was pretty upset about
(19:24):
the whole desecration thing. Ithink it wants revenge.
Erwin had fallen to his backstill fighting to escape. Colby
and looked at his extension cordconnecting the drive back to an
outlet on the other side of thecondo.
Should we pull the
plug? No, I don't want it to getmad at us to
Marsha took a step towards thedriver. Heck, Kobe put on an arm
(19:45):
to stop her. But Marsha shookher head. Kobe had misgivings
when he dropped his arm. Marshalowered herself to her knees
next to the drive back. She putone hand on its chassis and
queued I know how ng For youmust be,
Marcia realized that she wantedthe drive back to hear her over
the roar of the motor. She wasgoing to have to speak much more
(20:07):
loudly. So she tried again.
We can't let her emotions getthe better of us. We have to
find a peaceful solution thatwill end the torment of your
electronic brethren the dry
back considered Marsha's plea.It's moto slow trial and error
when was released. Irwinsstruggled to his feet, grasping
(20:30):
for breath. As he fell into thecab of his pickup. He yelled
your paper like crazy. Do youhear me? You're crazy. And if
you think I'm gonna deal withyou and sell you another unit,
you can bet it's gonna be at myoffice next time.
The door slammed shut and thepickup truck sped off. Kobe
(20:53):
looked up and down the streetand then said to the drive back,
we need to get you inside.Before the cops show up.
Martin taps the drive back onhis campus and pointed to the
extension cord. The drive backdidn't react, which they took to
be acquiescence. Martinunplugged the cord. They carried
the drive back up the stairsinto the living room and plug it
(21:14):
in again. My children prideMartin raising up his arms.
With the help of the drive backwe have avenged your
desecration. Please be at peace.
They waited slowly and the lightstopped blinking. The heater
turned off but the airconditioner remained on Marsha's
toothbrush stopped vibrating.Marcia and Kobe looked around
(21:37):
so I guess that's it. Yes, itfeels
different now. Martin looked atthe drive as
you've been alive for fiveminutes, and you're already
quite the hero.
The drive X motor per day inresponse, Martin considered the
situation.
If it's okay with you. I'll takeour new friend home with me.
I'll help him get acclimated andthen see what happens.
(21:59):
Marsha knelt and put her armsaround the drive back.
Thank you so much. We couldn'thave done it without you.
Coby shook the drive backsuction cup with both hands.
Yeah, thanks, man. You reallysaved us. Martin left
with the drive back. And a fewdays he installed a battery pack
and from then on, they wereoften seen going on long walks
(22:19):
through the park together. Kobeand Marsha checked in on them
occasionally. Martin hadpromised he wouldn't bring any
more appliances to life. Butcobia Marcia couldn't help but
notice whenever they came tovisit, there was always a cute
dustbuster sitting suspiciouslyclose to the dry back. But all
that really mattered was thatthe orange juice never froze
again.
(22:46):
Meet us pod isn't meet US mediaproduction. All rights reserved
unless otherwise stated. Don'tforget to boost the show on your
favorite podcasting 2.0 app. Ifyou don't know what that means
there will be a value for valueexplainer on the next episode.
All of the stories we produceare copyright of their
respective authors. Our thememusic comes to us from od
Sprite. You can find more oftheir music at od sprite.com Be
(23:10):
nice to your appliances folks.And have a good one.
Hello and welcome to me this podepisode 18. I'm your host to de
minas have been sitting on abunch of stories for way too
long and it feels good to beproducing meat as part again. If
you're enjoying the show, welllet me know mail me this pod.com
Or at meatus pod on Twitter, butthe best thing you can do is
share the show. On this episode,we have two stories for you. The
(00:27):
first is a flash fiction storyfrom James Moran. James Moran is
a professional astrologer whoregularly publishes articles,
fiction and poetry. Hispublished works can be found at
Jamesmoran.org/the-creation-playpen.
A link will be in the shownotes. Inventor by James Moran.
(00:52):
He remembered the names of thefirst 50 robots he invented.
After 50 He grew concerned.Daily he encountered not only
robots whose names he could notrecall. But totally unfamiliar
robots he did not even rememberbuilding. On the dusty floor
(01:13):
behind his workbench where norobot could see. He knelt and
begged mother earth to swallowthe growing village of robots
crowding his property. He prayedso hard that he shook and he
shook so hard that he didn'tnotice the earthquake until
Splinter showered him. Hetumbled through the fissure in
(01:37):
the floor, cool soil and VillaTim and needed him in a
peristaltic flow until he wasdeposited on the floor of a
tall, dim cavern. All aroundhim. Women made of polished gold
stood on thick thighs. Strongarms nodded over their chests.
They did not speak. He finallyasked. So will you do it? When
(02:01):
they didn't answer? He asked.Will you destroy the robots.
Together, they turned andmarched out of the cavern. Once
alone, he cried himself tosleep. When he awoke in his bed,
His room was empty the curtainbelow it in the breeze. He stood
(02:25):
across the room and looked outover an utterly vacant field. He
spent the following two daysgoing on walks and sipping tea
and quiet serenity. On the thirdday, He tiptoed over the fissure
in the floor of his study, satat his workbench and said about
(02:49):
constructing another robot
Our next story comes to us fromTodd wells. Todd wells lives in
Chicago. He has three childrenand one wife. He dabbles in time
travel in that he plays bass inan 80s cover band. You can visit
(03:10):
Todd's website at travel diaryof a madman.com. The voices
you'll hear in this episode cometo us from Sarah Gertrude
Spencer, Larry Blattner, GregoryForman and me. Sarah Gertrude is
a voice and on Camera Actorbased in Austin, Texas.
Originally from Wisconsin, sheis known for her casual
(03:32):
Midwestern attitude and overallquirkiness. Spencer is the host
of bowl after bowl with his wifeLorien and host of Abel craft
with his bandmate Abel Kirby.Larry brightener is the host of
that Larry show. Gregory Formanis an actor writer, podcaster
and publican, who diversifies anintense amount of waking hours
(03:54):
with a vibrant dream state.We're not concocting ambitious
geopolitical movements ormanifesting creative spaces, he
has often seen catering to thewhims of his two young children.
Should you wish to hone hisconsiderable multi talents and
utilize them for your project.He is always available for
consideration. Links to all oftheir work will be in the show
notes. Without further ado,here's our story. Household
(04:20):
appliances by Todd wells. Kobeshook the container and tried
again a trickle of orange juicedribbled around the block of ice
that had formed in the bottle.He checked the thermometer in
the refrigerator inside. It wasback down to 21 degrees. Kobe
drank the ounce and a half ofliquid he had been able to
extricate at least it was cold.He was not looking forward to
(04:45):
another round of phone callswith Irwin, the developer who
sold them the condo. Kobe andMarcia had moved in a month ago,
and things had startedmalfunctioning almost
immediately. Unfortunately,Irwin had their money leaving
the young Trouble with littleleverage, as Kobe thought rather
the next round of phone tag hewould have to endure. He saw
(05:06):
through the bay window thestrange old man on the other
side of the street. He wasstaring at their house again.
The old man looked quirky, likehe shopped for clothing and
dumpster behind the tweedfactory and was unaware that
combs had been invented. But itdid not look threatening. Kobe
had never followed up on the oldman because every time he
(05:27):
appeared, there was inevitablysome house issue requiring Kobes
full attention that morning wasno exception. Marsha's cry
echoed through the house. Shestrode into the kitchen.
The Wi Fi just went down again.Right before I could send the
email off to the Dallas office.Do you want to call Erwin again?
(05:49):
Kobe wanted to do anything butmake that call. Still. He
nodded. Marcia picked up theorange juice container shook it
inside.
I'm late. Do what you can. I'llsee you tonight
Kobe's wife kissed him goodbyeand left for work. Kobe grimace
to the task ahead and preparedto call but his phone couldn't
(06:10):
get a signal both disappointedand relieved. Kobe got his
things together and left forwork to Kobe moped as he walked
home from the train station thatevening. Earlier a brief and
unpleasant phone conversationwith Irwin had put Kobe in a
worse mood, a difficult feat.Irwin had blamed Kobe and Marcia
(06:34):
for the glitches and refused totake any more remedial action.
This could be traced back towhen the burglar alarm had gone
off at 2am and Marsha notpausing to read the manual
yanked the whole thing out ofthe wall. He argued that this
void any warranty, dismissingKobes assertion that the burglar
alarm had nothing to do with arefrigerator. Looking down as he
(06:57):
walked and dreading to find outwhat else was no longer working,
Coby didn't see the old manuntil he almost tripped over
him.
Your house is everything workingproperly, startled,
but also defensive that he owneda house in which nothing worked
properly. Kobe replied, who areyou? The old man looked back
towards Kobe's house andanswered,
(07:18):
My name is Martin used to run arepair business there.
Martin waved his hand in thedirection of the house. Kobe
thought he was beginning tounderstand. This older gentleman
was grappling with an echo ofthe past ringing in his ears,
touching and harmless. Kobecould wish this salt of the
earth well, then forget about itand move on. You're in great
(07:39):
danger. Kobe and looked Martinover again.
You don't look dangerous.
Back in the 70s beforeeverything became disposable. I
repaired household electronicitems, toasters, televisions,
ham radios. I enjoyed it,probably because I was good at
it. When a customer dropped offa broken appliance. I didn't
(08:03):
just fix it. I improved it.
Martin's gaze grew unfocused asHe reminisced.
After I worked on themtelevisions didn't need aluminum
foil on the antennas. Radiossounded like you were right
there in the station with DJtoes brown perfectly every
single time. This last
(08:25):
item resonated with Kobe, as histoaster had recently started
making bread soggy.
I discovered how to reorganizethe circuitry in any piece of
electronic hardware so that theappliances at most basic level
wanted to succeed.
Martin turned to Kobe, and forthe first time he could see the
clarity and Martin's eyes,
(08:46):
I gave them instinct. I wiredthem for the ability to see from
all angles the task they hadbeen designed for, and let them
decide how to accomplish it.
Martin clenched his gnarled handinto a fist. He tensed up
briefly before continuing nowwith an air of regret,
(09:09):
but I wanted more, too much. Ikept improving the electronics
until one day,
Kobe, now unwrapped, trying toguess the ending.
You gave them artificialintelligence
Martin's mouth bent into a wrysmile.
No, there was nothing artificialabout it. I made them sentient.
(09:32):
Kobe considered this instinct Ican understand. But what good is
a sentient appliance
none. Before they ran smoothly,did exactly what they were
supposed to. Once they werethinking and knowing they became
needy, petulant. I couldn't justturn on a lamp anymore. I had to
(09:54):
ask nicely. Or if the alarmclock thought I was spending too
much time with the stereo Iwould go off accidentally in the
middle of the night. Still, theywere my children. I brought them
into the world and I wasresponsible for them. And I
would be lying if I said Ididn't enjoy their company, at
(10:16):
least a little.
And that's why nothing works inour house. All the appliances
are alive and in a bad mood. No,
Martin sighed, as his gazedrifted to nothing in
particular, your appliances
are not alive, but your house ishaunted.
Marcia put her hand to her mouthand cried that is so sad. Kobe
(10:38):
had recounted Martin's tale toMarcia. He told her about the
fire that Martin stove hadstarted in a bit of jealous peak
after learning of Martin's planto buy a microwave. The repair
shop burned down and none of theappliances survived. Martin held
a service for them and buriedthe charred remains on the site.
He planted a small garden as amemorial and visited once a year
(11:00):
to pay respects. The Urban Decayof the 70s and 80s ensured that
the land was of no use to anyoneand the appliances rested
peacefully. But when theneighborhood began its
revitalization process. The onlyquestion was whether the plot of
land would be turned into acondo or a vegan coffee shop.
Martin had anticipated thatdisturbing the grave might have
(11:22):
consequences. So he approachedErwin during construction and
offered to pay him to have thesite excavated and moved to a
more permanent location or whentook the money, but never moved
the remains.
So the spirit appliances aretaking over the bodies of the
living ones
Marsha asked as she looked atthe Food Dehydrator with
concern, but also empathy.
(11:44):
Martin says know that ourappliances don't have the
enhanced nervous systemsrequired for that. But the
ghosts are able to disturb themand stop them from doing what
they're supposed to
Marcia patted the stereo speakergently and asked, So what
do we do? How do we help themfind peace?
Kobe explained Martin's plan.Martin, Marcia and Kobe sat at
(12:05):
the dining table waiting fortheir guests to arrive. The room
was illuminated by five candles.Because the overhead lights
wouldn't turn on. The ghostswere clearly in a state of
agitation as nothing in the unitwas working properly. The candle
flames flickered and theupdrafts caused by the heat and
air conditioning running at thesame time. From down the hall.
They can hear the buzz ofMarshalls electric toothbrush
(12:27):
nearby, a low battery warningand a carbon monoxide detector
chirps. Are they angry? Martinlooked around the room.
I don't think so. My presenceconfuses them. But that's all
Martin paused. Then added
however, I don't know howthey'll react when we get
started. You have everything youneed.
Double check Kobe. Martin onlysmile and patted the worn
(12:49):
leather satchel at his feet.Which was good, because it was
much too late to do anything ifthe answer had been anything but
yes, the three of them satwithout speaking while different
components of that condo wordinto action and abruptly
stopped. When the knock of thefront door finally came Kobe and
Marsha left from their chairs.Martin rose slowly and
(13:11):
deliberately satchel in hand.
Well, good luck to all of us.
Martin turns make his waytowards the back door but pause.
He looked at the electric pencilsharpener that was spinning
without any pencil inserted andadded
your luck to you two oldfriends.
Once martinet close the backdoor behind him. Marcia and Kobe
exchanged a final nervousglance. Then Marsha open the
(13:33):
door. Hi, good to see you again.Irwin was clearly uncomfortable
returning to the scene but thebait had been too enticing to
pass up. I
got a message from Kobe sayingthat you guys wanted to buy a
second unit in the development.Yes,
yes, come in. Thanks for comingby.
Everyone stepped into the fouryear and looked up at the track
(13:53):
lighting which was blinkingasynchronously. Marcia was
ignoring it. So he pretended notto notice it too. He followed
Marsha into the living roomwhere Kobe stood to greet him.
Erwin had worked in constructionall of his life and was quite a
bit more muscular and Kobe. Yetthe shadows of the candlelit
room made Kobe look like avampire. And Irwin
(14:14):
unintentionally covered his neckwith his hand.
Thanks so much for coming. We'rereally excited to buy another
one of these condos, they looklike great investments.
at bat. The lights in the roomblinked on then off again. As in
the Fourier, neither Marcia norKobe said anything. So Irwin
played along please have a seat.Marcia beckoned towards the
(14:37):
chair. Irwin lowered himselfinto the seat with more caution
than usual though unsure exactlywhat he might be exercising
caution against, he began.
So you really want to buyanother one
absolutely
confirmed Kobe as the light inthe hallway went out. Oh, okay.
So Erwin with a nervous glanceat the whole way.
(14:58):
I brought specs for severaldays. units that will be
completed in the next sixmonths. Do you know how many
bedrooms you're interested in
the hallway light came back tolife then grew dimmer, but
didn't go out. Kobe and Marcialooked at each other
questioning.
We hadn't really thought aboutthat, too, maybe? Or four.
(15:19):
How about three? Something rightin the middle,
the holy light changed its mindand grew brighter again.
Confused? Erwin looked back andforth between Kobe and Marcia
actually stated Kobe withconviction.
The number of bedrooms isn'timportant. We want to see them
all
the hallway light throbbed.
Well, then we can just start atthe top,
(15:40):
and he flipped over the first ofhis brochures. Kobe and Marcia
could hardly see anything in thedim light, but studied layouts
and upgrades as Erwin wentthrough his sales pitch. Now
focused on getting the sale. Hemanaged to ignore the
malfunctioning systems and thepossibility that has
construction might be in someway responsible for their
behavior, even when thetelevision turned on by itself,
(16:03):
broadcasting a droningperformance on C span or when
stayed on topic,
this shelving come standard inparticleboard. But we can
upgrade that to mahogany, whichof
course are when added with aknowing nod would dramatically
increase the resale value of theunits.
Yes, that's an interestingpoint. But I wonder if teak
(16:25):
might be a better
a knock at the door and eruptedCobis exposition Excuse me a
moment. Kobe walked through thedoor and looked through a
peephole. It was Martin. Kobeopen the door only wide enough
for him to slide outside. in alow voice Martin asked,
Do you have an extension cord?
Kobe replied in the loudwhisper.
What do you need an extensioncord for? You're working on his
(16:47):
car?
It was locked. I thought yousaid you knew how to break into
a car. I do. But car locks havechanged I guess during his
pickup truck doesn't even have akeyhole
Coby felt a twinge of panic.
So this isn't gonna work. Itwill if you have an extension
cord,
distraught, Coby shook his head,but ran to the garage to
retrieve his extension cord. Ashe handed it to Martin, he
(17:11):
asked,
How much longer do you need
five minutes. Kobe didn't
like this turn of events, butthere was no alternative other
than to see it through. Kobereturned to Irwin, and the sales
pitch Everything okay. Sure.Answer Kobe in a voice that was
too high. Marsha was about tofollow up. But a gurgling sound
(17:31):
from the kitchen interruptedher. Excuse me just a moment
Marsha pardon herself and walkedinto the kitchen. A moment later
she reappeared it appears
the water in the freezer is nowboiling. Would anyone like tea
before either
the men could respond? Theyheard a cry of alarm from
outside. Oh, you
mustn't? That isn't the way it'sMartin.
He's in trouble. Kobe
(17:52):
and Marcia ran out the frontdoor, or when followed,
confused. When they got outside,they saw Martin standing behind
the rear of the truck looking atsomething in the bed the others
couldn't see. On his face,Martin wore a look of concern or
maybe it was fear.
What are you doing so my truck?Get away from there?
(18:14):
Martin moved away from the truckreluctantly. Irwin peered at
Martin more closely.
Wait a minute. I know you.You're that crazy guy who wanted
me to take all that dirt to thecemetery. And
if you had only done it, wewouldn't have this problem now,
or when stood with his back tothe truck protecting it. And
although he wasn't looking athis truck, he could see the
(18:37):
expression on the other's face.So he knew immediately that
something was happening behindhim. And it was probably
something bad. Or when turnedout just as the hose from the
drive hack that had been in histruck reached his head. The
suction cup at the end of lockedonto Irwin's face, and the
driver. Erwin screen was suckedinto the bowels of the dry back.
(19:01):
He fell to his knees strugglingto pull the suction cup from his
head.
You brought a drive back tolife. I thought the plan was to
bring his truck to life and havethe truck reason with him.
I told you I couldn't get intothe truck to drive back was my
only option.
But why can't the drive backreason with him instead? Well, I
explained the situation but thedrive ag was pretty upset about
(19:24):
the whole desecration thing. Ithink it wants revenge.
Erwin had fallen to his backstill fighting to escape. Colby
and looked at his extension cordconnecting the drive back to an
outlet on the other side of thecondo.
Should we pull the
plug? No, I don't want it to getmad at us to
Marsha took a step towards thedriver. Heck, Kobe put on an arm
(19:45):
to stop her. But Marsha shookher head. Kobe had misgivings
when he dropped his arm. Marshalowered herself to her knees
next to the drive back. She putone hand on its chassis and
queued I know how ng For youmust be,
Marcia realized that she wantedthe drive back to hear her over
the roar of the motor. She wasgoing to have to speak much more
(20:07):
loudly. So she tried again.
We can't let her emotions getthe better of us. We have to
find a peaceful solution thatwill end the torment of your
electronic brethren the dry
back considered Marsha's plea.It's moto slow trial and error
when was released. Irwinsstruggled to his feet, grasping
(20:30):
for breath. As he fell into thecab of his pickup. He yelled
your paper like crazy. Do youhear me? You're crazy. And if
you think I'm gonna deal withyou and sell you another unit,
you can bet it's gonna be at myoffice next time.
The door slammed shut and thepickup truck sped off. Kobe
(20:53):
looked up and down the streetand then said to the drive back,
we need to get you inside.Before the cops show up.
Martin taps the drive back onhis campus and pointed to the
extension cord. The drive backdidn't react, which they took to
be acquiescence. Martinunplugged the cord. They carried
the drive back up the stairsinto the living room and plug it
(21:14):
in again. My children prideMartin raising up his arms.
With the help of the drive backwe have avenged your
desecration. Please be at peace.
They waited slowly and the lightstopped blinking. The heater
turned off but the airconditioner remained on Marsha's
toothbrush stopped vibrating.Marcia and Kobe looked around
(21:37):
so I guess that's it. Yes, itfeels
different now. Martin looked atthe drive as
you've been alive for fiveminutes, and you're already
quite the hero.
The drive X motor per day inresponse, Martin considered the
situation.
If it's okay with you. I'll takeour new friend home with me.
I'll help him get acclimated andthen see what happens.
(21:59):
Marsha knelt and put her armsaround the drive back.
Thank you so much. We couldn'thave done it without you.
Coby shook the drive backsuction cup with both hands.
Yeah, thanks, man. You reallysaved us. Martin left
with the drive back. And a fewdays he installed a battery pack
and from then on, they wereoften seen going on long walks
(22:19):
through the park together. Kobeand Marsha checked in on them
occasionally. Martin hadpromised he wouldn't bring any
more appliances to life. Butcobia Marcia couldn't help but
notice whenever they came tovisit, there was always a cute
dustbuster sitting suspiciouslyclose to the dry back. But all
that really mattered was thatthe orange juice never froze
again.
(22:46):
Meet us pod isn't meet US mediaproduction. All rights reserved
unless otherwise stated. Don'tforget to boost the show on your
favorite podcasting 2.0 app. Ifyou don't know what that means
there will be a value for valueexplainer on the next episode.
All of the stories we produceare copyright of their
respective authors. Our thememusic comes to us from od
Sprite. You can find more oftheir music at od sprite.com Be
(23:10):
nice to your appliances folks.And have a good one.
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