August 3, 2025 • 23 mins
Struggling food blogger Ava Kim receives a cryptic midnight text leading her to an impossible discovery—a supernatural night market hidden in the shadows of Seattle, where vendors trade in human experiences and emotions rather than ordinary goods.
There she encounters Kieran, an enigmatic honey merchant whose wares contain pure joy, deep connections, and the very essence of wonder she's lost. After tasting honey that floods her with forgotten happiness, Ava writes her best piece in months, but as the magical effects fade, she's left with an insatiable craving and the haunting sound of distant bells. With the market only appearing during new moons, she must wait twenty-eight agonizing days to return—if she can resist the growing hunger consuming her from within. A tale of supernatural addiction, lost wonder, and the dangerous price of tasting magic in a world gone gray.
To become a premium subscriber (no ads and no feed drops) visit caloroga.com/plus. For Apple users, hit the banner on your Apple podcasts app which seays UNINTERRUPTED LISTENING. For Spotify or other players, visit caloroga.com/plus. You also get 25+ other shows on the network ad-free! Go to Caloroga.com for all our shows!
There she encounters Kieran, an enigmatic honey merchant whose wares contain pure joy, deep connections, and the very essence of wonder she's lost. After tasting honey that floods her with forgotten happiness, Ava writes her best piece in months, but as the magical effects fade, she's left with an insatiable craving and the haunting sound of distant bells. With the market only appearing during new moons, she must wait twenty-eight agonizing days to return—if she can resist the growing hunger consuming her from within. A tale of supernatural addiction, lost wonder, and the dangerous price of tasting magic in a world gone gray.
To become a premium subscriber (no ads and no feed drops) visit caloroga.com/plus. For Apple users, hit the banner on your Apple podcasts app which seays UNINTERRUPTED LISTENING. For Spotify or other players, visit caloroga.com/plus. You also get 25+ other shows on the network ad-free! Go to Caloroga.com for all our shows!
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:03):
Caloroga Shark Media.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
Welcome to the Sirens Call a special Romance Weekly and
Ghost Scary Stories crossover event. This is episode five Breaking Point.
Speaker 1 (00:25):
The atmospheric diving suit feels like a fragile bubble around
me as I step through the submersible's airlock into the
alien world of the underwater cathedral. The water here is warm,
almost tropical, heated by geothermal vents that feed the bioluminescent
organisms covering every surface. But it's not the temperature that
(00:48):
makes me shiver. It's the dozens of predatory eyes watching
my every movement. Through my suit's communication system, I can
hear Kai's voice, Maria, stay close to the submersible. If
anything goes wrong, get back inside immediately, But Nerada glides
(01:09):
between us before I can respond. Her form graceful and
terrifying in equal measure. In the water, unrestrained by human limitations,
She's revealed herself as something beyond beautiful, something that makes
my mind struggle to process what I'm seeing. Welcome to
our domain, little human, she says, her voice transmitted directly
(01:33):
through the water to my suit's receivers. Are you ready
to witness the true power of the depths around us,
The other sirens have arranged themselves in a complex formation,
some rising toward the cavern's ceiling, others spreading out along
the walls, all of them focused on the sonar readings
(01:54):
that track the northern Star's approach far above. The ship
will pass directly overhead in twenty minutes. Nearada continues close
enough to hear our call, close enough to be persuaded
to join us in the depths. And if I can
convince you they're worth sparing, I ask, my voice artificially
(02:16):
steady through the suits speakers. Ne Reada's smile is sharp, predatory.
Then you'll have accomplished something no human has ever done,
changed the mind of a hunting pod. Her expression grows serious.
But understand, doctor Torres, what you're about to witness is
not cruelty. It's nature. We are what we are, just
(02:40):
as sharks are sharks, just as storms are storms. Storms
don't choose their victims, I reply, you do, do we?
Or do we simply follow currents that have flowed for millennia.
Before I can answer, the formation of sirens begins to move.
(03:01):
They rise through the water in perfect synchronization, their voices
joining together in harmonies that make my suit's systems vibrate.
Even filtered through my environmental protection, the sound is compelling, beautiful,
impossible to ignore. We ascend through layers of increasing light.
(03:22):
As we approach the surface, the water here is different, cleaner,
charged with energy that seems to come from the sirens themselves.
Through my suit's cameras, I can see Kai swimming nearby,
his expression conflicted as he's pulled along by forces both
social and supernatural. Two hundred feet to surface, narrator announces
(03:48):
perfect depth for our purposes, deep enough to ensure our
prey drowns quickly, shallow enough that their final moments aren't prolonged.
The clinical name of her description makes my stomach turn.
These aren't anonymous victims to her, They're a food source,
no different from schools of fish. We level off in
(04:10):
the dark water, the sirens spreading out in a wide circle,
with Narida at the center above us, still invisible but
growing closer. The Northern Star continues its innocent journey across
the surface. Now you'll see what your species truly faces
when it ventures into our domain, Nerador says. Around the circle,
(04:34):
the other sirens begin to sing, the sound that emerges
from them. Is unlike anything I've ever experienced, not just music,
but something that bypasses rational thought and speaks directly to
the deepest parts of consciousness. Even through my suit's protection,
I feel its pull, a desire to surrender, to let
(04:58):
go of all resistance and follow the melody wherever it leads. Stop.
I gasp, recognizing the terrible beauty of what's happening. You
can't do this, can't. Narida's voice rises above the collective song. Watch,
little human, watch and understand the futility of resistance. The
(05:23):
singing intensifies, and suddenly I can see its effect on
the surface above. Through my suit's instruments, I detect the
ship beginning to change course, a subtle shift at first,
then more pronounced as the crew responds to the irresistible
call from below. The ship is turning. Kai's voice comes
(05:44):
through my communicator, tight with anguish. Marina, They're going to
beach it on the rocks near the island standard hunting pattern.
I watch in horror as the Northern Star alters its heading,
drawn by the sirens toward the jagged coastline of Blackrock Island.
Somewhere above forty seven people are walking toward the rails,
(06:08):
compelled by harmonies that promise peace, understanding, and release from
all earthly concerns. Please, I say, desperation, making my voice crack.
These are innocent people, scientists, researchers, crew members with families.
(06:30):
All humans have families. Nerida interrupts, her voice, never wavering
from the collective song. All humans believe themselves innocent. Yet
still they poison our waters, Still they strip our depths.
Spare not these people. The Northern Star is a research vessel.
They're studying ocean conservation, trying to understand how to protect
(06:54):
marine ecosystems. Prove it. The simple challenge cuts through my panic.
How Neareda's form glides closer, her alien beauty terrible to behold.
Join your voice to ours. Experience what it means to
call prey to its fate. If after feeling that power,
(07:15):
you still believe they should be spared, will listen. The
suggestion is monstrous, unthinkable. She's asking me to participate in
mass murder, to become complicit in the very thing I'm
(07:38):
trying to prevent. I can't, I whisper. Then they die,
and you return to the surface, knowing you could have
saved them, but chose your own moral purity instead. Through
my suit's displays, I can see the ship drawing closer
to the rocks. Soon it will be too late. The
(08:01):
crew will beach the vessel and walk into the waiting sea,
drawn by songs older than human civilization. There has to
be another way, I say, desperately. Show me Narrador challenges,
and suddenly I understand. She's not just testing my resolve.
(08:22):
She's testing my understanding of her people, of the forces
that drive them. The Sirens song isn't just about hunting.
It's about communication, about harmony, about the collective consciousness that
binds these creatures together. Kai, I call through my communicator
the acoustic research you've been doing. Can you create interference,
(08:45):
something that would disrupt their song without harming them? His
response comes immediately, the submersible sonar array. If I recalibrate
it to the right frequency, I might be able to
create enough acoustic interference to break their hold. The ship's crew,
do it, I command, but Nerada has heard our exchange.
(09:06):
Her eyes flash with anger, and the collective song takes
on a harsher tone. You would use technology against us,
turn our own element against us. I would save innocent lives,
I reply, just as you would protect your people if
humans threatened them. Around the circle, the other sirens begin
(09:28):
to close in, their voices, growing more aggressive, more demanding.
The water itself seems to pulse with their displeasure. Interference initiated,
Kai reports through my communicator, but Marina, you need to
get out of there. They're not going to let this
challenge go unanswered. Through my suit's instruments, I can see
(09:52):
the effect of Kai's intervention. The ship above has stopped
its deadly turn toward the rocks, its crew presumably freed
from the sirens song's compulsion. But I can also see
the rage building in the creatures around me. You dare
interfere with a sanctioned hunt Nearroda's voice carries harmonics that
(10:14):
make my suits hull grown under impossible pressure. You use
our own brother against us. The other sirens have formed
a tight circle around me, now, their eyes reflecting bioluminescent fury.
I realize with growing terror that my atmospheric suit, protective
as it is, won't save me if they decide to
(10:35):
tear me apart. Nerida stop. Kay's voice cuts through the
water and suddenly he's between me and the hostile sirens.
She acted to save lives, the same thing any of
us would do to protect our pod. She is not
pod Nerida snarls. She is prey, clever prey perhaps, but
(10:58):
still just a human who has forgotten her place in
the natural order. The natural order is changing, Kai says firmly,
has been changing for centuries. Humans aren't just pray anymore.
Some of them are allies, partners in protecting the oceans.
We both love. Sentiment narrator dismisses you've spent too long
(11:22):
among them, forgotten what you really are. I know exactly
what I am. Kai replies, his voice carrying new authority.
I'm a siren who chooses to use his gifts to
protect rather than destroy, who understands that the future of
our people depends on coexistence, not eternal war. The water
(11:43):
around us falls silent, except for the distant sounds of
the ocean depths above us. The Northern Star continues its journey,
its crew unaware of how close they came to disaster.
You choose them over us, Nareda says, quiet, and for
the first time, I hear genuine pain in her voice.
(12:04):
Your own sister your own people. I choose a future
where both our species can thrive. Chai corrects, where the
oceans are protected not through fear and death, but through
understanding and cooperation. Nerida stares at her brother for a
long moment, emotions too complex for human understanding playing across
(12:26):
her alien features. Finally, she speaks, you have saved them
this time, but others of our kind will not be
so flexible. The humans continue to damage our domain, and
eventually someone will demand payment. Then we find other ways
to make them pay. Kai says, ways that don't require
(12:51):
innocent blood, such as education, pressure, consequences that hurt their
industries without killing their people. His gaze meets mine through
my suit's face plate. Doctor Torres has dedicated her life
to marine conservation. She could be an ally in that effort.
(13:14):
Neareda considers this her expression thoughtful. The human who can
resist our songs, she would be useful for communicating with
her kind without the complications of mental influence. I find
my voice at last. I want to help the oceans
are dying. I've seen the data, the pollution, the damage
(13:36):
being done, but mass murder isn't the answer. Let me
work with marine conservation groups. With government agencies. Let me
help them understand what's at stake, and if they don't listen,
Neareda asks, if they continue to poison our waters despite
your warnings, then we find other solutions economic pressure, sabotage
(14:00):
of polluting operations, targeted strikes against the worst offenders. I
meet her alien Gaye steadily, but we target the guilty,
not the innocent. Around us, the other sirens have begun
to disperse, their interest waning as the immediate hunt is abandoned,
(14:21):
but Neriida remains studying me with an intensity that makes
my skin crawl. Very well, she says, finally, we will
try your approach for now, But understand, little human, you
have made yourself responsible for your species behavior. If they
continue to destroy our domain despite your efforts. I understand,
(14:46):
I say, though the weight of that responsibility is almost crushing.
Nerda nods once, then turns to her brother Kai. You
are choosing exile from our people for this human if necessary,
he replies, without hesitation. It may be she looks between
(15:07):
us one final time, but perhaps perhaps there is wisdom
in your choice. Time will tell with that She's gone,
vanishing into the dark water with the fluid grace of
something born to the depths. The other sirens follow their forms,
disappearing one by one until only Kai and I remain
(15:30):
in the glowing water. Is it over, i ask through
my suit's communicator. For now, Kai confirms, swimming closer. But
this is just the beginning, Marina. There will be other pods,
other hunts, and not all of my people will be
as reasonable as Narda. Then we better get to work,
(15:53):
I say, surprised by my own determination. I have contacts
in marine conservation organizations, researchers who've been trying to document
the ocean's decline. If we can provide them with proof
of what's really at stake. It won't be easy, Ki
WARN's My people are secretive by nature. They won't welcome
(16:16):
human attention, even well intentioned attention. But some of them might,
I suggest, sirens like you who understand that cooperation is
the only path forward. Through my suit's face plate, I
can see him smile, the first genuine smile I've seen
from him since this nightmare began. Yes, there are others
(16:41):
who think as I do, others who've grown tired of
the old ways. We begin our ascent toward the submersible
leaving the cathedral of the depths behind. As we rise
(17:02):
through layers of increasingly bright water, I find myself thinking
about the future, about the impossible alliance we're proposing, about
the work that lies ahead, Kai, I say, as we
approach the submersible's airlock. When this is over, when we
return to the surface, what then do you go back
(17:25):
to hiding among humans? Do I pretend none of this happened.
He's quiet for a long moment, swimming alongside my bulky
suit with effortless grace. I don't know, he admits, I've
spent so long living between worlds, belonging fully to neither.
But with you, he pauses, with you, I feel like
(17:49):
I could find a place to truly belong. The words
send warmth through me that has nothing to do with
my suit's environmental systems. Research station will need a permanent
marine acoustics specialist, I say, carefully, someone with unique expertise
in ocean phenomena. Are you offering me a job, doctor,
(18:13):
I'm offering you a future, I reply, one where you
don't have to choose between your heritage and your conscience.
As we reach the submersible, Kai helps guide me through
the airlock. Once I'm safely inside and beginning the process
of removing the atmospheric suit, he swims up to the viewport,
(18:33):
his form visible through the reinforced glass. There's something else,
he says through the communication system, something I need to
tell you about what happened between us in the caves.
I pause in removing my helmet. What about it when
I kissed you, when my voice influenced you. I need
(18:55):
you to know that what you've felt afterward, the attraction then,
that was real. My influence can make someone more receptive
to suggestion, more willing to trust, but it can't create
emotions that don't already exist. The admission makes my heart race.
(19:15):
So when I wanted to kiss you again, that was
entirely your choice, your feeling. His eyes meet mine through
the glass, as is whatever you choose to feel.
Speaker 2 (19:29):
Now.
Speaker 1 (19:30):
I set down the helmet and move closer to the viewport,
placing my palm against the glass on the other side.
Chai mirrors the gesture, his hand aligning with mine with
only the barrier between us. When we get back to
the surface, I say quietly, we're going to have a
lot to figure out how to contact the right people
(19:52):
in the conservation community, how to document what's happening here
without exposing your people to danger, to to prevent future
incidents like tonight and us, He asks, what about us?
I think about the impossibility of our situation, a human
marine biologist and a century's old siren trying to build
(20:16):
something real in the space between two worlds. It should
be unthinkable, impossible, doomed to failure. Instead, it feels like
the most natural thing in the world. We figure that out, too,
I say, simply. Together, his smile is radiant, transforming his
(20:37):
face from merely handsome to something that takes my breath away. Together,
he agrees. As we begin our ascent toward the surface,
toward a world that doesn't know how close it came
to losing another ship to the depths, I find myself
thinking about the future with something approaching hope. There will
(21:00):
be challenges ahead, bureaucratic obstacles, skeptical colleagues, the constant threat
of discovery. But for the first time since arriving at
Blackrock Island, I believe we can overcome them. Above us,
the Northern Star continues its journey, its crew unaware that
(21:21):
their lives were saved by the cooperation between two species
that have been enemies for millennia. It's a small victory,
but it's a beginning, and sometimes a beginning is all
you need to change the world. As we break the
surface into the starlit night Kai beside me in the
(21:43):
submersibles Observation Dome, I realize that my mission to investigate
the mysterious disappearances has become something far larger, a chance
to bridge two worlds, to forge an alliance that could
save both our species. The ocean stretches around us, vast
(22:03):
and full of mysteries we're only beginning to understand. But
for the first time, those mysteries don't seem threatening. They
seem like opportunities, opportunities to learn, to grow, to build
something beautiful in the space between land and sea, something
like love.
Speaker 2 (22:45):
Night Market has been a production of Calarogu Shark Media
Executive producers Mark Francis and John McDermott Ai assistance may
have been used in this series.
Caloroga Shark Media.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
Welcome to the Sirens Call a special Romance Weekly and
Ghost Scary Stories crossover event. This is episode five Breaking Point.
Speaker 1 (00:25):
The atmospheric diving suit feels like a fragile bubble around
me as I step through the submersible's airlock into the
alien world of the underwater cathedral. The water here is warm,
almost tropical, heated by geothermal vents that feed the bioluminescent
organisms covering every surface. But it's not the temperature that
(00:48):
makes me shiver. It's the dozens of predatory eyes watching
my every movement. Through my suit's communication system, I can
hear Kai's voice, Maria, stay close to the submersible. If
anything goes wrong, get back inside immediately, But Nerada glides
(01:09):
between us before I can respond. Her form graceful and
terrifying in equal measure. In the water, unrestrained by human limitations,
She's revealed herself as something beyond beautiful, something that makes
my mind struggle to process what I'm seeing. Welcome to
our domain, little human, she says, her voice transmitted directly
(01:33):
through the water to my suit's receivers. Are you ready
to witness the true power of the depths around us,
The other sirens have arranged themselves in a complex formation,
some rising toward the cavern's ceiling, others spreading out along
the walls, all of them focused on the sonar readings
(01:54):
that track the northern Star's approach far above. The ship
will pass directly overhead in twenty minutes. Nearada continues close
enough to hear our call, close enough to be persuaded
to join us in the depths. And if I can
convince you they're worth sparing, I ask, my voice artificially
(02:16):
steady through the suits speakers. Ne Reada's smile is sharp, predatory.
Then you'll have accomplished something no human has ever done,
changed the mind of a hunting pod. Her expression grows serious.
But understand, doctor Torres, what you're about to witness is
not cruelty. It's nature. We are what we are, just
(02:40):
as sharks are sharks, just as storms are storms. Storms
don't choose their victims, I reply, you do, do we?
Or do we simply follow currents that have flowed for millennia.
Before I can answer, the formation of sirens begins to move.
(03:01):
They rise through the water in perfect synchronization, their voices
joining together in harmonies that make my suit's systems vibrate.
Even filtered through my environmental protection, the sound is compelling, beautiful,
impossible to ignore. We ascend through layers of increasing light.
(03:22):
As we approach the surface, the water here is different, cleaner,
charged with energy that seems to come from the sirens themselves.
Through my suit's cameras, I can see Kai swimming nearby,
his expression conflicted as he's pulled along by forces both
social and supernatural. Two hundred feet to surface, narrator announces
(03:48):
perfect depth for our purposes, deep enough to ensure our
prey drowns quickly, shallow enough that their final moments aren't prolonged.
The clinical name of her description makes my stomach turn.
These aren't anonymous victims to her, They're a food source,
no different from schools of fish. We level off in
(04:10):
the dark water, the sirens spreading out in a wide circle,
with Narida at the center above us, still invisible but
growing closer. The Northern Star continues its innocent journey across
the surface. Now you'll see what your species truly faces
when it ventures into our domain, Nerador says. Around the circle,
(04:34):
the other sirens begin to sing, the sound that emerges
from them. Is unlike anything I've ever experienced, not just music,
but something that bypasses rational thought and speaks directly to
the deepest parts of consciousness. Even through my suit's protection,
I feel its pull, a desire to surrender, to let
(04:58):
go of all resistance and follow the melody wherever it leads. Stop.
I gasp, recognizing the terrible beauty of what's happening. You
can't do this, can't. Narida's voice rises above the collective song. Watch,
little human, watch and understand the futility of resistance. The
(05:23):
singing intensifies, and suddenly I can see its effect on
the surface above. Through my suit's instruments, I detect the
ship beginning to change course, a subtle shift at first,
then more pronounced as the crew responds to the irresistible
call from below. The ship is turning. Kai's voice comes
(05:44):
through my communicator, tight with anguish. Marina, They're going to
beach it on the rocks near the island standard hunting pattern.
I watch in horror as the Northern Star alters its heading,
drawn by the sirens toward the jagged coastline of Blackrock Island.
Somewhere above forty seven people are walking toward the rails,
(06:08):
compelled by harmonies that promise peace, understanding, and release from
all earthly concerns. Please, I say, desperation, making my voice crack.
These are innocent people, scientists, researchers, crew members with families.
(06:30):
All humans have families. Nerida interrupts, her voice, never wavering
from the collective song. All humans believe themselves innocent. Yet
still they poison our waters, Still they strip our depths.
Spare not these people. The Northern Star is a research vessel.
They're studying ocean conservation, trying to understand how to protect
(06:54):
marine ecosystems. Prove it. The simple challenge cuts through my panic.
How Neareda's form glides closer, her alien beauty terrible to behold.
Join your voice to ours. Experience what it means to
call prey to its fate. If after feeling that power,
(07:15):
you still believe they should be spared, will listen. The
suggestion is monstrous, unthinkable. She's asking me to participate in
mass murder, to become complicit in the very thing I'm
(07:38):
trying to prevent. I can't, I whisper. Then they die,
and you return to the surface, knowing you could have
saved them, but chose your own moral purity instead. Through
my suit's displays, I can see the ship drawing closer
to the rocks. Soon it will be too late. The
(08:01):
crew will beach the vessel and walk into the waiting sea,
drawn by songs older than human civilization. There has to
be another way, I say, desperately. Show me Narrador challenges,
and suddenly I understand. She's not just testing my resolve.
(08:22):
She's testing my understanding of her people, of the forces
that drive them. The Sirens song isn't just about hunting.
It's about communication, about harmony, about the collective consciousness that
binds these creatures together. Kai, I call through my communicator
the acoustic research you've been doing. Can you create interference,
(08:45):
something that would disrupt their song without harming them? His
response comes immediately, the submersible sonar array. If I recalibrate
it to the right frequency, I might be able to
create enough acoustic interference to break their hold. The ship's crew,
do it, I command, but Nerada has heard our exchange.
(09:06):
Her eyes flash with anger, and the collective song takes
on a harsher tone. You would use technology against us,
turn our own element against us. I would save innocent lives,
I reply, just as you would protect your people if
humans threatened them. Around the circle, the other sirens begin
(09:28):
to close in, their voices, growing more aggressive, more demanding.
The water itself seems to pulse with their displeasure. Interference initiated,
Kai reports through my communicator, but Marina, you need to
get out of there. They're not going to let this
challenge go unanswered. Through my suit's instruments, I can see
(09:52):
the effect of Kai's intervention. The ship above has stopped
its deadly turn toward the rocks, its crew presumably freed
from the sirens song's compulsion. But I can also see
the rage building in the creatures around me. You dare
interfere with a sanctioned hunt Nearroda's voice carries harmonics that
(10:14):
make my suits hull grown under impossible pressure. You use
our own brother against us. The other sirens have formed
a tight circle around me, now, their eyes reflecting bioluminescent fury.
I realize with growing terror that my atmospheric suit, protective
as it is, won't save me if they decide to
(10:35):
tear me apart. Nerida stop. Kay's voice cuts through the
water and suddenly he's between me and the hostile sirens.
She acted to save lives, the same thing any of
us would do to protect our pod. She is not
pod Nerida snarls. She is prey, clever prey perhaps, but
(10:58):
still just a human who has forgotten her place in
the natural order. The natural order is changing, Kai says firmly,
has been changing for centuries. Humans aren't just pray anymore.
Some of them are allies, partners in protecting the oceans.
We both love. Sentiment narrator dismisses you've spent too long
(11:22):
among them, forgotten what you really are. I know exactly
what I am. Kai replies, his voice carrying new authority.
I'm a siren who chooses to use his gifts to
protect rather than destroy, who understands that the future of
our people depends on coexistence, not eternal war. The water
(11:43):
around us falls silent, except for the distant sounds of
the ocean depths above us. The Northern Star continues its journey,
its crew unaware of how close they came to disaster.
You choose them over us, Nareda says, quiet, and for
the first time, I hear genuine pain in her voice.
(12:04):
Your own sister your own people. I choose a future
where both our species can thrive. Chai corrects, where the
oceans are protected not through fear and death, but through
understanding and cooperation. Nerida stares at her brother for a
long moment, emotions too complex for human understanding playing across
(12:26):
her alien features. Finally, she speaks, you have saved them
this time, but others of our kind will not be
so flexible. The humans continue to damage our domain, and
eventually someone will demand payment. Then we find other ways
to make them pay. Kai says, ways that don't require
(12:51):
innocent blood, such as education, pressure, consequences that hurt their
industries without killing their people. His gaze meets mine through
my suit's face plate. Doctor Torres has dedicated her life
to marine conservation. She could be an ally in that effort.
(13:14):
Neareda considers this her expression thoughtful. The human who can
resist our songs, she would be useful for communicating with
her kind without the complications of mental influence. I find
my voice at last. I want to help the oceans
are dying. I've seen the data, the pollution, the damage
(13:36):
being done, but mass murder isn't the answer. Let me
work with marine conservation groups. With government agencies. Let me
help them understand what's at stake, and if they don't listen,
Neareda asks, if they continue to poison our waters despite
your warnings, then we find other solutions economic pressure, sabotage
(14:00):
of polluting operations, targeted strikes against the worst offenders. I
meet her alien Gaye steadily, but we target the guilty,
not the innocent. Around us, the other sirens have begun
to disperse, their interest waning as the immediate hunt is abandoned,
(14:21):
but Neriida remains studying me with an intensity that makes
my skin crawl. Very well, she says, finally, we will
try your approach for now, But understand, little human, you
have made yourself responsible for your species behavior. If they
continue to destroy our domain despite your efforts. I understand,
(14:46):
I say, though the weight of that responsibility is almost crushing.
Nerda nods once, then turns to her brother Kai. You
are choosing exile from our people for this human if necessary,
he replies, without hesitation. It may be she looks between
(15:07):
us one final time, but perhaps perhaps there is wisdom
in your choice. Time will tell with that She's gone,
vanishing into the dark water with the fluid grace of
something born to the depths. The other sirens follow their forms,
disappearing one by one until only Kai and I remain
(15:30):
in the glowing water. Is it over, i ask through
my suit's communicator. For now, Kai confirms, swimming closer. But
this is just the beginning, Marina. There will be other pods,
other hunts, and not all of my people will be
as reasonable as Narda. Then we better get to work,
(15:53):
I say, surprised by my own determination. I have contacts
in marine conservation organizations, researchers who've been trying to document
the ocean's decline. If we can provide them with proof
of what's really at stake. It won't be easy, Ki
WARN's My people are secretive by nature. They won't welcome
(16:16):
human attention, even well intentioned attention. But some of them might,
I suggest, sirens like you who understand that cooperation is
the only path forward. Through my suit's face plate, I
can see him smile, the first genuine smile I've seen
from him since this nightmare began. Yes, there are others
(16:41):
who think as I do, others who've grown tired of
the old ways. We begin our ascent toward the submersible
leaving the cathedral of the depths behind. As we rise
(17:02):
through layers of increasingly bright water, I find myself thinking
about the future, about the impossible alliance we're proposing, about
the work that lies ahead, Kai, I say, as we
approach the submersible's airlock. When this is over, when we
return to the surface, what then do you go back
(17:25):
to hiding among humans? Do I pretend none of this happened.
He's quiet for a long moment, swimming alongside my bulky
suit with effortless grace. I don't know, he admits, I've
spent so long living between worlds, belonging fully to neither.
But with you, he pauses, with you, I feel like
(17:49):
I could find a place to truly belong. The words
send warmth through me that has nothing to do with
my suit's environmental systems. Research station will need a permanent
marine acoustics specialist, I say, carefully, someone with unique expertise
in ocean phenomena. Are you offering me a job, doctor,
(18:13):
I'm offering you a future, I reply, one where you
don't have to choose between your heritage and your conscience.
As we reach the submersible, Kai helps guide me through
the airlock. Once I'm safely inside and beginning the process
of removing the atmospheric suit, he swims up to the viewport,
(18:33):
his form visible through the reinforced glass. There's something else,
he says through the communication system, something I need to
tell you about what happened between us in the caves.
I pause in removing my helmet. What about it when
I kissed you, when my voice influenced you. I need
(18:55):
you to know that what you've felt afterward, the attraction then,
that was real. My influence can make someone more receptive
to suggestion, more willing to trust, but it can't create
emotions that don't already exist. The admission makes my heart race.
(19:15):
So when I wanted to kiss you again, that was
entirely your choice, your feeling. His eyes meet mine through
the glass, as is whatever you choose to feel.
Speaker 2 (19:29):
Now.
Speaker 1 (19:30):
I set down the helmet and move closer to the viewport,
placing my palm against the glass on the other side.
Chai mirrors the gesture, his hand aligning with mine with
only the barrier between us. When we get back to
the surface, I say quietly, we're going to have a
lot to figure out how to contact the right people
(19:52):
in the conservation community, how to document what's happening here
without exposing your people to danger, to to prevent future
incidents like tonight and us, He asks, what about us?
I think about the impossibility of our situation, a human
marine biologist and a century's old siren trying to build
(20:16):
something real in the space between two worlds. It should
be unthinkable, impossible, doomed to failure. Instead, it feels like
the most natural thing in the world. We figure that out, too,
I say, simply. Together, his smile is radiant, transforming his
(20:37):
face from merely handsome to something that takes my breath away. Together,
he agrees. As we begin our ascent toward the surface,
toward a world that doesn't know how close it came
to losing another ship to the depths, I find myself
thinking about the future with something approaching hope. There will
(21:00):
be challenges ahead, bureaucratic obstacles, skeptical colleagues, the constant threat
of discovery. But for the first time since arriving at
Blackrock Island, I believe we can overcome them. Above us,
the Northern Star continues its journey, its crew unaware that
(21:21):
their lives were saved by the cooperation between two species
that have been enemies for millennia. It's a small victory,
but it's a beginning, and sometimes a beginning is all
you need to change the world. As we break the
surface into the starlit night Kai beside me in the
(21:43):
submersibles Observation Dome, I realize that my mission to investigate
the mysterious disappearances has become something far larger, a chance
to bridge two worlds, to forge an alliance that could
save both our species. The ocean stretches around us, vast
(22:03):
and full of mysteries we're only beginning to understand. But
for the first time, those mysteries don't seem threatening. They
seem like opportunities, opportunities to learn, to grow, to build
something beautiful in the space between land and sea, something
like love.
Speaker 2 (22:45):
Night Market has been a production of Calarogu Shark Media
Executive producers Mark Francis and John McDermott Ai assistance may
have been used in this series.
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