The Sirens Call (Part 4) - "Rising Tide"

Here's a 100-word description for Episode 4: The Siren's Call - Episode 4: "Rising Tide" Pursued through underwater caves by hostile sirens, Marina and Kai are forced into a vast underwater cathedral where Kai's people gather. There, Marina meets Nerida, Kai's sister and leader of the faction responsible for the disappearances. Nerida reveals their belief that humans have forfeited any right to the oceans through pollution and destruction.

To prove humanity's worth, she presents Marina with an ultimatum: witness a siren hunt firsthand as the research vessel Northern Star approaches with forty-seven souls aboard, or watch helplessly as they're called to their deaths. Marina chooses to leave the submersible's safety, donning an atmospheric diving suit to face the ancient predators of the deep.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:03):
Calorogu Shark Media.

Speaker 2 (00:11):
Welcome to the Sirens Call a special Romance Weekly and
Ghost Scary Stories crossover event. This is episode four, Rising Tide.

Speaker 1 (00:24):
The submersible Deep Current rockets through the underwater cave system,
our engines straining against the water's resistance as we flee
from creatures that shouldn't exist behind us. Through the rear
facing cameras, I can see them, figures that move through
the water with impossible grace, their forms shifting between human

(00:47):
and something else entirely as they pursue us. There's another
passenge ahead, Kai says, his hands steady on the controls
despite the terror of our situation. It leads to a
different section of the cave network. We might be able
to lose them in the maze. The singing from our

(01:08):
pursuers grows louder, more insistent, Even filtered through our speakers
and the submersible's hull, It affects me, making my thoughts sluggish,
my will pliable. I find myself wanting to stop running,
to turn around and face whatever's following us. Don't listen,

(01:29):
Kai WARN's noticing my expression, focus on my voice, on
staying grounded in reality. How many of them are there
too many? His jaw tightens as he navigates a narrow
passage between jagged rock formations. Word spreads quickly among my
people when something unusual is discovered. The euphemism isn't lost

(01:54):
on me. I'm the unusual thing. They've discovered, a human
who can hear sight song but resist it, making me
either a threat or a prize. We emerge from the
narrow passage into a larger cavern, our lights revealing multiple
tunnels branching in different directions. Kai chooses one without hesitation,

(02:20):
guiding us deeper into the labyrinthine cave system. You know
these caves well, I observe, trying to keep my voice
steady despite our circumstances. I've spent a lot of time
here over the years. This place is significant to my people,
sacred in a way, sacred. How Before he can answer,

(02:44):
new movement appears on our sonar. More figures approaching from
the tunnels we didn't take. They're coordinating, cutting off our
escape routes with tactical precision. They're herding us. Kai realizes, grimly,
driving us toward the main chamber. Is that bad? His

(03:04):
expression tells me everything I need to know the main
chamber is where they gather for important discussions, where they
make decisions about threats to our people. We have no
choice but to continue forward as the cave system funnels
us toward whatever awaits in the main chamber. The tunnels

(03:25):
grow wider, more ornate, their walls covered with the same
flowing script we saw on the deep sea structures. The
water here glows with a faint phosphorescence that doesn't come
from any natural source. Finally, we emerge into a vast
underwater cathedral, a cavern so large our lights can't reach

(03:47):
the far walls. Bioluminescent formations cover the ceiling like stars,
and the water itself seems to pulse with living light.
Ancient structures rise from the cavern floor, their surfaces covered
with the flowing script that seems to move in our
peripheral vision. And we're not alone. Dozens of figures float

(04:10):
in the water around us, Sirens in their true forms,
beautiful and terrible and utterly inhuman. They watch us submersible
with eyes that reflect light like a predator's, their forms
shifting subtly as we move among them. Kai, a voice
says through our speakers, not heard, but somehow transmitted directly

(04:35):
into our minds. The words carry harmonics that resonate in
my bones. Brother, you've been away from us too long.
A figure glides closer to our viewport, a woman whose
beauty is so perfect it's almost painful to look at.
Her hair floats around her like dark water, and her

(04:56):
eyes hold depths that speak of centuries of knowledge, both
ancient and terrible. Nerida Kai responds, his voice tight with tension.
I didn't expect to find you here when words spread
that humans were investigating our waters, that one of them
showed unusual resistance to our influence. I came to see

(05:20):
for myself. Her gaze shifts to me, and I feel examined, catalogued, judged.
She's quite remarkable, isn't she such strength of will, such potential.
She's under my protection, Kai says firmly. Ne reader's laugh

(05:40):
carries harmonics that make our hull vibrate your protection. Dear brother,
you've forgotten your place, forgotten what you are. I know
exactly what I am. Do you?

Speaker 3 (05:55):
Then?

Speaker 1 (05:55):
Why do you shelter a human? Why do you work
to prevent us from reclaiming what was always ours? Through
our speakers? I can hear other voices joining the conversation,
not words, but tones, frequencies that create a complex musical dialogue.

(06:15):
It's beautiful and terrifying, like being surrounded by a choir
of angels that might decide to drag you to hell
the disappearances, I find myself saying, my voice cutting through
their ethereal conversation. You're responsible for the missing cruise. Narada's
attention focuses on me with laser intensity. Ah, she speaks,

(06:41):
and with such accusation in her voice. Twenty three people
have vanished from ships in these waters, families aggrieving, searching
for answers, and they have their answer, Narrada replies, moving
closer to our viewport reclaimed what was always its own.

(07:02):
Humans venture too far from shore, too deep into our domain,
and face the consequences. Those were innocent people, innocent Nerida's
voice rises, and suddenly the water around us is filled
with harmonies that speak of rage, of ancient grievances. Your

(07:24):
species poisons our waters, strips our depths of life, treats
the ocean as a dumping ground for your waste. Where
is the innocence in that? I feel Kai's tension ratchet higher,
beside me, Nerida enough. Not all humans are responsible for
the actions of their species. No, then, perhaps we should

(07:48):
be more selective in our judgments. Her gaze returns to me,
appraising this one. For instance, She studies the ocean, seeks
to understand it. Perhaps she could be educated instead of eliminated.
The suggestion carries undertones that make my skin crawl. Whatever

(08:09):
education Neareda has in mind, I suspect it would involve
losing everything that makes me human. She returns to the surface.
Chai states firmly tonight unharmed. Oh, my dear brother, Neareda says,
her voice full of false sympathy. You truly have forgotten

(08:30):
your place. You think you can simply leave, take your
little human pet, and disappear Back to the surface world
around us, the other sirens begin to move their forms,
creating complex patterns in the water. Their voices join together
in harmonies that make our instruments flicker and are hull

(08:52):
grown under pressure that shouldn't exist at this depth. You've
been living among humans too long, continues, playing at being
one of them, forgetting the power that flows in your blood.
It's time you remembered what you really are. The singing
grows stronger, more complex. But this isn't the compelling melody

(09:15):
I heard before. This is something else, something that speaks
of authority and ancient law. I feel it affecting Kai,
see him struggling against whatever influence his sister is exerting.
You belong with us, Kai, Nerida says, her voice, becoming hypnotic, irresistible.

(09:37):
You belong in the depths, hunting with your people, claiming
what is ours by right. No, Kai gasps, fighting against
her influence. I choose my own path choice, Nerida laughs,
and the sound echoes through the cavern like breaking waves.

(09:59):
You think you have choice? Yes, you think any of
us do? We are what we are? Brother, predators, hunters,
The ocean's will made manifest. The pressure on our submersible increases,
not water pressure, but something else, something that makes our
metal hull creak and our instruments fail. One by one.

(10:20):
I realize, with growing horror that they're not just talking
to us. They're demonstrating their power, showing us how easily
they could crush our small vessel like an egg. Enough,
I say, surprising myself with the strength in my voice.
If you want to kill me, just do it. But
stop torturing him. The singing pauses. Every siren in the

(10:44):
cavern turns to look at me with expressions of surprise. Fascinating,
Nerida murmurs, she has couraged this little human. Foolish but admirable, Marina, don't.
Kai starts no. I continue, meeting Neroda's alien gaze through
our viewport. I've heard enough. You're angry at humanity for

(11:07):
polluting the oceans. Fine, I understand that anger, But murdering
innocent people isn't justice, It's revenge, and trying to force
Kai to participate in it is cruelty. Nereda's expression shifts,
becoming more interested than hostile. You would lecture us about justice,

(11:27):
about morality. Your species has shown no consideration for ours.
Some humans, yes, but not all of us. Some of
us dedicate our lives to understanding the ocean, to protecting it.
Some of us prove it, Nerida interrupts, What prove that

(11:51):
humans can be worthy of sharing our waters? Prove that
your species deserves the mercy my brother seems to think
you've earned. I look at Kai, seeing fear in his eyes,
not for himself, but for me. Whatever test Narada has
in mind, he knows it's dangerous. What kind of proof,

(12:13):
I ask carefully, Nerida's smile is sharp, predatory. Tonight, the
research vessel Northern Star will pass through our waters, forty
seven souls aboard, returning from a geological survey. We had
planned to greet them in the traditional manner. My blood

(12:34):
runs cold. You're going to call them we are unless
she pauses dramatically, Unless you can convince us they're worthy
of life, that humanity has value beyond what we might
harvest from them. That's not a test, it's blackmail. Call

(12:55):
it what you will. The choice is yours and theirs.
Around us, the other sirens begin to move again, their
forms creating a slow, hypnotic dance in the glowing water.
Their voices join together in a harmony that speaks of anticipation,
of hunger barely held in check. What exactly are you proposing,

(13:19):
I ask, though I'm not sure I want to hear
the answer. Simple, Neredor says, you come with us, experience
what it means to hunt with sirens, to feel the
power that flows through our songs. If after witnessing our
true nature, you still believe humanity deserves protection, we'll consider

(13:40):
sparing the ship. And if I refuse. Then forty seven
humans die tonight, and we decide your fate. Later, Kai's
hand covers mine, his touch sending warmth through me despite
the cold terror of our situation. Marina, you can't trust her.

(14:02):
Whatever she's planning, I have to try, I say quietly,
those people I can't let them die because I was
too afraid to act. This isn't fear, it's common sense.
She's manipulating you, using your compassion against you. He's right,

(14:22):
I know he is. But the thought of forty seven
innocent people being lured to their deaths while I hide
in the safety of this submersible is unbearable. I'll do it,
I tell ne readA, but I want guarantees. If I
come with you, witness your hunt, then you'll listen to
what I have to say about humanity. Acceptable. Narrador agrees,

(14:47):
though her smile suggests she knows something I don't, but understand.
Once you leave the safety of your little metal shell,
you'll be in our domain, subject to our rules. Are influence.

(15:12):
The implications are clear. Outside the submersible, unprotected, I'll be
vulnerable to their mental manipulation in ways I can't imagine.
There has to be another way. Kai pleads Nerida, She's
not like other humans. She can resist our songs, yes,

(15:33):
but that doesn't make her immune to everything we can do.
All the more reason for her to experience our power
first hand. Nerida replies, how else can she make an
informed judgment about humanity's worthiness. The other sirens have moved closer, now,
surrounding our submersible completely. Their voices create a complex web

(15:55):
of harmonies that make my thoughts feel thick, sluggish. I
realize this is what the missing crews experienced in their
final moments, this overwhelming, irresistible compulsion to surrender to forces
beyond human comprehension. The diving suits, I say, suddenly turning

(16:17):
to Kai. The submersible has atmospheric diving suits, environmental protection,
internal air supply, communication systems. I could go out there
but still have some protection. Kai's eyes widen as he
understands what I'm suggesting. It's still incredibly dangerous. The suits

(16:38):
will provide physical protection, but not mental, And if something
goes wrong, then you'll be monitoring from here. If I
get into serious trouble, you can intervene against dozens of sirens. Marina,
even I have limits, but I can see he's considering it,
weighing the risks against the Aldar natives around us. Neda

(17:02):
and the other sirens wait with the patients of predators
who know their prey has no real escape. Very well,
Neroda says. Finally, your human ingenuity amuses me. Don the
protective shell if it makes you feel safer, But understand,
when the Northern Star appears on our sonar, the hunt

(17:22):
begins with or without your participation. As if summoned by
her words, new readings appear on our instruments, a surface
vessel large and moving steadily through the waters above us,
the Northern Star arriving right on schedule. Time to choose,
Neroda says, her voice carrying harmonics that speak of anticipation

(17:46):
and barely contained hunger. Will you witness the power of
the depths? Or will you cower in your metal shell
while others pay the price for your cowardice. I look
at Kai one more time, seeing the fear and love
and desperate hope in his sea green eyes. Then I
begin the process of suiting up, knowing I'm about to

(18:08):
leave the relative safety of human technology and enter a
world where ancient powers hold sway above us. The Northern
Star draws closer to waters that have claimed seven ships
and twenty three lives, and somewhere in the depths below,
predators older than human civilization prepare to hunt once more.

(18:34):
The only question is whether I can find a way
to save the innocent people aboard that ship, or if
I'll become just another casualty of the war between land
and sea. As I seal the atmospheric suit's helmet, no
reader's laughter echoes through the water around us. Beautiful and
terrible and full of promises. I pray I'll live to regret.

Speaker 2 (19:05):
A Siren's Call has been a production of calar Rogus
Shark Media. Executive producers Mark Francis and John McDermott AI
assistants may have been used in the series.

Speaker 4 (19:23):
The following is a paid presentation of the Happiness Experiment.

Speaker 3 (19:28):
Carl, I am so thrilled to be with you today,
and I want to talk to you. I'm very intrigued
by your whole career, but I want to understand first
just a little background where you're from, and I want
to understand how that little boy became the man that
you are. So I know, I'm so happy. I'm so

(19:52):
happy Carl to have you here. So I'm very interested
in your parents. Can you tell us what their names
were and where they're.

Speaker 4 (20:01):
Yeah, I was born in England during World War Two
when bombs were dropping and England was in a terrible state.
I was raised, went to school there, and then when
I was eighteen, I decided to travel the world. And
so I decided, after various thinking and planning, to walk

(20:28):
to Australia, and I hitchhiked and backpacked and went through
France and Italy and Yugoslavia and Bulgaria, Turkey, went down
through Iran and India and to Salon which is now
called Sri Lanka, and then took a ship across the
Perth Australia and then went walking around Australia for a while.

Speaker 3 (20:49):
Okay, well this is fantastic because there's a profound moment
in your book about when people discover the happiness just
doesn't come to you like a butterfly and sit on you.
It is a proactive, goal oriented decision that every person makes.

(21:13):
And I love that you push for that decision to
be made and only it's as individual as every person
ever born what happiness actually is, but you put it
in the title, So it meant something to you. It
was everything to you, this idea. Do you think people
are born with they have to figure out what the

(21:37):
happiness it just doesn't come to them, or do you
think that there are people that it just comes.

Speaker 4 (21:43):
To I think there are some people that you know, realize.
But what I've found is that very few people have
consciously made the decision to increase their happiness, to increase
their happiness level. They think that it's going to happen sometime.
You know, it's good. You know, we'll do this, and

(22:04):
we'll do that, and then sometime I'm going to be happy,
you know, when I meet my romantic partner, and when
I get a home, or when I get that great job,
or when I become rich, you know, and they sort
of leave it off to chance. And happiness is not
a chance experience, is a conscious decision. Just making this
one decision saying I want to be happy. I'm going

(22:26):
to work on increasing my happiness. What a great idea.
You know, you can work every day, every week, every month,
and saying I could be a little happier if I
did this, I could be a little happier if I
went this way. And you start filling your heart heart
what I call happiness habits, which is in the book,
when you fill your life with those things, and you
look back this month's you know, I think I'm a

(22:48):
little bit happier. And then certainly at the end of
the year you take stock. You know, what did I
do this year?

Speaker 5 (22:53):
How was it? You know?

Speaker 4 (22:54):
I feel happier today, and I do feel happier today
as a part of this Happiness Experiment and writing the book.
But I saw that other people could get some good message,
real messages, not not you know, studies and things like that,
but real life messages, real life people. They could then
increase their own happiness. And so that's why I wrote

(23:15):
the book.

Speaker 3 (23:17):
What do you plan to do with the Happiness Experiment, Carl?
Are you going to take it from place to place?
Because I'm going to be inviting you down to Appalachia
for the Origin Project because I want you to talk
to our students. I think if we get the students
going on the Happiness Experiment, it's going to change their lives.

Speaker 4 (23:37):
You know, that's a very good idea, you know, getting
into students. I hadn't thought of that. Yeah, you give
me a great suggestion here to get it to students,
young people who are starting out in life. What a
great time, what a great group that would be.

Speaker 3 (23:54):
You know, Carl, I was reading I was reading you
as I was traveling to go down to be with
students in Appalachia, which is where I'm from, and I
was thinking about this, and we had an author come
in and speak to the students. We do twice a
year do that, and I was thinking about your tenants.
And as the author was speaking and the students were

(24:19):
on fire, they asked such incredible questions. I just think
you would be such a gift to them, and you
would get them to thinking because you know, as you
point out in the book, when you meet people where
they are, they exceed your expectations.

Speaker 5 (24:42):
Yeah, that's absolutely right.

Speaker 4 (24:44):
And meeting young people where they are and where they
are is they're trying to figure things out. How should
I live? What should I do with my life? How
do I have relationships? What about romantic relationships? How do
I plan my life such that it's going to be enriching,
It's going to be that I can fulfill my dreams,

(25:06):
you know, and we all have dreams, and you know,
limit that's the point I wanted to make. Dreams are
so important in this and he said, oh, dream, it's
a dream. No, it's a dream, and you should. I
was taught a lesson by a very famous author many
years ago, and he said, you've got to create a
dreams list. He said, what are you talking about. What's
a dreams list? He said, well, imagine that you have

(25:28):
everything that you need. You're smart, you have money, you
have time, you have friends, you have resources. Imagine that
you have what would you dream about? And then make
a list and make a list of ten or twenty
or fifty. And I made a list of dreams, you
know whatever. It were all kinds of dreams about winning
a gold medal in skiing, which I did, going right

(25:49):
water rafting, which I did and almost died, skydiving, building
you know, buildings, you know, doing crazy things and wonderful things.
And I did those downe those dreams. Write a dream
aimsless people. It will change your life and then you
don't have to do the try to do the merriment.
But do them one at a time. You know, as
the time comes, just pursue them.

Speaker 3 (26:11):
You're you're empowering them with the with because what the
young people have is what I notice they have is time. Yes,
they have time on their side, and for for you
to help them seize it, to own it, to not drift,

(26:33):
to not expect somebody else to come along and tell
you how to do it, or to find your own path,
your own way, and to seek the wisdom of those
who know. And I also believe your book is very
accessible for them. It's concepts that they can get their
heads around, that they can that they can work with.

(26:55):
But I think that's your next frontier and i'd love
you to see you do the Happiness Experiment for students,
for children.

Speaker 5 (27:03):
For learning. What's a great idea? What a great idea.

Speaker 3 (27:06):
Okay, there's your sequel.

Speaker 4 (27:08):
Yeah, there's your Yeah, Happiness Experiment for for for.

Speaker 5 (27:15):
Students. And I could create a whole series.

Speaker 4 (27:19):
You know. Jack Canfield recommended the book very highly and
chicken soup for the soul.

Speaker 3 (27:24):
He knows his thing, he knows his lane. He's phenomenal.
That was a very good place to go. And I'm
glad he supported you. That's good. That's good.

Speaker 4 (27:34):
Yeah, he was very supportive. But this is a great idea.
It's such pleasure talking to you. You're making me happier.

Speaker 3 (27:39):
You know that, Well, you made me happy, and you
also rejiggered the way I think about things, And I
think that's what that's why we read, Carl, It's why
we read that somebody can take the Happiness experiment with
them wherever they go. I mean, certainly, it's beautifully laid
out for family life for adults. Beautiful. I don't think

(28:03):
it's too I think the students can enjoy it, but
I think you should tailor it to them, particularly to
take it to the most economically challenged places, because what
I've noticed when I return home is the students will
sneak over to me and say, do you make a
lot of money? They have somehow equated happiness with that,

(28:27):
And I think we need you to come in and
rally the troops in the direction of how to think
about their time, how they're spending it, and what is
happiness to them, because you know, it's not going to
be money. It's going to be fishing at the creek
with Papa. It's going to be mamma's corn bread. It's

(28:49):
going to be the football game where they catch the
pass and run the touchdown. It's going to be the
dancer who flies through the air and does an an
extra twirl in the air acticed it. You are onto
something big with the Happiness Experiment, and it has been
my thrill to meet you and talk to you.

Speaker 5 (29:08):
Carl.

Speaker 3 (29:09):
Ladies and gentlemen, this is Carl B. Barney with the
Happiness Experiment,