Metra Ep 2 - So, What's Your Revolution About?

2041, a ramshackle bar in climate-devastated northeastern America.

Cori recovers from her bifurcated consciousness. Aglaphonos foretells their next recruit, just before Samantha takes refuge in the bar. Cori pitches the revolution--but does she fully understand what she's asking?

Songs:
"Cascade Outro"
"Reporting for Duty"
"Take a Bite"

Content Note: Brief instance of peril as a result of religious extremism and transphobia. Instance of supernatural violence.

Written by Emily and Ned Hartford
Music and Lyrics by Ned Hartford
Dialogue Directed by Emily Hartford
Produced by MythMakers Media

Featuring: Jeannette Bayardelle, Cherrye J. Davis, Fred Inkley, Corinna Schulenburg, Alia Munsch, Cristina Obando Sanchez, Sierra Rein, and William Peden.

Sound Editing and Design; Instrumentation Arranged and Performed; Vocals Arranged; and all Audio Produced, Engineered, and Mixed by Ned Hartford

Follow the show:
https://pod.link/1843713183
IG and Bluesky:  ⁨@metrathemusical⁩  
metrathemusical.com

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:52

David Corey Correctionberg Samply Estar featuring Le Munch.

SPEAKER_04 1:05

Sierra Ryan.

SPEAKER_01 1:06

Christina Abundches. And a wonderful tree nymph chorus. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 1:25

Welcome, humans. We three tree nymphs are here to present to you episode two of the scripted audio podcast of Metro: A Climate Revolution with Songs. A story of how we arrived here. A chronicle of how we fell. A herald of how we rise. Change the myth, change the world. In the last episode, Agilophano splits Corey's consciousness to lead Corey back through time as the world spins wildly forward, careening like a car driven by a drunk. Drunk on power. Drunk on wealth. It's time to take the wheel. It's time to drive the car. Sing it, Aggie.

SPEAKER_10 3:12

Are you ready? Ready?

SPEAKER_09 3:14

Yes. You're now reconnected with all your past lives.

SPEAKER_10 3:17

Whoa.

SPEAKER_09 3:18

I was able to guide you through your past lives while simultaneously training you to lead the revolution.

SPEAKER_10 3:25

Yeah, I have to sit down. Understandable.

SPEAKER_09 3:27

Such a bifurcation of consciousness is easy for being like myself, but for humans, the return can be disorienting. Now you are not just Corey, but Corey, who is rooted through time. Now it's time to spread your branches, training the rebels, like we discussed back in 2015.

SPEAKER_10 3:48

Wow. It's not 2015? No. You humans call this year 2041. 2041? It can't be. I will wait for your bifurcated consciousness to coalesce. 2041. My mom. I need to find my mom. Is my mother still alive? My mother's dead. And all she knew when she died was what the headlines must have said. Saying how the black woman disappeared after getting caught for insider trading. Maybe she even had a visit from the FBI asking about her vanished daughter. Her criminal daughter. Must have broken her heart. I broke her heart. Not you, Corey. Heinrich. Oh, I'm gonna find that motherfucker. Get a boat, get off this island, clear my name, and let my mom know I'm my mom is dead. The one person who always believed in me. Even when I let her down. Corey, I'm sorry about your mother.

SPEAKER_09 5:14

But unfortunately, you don't have the luxury of self-pity.

SPEAKER_10 5:18

I know. I remember. We're running out of time. The world is burning up. So much suffering everywhere, except in the bubbles. The bubbles. Right. And that's going to change. The revolution. The revolution. Okay. This place. This bar. This seems very familiar. Why are we here? It's your bar. Outside the Northeastern American Bubbles. We built this bar. Right! My bar! We built this! I built this. You mostly watched. Excellent! It's all coming back to you. Kind of run down, crappy looking. I guess I'm no carpenter. Oh, that's right. I was a hedge fund manager, right? Explains a lot. Okay. This place is kind of a wreck, isn't it? That's right. Everything was salvaged. The chairs. Oh, the cups. The corrugated metal detached the walls and roof. Oh, that was a job. That's right. I did that. I worked my ass off, and you watched.

SPEAKER_09 6:32

I must stay focused on the long arc of history. You must stay focused on the revolution. So, Corey, the revolution.

SPEAKER_10 6:39

Okay. I'm catching up. 2041. Right. I remember the plan. Recruit rebels, create safe houses for your sister nymphs, and shut down the bubbles. Okay, I'm here. So you are ready to train your first rebel, and for your first recruit, you will need a storyteller. Okay. If you say so, how do I get one of those? I sense the faiths will provide.

SPEAKER_11 7:53

See you right where you are.

SPEAKER_10 7:56

I'm not moving.

SPEAKER_11 7:56

Both of you.

SPEAKER_10 7:57

I'm staying right here. And she's she's staying right there.

SPEAKER_09 8:02

Why are you green? I am a tree nymph. What? I am a tree nymph.

SPEAKER_10 8:14

Humans. If you want to leave, you can. I'll die if I go out there. No, no, no, you won't. They're gone. They're gone? Yeah.

SPEAKER_09 8:31

Ha how?

SPEAKER_10 8:33

She's got a powerful voice.

SPEAKER_09 8:35

A siren singing can repel as well as lore. Many humans don't know that.

SPEAKER_10 8:42

Is this some kind of cult? Don't worry. You're safe here. How? You should sit down. May I sit down with you? Oh, hey, drink up. You probably dehydrated.

SPEAKER_12 9:21

I am so tired of Christians trying to kill me.

SPEAKER_05 9:25

Yeah.

SPEAKER_12 9:26

Just living my best trans life. Did she really say she was a what she said? Did she really say that she was a siren? Yes. And she sang and people go away? Yes. Am I dreaming?

SPEAKER_10 9:53

I totally understand that response.

SPEAKER_12 9:56

Great. So in this dream, I'm safe now.

SPEAKER_10 10:01

As long as you're here and she's here, I think you're pretty safe.

SPEAKER_08 10:11

Okay. Okay, okay, okay, okay. All right, hey, hey, just breathe.

SPEAKER_05 10:17

Breathe. Okay. Okay. Breathe.

SPEAKER_10 10:36

I'm Corey.

SPEAKER_12 10:41

Oh. I'm Samantha. But friends who save my life can call me Sam.

SPEAKER_10 10:53

Well, it's nice to meet you, Sam. You feeling a little better?

SPEAKER_12 10:57

Well, this is certainly a unique situation.

SPEAKER_10 11:03

Well, if you ever get to know her, you might find her if not likable. At least pretty interesting.

SPEAKER_09 11:11

I'm very likable.

SPEAKER_10 11:13

See?

SPEAKER_12 11:16

Okay. Um this is just a dream, right?

SPEAKER_10 11:21

Would it make you feel better to think that?

SPEAKER_12 11:23

Yes.

SPEAKER_10 11:24

Then yeah, you can go ahead and think that.

SPEAKER_12 11:27

Thank you. So in this dream, there is a little green uh person.

SPEAKER_10 11:33

A tree nymph? A siren?

SPEAKER_12 11:36

Yes, right. Like out of mythology.

SPEAKER_10 11:39

Exactly like that.

SPEAKER_12 11:40

Okay, well that makes sense. I love mythology. So it makes sense that it would be a part of my dream. Are you from mythology too?

SPEAKER_10 11:50

Funny you should ask. Uh because in fact, in one of my past lives, in my first life, I'm from the very same myth she's from.

SPEAKER_12 12:00

So who was I in my past lives?

SPEAKER_10 12:04

All I know is that I've been reincarnated. I don't know about you.

SPEAKER_12 12:07

Oh, okay. Wow. What myth am I from?

SPEAKER_10 12:12

I don't know if you're even from a myth.

SPEAKER_12 12:15

Why not? It's my dream.

SPEAKER_10 12:17

Good point. I just know about me.

SPEAKER_12 12:20

Okay.

SPEAKER_10 12:22

You. There. My name is Oglophanos.

SPEAKER_12 12:26

Ah, so Greek mythology.

SPEAKER_10 12:29

Yes.

SPEAKER_12 12:30

Okay. I'm Sam. A fan of mythology. Convenient. And you know what? I have questions.

SPEAKER_09 12:41

Yes, human.

SPEAKER_12 12:44

Okay, so Egilophanus. Uh tell me, do you do tree nymphs when they're in the tree inside of it, is the tree hollowed out? Or like do you become part of the tree? What do you eat? What do you do for fun?

SPEAKER_10 13:02

Human, I barely know you. Sam, may I ask you a question? Might as well. Sam, are you a storyteller? Uh by any chance, would you consider yourself a storyteller? Well, I uh I used to be a journalist. That'll do. You want a job as a journalist? Bartender. Weird dream. Sure. When do I start? Well, hang on tight. Because I need a bartender who can help me start a revolution.

SPEAKER_12 13:47

So you said you were from a myth. Yes. My first life.

SPEAKER_10 13:53

Which certainly raises the question: what is a myth, right? Certainly does. Myths become reality through the retelling by the multitudes.

SPEAKER_12 14:04

That's a fascinating concept. Do you mind me asking what myth you both are from?

SPEAKER_10 14:10

The myth of King Erisicthan and his daughter Metra from Avid's Metamorphosis.

SPEAKER_12 14:16

I love that myth. No wonder I'm dreaming this. And who were you in the myth?

SPEAKER_10 14:23

His daughter? Metra?

SPEAKER_12 14:25

Metra? Your father got cursed by a goddess. Siri! Cool. Yeah. Yeah, so he was cursed with insatiable hunger, right?

SPEAKER_10 14:36

Yes.

SPEAKER_12 14:37

And he lost everything as a result, right? Even his own daughter. Right. You abandoned him. Yeah. But then you received the power of shape shifting from a god, Poseidon, right? Yes. That must have been awesome. I'm a bird. I'm a tiger. Now you. Become a crusty old fisherman, like in the myth.

SPEAKER_10 15:04

No. Why not? She can't. Without, according to her, we don't have access to the magic from the myth without recreating the myth.

SPEAKER_09 15:14

The myth must be retold to be recreated. She must immerse herself in the story to reach the power in her prior life.

SPEAKER_12 15:22

So let's recreate the myth.

SPEAKER_10 15:24

Let's do it. We can't. This is my dream, why not? Someone must become King Erisicton. And you know what happens to him.

SPEAKER_12 15:33

Um yes, I remember. At the end of the myth, the king is all alone in the barren field, too weak to move, and he takes a bite of his own arm. And another and another.

SPEAKER_10 15:49

All that's left is a pair of clacking jaws. Yeah. An image I have nightmares about to this very day. And for the longest time, I didn't know why.

SPEAKER_12 16:02

Well, isn't that something? Huh? Someone talking about their own nightmare in my own dream. Weird. Meta, kinda. So, what's your revolution about? Who you overthrowing?

SPEAKER_10 16:20

The bubbles. Great. Make them share their wealth to reduce the suffering of everyone and stop their continued extraction and burning of fossil fuels.

SPEAKER_12 16:29

Cool. How?

SPEAKER_10 16:30

Kidnap Security Forces soldiers.

SPEAKER_12 16:33

Sounds dangerous. Love this dream. Okay, so once you kidnap the security force soldiers.

SPEAKER_10 16:39

Use them to bring down the bubbles.

SPEAKER_12 16:42

Sure. How are you gonna convince them to do that?

SPEAKER_10 16:45

Make the choice easy for them. Okay. Tell me how. All yours. There's a magical process.

SPEAKER_12 16:53

Loving it. What's it called?

SPEAKER_10 16:55

We call it We call it the process.

SPEAKER_12 17:07

I am disappointed in my subconscious. My dreams are usually more creative than that.

SPEAKER_10 17:13

Sorry, I'm not more poetic. Oh, okay. Listen. The process brings the subject into the actual myth of King Erisicthon, to the point where the subject becomes Erisicthon. And if the subject doesn't help us, they meet the same fate as Erisicthon. Clickety clack. Yeah. Clacking jaws.

SPEAKER_12 17:34

Sorry, you said those were bad memories, right?

SPEAKER_10 17:41

We've all got them these days. Right?

SPEAKER_12 17:45

Yeah. Uh this is all very real, isn't it? Yes. I was so hoping that the heat, the chaos, the children dying of thirst and hunger, the people trying to kill me, I I I suddenly was so hopeful that this was all a dream. And that I'd finally wake up and this is not a dream, is it?

SPEAKER_10 18:20

No.

SPEAKER_12 18:22

Damn.

SPEAKER_10 18:24

I know that this is a lot to have thrown at you all at once. Oh, believe me, I know. But I also know that I can't do this alone. And you're here. The one the faith's provided. Okay. And maybe this can provide something for you. Something that helps. So what do you say to being a bartender? A bartender who helps me bring down the bubbles.

SPEAKER_12 18:53

A bartender who kidnaps security forces and runs a magical process based on a myth.

SPEAKER_10 19:00

And by doing so, helps create a better, more hopeful future for all. So bartender plus.

SPEAKER_12 19:06

Yeah. Well, with all the societal upheaval, environmental collapse, and daily chaos, my social calendar is surprisingly open. So Okay. Okay. But to be perfectly honest, I am not much of a bartender. Oh no, that's fine. But I did make honeyed mead once for a toga party. I love honeyed mead. I had a feeling you might.

SPEAKER_02 19:40

Security forces, Sergeant! Jordan Jorgensen reporting for duty. This is your last chance!

SPEAKER_06 19:59

Let us bring this process to completion. The king collapses in the pot.

SPEAKER_12 20:48

She can really do it. She did that.

SPEAKER_10 20:50

We did that.

SPEAKER_12 20:51

He deserved it. That's the process of success. We just killed a man. Made him rip his own flesh from his body and then eat it. And we didn't just kill a man. We made a mockery of his death. Plastic, chattering teeth.

SPEAKER_10 21:15

We turned a human being into a toy holder. We couldn't have the problem of disposing of actual human remains. Problem solved. This was your solution? A wind-up toy? I like a good joke.

SPEAKER_09 21:40

He is dead. What does it matter?

SPEAKER_12 21:43

It matters. He chose. With Sergeant Jorgensen, there was never gonna be a choice. We knew what he would choose.

SPEAKER_09 21:52

You yourself described him as an evil man. You said that. In his capacity with the security forces, he killed outsiders for people.

SPEAKER_10 22:04

Just to be glad he is gone.

SPEAKER_09 22:07

And you now have practice implementing the process.

SPEAKER_12 22:10

I need to think about this. I have to think.

SPEAKER_01 22:33

Starring Jeanette Bayardell, Sheri J. Davis, Corinna Schulenberg, and Fred English. Featuring Alia Munch, Christina Barbados Sanchez, and Steven Ryan. Yeah. Episode two also features the compelling vocal performance of William Peaton as Security Forces Sergeant Jordan Jorgensen reporting for duty. Yeah. And now a shout-out to our stellar ensemble. Jonathan Gray, Christian Vaughn, Gowie McCullough, Ned Hartford, Walker Schneckenberger, and Luke Wingart. Dialogue directed by Emily Hartford. Singing sessions directed by Tom Mulpey. Songs written by Aglofinos, Corey, Sam, and yours truly, Tom Mulpey. Music and vocal arrangements, as well as sound editing and sound designed by Tom Mulpe. All audio produced and recorded and mixed by Tom Mulpey at Mythmakers Media Studios. Principal casting by McCorko Casting. Additional casting by Mythmakers Media. Public relations and media outreach by Tink Media. Visit our website, Metrothemusical.com for a detailed list of credits and thanks. Follow us on Instagram and Blue Sky at Metra the Musical, all one word. Metra, a climate revolution with songs, is a production of Mythmakers Media. Copyright Ned and Emily Hartford, all rights reserved. Remember, change the myth, change the world. You great A plus, wondrous, motherfucking fabulous climate revolutionaries. That's a reference from one of the later episodes, so when you get there, you're gonna be like, oh yeah, I recognize that. Make a little Easter egg.