THE HARBINGERS
EPISODE 4: SEND MY LOVE
Transcript
PRE-SHOW ANNOUNCEMENT
ANNOUNCER: Hello folks. This is Eleanor Hyde, executive producer of this magical show you are listening to. And since you’ve made it to Episode 4, I wanted to do some housekeeping. So if you’ll hang out with me for a few minutes, I’m going to run through all the things I think you should know about our plans for Amy and Adam and the world of The Harbingers.
ANNOUNCER: First up - people keep asking us, how much show is coming? What can I epxect? We are so excited to be working on another big, sprawling, ongoing show. So, this first season will be 16 episodes that come out biweekly on Thursdays. That just happens to time out so that Episode 8 will drop on Christmas. And after that we’re planning a mid-season break in January. And then we’ll be back with another eight episodes. Season two is in the works after that - but a little more on that later.
ANNOUNCER: Next - we have a website! And I think you should check it out. It’s AudaciousMachineCreative.DotCom. That will always be linked in the show notes so you can find it. On the website we have a timeline of events of The Harbingers. Basically, we’re taking the events Adam and Amy talk about in a totally mixed up order and… well… we’re putting them in order. So you can see things more chronologically. I am thinking about this is a little like the map at the front of a fantasy novel. You don’t need it to follow the story, but it might help and it’s definitely fun.
ANNOUNCER: Also on the website we’ve got transcripts! If you like using transcripts for accessibility reasons, we think the transcripts on the website are a big improvement over what’s auto generated by the apps. Or you might want a transcript for, like, a one off reason, like checking what someone said, or a line you thought was really quotable and you want to copy it down. Transcripts are also great for that.
ANNOUNCER: And lastly… We really want to make a bunch of seasons of this story. And assuming that you also want us to make more seasons of this show, I have a couple of suggestions of how you can help make that happen. You can become a member of Audacious Machine Creative and support the show financially. Members get ad-free access to all of our shows, so that includes The Harbingers but also Unwell: A Midwestern Gothic Mystery, World Gone Wrong, and Our Fair City. Additionally, we share bonus and behind the scenes content there. Membership is $5 a month, and you can see all the details on our website. Which I mentioned earlier.
ANNOUNCER: But actually more important than that is telling your friends. The absolute number one way that people start listening to any podcast is because their friend tells them about it. Or… I dunno… maybe their friend forcefully puts in on in the car and makes them listen to it. Not that I’m suggesti - actually, okay, I am suggesting that. I’ve done it, it works really well. So if you are enjoying this journey with Adam and Amy, please tell your friends about it, it means a lot to us.
ANNOUNCER: That’s everything! Thanks for sticking with me through all this housekeeping. We really appreciate your being here and listening to The Harbingers. So without further ado… Episode 4.
TEASER
(Sounds of a university hallway fade in. Students mill about or walk from place to place.)
NARRATOR: Sinclair University. Registrar. September, 2024.
AMY STIRLING: I remember the first day that I met Adam Blackwell.
(Some footsteps approach.)
ADAM BLACKWELL: ... it’ll be fine, Paul, trust me. Julian - I mean, Professor McCandless - he can seem intimidating at first. And he’ll put you through a bit of a ringer. But just take it one day at a time. And do the work. It’ll be fine, trust me.
(Another set of footsteps approaches them.)
AMY STIRLING: Umm, excuse me?
(All the footsteps come to a stop.)
AMY STIRLING: Sorry to just totally horn in on your conversation, but... are you in the anthro department?
ADAM BLACKWELL: Ummm…
AMY STIRLING: Sorry, I must seem like a total - I’m Amy. I’m starting the masters program here.
ADAM BLACKWELL: Oh, sure. I’m Adam, this is Paul. We’ll - we’ll be in the same cohort, actually.
AMY STIRLING: Oh my god, that’s brilliant. Nice to meet you guys. But, umm, could you help me out for a second, because I am lost right now. Do you know where Rogers Hall is?
(Adam chuckles a bit.)
ADAM BLACKWELL: Yeah. We’re both lifers, so... Oh, umm, we both did our undergrad here. We know our way around. Okay, so what you wanna do is go straight down the green, until you get to the big fountain and - have you seen the big fountain already?
AMY STIRLING: Yes.
ADAM BLACKWELL: Okay, good. So you go there, then you go around the black building with all the ivy. Then you see this red brick place with this weird... I guess kinda tower thing? You can’t miss it. That’s Rogers.
AMY STIRLING: Amazing. You are a life-saver.
ADAM BLACKWELL: Oh no, it’s, like - there are basically no signs anywhere on campus for some reason. It’s a real trial by fire.
AMY STIRLING: That makes me feel like so much less of an idiot. Let me just... write down everything you just said...
(Amy begins to tap on her phone.)
AMY STIRLING: So you, uh, you’ve taken classes with McCandless, then?
ADAM BLACKWELL: Uh, yeah, you know... one or two.
AMY STIRLING: Is he as... I don’t know, as everything as the stories make him sound?
ADAM BLACKWELL: Ehhh, you know... elcora krelekar dactum eldregin.
(A pause. Amy stops writing on her phone.)
AMY STIRLING: Excuse me?
ADAM BLACKWELL: Elcora krelekar dactum eldregin?
AMY STIRLING: I’m - I’m sorry, what?
ADAM BLACKWELL: Oh, I... I was just saying that he might be the smartest man in the world. I just - sorry, I thought if you were in the grad program, you’d at least have a rough handle on the Language of the Sun.
(Amy lets out a little laugh.)
ADAM BLACKWELL: You... might want to brush up on that before the first session. Just... something to think about.
AMY STIRLING: ... sure. I’ll... think about it.
ADAM BLACKWELL: Cool. Umm, we should run but... good luck with... Rogers Hall.
(Some footsteps as Adam and Paul start to move away.)
AMY STIRLING: Your subjunctive sucks, dude.
(The footsteps stop.)
ADAM BLACKWELL: Uhh, excuse me?
AMY STIRLING: You may have meant to say that he might be the smartest man in the world, but what you actually said was that he would be the most world smart man. That’s why I was so confused. Eldora krelakar dactior ulder-ergin would have been a better way of getting your idea across. Also, your pronunciation is super fucking messy - you’re not trilling your r’s at all, and your stress pattern is barely there, which doesn’t help anything. Sorta seems like you’ve maybe spent a lot of time reading the Harbinger languages but not a lot of time actually saying the stuff out loud, which is the thing we really worked at back when I was at Princeton. You might want to - you know - brush up on that before we get started. Just something to think about. See you in class.
(Footsteps as Amy departs.)
ADAM BLACKWELL: What in all the fuck just happened?
AMY STIRLING: It wasn’t quite hate at first sight, but... well, it was about as close as you could get.
(The scene fades away and the episode’s opening theme begins to play.)
ANNOUNCER: Audacious Machine Creative Presents: The Harbingers. Created by Gabriel Urbina. Episode 4: "Send My Love.”
(The opening theme resolves and fades away.)
ACT ONE
(The familiar sounds of the lawyer’s office fade in. Skinner flips through some pages.)
CLAUDIA SKINNER: Let’s take a moment to discuss your relationship with Dr. Blackwell. If you had to describe your feelings towards him as... vividly yet succinctly as possible... how would you do it?
AMY STIRLING: You know... there’s this concept in Harbinger mythology, what they called a mulkadir. It’s the idea that for every person there is a... disaster that has been sent to Earth. And I mean a disaster, like a hurricane or a flood or a volcano or something. And it was put on Earth specifically to test them. Sooner or later you meet yours, and it either makes you stronger... or it breaks you. I think Adam Blackwell might be my mulkadir.
(Skinner takes some notes.)
CLAUDIA SKINNER: So safe to say there’s some animosity between the two of you?
AMY STIRLING: I don’t know. You spend half a decade fighting a volcano, at a certain point you kinda start to respect the damn thing.
(Skinner flips a page.)
CLAUDIA SKINNER: You first met as graduate students in the same cohort. You disliked each other. Was there a point at which things... escalated?
AMY STIRLING: Yeah. It escalated with the assignment. It was... late in our first year. And Professor McCandless asked us to stay after class one day.
(The familiar transition sound. The scene fades to a classroom.)
NARRATOR: Sinclair University. April, 2025.
(Various students leave the space.)
JULIAN MCCANDLESS: Shut the door, please, Ms. Stirling.
(A door swings shut, ending the sounds of people departing.)
JULIAN MCCANDLESS: Thank you. And thank you both for being willing to stay behind for a moment. I wanted to talk to the two of you about -
ADAM BLACKWELL: (simultaneous with the line below) Okay, sir, I don’t think I can be held responsible for what happened in class today, it was a perfectly civil discussion before she jumped in and started getting very personal in her attacks on - my interpretation of the Calador text is fine, thank you very much - and I don’t think that I should be blamed for anything that -
AMY STIRLING: (simultaneous with the line above) In my defense, I was ready to let what happened today slide until he started making snide little comments about my work being sloppy like it was just the most obvious thing in the - nothing that I said was wrong, and just because someone feels a little threatened by some constructive criticism does not mean -
JULIAN MCCANDLESS: Enough. I’m... I’m done with this. I’m done with the two of you hijacking every group discussion, I’m done with the two of you bickering, I’m done with the passive aggressive little asides. The other students hate it, the librarians hate it, and most important of all: I hate it.
AMY STIRLING: (simultaneous with the line below) Sir, we’re just trying to -
ADAM BLACKWELL: (simultaneous with the line above) I don’t think it’s fair to -
JOSEPH MCCANDLESS: D-d-d-d! Did I give either of you permission to speak? (A pause.) I don’t know how this... thing between the two of you started, but I’m done with it. We’re going to get you two to get along, or we’re going to get to the point where one of you kills the other one.
(McCandless opens a suitcase. Pulls out some pages.)
JULIAN MCCANDLESS: The Robinson site, down in Princess Elizabeth Land. I’ve gotten the financing for a field work expedition down there come December. You two want to come along? No, no need to talk, just nod if it’s a yes. Okay, good. Here’s the deal.
(He holds up piece of paper.)
JULIAN MCCANDLESS: That’s a photograph of a stone carving. They just dug it up before nightfall down there. It’s brand new - virgo intacto. I think when I was your age... translating something like this might have taken me three weeks. You have two.
(Adam and Amy both make startled, alarmed noises.)
JULIAN MCCANDLESS: Zip it. Here’s the rules of the game, kids. You get this translated before the time is up, you get to meet the lost Harbinger city up close and personal. Clock runs out and I don’t have a translation that’s at least half as good as mine, you both stay home for Christmas. No half measures, no participation trophies, it’s all our nothing. You either do it or you don’t. Two weeks, starting now. Am I clear?
ADAM BLACKWELL AND AMY STIRLING: Yes, sir.
JULIAN MCCANDLESS: Wonderful. I’ll leave you to figure out how you want to work together.
(McCandless gets up walks to the door. Opens it.)
AMY STIRLING: Umm, sir? A question? What if one of us translates this... on our own? Would only that person go to the Robinson Site?
JULIAN MCCANDLESS: If one of you translates this on your own, Ms. Stirling, I will personally pay for the seventy-six trombones for the parade.
(The door shuts as McCandless exits. We transition to a bar, with rock music playing in the background.)
NARRATOR: Four days later. The Silver Barb. Logan Square, Chicago.
AMY STIRLING: I think I might be cursed.
ANDREA SHEPHERD: You’re not cursed.
AMY STIRLING: No, no, hang on. Let’s not dismiss the idea out of hand.
ANDREA SHEPHERD: Amy, I’ve met cursed people. I’ve met people who were followed around by pestilence. Your cushy grad school ass with your cushy grad school problems? You’re not cursed. Here.
(She puts a beer down in front of Amy.)
AMY STIRLING: Okay. One: cheers, thank you for the beer. Two: okay, ouch? I thought we were friends because I could always count on your for a sympathetic ear.
ANDREA SHEPHERD: Nah, read the fine print on the contract, Amy. You’re friends with me because I’ll always call you out on your shit, and I’m friends with you because you are an endlessly entertaining hot mess.
AMY STIRLING: I want to revisit the terms of this agreement.
ANDREA SHEPHERD: I’ll have my people reach out to your people. Umm, In the mean time - girl cheers.
(They bring their glasses together with a clink.)
AMY STIRLING: Cheers, thanks, Andie. And, fine, fine, point taken. My life is not exactly a -
(There’s a record scratch, and abruptly we are back in the lawyer’s office.)
CLAUDIA SKINNER: Whoa, whoa, whoa - wait a minute, wait a minute. Did you say... Andie? Your... gal pal who you complain about Adam to... is Andrea Fucking Shepherd?
AMY STIRLING: She was just... Andrea Shepherd, bartender at the time.
CLAUDIA SKINNER: You knew her... when she was Andrea Shepherd, bartender?
AMY STIRLING: I knew her before then, even. I met her when I was sixteen. She did some work with my mother. She was... twenty-one or twenty-two back then. We were just far apart that our lives felt totally separate, but... close enough that we felt like real people to one another. And yeah, I know, I heard how awful that sounded, that is... that’s teenage Amy logic, I guess. But I... I didn’t know a lot of people in Chicago that first year. And she’d moved there when I was still at Princeton. So we hung out a lot while I was in school. Is there a problem?
CLAUDIA SKINNER: Not... exactly. But, well, suffice it to say, we’re going to come back and… unpack this at a later point.
AMY STIRLING: I salivate at the thought...
CLAUDIA SKINNER: What happened next?
(The sound of a tape spooling up, and we return to the bar scene.)
ANDREA SHEPHERD: Okay, so you gotta do work with a guy you can’t stand. Is it so bad?
AMY STIRLING: Oh, I don’t know.
(A fast whipping sound, and we are somewhere else. Drums thunder beneath the following:)
AMY STIRLING: How can you possibly be this stubborn? Are you going to sit there and tell me - ?
ADAM BLACKWELL: Yes, I’m going to - if you take a second and actually look at the thing -
AMY STIRLING: I’ve seen it, Adam, but you are not listening to what I’m telling - !
ADAM BLACKWELL: I have listened, okay?! And I know you want your answer to be the right one, but it’s not as -
AMY STIRLING: Okay, none of this is about what I want! It’s about what you -
(Another fast whip sound, and we return to the bar. The drums stop.)
AMY STIRLING: No, wait, I do know. Yes, it is that bad. We haven’t even started the translation. We just get together and yell at one another.
ANDREA SHEPHERD: Is it good yelling, at least?
AMY STIRLING: Oh yeah. Good form, quality decibel count, any day now we’re gonna blow the south wall off the Reynolds Building.
(A phone vibrates.)
ANDREA SHEPHERD: That you?
AMY STIRLING: Yeah, that’s me. Ahh, speak of the devil and he doth text. “Amy, meet at the fountain in an hour if you’re free.” Oh jeez...
ANDREA SHEPHERD: Okay, allow me to share a thought: why meet with him at all? If you’re just snapping at each other like a pair of - ?
AMY STIRLING: Grad students?
ANDREA SHEPHERD: Okay, well, I was gonna go with “jackals,” but sure, if you want to use the unflattering term... If neither one of you can do this without the other... what’s the harm in just leaving it alone?
(Amy’s phone vibrates again.)
AMY STIRLING: “Meet at the fountain even if you’re not free. It’s important.”
ANDREA SHEPHERD: You could just not...
(Amy taps on her phone.)
AMY STIRLING: I can’t be the one that quits. I can’t be the one that quits first at least. I’m okay with losing, but I can’t lose-lose.
ANDREA SHEPHERD: It’s your blood pressure.
AMY STIRLING: Love you too, Andie. See you later.
(We transition an open space on a college campus. A fountain can be heard.)
NARRATOR: An hour later. Sinclair University.
(Footsteps approach.)
AMY STIRLING: Adam.
ADAM BLACKWELL: Amy. Thanks for coming.
AMY STIRLING: Yeah. You... wanted to talk?
ADAM BLACKWELL: Yeah.
(A pause.)
AMY STIRLING: You’re not talking.
ADAM BLACKWELL: I know, just give me a... I’ve been thinking. About... you and me. About us. Because I don’t think we can actually work together on this thing. Not when we’re like this.
AMY STIRLING: Like what?
ADAM BLACKWELL: Well, for starters, I don’t like you.
AMY STIRLING: I don’t like you, either.
ADAM BLACKWELL: Pretty much every word you say, I want to -
AMY STIRLING: Correct?
ADAM BLACKWELL: And every idea that I have, you want to -
AMY STIRLING: Refute?
ADAM BLACKWELL: And even when you do make a good point, some part of me wants to -
AMY STIRLING: Argue with it? Yeah, okay, I take your point.
ADAM BLACKWELL: So... I think we need to do something drastic.
AMY STIRLING: Drastic? Drastic like what?
ADAM BLACKWELL: Well, two options come to mind. Option one is... we commit. I hate you, you hate me. We circle around one another, we growl, snap at each other. Sooner or later, one of us wins and the other... I don’t know, transfers to UCLA.
AMY STIRLING: Fuck, that’s bleak. What’s the alternative?
ADAM BLACKWELL: … have a drink with me tonight?
AMY STIRLING: What? What did you just -
ADAM BLACKWELL: You know, you, me, a drink -
AMY STIRLING: What, like, a drink of cyanide or -
ADAM BLACKWELL: What? No, Jesus, Amy. A drink of beer, or wine, or whiskey, or I don’t know, whatever.
AMY STIRLING: No, beer is fine, but -
ADAM BLACKWELL: I was thinking maybe the Broken Quarter around eight if -
AMY STIRLING: What in all the fuck is happening right now?
ADAM BLACKWELL: What do think is hap - ? A date, I’m asking if you would like to go on a date. With me. Tonight.
AMY STIRLING: But - you dislike me.
ADAM BLACKWELL: That’s not what I said.
AMY STIRLING: What did you say?
ADAM BLACKWELL: I said I don’t like you. So that might mean that I dislike you or... it might mean the other thing. You want to find out which one it is?
(A pause.)
AMY STIRLING: This is a very stupid idea.
ADAM BLACKWELL: ... that’s not a no.
AMY STIRLING: I really think this is stupid. It’s stupid and ridiculous.
ADAM BLACKWELL: ... that’s still not a no.
AMY STIRLING: Like, we’re just going to have a drink and then that’s supposed to make everything else just - ?
ADAM BLACKWELL: Amy. Are you saying no?
AMY STIRLING: ... I think I’m not saying no, no.
ADAM BLACKWELL: Okay. So you wanna say... nine?
AMY STIRLING: Yeah, nine... works.
ADAM BLACKWELL: Cool, cool.
(A pause.)
AMY STIRLING: (simultaneous with the below line) Well, I gotta get going to do some stuff so, uh, bye!
ADAM BLACKWELL: (simultaneous with the above line) Yeah, I’ve gotta get to a thing, but see you later!
(Footsteps as they depart in opposite directions. The scene fades away.)
ANNOUNCER: The Harbingers will be back after these messages.
ACT TWO
NARRATOR: And now... back to The Harbingers.
(We return to the lawyer’s office.)
AMY STIRLING: The thing is... it was a stupid idea, and nothing came of it.
CLAUDIA SKINNER: What happened? During the date itself? What went wrong?
AMY STIRLING: Oh, come on. I’m sure that Adam already told you all about it. Do you need me to take you through all of it again?
CLAUDIA SKINNER: Is there a reason you don’t - ?
AMY STIRLING: Because it’s embarrassing, okay? All of this stuff is… It’s so ancient history. All of it. The idea that it might matter to what happened in Boston is just...
CLAUDIA SKINNER: Well, I hate to be the one to break it to you, but it does matter. It matters because it’s you and it’s him, and it’s the two of you together, and the two of you are right at the heart of the matter. So... indulge me. April 24th, 2025. What happened?
(We transition to the same bar we heard in Episode 1. Rock music plays in the background.)
NARRATOR: Sinclair University. 2025.
ADAM BLACKWELL: Okay, okay, your turn... tell me something interesting.
AMY STIRLING: Right, uh, sure... umm... did you know that right now there are seven people who could save the world?
ADAM BLACKWELL: Seven people who - what?
AMY STIRLING: Seven people, right now, on this planet. All of whom could save the world.
ADAM BLACKWELL: And not like... people who could press a “launch the nukes” button and are refraining from it, thus -
AMY STIRLING: No, no, fuck that. That sucks.
(They both laugh a bit at that.)
AMY STIRLING: I’m talking active, “making things that are broken not be broken” saving the world.
ADAM BLACKWELL: Okay, consider me intrigued. Who are these magnificent seven?
AMY STIRLING: Paul Berthold, Makoto Kamiki, Simon Godowksi, Jerome Eckerberg, Jacqueline Saint-Pierre, Carlos Luis Méndez, and Zakir Mujambar.
ADAM BLACKWELL: The world’s six richest men and its richest woman. I see. How do they save the world, though?
AMY STIRLING: Well, for example, Simon Godowski has a net worth of two-hundred and ten billion. NGO’s estimate that the yearly cost of ending world hunger would be -
ADAM BLACKWELL: - two hundred billion?
AMY STIRLING: Nope. Your guess is way high. Conservative estimate? Ten billion a year.
ADAM BLACKWELL: Wait, seriously?
AMY STIRLING: Other stuff’s even cheaper. The threshold for extreme poverty’s set at those living for three dollars and twenty cents a day. Bumping about nine hundred million people up to that level costs about one-point-eight billion. Eckerberg’s got that in his glove compartment.
ADAM BLACKWELL: Holy shit.
AMY STIRLING: I know. Umm, let’s see... I think clean water across the world’s about fifty billion. Child health’s about four-hundred dollars a year per child... call that another fifty billion, give or take. Homelessness is actually really tough, but something like thirteen billion would end homelessness in San Francisco. Which, okay, now we’ve kind of gotten away from “saving the world” but -
ADAM BLACKWELL: - still very much worth doing. Which does kind of beg the question...
AMY STIRLING: ... if there are people who have the ability to just snap their fingers and save the world, why is the world not saved? I don’t fucking know! I mean, do you have any guesses?
ADAM BLACKWELL: Well, I mean… I mean, cash flow, maybe? Like, just because Jacqueline Saint-Pierre has a net worth of two hundred billion, it doesn’t mean she has it sitting in a bank somewhere. It’s in, like, stocks and bonds and company valuation.
AMY STIRLING: Okay, sure, fine, but that feels like a surmountable problem. If you have something worth fifty billion, theoretically you should be able to sell it and then you have fifty billion, yeah?
ADAM BLACKWELL: I’m sort of scared to disagree with you right now.
AMY STIRLING: Good, that means my whole shtick is doing its job.
(They both laugh a bit.)
AMY STIRLING: I don’t know, man. If I had that much power, and if there was as much broken in the world as there is today, I think I’d feel a, like, moral imperative to do something about it.
ADAM BLACKWELL: Okay. I’m sold. Let’s each the rich.
AMY STIRLING: That’s not what I’m -
ADAM BLACKWELL: No, let’s do it. Just the seven richest, though. No need to be greedy.
AMY STIRLING: Okay, sure. Let’s eat those seven people and feed the world.
ADAM BLACKWELL: How do you know all of this stuff off the top of your head?
AMY STIRLING: I like actuarial tables and I have a good head for numbers. Even when I’m outraged. No, especially when I’m outraged. You’d think you’d know that by now.
(Adam makes a “that’s fair” sound, then they both laugh.)
ADAM BLACKWELL: So... we’ve had a drink.
AMY STIRLING: Three by my count.
ADAM BLACKWELL: And... now what happens?
(Amy takes a swig from her beer.)
AMY STIRLING: Oh, I don’t know. How... would you feel... about walking me home?
(Adam snorts a bit into her beer.)
ADAM BLACKWELL: I’d feel okay about that.
AMY STIRLING: Oh, that was easy. I didn’t even need to do that thing where I make my eyes all big and round.
ADAM BLACKWELL: Hey, I will have you know that I am immune to the thing where you make your eyes all big and round.
AMY STIRLING: Nobody’s immune to the thing. It’s like a superpower. I’m basically an X-Men villain.
(They both laugh a bit at that.)
AMY STIRLING: Before we call it a night and call this a successful date... tell me. You had a thought a moment ago. About why people aren’t saving the world. I saw you bite down on something, what was it?
ADAM BLACKWELL: No, it’s -
AMY STIRLING: Come on tell me. I want to know.
ADAM BLACKWELL: Well... how much would it cost to, say, fix climate change?
AMY STIRLING: Oh. I dunno. Seven hundred billion a year? Something like that?
ADAM BLACKWELL: Okay, so if I wanted to solve climate change, but I’ve only got a measly two hundred billion in my bank account... Wouldn’t the most productive thing I could do with that money be to... well, turn it into seven hundred billion?
AMY STIRLING: I... I mean, not really? Like the only way to accumulate that much capital would probably be through means that release more carbon into the atmosphere and -
ADAM BLACKWELL: Okay, but if there was a way to do it without -
AMY STIRLING: I mean, even in theory it’s a little messy -
ADAM BLACKWELL: But let’s say that there was a way -
AMY STIRLING: Well, academically it could be interesting, but -
ADAM BLACKWELL: Just as a thought experiment - indulge me.
AMY STIRLING: Okay, fine, you’re indulged. But what are you saying?
ADAM BLACKWELL: I’m saying that since no one person can actually stop the world from ending, we should -
AMY STIRLING: Wait, what? No, no, the whole point I’m making is that someone could save -
ADAM BLACKWELL: Okay, someone like a Fritz Haber, maybe, but in reality -
AMY STIRLING: I think we’re getting away from the point, and -
ADAM BLACKWELL: No, look, it’s just a matt-
AMY STIRLING: Wait, Adam, hang on, can I just - ? I don’t think it’s responsible. That’s all. To just... hoard money and power under the auspices of, “Maybe some day we’ll have enough to actually make a difference.” If you can make a difference today, isn’t it better to make a difference today? Like, I know you can be a little obtuse, but you’re also annoyingly brilliant, so you have to at least be able to see it from that perspective, right?
(A pause.)
ADAM BLACKWELL: Okay. It’s, uh, it’s getting a little late. Maybe... maybe we should call it a night.
(Adam gets up from his chair.)
AMY STIRLING: Adam -
ADAM BLACKWELL: Obtuse? I’m obtuse?
AMY STIRLING: Okay, like three words after that I called you brilliant.
ADAM BLACKWELL: And annoying.
AMY STIRLING: Annoyingly brilliant! There’s a difference! Which you’d know if you ever actually listened to what’s coming out of my mouth!
ADAM BLACKWELL: Sorry, Amy. You know, sometimes it’s just... I’m trying to keep track of the big picture. Okay? Sorry if that’s too obtuse or annoying of me for you.
AMY STIRLING: No, it’s - it’s not, Adam. It really isn’t. But you... you’re so worried about getting something wrong that... God, I just want you to take a swing at something - at anything! Just so I know there’s a real person somewhere in there.
(Adam lets out a bark of dry laughter.)
ADAM BLACKWELL: You know, it’s funny. I thought that’s what I was doing tonight. But... you can’t get it right every time, I suppose. Good night, Amy. See you later.
(Footsteps as Adam walks away. We transition back to the lawyer’s office.)
AMY STIRLING: And then he left. And that was pretty much it. We had some fun arguing. And then we... didn’t have fun arguing. End of the story.
CLAUDIA SKINNER: And after the date? What happened then?
(We transition back to the bar where Andrea Shepherd works. The door bangs open aggressively as Amy enters.)
AMY STIRLING: I am done with men.
ANDREA SHEPHERD: ... everything okay, champ?
AMY STIRLING: I am done with men, I am done listening to men and their stupid men ideas.
ANDREA SHEPHERD: What happened? Amy, what happened?
AMY STIRLING: GUH, I don’t even know. Adam said that we should get together and have a drink. And so we... got together. We had drinks. We were talking. It was nice. I was looking cute. And then... And then we were snapping and fighting and he said a thing and I said a thing and it was just... what it always is with us. Oh god, I think I said he was obtuse and annoying. Who does that? Who is like, “There you go, always being so annoying and obtuse.” God…
ANDREA SHEPHERD: You’re one of a kind, Amy. So now what?
(Andrea gives Amy a beer.)
AMY STIRLING: I don’t know. I resign myself to fighting with him from now until forever. Oh god, or maybe I do transfer to UCLA. Then I’d really be cursed. Okay, Andie, what is that face?
ANDREA SHEPHERD: Amy.... look, I know it’s verboten in our adult friendship to bring up anything about when you were sixteen...
AMY STIRLING: You are on such thin ice right now.
ANDREA SHEPHERD: But... permission to speak freely? Thank you. You remember those three weeks that you were totally obsessed with Joshua Petersen?
AMY STIRLING: Who? ... yes, okay, I remember the weeks in question.
ANDREA SHEPHERD: Okay. And after that, you were going out with that Evan guy for a hot minute... and then Charlie. You’d talk about them non-stop and then one day... Nothing. What happened with them?
AMY STIRLING: I don’t know. I was sixteen and kind of awful.
(Andrea laughs.)
ANDREA SHEPHERD: Girl, you’re still kind of awful. That hasn’t changed.
AMY STIRLING: I know, shut up. Those guys were... fun. For a bit. And but then... I got bored, I guess.
ANDREA SHEPHERD: Okay then. Well you have complained about Adam Blackwell... every single time that I have seen you... for nine months. And that is about eight months longer than any boy has ever held your attention before.
AMY STIRLING: Sorry, what are you saying?
ANDREA SHEPHERD: I’m saying... you fought, and you insulted one another, and you snapped at each other like little yappy dogs. But... were you bored?
AMY STIRLING: We practically tore each other apart, Andie.
ANDREA SHEPHERD: Were you bored?
AMY STIRLING: I - I think by the end we were insulting each others’ life philosophy!
ANDREA SHEPHERD: Amelia! Were - you - bored?
(A pause.)
AMY STIRLING: No. I had a great time.
ANDREA SHEPHERD: Of course you did, you big fucking weirdo. Oh my god. Because you have been waiting for someone to come along that you could have a nice, big shout-at-each-other-until-you’re-red-in-the-face argument with. And I think you wouldn’t be so hung up on all of this if... well, if you didn’t really like him on some level.
AMY STIRLING: Don’t make fun of me.
ANDREA SHEPHERD: I would never in a million years.
AMY STIRLING: God, you know me so well. Amy Stirling, whose love language is a shouting match at a bar.
ANDREA SHEPHERD: Yeah. But here’s the million dollar question: does he know that?
AMY STIRLING: I... fuck.
ANDREA SHEPHERD: Yeah, that’s what I’m saying.
AMY STIRLING: I gotta go.
(Amy gets to her feet. Runs off. Runs back.)
AMY STIRLING: I love you, thank you, bye.
ANDREA SHEPHERD: Bye.
(Amy runs off again. The scene transitions to a university classroom.)
NARRATOR: Sinclair University Seminar Room. An hour later.
AMY STIRLING: Adam! There you - sorry, uh, hi. Do you have a moment?
ADAM BLACKWELL: I’m actually -
AMY STIRLING: This’ll just take a minute. I just - I was thinking after last night and - I just needed to say that -
(A door opens. Footsteps McCandless enters, shutting the door behind him. He flips through some pages.)
JULIAN MCCANDLESS: Well, well, Mr. Blackwell. I just had a chance to go over it. Congratulations. This is outstanding work. Well done. I’ll be thrilled to have you along for the expedition in December.
(He shakes Adam’s hand.)
ADAM BLACKWELL: Thank you, sir. It’ll be an honor.
JULIAN MCCANDLESS: Ah... Ms. Stirling. I’m... sorry to say I was wrong. Looks like it was possible for someone to crack that assignment on their own. There’ll be other opportunities, I promise. Better luck next time.
(Footsteps, then a door opening and closing as McCandless exits.)
AMY STIRLING: Adam... what did you do?
ADAM BLACKWELL: After I left the bar last night, I just... I couldn’t sleep. So I... took a swing at it. And something just clicked. I guess I just... needed to take a chance on it. (A pause.) I committed. That’s what I did. But sorry, you were going to say something.
AMY STIRLING: I… I just wanted to say... fuck you, Adam Blackwell. You’re such an asshole.
CLAUDIA SKINNER: (echoing, distant) Ms. Stirling? Ms. Stirling?
(The scene transitions back to the lawyer’s office. Amy stirs in her chair.)
AMY STIRLING: I’m... I’m sorry. What was the question?
CLAUDIA SKINNER: I was just asking what happened next? After the date?
AMY STIRLING: ... nothing. From that point on, Adam and I were enemies. We couldn’t stand one another. He got to go with McCandless, I didn’t. Things soured for me at Sinclair after that. Eventually... I went to look for greener pastures.
(A phone vibrates as it gets an incoming call.)
AMY STIRLING: Oh, sorry - do you mind if I - ? It’ll be fast.
CLAUDIA SKINNER: Please, go ahead.
(Amy answers the phone, which stops vibrating.)
AMY STIRLING: Hey. No, I’m still here with the lawyer. We’re still... trying to see if we can clean up Adam’s mess. (A pause.) Well, you’re sweet for calling. It’s nice to hear your voice. (A pause.) I know, I know... not exactly what you expected when we got married, was it? (A pause.) You still think I’m devastatingly pretty, though, right? (A pause.) Okay, good boy. Look, I... I should get back to it. But thanks for calling. I... I love you, too. Bye.
(Amy hangs up. A pause. She exhales as she settles back into her chair.)
AMY STIRLING: All right, Ms. Skinner. What’s next?
(The scene fades away as the episode’s closing theme begins playing.)
ANNOUNCER: This has been The Harbingers. Created by Gabriel Urbina. Come back on November 13th for Episode 5, "Expert in a Dying Field." Today's episode was written by Gabriel Urbina. It was directed and sound designed by Jeffrey Nils Gardner. It featured the voices of Lauren Grace Thompson as Amy Stirling, Andrés Enriquez as Adam Blackwell, Emmy Bean as Claudia Skinner, Joshua K. Harris as Julian McCandless, and Sabrina Odigie as Andrea Shepherd. Our original music was composed by Nicholas Podany. Recording engineering and dialogue editing was by Zhuolin Wu. Our original show art was created by Cassie J. Allen. The executive producer for the series is Eleanor Hyde. You can learn more about the show, see a timeline of the events of our story, and become a supporting member at AudaciousMachineCreative.com. This is an Audacious Machine Creative production. Thank you for listening.
(The episode’s closing theme concludes and fades away.)
AMY STIRLING: Today’s history tidbit: on October 30th, 2005, Athena Energy was officially established and began operating out of its primary facility in the Arizona Desert.