Homestead on the Corner

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CONTENT WARNING: Depictions of grief and loss, discussions of apocalyptic events and their aftermath, gun violence, loud noises, character betrayal, and existential dread.

Through the shifting waters of the Source, many possible futures can be seen by those trapped beyond the veil. This is one such future…

Years after an apocalyptic storm left the world in ruins, a mysterious scientist wanders into the small settlement of Holy Cross, Alaska. There he finds a reluctant ally in a young tavern-girl named Harper, but finds that friendship tested when the truth about who he is — and what he’s done — comes out.

Starring Bohdi Silva as Tony, Mike Kennedy as Doc, Lesley-Anne Hoxie as Harper, Charles Scatolini as Howell, Jesse Steele as Teagan, Jeff Frome as Bryon, and Marcy Murray and Juliana Olinka Jones as the scientists, with Meredith Nudo as Amy Sterling. Original music was composed by Jesse Haugen, with violin solos by Hector Gonzales. This episode was made possible by our supporters at Patreon.com/homesteadcorner, ko-fi.com/homesteadcorner, and our backers on Seed&Spark.

In loving memory of our friend, Lesley-Anne Hoxie.

For more information, additional content, and episode transcript, visit thesheridantapes.com

Script

Transcript

CONTENT WARNING: Depictions of grief and loss, discussions of apocalyptic events and their aftermath, gun violence, loud noises, character betrayal, and existential dread

[The swirling energies of the Source crash like waves against the shore as Amy Sterling’s voice echoes between worlds]

Amy Sterling

The Source. The infinite potential of all worlds. The roiling chaos that is the heart of all existences. The place where all space and time and realities meet and coexist as one. A place that is not a place, in a time that is not a time.

I have seen uncounted Earths through the cracks and rifts in the veil between the Source and the worlds that truly are… futures and pasts so familiar that my heart aches to see them, or so strange and alien that I cannot comprehend their shape. And yet each and every one of them is shaped by choice — the choices of systems, the choices of gods… and sometimes, a single choice, made by one person trapped within a desperate situation. A choice with consequences they could not possibly predict.

This is one such future… and it is perhaps the darkest I have ever seen. But it also makes my heart the lightest, for it gives me some small hope that the end of a world might not be the end of its story. I cannot say if it is the future of the world I knew or just one like it, but still… It intrigues me.

[The waves of the source fade into howling wind of an arctic storm]

[Calm waves crash over sand, seagulls cry]

[A radio dial tunes through channels, snippets of voices]

[The cacophony grows louder]

[POP – static overrides all of them, then fades to silence]

[Only the waves and the wind and the birds, and a crash of thunder]

[MAIN THEME]

[Cold, muffled, heavy snowfall; persistent wind]

[Someone opens a creaking door, and walks through the snow]

Bill

Figure this storm will let up soon?

Tony

I wouldn’t count on it.

Bill 

Bugger.

Tony

You don’t have to stay out here if you’re just going to complain the whole time.

Bill

But then it wouldn’t be any fun!

Tony

Who said it’s supposed to… 

[Far-off footsteps]

What the hell is that?

Bill

It sounds like someone coming through the snow towards us.

Tony

I know that! Who would be on the road on a night like this?

Bill

You mean besides you and I?

[Guards raise their weapons]

Tony

Hold it right there!

Doc 

Good evening, gentlemen.

Bill

Out for a bit of a stroll, are we?

Doc

Angliski? Strani.

Tony

What’s he saying?

Doc

Ah. Amerikanski. Should’ve guessed from the gun.

[Tony raises his rifle]

Tony

Show a little respect, comrade — last time I checked, this land belonged to the U S of A.

Doc

Yes. Belonged.

Bill

What… [Clears throat] Ahem. What’s your business in Holy Cross, stranger?

Doc

Absolutely no concern of yours. 

Tony

Well we’re making it our concern.

Bill

Tony… 

Doc

Hmm. Any particular reason for such personal interest?

Tony

Well let’s see — you’re wandering into town in the middle of a blizzard so no one will see you. The last time I heard Russian accents was during the channel invasion of ‘44, and oh! Your backpack looks like it’s holding enough supplies to make the person who confiscates it a very rich man.

Doc

Hmm. All very good reasons. Very cogent argument. My compliments.

Tony

So?

Doc

So what?

Tony

You have any explanation for yourself, comrade?

Doc 

Oh. Well, no.

Tony

No!?

Doc

I mean, I’m sure I could come up with one if I really tried, but there seems little point in wasting my time doing so.

Tony

I’ll show you what the point is… 

[He cocks his rifle]

Bill

Tony!

Tony

Stay out of this!

Bill

Not a bloody chance! We’re supposed to scare people off, not… 

[Doc chuckles]

Tony

Something funny, old man?

Doc

You two are adorable.

Tony 

Excuse me?

Doc

Your friend wants to protect me. You want to shoot me. Problem is you can’t… and he really shouldn’t.

Bill

Beg your pardon?

[Doc flicks a switch, electricity arcs across the space]

[The guards cry out and collapse]

[The energy cuts out, Doc zips his device back up]

Doc

Amerikanskiy. They never learn.

[He drags one of the guards inside]

Best get you both inside… it’s going to be cold tonight.

[He sets one guard down, then returns for the other, grunting]

Any chance either of you knows where the Tavern is? 

Doc

Ah. Well I’m sure I can find it on my own. Gentlemen.

[He slams the door of the shed shut]

[Music]

[A small but rowdy crowd in a bar]

[Someone plays a guitar]

Bartender (in background)

Yes, yes, I heard you, I heard you! Pint of Aleshine coming right up… Oy! Oy! Teller! Keep yer mangy paws off Harper unless yer payin’! Yeah, that’s what I thought… 

[All those sounds fade]

[Doc tinkers with a device]

[Footsteps approach him]

Doc

Pizdets… 

Harper

Well hello there… 

Doc

No, I don’t want another drink, thank you.

Harper

[Laughing] I’m not the waitress! 

Doc

Niet? [Looks up] Hmm. No you’re not.

[He turns back to his work]

[Harper pulls up a chair]

May I help you?

Harper

I was hoping I could help you.

Doc

What with?

Harper

Well, it’s going to be rather cold tonight.

Doc

Indeed.

Harper

I just thought you might like someone to help keep your bed warm.

[Doc stops, sighs, and sets his tools aside]

Doc

I know what you’re trying to do. I can’t say I approve, but even if I did, I wouldn’t be interested. Please, go away.

[He turns back to his work]

Harper

Jeez, talk about a cold shoulder. With a personality like that, I’d take what I could get, friend.

Doc

Excuse me?

Harper

Well, it’s not like anyone else is… propositioning you tonight. 

[Beat; he sets his tools down]

Doc

I think you’ve misunderstood me, Miss… 

Harper

Harper. 

Doc

Miss Harper. It’s not that I don’t want to pay you for your… work. I’m just not interested. Period.

Harper

Oh. Well if you’re looking for another guy, then I think Sal will be in later… 

Doc

Niet, niet… no. I’m not interested. In anyone. Ever. Am I… am I being clear?

Harper

Oh my god, I’m so sorry. I didn’t realize… I mean, I didn’t think… 

Doc

It’s… fine. I know I’m… unusual.

Harper

Well, you could’ve told me that you were ace. That would’ve helped.

Doc

I… didn’t think you’d know what that meant.

Harper

What, because I’m some ignorant little prostitute in a backwater shit-hole?

Doc

No, because a lot of the smartest people I know didn’t know what it meant either.

Harper

Well, at least I’m in good company. 

[Beat]

Doc

I… believe we’ve begun on the wrong foot. I apologize.

Harper

Takes two to tango, my friend. So what brings you to the Tavern, if not the drinks or the… company?

Doc

Umm… Just business.

Harper

And what’s that then? You a… tinker?

Doc

Well… you could say that.

Harper

Oh come on! You know what I do. I’m sure your business can’t be any more private than mine.

Doc

You… you do make a point. I’m a scientist. Engineer, actually. I’m in town to buy some parts.

Harper

For that thing?

Doc

What? [He picks it up] Oh no, this is only a small component of what I’m working on.

[Door creaks in background] 

Harper

And what are you working on?

Doc

It… it… [Hears laughter in background] Okhuyet’, what’s he doing here? 

Harper

Who? [Turns in chair] Oh, shit.

Doc

You know who that is?

Harper

Proctor Howell. Our very own resident holier-than-thou.

Doc

I need to hire the use of your bedroom.

Harper

Excuse me?

Doc

I need a place to hide for the night. If the proctor finds me here… 

Harper

You? I thought he was here for me. Again.

Doc

Either way, we both need a reason to disappear discreetly, da?

Harper

You willing to pay?

Doc

Pay? There’s no time for… 

Harper

There’s also no time to be cheap. Can. You. Pay?

Doc

I have some components in my bag I can give you… Transistors, Radios… 

Harper

Seriously? Radio? What kind of idiot do you take me for?

Doc

Radi boga… fine, fine, fine, I have a fuel cell heater in my bag. High-efficiency. You won’t need to buy firewood for the next ten years, at least. Deal?

Harper

Huh. I think we have a deal. Step into my office, Doc.

[Doc picks up his stuff and follows her through the thickest part of the crowd]

[A moment later…]

[Quieter footsteps]

[A creaky wooden door swings open, and they rush into her room]

Doc

Was it really necessary for you to kiss me? I already told you I’m not interested in… 

Harper

Stuff it, doc.

[She latches the door]

The proctor saw us on the stairs. How else would you suggest I hide your face?

Doc

I…! Oh. That’s… rather ingenious, actually.

[She sits and searches for something]

Harper

Well, I’d be lying if I said that was the first time I tried that trick. Besides, seeing people having a good time is the one thing the proctor can’t stand. I like to twist that knife in every once in a while.

[She strikes a match and lights a kerosene lamp]

Doc

That’s a very nice lamp, Miss Harper. Plenty of lumens.

Harper

Thanks. Perks of working night shifts.

Doc

And quite a collection of books, as well.

[He crosses and examines her bookshelf]

Harper

Really just… Decoration. Make the room feel classy for the clients.

Doc

I doubt that.

Harper

Excuse me?

[He picks up a book]

Doc

Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities. Unabridged. With a bookmark about halfway through.

Harper

It just came like that… 

[He turns a page]

Doc

Hmm. Not unless the previous owner was also named Harper by some enormous coincidence… 

[Harper slams the book shut as she takes it from him]

Harper

Don’t. Touch.

Doc

I’m only saying… 

Harper

You keep your hands off my things, you understand? You can use the chair or sleep in the bed if you really have to, but if you touch anything else, I’ll go straight to Proctor Howell myself, understand?

Doc

I… Da… yes, I understand.

Harper

And it’s payment up front. In full.

[Beat]

That means now, Doc.

Doc 

Oh. Right.

[He unzips and rummages in his bag]

[Harper takes a deep, shaking breath]

Doc

Here it is. Should keep this room warm for the better part of a decade — longer, if you manage to find a working hydrogen cell to replace… 

[He trails off]

Miss Harper? Are you alright?

Harper

I… Fine. Just peachy.

Doc

Those books mean a lot to you, don’t they?

Harper

Why does it matter to you?

Doc

Because it matters to you. And if we’re going to be spending the evening in one other’s company, I’d prefer not to spend it with a stranger.

Harper

Why not? I do it all the time.

Doc

If you’d rather not talk about it, that’s alright as well.

Harper

I think I’d rather not, Doc.

Doc

Your choice. Here.

[He drops the heater into her hands]

Harper

How do you turn it on?

Doc

Power switch on the top. Temperature regulator’s just below it.

[She switches it on; it emits a low, pleasant hum, like a small fire]

[She sets it down]

Doc

Where should I put my bag?

Harper

What? Oh. Anywhere’s fine.

[He crosses the room and sets his things down]

Harper

May I ask you a question, Doc?

Doc

Only if you want an answer.

Harper

Why’s the Proctor after you? 

Doc

Hmm?

Harper

I mean, I know he’s after me because I’m a depraved whore and all that, but why would the church be interested in a traveling tinker?

Doc

Oh. Tipa, I… well, it’s more of a… difference in values, I suppose you could say. And like you said, he’s a bit of a… 

Harper

Doc.

Doc

Let’s just say that the Proctor disapproves of my work for the same reason he disapproves of yours.

Harper

He’s got a stick up his ass?

Doc

[He laughs] He doesn’t understand it. Nor does he want to. Not everyone can accept people’s differences the way you do.

[beat]

Harper

They were my mom’s. 

Doc

Chto?

Harper

The books. They were my mom’s… From before the Storm.

Doc

Ah. I see. And now they’re yours. 

Harper

Yes.

Doc

And your mother?

Harper

Gone. Long time ago.

Doc 

Oh. I’m sorry.

Harper

It’s not your fault. It’s not anyone’s fault.

She wanted me to love reading as much as she did. She used to hide books she thought I would like in the bottom of my backpack, just so I’d have something to read at recess. The library was all digital by then, but it still had a nook by the window that was perfect for reading and writing.

Doc

You’re a writer?

Harper

I’m a tavern-girl. But yes, I write. When I can find the time.

Doc

I would love to read your work sometime.

Harper

I doubt that.

Doc

No really, I would! I’ve tried to write, but I’ve never been able to. The words, they’re… Difficult for me.

Harper

[She laughs] They’re hard for everyone, Doc. It’s about getting over yourself and writing anyway.

Doc

Oh. Perhaps you’re right.

Harper

I usually am. Except when I’m not.

[She takes a few steps towards the door]

I’m going to sneak a look out. See if the Proctor’s still down there. 

Doc

Oh. Spasibo. 

Harper

You’re welcome, Doc. Hang tight.

[She opens the door]

Doc

To what?

[She’s already stepped out and closed the door behind her]

[Doc unzips his pack, pulls out a device, and switches it on]

[Electric hum rises]

Doc

Slight loss of cell integrity from the cold… should re-insulate the battery compartment when I get the… 

Harper (muffled)

Hey! Let me go!

Doc

Harper?

[He jumps up and rushes out the door]

[The noise of the bar rises]

Doc

Proctor!?

Proctor Howell

Ah, Doctor. I see you’ve met Miss Harper. Shouldn’t be surprised… Degenerates of a feather flock together.

Doc

Let her go! She isn’t involved!

Harper

Involved with what?

Proctor Howell

Perhaps she wasn’t. Now she is. I should thank you, Doctor… I never could convince Mayor Wilkins to criminalize her detestable profession, but protecting a known felon — that’s a hanging offense.

Harper

What?

Proctor Howell

Shush darling, the menfolk are talking. Now, Doctor, if you’ll just… OW!

[A small, sharp knife is drawn and stabbed into Howell’s thigh]

[Harper kicks free of him]

Doc

Harper!

Proctor Howell

What the fuck, Harper?

Harper

You’re not the first pig who’s tried to grab me from behind. Consider yourself lucky — I was taught to aim for the femoral artery.

Proctor Howell

CLERICS! To Arms!

[Downstairs, the sound of loading weapons; angry cries begin to rise up]

Proctor Howell

I have seven men downstairs, all armed and waiting for you to try and escape.

Doc

Really pulling out all the stops, aren’t you, Proctor? That must be the town’s whole contingent.

Proctor Howell

A worthy investment, if it means catching you.

Harper

Hold on… what exactly is going on here?

Proctor Howell

Oh? Did he neglect to tell you? The doc’s insane. He’s building a superweapon down by Passage Sound to kill us all off. The whole province has been on high-alert for the last six years.

Harper

You… you said you were here to get parts for something. Is it… 

Doc

Harper, please, you must believe me: I’m not building a weapon.

Proctor Howell

He’s lying.

Harper

And the pot calls the kettle black. Why should I believe you and not him?

Proctor Howell

One reason, Harper: he’s one of the scientists who created the Storm.

[Beat]

Harper

Oh god… 

[Doc draws the device from his pocket and switches it on]

Proctor Howell

Harper! Get back…!

[Electricity arcs through the air, filling the hall]

[Harper, the Proctor, and his men cry out and fall]

[Doc shuts down the device and zips it back up]

[He steps forward, lets out a sigh, picks up Harper, and walks down the hallway]

[Beat, silence]

[An old train car rattles and shakes]

[Harper stirs, groans with a headache, and sits up]

Harper

Oh fuck, my head… 

[She tries to stand, but a chain catches her]

What the hell… 

[A pair of handcuffs rattle on her arm, catching on her chair]

No. No! Godamnit, no!

[She pulls at the chain]

[A sliding door opens in front of her]

Doc

Good morning Harper. Feeling well?

Harper

You fucking bastard!

Doc

I’ll take that as a yes. Hungry?

Harper

Where am I?

Doc

My home away from home, Miss Harper. My Nautilus on rails.

Harper

Doc…!

Doc

If you really must know, you’re on the old Alaskan line, North of Anchorage.

Harper

Bullshit. The rails are frozen over. No one’s used them since the Storm.

Doc

Yes, I worked very hard to make it look that way. It does slow down my travel quite a bit, but… secrecy is its own reward.

Harper

Why am I here?

Doc

Like I said: Secrecy. Besides — the Proctor would’ve directed his anger against you. I didn’t want your blood on my hands.

Harper

Wow. I’m touched. Now let me out of here.

Doc

What? Why would you want to go back?

Harper

Because I don’t take kindly to being kidnapped, that’s why.

Doc

Kidnapped? Why would you think I kidnapped you?

[She rattles her handcuffs]

Harper

Hello? Most people don’t handcuff their guests to a chair. Unless they’re into that sort of thing.

Doc

What? No, I just… I needed to tend the engine, and I couldn’t have you just wandering off. This train’s a bit of an old deathtrap until you know your way around.

Harper

Oh, so you were protecting me, huh? My fucking hero.

Doc

For goodness sake, Harper, you don’t need to make this any harder than it needs to be… 

Harper

Let me off this train right now, or I swear I’m going to…!

Doc

I’m not having this discussion. You are safe here, and that is that.

[He turns and marches off, beginning to close the door]

Harper

Like having the last word, don’t you!?

[The door slides shut]

Prick.

[She shifts, drawing her knife out slowly]

[She slips it into the lock on her handcuffs]

Now if I’m very lucky, these locks are as cheap and old as they look… 

[The lock clicks open, the cuffs clatter to the ground]

…Aaaand I’m still as good as I think.

[She stands slowly and creeps up to the door]

Here we go. Here we go. Let’s see you talk your way out of this one, Doc… 

[The brakes suddenly screech]

Shit!

[As the train stops, Harper rushes back to the chair]

[She handcuffs herself again, clicking them shut]

[The sliding door opens again]

Doc

Ah good, you’re still there.

Harper

And where exactly would I go?

Doc

Oh. Right. All the same, I’d appreciate it if you didn’t try to escape while I’m off the train. We’re in the middle of some rather hostile terrain.

Harper

You’re leaving?

Doc

Just for a moment. Holy Cross wasn’t my last stop, after all.

[Doc turns, opens the door, and steps out into driving wind]

[As soon as the door is shut, Harper pops the handcuffs off]

Harper

Oh don’t worry Doc, I won’t wander off — I’m just going to take your train and go home.

[She approaches and opens the sliding door and crosses into the engine]

[The machinery ticks and hisses as it cools]

Harper

Jeez Mom, why didn’t you hide any books about trains in my backpack?

[She pulls a few levers experimentally; loud whoosh of steam]

Ah! Damnit!

[She pushes it back to stop the steam]

Okay. Okay. New plan. Catch the doc, and then make him drive me back. Yeah. That’ll work.

[She turns and walks out of the engine room]

[Beat, silence]

[Harper crunches through the snow after Doc]

[Cold wind]

Harper

If I just get up behind him with my knife, it shouldn’t be too hard to convince him to take me back. He can’t finish his machine if he’s dead, so… 

[Voices, carried on the wind, can be heard]

[She gasps and stops in her tracks, listening]

Chief Teagan

As you can see, me and the boys got nothin’ but the very best parts for ya.

Doc

Hmm. Only if you consider second hand scrap “the best.” Most of this is garbage.

Chief Teagan

You won’t find anything better [she slowly creeps closer] in the province, I can promise you that!

Doc (voices clearing as she approaches)

I did find better. In Holy Cross.

Chief Teagan

Civie Scum. If you’d rather deal with them… 

Doc

I tried. The Proctor tried to arrest me.

Chief Teagan

Ha! See, boys, that’s exactly what you get with Reformers. Shiny shit and a swift kick in the goolies when they decide you ain’t ‘civilized’ ‘nough for ‘em.

[Several gruff voices chuckle]

Harper

Shit, that’s a lot of them.

Chief Teagan

Better to deal with us, Doc. Scum of the earth, we is. 

Doc

Salt of the Earth. 

Chief Teagan

Eh?

Doc

Never mind. [Tools rattle] I don’t see what I requested here. Did you forget to bring it?

Chief Teagan

Of course not! Boys?

[Two goons crunch through the snow, something heavy and metal rattling as they carry it]

Doc

Easy! Easy… 

Chief Teagan

Take it easy, boss, it’s all there, just like you asked: 5 kilograms of pure, enriched Uranium, still in its original packaging. Mint condition. Breaks m’heart just to part with it.

Harper

Oh my god… 

[Doc pulls out a small Geiger counter, which clicks rapidly]

Chief Teagan

Satisfied?

Doc

Absolutely.

[He turns the counter off and pulls the case off the table]

[Many guns cock around him]

Chief Teagan

Ah ah ah, Doctor: Payment first.

Doc

Oh yes, of course… you must forgive an old man, sometimes I forget things.

[He sets the case down in the snow, as well as his backpack]

What was the amount we agreed on, again?

Chief Teagan

2,000. Uncut.

Doc

Right, of course. Let me see if I have it here… 

[Doc suddenly fiddles with his device, and presses the button]

[It sparks, and shorts out]

No, no, no — not now you piece of… 

[He hits it a few more times]

Chief Teagan

What the hell was that, Doc?

Doc 

Um… It was… 

Chief Teagan

Because that looks an awful lot like a weapon. And you look awfully guilty for someone just doin’ honest business.

Doc

There is a perfectly good explanation for all of this, I swear. It’s a funny story, actually… 

Chief Teagan

Gentlemen, shoot this sorry waste a’ skin, will you?

[Guns are raised]

Doc

WAIT, WAIT!

Chief Teagan

What doc? Changed your mind?

Doc

I… I don’t have what you want…

Chief Teagan

Obviously.

Doc

…But I do have something more valuable.

[Moment of silence]

Chief Teagan

Go on.

Doc

I… I know how to get into Holy Cross. Their defenses. Their contingent. Their weaknesses.

Chief Teagan

Bullshit. No raider’s every gotten within half a mile of those walls without being shot.

Doc

I have. Several times, actually. With the Proctor gunning for me, no less.

Chief Teagan

And I suppose you want the Uranium for that info, huh?

Doc

Da. And my life as well, but yes, the Uranium.

Chief Teagan

You’d sell out the civies to save your own hide — men, women, and children all.

Doc

Well… 

Chief Teagan

You do know what we’re going to do to that place when we take it, right?

Doc

I think I’d rather not know, actually.

Chief Teagan

Oh, you’ll know. ‘Cause we’re takin’ you with us on the attack.

Doc

What? That won’t be necessary, the information I provide will be more than enough to get you… 

Chief Teagan

Take him to camp and lock ‘em up. Tight.

Doc

Chief Teagan, is this really… 

[One of the bandits hits him over the head with the stock of his rifle; Doc grunts and falls]

Chief Teagan

Much better. Bastard always talked too much anyways. Pack it up boys, we’re goin’ home.

[Their footsteps disappear into the snow; vehicles drive off]

[Beat]

[Footsteps]

Harper

Son of a bitch. 

[Beat; she begins pacing as she talks]

What now, Mom? Go back to the train and wait? Wait for what? For the raiders to take Holy Cross? And then what? Ask for my old job back? Because hell no am I going to work for those animals. But what else am I supposed to do? Maybe I could figure out how to work that train. But even if I get back to town before they do, Howell’s going to hang me anyway. So what else is there to… 

[Pause]

Shit. 

[She begins pacing again]

Really Mom? That’s what I’m supposed to do? Rescue that asshole?

[The wind blows harder]

Fine, fine. I’ll do it. [She draws her knife] But I’m not going to be happy about it.

[She continues marching through the snow]

[Beat, silence]

[Doc stirs awake]

Doc

Der’mo, moya golova bolit… 

[He sits up and hits his head on something metal]

Pizdets!

Bryon (muffled)

Ah! Sounds like the doc’s awake.

[Doc tries to move, chains hold him in place; he shuffles]

Doc

What is this? Where am I?

Bryon (muffled)

Calm down Doc, you’re only gonna hurt yourself. You’re in one of Teagan’s war-crawlers. Well, in the trunk of one, at least.

Doc

What?

Bryon (muffled)

Sorry we couldn’t find a nice cozy bunk for you. Beats a bullet in the brain though, which is what I’da given you… 

[Doc bangs at the trunk door]

Doc

Let me out! Let me out, now!

Bryon

What, is someone a bit claustrophobic? ‘fraid of the dark, hmmm? Does the wittle doctor want his mommy…?

[He’s cut off by a sharp blow to the head; he grunts and falls]

[Someone fiddles with the keys, then the trunk pops open]

Doc 

H… Harper?

Harper

Unfortunately, yes.

Doc

Oh god, am I glad to see you!

Harper

Trust me, the feeling isn’t mutual. 

[She draws her knife]

Doc

Wait, Harper! Let’s talk about this! There’s no reason to resort to… [Sounds of Harper picking a lock] What… What are you doing?

Harper

Picking the locks on these chains. Bit tougher than the ones you used on me.

Doc

Oh. Well, to be fair, those were more… Perfunctory. They were just… 

[Harper stops and slaps him in the face, then continues]

Doc

Harper!

Harper

Fuck you.

Doc

I suppose I deserve that.

Harper

Yes, you really do.

[The lock springs open; Doc slowly moves out of the trunk]

Doc

Oh god, I’m not as young as I once was.

Harper

[Laughing] Yeah, no shit.

[He stands and looks around]

Doc

Which way did you get in?

Harper

That way, between those tankers.

Doc

God, that’s a lot of firepower.

Harper

I really hope you didn’t tell him anything about Holy Cross.

Doc

With all this… I hardly think Teagan needs me to.

[A rifle is fired into the air]

Chief Teagan

You’re right — I don’t.

[A dozen weapons cock above their heads]

Doc

Harper… did you check the tops of those trucks before you came in?

Harper

Umm… No? 

[Footsteps approach them]

Doc

Ukhuyet’.

Harper 

What does that mean?

Doc

It means we’re fucked.

Chief Teagan

Congratulations Doc: you are officially the smartest idiot I’ve ever met.

Doc

Chief Teagan, it’s been a long day for all of us… perhaps you could just let me be on my way without the Uranium, and we can agree to just forget this unfortunate… 

Chief Teagan

Get with the program doc. We’re way past all that. [He steps forward, then stops] Who’s that pretty little thing you got hiding behind ya, Doc?

Harper

Oh fuck y— 

Doc

Harper! (to Teagan) Why do you ask?

Chief Teagan

Well, let’s just say I might be convinced to let you be on your way with the uranium… if the girl stayed.

Harper

This girl isn’t staying with anyone you raider…!

Doc

Harper! [Whispered, to her] How good are you with that knife?

Harper

Pretty good. Why?

Doc

We have a deal, chief: the uranium for the girl.

Harper

What!? You can’t just…!

Doc

SHUT UP HARPER! [Whispering, to her] Get a good grip, and don’t let go.

Harper

What? I… oh. Oh, I hate you.

Doc

Duly noted. [To Teagan] She’s all yours, Chief.

Chief Teagan

Oh yes she is. Come here, little one.

Harper

I’m not little, you fucking creep.

Chief Teagan

Ooh, quite a mouth on this one, right Doc?

Doc

You have no idea.

Chief Teagan

Well, I’m sure her bite’s worse than her bark.

Doc

Oh, I’m sure. 

Chief Teagan

And I’m sure we can fix that tongue of yours… or cut it out. Either way, I’m going to… 

[Harper’s knife is out, they scuffle before she gets a good grip on him, holding the blade to his throat]

Harper

Everyone! Drop your weapons! Now!

Chief Teagan

Don’t listen to… 

[She tightens her grip]

Harper

That’s your carotid artery. A little more pressure, and you’ll be bleeding out on the snow before you know what’s happened. Tell them to drop their fucking weapons.

Chief Teagan

Drop them! Drop them all, now!

Raider

You drop yours, or I kill the doc!

Harper

Be my guest. I don’t like him any more than you do.

Chief Teagan

Do what I say you idiot! Do it!

[After a moment, guns drop into the snow]

Harper

Doc, get one of those rifles.

[He grabs a weapon and aims it at the raiders]

Harper

Now, “Chief…” We’re going to go back to where we came from. Your men are all going to stay here. Once we’re far enough away, I let you go. Deal?

Chief Teagan

Go and shove that knife right up your… 

[She tightens her grip again]

Harper

Deal?

Chief Teagan

Ow! Yes, yes, you have a… 

[He stops, listening]

Harper 

We have a what?

Chief Teagan

Shhh! Do you hear that?

[A faint, then present, whistling]

Chief Teagan

Oh shit… EVERYBODY DOWN!!!

[A mortar shell slams into a nearby truck]

[Fire breaks out]

Doc

Harper! Harper, are you alright?

Harper

Ow… what the hell was that?

Doc 

I’m not sure… 

Proctor Howell (over megaphone)

This is Proctor Howell of the Northwestern Parish. Lay down your arms and surrender the fugitives. You have twenty seconds to comply.

Harper

Not this guy again… 

Doc

He must have followed the train somehow.

Chief Teagan

Raiders! Get up and fight, you idiots!

[Guns firing]

Harper

Doesn’t look like he’s too fond of the Proctor either.

Doc

Actually, it looks like he’s forgotten all about us. Come on, run!

Proctor Howell (over megaphone)

Your grace has expired. May God have mercy on your souls.

[Another shell lands; gunshots and screams]

Doc

Wait… wait!

Harper

What?

[Doc runs off, grabs the uranium, and runs back with it]

Harper

Oh, you’ve got to be kidding me… 

Doc

Let’s go!

Chief Teagan

Hey! Hey! Stop those two!

[A few raiders fire]

Doc

Keep running! Just keep running!

[Mortar shell explodes]

Harper

No shit!

[They continue to run]

[Music]

[Silence]

[A cold wind]

[The train smoothly rides along; Doc pulls a lever]

Doc

There… that should put some distance behind us.

Harper

So we’re safe now?

Doc

Da. Safe as sandwiches. 

Harper

Good.

[She punches Doc below the belt; he grunts]

Doc

What was that for?

Harper

What was that for? Well let’s see, shall we? Lying to me, kidnapping me, tying me up, selling out my home, and, oh yeah, trying to trade me to a fucking bandit chief!

Doc

It was all part of the plan… 

Harper

And if it didn’t work? What then? You take the uranium and leave me there?

Doc

No… I would never… 

[Harper kicks him in the gut; he cries out]

Harper

You know what your problem is, Doc? You don’t think you can fuck up. You don’t think you can do anything wrong. Well guess what? You did, and you fucking can.

Doc

I… I know that. And… I’m sorry.

Harper

Oh, you’re sorry? Good for you. Still doesn’t change anything.

Doc

No it doesn’t. Nothing can change what I’ve done. Nothing.

[Beat]

Harper

You’d better start explaining Doc, because I don’t know what the hell you’re playing at.

[He sighs]

Doc

My name is Doctor Elia Utkin. When I was a younger man, I worked at an arctic research station as part of my university training. Then one summer, the magnetosphere of the earth went into flux. We still don’t know what caused it, but it wreaked havoc with every telecommunications system on the planet. I was able to communicate with another scientist in Antarctica somehow, and so we began a research initiative at our respective bases. Eventually, we thought we had a solution: polarize the ionosphere to generate an artificially stabilized magnetic field. We had only the best of intentions — we never could have guessed the outcome.

Harper

The Storm.

Doc

The increased ionic charge created an electrical storm powerful enough to level cities. We didn’t realize what was happening until it was too late to stop it. By the time we shut off the generators… 

[He takes a tearful breath]

Seven billion dead. Seven billion dead. Every major city in ruins. Governments destroyed and no one able to coordinate rescue efforts. We didn’t know what to do besides leave our stations and try to help where we could. That… that was the last time I spoke to her.

Harper

Who?

Doc

The scientist at the other station. Doctor Llewelyn.

Harper

It… it sounds like she meant a lot to you.

Doc

She meant the world.

Harper

I didn’t think you could feel that way about someone.

Doc

I think you should know better than most that love and sex are not the same thing.

Harper

I… No. No they’re not.

[Beat]

Doc

Well? What do you think?

Harper

It’s… a lot to take in, Doc. What do you need the Uranium for?

Doc

Oh… er, tipa, I need it for… um… For the device I’m working on at my… 

Harper

Doc. No more lies.

Doc

I’m sorry, it’s… become a bit of a habit, I’m afraid. I need it to make things right. Or at least start to.

Harper

How?

Doc

It’s a little hard to explain… May I show you instead?

Harper

Oh, now he asks if I want to go with him… 

Doc

I was wrong to take you from your home. If you wish to leave, I will stop to train immediately and take you back to Holy Cross, no questions asked.

[Beat]

Harper 

Let’s see it.

[Beat, silence]

[A quiet room, full of computers]

[Footsteps across a hard floor; a metal door opens and closes]

Harper

That didn’t take very long.

Doc

I’ve been getting the reactor ready for years. The uranium was the very last piece.

[He types a command into a computer, it emits a high-pitched whir]

Harper

So is it… 

Doc

It’s running. Soon as the reaction gets underway, this station will generate enough power to run every settlement in 300 miles for the next 100 years.

Harper

That’s a lot of power.

Doc

Not really. Most of them don’t even have lights.

Harper

Even so… a lot of people might get the wrong idea about this place. Or try to take it for themselves.

Doc

I know that. But I’d rather give them a chance to do the wrong thing than no chance to do the right thing. I have to believe they’ll at least try to work together.

Harper

I can’t say that’s very likely.

Doc

It never is.

Harper

How are you going to get the word out, anyways?

Doc

Radio.

Harper

Radio? Aren’t you forgetting about the flux?

Doc

Aren’t you forgetting [He clicks some buttons] I’ve been studying the flux for nearly twenty years? Where there’s a way, there’s a will.

Harper

That’s not how that goes… 

[He turns and opens a violin case, briefly tuning it]

Harper

What, are you going to broadcast your violin recital?

Doc

Just an introduction. Do you know what day it is, Harper?

[He draws the bow across the strings]

Harper

Uh… Tuesday?

Doc

Tuesday, December 24th. Did you know the very first radio transmission was on Christmas eve, 1906? Reginald Fessenden. He played too. Apparently it was quite the success.

[He draws the bow again]

Harper

What, you think Christmas Carols are going to get people to stop fighting?

Doc

Not all of them. And definitely not forever. But it’s happened before. It can happen again.

Harper

You sure?

[He doesn’t answer; he flicks a switch]

[He begins playing O Holy Night]

[Fade to…]

[The busy tavern]

[Rowdy night crowd]

Bartender (over the crowd)

Keep it down, keep it down! Yeah, I heard ya… no, I don’t know where Harper is. How the hell should… 

[The radio crackles with static, and Utkin’s music begins to play]

[The crowd quiets down to listen to the radio]

[Fade to…]

[Flames crackle]

[Clerics march through the snow]

[Handcuffs are tightened]

Proctor Howell

Well well well, Chief Teagan. I think I’d call that a rout, wouldn’t you?

Chief Teagan

You can take your rout and stick it where the sun don’t shine, you civie son of a… 

[A radio nearby crackles, the song coming through]

What the hell is that?

Proctor Howell

Radio. That’s… that’s radio. I never thought I’d hear it again.

Chief Teagan

Huh. So that’s what it sounds like.

[Fade to…]

[A quiet research station]

[Someone types commands]

[A centrifuge hums, then stops]

Rowan

Oh, no you don’t.

[Rowan hits it, it resumes spinning]

Doctor Llewelyn

Ah, I see you adhere to the “hit the lab equipment until it starts working” school of thought. Classic.

Rowan

Doctor Llewelyn! I’m sorry, I didn’t expect you to be in this late… 

Doctor Llewelyn

Clearly.

Rowan

It was just a little tap, I promise… there’s no way I damaged it permanently… 

Doctor Llewelyn

Relax, Rowan. Sometimes it’s the quickest solution. What are you doing here so late, anyway? It’s the crack of midnight.

[Rowan continues typing]

Rowan

I’m trying to finish up the microbial analysis. Crop yields are down in hydroponics, and I was hoping… 

Doctor Llewelyn

It’s Christmas Eve, Rowan. The microbes can wait. Go home. Kiss your wife. That’s an order.

Rowan

Yes ma’am.

[She walks out, then calls back]

Merry Christmas, Doctor Llewelyn.

Doctor Llewelyn

Merry Christmas.

[Rowan leaves]

[Llewelyn crosses and types commands to switch the centrifuge back on]

Doctor Llewelyn

Hmm… Promising. Very promising.

[A radio across the lab crackles suddenly

What? Is that… 

[O Holy Night breaks through the static]

[She listens for a long moment, the music filling the lab]

Merry Christmas to you too, Utkin.

[The full orchestral song plays out]

[Silence]

[The swirling energies of the Source]

Amy Sterling

The future… always shifting, always uncertain — and even more so within the Source. Only in time can we know which future comes to pass… or if there is a future at all… for I see the connections here at last. Silver’s Death. Andromeda. Appleseed. The Storm. All shape a future that could unfold from the world I once knew. These events may yet come to pass and spell the death of the Earth… but I will not allow that to happen. I am Amy Sterling, and within this place I see all the worlds that I have lost… and I shall find a way to escape, and reclaim what is mine.

End Theme & Credits

—————————————

In loving memory of our friend, Lesley-Anne Hoxie.