David: Hello and welcome to me as pod I'm your host Medus quick
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Our first story comes to us from Kinder Jackson. Kendra lives and
works in Ireland. By day she crunches numbers for living by
night and sometimes into the early hours of the morning. She
expresses her pent up creativity by crunching words instead. Her
links will be on screen right now if your podcast player
supports chapters. And also in this episode shownotes Mary Kate
Ultra will be performing this story for us. Mary Kate altra is
one of our new regular cast members. You can find out about
her and our other regular cast members on our cast page and
meet us pod.com. And in the show notes for this episode. Without
further ado, our first story. There's no such thing as a ghost
in the machine, really, by Kendra Jackson.
Unknown: I just want to say that it wasn't my fault. Yes, I know,
I've cursed up that printer plenty of times. But so is
everybody in the office. You can't go a single day without
somebody threatening it with defenestration. Well, that in a
bit of percussive maintenance, but like I said, I'm not the
only one who hated that machine. And I'm sure the feeling was
mutual. Molly was in tears only yesterday when she was trying to
copy some documents and they got jammed in the theater. They were
nearly destroyed by the time she got them out. And last month,
Jan was only going to shake the toner cartridge to get a bit
more use out of it when it practically exploded in her
face. And she had to go home looking like she'd been sweeping
chimneys. I had to order a new cartridge. And the price of them
goodness me, it'd be almost cheaper to get a new machine I
don't mind telling you. But I did find a supplier that had an
amazingly good offer. I can see it in your face. If it sounds
too good to be true, then it probably is. But they offered
next day delivery. And I know we don't print a copy that much
these days. But we can't afford to not have it when we need it.
And they did say that the ink might come out a little less
than black on the page. But when it's mostly for our internal
use, so I thought it'd be worth giving them a try. Besides, they
said their product was made from 100% recycled materials. And
that's why their prices were so reasonable. I didn't think to
look at the fine print on the packaging. It's usually just the
list of chemicals and ever heard of like Sangli spatula or
something like that. And a warning to not get it in your
mouth or eyes. If anybody would be that careless. Well, okay,
maybe Jan. But we've had even more bad luck with that machine
since then, documents not printing or printing with a
strange Gothic type font. Last week, every time we tried to
print or copy something, it came out with the watermark, you are
all going to die all over it. And then yesterday, our manager
brought in their pet dog and the poor creature went wild when he
got near the printer. He was howling like mad. The dog that
is not a manager. That's when I thought that maybe the toner
cartridge had been contaminated with something. So I sent it off
to be tested. Well, you cannot be down with the feather when he
told me that the main component was blood. Apparently it was all
there in the fine print on their website that they partnered with
the local blood bank to recycle expired supplies. But I suppose
when you look at the prices online, it's still a lot cheaper
per milliliter than the regular toner inks so we may as well
stick with them. Obviously Of course, we can have it printing
curses on the paper or spinning the pages halfway across the
room whenever it feels like it. So if you could just do us a
quick exorcism father that we can all get back to work
David: Our next story is a classic from a non science
fiction author Philip K. Dick, have a link to his bio in the
show notes. The eyes had it by Philip K. Dick. It was quite by
accident, I discovered this incredible invasion of Earth by
life forms from another planet. As yet, I haven't done anything
about it. I can't think of anything to do. I wrote to the
governments and they sent back a pamphlet on the repair and
maintenance of frame houses. Anyhow, the whole thing is
known. I'm not the first to discover it. Maybe it's even
under control. I was sitting in my easy chair idly turning the
pages of a paperback book someone had left on the bus.
When I came across the reference that first put me on the trail.
For a moment, I didn't respond. It took some time for the full
import to sink in. NAFTA I'd comprehended. It seemed odd, I
had noticed it right away. The reference was clearly to a non
human species of incredible properties, not indigenous to
Earth, a species I hasten to point out, customarily
masquerading as ordinary human beings. Their disguise however,
became transparent in the face of the following observations by
the author. It was at once obvious the author knew
everything, new everything and was taking it in his stride. The
line and I tremble remembering it even now read. His eyes
slowly roved about the room. Vague chills assailed me. I
tried to picture the eyes. Did they roll like dimes? The
passage indicated not. They seem to move through the air not over
the surface rather rapidly. Apparently, no one in the story
was surprised. That's what tipped me off. No sign of
amazement at such an outrageous thing. Later, the matter was
amplified. Here his eyes moved from person to person. There it
wasn't a nutshell. The eyes had clearly come apart from the rest
of him, and were on their own. My heart pounded and my breath
choked in my windpipe. I had stumbled on an accidental
mention of a totally unfamiliar race. Obviously, non
terrestrial. Yet to the characters in the book it was
perfectly natural, which suggested they belong to the
same species. And the author, a slow suspicion burned in my
mind, the author was taking it rather too easily in his stride.
Evidently, he felt this was quite unusual thing. He made
absolutely no attempt to conceal this knowledge. The story
continued. Presently, his eyes fastened on Julia, Julia being a
lady had at least the breeding to feel indignant. She is
described as blushing and knitting her brows angrily. At
this, I sighed with relief. They weren't all nonterrestrials the
narrative continues. Slowly, calmly. His eyes examined every
inch of her. Great Scott. But here, the girl turned and
stomped off and the matter ended. I lay back in my chair,
gasping with horror, my wife and family regarded me and wonder.
What's wrong, dear? My wife asked. I couldn't tell her
knowledge like this was too much for the ordinary run of the mill
person. I had to keep it to myself. Nothing. I gasped. I
leaped up, snatched the book and hurried out of the room. In the
garage, I continued reading, there was more trembling, I read
the next revealing passage. He put his arm around the Giulia.
Presently, she asked him if he would remove his arm. He
immediately did so with a smile. It's not said what was done with
the arm after the fellow removed it. Maybe it was left standing
upright in the corner. Maybe it was thrown away. I don't care.
In any case, the full meaning was there staring me right in
the face. There was a race of creatures capable of removing
portions of their anatomy at will eyes, arms and maybe more
without batting an eyelash. My knowledge of biology came in
handy at this point, obviously, they were a simple things,
unicellular, some sort of primitive single celled things
being no more developed than a starfish just starfish can do
the same thing you know, I read on and came to this incredible
revelation tossed off coolly by the author without the faintest
tremor. Outside the movie theater we split up. Part of us
went inside. Hart over to the cafe for dinner. Binary Fission,
obviously splitting in half and forming two entities. Probably
each lower half went to the cafe, it being farther and the
upper halves to the movies. I read on and shaking, I'd really
stumbled onto something here. My mind reeled as I made out this
passage. I'm afraid there's no doubt about it. Poor bibiani had
lost his head again, which was followed by and Bob says he has
utterly no guts. Yet, Bibi got around as well as the next
person. The next person, however, was just as strange. He
was soon described as totally lacking in brains. There was no
doubt of the thing in the next passage. Julia, whom I had
thought to be the one normal person reveals herself as also
being an alien life form, similar to the rest. quite
deliberately, Julia had given her heart to the young man. It
didn't relate what the final disposition of the Oregon was,
but I didn't really care. It was evident Giulia had gone right on
living in her usual manner, like all of the others in the book.
Without hearts arms, eyes, brains, viscera dividing up into
two when the occasion demanded without a qualm. There upon. She
gave him her hand, is sick and the rascal now had her hand as
well as her heart. I shudder to think what he has done with
them. By this time. He took her arm, not content to wait he had
to start dismantling her on his own flushing crimson, I slammed
the book shut and leaped to my feet, but not in time to escape
one last reference to those carefree bits of anatomy, whose
travels had originally thrown me back on the track. Her eyes
followed him all the way down the road, and across the meadow.
I rushed from the garage and back inside the warm house, as
if the accursed things were following me. My wife and
children were playing monopoly in the kitchen I joined them and
played with frantic fervor. Brow feverish teeth chattering I had
had enough of the thing I want to hear no more about it. Let
them come on. Let them invade Earth I don't want to get mixed
up in it. I have absolutely no stomach for it
media spot is a production of made us media all rights
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We'll see you next time folks. Have a good one.