Episode 3: Plants

DEVISER

 EPISODE THREE - PLANTS

Original script provided by Harlan. Transcript by Cytosine. Reviewed by Liz and K.M.

Deviser contains extreme subject matter, graphic descriptions of violence, self-harm, and mature themes throughout. Listener discretion is strongly advised. For a full list of content warnings, head to deviser.ca

(BEGIN Episode 3.)

(Opening theme.)

(A creature roars in the distance as an ominous tone plays.)

SON (gasping in terror):  I… I don’t understand. How can… (Dog begins to bark.) I can’t… I can’t move.

DAD: I believe you are frozen with fear, Son. You must move.

(Dog continues to bark and growl.)

SON: D-dog…

DAD: Run!

(The sound of three blows, each followed by pained whimpers from Dog. The Devil begins to growl.)

SON: Dog!

DAD: Son, you must leave, now!

SON: Dog! (He begins to run.) Come here boy. (The Devil snarls as Dog continues to whine. Son pants with exertion as he runs. Objects clatter in the background. The Devil’s growls begin to fade into the distance. Son tries to soothe Dog.) You’re okay, you’re okay, you’re okay… (Desperately.) Dad, close the airlocks on this level! Trap it behind us!

DAD: There are no airlocks between you and it at this moment.

SON (frustrated): Then open the elevator doors!

DAD: Affirmative.

(Sounds of footsteps as Son runs.)

SON (panting): Come on, it’s okay, I have you, I have you. (He pats Dog as he runs.) Come on… (He grunts with effort, then stops.) What… (Son speaks in rising confusion and alarm as Dog whines again.) Why aren’t the doors open, Dad?

DAD: The elevator is coming.

(Son grunts and raps on the doors. The Devil’s roars draw closer.)

SON: Come on, come on… open, damn you! (To Dog, trying for soothing.) Get down, you’re okay. 

(Son takes short, panicked breaths and whimpers in fear as Dog’s sounds of pain continue and the Devil’s growls and steady footsteps increase in volume.)

SON (frightened, angry realization): You… you’ve killed me.

DAD: I am concerned the elevator won’t arrive in time. There is a maintenance shaft to the left behind the gray panel.

SON (outraged): You tell me now?! (He grunts and pants in exertion over the sounds of the approaching Devil.) Come on! How - how do I…?

DAD: It is a small panel by your feet. You’ll need to crawl on your stomach to enter. 

(Son groans with effort. The panel clatters as he moves it to enter.)

SON (under his breath): Come on, come on, come on. 

(Metal creaks and groans as Son enters the hatch. The Devil’s roars fade again. A rattle of metal accompanied by a rising ambient hiss.)

DAD: This maintenance hatch contains much of the ship’s computer systems. (Son’s frightened, effortful breathing continues.) However it allows access to the floor directly above and below. It runs the length of the ship and leads directly into the coolant area. Because of this, the temperatures within are below freezing.

SON: The ladder?

DAD: I’d suggest you use the ladder quickly.

(Son grunts and groans as he climbs. His sounds of exertion are accompanied by audible winces. He cries out in sudden pain.) 

SON: Why is it so cold?

DAD: It is necessary to keep the computer systems alive and well. If this were not here the system would overheat and die.

SON: I can’t even see the bottom.

DAD: It runs the length of the entire ship. (Son groans sharply.) Quickly now. You can reach the science deck above.

SON (shivering as he climbs): Is this… is this it?

DAD: No, that is a metal inlet that draws frozen water vapors to the level above and brings it to other areas in the science deck that require it. It’s far too cold in there.

SON (hissing and shuddering with cold): G-g-good to know.

(Son climbs the ladder quickly.)

DAD: You should be able to access the science deck just above you.

(A frightened, agonized cry from Dog. Son stops climbing the ladder and makes a pained sound of realization.)

SON: Dog! He’s still below!

DAD: Of course. I assumed you left him.

SON (moans): No… I…

(Sounds of climbing resume.)

DAD: You’re returning for Dog?

SON (hurt but determined): I’m not g-going to leave him… Not again.

DAD: He is only a dog, Son.

SON: W-why should that matter? (He keeps climbing with labored breaths. Dog can be heard crying.) Come… on… boy… I can… almost… reach you…

(A crash, followed by yells of sudden pain from Son. The Devil growls. A splatter of liquid. Son screams and Dog whines.)

SON (to Dog, through the pain): Come on, boy.

DAD: Son, you’re bleeding profusely. Without medical aid…

SON: I know! (He moans and pants in anguish while beginning to climb again. The sounds of growling and dripping blood continue.) Is this – is this…?

DAD: Yes, this is the science floor.

SON: Here boy! Here… here boy. (Groan of exertion.) Go up! (He breathes heavily. Dog barks. A rumble of metal under pressure sounds.) Go boy! Go! 

(A screech and clang of ripping metal. Son cries out in panic.) 

DAD: It’s pulled the ladder from the wall. The science deck is currently out of reach.

(Son pants as he continues to bleed and the Devil’s growls rise.)

DAD: It is climbing up, Son.

SON: D-does the inlet lead to the science deck?

DAD: You will not survive in there for longer than a few minutes.

SON (demanding an answer): Does it? Yes or no?

DAD: Yes, you can exit from within to the level above. 

(Son groans in pain and his breaths are agonized. He enters the inlet and begins climbing. As he does, he begins to gasp in pain, and his bleeding can be heard over the sounds of banging metal and ripping flesh.)

DAD: The blood leaking from your forearm is freezing to the metal surface, Son.

SON (with a wrenching gasp): I can feel it… tearing my skin off… (He audibly shivers.)

DAD: Keep moving. You’re almost there.

(Another tearing of flesh as Son rips his skin away from the metal surface.)

SON (close to panic): I can’t, I can’t, I can’t, I can’t.

DAD (as Son climbs in agony): You can, Son, keep moving. You’re almost there. (Son screams.)

SON: I can’t, I can’t.

DAD: It’s just ahead of you.

(Dad’s voice and Son’s cries of pain fade out below a ringing tone.)

DAD (voice muffled and echoing): Son? (Ringing tone rises and falls with Son’s whimpers.) Son? Son? (A static noise interrupts the ringing.) Son? Here. (More distinctly audible.) The panel above you should open. 

(Son opens the panel with a crash. The ringing tone stops and ambient noise returns. Son breathes shakily.)

RVA: Sciences.

DAD: You’ve made it. Well done, Son. A fair amount of skin from your forearm has been torn off due to the wet blood coming in contact with the frozen metal of the inlet. Soon it will melt. I suggest you find something to wrap it, quickly.

SON: I need to – I need to move… W-where-where’s Dog?

(Groaning, he starts to move.)

DAD: Son, you need to take it slow, you’ve lost a lot of blood.

SON: This is, this is the science deck, right? There’s got to be band-bandages or something in-in one of these rooms.

DAD: There is a supply closet along the wall to the left up ahead.

(Son moves forward, breathing heavily and painfully. The lights suddenly power off.)

SON: Oh fuck. Give me a break.

DAD: This section too has motion lights for –

SON (interrupting): Yeah. (He takes a moment to breathe. Sounds of a mechanism activating.) What was that? Th-The horns, th-the wings, the barbed tail?

DAD: It was the Devil, Son.

SON: How? How is the Devil on our ship?

DAD: I need you to understand, I am as surprised and confused as you are.

SON: I highly doubt that.

DAD: Nowhere in my programming is there an answer to a question of this nature. I cannot fathom nor draw even a hypothesis as to why this creature is on board.

SON: You are the ship, Dad. You’re everything here. Where is Dog? I pushed him up to this floor, he should be here.

DAD: I am not sure, Son. It looks as though you’ve patched the bleeding for now. However without skin you’ll continue to bleed unless you – 

SON (interrupting): What is…? (A soft ripping noise.) Why did that just come off?

DAD: The nails on your left hand seem to be falling off.

(Ominous tone rises.)

SON: All four of them? Why are they…?

DAD: I can only surmise that after damaging them, blood built up beneath your nails. With the freezing temperatures below, the blood expanded and is pushing your nails off.

SON: Well, if they’re just gonna fall off anyway.

(He rips the other three nails off. A metallic clunking sound follows.)

DAD: The lights are off again, Son. If you move –

SON (interrupting): This doesn’t seem right.

DAD: No.

SON: No, I mean none of this… I-I don’t feel right.

DAD: What is right?

SON: I keep thinking about… about before. About what came before, why we’re returning home.

DAD: And?

SON: I-I don’t remember. I don’t remember why-why we’re returning home. I don’t remember… I don’t remember this ship, I don’t remember my voice. I don’t remember my hands looking this way…

DAD: Do you remember me?

SON: Yes. Yes. You’re about the only thing I remember… and Dog.

DAD: You said you remembered your nightmare. What was it?

SON: I was underwater. I could hear my heartbeat, rhythmically beating along, lulling me to sleep. And then I was alone. So alone. I... I felt the weight of that loneliness. It was claustrophobic, like a sea of black nothingness… that crushed down upon me… smothering any light I held inside. It made it difficult to breathe. I gasped for air but every gasp brought in more of the black nothingness until… until it filled my mouth… and nose and eyes… and all I could see was this abyssal black. I’ve never felt so alone. (He sighs.) Any-Anyway.

DAD: I’m sorry to hear that, Son. But remember, every single person on this ship is counting on you. Every soul in cryogenic stasis believes in you. I believe in you.

(Mechanical sounds of the lights turning back on.)

SON: Why do the lights keep turning on? Nothing is moving.

DAD: I am not entirely sure, Son.

SON: There is nothing there, right? 

(Mechanical clicks, followed by a long moment of silence. Then, a distant roar. An ominous tone rises. Steady footsteps can be heard in the distance.)

SON: It’s coming.

(He begins to move. Objects clatter.)

DAD: Are you sure?

SON: Yes.

(Sounds of Son’s frightened breathing.)

DAD: The closet. Faster.

(More clattering of objects. Son shuts the closet door behind him. As he does, the Devil approaches. Its footsteps and growls become more distinct. Son’s breathing becomes muffled.) 

(The Devil pauses by the closest door. A squelching noise. Then the Devil moves slowly away again.)

SON (quietly): What do we do?

DAD: I’m not entirely sure, Son. Perhaps the best option is to just leave this deck.

SON: And go where? This thing has already followed me from the deck below.

DAD: Correct.

SON: What about… killing it?

DAD: That would be very difficult, Son.

SON: Still… are-are there weapons on board?

DAD: There was a toolbox in the hallway which would have a small number of items – a hammer perhaps?

SON: More than a hammer, Dad.

DAD: There are firearms in a secure storage locker on Deck 4.

SON: The floor we just left.

DAD: Yes. But regardless, from its size alone it would require a tremendous amount of force to penetrate its chitinous red skin. I do not believe a firearm would suffice.

SON: What about trapping it?

DAD: That could work. As a temporary measure. It would give time to escape this level and reevaluate our options.

SON: Is there any place on this deck that-that we can trap it? A-A small room or…?

DAD: There are many options. It depends on a number of factors, including where it is at this moment.

SON: Okay. Okay, so what does this level have?

DAD: A number of science facilities including an atrium, the greenhouse –

SON (interrupting): Greenhouse?

DAD: Yes. The Arboretum, the – 

SON: Where is it?

DAD: Close by, relatively. Right at the end of the hall and then left. You’ll see a map posted for this level there.

(Metallic clanging. Son stands and begins to move. The lights turn back on. Son grunts. A mechanical whir sounds.)

RVA: Greenhouse.

SON: Is it supposed to look like this?

DAD: Like what?

SON: Dad, everything is overgrown. It’s a mess in here. It looks like – like it’s been growing for years.

DAD: I suppose it has overgrown rather quickly.

SON: Is that so. It doesn’t matter right now. We need to deal with this…

DAD: Devil.

SON: Yes. There must be something. (He walks through the greenhouse.) What is that?

DAD: That is a combustion evaporator. It uses fuel to ignite a flame in the chamber which rapidly evaporates any water within. It’s why the air in here is humid and filled with moisture.

SON: Is it dangerous?

DAD: Not really. It’s far too difficult to use as any sort of weapon, if that’s what you are implying. (A rustling sound.) That white plastic sheet you’re touching collects the water and allows it to drip back down onto the plants. It is called a tarp.

SON: I’m just trying to find ways to stop this thing, Dad. If I can’t escape, this… Red Dragon is going to hunt me down… and kill me.

DAD: The steam from it, if vented directly towards a creature, could cause significant damage but that would take a great deal of effort and I’m not entirely sure if the Devil would even be affected by it.

SON: How hot can it get?

DAD: Extremely hot, but only in a small area of effect.

SON: What if we expanded the area?

DAD: Not possible without risking your own life. However, the principle of using the steam to create fatal temperatures in the ambient air is sound. Almost all things will shut down in extreme heat, myself included.

SON: Meaning if this steam valve was opened, all the air around us would heat up, quickly, you mean?

DAD: Correct.

SON: Could it breathe the steam? The temperature being higher, I mean. It’d be difficult, right?

DAD: Correct. But the Devil –

SON (interrupting): Oh, it did. Oh no, it did. It breathed heavily in the hallway and even outside the closet. Which means if I could get it – 

DAD: You would need a small enclosed space.

SON: Okay, well there’s this but… (He grunts in effort and metal creaks.) I don’t know if this could hold it.

DAD: No, I believe the Devil would break through that in a matter of seconds.

(Metal creaks again. Son sighs.)

SON (sudden realization): Wait, wait, wait, what’s this?

DAD: What?

SON: On the floor, it’s like a grate. On the floor, what is this?

DAD: That is an Air Scrubber. It draws oxygen from the room –

SON: Yeah, I remember you saying back in the maintenance room. But this one is huge and it’s on the floor.

DAD: The grate allows oxygen to move freely from the greenery in this room. The air scrubbers remove any impurities and –

SON: It’s like a pit. No?

DAD: I suppose so.

SON: Look, if I can remove the grate and cover it with something, like…

DAD: You plan on making a trap.

SON: Sure. Look… (Sounds of footsteps as he moves around the grate.) Here.. here and here… (Mounting excitement.) If I can get the bolts off…

DAD: Son, I appreciate your ingenuity. However, are you sure this is the wisest course of action? After all, this creature is something of untold origin. (Son turns on a drill.) Who knows how it could react to such a scenario. (The drill turns off and a bolt falls to the ground.) Furthermore, it could only anger the creature.

SON (emphatically): Dad, with respect, I don’t value your opinion. I appreciate your knowledge, but so far, (As he resumes drilling.) Almost everything you’ve said to me has been wrong.

(The drill stops and another bolt falls. The drill resumes.)

DAD: Have you considered how you’re going to physically get the creature here?

(The final bolt falls. Son grunts with effort and metal screeches as he raises the grate. He drags it away across the ground.) 

SON: There. Now I just need to cover it with something…

(Son moves the tarp with a rustle.) 

DAD: Did you hear my query?

SON: Yeah, I don’t know. Perhaps luring it here.

(He lays the tarp down.)

DAD: How? (Further rustling and scraping. Dad pauses.) Dog would be a noble sacrifice. If you were able to make Dog bleed, you could have the Devil follow the trail into the greenhouse.

SON (serious): You want me to kill Dog?

DAD: It is the most logical lure. Am I incorrect?

(Beat.)

SON (intent): What are you?

DAD: I am Dad. (Sticky peeling sounds followed by the sound of dripping blood.) Son, without a bandage on your arm, you will quickly bleed out.

SON: I’m not going to sacrifice Dog. (He grunts, the bleeding intensifies.) It can follow my blood.

(Footsteps as Son moves around the area, panting and still dripping blood. After a moment, the Devil roars in the distance. Son’s breathing picks up.) 

(The Devil approaches with heavy footsteps. Its growls become louder. An ominous tone sounds. Son pants with audible terror.) 

(A mechanical whir.)

RVA: Greenhouse.

(Son grunts in pain.)

DAD: Son!

SON: I know!

(Sounds of whirring and clashing machinery over the Devil’s footsteps.)

SON (under his breath): Come on, come on, come on.

(Footsteps grow louder.)

SON: Come on, come on! (Shouting.) Come on! Don’t you want me? Come on! Is this what you want? Come on! Come on, come on!

DEVIL (distorted): Don’t you know why you’re here?

(Ominous tone.)

SON: What?

(The Devil growls and steps forward. The tarp rustles beneath its weight. A crash as the Devil falls. It snarls, faintly, once more.)

(Another ominous tone.)

SON (shocked): It spoke.

DAD: I do not believe so.

SON (emphatic): It did. It said, “Don’t you know why you’re here?”

DAD: Well done, Son.

SON: Yeah. Thanks.

DAD: Let us head to Reclamation.

SON: Reclamation?

DAD: Yes.

SON: Why?

DAD: I think it will answer some questions.

SON (flatly): Sure.

(A mechanical whir. Son walks steadily.)

DAD: Reclamation is on Deck Seven, Son. (He pauses while Son continues moving.) Son?

(Another mechanical whir.)

SON: Deck 5, Maintenance.

DAD: Maintenance? (The elevator begins to move.) Why Maintenance, Son? Son? (A pause.) Son, I assume you are attempting to validate my Central Core, which is a wise decision. However, may I recommend we do so after Reclamation. Ultimately, it is not –

(A whir as the elevator doors open. Son begins walking again.)

DAD: Son, you have no reason to be frustrated with me. I have told you nothing but the truth so far as my systems are aware. And yes, perhaps there is an issue you can find within my Central Core, however… 

(Another door opens.)

RVA: Central Core.

DAD: Son, there is no way for you to validate the information that you are looking for. (Sounds of typing.) Have you the slightest idea of how to go about resetting my systems? Are you aware of how complicated this can be? The terminal you access is more complicated than you realize. To verify the integrity of my artificial… you’ve now passed by the verification altogether, Son. I can help you if you simply respond to me. (Typing continues.) You are moving to total shutdown, Son. If you were to accidentally shut me down, there would be no life support or… Son. That verification is intended as a fail safe. Son. Please. Don’t. By the glimmer of the half extinguished light I –

(A whine and clunk of software shutting down. Son exhales, then begins to walk.)

SON: Why are there no stars?

(He walks through the door. Machinery rumbles as the elevator opens.)

SON: Deck 1. Bridge. 

(The elevator doors close and it begins to move. An ethereal tone plays. Then the elevator stops.) 

RVA: Bridge.

(Son moves into the bridge.)

SON: What the hell? (A soft crumbling noise, followed by the sound of Son wiping his hand.) Dust. (He presses a few keys. There are soft clicks, as of a mechanism starting up.)

SON: Okay… Okay… (Typing again. A beep sounds. Heavy machinery begins to move with a scraping noise. It clangs to a stop.)

(An ethereal tone plays. Son steps forward.)

SON (disbelieving): No… No… (He touches glass with a clunk.) Why are there no stars?

STRANGER (rasping): Because we’re not in space.

(Music plays: ‘The World Is Waiting For The Sunrise’ by Isham Jones Orchestra.)

(END Episode 3.)

DEVISER was written, performed, edited, mixed and mastered by Harlan Guthrie. All themes were written, recorded, and performed by Harlan Guthrie. If you enjoyed this episode, please share this podcast with a friend or family member, and leave a review at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or anywhere else you might listen. If you enjoy creations like this, please consider supporting us through the INVICTUS Stream Patreon at patreon.com/theINVICTUSStream. For more shows like this check out Malevolent.ca. Thank you for listening.