Episode 26
Travelling Light E026S01 Transcript
H.R. Owen
Hello friends, Hero here. This week's trailer is for Counterbalance, a high fantasy audio fiction just coming to the end of their second season – so there's plenty for you to delve into. With a blend of Scandinavian influences and classic medieval fantasy, with a dash of sci-fi and a world brimming with humans and non-humans alike, it should be just the thing for Travelling Light fans. Stay tuned to the end of the episode to hear their trailer, and see the show notes for more details.
[Title music: rhythmic electronic folk.]
H.R. Owen
Travelling Light: Episode Twenty Six.
[The music fades out.]
The Traveller
15th Lailo 850
To the community at Emerraine, who carry the Light.
I worry I may have caused you some concern with my last missive, considering the somewhat difficult conditions, both material and [hesitates] emotional, aboard the Tola since the trade on Koom. I am pleased to say I have turned quite the corner since then.
We have been staying of late on Nimidol, a small moon whose fishing industry forms a cornerstone of the economy. Nimidol's oceans are famously abundant, and provide fish and seafood for the entire system.
I have been very impressed with the industry's efforts to share its wealth among other Nimidolians. Many of the shipping interests are owned by their workers, and share their profits among the very people whose labour makes those profits possible.
There is besides a strong cultural expectation that Nimidolians who make their fortune should invest it back into their communities. Nimidol merchants take their philanthropy as a point of pride, competing with their rivals to establish and maintain local schools, community centres and parks.
It is not perhaps the disinterested altruism preferred by the moral philosopher. Certainly I have seen nothing of our own ideas of charity – that it is best done in a way which protects the identity of both giver and receiver.
But it is hard to see the well-kept streets, the luscious parks and glittering beaches, and the lively, well-educated people of Nimidol, and see any real evil in the habit.
This community interest extends to the fish market. It is such a profoundly important hub for trade and commerce on the moon that there is always work to be done there. One might find a permanent position at a stall or in a trade office. But there is also a tradition of offering work each day for temporary workers.
The reasoning is simple. Not everyone is suited or inclined to take on the demands of full employment. They may wish to fit their work around their studies or a recurrent illness, or to take the odd shift to cover unexpected expenses – or, as in my case, be travelling through Nimidol for only a short period.
Whatever their reason, any person who wishes may present themselves at the market of a morning and be provided with a shift of work to suit their needs and abilities.
It is a neat system, and offers an alternative to the municipal support systems which, while perfectly serviceable, are not able to offer their dependents the pride and satisfaction of useful, decently compensated labour.
I spent my first shift as a general runner, bringing messages and merchandise from one stall to another. It was harder work than I had expected, demanding my full attention as I moved through the tightly packed stalls, feet splashing in the puddles left by melting ice and overflowing tanks.
Since then, I have laboured in the loading docks, served customers in a few stalls, and done my fair share of gutting, scaling, skinning, filleting and cleaning of fish of all kinds – with… varying degrees of competence.
I have also got to know one of the other regular temps, a person named Vermi. I have attached an account of an invention of Vermi's that I think will be of great interest to you all. He and I have become quite friendly, in fact, often sitting together during our breaks and walking out together at the end of the work day.
It has been a relief, on all counts. I am relieved to be spending my days productively and in uncomplicated company. And I am pleased to see my little pile of money slowly increasing, as I have just the simple habits of living that lend themselves to saving money.
And on a simple, animal level, I am very happy to spend my days moving, acting, working, thinking, learning, and to go to bed with mind and body tired but content.
[The click of a data stick being inserted into a drive that whirs as it reads]
The Traveller
Entry LA85015-2: A description of a remarkable device concocted by an acquaintance at Nimidol fish market.
Key words: communication; language and dialect; Nimidol; scientific research; technology; Vermilissen al Gueder mor ap'Lann.
Notes:
I first met Vermilissen al Gueder mor ap'Lann during my time working at the fish market on Nimidol. Vermi, as he insisted I call him, is a native of the moon, and belongs to one of the majority species here, a semi-aquatic people called the Reitabore.
Vermi explained the connections between the Reitabore and the fishing industry one afternoon while we were taking a break from our work in the market, chatting over a cup of tea for myself and warm, brackish broth for Vermi.
“Explanatory, keen. Reitabore fished because we were Reitabore. It was the natural progression of a people that lives so much on the water. But today, we can do all kinds of things.
Some pride, also matter of fact. I went to university, studied and read to my heart's content. My sisters also work, elsewhere, and my brother does not work at all. Amused, indulgent. He doesn't want it.
Confessing, enjoying company. For me, I have no great fondness either for fishing, trading, or for anything other than composing. But this is the best place for me to test my creativity. Plus, the parts are not cheap. Cheerful, dry. Maybe I'll make some money while running the tests! [laughs] Or not.”
By “composing”, I think Vermi here intended something more like “inventing”. I have rendered his speech as accurately as I can, as it sounded to me. But he was using a very unusual translator – one of his own invention, in fact, and replete with its own idiosyncrasies.
Like many aquatic and semi-aquatic people, the Reitabore use bioluminescence to communicate with one another. Verbal communication can be difficult for them, as they have only very small mouths, not intended for speech at all. Most Reitabore speak with their colleagues, therefore, through sign language.
I have been very glad to discover the dialect is not too different to the sign language I have been learning from Wolph. I suspect it has its roots in some sort of trading pidgin, given Wolph's family background and the improbability of him learning a peculiarly Nimidolian sign language as his mother tongue.
But as Vermi has identified, this sign language leaves much to be desired.
“There is no tone in sign, no underneath meaning. My face does not move as yours, it does not read the same.
Distracted by sudden thought, but trying to concentrate. In the home language, I can put out such a sentence with many colours. But not so in sign. More, the use of sign language yet depends on both parties having a good understanding of thus.
Grudging allowance, fundamental dissatisfaction. The advances in translation technology have been incredible. But they have abandoned symbolic, gestural language and image-work in favour of mostly oral communications.”
I believe Vermi's translator was once a similar model to mine, with an interface that translates my speech and relays the translated speech of others directly into my ears. But he has taken it upon himself to adapt and modify his unit almost beyond recognition.
“Excited to share, keenness overtaking, enjoying company immensely! The real difficult is teaching the device which movements, lights and colours to interpret and which to ignore. Fearful of understatement. This required a large, complex, time-consuming and extensive vocabulary. Relieved, proud, exhausted. I finally added it.
Gratified with continued attention, keen to continue friendship. This done, I tasked myself with converting visual cues into data for the translator to understand.
Excitement, curbed. Uh, then, there came the pheromone sensor,” he said, gesturing to something I had misapprehended as a fluffy little microphone. “It adds additional information, although it works only very closely to the speaker.
Conceding the point. It is yet not enough. Some of what we have said here today must have been lost or distorted. Determined, excited. But this is a big leap, a very big leap. Diffident, hopeful, seeking praise. I have made a very big success though, and I think there will be more to come.”
There is certainly still a way to go before Vermi's creation is ready for general use. For one thing, it currently uses about 6000 times more power than an ordinary translator, requiring him to wear a battery pack the size of his torso whenever it is in use.
But it nevertheless remains highly commendable and promising endeavour, and you may rest assured I provided Vermi with as much praise on that account as he could have possibly wished to hear.
[Title music: rhythmic instrumental folk. It plays throughout the closing credits.]
H.R. Owen
Travelling Light was created by H.R. Owen and Matt McDyre, and is a Monstrous Productions podcast. This episode was written and performed by H.R. Owen.
This week’s entry to the archives was based on a suggestion by Olly, with accompanying artwork available on our social media accounts.
If you've got an idea for an archive entry, we want to hear it. You can send us anything from a one line prompt to a fully written entry through our website, by email, or on social media. For more information, see the show notes.
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This podcast is distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. The theme tune is by Vinca.
[Fade to silence. The Counterbalance trailer begins, music playing throughout]
Aþæona: Ah, the web tore. Those that both created and were created by the threads disentangle from the fringes to feast on the very thing that spawned them.
Malaki: Watch Azeri, this is how you deal with Vær!
Bolga: No! Do not harm my children!
Ferryce: Oh, you lost a feather! Can I keep it?
Raka: No, you can't force me to!
Þorianþaris: Do you know what lies within nothing?
Yosha: Raka is in trouble, Akasar! Can we turn on the windshell remotely?
Auril: No! She could lose her job as an Akasar!
Raka: I don't fear Væhar!
Þorianþaris: No, but you fear me. If you intend to trick me, I will not hesitate to sever the Oathbond entirely.
Ashley: Why didn't you help me? Coward!
Lyn: I don't have a parachute! I don't like freefalling!
Kessir: Counterbalance – a high fantasy audio drama. Season 2 coming 15th of October 2023. Learn more on trilunis.com
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