Eleanor and Finn catch up. Daisy interrupts. CONTENT WARNINGS Static Themes of isolation Themes of manipulation
The intro begins.
CASSIA Welcome back to 404: The Podcast. Episode #2: Space Satellite.
The intro ends.
The recording clicks on.
ELEANOR (through a yawn) Ugh. Good evening. I just woke up from a, like, two hour nap. I slept horribly last night. Pretty sure it’s Jan’s fault. Sometimes I just ambiently hear her like, laughing and singing or whatever at night. Sometimes I don’t. I still sleep terribly. It’s creepy. (she pauses) Hear that? Blissful silence. They normally show up later in the evening, so we’re safe for now. For now. Anyways, slow day at work. Slow… day in general. Pretty sure my brain wasn’t working before that nap. (she pauses again) Um. Let’s see. What am I supposed to talk about during these? I had eggs for lunch. Didn’t have breakfast. Blue broke another coffee mug because he’s a little scheming devil of a cat. I--
ELEANOR is cut off by her phone going off.
ELEANOR Oh! Finn’s calling. One second.
A clatter as ELEANOR raises the phone to her ear.
ELEANOR Finn!
FINN (tinny, through the phone) Eleanor!
ELEANOR Finn!
FINN When I tell you I had the longest day.
ELEANOR Oh, right. First day of the new quarter, right?
FINN Yeah. My new lit teacher is really old and, like, that’s his only personality trait. He spent forty minutes talking to us about the evils of the internet.
ELEANOR Huh. Can’t say that ever happened to me in college.
FINN Yeah, we get it, you were a comp sci major.
ELEANOR Heh.
FINN Anyways, I am not looking forward to sitting in a lecture hall with that man for another quarter. People like that are just… ugh. Get a hobby that isn’t blaming the world’s evils on computers.
ELEANOR Right. Without the internet, how would you have had your tragically long Panic! At the Disco phase?
FINN I regret telling you about that.
ELEANOR Or the phase when you cut your hair like--
FINN (cutting her off) Anyways. Plenty of good stuff happens on the internet.
ELEANOR Right. Like, uh, Facebook minions quotes.
FINN El, please. I’m making a point here.
ELEANOR No, no, I get it. I mean, my whole job revolves around… you know. The internet. I think it’s a very powerful tool.
FINN Yeah, well, of course. The internet gave us Minecraft. And Dodie. And I guess you can promote good causes and stuff too.
ELEANOR (laughing) “I guess.” You, ma’am, have a Minecraft problem.
FINN What’s this? Eleanor Lancaster, accusing me of having a video game addiction? You’re one to talk.
ELEANOR Hey man, I prefer the term avid interest. And I also regret nothing.
FINN Aren’t twentysomethings supposed to be the life of the party? Living up your finest years and stuff? Going to parties on yachts in… Mykonos, or whatever?
ELEANOR You clearly haven’t felt the rush you get from playing one game so long that you see the imprint of the screen when you close your eyes.
FINN (laughing) Dude, get help.
ELEANOR I am a strong, independent woman with a Prius and a cat. I don’t need help.
Digital static starts to fade in.
ELEANOR Oh, I think you’re cutting out. Finn?
DAISY Not her. You.
ELEANOR (startled) God, Daisy. Don’t just come out of nowhere like that.
DAISY I heard you two talking. Thought I would offer my own two cents.
ELEANOR What are you-- I-- wait. How would you even know anything about the internet? You’re… whatever you are.
DAISY I know it can be lonely. Overwhelmingly so, sometimes. You would know, though.
ELEANOR (uncomfortable) I’d say it’s more like… a method of preventing… that.
DAISY (continuing) You would know what it’s like to be adrift. Sitting here in this room, you may as well be miles above the Earth. That’s why you keep your lights off. Tell me, Eleanor, did you want to be an astronaut when you were little? Did you dream of the dark?
ELEANOR (uncertainly) I did.
DAISY Of course you did.
The digital static gets louder.
ELEANOR (inhaling sharply, breaking the tension) You know what? I don’t even know why I’m talking to you. I’m-- I’m going to call Finn back.
The static stays at the same level as she dials FINN’s number, but fades out when she picks up.
FINN Hello? El?
ELEANOR (unnerved) Sorry about that. I think… I think Daisy did that? I’m not sure how, I’m… She hasn’t really done that before. That was really weird. She talks like a high schooler’s poetry blog.
FINN Jeez, dude. Is she still in the room?
ELEANOR (shifting around) Yeah, I think… Oh. No, not anymore. I have a headache, though. I think she gave me a headache.
FINN Rude of her. You should get some sleep, though.
ELEANOR Dude, I already took a nap today. I’m just the pinnacle of human health, aren’t I?
FINN Whatever. You need it.
There’s a short pause.
ELEANOR (hopefully) Stay on call with me?
FINN Huh?
ELEANOR Will you… stay on call with me?
FINN Oh. Oh! Of course, yeah.
ELEANOR Thanks. The Daisy thing just kind of…
FINN Yeah.
ELEANOR Thanks. Oh, shoot. I forgot this thing was still recording.
The recording clicks off. The recording ends. The outro begins.
EMILY Thank you for listening to 404. Featured in this episode were Cassia Jones as Eleanor Lancaster, Katherine Petersdorf as Finn, and Annika Vaughan as Daisy. See you next week.