Category: Where Stars Collide

---

SFX: BANG! BANG! BANG! MIKE ANGRILY ATTACKS THE POD WALLS AND DOOR.

MIKE: Let me out, Doug!

A SILENCE. THEN…

SOUNDSCAPE: THE DULL ELECTRONIC BUZZ OF THE ONCE PLEASANT ESCAPE POD.

SFX: BANGING CONTINUES.

DOUG: (SPEAKER) Mike. Prolonged outbursts will deplete remaining life support at a higher rate. Please, try to remain calm.

MIKE: (FURIOUS, PANICKED) Let! Me! Out! Doug!

DOUG: (SPEAKER) Mike. Help will arrive soon.

BANGING STOPS.

MIKE: You don’t get it! Nobody’s coming for us, Doug! I have, what, three days of life support left before–

DOUG: (SPEAKER) Incorrect. Life support currently at two-point-

MIKE: Oh, for fu– Who cares, Doug? We’re going to die out here! (CONSIDERS THIS) I’m going to die out here…

AN UNCOMFORTABLE SILENCE.

DOUG: (SPEAKER) Mike. The Weaver was a prized commercial–

MIKE: We were three days out from port, Doug. If they were coming for any of us, they would have by now. Either they couldn’t, or… (CONSIDERS THIS) Or, we weren’t worth it.

DOUG: (SPEAKER) Mike…

MIKE: Congrats, buddy. You kept me alive long enough to realize I was never going to get rescued.

ANOTHER SILENCE. THEN…

MIKE: Doug?

DOUG: (SPEAKER) Yes, Mike?

MIKE: I’m really tired.

SFX: A SOFT HISS.

DOUG: (SPEAKER) Sleep now. Mike. I will be here when you wake. No harm shall come to you.

SFX: MIKE’S FAINT BREATHING.

DOUG: (SPEAKER) Goodnight, Mike.

SFX: POD DOOR OPENS.

A LONG SILENCE. THEN…

SFX: CHARMING SYSTEM SHUTDOWN SOUNDS.

DOUG: (RECORDING) Dallas Protocols complete. Mike… User, deceased. Recording, complete. Unit ceasing function in three… two…

SILENCE, AND ONLY SILENCE.

OUT.

THE END

---

SOUNDSCAPE: THE DULL ELECTRONIC BUZZ OF THE OTHERWISE PLEASANT ESCAPE POD.

MIKE: So, like…did you always want to be a Nanny when you grew up?

DOUG: (SPEAKER) (CONSIDERS THIS) In a way.

MIKE: Wait. Really?

DOUG: (SPEAKER) Prior to my activation four days ago, I did not exist as you know me now. But from the moment of my creation, I have been… compelled to ensure your survival.

MIKE: (CHUCKLING) I bet you say that to all the humans.

DOUGS: (SPEAKER) Perhaps. But my programming and purpose affords me the freedom to act independently of my designated User.

MIKE: Well… I guess it’s a good thing we’re such good friends–

SFX: SYSTEM ALERT.

MIKE: Doug. Please tell me that freaky alarm means somebody’s finally saving us.

DOUG: (SPEAKER) Mike, that freaky alarm means somebody’s finally saving us.

MIKE: (SURPRISED) Seriously?

DOUG: (SPEAKER) No. But you asked me to–

MIKE: Doug. The alarm.

DOUG: (SPEAKER) The alert was a relay from distant escape pods.

MIKE: And?

DOUG: (SPEAKER) Multiple units down. Users, deceased.

MIKE: (HEART SINKS) What? How?

DOUG: (speaker) Cause: unknown.

MIKE: Are we under attack? Is it whoever attacked–

SFX: SYSTEM ALERT.

DOUG: (SPEAKER) Several more units have ceased function. Users–

SFX: SEVERAL SYSTEM ALERTS.

MIKE: (TERRIFIED) Doug, what the Hell is going on?

DOUG: (SPEAKER) Possibilities include faulty or damaged units, unavoidable collision with nearby hazards, malicious forces with no-hostage protocols–

MIKE: (ANGRY, SCARED) Yeah. Okay. I get it, Doug.

AN UNCOMFORTABLE SILENCE.

DOUG: (SPEAKER) (CONSIDERS THIS) Perhaps the Dallas Protocol–

MIKE: (EXHAUSTED, BROKEN) Doug. Please. Please, just… just stop.

SFX: SEVERAL MORE ALERTS. UP, UNDER.

DOUG: (SPEAKER) Do not be afraid, Mike. No harm shall come to you. (BEAT) I promise.

SFX: ALERTS CONTINUE.

FADE.

END SCENE

---

SOUNDSCAPE: THE DULL ELECTRONIC BUZZ OF THE OTHERWISE PLEASANT ESCAPE POD DRIFTING THROUGH THE VOID OF SPACE.

MIKE: Doug?

DOUG: (SPEAKER) Yes, User.

MIKE: (CORRECTING) Mike.

DOUG: (SPEAKER) What was that, User?

MIKE: How long have I been bobbing about in space in this cramped, metal egg?

DOUG: (SPEAKER) Evacuation protocols initiated approximately seven hours ago.

MIKE: How much longer till someone picks all of us up?

A SILENCE.

MIKE: Doug?

DOUG: (SPEAKER) Scan complete.

MIKE: And?

A BEAT.

DOUG: (SPEAKER) No ships within range.

MIKE: I’m going to die out here.

A LONGER, MORE UNCOMFORTABLE BEAT.

DOUG: (SPEAKER) Life systems currently at 97-point-92-percent. 

MIKE: Uh-huh. Well… Maybe we can use some of this time to work on your bedside manner, Doug.

DOUG: (SPEAKER) My apologies… Mike.

MIKE: (SMILES) Yeah. That’s a start.

FADE.

END SCENE

---

SOUNDSCAPE: THE SILENT VOID OF SPACE. THE WEAVER, A LARGE COMMERCIAL SPACE TRANSPORT, SAILS THROUGH THIS.

NARRATOR: (VOICE-OVER) The silent void of space, somewhere just beyond Saturn. The Weaver, a large commercial space transport tasked with the safe passage of twelve-thousand souls, sails through this. And in just a moment, The Weaver and its precious cargo will find themselves at the burning heart of where mankind’s destiny and the stars themselves collide.

AND THEN…

SFX: KA-BOOM! A SERIES OF EXPLOSIONS CONSUMES THE WEAVER FROM THE INSIDE OUT.

SOUNDSCAPE: THE BLARING SIREN OF AN EMERGENCY ALERT CUTS THROUGH WHAT REMAINS OF THE WEAVER. MASS PANIC CONSUMES THE CREW AND PASSENGERS. SMALLER, DISTANT EXPLOSIONS GROW CLOSER, LARGER.

SECURITY: (SHOUTING) The escape pods! Get to the escape p–!

SFX: KA-BOOM! A FINAL, MASSIVE EXPLOSION.

AND THEN…

STILL SILENCE.

AND THEN…

SOUNDSCAPE: THE DULL ELECTRONIC BUZZ OF AN OTHERWISE PLEASANT ESCAPE POD.

SFX: THE PANICKED BREATHING OF THE POD’S DESIGNATED USER. UP, UNDER.

SFX: CHARMING SYSTEM START-UP SOUNDS.

DOUG: (SPEAKER) Neural links established. User identified. Vital signs acquired. Recording streams synced.

MIKE: (STARTLED, EXHAUSTED) Hello? Hello? Is someone there? Please… what’s going on?

DOUG: (SPEAKER) Hello, User. My name is Digital Observer Unit-6. But you may call me, “Doug.” I am here to help.

FADE.

END SCENE

---

When a catastrophic event leaves survivors of an interplanetary transport ship scattered and adrift in space, one man stares into the great and endless abyss of the cosmos as he awaits rescue. This is his tale. This is where fear, hope, and stars collide.

---

CAST

Narrator
Panicking Crew & Passengers
Security
DOUG
Mike

---

AUDIO DRAMA CHAPTERS

Scene 01. Goodbye, Moonmen
Scene 02. 336 Hours
Scene 03. Dallas Protocols
Scene 04. See Ya, Space Cowboy