The future is full of epic “what ifs." What if we could read minds? What if a hostile attack took down our nation’s power grid? In every episode of Hyperthetical, host Kerry Bishé asks one of these questions. Then, we explore that question two ways - through speculative science fiction, and through insight from the world’s most brilliant scientists. The result is a genre-bending story woven with real facts and science, bringing together education and imagination. Time travel into a near-future where our biggest “what ifs” become “now whats?”

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Today we feature a new, standalone post-apocalyptic audioplay - The Collective, by Asata Radcliffe.

A major Catastrophic Event, known as the C.E. has left less than 10,000 people on the planet. The actual population of the world is not known. A group of humans, known as The Collective, decide to not have children as a way of saving humanity from the inherent human legacy of barbarism.

Nora Harlem, a 26 yr. old who survived the C.E., is carrying a secret, as she makes a harrowing trek to seek shelter in New Mexico, where she finds unlikely protectors.

Produced over the pandemic with a dozen actors in three countries, The Collective is a lavish, immersive audio experience.

Transcript and full cast/crew list at: https://dagazmedia.com/thecollective/

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A haunting original audioplay by Fred Greenhalgh and Jack Bowman. An interstellar traveler will stop at nothing to save his fiancée who is trapped on a troubled Europa Colony. But as realities start to mash into one another, the true underlying reality is more shocking than his mind can handle. A dark treatise on space colonialism, late-stage capitalism, and the repercussions of AI, Wholesale Solution is here to bend your mind in the most twisted of directions.

Produced by Dagaz Media. Dialogue edit, Jack Bowman. Sound design, Tom Alexander.

Cast members:

• Joe Bearor: Clay
• Ian Carlsen: Campbell
• Casey Turner: Tala
• Myra Diehl: Doctor
• William Dufris: Nurse
• RC Bray: The AI

Originally appeared on The Drabblecast.

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The Final Act. Paul's own faith is tested. The dead walk again. Heavens, earth, and sea cast judgement. The first crocus springs.

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All forces converge on the City of Corinth as Paul and Saul raise the stakes of their great war - from fight for control, to a challenge that risks complete annihilation. In the shadows, our heroes rush to stop cataclysm, guided by faith and driven by courage.

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Paul's Believers rise in song as they begin the opening round of the Great Cleansing. Saul, duly impressed, begins his own preparations for the great battle. With time running out, Queenie, Lucian, and Maria visit the new Sewbie Refuge and find a lost soul. With faith restored, they are able to follow the course set out for them and stand in their places as the Final Act opens.

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With the Depot behind them, Luke and Marc must move onward. They are traveling by a vessel that seems near magical, but haunted by the events that have set them on their current course. Their paths will soon cross with Zeke, who is also haunted, and the party must slog through a wailing blizzard. Wheels are in motion for the great confrontation.

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Battered and weakened from the collapse of their last chapel, the faith of Paul's Believers has been tested near to breaking. But the darkest hour will soon break, as the voice of the "Father" returns to Paul, leading them to recovering the great Babel Tower. Meanwhile, "Alpha Zeke" pushes the survivors of the Refuge south through the brutal badlands on a hike towards Corinth. Is there hope of rescue? And at what cost?

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In their quest to find "Sanctuary," Lucian and Queenie find a door... And behind that door, lies answers. These answers may help them understand their broken world, but will it give them any way to fight against the demagogues lose on the land?

Elsewhere, Luke, Maria, and Marc stare rapt as Abraham unlocks the power of the Orb. Can this Beforetimes power be harnessed by the likes of humans, or will it drown everyone under 500 feet of water?

Sound designer Eric Mooney and composer Hubert Campbell outdo themselves for this pivotal moment in The Cleansed.

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All eyes are on the Refuge, as Kubrick's forces loom over the remaining fighters and Zeke swoops in behind. Blood and death are familiar enough for the survivors of The Breaking but today's carnage will change things forever. In the City, Paul and Saul return to their war of words, and Saul makes a confession to a close enemy. Wheels are in motion for the great Cleansing, coming soon to a City near you.

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Lucian and Queenie clear the wreckage from atop their traincar deep in the Soup and set off into the tunnels, in desperate search for a place called "Sanctuary." Meanwhile, Shadow brings the party down from Valkyrie and into a place where secrets from the past will be uncovered.

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