There are billions of stars, millions of planets, but there is only one man, Terrance McDoogal. Welcome to LIU Atlas.
LIU Atlas - Susurri
The Ludgonian Industrial Union's galaxy contains billions of stars and billions of planets. Unfortunately, most residents of the LIU could only name a handful of these worlds. In order to improve astronomy grades across the LIU Galaxy, TV2 has started a new program called LIU Atlas. Follow our host, Terrance McDoogal, as he takes you on a tour across the LIU and some of its more obscure worlds.
Note: This episode is presented in full screen. The corresponding dialogue is underneath each photo.
Note: This episode is presented in full screen. The corresponding dialogue is underneath each photo.
Doog: “Welcome to the season finale of Season 11 of LIU Atlas. I’m your host, Terrance “Doog” McDoogal. Today, we’re wrapping up the season by visiting the black hole, Susurri. Technically, we’re not visiting the black hole itself – given the whole ‘never escape’ thing. We’re staying a safe distance away. There’s a large asteroid field orbiting Susurri half a light year away. That’s where we are headed.”
Doog: “Alright, this looks like the place. One of the field’s larger asteroids is home to a small industrial complex. This complex mainly serves as a fuel refinery. A massive dome sits over the whole thing. While it looks similar to some biospheres we’ve seen, I don’t think this dome is holding in any atmosphere. It’s probably there for protection. Susurri’s gravity waves shift the smallest asteroids, making impacts possible.”
Doog: “Luckily for us, we’re not an asteroid. The dome shields have been dropped, and we are free to enter the complex. I’ll see you on the surface.”
Doog: “Well, I’m not disappointed. This place is a fuel refinery, and nothing says fuel like some classic Octan branding. The real question is, what type of fuel is being processed here? Am I dealing with fuel sniffing degenerates or smarty-pants ion specialists?”
Doog: “Or, maybe, I’m not dealing with anyone at all. Where’s my guide? Hey! Hello? Are either of you my guide?”
Robot: “Please stay behind the line, visitor.”
Doog: “I am behind the line.”
Worker: “Yeah, well keep your words behind the line too. We’re trying to work here.”
Doog: “I’m trying to work here too. So, keep your words on your side of the line!”
Robot: “The line is an arbitrary marker that does not prohibit audio transmissions.”
Doog: “Yeah! What he said! You are on my side, right?”
Robot: “I am not on your side. I am on this side of the line.”
Doog: “I don’t mean physically. I mean…why am I arguing with a robot?”
Robot: “Please stay behind the line, visitor.”
Doog: “I am behind the line.”
Worker: “Yeah, well keep your words behind the line too. We’re trying to work here.”
Doog: “I’m trying to work here too. So, keep your words on your side of the line!”
Robot: “The line is an arbitrary marker that does not prohibit audio transmissions.”
Doog: “Yeah! What he said! You are on my side, right?”
Robot: “I am not on your side. I am on this side of the line.”
Doog: “I don’t mean physically. I mean…why am I arguing with a robot?”
Quinn: “You guys are all out of line. I could hear you down the hall.”
Robot: “Incorrect. We have remained on the designated sides of the line.”
Quinn: “I don’t mean physically. Never mind. No use arguing about it. I’m Quinn Jarvis. I’m an overseer at the Susurri Refinery.”
Doog: “You speak in complete sentences. You’re not a fuel sniffing degenerate. You must be an ion nerd.”
Quinn: “Excuse me?”
Doog: “I’ve dealt with a few fuel specialists over the years. They’re always on one side of the spectrum. Degenerate or nerd.”
Quinn: “You’re right that I don’t sniff fuel, but I’m not sure that qualifies me as a nerd.”
Doog: “Only time will tell.”
Robot: “Incorrect. We have remained on the designated sides of the line.”
Quinn: “I don’t mean physically. Never mind. No use arguing about it. I’m Quinn Jarvis. I’m an overseer at the Susurri Refinery.”
Doog: “You speak in complete sentences. You’re not a fuel sniffing degenerate. You must be an ion nerd.”
Quinn: “Excuse me?”
Doog: “I’ve dealt with a few fuel specialists over the years. They’re always on one side of the spectrum. Degenerate or nerd.”
Quinn: “You’re right that I don’t sniff fuel, but I’m not sure that qualifies me as a nerd.”
Doog: “Only time will tell.”
Doog: “First things first…why are you refining fuel near a black hole?”
Quinn: “The Susurri Black Hole was created after its parent star went nova and then collapsed. The supernova remnant is ion rich, which is why we are here.”
Doog: “That was a lot of nerdy words, Quinn. Things aren’t looking good for you.”
Quinn: “Describing science is nerdy? How else would I tell you about this place?”
Doog: “Awesome boom boom makes fuel, or something like that.”
Quinn: “That’s not really informative. This is an educational show, right?”
Doog: “That’s why I’m the TV host and you’re the nerd. That’s how this show gets made.”
Quinn: “The Susurri Black Hole was created after its parent star went nova and then collapsed. The supernova remnant is ion rich, which is why we are here.”
Doog: “That was a lot of nerdy words, Quinn. Things aren’t looking good for you.”
Quinn: “Describing science is nerdy? How else would I tell you about this place?”
Doog: “Awesome boom boom makes fuel, or something like that.”
Quinn: “That’s not really informative. This is an educational show, right?”
Doog: “That’s why I’m the TV host and you’re the nerd. That’s how this show gets made.”
Quinn: “If talking like an educated grown-up makes me a nerd, I guess I’m a nerd.”
Doog: “Now that you’ve admitted it, we can get on with the show. So, the nova made the ions.”
Quinn: “Yes, and now Susurri’s gravity is pulling these ions back. This asteroid field is bombarded with them.”
Doog: “Is that the purpose of the dome?”
Quinn: “The dome serves two purposes. It shields us from meteor impacts, and it also aids in the collection of ions. Particulates of the remnant get trapped in the shields. Most of these particulates are ions, but there are other contaminants.”
Doog: “Now that you’ve admitted it, we can get on with the show. So, the nova made the ions.”
Quinn: “Yes, and now Susurri’s gravity is pulling these ions back. This asteroid field is bombarded with them.”
Doog: “Is that the purpose of the dome?”
Quinn: “The dome serves two purposes. It shields us from meteor impacts, and it also aids in the collection of ions. Particulates of the remnant get trapped in the shields. Most of these particulates are ions, but there are other contaminants.”
Quinn: “That’s when the refinery takes over. Octan specialists purify the remnant dust, leaving pure ion fuel.”
Doog: “Seems pretty standard.”
Quinn: “I wouldn’t say standard. There’s some really advanced physics taking place.”
Doog: “Standard enough for me. Big boom makes fuel soup. Soup has yucky parts. Yucky parts go bye. Yummy fuel soup left. Vroom, vroom goes my ship.”
Quinn: “Have you been sniffing the fuel?”
Doog: “Seems pretty standard.”
Quinn: “I wouldn’t say standard. There’s some really advanced physics taking place.”
Doog: “Standard enough for me. Big boom makes fuel soup. Soup has yucky parts. Yucky parts go bye. Yummy fuel soup left. Vroom, vroom goes my ship.”
Quinn: “Have you been sniffing the fuel?”
Doog: “No, I just like to keep things simple.”
Quinn: “I see that. You’re just flying through these corridors. Don’t you want to know how all this works. Ion filtration, fuel degaussing?”
Doog: “This is the season finale. We all know I didn’t come here to learn about ion fuel. There’s going to be a big reveal around one of these corners.”
Quinn: “I see that. You’re just flying through these corridors. Don’t you want to know how all this works. Ion filtration, fuel degaussing?”
Doog: “This is the season finale. We all know I didn’t come here to learn about ion fuel. There’s going to be a big reveal around one of these corners.”
Doog: “And there it is…the reveal. There’s a signal anomaly. What’s that?”
Quinn: “Everyone is always in a big rush to learn about the anomaly. We’re doing amazing work in the field of ion fuel, but let’s not talk about that. Let’s dwell on the mysterious message.”
Doog: “Mystery message? I’m intrigued.”
Quinn: “While monitoring the remnant cloud, some Octan workers may have discovered a subspace signal emanating from Susurri. No one knows what the signal means, but we can all agree on one thing. The signal is extragalactic.”
Doog: “Ooh, extragalactic. What does that mean again?”
Quinn: “The signal does not appear to have originated within the galaxy.”
Doog: “But it is originating from the black hole, which is in this galaxy.”
Quinn: “I might have to devolve into a nerd once again, but I think I can explain it. The message contains a vocabulary and syntax unlike any language found in this galaxy. To be honest, it is unlike any language in our known universe.”
Doog: “What are you saying?”
Quinn: “The signal might be proof of a multiverse. The black hole is somehow serving as a connection between two universes.”
Quinn: “Everyone is always in a big rush to learn about the anomaly. We’re doing amazing work in the field of ion fuel, but let’s not talk about that. Let’s dwell on the mysterious message.”
Doog: “Mystery message? I’m intrigued.”
Quinn: “While monitoring the remnant cloud, some Octan workers may have discovered a subspace signal emanating from Susurri. No one knows what the signal means, but we can all agree on one thing. The signal is extragalactic.”
Doog: “Ooh, extragalactic. What does that mean again?”
Quinn: “The signal does not appear to have originated within the galaxy.”
Doog: “But it is originating from the black hole, which is in this galaxy.”
Quinn: “I might have to devolve into a nerd once again, but I think I can explain it. The message contains a vocabulary and syntax unlike any language found in this galaxy. To be honest, it is unlike any language in our known universe.”
Doog: “What are you saying?”
Quinn: “The signal might be proof of a multiverse. The black hole is somehow serving as a connection between two universes.”
Doog: “Universes. The multiverse. Isn’t this more exciting than ion fuel?”
Quinn: “For you maybe. To me, it’s just a subspace signal. Maybe it is from another universe, maybe it is instructions on how to fix a washing machine written in an extinct language. Maybe, it isn’t a language at all. It’s just a series of random noises.”
Doog: “Forget ions, you guys should be looking into this.”
Quinn: “Oh, the signal is being researched, just not by Octan. It’s all done from a restricted part of this complex. Also, I take exception to that ion remark. Unlike mystery signals, ions actually have a purpose.”
Quinn: “For you maybe. To me, it’s just a subspace signal. Maybe it is from another universe, maybe it is instructions on how to fix a washing machine written in an extinct language. Maybe, it isn’t a language at all. It’s just a series of random noises.”
Doog: “Forget ions, you guys should be looking into this.”
Quinn: “Oh, the signal is being researched, just not by Octan. It’s all done from a restricted part of this complex. Also, I take exception to that ion remark. Unlike mystery signals, ions actually have a purpose.”
Wilbur: “Nice to see you again, Mr. Jarvis. However, I request that you respect the line.”
Doog: “Yeah, no nerds beyond this point.”
Quinn: “I have no desire to cross the line. I have practical science to do. You boys can play translator.”
Wilbur: “Come Doog. The signal awaits.”
Doog: “Yeah, no nerds beyond this point.”
Quinn: “I have no desire to cross the line. I have practical science to do. You boys can play translator.”
Wilbur: “Come Doog. The signal awaits.”
Wilbur: “I am Dr. Wilbur Graves. I run project Whisper.”
Doog: “Whisper? Is that what you call the subspace signal?”
Wilbur: “Yes.”
Doog: “What is this signal?”
Wilbur: “It’s a message written in an unknown language. A language we have failed to decipher.”
Doog: “How do you know it is a message? Couldn’t it be random noise?”
Wilbur: “The message repeats every three hours. It never changes.”
Doog: “I see. How is it being broadcast from Susurri? I thought nothing can escape a black hole’s gravity.”
Wilbur: “That’s the real question. Quantum determinism and reversibility ensure that all information is preserved in a black hole. This is sometimes called black hole memory. It is possible that wave functions of this message are using quantum tunneling to avoid losing information. Tunneling beyond the event horizon. Subspace transmissions could technically escape this way.”
Doog: “I have no idea what that means, but I just noticed I’m in a room full of babies. Is this a nursery? Why are we in a nursery?”
Doog: “Whisper? Is that what you call the subspace signal?”
Wilbur: “Yes.”
Doog: “What is this signal?”
Wilbur: “It’s a message written in an unknown language. A language we have failed to decipher.”
Doog: “How do you know it is a message? Couldn’t it be random noise?”
Wilbur: “The message repeats every three hours. It never changes.”
Doog: “I see. How is it being broadcast from Susurri? I thought nothing can escape a black hole’s gravity.”
Wilbur: “That’s the real question. Quantum determinism and reversibility ensure that all information is preserved in a black hole. This is sometimes called black hole memory. It is possible that wave functions of this message are using quantum tunneling to avoid losing information. Tunneling beyond the event horizon. Subspace transmissions could technically escape this way.”
Doog: “I have no idea what that means, but I just noticed I’m in a room full of babies. Is this a nursery? Why are we in a nursery?”
Wilbur: “The key to discovering the origin of the message is to translate its meaning. We don’t need to know the why just yet, only the what.”
Doog: “I need to know the why. Why all the babies? There’s hundreds of them in here.”
Wilbur: “Human infants possess an affinity for language. They can differentiate between different voices before they even leave the womb. More importantly, they can instinctually detect prosody.”
Doog: “Prosody?”
Wilbur: “They can differentiate speakers and languages by rhythm, patterns, and stresses.”
Doog: “I’m still not sure I get it.”
Wilbur: “Babies are experts at learning languages.”
Doog: “Got it.”
Doog: “I need to know the why. Why all the babies? There’s hundreds of them in here.”
Wilbur: “Human infants possess an affinity for language. They can differentiate between different voices before they even leave the womb. More importantly, they can instinctually detect prosody.”
Doog: “Prosody?”
Wilbur: “They can differentiate speakers and languages by rhythm, patterns, and stresses.”
Doog: “I’m still not sure I get it.”
Wilbur: “Babies are experts at learning languages.”
Doog: “Got it.”
Doog: “So, you just pipe the signal into their little pods?”
Wilbur: “Three hours of the signal, followed by three hours of Basic. We want them to learn both languages.”
Doog: “Does it work? You would think they would need more context to figure out some random language.”
Wilbur: “Success rates were low during the first test. That’s why we’ve scaled it up. We need thousands of babies to improve our odds.”
Doog: “It doesn’t mess them up, does it?”
Wilbur: “What do you mean?”
Wilbur: “Three hours of the signal, followed by three hours of Basic. We want them to learn both languages.”
Doog: “Does it work? You would think they would need more context to figure out some random language.”
Wilbur: “Success rates were low during the first test. That’s why we’ve scaled it up. We need thousands of babies to improve our odds.”
Doog: “It doesn’t mess them up, does it?”
Wilbur: “What do you mean?”
Doog: “I don’t know. Perhaps it’s having little human contact. Maybe, it’s getting weird alien language blasted at you. It has to do some mental damage, right?”
Wilbur: “Our babies are properly cared for. They receive plenty of attention and contact from our robotic staff.”
Doog: “I’m more worried about them now! What the heck is that terrifying thing?”
Wilbur: “That’s our Nutritional Administrator / Neonatal Nurse Intelligence. We call it NANNI.”
Doog: “Couldn’t they have made it more human-like? It looks super scary in this form.”
Wilbur: “Our babies are properly cared for. They receive plenty of attention and contact from our robotic staff.”
Doog: “I’m more worried about them now! What the heck is that terrifying thing?”
Wilbur: “That’s our Nutritional Administrator / Neonatal Nurse Intelligence. We call it NANNI.”
Doog: “Couldn’t they have made it more human-like? It looks super scary in this form.”
Wilbur: “Nonsense. The design is perfect. It is large enough to reach both levels of baby pods. It was several multipurpose arms for rocking babies. It even has two well placed feeding mandibles.”
Doog: “Tell me you mean mandibles for feeding babies, not eating them.”
Wilbur: “Of course.”
Doog: “Tell me you mean mandibles for feeding babies, not eating them.”
Wilbur: “Of course.”
Wilbur: “Uh, you might want to hold your breath. Here comes another robotic helper. We call them genies or GNI.”
Doog: “GNI?”
Doog: “GNI?”
Wilbur: “Yeah, Grab Nose Immediately. They change the babies’ diapers.”
Doog: “Oh, good gracious. What are you feeding these babies?”
Wilbur: “A protein solution with nutritional supplements.”
Doog: “That smells about right.”
Doog: “Oh, good gracious. What are you feeding these babies?”
Wilbur: “A protein solution with nutritional supplements.”
Doog: “That smells about right.”
Doog: “Have you made any progress deciphering the anomaly? Are the babies working?”
Wilbur: “Our original batch of babies is just now maturing. They should have learned enough Basic to describe the other language. Testing is underway, but the results are mixed.”
Doog: “How so?”
Wilbur: “Our original batch of babies is just now maturing. They should have learned enough Basic to describe the other language. Testing is underway, but the results are mixed.”
Doog: “How so?”
Kid: “Null tide. Void. Endless time. Beginnings. Shadowed by time. Voided of time. Null tide. It is upon the void. I am the null. Unending void.”
Doog: “I see.”
Wilbur: “It might sound like gibberish, but there are some repeating patterns.”
Doog: “Repeating patterns of scary-sounding nonsense.”
Wilbur: “Perhaps. Once upscaled, we should see more results. We should be fluent in the ‘whisper’ in just a few generations.”
Kid: “Echoes. Null echoes of the void. Shadowed. Unending. Timeless. Released the void. Null void. Origin of the null void.”
Doog: “I’m fine with the whisper remaining a mystery. From what you’ve uncovered so far, it sounds super freaky.”
Doog: “I see.”
Wilbur: “It might sound like gibberish, but there are some repeating patterns.”
Doog: “Repeating patterns of scary-sounding nonsense.”
Wilbur: “Perhaps. Once upscaled, we should see more results. We should be fluent in the ‘whisper’ in just a few generations.”
Kid: “Echoes. Null echoes of the void. Shadowed. Unending. Timeless. Released the void. Null void. Origin of the null void.”
Doog: “I’m fine with the whisper remaining a mystery. From what you’ve uncovered so far, it sounds super freaky.”
Doog: “Well folks, there’s a lot to sum up. There’s a black hole called Susurri. This black hole was created after a star went nova. The explosion released tons of ions, which can be used as fuel. An industrial complex was built on an asteroid a half a light year from the black hole. This complex refines the ions collected and converts them to a usable fuel. While making fuel, Octan workers discovered a mysterious subspace signal emanating from Susurri. The signal contains an unknown language that doesn’t appear to be from this galaxy. It might not even be from this universe. In order to translate such an alien language, scientists have resorted to some extreme measures. Newborn infants, with naturally enhanced language centers in their brains, are being used to translate this message. So far, it doesn’t seem to be working. Oh well! That’s Season 11. See ya next year!”
Note: After testing concludes, volunteers will be needed to adopt the whisper babies. They don’t do well with pets. Keep sharp objects locked away. Sleep with one eye open.
Note: After testing concludes, volunteers will be needed to adopt the whisper babies. They don’t do well with pets. Keep sharp objects locked away. Sleep with one eye open.
