thewalktranscripts

[thewalktranscripts]

The Walk has been released as a podcast!

In case you haven’t heard of it, The Walk is another app by Six to Start (similar to Zombies, Run!). In this story, you play “Walker,” a silent protagonist who is thrown into a high-stakes conspiracy after a case of mistaken identity. After a bomb explodes in Inverness station, you are given a package that could save the world. 

“None of the cars or trains are working—you’ll have to walk—but now the terrorists are on your trail because they want the device you’re carrying, and the police are after you as a suspect in the bombing. To survive, you’ll have to join up with other escapers from the city—but how many of them can you trust, and are they really who they say?”

New episodes are being posted every Tuesday and Thursday for the next four months! 

Personally, I loved The Walk and I would definitely recommend giving the podcast a try. The writing is amazing, there’s diverse cast of characters and the story is thrilling (as always). You might even recognize some of the voice actors ;)

#the walk game

[thewalktranscripts]

Episode 7: A Game of Chance

A safe house at last – time for some rest, perhaps, as long as Charlie's prepared the way properly.

Good Mood

[birdsong, and the sound of Lawrence whistling]

STANTON: You seem in a good mood today, Lawrence. Keeping up a brisk pace.

LAWRENCE: Me? Well, yeah. Good night’s sleep, pleasant company, great breakfast. Stretching my legs. Doesn’t take much to make me happy, Elizabeth. Or does anyone call you Liz?

STANTON: They call me Wing Commander. Or Ma’am. And I suppose at least it wasn’t breakfast of endangered waterfowl.

LAWRENCE: I- [sigh] Yeah. How you doing, Emma? See you put your earpiece in again.

EMMA: Yeah. No, yeah, so I was thinking about this, I think I’ve got it all wrong. I was just a bit panicked yesterday.

STANTON: Yes. We noticed.

EMMA: So listen. I’ve worked out what’s going on here. Do you want to know?

LAWRENCE: Emma. If you really know everything that’s going on here, I think I might just marry you.

EMMA: Someone got there before you. Not sure where he is now, though. Anyway. Okay. There’s only one thing that makes sense. Those people that are searching for us, The Burn or whatever: they’re using extra-terrestrial technology. That’s how they keep finding us.

LAWRENCE: Hmmm. You’re saying the people looking for us are... aliens.

EMMA: Don’t be ridiculous. Just their technology. Alien life isn’t adapted to our atmosphere so they wouldn’t go bumbling around in public. Everyone knows that.

LAWRENCE: Yep. Yep, yep. Should’ve remembered that.

STANTON: You did have quite a shock, Emma. It can have a strange effect on the human mind. I remember when my mother died, I lost my short-term memory almost completely for a few days. Orders, advice, couldn’t hold anything in my head. And I didn’t even like my mother. Believing this kind of thing is probably a symptom.

EMMA: But I didn’t just start believing it. I’m a paranormal researcher. ESP, mostly. But of course you do learn a lot about the hidden truths of the universe simply by exposure. So obviously I thought the tech Charlie was using was alien too. That’s why I was suspicious. Most aliens aren’t friendly to the Earth, you see, and using their tech can corrupt us. But I can tell that Charlie’s been in contact with the Race of Light- that’s a race that’s become so advanced that it’s converted itself into pure light.

LAWRENCE: Oh, yeah?

STANTON: Where is Charlie? She was supposed to check in with us at oh-eight-hundred hours. 

LAWRENCE: Haven’t heard a peep out of her all morning. Charlie?

Charlie? ...Hm. No, nothing.

EMMA: We’re in a deep valley here. Maybe her signal’s blocked. If we get to higher ground it might be clearer.

STANTON: Worth a try. Without her to guide us-

LAWRENCE: We could walk straight into The Burn’s arms. Okay, let’s get climbing.

Altitude Sickness

[birdsong]

LAWRENCE: [gasping and panting heavily] I can’t breathe properly! Is the air thinner up here? I think I’m- I’m suffering from altitude sickness.

STANTON: It generally doesn’t start to kick in until you’ve climbed more than five hundred meters. Any word from Charlie yet?

EMMA: Still nothing. Charlie? Charlie! Where are you?

[loud static and feedback starts coming through the earpieces, and makes Charlie’s voice all but inaudible]

CHARLIE: Walker, Lawrence, Emma, can you hear me? Can you hear me?

EMMA: Thank god!

LAWRENCE: Is that you, Charlie? You sound like you’re on a really bad phone line. [chuckles] Hey, remember phone lines? Heh, remember phones? Remember when our iPods worked and we could listen to music whenever we wanted?

STANTON: It was only a few days ago. Ask her where on Earth she’s been.

CHARLIE: Listen. You have to listen. I- [cut off by static] guys, I’m going offline for a while. I don’t know if [static] I hope it’ll just be a few hours.

LAWRENCE: W- what’s happened? Charlie, w- why are you going offline? Charlie?

CHARLIE: My communication systems are using a lot of energy to push through to you. Could be solar flares, could be The Burn, I don’t know.

EMMA: So where are we going?

CHARLIE: Craigarren House. Manor. South. They’re expecting [static] I’ve called and told them you’re coming. They’ll think you [static] I’m sorry, guys, just go along with whatever they’re expecting. They don’t know who you are. Remember, Craigarren House.

LAWRENCE: W- Charlie, wait. Charlie, we didn’t hear what they think we are.

CHARLIE: You are [static] go along with it. I’ll be back soon. Keep each other safe.

[The static cuts out as Charlie cuts communication]

LAWRENCE: Wait! [sigh] They think we’re what? Dead? Enemies? Jehovah’s Witnesses come to share the good news? What?

STANTON: We’ll just have to find out when we get there.

Craigarren House

[birdsong and crunching footsteps]

LAWRENCE: Craigarren House. Says so on the sign.

EMMA: Long driveway. Huge grounds. Massive mansion house. Are those tennis courts? I could get used to this. Maybe they’ll think we’re lords of the manor.

LAWRENCE: Is this a good idea? I mean, Charlie’s not here to check stuff out for us. Should we just walk up to the front door?

STANTON: No. We’re going this way. Round the side of the house. We’ll take the lay of the land first.

LAWRENCE: Hey, i- it is really big. Probably, what, like, thirty bedrooms? Looks like it’s at least three hundred years old. Uh, maybe there’ll be some kind lord or lady of the house who’ll take pity on us, treat us to a slap-up dinner.

EMMA: Look, the crest of the lion. That’s a very strong spirit animal, you know. Maybe they’ve been in touch with the spirit world themselves.

LAWRENCE: In a place like this, you’d expect a good larder. And a cellar full of aged port. Those boxes there in the kitchen- see them, through the window? I bet they’re full of brandy.

STANTON: They’re not.

LAWRENCE: How do you know?

STANTON: Because the lid’s come off that one. Look.

LAWRENCE: ...Right. Yeah.

EMMA: That’s not very in-touch with the spirit world.

LAWRENCE: A massive crate of guns? Nah. No, nah, it’s not.

[sound of a gun being cocked]

MAN: Hands up, all of you. Don’t turn around. Just start walking out to the stables, over there. I’ve been expecting ya.

Turn Round

[birdsong and crunching footsteps]

MAN: Alright, turn round now. [footsteps stop] Turn round and face me.

EMMA: Hey. Hey, listen. Whoever you think we are you’re wrong, okay?

LAWRENCE: Uh, yeah. Yeah. We’re just tourists. On a- a walking holiday. Er, this is my sister, Emma, and, er, this is my Auntie... Stanton. Yeah, er, yeah, uh, we’re a very formal family. Uh. Sorry. I, er, babble when I’m nervous. I- oh, please don’t kill us, please!

MAN: [laughs] You won’t get far in paintball if you turn sissy like that at the first sign of trouble.

STANTON: Paintball.

MAN: Did you think it was real? It’s just my little joke. Look. [fires two pellets which splat on the ground]

EMMA: Hey, some of that paint splashed on my leggings!

LAWRENCE: D’you think we can trust him? I mean, maybe he’s just acting innocent, and he’s gonna shoot us with- with a real, working, lethal gun when we get back to the house.

STANTON: Charlie sent us here for a reason.

LAWRENCE: Yeah, in a message we could hardly hear.

MAN: Come on, guys, this way.

STANTON: We’ve got to trust him. We don’t have another choice.

Guests

[birdsong]

MAN: Here we are: the main entrance. You’re guests, so you really should come in the front door.

EMMA: I like those great big marble lions.

MAN: Bonnie, aren’t they? We’re very proud of those sculptures. Apparently, they were modelled on real beasts shot by the fourth laird. Of course, he didn’t use one of these paintball rifles to do it.

LAWRENCE: I wish you’d stop waving that thing around, it’s making me nervous.

STANTON: It isn’t real.

LAWRENCE: That wasn’t what you said before. I thought you were supposed to know a real gun when you saw it.

STANTON: I was just biding my time. I know perfectly well it wasn’t-

LAWRENCE: You didn’t look properly. Aw, you were probably just trying to work out how to kill him with your penknife.

STANTON: Maybe.

MAN: Our phone’s been out of action, but somehow your friend Charlie managed to get a call through to tell me to expect you for a couple of nights’ stay.

STANTON: There, you see? Charlie did talk to him.

LAWRENCE: A couple of nights? Wh- in a real bed? With, like, a duvet?

MAN: I’ll show you to your rooms, and you can get changed into your overalls. There’s a venison stew with prunes and red wine warming in the oven. Or would you like a little drop of brandy first? To keep the cold out.

LAWRENCE: Brandy! Oh! [tuts] Honestly, Elizabeth. Mistaking birdwatchers for terrorists and paintball for a real gun. You’re jumping at shadows.

STANTON: I’m jumping at shadows? [scoffs] What about you and-

MAN: And there’s your opposing team now. They do look like real guns from a distance, don’t they?

EMMA: Opposing team?

MAN: Very competitive bunch, looks like.

STANTON: Yes. 

MAN: They’re setting the course on fire. Hey! Hey, you cretins! Hey! No! 

Not Another Paintball Team

[birdsong and crunching footsteps]

LAWRENCE: I think those might... not be an opposing paintball team.

MAN: Only people around here are paintballers. Or the grouse hunt, comes by sometimes. But I send them on their way.

LAWRENCE: Maybe we should go into the house, Paul. Where the venison stew is, you know. And the brandy. The lovely, warming, delicious, golden brandy. And the beds. And the door. That we can barricade. Against the... opposing paintball team.

MAN PAUL: I’m gamekeeper here. It’s my job to preserve the estate. The owners come back in the winter. Fire like that could catch, take down one of the trees, even the house. Hey! Hey! Stop that!

STANTON: They’re setting up assault positions to the east and the south. They’re planning an attack on the house.

PAUL: They are not. Mansion is strictly out of bounds on paintball adventure holidays. Can’t get the paint out the carpets. And some of that carved wood is Grinling Gibbons.

EMMA: Paul, what if we were to tell you that those weren’t paintballers at all? That they’re part of a shadowy organisation called The Burn who’ve been following us for days because we’re carrying devices that are vital to the human race’s survival?

PAUL: The Burn, eh? Sounds like you’ve got quite an imagination there. Now, had a group here once who wanted to pretend they were dragons. And the other team were, what was it, the people of Winterfell?

LAWRENCE: No, that’s ridicu-

STANTON: Gun! Down on the ground!

[everyone but Paul hits the deck]

STANTON: Paul! Down on the ground, they’ve got a bead on us!

PAUL: Those aren’t real rifles, they’re just souped-up paintball guns that some of the young people like to-

[rifle fires and Paul screams]

EMMA: Paul! Paul’s been hit!

PAUL: That’s- that’s not paint...

A green and yellow seed packet showing an image of a large, lush lawn fringed by trees under a clear sky. In yellow text in a green oval at the top left of the packet is the word “NEW!” with the name “Suregro™ Grass Seed” in green text over the image of the sky. The bottom half of the packet is solid green, with stylised blades of grass at the top and a slope upwards towards the right edge. In yellow text on this part of the pack are the words: “Tired of uncertain weather destroying your lawn? Suregro is designed to cling on in extreme climates - even underwater for pu to sixty days!” Beneath this, in smaller print: “Suregro is a Sanmonte genetically-patented product.”

An extremely crumpled and frayed flyer, the paper browned and stained round the edges. The heading reads “NEW RECOMMENDATIONS FOR EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS”. A line separates the heading from the following section, which reads: “Given the increase in extreme weather events in recent decades, all households are strongly encouraged to keep the following on hand at all times, in amounts suitable for sustaining your household for 3-4 months: * Shelf-stable, dried and tinned foods *Bottled clean water, and/or a purification system *Generous stocks of torches, batteries and a radio for tuning in to emergency broadcasts *Baby food and formula *Critical medications *First aid kit, including dust masks” This section is then separated from the next by another line. The final section reads “Remember, in the event of a disaster, shops may be closed or out of stock. By the time an emergency arrives, it will be too late to prepare. Hope for the best - but prepare for the worst!”

#the walk game #episode 7 #a game of chance #the walk transcript

[thewalktranscripts]

Episode 6: As the Bird her Eggs

Who are those figures following you? And why are they carrying that weird equipment?

Rise and Shine

[birdsong]

LAWRENCE: Walker! Rise and shine! Two pieces of good news for you. One: we didn’t die of hypothermia! Yeah! Two: I have breakfast. We’re not so shabby at this wilderness-living lark after all.

STANTON: We were lucky. Lucky that when we built a fire, it didn’t attract anyone. Lucky we could dry out our clothes. Lucky to have found some shelter.

LAWRENCE: Lucky that I managed to shoot this juicy game bird this morning? Look. [he sets down a cooking pan]

STANTON: Very lucky. Since you were actually aiming for the tree.

LAWRENCE: Er, yeah. Stanton was giving me a bit of firearms training. Thought it’d be useful if I knew how to shoot straight. Which, apparently, I can’t. But who cares, I hit this! Which means a breakfast of wild garlic and pan-seared Bird With Big Cream Head-Feathers. That’s what I’m calling it.

STANTON: Don’t like being lucky. I like being prepared. Does smell good, though.

LAWRENCE: May I present you with a wild garlic and pan-seared [he adopts a slight Outrageous French Accent] Cream-Feathered Bird sandwich, Commander?

[cutlery and crockery rattle]

CHARLIE: Hello, hello. What did I miss? Nothing exciting, I hope? I... oh. The audio logs say... hmm.

LAWRENCE: Yeah. “Oh” is right.

CHARLIE: John turned traitor. The Burn must have got to him.

LAWRENCE: Where have you been, Charlie?

CHARLIE: It’s complicated, I can’t always get-

STANTON: [with her mouth full] Charlie’s your operator, isn’t she? In Geneva?

LAWRENCE: Yup.

STANTON: [she continues eating, rattling her cutlery on her plate] And you and Walker talk to her through that thing in your earlobes?

LAWRENCE: Yeah.

STANTON: Then tell her to get going with her operating. We can’t have another night in the open. We need to head toward shelter today.

CHARLIE: Her records say that John Adebayo was her most trusted colleague. They’ve worked together for ten years.

LAWRENCE: Do you wanna talk about what happened? With Adebayo?

STANTON: No. I want to start walking.

The Burn and New Tomorrow

[birdsong and buzzing/chirping insects]

CHARLIE: Do you think she suspected at all?

LAWRENCE: [low voice] Stanton? Suspected John? Definitely not. Well... bah, not until she actually, really, suspected. [lowers his voice further] Did you hear what he said? That The Burn are just working with that New Tomorrow group?

CHARLIE: Yes, we’ve... [inhales] We’ve suspected that for a while. That New Tomorrow have been getting help. At first, covert, but increasingly obviously. The Burn are helping them.

LAWRENCE: And The Burn want... what?

CHARLIE: They want to stop you getting to Edinburgh with the devices you’re carrying.

LAWRENCE: And that’s it?

CHARLIE: No, that’s not it. But right now, that might be the most important thing to them.

LAWRENCE: And to us, huh?

CHARLIE: Yes, I suppose so.

STANTON: Shh, quiet! Someone’s coming. That fire last night must have been spotted. Just one person... Prepare to fight them off.

EMMA: [undergrowth being trampled in her wake] Help me! You have to help me! There are people in uniform after me! Six people in uniforms, with guns! They’re- [whimpers] They’re coming! Charlie didn’t- [gasps for breath] Charlie didn’t warn me... [she collapses]

On the Horizon

[birdsong]

STANTON: I see them. There, on the horizon. Stalking by the edge of the wooded area by the lake.

LAWRENCE: I can’t... I can’t see anything there.

CHARLIE: She’s right. Four people. Moving slowly, like they’re trying not to be spotted. [tuts] Oh, Emma, why did you take your earpiece out, you silly silly girl?

STANTON: Support the girl with me, Walker and Lawrence. [grunts] We have to get her to a safer location. [breathes heavily with effort] She has one of those... mobile phone devices, in her pocket, with the earpiece.

Hello? I’ve put the earpiece on myself. Can you hear me, Charlie?

CHARLIE: Yes. Well, I could always hear you. Hearing wasn’t the problem. You can hear me, right?

LAWRENCE: If this girl doesn’t want the box, can’t Stanton take it, Charlie? We can leave this Emma here on a nice bedroll or something, and then when she gets up she can just-

CHARLIE: Doesn’t work like that. The devices are bio-linked to you. If they get too far from your body, they’ll self-destruct. They’d do the same if you died.

LAWRENCE: Why would they do that?

CHARLIE: Safest way to keep the couriers alive. The Burn want the devices. Means they can’t actually kill you to get them.

STANTON: Though they could maim and torture them.

CHARLIE: Ahh... mmm... yeah, that’s... true...

[inhales] I’m trying not to let them capture you at all. I wanted to keep you separate, make for a smaller target, but Emma decided I was leading her astray, and took the earpiece off. She said she’d realised that I wasn’t me, she’s a bit-

EMMA: [moans] I’m... what’s... who are you?! Why... where are you taking me?

STANTON: Emma? Emma. Emma, look at me. Look at me. I’m Wing Commander Stanton.

EMMA: Emma’s not even my real name, you know.

STANTON: I do, Emma. There are people chasing us. We have to get away. Do you understand?

EMMA: Aren’t you the people chasing me? Help! Help!

LAWRENCE: Look, look there, Emma. At the treeline, look. Do you see them? Moving slowly. And the... what’s that? The glint of light?

STANTON: Sun’s catching the lens of their binoculars. They can see us.

They’re Catching Up

[birdsong and running footsteps]

EMMA: They’re catching up with us! Oh, god, they’re gonna catch us!

LAWRENCE: How far behind are they, Charlie?

CHARLIE: Just over half a k, and closing.

EMMA: I knew it! I knew it. I knew when I agreed to take this thing I was signing my own death warrant.

LAWRENCE: Oh... Do people actually sign death warrants any more? Eh, I mean, is that a thing? I-is it the same as an order of execution? Or... oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, I know, I know. Not the right time. It’s just, the... well, yeah. I mentioned how I ramble when I’m nervous, right?

EMMA: Why are you listening to Charlie? You know she could be some other kind of terrorist, right? Or she could be with them, leading us into a trap! I thought I knew her, but she could be anyone! She fooled me. She’s fooling you!

CHARLIE: I’m not, I’m not! What have I ever done but keep you all safe? I knew it was a mistake when they decided to give one of the boxes to someone very familiar with conspiracy theories. Should have never given them Emma’s details.

Listen. Ask her, if I get you out of this, will she believe me then?

STANTON: Can you get us out of this? Realistic sitrep. Is it better to find a place to lie and wait, try to take down as many of them as we can? We’re four against six, not bad odds. We’ve got two weapons, my sidearm and... and Sergeant Adebayo’s.

CHARLIE: I can get you out of this. I have satellite imaging, infra-red, I can see more than they can. They might be wearing camouflage gear, but I can track their body heat and... oh.

LAWRENCE: ‘Oh’? What d’you mean, ‘oh’?

CHARLIE: Checking my systems... it’s not... no, it’s not me. They- they’re using some kind of, I don’t know, some kind of heat-masking clothing?

STANTON: That means?

CHARLIE: I don’t know! I don’t know.

STANTON: Stay calm. What’s our situation now?

CHARLIE: I don’t know! I can’t see them any more!

Ambush

[birdsong]

EMMA: We’re going to die here! We’re going to die in these woods!

CHARLIE AND STANTON: No, we’re not.

LAWRENCE: I like the confidence, uh, don’t get me wrong, I-I really do, but, ah, what’s the plan?

STANTON: Ambush. We’re gonna find a good place to set up, and we’re gonna wait for them. Emma, you ready for it?

EMMA: If it’s that or be killed, yes.

STANTON: Walker, you seem like you’ll be handy in a fight. [cocks pistol] Lawrence, how confident do you feel with that pistol?

LAWRENCE: Well, I, er, shot a bird, [pants] but I was aiming for a tree.

STANTON: I’m afraid that’ll have to do.

CHARLIE: Guys, guys, I can’t see the people following you any more. Not clearly. Only in a wide area. But I can see where they’re definitely not. Just keep heading straight on, into that clearing, and... hold on. Look around you. Is that-?

[twig snaps underfoot]

STANTON: Yep. It’s an encampment. Very well-camouflaged.

LAWRENCE: This must be where they’ve been waiting for us.

STANTON: Looks like they’re kitted out for a long time in the open. Tents; makings of a small, low-visibility fire; ropes and nets- those’ll be useful to us.

EMMA: You notice there are also knives? What are they planning to do to us?

STANTON: More fool them for leaving us the ability to arm ourselves.

LAWRENCE: They really could have been here for a while. Here’s a guide to the edible plants of the Highlands.

EMMA: Look at this!

STANTON: Ahh. Yes. Well, we won’t have to use that quite yet.

LAWRENCE: What is it?

[thunk as Emma sets the box down]

LAWRENCE: A white box?

EMMA: Labelled ‘cyanide’.

It’s Decided

[birdsong]

STANTON: Okay, Walker, it’s decided. We need to lead them round in a circle. Disorient them. We’ll lie in ambush. It’s down to you now.

CHARLIE: Go, Walker. Go, go, go! As fast as you can. Carry on in that direction and make as much noise as you possibly can.

LAWRENCE: And how will we know if it’s worked?

CHARLIE: Wait, let me see if I can... [keyboard clacking]

Yes! I’ve got an enlarged live feed of the area. I can’t locate them on thermals, but if you can get them to follow you out in the open country, Walker, I’ll see them.

LAWRENCE: ‘S all on you, now, Walker.

STANTON: We’ll set up our trap. Godspeed.

CHARLIE: You have to walk as far as possible as fast as you can, now, Walker. You have to make sure they see you.

EMMA: It’s the only way we’ll survive!

Find Out What They’re Planning

[birdsong, loud footsteps crunching through the undergrowth, and branches being brushed past]

CHARLIE: That’s it, they’re on you. They’re definitely on you. I see them turning to follow.

STANTON: [on comms] Good work, Walker. Now reel them in. Come back to us, fast as you can.

LAWRENCE: Yeah, and, uh, when you enter the camp, be sure not to stand right in the middle of the open area between the tents, right?

STANTON: We’ll finally have some of these bastards. Then we can find out what they’re planning.

EMMA: And what they want with us!

CHARLIE: Okay, Walker. You’re nearly there.

STANTON: We’ve set up the guy ropes and their netting to catch them.

CHARLIE: Just keep going, Walker, you can’t let them catch you before you get to the trap.

MAN FOLLOWING: [from some distance behind] Hey! What you doing?

LAWRENCE: They’re trying to make you stop, Walker! Don’t stop!

[the footsteps become quieter as Walker exits the undergrowth onto the bare grass of the campsite clearing]

CHARLIE: Good, you’re at the campsite. Now step quickly to your left, and-

WOMAN FOLLOWING: Hey! [ropes begin to creak, gradually increasing in volume] This is our campsite, ye know! Ye cannae just-

[TWHAP]

LAWRENCE: [no longer over comms] Got ‘em!

[The net containing the man and woman creaks gently as it swings from the tree]

EMMA: How d’you like that, eh? Terrorist scum! Trapped in your own nets that you were gonna trap us in!

LAWRENCE: Er, they’re-

EMMA: You’re going tell us everything you know, or it’ll be the worse for you. Why are you in these woods? Why are you following us?

WOMAN: We’re not terrorists! We’re birdwatchers, ya mad wee lassie!

STANTON: Oh, I... Oh.

Slavonian Grebe

[birdsong]

STANTON: Honestly, we... w-we really can’t apologise enough, I- it’s just that with all that’s happened in Inverness, you know, it’s, er-

MAN: Aye, we’d no’ heard about that. Good tae know we’ll be walking home, eh?

WOMAN: We’ve been here for three weeks, ye see. Waiting for the Slavonian Grebe. No radio, no phone; don’t wantae startle the bird.

MAN: Aye. A beautiful rare one, it is. Cream-coloured head feathers. A picture!

LAWRENCE: Cream-coloured?

MAN: We’ve used these wee thermal suits to mask our body heat. To try tae conceal ourselves.

STANTON: And the camouflage gear, and the binoculars. Yes. Emma’s a little jumpy, I think, and, ah, we took her at her word that you’d been following her. 

EMMA: Why d’you have cyanide in your bag, eh? What possible explanation could there be for that?

WOMAN: Hunh! See, Gregory, I told you that old box would get you intae trouble one day. It’s for bugs; beetles, butterflies. No rare ones, of course, but it’s the most humane way to kill them. For display.

MAN: Preserves the colours a treat, it does. No’ many people use cyanide for that any more, bu’ I kept my dad’s old preserving box.

WOMAN: Of course, that isnae what we’re really after. It’s that Slavonian Grebe. Only twenty breeding pairs in the whole of Scotland.

LAWRENCE: Only twenty, hm? And um... er, do you have a picture?

WOMAN: Aye, we do, aye. [paper rustles as she hands it to Lawrence] Just look at that! That blue plumage, cream feathers around the eyes.

LAWRENCE: Yeah. Might be, em, nineteen breeding pairs now.

MAN: Oh, do you know it?

LAWRENCE: In a way. In a... way. In a sort of way, you might say me and Walker and Stanton all know the Slavonian Grebe really... intimately.

STANTON: [whispering] What are you talking about?

LAWRENCE: [whispering] You know that bird with cream head feathers we had for breakfast this morning?

STANTON: [whispering] ...No. You didn’t.

LAWRENCE: [whispering] I didn’t know! I’ve kept some of the feathers. We could... give them to them?

STANTON: [whispering] Tomorrow morning. When we leave.

WOMAN: What are you whispering about there? Would you like a wee bit more bacon?

LAWRENCE: Yeah, that’d be- yeah. Thank you. Thank you so, so much. And sorry. For, er, everything.

Ringing Phone Box

[old-fashioned mechanical ringing sound, and then the receiver is taken off the hook]

DAVE CRISPIN: Debra was the first girl I ever had a crush on. I was eight, I think, maybe nine. Definitely at primary school. It’s funny, I can still remember exactly how that place smelled. Our teacher, Mrs Jenkins, she used to wear so much perfume it was like she showered in the stuff. Floral, and a bit bitter. Some of the kids used to laugh at her, like-

YOUNG GIRL’S VOICE: What’s Miss wearing that for anyway? She’s ancient!

DAVE CRISPIN: Thinking about it now, she can’t have been more than thirty. But the whole place stank of her perfume, and sometimes wee as well when little Joey Dockey couldn’t hold it in.

And Debra was- she was so clever. She aced her times tables every time we had a test. I was good at them, but she just- she knew her twenty-three times table. She told it me once.

DEBRA: Seventeen times twenty-three is three hundred and ninety-one. Eighteen times twenty-three is four hundred and fourteen.

DAVE CRISPIN: Dead impressive. The other kids thought she was a freak, though. They used to go, you know-

GIRL’S VOICE: Look at Deb! She’s a total spesh!

DAVE CRISPIN: I think maybe she was autistic. Very high-functioning. Children sense that stuff. They’re like bloodhounds for anything different. They’re horrible little sods. All of ‘em. And me worst of all. I should have stood up for her. I was too much of a coward. 

[loud whooshing noise] 

I was scared. I am... I’m really scared.

[receiver is hung up]

A dirty polaroid photograph of a bird sitting on the water, with dark plumage on its wings and throat, red tail and neck, and cream-coloured feathers on its head and around its eyes. On the bottom of the photograph is written “Slavonian Grebe EXTREMELY RARE!”

A newspaper clipping. The headline reads “NEW HOPE FOR MALARIA C SUFFERERS”. The body reads “Biotech giant SanMonte has announced a strategic alliance with technology company Comansys in an attempt to push forward research on technological treatments to slow the progress of Malaria C. The disease, which causes brain vacuoles, skin lesions and vocal chord alterations is estimated to have killed around three million people worldwide since the start of the year, mostly in developing countries. Comansys, known for their research in to Parkinsons-remitting technologies, saw a sharp uptick in share price on the news.”

#the walk game #episode 6 #as the bird her eggs #the walk transcript

[thewalktranscripts]

Episode 5: All Tremble at War

When the whole system's corrupt, going AWOL is the only way to stay safe.

Ten-Hut!

[marching]

CORPORAL: Ten-hut!

[marching halts]

STANTON: Thank you. Sergeant Adebayo and I are escorting the prisoners to a secure chopper pick-up. Don’t expect us back today.

CORPORAL: Ma’am?

STANTON: You have your orders, corporal. Open the gates.

CORPORAL: Yes, Ma’am.

[gate opens]

STANTON: Walker, Lawrence. Get moving. We’ve got a lot of ground to cover. Want to be as far away as possible before they realise I’m not coming back at all.

AWOL

[footsteps crunching softly on vegetation with occasional birdsong]

STANTON: They’re going to think I’ve gone AWOL.

ADEBAYO: Both of us, Ma’am. They’ll know the truth eventually.

STANTON: You shouldn’t be mixed up in this, Adebayo. John. Your record’s exemplary. 

ADEBAYO: Broken Crown situation, Ma’am. More likely to keep my record clean by coming with you.

LAWRENCE: After what’s just happened? Can’t say I’m against being constantly accompanied by two trained soldiers. Not to mention these very useful backpacks.

STANTON: And what has just happened, exactly? Who took down one of my birds out of the clear blue, in the middle of a Scotland-wide power cut? If it’s classified, it’s classified, but I want to know everything you can tell. Forgive me, but you don’t seem like Intelligence to me.

LAWRENCE: [sigh] Well- uh- I suppose I can tell you... how I got involved? I mean, that’s, like, civilian life, right?

CHARLIE: Guys, I’ve got to go and get some rest. Been on duty here for more than twenty-four hours. But, yeah, you can tell her that. She deserves to know as much as we can reasonably share. And, thank you. You’ve seen what the stakes are now.

LAWRENCE: Yeah, it’s pretty obvious to us all that it’s serious.

STANTON: Yes, there’s no doubt of that.

ADEBAYO: We’re being followed, Ma’am. Two miles off, northwest.

LAWRENCE: Two miles? How can you possibly-?

ADEBAYO: Well, someone’s wearing body armour.

STANTON: It has a distinctive dull shine when the sun catches it.

LAWRENCE: That’s... not good.

ADEBAYO: It’s nae bother. I’m- I’m from round here. Know these hills well. We’ll head for a croft I know, and if I cannae fox ‘em on mae own turf, well, we’re in trouble.

LAWENCE: Hmn. Yeah. Trouble.

Making Good Time

[sliding and crunching gravel]

LAWRENCE: Ohh- ahh- gah- uh- juh- ow! Ow! [gravel sounds cease] [sighs] Look, look. I know Walker’s all stoic and silent and stuff, but that’s the second time I’ve fallen over, can we just slow it down a bit?

[footsteps crunching softly on vegetation with occasional birdsong]

STANTON: Not if you want to get away from your enemies. This ‘Burn’. How we going, John?

ADEBAYO: We’re making good time, Ma’am. I think we’ll have surprised them. Unless you know these woods well, you’d not know this pathway leads down through the cliffs. They’ll be expecting us to come out the far side of the forest. Wi’ any luck they’ll wait there, an’ we’ll have lost ‘em.

STANTON: Time for some explanations then, Lawrence. What is this package you’re carrying, and how did you come by it?

LAWRENCE: I, em... la- I work in a university lab. In Inverness.

STANTON: A lab? Medical research?

LAWRENCE: Nah, we do... um, well, we’re working on a special project. The potential of self-evolving algorithms in the development of real-time natural-speech recognition.

ADEBAYO: Aye, you’ll have ta slow that down fer us.

LAWRENCE: We, uh... look. I know there was some joint project with the government in the department. Lead by Professor Emmanuel. I’m just a PhD candidate, I don’t get invited to those meetings. But, yeah, right before the lights went out, Prof Emmanuel found me, shoved this thing into my hand, and told me I had to get it to Edinburgh. To the big lab there. ‘Even if you have to walk’, he said. ‘We’ve got a contact in SIS to help you if you’re stuck’. That’s what he said. And, uh, well. Here I am.

STANTON: That’s it? He told you to do that, and you just... did it?

LAWRENCE: He, uh... has a daughter. Soleil. She’s... [sigh] super, super cool. Really cool. And pretty. She’s a sort of a techno-artist, really smart, and funny and kind and... well, yeah.

STANTON: And he said he’d put in a good word for you?

LAWRENCE: Uhh... well, yeah. And get me transferred for a semester to Berkeley. I mean, that’s where she is now. Which would be great for my career anyway. And he promised there’d be extra funding...

STANTON: Probably wanted someone young and fit to take it.

LAWRENCE: Oh, and when they couldn’t get one of those, I’d do, I suppose? I mean, i- it seemed like a good deal when I thought I’d just have to get on the train. And then I’m in too deep to get out, now. With people searching for us- they’ve seen my face- and all the really quite a lot of explosions, have you noticed that? And what happened to Jo...

STANTON: We have to get you to Edinburgh. How close are we to the croft, John?

ADEBAYO: Just off yonder, over that hill. Take a wee walk, shouldnae be more than an hour or two from here, and then we’ll have a dry place for the night.

CHARLIE: Em, no you won’t; look!

LAWRENCE: What? ...Oh. Stanton? Look!

STANTON: Men in body armour. They’ve come round. They’re heading us off!

[footsteps quicken]

A Burn

[birdsong and hurrying footsteps through grass]

ADEBAYO: Come on, hurry! Quickly!

LAWRENCE: Hurrying into- well, what?

ADEBAYO: There’s a burn. Down this wee gully.

LAWRENCE: A- a Burn?! Isn’t that the exact thing we’re trying to avoid?

STANTON: ‘Burn’, Scottish river. Not ‘The Burn’, shadowy organisation that’s trying to kill you to take those devices from you.

ADEBAYO: I have to say, I’m impressed that two civilians didn’t just give the devices to The Burn. Ye didn’t think of that, either of ye?

LAWRENCE: Well, we’re not terrible people, John. Plus, when people are shooting at you it tends to become pretty obvious pretty quickly which side is which, you know?

[footsteps cease. Running water can be heard]

ADEBAYO: Here we are. And if I know this stretch of river, one of my granddad’s pals always used to tie his boat under this rock.

Yes! It’s either his or someone else’s. It’s a good mooring. Come on, all pile in.

[his boots thud on the floor of the boat]

LAWRENCE: Wow! That is incredible local knowledge, John! 

STANTON: Get in, Lawrence, Walker.

[more thudding]

ADEBAYO: Right, casting off.

[splashing as the rope is thrown off and the boat enters the faster water]

LAWRENCE: Whoosh! [laughs] Unless The Burn’ve brought boats with them, there’s no way they’re catching us up now!

ADEBAYO: Aye, we’ll get away alright. It’s just...

STANTON: What?

ADEBAYO: Well... in a mile or two, we are going to come to some rapids.

Don’t Divide The Party

[loud, fast water]

LAWRENCE: Oh, god. Oh god oh god oh god! I hope this doesn’t- are you sure you can get us through here?

ADEBAYO: No. Can’t say I’m sure.

STANTON: Walker, Lawrence! If we hit a rock, bring your arms tight over your head, like this! And when you hit the water, swim with the current! Angling towards the left bank, okay? We are not going to divide the party. Left bank!

ADEBAYO: Here it comes!

[screams]

[Walker goes under the water and all sound is cut off to be replaced by a muted bubbling. When Walker’s head briefly breaks the surface the voices of the others can be heard gasping or shouting; Walker then goes back under. This happens four or five times before Walker is finally able to stay above water.]

STANTON: I’ve got you! I’ve got you, Lawrence! Stop struggling!

ADEBAYO: Come on! [grunts] Over here, come on!

LAWRENCE: [pants for breath and retches up water] Oh, you... oh... uh... you saved my life!

STANTON: [breathing heavily] Just doing my job. Come on. [coughs] Stand up. Hoh. If we don’t get moving, find warm clothes, hypothermia will get us before the Burn.

Is’nae Far

[soft footsteps and whistling wind]

LAWRENCE: [breath shudders with cold] How much farther to this cottage, John?

ADEBAYO: Ah, ‘s nae far. Eh, there’s a winter shepherd’s hut in another mile or so. Should have warm blankets, makings of a fire, maybe even some tins of food if we’re lucky.

STANTON: Must have spent quite some time here as a kid, then, John.

ADEBAYO: Aye. I come from Glasgow, that’s where my parents live, but my mum’s parents- my Grandma, Grandda- lived right here in the highlands. Just north of Aviemore.

LAWRENCE: Lucky for us.

STANTON: Very lucky.

ADEBAYO: D’you see it, Ma’am? There, in the distance. Little cottage. We’ll soon be there, get these wet clothes off, safe and warm.

STANTON: How long since it was last occupied, do you think?

ADEBAYO: Well, there’s no way to know for sure. Crofter uses it, comes up sometimes to take a look at his property-

STANTON: Owns two Jeeps, does he? Large military ones?

ADEBAYO: No, one old estate car.

[Stanton cocks her pistol and everyone’s footsteps stop]

LAWRENCE: Stanton, what are you...? Why are you pointing a gun at us?

STANTON: John, Walker, Lawrence. The three of you turn to your left very slowly. No sudden movements. Just keep walking. Away from the cottage.

Traitor

[whistling wind]

LAWRENCE: What the hell is this, Stanton?

STANTON: We have a traitor in our midst.

LAWRENCE: What?!

STANTON: There were two lines of tracks leading to that cottage, both made recently. Both by military vehicles.

ADEBAYO: [nervous laugh] Aye, but that could be anything, you know? We havtae get to that shelter. That hut’s our best chance of keeping ourselves alive.

STANTON: Yes. It’s amazing that you found it. It really is amazing, John, that you know this area so well. Especially when I know from your personnel records that your grandparents are from Argyleshire.

ADEBAYO: I-

LAWRENCE: You were leading us into a trap! You- that is terrible!

ADEBAYO: No, I would never! I- no!

STANTON: Look at the cottage, all of you. Lawrence, what do you see?

LAWRENCE: There are... eight people leaving, in dull grey body armour.

STANTON: Walker, Lawrence, move away from him.

ADEBAYO: You can’t take those things to Edinburgh. You don’t know what you’re doing. You don’t know what you’re playing with. The whole of the human race is in terrible danger.

STANTON: And you’re what? Here to save the human race?

ADEBAYO: No government’s gonna save us!

LAWRENCE: You’re with New Tomorrow. You’re a terrorist!

ADEBAYO: That’s only what people call us. Until they understand. There’s a war going on. Only none of you can see it. Our technology is being infiltrated. It makes us weak. Vulnerable. Look, see what’s happened when just a few systems have collapsed. Whe- when your people get hold of the whole thing, there’s no telling what they’ll do.

LAWRENCE: Are you with The Burn?

ADEBAYO: Our aims are the same for now. And now, I have to-

LAWRENCE: Stanton! He’s going for his gun!

[Stanton tackles Adebayo and they struggle. The gun goes off and Adebayo takes advantage of this distraction to break free and leg it]

STANTON: [grunts] We’ve got to let him go. Firing will just let The Burn know where we are. We’ve got to keep moving.

Ringing cellphone

[phone rings and vibrates]

DAVE: I was back visiting mates in Cambridge when she approached me. It was in the exact same place where I first got recruited. This overpriced gastropub near the Backs. Elspeth swore that wasn’t deliberate, but I never believed her. The symbolism is too perfect.

She just came up and talked to me. Sat on the wonky bar stool, put her diet coke down in front of her, and started straight in.

ELSPETH: [pulls back the bar stool] Hello. You got a minute or two to talk?

DAVE: I thought ‘You’re in there, mate!’ [laughs] Only not really. Cos that kind of thing never happened to me. And Elspeth’s so pretty! One of those lovely oval faces, and actual Cupid-bow lips, and perfectly clear skin because she doesn’t like wearing makeup. She’s very serious-looking, but when she smiles... it’s amazing. Like her whole face changes. And I’ve always been a sucker for red hair. [laughs] So I was totally waiting for the other shoe to drop. And, yeah, it dropped pretty hard.

She didn’t pussyfoot around it, that wasn’t her way. Just went right in with the whole:

ELSPETH: What you’re doing is wrong, you know that, right? You’re executing people without a trial. But this is the twenty-first century, Dave. It isn’t the Middle Ages. Aren’t we better than that now?

DAVE: It wasn’t anything that I hadn’t thought for myself. I agreed with her. But it wasn’t why I said I’d meet her again. I didn’t betray my country out of principle. I did it for a woman. How pathetic is that?

Collectibles: 

The top half of a piece of torn yellow notepaper. Handwritten in pencil is a note: “EMERGENCY DROP CRATES MISSING REGULATION SANITARY SUPPLIES, NAPPIES, INFANT FORMULA. GROSS NEGLIGENCE. LIVES AT STAKE.

TELL HQ TO ACT ON THIS ASAP OR I’LL KNOW THE REASON WHY.”

A page from a comic book, showing three panels placed vertically.

The first shows a woman in a green coat and hat, and her companion, a young man in a brown waistcoat and flat-cap. They are looking into a large aquarium through a pane of glass towards the reader, with small orange fish swimming in front of them. The dialogue reads: BOY: He definitely fell in. I heard the splash! WOMAN: Do you see him? It’s imperative that we see a body. BOY: Just lots of fish, Ma’am. I don’t see nothing.

The second panel shows a loudspeaker of rather steampunky design attached to a corner of the wall, broadcasting the message “You fools! It is I who led you here. It was all part of my plan. This tank houses my greatest creation yet...”

The third panel shows the woman in green from the back, as she looks up at a large mech suit about three times her height inside the aquarium. It is also steampunk in design, made of copper and steel and exposed tubing, and looks a bit like a diving suit and a bit like something Doctor Robotnik would build and a bit like one of the Big Daddies from Bioshock. In the large transparent dome that makes up the ‘helmet’ of the suit, a man in a face visor and a lab coat sits in the control chair and holds two joysticks. Haphazard tubing and wires are visible inside the dome, feeding from the suit proper into the control chair. The speech bubble now comes from the man directly, as he finishes his statement: “BEHOLD! THE MAN O’ WAR!”

#the walk game #episode 5 #all tremble at war #the walk transcript

[thewalktranscripts]

 Episode 4: Heaven is Split Open

Someone's watching you. And it's hard to tell your friends from your enemies.

Is That Bacon?

[sizzling of frying food]

JO: Morning, all. You two look like you’ve been up for a while.

LAWRENCE: Eh, just a few minutes.

JO: Is that.. bacon?

LAWRENCE: And mushrooms, yeah! Got some rolls. We can eat as we walk.

JO: [laughs] You came amazingly well-prepared for the breakdown of civilisation.

LAWRENCE: I was a Boy Scout. Be prepared! Nah, actually, that’s not true. Well, I was a Boy Scout, but I was never any good at it. But I, um... [sigh] I’ve been sleeping at my office the past month or so. I’m sort of, uh... between flats? Bit of a cash-flow problem. I kept it quiet, but, yeah. I had, like, a sleeping bag and mini-stove with me in the office. Wasn’t too hard to pack it all up when I decided to leave.

JO: To visit your Aunty Morag, in Drumnadrochit?

LAWRENCE: Yeah! Well, I like my Aunty Morag.

JO: If you’re in such dire straits, why didn’t you just sell that... what is that, on the chain in your pocket?

LAWRENCE: Oh? What, the pocket watch? Nah, it’s hardly worth anything, really. Was my great-granddad’s, though. I like it. And since all the electric stuff’s stopped working, this thing still keeps perfect time.

JO: Handy. Right, come on, time to get moving. [zips up bag] That chopper was heading south-southwest, so we’ll walk that way. [voice gets fainter as she begins to walk away] Hopefully I’ll work some of the kinks out of my spine where you shoved your elbow all night, Walker. [birdsong] And you, Lawrence, do you know you snore exactly like a concrete mixer?

LAWRENCE: Hold on a sec! Gotta get this tent down! [in a lower voice, privately to Walker] Ix-nay on the Arlie-chay, okay? Just between you and me.

Military Jurisdiction

[birdsong]

JO: Come on, you two. I can see it. There’s a military base down in the valley. Must be where the choppers are heading. I don’t think they got a good look at us after you blew up that car; we should be able to risk making contact. [voice fades as she walks ahead] Worth it for the chance of hitching a lift.

LAWRENCE: [yelling after her] D’you think they’ll have internet? [normal volume] What I wouldn’t give to check my emails.

[device beeps]

CHARLIE: If you’re that desperate, I can try and hack into it for you.

LAWRENCE: Heeey, Charlie’s awake! Hi, Charlie, how’d you sleep? In fact, where did you sleep? Oh, I- I know it’s all hush-hush, classified, but surely you can tell us where in the world you are.

CHARLIE: Slept fine, thanks, in the hotel next door. I like those anonymous rooms. They’re calming. And... well, I’ve told Walker, I might as well tell you: I’m in Geneva. Nice, boring office looking out over the calmest lake in the world. The Swiss are helping us out with a project. And don’t talk out loud to me. Especially not when you’re around other people.

LAWRENCE: Walker’s alright. Walker knows the score, don’t you, Walker? Jo just thinks we’re talking to each other. So, listen, Charlie girl. I’ve been really good, really no-questions-asked since the Prof handed me this thing- big reward, service for Queen and Country and all that- but what is it that we’re carrying?

CHARLIE: I’m not allowed to tell you that! Sorry, but I’m not. You’re not even supposed to be together. I can keep you safe if you do what I say, that’s my job, but you’re more of a target together. Now, did you want me to try getting into your work email from here?

LAWRENCE: Nah. Don’t want you reading all my emails, you cheeky mare.

CHARLIE: I’m not a- [cuts herself off with an annoyed groan] Listen. I don’t have charge of who gets the devices, and if the Professor gave you one he must have had good reasons, but you really must understand that you need to-.

[rustling of bushes and a gun cocks]

SERGEANT MITCHELL: Halt! Halt or I fire! This is military jurisdiction. What are you three doing here?

Halt

[marching boots]

SERGEANT MITCHELL: Company, halt!

[marching halts]

SERGEANT MITCHELL: Prisoners, you’re with me. Quick march!

[Company marches away]

JO: Fine, fine, quick march, yes, yes. Will you stop- will you just stop pointing that gun at me?!

LAWRENCE: You have to admit, he did catch us trespassing.

SERGEANT MITCHELL: No talking! Wing Commander Stanton wants to see you.

JO: Oh-ho, Wing Commander Stanton wants to see us! Well, that makes everything alright, then; arresting three unarmed civilians, interfering with the press, but if Wing Commander Stanton wants to see us it’s all just fine, isn’t it?

You know, I was embedded with troops in Helmand Province and I got treated a damn sight better than this, let me tell you.

WING COMMANDER STANTON: Find Josie when you’re finished. [door opens] Ah. The civilians. You were embedded in Helmand, were you? Which company?

JO: I... uh, Corona Company. Third Yorks.

WING COMMANDER STANTON: Third Yorkshire Regiment? They saw some heavy action during Operation Herrick. A lot of brave men and women.

JO: Yes. Er. I was there. Em. Ma’am.

WING COMMANDER STANTON: Were you? Were you. That’ll do, Mitchell. Put your weapon away. You three, walk with me. 

As long as you are who you say you are, we won’t have to detain you long. We might even help you on your way.

LAWRENCE: That’d be amazing-

WING COMMANDER STANTON: Just a couple of formalities. Some descriptions are being choppered into the EMP zone, of some terrorists who blew up a car at one of the checkpoints. As long as you don’t match that, you’ll be free to go.

LAWRENCE: Uhhh... yeah...

Just A Couple Of Formalities

[marching]

LAWRENCE: We’ve got to get out of here.

JO: Yes, I know that. It was your stupid idea to blow up the car.

LAWRENCE: Well, it worked, didn’t it? Besides, it was an emergency, you said. ‘Have to get this footage to London’, you said.

JO: And I do. And you have to... go and visit your Aunty Morag. Yeah. 

You know, you seem very quick to know how to blow up a car. You and Walker didn’t know each other, now best of friends? Who are you both, actually? D’you have ID? What’s so urgent for you to get out of Inverness?

CHARLIE: You can’t tell her about the project. You just cannot. It’s too risky. She could be with The Burn. We know they’re still after you.

LAWRENCE: We can’t turn on each other now. Look, we’ve walked round this base three times now, and there’s no way out other than the heavily-guarded main gate. Someone’s gonna come in with our description soon, and then they’ll know. Our best plan is to pretend we had nothing to do with that car; that it just happened while we were nearby. Look, we could even say we saw some other people running away! You’re as implicated as we are, Jo. Military law is in force. NUJ card won’t get you out of that, will it?

JO: Just need to get to London. If we can just get off this damn base somehow, my editor in London will sort all this out.

ANDY: Jo? Jo! [footsteps stop] Don’t you look at me like that. I know who you are. And I know exactly what you’ve been up to.

Jo Mont-bloody-gomery

[footsteps]

LAWRENCE: That’s right... just keep walking... keep walking. Maybe he’ll think he’s made a mistake. Just-

ANDY: Jo Mont-bloody-gomery, I knew it was you!

[footstepts stop]

JO: Erm... have we...

[Andy grabs her and lifts her up in a bear hug] [marching can be heard faintly in the background]

JO: Woah! Put me down! I won’t stand for this!

ANDY: You’d remember me better if I had my gear on. Headset, helmet...?

JO: Wait, Andy? Andy Gibbs?

ANDY: From 31 Squadron, yeah! Blimey, we got you out of some tight corners back in Helmand, eh? That one time, pinned down by insurgents, you’d all have been gonners if we hadn’t airlifted you out!

JO: I remember; you saved my life. Listen, Andy, we’ve got a problem.

ANDY: I’m all ears. Your problem, Josephine, is my problem.

JO: Walker, Lawrence, give me a few minutes, okay? I think I can solve all our problems before that next chopper comes in.

LAWRENCE: Come on, Walker. We know when we’re not wanted.

Distraction

[helicopter blades whirring]

JO: Okay, we have a plan. Lovely Andy’s going to cause a distraction on the other side of the base, just as the chopper comes in. Then, you two are going to run as fast as you can to the helicopter. I’ll meet you there, and we’ll be out of here before they have a chance to read those descriptions.

LAWRENCE: Where will you be?

JO: I’ll be with Andy, causing the distraction.

CHARLIE: I don’t like this. The Burn have been destroying all motorised transport, or haven’t you noticed?

LAWRENCE: They’re not exactly-

CHARLIE: Don’t talk to me in front of other people!

JO: What? What’s not exactly what?

LAWRENCE: These... distractions. Aren’t exactly original, are they?

JO: And yet, they’re effective. Your point being?

LAWRENCE: I- ju- [sighs] Yeah. No point. You’re right.

[radio crackles]

ANDY [over radio]: Roger that, Mullins. I’ll be taking the whirlybird straight back up, bringing three civilian passengers in. Stanton doesn’t want to let them go, but I’m happy to vouch for them. [radio transmission cuts off]

JO: Good man, Andy. [flicks radio off] You two, over to the other side of the base. Remember, as soon as the chopper lands, start to run for it.

Think It Through

[helicopter blades whirring]

CHARLIE: I don’t like this. I really don’t like it at all.

LAWRENCE: How are The Burn gonna know that we’re taking this helicopter, Charlie? Think it through. And even if they did, what are they gonna do? They can’t have eyes everywhere.

CHARLIE: That’s what you think!

LAWRENCE: Too late now. The bird’s landing. Come on, Walker! Run!

[gunshot]

WING COMMANDER STANTON: Oh no you don’t! One more step and I fire. I’ve had my suspicions about you two from the start. Planning to hijack that chopper, were you? Not on my watch.

JO [calling from inside the chopper]: Sorry, guys. Actually, you were the distraction. Have to get this footage to London. And your stories just didn’t add up. I only told Commander Stanton the truth.

WING COMMANDER STANTON: Sergeant, bring these two to my office. And then we’ll open that description of the terrorists who blew up the car. And read it. Slowly.

Broken Crown

WING COMMANDER STANTON: This seems cut-and-dried, Sergeant. Lock ‘em up. Send a chopper to notify police we’ve found their missing terrorists. Flight Lieutenant Gibbs vouched for that journo, so she’s in the clear.

CHARLIE: Okay. I didn’t want to have to do this, but, Lawrence...

WING COMMANDER STANTON: And search them. No more slip-ups.

LAWRENCE: Excuse me. Commander.

WING COMMANDER STANTON: Yes, what?

LAWRENCE: D’you mind if I use your pen for a moment? My friend Walker has to write something down I think you’ll want to see.

CHARLIE: Just do exactly what I tell you.

WING COMMANDER STANTON: If this is a trick, I warn you, you’ll be imprisoned without clothes. Both of you.

CHARLIE: Take the pen, and the pad. Write down this: Z T X, five eight, four nine. Broken Crown. Project Janus. Enact Evolution Seven.

WING COMMANDER STANTON: What are you playing at, exactly?

CHARLIE: Walker, give her the paper.

[paper rustles]

WING COMMANDER STANTON: Christ. How do you know this code? How did you get hold of this?

LAWRENCE: We’re on a secret mission-

WING COMMANDER STANTON: Sergeant, get out.

SERGEANT MITCHELL: Ma’am, I-

WING COMMANDER STANTON: Out!

[door closes]

WING COMMANDER STANTON: There’s only one way on Earth you could get these codes.

LAWRENCE: What do they-?

CHARLIE: I’ve told her that her chain of command is corrupted- which it is. I just didn’t want to have to let everyone know about it yet.

[distant explosion]

LAWRENCE: What was that?!

CHARLIE: The Burn. It’s The Burn. They know where you are. I knew it was too dangerous to have you two travelling together!

[door opens]

SERGEANT MITCHELL: The chopper, Ma’am! It’s gone down, three miles north of here.

LAWRENCE: Andy radioed to say we’d be on that chopper.

CHARLIE: The Burn.

Collectibles: 

A newspaper clipping headlined “INVERNESS COMPUTING LOCKS DOWN ANOTHER £20M”. The bolded opening line reads “INVERNESS University’s landmark computer science department has been awarded an additional £20 million grant from EU funds, following an initial trance of £8 million three years ago.” The body of the article reads “ “We are very pleased with this vote of convidence in our work,’ said Prof. Margaret McTavish, Dean of Information Science. “These funds will allow us to continue developing the important tools and defences that a free society relies upon.” The special grant, distributed by the European Research Council, is given to further research that would allow the EU to remain secure and independent of American technology companies. In recent years Inverness has been the driving force behind a number of promising security developments, including devising a new method of encryption believed to be impervious to current American and Chinese intelligence capabilities.”

A magazine article with the headline and bolded first paragraph printed in green, and the body of the article in black. The background shows desaturated abstract shapes in green under the text. The headline reads “Optic Fracture might change our brains”. The body of the article reads: “The Optic Fracture is not going away. It is part of the cultural zeitgeist, just as films, TV and rock and roll music continue to be. Our children are spending the majority of their time in virtual worlds, interacting with fake people. Living fake lives and enacting power fantasies that involve murder, rape, theft and dragons.

This is nothing new, of course. Entertainment is all about escapism but, as a neuroscientist, I’m most worried about how this affects their brains on a physical level. The Optic Fracture is a relatively new piece of technology, so we have no long-term studies available to show how prolonged exposure can affect the user.

It’s certainly possible that tricking the brain into believing it is somewhere it is not for extended periods of time could lead to some kind of bleed-through effect, where fantasy and reality begin to merge and people start living the fiction in the real world. We could start living in a society where there are people walking around believing they are a gun-wielding commando, or a dungeon-delving warrior, or a member of a shady agency investigating a government conspiracy to hack our brains.”

#the walk game #episode 4 #heaven is split open #the walk transcript

[thewalktranscripts]

Episode 3: The Company of Kings

There's more than one way to cause a distraction. Some are more explosive than others.

Find A Way Past The Cordon

CHARLIE: This is no good, Walker. You've got to find a way past that military cordon. You're hours away from getting caught and banged up.

LAWRENCE: Oh, for goodness' sake. We've walked up and down this road twice, and all we've found out is that there really are checkpoints and soldiers everywhere. If we do it again, they're going to start getting suspicious.

JO: They're already suspicious.

LAWRENCE: More suspicious. Look, there are a few farm buildings over there, between those checkpoints. If we sneak between them and then run for it, we can make it.

JO: Yes, because the SA80 standard issue military rifle in no way has a range greater than fifty meters.

LAWRENCE: [laughs] Well, they won't actually shoot us.

JO: Not to kill, maybe. They'll just kneecap you and throw you in military prison. You might find you miss your kneecaps once they're gone, and what would your Aunty Morag think of that?

LAWRENCE: Yeah, I uh, yeah. Well, that's true, really. Aunty Morag's a bit of a stickler for discipline, to be honest. Uncle Bobby was in the Merchant Navy, and he always said, "Early to bed and early to rise makes a man rise quickly through the ranks of the Merchant Navy because they like that kind of thing."

JO: What does that have to do with anything?

LAWRENCE: I uh... yeah, sorry. I burble when I'm nervous. Sorry! There are more guns around here than I usually see in... uh, ever.

CHARLIE: You need a plan.

JO: We need a plan. I didn't walk all this way just to give up now.

LAWRENCE: Well, there is that golf course past the little coppice there.

JO: Planning to club them to death with a 9 iron?

LAWRENCE: My uncle Jimmy – that was Morag's husband – he used to take me golfing there when I was a boy. It's very bushy, lots of cover, and there's a shallow lake which should pass right across the army's cordon. If we wade through it, just our heads sticking up, trees on either side...

JO: You really are keen to see Morag, aren't you?

LAWRENCE: Sorry. I just can't stand problems I can't solve. Makes me a good PhD student, and a really annoying person to play chess with.

JO: Okay, let's go for it. What have we got to lose?

Hole In One

LAWRENCE: See? I told you. This place is perfect. I've lost sight of the soldiers already, and we're only at the first fairway. Bit of a, ha, hole in one for Lawrence, you might say.

JO: Only if you wrote for the Star. So where's this famous lake of yours?

LAWRENCE: Um, over there. Can you see? To the left of the clubhouse.

JO: You know, there's something familiar about this place. The little miniature pine trees everywhere, the shape of the lake. I know, it reminds me of the golf course in Pyongyang.

LAWRENCE: Played golf with Kim Jong-il, did you?

JO: Yes.

LAWRENCE: Oh, come on!

JO: Really. Dictators love golf for some reason.

LAWRENCE: Probably because anyone they ever play with is so terrified, they always let the dictators win.

JO: I knew getting good at golf would be a great way to wheedle my way in with people like Kim Jong-il. Now I've got the personal phone numbers of some of the most evil people on the planet, and an eight handicap.

LAWRENCE: Eight?

JO: Why, what's yours?

LAWRENCE: Oh, well, you know. About average. Wait, did you see that?

JO: You dodging the question?

LAWRENCE: No. By the clubhouse. There's about a dozen people with golf clubs.

JO: This is just a wild stab in the dark, but do you think they could be golfers?

CHARLIE: They're not golfers.

LAWRENCE: They're using the clubs to smash in the windows. Maybe that's how they play golf around here, but -

JO: Looters.

LAWRENCE: Already?

JO: Don't sound so surprised. Society's only ever one power cut away from anarchy.

CHARLIE: They've seen you!

LAWRENCE: Are they looking over at us?

JO: Four of them are coming this way. Damn it! There's no way we can get through the cordon now.

LAWRENCE: The cordon's gonna to be the least of our problems if those guys catch us. Look at the way they're swinging their clubs! We'd better make tracks. Really, really quick tracks.

So Much For A Cunning Plan

LAWRENCE: [sighs] There's another checkpoint up ahead. I didn't think they'd extend this far south.

JO: They must have placed them on all the roads. Now we're back on the road...

LAWRENCE: So much for my cunning plan to get us around the checkpoints. Looks like we'll have to work out how to get through. Are those thugs still following us?

JO: I can't see anyone, can you?

LAWRENCE: I'm too scared to look.

JO: We're clear. Guess they went back to looting the clubhouse.

LAWRENCE: That's great! I mean, not for the clubhouse, obviously.

JO: Which still leaves us with the problem of how to get past the checkpoint.

CHARLIE: Hmm, how about if you... hmm...

LAWRENCE: Hey, hey, I know. How about if we blow up one of the cars? That'd cause a disturbance, wouldn't it? Give us a chance to slip through the net.

JO: Blow up one of the – are you crazy? How would you even do that?

LAWRENCE: I'm not completely useless, you know. Cha- uh- I picked up three camping stoves when I was leaving Inverness. If we light one, leave it under the fuel tank of a car, run like hell to get out of the way -

JO: Boom.

CHARLIE: That's almost as good as I'd have thought of myself.

Journalist Of The Year

[stove hisses]

LAWRENCE: It feels quite exciting, doesn't it? In a scary sort of way.

JO: In a Journalist of the Year-winning way.

LAWRENCE: Okay, I'm putting the stove under here, where the petrol tank is. All right, now go. Go! Go, go, go!

[footsteps crunch through gravel, foliage rustles]

JO: Okay, we're out of sight of the army checkpoint, so now we just wait until the -

LAWRENCE: How long do you think it's going to take before - [explosion, car alarm rings] Oh. Not long, then. You okay, Walker? Okay, Jo?

JO: Fine, fine. Not as bad as a roadside bomb. Look, it's working. Some of the other soldiers are leaving their positions to come and see what's happened.

LAWRENCE: This is our chance. There's a gap in the cordon.

JO: But we'll have to be very careful. They really don't look happy!

LAWRENCE: Well, to be fair, I did just blow up a car.

JO: Which means if they catch us, they'll be absolutely certain we're terrorists! Come on, while they're distracted.

Hornet's Nest

LAWRENCE: Oh, we've really stirred up a hornet's nest. I think I might actually have made it harder to get past them.

CHARLIE: You can do it, but you'll have to be very careful. The group from the checkpoint ahead have left their posts. You see that dirt road with the cattle grid on it? If you go down there, the farm buildings will shield you from view.

LAWRENCE: Where are you going, Walker? Oh, I see. Those farm buildings. Well-spotted. I knew hooking up with you was a good idea.

CHARLIE: Be careful of that cattle grid. I can't have you twisting your ankle.

LAWRENCE: This is very exciting, isn't it? Wait until Aunty Morag hears about all the adventures I've had.

SOLDIER: Who's there? Show yourself!

JO: Damn it! Soldiers. Quick, behind that hedge.

[foliage rustles]

LAWRENCE: Ow! That's really prickly.

JO: Shh.

SOLDIER: There's no one here.

SOLDIER: I could have sworn

SOLDIER: Probably a cow. You're jumping at shadows, man. Come on, we need to back up Rhys.

[foliage rustles]

LAWRENCE: That was unpleasantly close.

JO: But they've left the way clear. Hurry, before their relief arrives.

Made It

JO: We made it! We made it! No one's following us, we're clear of – wait. Do you hear that? It's a chopper! Someone's got a chopper working. [running footsteps]

LAWRENCE: Hey, hey, Walker. Just uh, hang back with me for a sec. I think Jo can enjoy chasing a helicopter on foot by herself for a bit. Anyway, I wanted to talk to you. Hey, do you want a Rolo? Guess not.

You're a quiet one, Walker. I mean, you're allowed, right? We're all just trying to get out of Inverness, and we can help each other for a bit, and then we'll go our separate ways. But I just... look. I think you and I have something in common.

CHARLIE: You don't want to listen to him, Walker. I'd put some distance between you two if I were you.

LAWRENCE: No, listen. I think I should. It doesn't put either of us in more danger. In fact, we're safer if we both know! We can, well, you know, we can look after each other.

CHARLIE: Is he talking to himself, that Lawrence? I don't know if you should be even near him!

LAWRENCE: Stop lying to me, Charlie! I know you're talking to Walker. I'm certain Walker's got one of the devices. I heard it beep when we first met up. It's stupid to keep this a secret. Walker, you're a friend of Charlie, right? Well, I am, too.

BONUS: Ringing phonebox

[phone rings]

DAVE CRISPIN: I ended up in GCHQ. Government code and cipher school. That's where the name comes from. They made it up back in World War II, when the people living around Bletchley Park wondered what the hell all those pasty-faced young men and women were up to in there. It's a sort of code itself, I suppose. GCHQ isn't in Bletchley anymore, but the spirit lives on. Or that's what they tell you.

SUPERVISOR: It really is the spirit of the blitz around here, Dave.

DAVE CRISPIN: Or the, you know, preventing the need for more blitz spirit. And if preventing the blitz involves listening in to a few peoples' private phone calls... yeah. Then the drone program came along, and they wanted us to help out the Americans.

SUPERVISOR: Find suitable targets for the program. Decode all that chatter, figure out who's planning something nasty, and where they're going to be when they do it.

DAVE CRISPIN: Decide who to kill, that's what he meant. That's what I realised. I was a killer. I was a serial killer. And it felt kind of good, even when I saw the pictures of strikes I'd set up. It was just an aerial shot, very clinical, lots of impressive rubble, and the bodies were too far away to see the blood.

I started - I mean, not really, not seriously, but still - I started thinking, you know what? I could pick anyone. Someone would cut me off in their car, or some bloke in a bar would spill my beer, and I'd fantasise about setting them up for a strike! I wouldn't have done it, I really wouldn't! But I could have, and so could anyone else involved. So I thought, no one should have this power.

And that was the moment. That's when she knew I was ready to listen. [phone hangs up]

Collectibles:

Polaroid of a sweaty and sunburned man in a broad-brimmed hat, blue tank top, cargo pants, and golfing gloves, smiling and displaying a golden trophy, against the backdrop of a golf course. A piece of masking tape has been stuck across the bottom of the photograph, and the writing on the tape reads “Two records in one day... 38C and 19 under par! Bert and the weather were both on fire!”

A piece of office stationery paper, with the header being a logo comprised of a stylised golf ball, hole, and flag on top of a hill. The handwritten message reads “Davy, Check the firebreak behind the 7th hole first thing when you’re in, it’s gone bushy. Wildfire’s come too close this time. If the club burns down, your job’s gone with it. Warren”

Huge thanks again to @siriusmistake for compiling this transcript

#the walk game #episode 3 #the company of kings #the walk transcript

[thewalktranscripts]

Episode 2: ... Chaos and Confusion

You won't get out of here alone. You need allies; even allies who ask a lot of questions.

Just Keep Moving

[fire crackles]

WOMAN: Help! Someone call the fire brigade! My phone's not working!

CHARLIE: Okay, Walker, just keep moving. Unless anyone looks really carefully, the transmitter you're receiving me through should just look like a single earring. Not necessarily the style you might be going for, but still, better secure than stylish, and if that's not a saying in the secret service, it ought to be. [laughs] 

[types on keyboard] Good. I've patched into a couple of satellites. Sort of illegal, but hey! The world's gone mad. I think I'll just put myself on a report later. Looks like you're safe. Fiona killed or wounded nine agents of The Burn, and we threw off the last couple and put a few miles between you, so pretty much safe.

But [types on keyboard, equipment beeps] yeah. The police are looking for you. At least one person saw you holding something that looked like a working mobile after the EMP went off. They're already using the word terrorist. Bad news.

Good news, the EMP went off, [laughs] so no one had a working phone to take your picture. And if they want to transmit your description, they're going to have to use the word of mouth, so we just need to mess with your description a bit. Let's do some damage to fashion, Walker.

A Little Robbery

CHARLIE: Okay, I'm afraid you're going to have to do just a little robbery. Only to make you more distinctive. What's that you say? Hmm, but I can hear you wondering, why would we want to make you more distinctive? Because the police only have a description to go on. Someone of your build, height, age, hair colour.

And if you're wearing say, a pair of red and white striped trousers in your size, hanging on the line in the garden you're passing right now... yep, you got them. Good. Now, nip behind the hedge and put them on. Suddenly, you're someone in a very distinctive pair of trousers, which any witness would surely have mentioned in their reports, so it can't be you! QED.

[laughs] Yes, I am terribly clever. Modest, too. Also, excellent hair. You'll just have to imagine it. There's no one else around in the office right now to appreciate it anyway. Now, next job on the list: get you out of Inverness. And I think that woman shouting at a police officer up ahead might just be able to help.

JO: This is a freedom of the press situation. You can't just keep me here in the city against my will. This is Britain, not some police state. The free press must be able to carry out their job, or what's the country for?

[horse whinnies]

POLICE OFFICER: Please step away from the horse, Miss. This area's under lockdown. In case you havnae heard, there's been a terrorist attack. Our first priority is containment, preventing the perpetrators from leaving Inverness.

JO: Not Miss, Ms. And I'm a credentialed member of the press. Look, look at it. See what it says? Jo Montgomery, National Union of Journalists. See my picture? I work for the BBC. I've got footage of the actual moment of the attack. I'm hearing all the communications systems are down. Me walking out of the city is the only way the world's going to get to see what's happened here. Or are you trying to cover it up?

POLICE OFFICER: [sighs] I have my orders, Miss.

JO: I can see I'm going to get absolutely bloody nowhere with you. If my camera man were here, you'd have another thing coming! 

CHARLIE: Just walk over. Stay in her line of sight. It's those mesmerising trousers. And when she asks why you're so keen to get out of the city, tell her you've got a- a sick granny in Edinburgh, or something. I'm pretty sure Jo's about to have an idea.

Not Miss, Ms

JO: So, you've got it straight, then, have you, Walker? Hold the camera like this. Of course, it's not working, but they're not to know that. Play it just like I told you, and then we'll both be through that next checkpoint and out onto the motorway, no bother.

And then you can be on your way to your granny in Edinburgh. You don't even have to say anything. Yes, just like that. Very good. Camera crew are usually the silent, stoic variety. Just follow me. Excuse me? Excuse me, officer. I'm with the BBC, and I urgently need to leave Inverness.

CHARLIE: Yup. If you're looking for someone incredibly pushy, you can always trust a journalist. Just stick close to her, and keep moving. I think she might be able to pull this off.

POLICE OFFICER: No, Miss. No. I'm sorry. No one's allowed out of Inverness.

JO: Not Miss, Ms. Are you getting all this on tape, Walker? This is police oppression of the legitimate press in the wake of a terrorist attack. What next, kettling? Waterboarding? Care to make a comment on these brutal tactics, officer?

POLICE OFFICER: No, I... is that thing working? I thought all the electronic devices had been destroyed by that bomb.

JO: Proprietary BBC hardware protection, electric surge guards. Standard issue now on BBC cameras. Oh yes, you're going to make international news, officer. Walker's getting it all on tape. How are you going to like that, your face as the image of police brutality after the attack?

POLICE OFFICER: Police brutality? I havnae touched you!

JO: Brutality to the freedom of the press, officer! If you don't let us through now -

POLICE OFFICER: Show me that wee press card again.

CHARLIE: We're in. Some people call me a wizard, you know, for my preternatural understanding of human nature. To be fair, those people think Derren Brown should be burned as a witch. Still, I think Jo's about to get you onto the motorway.

Good Job

POLICE OFFICER: [shouts] Watch out for yourselves down there! We've heard reports there's already looting of cars! And make sure you tell the BBC I warned you to take care!

JO: Good job there, Walker. If you don't mind walking together, we might be able to pull that same trick at any other checkpoint we come to. Would be a bit worrying really, if one of us were the terrorist. [laughs] Not that – sorry, but not that a terrorist would wear those trousers, I- [laughs]. Oh God, I wish that camera were working.

CHARLIE: Oh, I see you've got to the motorway full of abandoned cars, huh? I can see only the top-down satellite image. That looks pretty eerie all by itself. I'd keep moving if I were you, Walker. That police officer's not wrong. Looters are going to have a field day out there. There'll be bad, dangerous people about, and you don't want to be caught in the middle of it.

LAWRENCE: Hey! Over here! I'm Lawrence, walking south. Fancy some company? This car has- has water bottles and, and- and chocolate in it, and look! I found a pop up tent. That'll come in handy. Do either of you two want a Curly Wurly?

[the device beeps in Walker’s ear]

Curly Wurly?

LAWRENCE: [chewing] Mm. Oh, I love a Curly Wurly. So, yeah. Basically, I just told them my auntie Morag is really ill in Drumnadrochit, and I have to try to get there before she um, well, you know. [smacks lips] And then I pulled a sad face. It's quite a good sad face, though.

JO: That is pretty sad.

LAWRENCE: No one can resist the power of the sad face. And auntie Morag really has been a bit ill. Nasty cold. I bet she'd appreciate a visit from her favourite nephew.

JO: But Drumadrochit is southwest of here. We're going southeast.

LAWRENCE: Hmm. Are we? Oh, um, I never did have much of a head for directions. Oh well. [swallows] I expect it'll all be uh, sorted out in a day or two. Couldn't stand the idea of being cooped up in Inverness. You know, after that thing went off and everything went crazy, I... Hey, you're a journalist. Give me some news. I mean, what's happened here? No one's phone's working. All the cars are dead.

JO: Probably EMP or something similar. We heard about them a lot when I was in Basra.

LAWRENCE: Mm. Uh, EMP, well that's the um, European Monetary Fund.

JO: That's the EMF.

LAWRENCE: European Monetary... Pfund?

JO: [laughs] Electromagnetic Pulse. The military talk about this sort of thing all the time. High altitude nukes that send out some sort of magnetic pulse to take out communications infrastructure.

LAWRENCE: Nukes?!

JO: Don't wet yourself. What's done is done. Best thing we can do is get out of the blast area. Just a second. Up ahead, where the road curves around, does that look to you like a - ?

LAWRENCE: A roadblock.

Sadface Training

JO: Military. Soldiers. They've thrown up a cordon around the whole bloody city!

LAWRENCE: Do you think it's possible that Sad Face won't work on them?

JO: I think it's possible they've had Dealing With Sad Face training. Don't worry. Walker and I have perfected our checkpoint crossing technique, haven't we? Heft that camera again, Walker. I suppose you'll have to be our sound man, Lawrence.

LAWRENCE: But I haven't got a mic.

JO: Here. Dictaphone. It'll have to do. Excuse me! Excuse me, Corporal? I'm with the BBC, and I urgently need -

SOLDIER: Stop right there.

JO: Listen, I'm a journalist with the BBC and I urgently -

[gunshot]

SOLDIER: I said stop!

JO: You just fired at a BBC journalist! I've got it on film!

SOLDIER: And I've got orders. No one leaves Inverness. The whole city's on lockdown until we catch the bastards who blew up the station.

JO: But I'm a journalist. Look, I've got my credentials right here.

SOLDIER: Stop moving!

LAWRENCE: You'd better do what he says. He's got that "I'm about to pull the trigger again" glint in his eye.

JO: This is unbelievable. I have to get this footage to London!

CHARLIE: And you have to get out of Inverness, Walker. I've been monitoring police activity. They're sending out mounted officers with details of the attack, and of their number one suspect: you. If you're not gone by the time they get there, you won't be going anywhere.

LAWRENCE: So what the hell are we going to do?

BONUS: Unusual audio pendant

SPEAKER: But you know why.

INTERVIEWER: We want to make a record, so that everything will be very clear. No one disappears here without trace.

SPEAKER: I understand. Well, it was... it was after my diagnosis.

INTERVIEWER: Say what your diagnosis was.

SPEAKER: I worked in a hospital. I was a medical orderly. They told us that the drugs would stop us becoming infected, but I knew when I started to get the lesions, I had Malaria C.

INTERVIEWER: They hadn't taken proper precautions, had they?

SPEAKER: That's what... that's what you told me. I came to this country to make a new life, and now... My son will be married next year. Maybe I won't even recognise him by then! I know what happens. I've seen it. Malaria C eats up a person from inside the head.

INTERVIEWER: So you've joined us to - ?

SPEAKER: I want to stop what happened to me from happening again. They have to know the truth, and...

INTERVIEWER: Go on.

SPEAKER: I know it is a small hope, but perhaps the treatment you suggested could slow the brain rotting away.

INTERVIEWER: We can try. If you help us, we'll try to help you.

Collectibles: 

A newspaper clipping, showing a dark-skinned and -haired woman in a grey blazer and white shirt, next to the headline “MONTGOMERY’S RISE”. The body of the article reads “Best known for her ongoing coverage of the Water Wars, Jo Montgomery is a rising star at the BBC. Friends and colleagues describe her as “driven and ambitious”, with one senior producer saying: “she certainly doesn’t allow herself to be held back by social niceties”.”

Two panels from a comic book, placed vertically. The first shows a steampunk-style mechanical spider approximately the size of a tank, among featureless sand dunes. Two indistinct figures are sitting in the open cockpit on the spider’s abdomen; one is wearing a green coat and pork pie hat and operating the controls, and the other is wearing a brown waistcoat and flat cap, and is looking behind the spider towards the sand dunes. The speech bubble from the figure in brown reads “I say, that was right clever of you to have wrangled Ripper’s pet spider, Ma’am. What better way for us to find that pests’s secret desert lair! [in smaller text] I didn’t even know England had any deserts...”

The second panel shows the spider on the lip of a dune overlooking a pod-like structure that has been bolted together out of different-coloured sheets of metal, with large loops of pipe emerging from some sections of wall. There is a large door or airlock on the front and some vegetation surrounding the base. The speech bubble from the lady in green reads “Quite so. And I imagine that’s the way he wishes to keep it. But lo! We’re here. Finally, Jack the Ripper’s secret lair lies before us. Our quest has almost reached its conclusion.”

Huge thanks to @siriusmistake for compiling the transcript for this episode

#the walk game #episode 2 #... chaos and confusion #the walk transcript

[thewalktranscripts]

The Walk Wiki needs love. If you’ve got a free half an hour, consider adding an episode summary or fleshing out a character bio!

#the walk game #six to start

[thewalktranscripts]

Episode 1: And the Earth was...

The plan's simple. Inverness station, train heading south. It's about to get complicated.

Plenty Of Time

NEWS INTERVIEWER: Thank you, Minister. We're going to have to leave it there, as it's now time for the news headlines. [music]

WAITRESS: Your tea. Fifteen minutes until the London train. You've plenty of time.

NEWS ANNOUNCER: INTERPOL have closed train stations in Madrid and Frankfurt in an attempt to detain several people linked to the anarchist group, New Tomorrow. The group has issued several threats against technology infrastructure in Europe over the past six months, and were responsible for the brief shutdown in the Hang Seng a year ago. 

London mayor Boris Johnson has reassured the public, saying that New Tomorrow's threats of simultaneous global technology attacks, including an attack on the London stock exchange, are simply not credible.

WAITRESS: What are they so angry about, those New Tomorrow folk?

NEWS ANNOUNCER: And finally, the Scottish government released a report today on the progress of the population of wolves released into the Kincraig Highland Wildlife Park two years ago. 

The fifteen original breeding pairs have grown to nearly sixty wolves now, and experts say the population has proven capable of sustaining itself through hunting. Conservation groups are thrilled the native Scottish species is reestablishing itself. And now, the weather where you are.

WEATHER ANNOUNCER: It's going to be a beautiful day in Inverness, but with a chance of showers later this evening. [continues in background]

WAITRESS: Aye, chance of showers. Rain again, is what they mean.

TRAIN ANNOUNCER: The train on platform four is the 7:55 a.m. service to London Euston... [continues in background]

FIONA: Hello! 

Yeah, yeah, I get it. You're not supposed to confirm or deny. I have the description of your clothes and bag. You're in the right place. It's okay, I've been briefed. 

[sigh] Can you try smiling, at least? Might look a bit more natural.

[scoffs] Fine. I've got the device. Here, I'll put it on the table under your paper. You pick it up after a few moments and slip it into your pocket. [plastic rattles and paper rustles] Good. Find a private place to open it before you arrive.

I'm sure you've been briefed the same as I have. I'm to see you onto that train to Edinburgh, then you're on your own. We know something's going to happen today, we just don't know what. We're just hoping we can get you out of here in time. Come on, before they spot you. Walk with me.

The Burn

[Train pulls up to platform and doors slide open]

FIONA: Right. Good. Well, good luck. I'm sure you don't need me to tell you how important this mission is – [power outage] Oh. Damn. That's a bugger.

CHILD: Mummy, why have the lights gone out? Mummy, why is it dark?

MOTHER: It's okay, darling. They'll be back in a moment.

FIONA: They won't. This means The Burn are ahead of our anticipated schedule. Things are going to get difficult for you. Come on, walk this way. Don't run. If they're here, it'll just draw attention. I should be able to get you out of the city, at least.

ANNOUNCER: The management of Inverness Station apologise for any inconvenience to your journey caused by this temporary power failure to many areas of the station. We are bringing backup generators online now, and should have you on your way within fifteen minutes. Thank you for your patience, and we apologise for the disruption to your journey this morning.

FIONA: There. Man reading a paper, four o'clock. Don't look now! He's followed us up the platform. Now he's following us back down. He's The Burn. Woman at nine o'clock taking a long time over her croissant. Could be Burn. It's only going to get worse from here. Hurry!

Attention All Passengers

ANNOUNCER: Attention all passengers: for safety reasons, we've been informed that we havtae evacuate the station. [crowd groans] Power may nae be restored until the end of the day. Please exit the station at an orderly fashion. Thank you for your cooperation.

PASSENGER: Bloody ridiculous. Don't know what this country's coming to. Third world bloody state.

PASSENGER: For God's sake, I'm on report for lateness already!

POLICE OFFICER: Come on, quickly! Move along the platform.

FIONA: Oh damn. Police already. Didn't think they'd be here so quickly. Not as bad as The Burn, but we can't let them clock you. I heard about that trouble you had in Shanghai last year. Don't want a repeat of that. Come with me. Side exit.

POLICE OFFICER: Madam? Madam, there's no exit down the tunnel in that direction.

FIONA: Just keep walking.

POLICE OFFICER: Madam, all passengers must leave the station via the main exit. If you do not stop, I will be forced to detain you on suspicion of causing a breach of the peace.

FIONA: Just keep walking.

POLICE OFFICER: Madam, all passengers must leave the station via the main exit. If you do not stop, I will be forced to -

[explosion]

Charlie Will Know What To Do

[rubble collapses, passengers cough and shout]

FIONA: Hey. Hey! Are you okay? Come on. Stand up, that's it. Come on. [winces] My stupid leg! Something fell on me when... but we've got to get moving. The Burn are closing in from the south and the west, and I don't... I don't know what to do now! 

Oh, I never thought they'd do something like this, I... [sighs] But we've got to get out of the station. We've got to open the package. Charlie will know what to do. Come on, stand up.

PASSENGER: Help, help! My arm's trapped, help!

FIONA: Ambulance is on its way. We have to leave! Believe me when I tell you that the best thing you can do to help anyone is to get out of this station now. Come on!

EMP

WAITRESS: My mobile's not working. It's just stopped! Like the radio, and the coffee machine. Everything just stopped when that explosion... is anyone's mobile working?

PASSENGER: Yeah, my laptop's died. Look at those cars. Something's... something's gone wrong with the electricity.

PASSENGER: It's not bloody possible. Electricity doesn't just stop working at once... [continues in background]

FIONA: They did it. The bastards really did it! Set off an EMP. Electromagnetic pulse. That's designed to kill anything that runs on electricity. Cars, computer, streetlights. All that just to stop a train! 

Come on. Down this side street. Can't see any Burn. And can't open the package in front of people. You might have the only working mobile phone in Inverness in your pocket. Bound to attract attention we don't want.

THE BURN: You there! You two. We know who you are. Stop or we'll shoot.

FIONA: Damn it! It's The Burn. I can't believe this. Doesn't matter. We can't let them take us. [gunshots] This way, fast as you can.

Open The Package

FIONA: It's no... [frustrated grunt] it's no use! I can't keep up. It’s this stupid, stupid leg!

THE BURN: Here, this way! They're here!

FIONA: Now, quickly. Open the package. There. That's your device for contacting Charlie, your operator. Put your thumb here. Yes. And clip the earpiece to your earlobe. That's it.

AUTOMATED VOICE: Link initiating. Please wait.

FIONA: It's much more than that, but you'll have read it in the files. You have read the files? There was someone else in the station - after the explosion, I saw them - wearing very similar clothes to you, carrying a similar bag. Who are you? [gunshots]

It doesn't matter. The device is bio-keyed to you, now. You've got to get it to Edinburgh. Do you understand? Listen. Do you understand? I don't care who you are. It's no exaggeration to say that the survival of the human race depends on that box getting to Edinburgh. Plus a handsome financial reward for you.

When Charlie can contact you, she'll tell you where to go. [wry chuckle] And, whoever you are, The Burn will kill you now if you let them catch you. [gunshots] I've got plenty of ammo. [slides clip into gun] I'll hold them off as long as I can. Move! Just keep moving. Get out of the city. Go! Go. [cocks gun]

Primary Operator

[gunshots]

FIONA: How do you like that, you bastards? Have some of your own medicine!

[device beeps]

CHARLIE: Okay. Okay, this should be working now, and... can you hear me at the back, mother? Can you? Just my little joke. [clears throat] I'm Charlie Fraser, based out of Geneva. I'll be working with you on this assignment, and for the duration of the engagement, I'll be your primary operator. I think you've been expecting me, and I– [gunshots] oh. Oh, that's not good. Hang on a sec, let me pull up some satellite maps, and we can get you and Fiona out of here.

Oh. Fiona's gone. Right. This is not a drill. [deep breath] Right. Okay, I have you on satellite. I need you to listen to me, and do exactly as I say. In 300 meters, on your right, you'll see Pitlochry Salmon. The door's open. Go in, right through the shop, and out the back. Not to be, you know, melodramatic, but: do exactly what I say if you want to survive.

Codename: Walker

CHARLIE: Good. That's good. Cross the courtyard. Yes. Now go into that long barn and turn left. [door creaks open] I know it's a bit dark, but – [clutter rattles] Yeah, sorry about that.

There should be a small door on the right which will take you down a flight of stairs and – [door opens] Yes. Good. You are on the canal tow path now, out of view of the street. We've lost them for now. Keep going while I get the systems in your box to scan your biodata and link you to my code name database.

Hmm. Yes. Looks like we have compiled a file on you. Not quite the thing I was expecting. Haven't you been naughty? But you're on the side of the angels now, at least, I see. So we can be friends.

Code name... none listed? I'll just quickly generate one for you by pressing my magic button here, and... it's given you the name Walker! [laughs] That's the code name it randomly generated. Honestly, I sometimes think this machine has a mind of its own. But Walker it is. We're going to get through this, Walker. I haven't lost an agent yet. We'll get through this, too, you and me.

BONUS: Ringing phone

[phone rings]

DAVE CRISPIN: It was ninth of July when they first contacted me. Sorry, I mean, yeah. Ninth of July, 2005. Back then I was a COMP SCI at Cambridge. Doing computer science, you know. But I come from London, born old Muswell Hill, [laughs] where teenage dreams go to die.

My brother was on the Northern line that day. Totally fine, of course, but it makes you think, makes you feel part of it. It's almost exciting, except you can't admit that. You have to say it's dreadful. And it was dreadful. So, yeah. They definitely picked the right time to ask if I wanted to serve my country. It makes it sound so glamorous, doesn't it? Dave Crispin, super spy.

It wasn't very James Bond. It was more Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. Grey and kind of ordinary. The guy they sent had this huge hairy mole on the side of his nose, and beside it, there was this big white puffy pimple, just begging to be burst, only he hadn't, and the whole time he was trying to recruit me, going -

RECRUITER: "Mister Crispin, it's very important that the content of this conversation remains confidential."

DAVE CRISPIN: - I kept tuning out, wondering if he'd left the pimple where it was because it distracted attention from the mole! Which probably isn't the kind of thing James Bond would be thinking. And of course, they didn't want me because of my deadly marksmanship and smooth way with the ladies. They wanted me because I'd been getting straight alphas in COMP SCI, and had a particular affinity for encryption. Still, when he asked me -

RECRUITER: "Mister Crispin, do you want to serve your country?"

DAVE CRISPIN: I said yes. I thought I'd be doing good. I really did believe that.

[phone hangs up]

Collectibles:

A flyer showing five men, at least four of whom are white, and one who might be the Token Vaguely Ethnic One, or might just be slightly more tanned than the others. Four of the men are bearded. They are leaning on and/or have their arms around each other and are doing their best Boy Band smiles for the camera. White text on two red banners reads “COME TOGETHER REUNION CONCERT”. Smaller text on a blue banner below reads “FOR ONE NIGHT ONLY. THE O2, LONDON. ALL PROCEEDS GO TO THE MIAMI RELIEF FUND”

Huge thanks to @siriusmistake for compiling this transcript.

#the walk game #episode 1 #and the earth was... #the walk transcript