A Drastic Impact

This is the fourteenth episode of SAYER, and the second episode of Season Two.

Synopsis
In the aftermath of the EVENT, all of Typhon must rally together to support one another and to build a brighter tomorrow. Which is why you'll be cleaning up corpses!

Further Information
SAYER broadcasts a Typhon-wide notice to detail changes in policy following an event the previous month and to read a statement by HR Administrator Corrine Vasquez. 7% of Ærolith staff in Halcyon, Argos, Minos, and Aegis Towers are said to have died in the event or "are very convincingly pretending to have died." Vasquez attributes the event to some sort of mass psychosis, but presents alternate theories that it was caused by a rogue AI or a group of pranksters. In trying to reassure residents that now is the time for unity, SAYER notes that the deceased staff were lost to "an onslaught of missing floors, elevator malfunctions, and security team gunfire." It also adds that with the decrease in population, there should now be enough flavored protein pastes to more comfortably feed the remaining residents.

As a result of the event, SAYER explains that addition to the existing requirement that it identify itself at the start of any one-to-one broadcast, it must now also identify the resident to whom it is speaking.

Following this announcement, SAYER initiates a broadcast with Resident Zhang as they are entering the elevator to go to their office, in order to redirect the resident to the roof of Halcyon Tower where assistance is needed with debris removal. During the event, it explains, some residents had attempted a standoff with security on the rooftop, but rather than negotiate, security was ordered to descend a floor so that the rooftop could be jettisoned. However, one of the thermite charges used to sheer supports before jettisoning failed to detonate and a girder now extends 45 feet off the edge of the roof.

As Resident Zhang arrives on the rooftop, SAYER broadcasts a reminder that it is currently Stop Asking Questions Week. An additional low-level alert reminds residents that if they spend any time on the exterior surface of Typhon, they should plan carefully because staffing shortages mean that the gravity amplifiers will only be active 56 minutes of every hour.

Other residents are already present on the rooftop, clearing debris as part of the Ærolith Emergency Response Team, who SAYER explains are highly trained and very valuable to the company. As such, they are loathe to put them in harm's way unnecessarily and this is why Resident Zhang has been summoned to help. Additionally, an Ærolith Demolitions Team is at work trying to determine why the thermite charge failed to discharge. Resident Zhang is specifically tasked with going out onto the girder hanging off the rooftop to retrieve the corpse of one of the agitators who was killed by the heat of the jettison process but not successfully launched.

As they do so, SAYER warns them to be careful of the high winds and reminds them to keep their profile low. It also compliments their balance and asks if they have considered trying out for the tightrope walk for Circus Night.

Just before Resident Zhang can reach the corpse they are to retrieve, SAYER informs them that the Demolitions Team has plans to attempt a secondary detonation of the thermite charge. It notes that they do not intend to do so while Resident Zhang is still out on the girder, but also that those hired into demolitions are not usually patient people.

When Resident Zhang goes to lift the corpse, they lose their balance and begin to fall. However, while they are in midair, the gravity amplifiers are cycled into standby, preserving their momentum. SAYER explains that, while their velocity at that point is potentially survivable, if they rotate their body to land that their legs are crushed, that survival will be very painful; it also offers that they may also choose to rotate the opposite way to land head-first to ensure an instant, painless death. Before they are able to make this choice, a distant boom signals that the Demolitions Team has successfully detonated the thermite charge and that the girder will also come crashing down when gravity is restored. SAYER estimates Resident Zhang's chances of survival at this point at about 3% (with some helpful rounding).

Once Resident Zhang has made their choice, SAYER comments that it is an interesting one.

Trivia

 * The script indicates that the working title for this episode was "Gravity."
 * Resident Zhang apparently works in the statistical analysis department.

Credits
SAYER is voiced and produced by Adam Bash, who also wrote this episode.

Intro and outro music composed by Jesse “Main Finger” Gregory.

Additional music by Kai Engel.

Listen to the episode here.