PALISADE 42: A Mechanical Whine Pt. 4
Friends at the Table22 Maalis 2024

PALISADE 42: A Mechanical Whine Pt. 4

This episode carries content warnings for discussion of death, imprisonment, slavery, medical experimentation, and mind control.

In the depths of the Temple of the Threshold, a moment passes, a hero dies, and the world begins to change. But Thisbe, Cori, and Brnine—standing in the heart of Exanceaster March's most advanced research facility—don't know that yet. But they do hear it coming.

A mechanical whine in the air is about to become something else. Unfinished plans will be pushed into action. Tomorrow will come, faster for some than others. And life on Palisade will change forever.

This week on PALISADE: A Mechanical Whine Pt. 4

Moon river / wider than a mile / I'm crossing you in style some day

Dossier People

Telford Stare (he/they): One of several foremen tied to the Lone Marble Group's contractor operations division.

Crysanth Kesh (she/her): Mother of Clementine (a.k.a. The Witch in Glass). Once, third in line to the throne of Kesh and de facto leader of the Curtain of Divinity, the predecessor to the Bilateral Intelligence Service. Now dead.

Organizations

The Frontier Syndicate: A powerful conglomerate with a broad purview, including technology, heavy industry, entertainment, telecommunications, and transportation. Led by Exenceaster March (he/him), the Syndicate betrayed the Pact of Free States and joined the Bilats in order to be part of their colonization efforts on Palisade. Developed the Altar, the predominant war machine of the current era.

The Lone Marble Group: Built around a single artifact recovered from an Advent facility, this Frontier Syndicate subsidiary develops the future of Bilat war machinery.

The Church of Received Asterism: The most widely practiced faith in the galaxy, and one of the earliest major organizations in the Divine Principality, created at the beginning of the Miraculous Millenium, over 3000 years ago. Teaches that Divines, the immortal machines and mechs that helped establish the Principality's hold on the galaxy, reflect the best aspects of the state itself. The divine Strength, in other words, is like a living flag of the Principality's own strength. Organized as a central church, led by a religious leader named a "Cycle," whose will is enacted across the Principality by their many "Songs," who rule worlds, star systems, or sometimes entire constellations.

The Church of Progressive Asterism: Created as the teachings of the prophet Logos Kantel grew in popularity 1000 years ago, and made a secondary state religion in order to prevent a large schism. Teaches that Divines are true embodiments of their names, and that the citizens and states of the Principality should look to them as guiding stars. The Divine Strength, in other words, is a reflection of strength itself, or maybe "god's strength," and we should aspire to make our strength look like the divine's. Unlike Received Asterism, there is no single central church, but hundreds of smaller sects, schools, and cults, each devoted to individual Divines, grouped sub-pantheons, or otherwise adjusted beliefs.

The New Asterism: What was once a schism between Received and Progressive Asterism has now been healed by the false prophet Gur Sevraq (he/they), or at least someone in his name and face. The New Asterism claims that to be a citizen of the Principality is to have an obligation to "better the world," in the sense that one invests in property or in the way that a settler "rehabilitates" or "improves" the places they claim by violence. If Received Asterism places virtue in the state and Progressive Asterism places it in the Divines, the New Asterism places it in the Principality's mythologized point of origin: The Twilight Mirage.

Fabreal Duchy: When the Divine Principality left Palisade nearly 5,000 years ago, they left behind a Duke and his barons as caretakers. In the generations that followed, they ruled as petty tyrants, creating Delegates as their slaves, remaking their bodies into glass and oil, and extending their reach across Palisade's continents. Though they officially report to their handlers in Stel Kesh, recently they have begun to wonder if things were better before the Principality's return to Palisade.

The Divine Collaborate: A successor state to the once vast Autonomous Diaspora, the Divine Collaborate wsa an eternally ad-hoc and temporary alliance of Divines, their pilots, and those under their protection. Defeated by the Divine Principality at the climax of the Divine Clash. In her original home timeline, Perennial belonged to some version of the Collaborate.

Places

Bontive Valley: Blessed by the departed divine Bounty, the Valley provides the Bilats with fruit that never rots and hyper-nutritional grain.

Temple of the Threshold: Built at the center of a massive bridge that crosses the Diadem, this serves as the home of New Asterism and its false prophet,

The Twilight Mirage: Created over 5000 years ago by what was then the Divine Empyrean in an effort to protect the Divine Fleet, of which they were a member. The Mirage is a false nebula that obscures the position of its inhabitants both visually and by distorting time and space. Inside, there is now a vibrant and peaceful culture that spans eight planets, orbiting a dark and living Divine sun.

Objects

FS-N Dais: One of the Altars competing in the tournament, piltoed by Zjenta Zjarule (she/they). Utilizes a special glass originally from the Twilight Mirage.

AdArm Jury: The Jury is the future of AdArm machines. As the first design which fully moves beyond the platforms of the previous generation, it's a startling diversion from the bulky and boxy designs that the company is known for. In fact, the actual "unit" is only the cockpit, around which the rest of the Jury forms using concentrated Perennial Wave Material (PWM). Gone is the old LCD "eye," replaced by a full pixel "face" that can send complex, laser-based communications silently to any other AdArm unit that can see it, as well as display iconographic messages to anyone nearby. A close study of the machine's curved and ovaline elements suggests that it has much in common with the Motion's Demiurgos design that AdArm salvaged as it does with the company's previous designs…

AdArm Cast: This surveillance hollow, mostly used by Stel Nideo in the pre-Kalmeria Era, features angelic (and grotesque) features and focuses on observation, surveilliance, and communications.

EDICT System: The Electronic Divine Interface and Control Technology System was originally deployed during the Divine Clash, over 2400 years ago. Requires a great deal of power to activate, and needs to be transported by multiple large trucks, but when it is used, it can badly disrupt Divine activity--at least most of the time. There are many theories as to which Divines are affected and why, with many believing it is determined by provenance or era of Divine, some internal system of the EDICT itself, or even the current condition of the Perennial Wave.

Divines

The Divine Future (they/them, it/its): An ancient divine, dating back to the second major war in the Golden Branch star sector. Exists in the form of golden orb slightly larger than a softball or bocce ball, which can either be carried by or hover around its Elect. Historically, it has been bidden to share its unparalleled perspective on the hopes and dreams of its chosen (and the endless vigor with which to pursue those goals).

The Divine Resonance (it/its): The watchful guardian, doting caregiver, and ardent supporter of Nideo's colonial efforts on Palisade.

The Divine Integrity (it/its): Sometimes appearing as an articulated staff or a metallic spine, Integrity integrates itself into its chosen user. Once the two are connected, Integrity becomes a powerful exoskeleton, and supports its user in matters of military and morale. Until being assassinated by Brnine, Dahlia, the Glorious Princept, was the elect of Integrity. Now, it has found a new home in Thisbe.

The Divine Motion (she/her): One of the founding members of the Pact, the necromantic Apostolosian divine once led its infamous retinue, the Black Century, on Partizan. They were defeated and dispersed, turned into part of Kalmeria, during Operation Shackled Sun.

The Divine Opposition: One of many divines detained and experimented on by the nascent Divine Principality thousands of years ago, eventually becoming a source for the Fabreal Duchy's Delegates.

Mysteries

Axioms: Once, these beings were made by a so-called "Post-Divine" as embodiments of particular ideals, supposedly detached from mortal perspective or subjectivity. Today, the vast majority of them are the emanation of one woman's ideals, given perfect, violent form.

Ebullience (it/its): An axiom retrieved by the Lone Marble Group. It holds a rounded, liquid metal form and moves with impossible to exhaust energy.

Perennial (she/her): The Principality's so-called 'adversary,' who lives at the center of the galaxy and whose chaotic whims spread through her "Perennial Wave," an ever-present nanoparticle that has bonded with elements of Autonomy Itself and the Divine Motion to create Kalmeria.

Hosted by Austin Walker (@austin_walker)

Featuring Janine Hawkins (@bleatingheart) Sylvi Bullet (@sylvibullet), Ali Acampora (@ali_west), Art Martinez-Tebbel (@atebbel), Jack de Quidt (@notquitereal), Keith J Carberry (@keithjcarberry) and Andrew Lee Swan (@swandre3000)

Produced by Ali Acampora

Music by Jack de Quidt (available on bandcamp)

Text by Austin Walker

Cover Art by by aurahack (aurahack.jp)

With thanks to Amelia Renee, Arthur B., Bill Kaszubski, Cassie Jones, chocoube, Daniel Laloggia, DB, deepFlaw, Edwin Adelsberger, Emrys, fen, Greg Cobb, Ian O'Dea, Ian Urbina, Irina A., Jack Shirai, Jake Strang, Katie Diekhaus, Ken George, Konisforce, Kristina Harris Esq, L Tantivy, Mike & Ruby, Muna A, Nich Maragos, Olive Perry, Quinn Pollock, Robert Lasica, Shawn Drape, Shawn Hall, Summer Rose, TeganEden, Thomas Whitney, Voi, and weakmint for their support

We are playing Armour Astir: Advent with additional playbooks from Strangers in the Night and 106th Astir Squadron. If you enjoy the show, consider supporting the TTRPG.

This episode was made with support from listeners like you! To support us, you can go to friendsatthetable.cash.

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Twilight Mirage 53: Our Flaws in a Vacuum, or the Promise We Made To Each Other

Twilight Mirage 53: Our Flaws in a Vacuum, or the Promise We Made To Each Other

Despite the faux-mornings and would-be-nights, the sun never rises or sets over the Quire system. Yet today, in the moments between light and darkness, the air hangs too quiet, the way it only does at dawn and dusk. As Fourteen Fifteen guards the scientist and artist Wind's Poem in a well-barricaded hotel room, Tender Sky goes to convince her ex, Open Metal, not to kill the Notion's Ward. Meanwhile, miles and miles away, Morning's Observation and Grand Magnificent search for answers in the floating allocology of the Church of the Self. Dark Day is here. But will it arrive, or be finally diverted? This week on Friends at the Table: Our Flaws in a Vacuum, or the Promise We Made To Each Other Click-clicking my heels wishing away the day Wish it could have been Tuesday, just not today Hosted by Austin Walker (@austin_walker) Featuring Ali Acampora (@ali_west), Art Martinez-Tebbel (@atebbel), Jack de Quidt (@notquitereal) Produced by Ali Acampora (@ali_west) Cover Art by Craig Sheldon (@shoddyrobot) A transcription is available for this episode here.A full list of completed transcriptions is available here. Our transcriptions are provided by a fan-organized paid transcription project. If you'd like to join, you can get more information at https://twitter.com/transcript_fatt. Thank you to all of our transcribers!!

25 Touko 20182h 23min

Twilight Mirage 52: The Second Miracle

Twilight Mirage 52: The Second Miracle

As the axiom Ache strikes from above, the Notion joins Acre-7 in trying to end the conflict so Quire can perform a second miracle. Gig Kephart, desperate for some additional help, makes a decision that results in painful consequences. Echo Reverie makes a move, at last, on a dangerous foe, and the planet Quire leaves its mark on them, while Signet is caught between her past and present loyalties. And, in the heart of the Wound, Even Gardner witnesses something remarkable take shape. This week on Twilight Mirage: The Second Miracle You kneel down to the dry land Kiss the Earth that birthed you Gave you tools just to stay alive And make it up when the sun is ruined Hosted by Austin Walker (@austin_walker) Featuring Janine Hawkins (@bleatingheart) Sylvi Clare (@captaintrash), Keith J Carberry (@keithjcarberry) and Andrew Lee Swan (@swandre3000) Produced by Ali Acampora (@ali_west) Music by Jack de Quidt Cover Art by Craig Sheldon (@shoddyrobot) A transcription is available for this episode here.A full list of completed transcriptions is available here. Our transcriptions are provided by a fan-organized paid transcription project. If you'd like to join, you can get more information at https://twitter.com/transcript_fatt. Thank you to all of our transcribers!!

18 Touko 20181h 33min

Twilight Mirage 51: Open As Possible

Twilight Mirage 51: Open As Possible

With the prophesied "Dark Day" less than 24 hours away, the Notion continue their plan to intercede and stop the murder of Wind's Poem, one of the event's potential catalysts. Grand Magnificent and Fourteen Fifteen look for loopholes (legal and otherwise) that will give them access to the Compel Project blueprint. And while Tender Sky tries to convince their mark to come under the group's protection, Morning's Observation senses a threat to his boring life of simple Tuesdays. This week on Twilight Mirage: Open As Possible Forgot to tell you, gotta tell you how much I vibe with you Hosted by Austin Walker (@austin_walker) Featuring Ali Acampora (@ali_west), Art Martinez-Tebbel (@atebbel), Jack de Quidt (@notquitereal) Produced by Ali Acampora (@ali_west) Cover Art by Craig Sheldon (@shoddyrobot) A transcription is available for this episode here.A full list of completed transcriptions is available here. Our transcriptions are provided by a fan-organized paid transcription project. If you'd like to join, you can get more information at https://twitter.com/transcript_fatt. Thank you to all of our transcribers!!

10 Touko 20181h 47min

Twilight Mirage 50: A Very Old Mistake

Twilight Mirage 50: A Very Old Mistake

Across the threshold into the Vale's deepest fog, The Notion is finally sets their sights on their target, Acre-7, as well as the axiom Ache, who brings with it visions of their deepest regrets. As Ache tears through the earth in the distance, the group travels with two uneasy companions, Saint Wynter and Advent agent Gigas, towards Acre-7 to get answers and offer support before focusing on the combat around them. Even Gardner does his best to keep the peace with Wynter and Gigas, and Gig Kephart (despite his initial indignation) ends up helping more than hindering. Echo Reverie tries to find a loophole to protect the group without upsetting an already distressed Quire, and Signet turns to her vast archives to help solve her own corner of the crisis. This week on Twilight Mirage: A Very Old Mistake So many pages I wrote, wish I could revise them Hosted by Austin Walker (@austin_walker) Featuring Janine Hawkins (@bleatingheart) Sylvi Clare (@captaintrash), Keith J Carberry (@keithjcarberry) and Andrew Lee Swan (@swandre3000) Produced by Ali Acampora (@ali_west) Music by Jack de Quidt Cover Art by Craig Sheldon (@shoddyrobot) A transcription is available for this episode here.A full list of completed transcriptions is available here. Our transcriptions are provided by a fan-organized paid transcription project. If you'd like to join, you can get more information at https://twitter.com/transcript_fatt. Thank you to all of our transcribers!!

5 Touko 20181h 57min

Twilight Mirage 49: Bona Fide, Good Faith

Twilight Mirage 49: Bona Fide, Good Faith

Determined to prevent two murders predicted by Crystal Palace, the Notion heads to one of Skein's allocologies, a floating, all-in-one corporate campus. Their plan? Infiltrate the lab of Wind's Poem, one of the potential victims, by pretending to be the inventors of a solid-milk-based art startup. While Tender and Poem talk about passion projects, Fourteen Fifteen and Grand Magnificent try to locate the blueprint to a terrible weapon. This week on Twilight Mirage: Bona Fide, Good Faith Now I'm in the lab, always working late Hosted by Austin Walker (@austin_walker) Featuring Ali Acampora (@ali_west), Art Martinez-Tebbel (@atebbel), Jack de Quidt (@notquitereal) Produced by Ali Acampora (@ali_west) Cover Art by Craig Sheldon (@shoddyrobot) A transcription is available for this episode here.A full list of completed transcriptions is available here. Our transcriptions are provided by a fan-organized paid transcription project. If you'd like to join, you can get more information at https://twitter.com/transcript_fatt. Thank you to all of our transcribers!!

28 Huhti 20182h

Twilight Mirage 48: This Place Pushes Back

Twilight Mirage 48: This Place Pushes Back

After careful planning, the Notion covertly breaches the outer perimeter of the Vale, bypassing the dronefield of Saint Wynter... only to have a bumbling team of Advent Group agents set the alarm off. After retreating, the group find its bearings and begins to moves through the overgrown city, a strange echo of an alternate Quire. The group meets a stranger in need, but before he can be fully aided, Saint Wynter comes into sight, looking to stop the intruders. Echo Reverie leads the group deeper into the Vale (and away from her approach), while Gig Kep-hart and Even Gardner aim to distract and confront the oncoming threat. Signet, as is her way, searches for an alternate solution. This week on Twilight Mirage: This Place Pushes Back And I don't like to fight 'til I'm fighting Revenge in the air make my lungs sick Hosted by Austin Walker (@austin_walker) Featuring Janine Hawkins (@bleatingheart) Sylvi Clare (@captaintrash), Keith J Carberry (@keithjcarberry) and Andrew Lee Swan (@swandre3000) Produced by Ali Acampora (@ali_west) Cover Art by Craig Sheldon (@shoddyrobot) A transcription is available for this episode here.A full list of completed transcriptions is available here. Our transcriptions are provided by a fan-organized paid transcription project. If you'd like to join, you can get more information at https://twitter.com/transcript_fatt. Thank you to all of our transcribers!!

20 Huhti 20181h 46min

Twilight Mirage 47: Uncontrolled Fires

Twilight Mirage 47: Uncontrolled Fires

As half of the Notion explores the jungle valleys of Skein, the others descend to Terncage, the planet's largest metropolis. A pair of old allies tells the group that a mysterious calamity called "Dark Day" is nearing, and that the Rapid Evening's oracular Crystal Palace has predicted that it will follow a pair of strange murders. The predicted victims are Wind's Poem--the artist and researcher responsible for Tender's ReFrame system--and Profit's Cadence--the new leader of the Church of the Self, which is rapidly spreading through the New Earth Hegemony. Complicating things further, both are killed by a prototype gun that threatens the peace that Quire established during the Miracle. Tender Sky leads the crew into a meeting with an old contact who knows a thing or two about weapons. Grand Magnificent bumps into a rival from his time on in the space trucking lanes. And Fourteen Fifteen frets as they consider the consequences of meddling with the future. This week on Twilight Mirage: Uncontrolled Fires It forever seemed like time's up When we swerved in the Honda Now forever seems like no time I mean time flies when you have some Hosted by Austin Walker (@austin_walker) Featuring Ali Acampora (@ali_west), Art Martinez-Tebbel (@atebbel), Jack de Quidt (@notquitereal) Produced by Ali Acampora (@ali_west) Cover Art by Craig Sheldon (@shoddyrobot) A transcription is available for this episode here.A full list of completed transcriptions is available here. Our transcriptions are provided by a fan-organized paid transcription project. If you'd like to join, you can get more information at https://twitter.com/transcript_fatt. Thank you to all of our transcribers!!

13 Huhti 20181h 54min

Twilight Mirage 46: Every Time We Leave, It Changes

Twilight Mirage 46: Every Time We Leave, It Changes

Deep in the jungles and mountains of the planet of Skein, far from the NEH metropolises, scientists from across cultures have come together to form Ternion Research. Their chief object of study is the Wound, a massive gash in the planet's surface that comes to its deepest point in a place called the Vale, which may be home to the consciousness of the world-being Quire. The three subgroups of Ternion—defector explorers from the Ever Forward, creators from the former Crown university called the Garden, and the gene-modifying scientists of the Skein—maintain cool relations, though, and a recent disruption—in the form of Acre Seven—risks destabilizing not only Ternion, but also the Wound itself. Now, the Notion has been called in to retrieve their old ally before it is too late. Even confronts an old rival, Echo and Gig dig into the data for more information, and Signet reaches across time and space in search of clues. This week on Twilight Mirage: Every Time We Leave, It Changes Forest green Forest blues I'm remembering you Hosted by Austin Walker (@austin_walker) Featuring Janine Hawkins (@bleatingheart) Sylvi Clare (@captaintrash), Keith J Carberry (@keithjcarberry) and Andrew Lee Swan (@swandre3000) Produced by Ali Acampora (@ali_west) Cover Art by Craig Sheldon (@shoddyrobot) A transcription is available for this episode here.A full list of completed transcriptions is available here. Our transcriptions are provided by a fan-organized paid transcription project. If you'd like to join, you can get more information at https://twitter.com/transcript_fatt. Thank you to all of our transcribers!!

6 Huhti 20182h 6min

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