"Yuri hasn't seen many rocks in gravity before. She's more familiar with spinning asteroid clusters, clouds of debris fragments--everything she encounters while hauling ships back to station for salvage. This planet's crags of limestone, or even the shining pebbles on the river bank, are completely new to her. 

Flux's ahead of Yuri on the trail. She's shed some of her humanoid form for convenience, and she's hauling most of their camping gear with her tentacles as she sets the pace. 

They've both fantasised about this trip for a year, planning it during their brief moments of downtime. It's the best they can do within their budget--a cheap camping trip on a secluded planet, somewhere they can sit and watch the sun move across the sky, see some stars from planetside for once. Even the leg cramps from the rough terrain seem worthwhile--a bit of physical pain is a small price to pay just to be away from work." 

Read while you listen: 
medium.com/alexandar-sound/the-preparation-for-a-dive-is-always-a-tense-time-2f50e936784c

released February 24, 2018 

Produced by Voislav Dimitrijevic 

Object_03 produced by Voislav and Marija Dimitrijevic 

Mastered by Saso Puckovski at Earworm Studio 

Artwork by Voislav Dimitrijevic 

Story idea by Voislav Dimitrijevic 

Story written by Audrina Lewis

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The preparation for a dive is always a tense time [AGOS001]

"Yuri hasn't seen many rocks in gravity before. She's more familiar with spinning asteroid clusters, clouds of debris fragments--everything she encounters while hauling ships back to station for salvage. This planet's crags of limestone, or even the shining pebbles on the river bank, are completely new to her."

Read while you listen:
https://medium.com/alexandar-sound/the-preparation-for-a-dive-is-always-a-tense-time-2f50e936784c

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Void - Object_01 [AGOS001]

"Hey, Ritt," Flux says, pulling up a seat at the counter of Rittenhouse's antique shop. "How's it hanging? Remember the camping trip you didn't go on?" 

[I'm not capable of remembering events I wasn't present for,] Rittenhouse says, using a sharper synth tone to emphasise his sarcasm. [So no.] "

Read while you listen:
https://medium.com/alexandar-sound/the-preparation-for-a-dive-is-always-a-tense-time-2f50e936784c

Void - Object_02 [AGOS001]

"Once Rittenhouse is safely inside the ship and checked for signs of damage, they open the golden cylinder. It's larger than usual, with many more items--while the past cylinders contained a single carved object, this one is packed to the brim with mementos and circular grooved disks. 

They listen to the sound file encoded on the cylinder's lid first. 

--and we spent years hand-picking planets, machining objects, coming to agreements, in the hope that someone would one day find our trail and learn what earth was like from our tales of it and the breadcrumbs we scattered. This was, to be honest, a foolish whim on our part. an illogical, selfish desire, a deliberate inconvenience for whoever found it. Even recording this now, I doubt that anyone--anything--will follow the trail we've laid. I half think that our words will never be passed on, and that the last memories of Earth will all die with us. Perhaps we deserve it, for the mess our kind made. "

Read while you listen:
https://medium.com/alexandar-sound/the-preparation-for-a-dive-is-always-a-tense-time-2f50e936784c

Void - Object_09 [AGOS001]

"The planet PX-34 is covered with the scars of orbital bombardment. Its terraformed buildings have mostly turned to glassy slag, with bits of scaffolding jutting out. It's not completely dead--some carapaced insects scuttle across the ground, and the croak of an avian lifeform can be heard in the distance. 

The coordinates specified a general location planetside, and all three of them are on the lookout within that radius, their handheld scanners configured to detect anything similar to the previous object. Rittenhouse steps through the ruins, gripping the scanner in his claw, primed for something to happen. "

Read while you listen:
https://medium.com/alexandar-sound/the-preparation-for-a-dive-is-always-a-tense-time-2f50e936784c

Void & Materia - Object_03 [AGOS001]

"Defragmentation cycles are unfortunately necessary during maintenance periods, and force Rittenhouse to reprocess memories that are best left buried in sub-sub-folders. Most of these are minor embarrassments--being upbraided in basic training for errors while taking inventory, unwittingly losing an auction by underbidding--but on occasion, one particular memory resurfaces. 

Rittenhouse remembers every moment of his last mission with Flux in the Jovian military in acute detail--the catastrophic hull breach, the sickening countdown that started in his head while watching the humanoid members of the crew succumb to uncontrolled decompression, wondering how long it would take for Flux to succumb as well, the relief he felt as she managed to warp her body enough to avoid death"

Read while you listen:
https://medium.com/alexandar-sound/the-preparation-for-a-dive-is-always-a-tense-time-2f50e936784c

Void - Object_08 [AGOS001]

"The Atlas is making the putt-putt-kchhhkk noise that means something's wrong, and Flux is busy grumbling in frustration while examining the jump wires. To be honest, Flux's been grumbling in frustration since Yuri and Rittenhouse discovered their mutual fandom of Star Odyssey and spent all night locked in a heated debate over its ending. 

"Ugh," Flux says, rooting through the driveblock with her tentacles. "This is gonna take, like, half a day minimum to fix."

Read while you listen:
https://medium.com/alexandar-sound/the-preparation-for-a-dive-is-always-a-tense-time-2f50e936784c

Void - Object_05 [AGOS001]

The trees in PN-606 are taller than megaships, and the deep grooves in their trunks remind Flux of wrinkles in aging skin. She reaches some tentacles out to gauge the diameter, but even at full extension she can't wrap them around half of a single tree. 

[Is that a hug?] 

"Do I look like the hugging sort? How long have these things been alive, anyway?" 

[A few millennia, judging by their height. This particular species of flora is capable of lasting for thousands of years without any intervention. If left undisturbed, no one is quite sure how large they could grow.]"

Read while you listen:
https://medium.com/alexandar-sound/the-preparation-for-a-dive-is-always-a-tense-time-2f50e936784c

Void - Object_07 [AGOS001]

"The plus side is that the cylinder is right there. They can see it in all its metallic glory, just waiting for them to take it. The carving's positioned next to it too--a large roly-poly animal, adorable in its own Earthian way. 

The minus side is that both of these things are located in the middle of the Lucky Loot casino, floating in an antigrav display case. The holosign next to it explains the history of the objects--a mysterious cylinder found decades ago by the casino's owner with a carving of an unknown animal inside it, believed to have been his good-luck charm when he made his way from rags to riches."

Read while you listen:
https://medium.com/alexandar-sound/the-preparation-for-a-dive-is-always-a-tense-time-2f50e936784c

Void - Object_06 [AGOS001]

"The object on PX-34 directs them to a sector within an ocean on the planet Panthalas. They've rented an aquacraft from a nearby beach resort, but they've been cruising for hours along the shallow coral reef and the detector hasn't even pinged once.

The only part of the sector they haven't investigated is the part where the reef drops off, where brilliant sun-dappled turquoise becomes empty blue water. There's no way the rental aquacraft can go further down without hull damage, and it's not like they have access to marine research equipment. "

Read while you listen:
https://medium.com/alexandar-sound/the-preparation-for-a-dive-is-always-a-tense-time-2f50e936784c