0:00

They say opposites attract. That's why the

0:02

sleep number smart bed is the best

0:04

bed for couples. You can each choose

0:06

what's right for you whenever you like.

0:08

You like a bed that feels firm,

0:10

but they want soft. Sleep number does

0:12

that. You want to sleep cooler while

0:15

they like to feel warm? Sleep

0:17

number does that too. Why

0:19

choose a sleep number smart

0:21

bed? So you can choose

0:23

your ideal comfort on either

0:25

side. And now it's the

0:27

lowest price of the season

0:29

on the top selling I-8

0:31

smartbed. Your best savings plus

0:33

special financing. Limited time, shop

0:35

a sleep number store near

0:37

you, see store or sleepnumber.com

0:39

for details. Hi everyone, it's

0:41

Billy the voice of Alice

0:43

in the Magnus Protocol here.

0:45

Today I'm here to advertise

0:48

High Night, a supernatural horror

0:50

podcast on the RQ network.

0:52

High Night is an atmospheric

0:54

analog-style horror audio drama featuring

0:56

folk horror mythology and chilling

0:58

supernatural terrors in an urban

1:00

setting. Follow Mari, a Filipino

1:02

immigrant in Toronto, who casually

1:04

handles supernatural threats like it's

1:06

just another Tuesday, using her

1:08

lived experience raised by her

1:10

Bub Island mother to save

1:12

the city from unimaginable horrors.

1:14

Heinrich is currently running a

1:16

mini fundraiser to finish and

1:18

release Act 3 of the

1:20

show. Funding includes rewards such

1:23

as unique art, insights into

1:25

the creation of the story,

1:27

dedications and more. Plus if

1:29

certain stretch goals are reached,

1:31

there will be bonus episodes

1:33

released. on to the feed.

1:35

If you want to support

1:37

High Night and its creators

1:39

until January the 31st, head

1:41

to rustyquil.com/fundraiser. Hi, we are

1:43

here to talk to you

1:45

about Sucra Bay. A perfumery

1:47

we love so much. They

1:49

have not one, but two

1:51

official the Magnus Archives perfumes.

1:53

One inspired by John and

1:55

Martin, and another inspired by

1:57

the mysterious ex-altiora, a book

2:00

from the library. of yurgen

2:02

lightner. Sucre Bay also make

2:04

official perfumes for our friends

2:06

over at all gods of

2:08

Appalachia, including... blood and bone

2:10

and unknown roads. You should

2:12

check them out. Sucra Bay

2:14

is a women-owned and operated

2:16

perfumery that is vegan and

2:18

cruelty-free. Witchy and sometimes irreverent.

2:20

Expect perfumes like, you're an

2:22

occult, call your dad, or

2:24

vodka and swearing, the ever-popular

2:26

chloroform, or... Papa's waffles. Superbé

2:28

do a range of exciting

2:30

and unique fragrances you won't

2:32

find anywhere else. They broadly

2:35

fit into the following five

2:37

categories. Classic sense that passed

2:39

the test of time. Goth

2:41

sense, for those who like

2:43

it dark and mysterious. Witchy

2:45

sense, that are mysterious and

2:47

potiony. Nurdie sense, for all

2:49

the self-professed nerds out there.

2:51

And fem sense. The classically

2:53

floral and sweet sense, but

2:55

we recommend them for any

2:57

one of any gender. Sucrebay

2:59

small batch perfumes are not

3:01

like any other. You can

3:03

find out more by going

3:05

to . rusticquil.com, that's rusticquel.com,

3:07

slash p-e-r-f-u-m-e. Also, you can

3:10

join the supportive and kind

3:12

sucrebay community with over 18,000

3:14

members on Facebook. At facebook.com,/groups,/sucrebay.

3:16

That's S-U-C-R-E-A-E-I-I-L-L-E. Canned

3:20

lights by Autumn Olson.

3:22

And you people can't

3:24

stand miracles, can you?

3:26

You people can't stand

3:29

miracles, can you? You

3:31

people can't stand miracles,

3:33

can you? You call

3:36

me a monster, you?

3:38

Sit there, ripping the

3:40

mysteries of this world

3:42

down to nothing but

3:45

mere molecules. You call

3:47

me a murderer. As

3:49

if you wouldn't split

3:51

an atom just to

3:54

see how far those

3:56

nuclear fireworks have fall

3:58

out spread. He's His

4:00

so scientists and government bureaucrats

4:03

are all the same. the

4:05

same. If anything, I should I

4:07

should be congratulated. How many How

4:09

many others could have survived year

4:11

after year in in that windowless

4:13

cubicle? Who Who else could

4:15

have maintained their humanity their humanity

4:17

as beneath the weight of

4:19

those beneath the weight of those blinking bleets

4:22

but you don't care about But you don't do care

4:24

about context, do you? Nah. never

4:26

ask never asked did what I did.

4:28

what I did? You just want to know

4:30

to know was done. was done. You

4:32

want to know how I

4:35

made how I of my of my co-workers disappear?

4:38

tell you you, of Of course I will. will.

4:41

because you need to know to know how

4:43

you know. know. To be

4:45

blunt, it was never my

4:48

to be blunt. save It was never

4:50

my intention to save that. like

4:52

that, first. not at first. that I

4:54

It's not that I didn't care for them. for them. No,

4:56

no, I'm No, I'm sure I did.

4:59

did. But how could anyone be

5:01

expected to feel anything while

5:03

crammed into those tiny,

5:05

windowless cubes? Was that supposed I supposed

5:07

to be the friend? Just just because we

5:09

were forced to work the same the weeks? weeks?

5:11

To to be served by their dulcet

5:14

as they took took call

5:16

call from neighbouring desks? Or perhaps you we

5:18

should have gone to lunch together gone

5:20

to of eating with our noses pressed

5:22

against computer screens from dawn till

5:25

dusk. screens from dawn till

5:27

dusk? Dawn till dusk! You

5:29

You already know how rarely I saw saw

5:31

the sun. Up hours hours before it rose

5:33

and bed hours after the a set.

5:35

Not that I missed the Not that

5:37

I missed the damn thing Even in that Even

5:40

in that I couldn't couldn't escape

5:42

those canned lights I went. I

5:44

went. The the burning of my

5:46

television, the the ceaseless

5:48

glare of sodium

5:50

lamps, the the computers, fluorescence,

5:53

at full, jaundicised tungsten of

5:55

of my at

5:57

all apartment. Oh

6:00

I wish I knew what I

6:02

had more. That yellow light

6:04

or the awful, crawling, clinging

6:06

cockroaches that scuttled over my

6:08

feet, even as I tried

6:10

to sleep. Only the damned

6:12

Tungsten's kept them from coming

6:14

out. But I could hear

6:16

them. I could hear them

6:18

from any spot in the

6:20

apartment, in the walls, the

6:23

pipes, the floor, lurking on

6:25

the periphery. What torture. to

6:27

want to rest, to sleep,

6:29

to simply close my eyes,

6:31

yet to know that that

6:33

moment I turned off the

6:35

lights would be the moment

6:37

they came creeping out. I

6:39

learned how meaningless time was

6:41

back then. We give time,

6:43

a face and hands, build

6:45

it in our likeness to

6:48

make ourselves its master. Yet,

6:50

show me a body of

6:52

time. Show me a hair

6:54

or fingernail or any fistful

6:56

of physical fragments you think

6:58

you can conjure. Nah, when

7:00

you live in existence like

7:02

that, you learn how pointless

7:04

the concept really is. Seven

7:06

day work weeks, sleepless nights,

7:08

nice. Seasons without sun render

7:10

seconds obsolete. So, of course,

7:12

I couldn't tell you when

7:15

exactly I performed my first

7:17

miracle. I know that I

7:19

had only just arrived at

7:21

my apartment and flipped on

7:23

the switch to find that

7:25

those filthy cockroaches had inched

7:27

further across the counters and

7:29

floor than ever before, as

7:31

the light flooded the room,

7:33

they turned to find the

7:35

way back to their drains

7:37

and hiding places, to wait

7:40

at the edge of my

7:42

consciousness. I'm not entirely sure

7:44

what triggered it. I think

7:46

it might have been that

7:48

I was finally more disgusted

7:50

with myself than the cockroaches.

7:52

I was nothing more than

7:54

an automaton at work and

7:56

lived at the leisure of

7:58

insects at home. You

8:01

asked me earlier if I was

8:03

human. I asked myself the same

8:05

thing at that moment. If I

8:08

was human, then why was that

8:10

worth less than a handful of

8:13

insects? If I was human, why

8:15

did my pencil pushing job burn

8:17

through more bodies in an abattoir?

8:20

But honestly, I think I just

8:22

wanted to claim something as my

8:25

own. So what if those cockroach

8:27

just won my apartment? Even if

8:29

they infested everything around me, at

8:32

least I'd have myself again. So

8:34

yeah, maybe I'm not a human.

8:37

Maybe no one is... Maybe what

8:39

makes us human is not a

8:41

mastery of light, but a free

8:44

will to deny it. And I'm

8:46

guessing you know what choice I

8:49

made. I still remember the relief

8:51

I felt as I turned off

8:53

the switch that... Get a roller

8:56

coaster drop of anticipation as I

8:58

plunged into the pitch. That was

9:01

when the miracle first occurred. That

9:03

was when the darkness breathed. Did

9:05

you know cockroaches can scream? They

9:08

don't have vocal cords, so I

9:10

suppose technically it's not a scream.

9:12

But heard the shrieks they made.

9:15

If you heard the pops of

9:17

their bodies as that pressure pushed

9:20

inwards, then you would know some

9:22

things do not need. vocal cords

9:24

to scream. I'm ashamed to say

9:27

I panicked that first time. You

9:29

have to understand, I had never

9:32

encountered a miracle like that before.

9:34

I flipped the switch to see

9:36

what had happened and the screaming

9:39

stopped. There was nothing left of

9:41

the vermin but their track marks,

9:44

which had come to dead ends

9:46

as though they had suddenly evaporated

9:48

and the blissful, absolute silence they

9:51

left in their absence. Your

9:54

colleagues who were here beforehand, the ones in

9:56

the lab coats, they asked me why the

9:58

windows of MAPA. were were boarded

10:00

up. up. Now do you they

10:02

understand, How could I risk the risk

10:04

the street or stars

10:06

polluting my darkness? I

10:09

spent my spent my nights

10:11

light -proofing my apartment, my preparing

10:13

for the return of

10:15

that miraculous the return of that miraculous dark,

10:17

and I waited. Yeah, as the the

10:19

weeks went on. on, I I began

10:21

to question my miracle. Not

10:24

whether or not it happened.

10:26

happened. I it did. did. Cockroach returned.

10:29

returned. I wondered why had

10:31

I taken them? Those

10:33

disgusting and things and not

10:36

me. been Why had they

10:38

been carried from this

10:40

awful world while I had

10:42

been I'd over? there in that mundane

10:44

black of of my apartment

10:46

night after night, waiting wondering asking

10:48

for the living darkness to

10:50

come back for me. to

10:53

come back for me. I

10:55

didn't. didn't, and I I wouldn't, Not

10:57

until I went into the

10:59

the streets and searched till I

11:01

found a cockroach on the

11:03

sidewalk, the a cockroach that

11:05

tickled my my and pressed against

11:08

my fingers as I returned

11:10

to my apartment, returned to a cockroach

11:12

that screamed when I turned

11:14

off the lights. off the lights.

11:16

I'd never I had never planned to

11:18

introduce my miracle to another human. At

11:21

the time, time, I I was content

11:23

to feed it the filth I

11:25

could I could. and to bask in its

11:27

embrace. It was a

11:29

solace, a and those those terrible

11:31

eternal days of work. not sure

11:34

if still not sure if

11:36

that dark was something I

11:38

summoned, or a manifestation of

11:40

my feelings my it, within it. think

11:43

it matters. think I was

11:45

convinced I was the only the

11:47

only understand ever

11:50

that I had been chosen, been

11:52

blessed Blessed somehow. and and that

11:54

to share be to condemn

11:56

myself to the investigations of

11:59

people like you. I know now that

12:01

was arrogance. To keep this gift

12:03

to myself required the degree of

12:05

selfishness I simply wasn't capable of.

12:07

All I needed was a final

12:10

push to see that. A push.

12:12

It came in the form of

12:14

my boss. It was another sunless

12:16

day. Same as all the others.

12:18

When my boss announced that we

12:21

would have to work yet another

12:23

crunch week. that despite our days,

12:25

months, years of overtime, we had

12:27

still not hit our quota, that

12:29

we were behind on deadlines, that

12:32

time was money, and that if

12:34

we had weekend plans, then we

12:36

better take a few minutes to

12:38

cancel them. He didn't even look

12:40

when the woman next made Jen,

12:43

I think her name was, broke

12:45

down sobbing right then and there.

12:47

I think she missed her son's

12:49

birthday. How can you just sit

12:51

there? How can you feel nothing?

12:54

You look at me like I'm

12:56

the monster when I saved them

12:58

from their suffering. Do you know

13:00

what it's like to be a

13:02

gear screaming and screeching as the

13:05

machine goes faster and faster, knowing

13:07

that the moment that you are

13:09

grounded us, you'll simply be replaced

13:11

with a newer, quieter cog. And

13:13

for what? Hmm? I may be

13:16

a monster, but at least I'm

13:18

not a machine. I saved them.

13:20

I saved them all from being

13:22

crushed in the cogs of a

13:24

world that couldn't care less about

13:27

them anyways. None of them even

13:29

gave a damn when I hit

13:31

the first light switch or the

13:33

second. They were all so sapped

13:35

of life from the constant monotomy

13:38

of those screens. Only when I

13:40

hit the third, did someone shout

13:42

that they needed it to keep

13:44

working. And by the fourth, I

13:46

had to click, click, click, click.

13:49

of a switch as someone tried

13:51

to wrestle the light back into

13:53

the room. The man came. fifth.

13:55

I was I was

13:57

grateful for the

14:00

first time ever

14:02

that that place

14:04

had no Still, no

14:06

one really seemed to care. really seemed

14:08

to care, first breath the first

14:10

breath of sniffed the computer screams

14:12

out like candles, out like not

14:14

till the sounds of popping

14:16

began. sounds of popping began. I'm

14:19

not sure where they were pulled to.

14:21

to, or if if they properly fit,

14:23

but but they stop screaming after

14:25

a while. a while. I didn't understand.

14:28

I knew knew they were suffering as much

14:30

as me, so so were they afraid? If

14:33

If they just stayed calm, they wouldn't have

14:35

needed to be dragged away like that. to

14:37

be They had been chosen to

14:39

go to a place been could

14:41

only dream of, a place place

14:43

I longed to follow them to,

14:46

I longed to follow I know now I

14:48

know is not my job to

14:50

follow or to understand. or

14:52

to It is my job. is

14:54

my job to lead. to to help

14:56

others reach the salvation I

14:58

desire I to join them

15:00

when my task is complete. is

15:03

complete. long did you say

15:05

those lights those lights were minutes minutes

15:08

seconds. seconds. strange it

15:10

is to to a miracle

15:12

to the mere to

15:14

of a clock. of

15:16

a clock. But That was all

15:19

the time I needed. time I needed. their

15:21

fear, fear, I finally let

15:23

themselves be saved. There

15:26

was no trace of them when

15:28

the lights came back. the Only

15:30

those scratches on the walls and

15:33

floors in the dragged and bits of

15:35

blood with their fingernails been dragged and bits of

15:37

blood with to answer your earlier question,

15:39

So, no. To answer were found because there

15:41

was nothing to nobody's No one

15:43

was ever in any danger. to find. No

15:46

one are you so angry? danger. What

15:48

did I do wrong? What did I wrong?

15:50

I wanted to help, to save help,

15:52

to from this life, life. because nothing

15:54

but pain. but pain. Why can't I

15:56

make any of you see

15:59

that? you see that? Why? are you making that

16:01

face? that face? Even if if I them

16:03

to them to that as you say, is

16:05

that really any worse than feeding

16:07

them to the cold, lifeless machine that

16:09

you call the cold, lifeless Is that what

16:11

humanity is to you? I'd

16:14

rather be a monster with a

16:16

heart than a human with none.

16:18

I'd rather be a hate me. a heart Fine.

16:21

with know this. hate me. Fine. We

16:23

I will. I will the other

16:25

cheek. cheek. Even if you do

16:27

not understand me. me. Maybe

16:29

one day day learn

16:31

that understanding is all

16:33

irrelevant all Miracles

16:35

can only ever occur in

16:38

the dark. occur in the And

16:40

one day, if you accept

16:42

that, accept if you repent, repent,

16:44

then make sure to shatter

16:46

your windows and turn off

16:48

the lights. and turn off the I'm

16:50

feeling merciful, then maybe, maybe

16:53

maybe, maybe, I'll come to

16:55

save you you too. The

17:06

Magnus Protocol is a

17:08

podcast distributed by Rusty by Rusty

17:10

licensed under a Creative

17:12

Commons a Creative Commons Attribution 4 .0 share-alike

17:15

4.0 To subscribe, To materials,

17:17

or join our Patreon, visit

17:19

or join.com. visit Rusty online, tweet

17:21

us review us visit us on

17:24

Facebook, the or email us

17:26

via mail on Facebook or.com. Mail at

17:28

Rusty quill.com. for listening. Hi,

17:41

we are we are here to

17:43

talk to you about Sucrebet,

17:45

a a perfumery we love

17:47

so much. have have not one,

17:50

but two the The Magnus

17:52

Archives perfumes. One inspired by and

17:54

Martin, and another inspired by

17:56

the mysterious Ex-Alto-Eora, a a book

17:58

from the the of Jurgen Lightner.

18:00

Sucrebet also make... official perfumes for

18:02

our friends over at Old

18:04

Gods of at Old including blood

18:06

and bone and blood and bone and

18:08

You should check them out.

18:10

should is a out. -owned and

18:12

operated perfumery and is vegan and

18:14

cruelty that is vegan sometimes irreverent. Witchy

18:16

Expect perfumes like, you're in

18:18

a cult, call your you're

18:20

or cult, your swearing, the ever -popular

18:22

the ever popular or or waffles. Sucra do

18:24

a range of exciting and

18:26

unique fragrances you won't find

18:28

anywhere else. else. They broadly fit the

18:30

following five categories. Classic

18:32

sense that the test of time, time.

18:34

Goth scents for those who like

18:36

it dark and mysterious, witchy

18:38

scents that are mysterious and

18:41

Nurdie nerdy scents for all

18:43

the self -professed nerds out there,

18:45

and fem scents, the classically

18:47

floral and sweet scents, but

18:49

we recommend them for anyone

18:51

of any gender. Sucre small

18:53

batch perfumes are like any other.

18:55

other. You can find out

18:57

more by going to out more by

18:59

going to W.W.w. Rustyquil.com forward slash

19:01

P -E -R -F -U -M -E. Also,

19:04

you can join the

19:06

supportive and kind Sukhrabay community

19:08

with over 18 ,000 members

19:10

on Facebook at facebook.com

19:12

forward slash groups forward slash

19:15

Sukhrabay. That's S -U -C -R

19:17

-E. That's S.U. L

19:19

L E. E. I. L.E. They

19:21

say They say opposites

19:23

attract. That's why the sleep number is

19:25

the best bed for couples. for You

19:27

can each choose what's right for you

19:29

right you like. You like a bed

19:31

that feels firm, but they want

19:33

soft. they Sleep number does that. You

19:35

want to sleep cooler to they like

19:37

to feel warm? they like to feel does

19:40

that too. Why choose a

19:42

choose a sleep number so you

19:44

can choose your ideal comfort

19:46

on either side. And now

19:48

it's the lowest price of

19:50

the season on the top the

19:52

top selling I-8 smart your best savings

19:54

plus special financing. limited time shop

19:56

a sleep number store near

19:58

you, see store or sleep number.com for Hi everyone,

20:00

it's Billy the voice of Alice

20:02

in the Magnus Protocol here. Today

20:05

I'm here to advertise High Night,

20:07

a supernatural horror podcast on the

20:10

RQ network. High Night is an

20:12

atmospheric analog style horror audio drama

20:14

featuring folk horror mythology

20:16

and chilling supernatural in

20:19

an urban setting. Follow Mari, a

20:21

a Filipina immigrant in

20:23

Toronto, who handles supernatural threats

20:25

like just another Tuesday, using

20:28

her lived experience raised by

20:30

her Island mother save the

20:32

city from unimaginable horrors. Heinai is

20:34

is currently running. fundraiser

20:36

to to finish and release of the

20:38

show. of the show. Funding includes

20:41

rewards, such as insights the insights

20:43

into the creation of the story,

20:45

and more. Plus if certain if goals are reached, are

20:47

reached, there will be episodes released.

20:49

on to the feed. If If

20:51

you want to support

20:53

High High Night creators creators until January

20:55

head to head.com forward

20:57

slash fundraiser.