Unplaced (the podcast)

(ding of audio recording starting, ambient city noise in background)

RASHIDA: This is probably nothing, but maybe it’s not. I wanted to be recording, just in case.

So, I’ve mentioned those symbols before — you know the drill. I’ll see them painted on a wall, they look months or years old, but I know they aren’t, because I just patrolled that alley a week ago. It feels like they’re everywhere lately, but I can’t tell if there’s actually any more of them, or if I’m just more vigilant than I used to be. That log I started of when and where I see them is coming in handy, at least — I know that I am seeing more of them, and I know when they’re new.

Anyways, the reason I started recording is because I saw another one. But it’s...something new. Not just the design of the symbol itself, but the way it looks. You know those old Magic Eye illusions, the ones where you had to slightly cross your eyes and then relax your gaze, and if you did it just right while holding the book at the right angle, you’d be able to see the image in 3D?

It’s kind of like that. If I look at it out of the corner of my eye, it almost looks like it’s shimmering, or hovering over the wall. But as soon as I look at it too closely, it goes flat. It just looks like normal graffiti...except it hurts my eyes a little to look at it.

(sound of footsteps)

It’s odd, too, because it’s at the entrance of an alleyway that I know is a dead end. I’ve been down here before, and it’s nothing but dumpsters and rats and…wait, what’s this?

(footsteps increase in speed a little)

There’s a door down here, at the end of the alley. There’s…I know there’s not a shop here. But…this looks for all the world like a storefront. Old fashioned, and dirty…but even though these windows haven’t been cleaned in who knows how long, I can see a flickering light in there. I wonder if the door is…

(sound of doorbell as Rashida enters the room, old-fashioned doorbell that’s an actual bell, echoes as though the space is large and empty)

RASHIDA: (to the room) Hello? Is anyone there? (speaking back into the mic) It’s just…an empty room. There’s a table, with a candle on it, but other than that, it’s just darkness in all directions. I don’t see any walls, either, so I have no idea how big this place is. It’s kinda creepy, actually, maybe I should…

CASSIE: Hello. (their voice sounds close to Rashida, uncomfortably so - well inside personal space territory)

(sound of Rashida jumping and fumbling her phone/headphones)

RASHIDA: AHHH. Don’t do that. Why would you — wait. Wait. You can see me? You. Can. See. Me?!

CASSIE: (calmly and somewhat bemused) Yes. Is there a reason I shouldn’t be able to?

RASHIDA: I-I mean…yeah? As far as I can tell, nobody’s seen me in…seven or eight months. Like, we’re talking full-blown, stealing shit from strangers in public without repercussions, invisibility. How the hell can you see me? How are you talking to me?

CASSIE: Seeing is…kind of what I do. Why don’t you take a seat and we can talk about it?

RASHIDA: S-sure. I guess.

(sounds of movement and wood creaking as they set down)

CASSIE: I’m Cassie, by the way.

RASHIDA: (still sounding dumbfounded) Rashida. Nice to meet you. 

CASSIE: So, what brings you here today?

RASHIDA: I…saw the shiny symbol and followed it? I don’t really understand the question, if I’m being honest.

CASSIE: Mmm. Usually people can only find me if they have a pressing question.

RASHIDA: I mean, I have questions, lots of them pressing, and I’ve never found you before. And the last time I wandered into a psychic shop, she basically chased me out with a broom.

CASSIE: Well, this isn’t exactly a psychic’s shop. This is…a waystation, I suppose. I help the lost, I answer their questions, and then I go on my way.

RASHIDA: The lost? Their questions? Like, plural? There are more of us?

CASSIE: You thought you were the only one? I know very few things for certain, but one thing I do know is that in this universe, you are never, ever the only one.

RASHIDA: Okay. Okay. This is a lot to take in. I mean, I guess in a world where monsters and invisibility and weird memory disruptions exist, what’s one traveling seer?

CASSIE: (laughs) Exactly. Now, let’s see what we can do about your questions. (sound of cards shuffling)

RASHIDA: Um, don’t you need me to…ask them?

CASSIE: No. I don’t answer the questions you ask, I answer the questions you don’t know to ask.

RASHIDA: Cool. That’s…cryptic.

CASSIE: Comes with the gig, I’m afraid.

(sound of cards shuffling for another few seconds, then it stops; sound of cards being drawn and placed on the table)

CASSIE: Out of these nine, pick three.

RASHIDA: Uhh, okay. That one, that one, and…this one.

(sound of cards being flipped over)

CASSIE: Card one: Death.


RASHIDA: Let me guess. Not actually about death?

CASSIE, grinning: Ah. I see you’re familiar.

RASHIDA: Kinda. I had an ex who was really into tarot. That was one of the first things she told me.

CASSIE: Well then, you know this isn’t about a literal death. This is about a shift, a change that you can’t reverse; passing between two stages of your life, between two worlds. Given that this is in the past position, I imagine we can both reach some reasonable conclusions about what it refers to.

RASHIDA: Yeah. It’s…been an adjustment, and there are definitely people I can’t go home to again.

CASSIE: I’m sorry. 

Moving on to card two, for the present we have the Hermit. You’re alone and you’re searching for answers — that’s how you wound up here. This time in solitude might be lonely, and come with struggles, but it’s forging you into a new person, who can do the things they need to do in the future.

Which brings us to…Justice. You have some tough decisions ahead of you, and you’ll need to take swift action when you’re faced with them. Justice will be served, whether you are the agent of it or the recipient.

RASHIDA: Uhh. Okay. No offense, but I don’t…really feel like that answered any of my questions. Like…at all.

CASSIE: (laughs) I get that a lot. Just trust that it will come in handy when you need it. And I always draw one last card, for potential outcome…

(sounds of cards being moved around again, then sound of two cards hitting the table)

CASSIE: Hm. That’s a little unusual; two cards stuck together. Let’s see what they have to say.

(a few seconds of silence as Cassie considers the cards while Rashida shifts uncomfortably in her chair)

RASHIDA: That…does not look like a good look on your face.

CASSIE: It’s…somewhat perplexing, is all. On the one hand, we have the Tower. Disaster. Upheaval. Lost progress. On the other hand, we have the World. Achievements. Support. Bounty. I think…we’re seeing the two possible outcomes, based on the decisions to come that we saw referenced in the Justice card.

RASHIDA: Oh. Cool. No pressure or anything.

CASSIE: I’m sorry I can’t tell you more. Big things are at stake, not just for you. Be careful, in your actions and your decisions.

(clock chimes in the distance, old-fashioned sounding clock)

CASSIE: And I believe that’s my cue. I’m afraid it’s time for our ways to part.

RASHIDA: But…what if I have more questions? What if I don’t know what to do?

CASSIE: Just trust yourself. Here. I have something that might help.

(sound of jewelry moving and then being handed over)

RASHIDA: A…necklace? Thanks, that’s sweet, but how do I find you again?

CASSIE: That’s…not really how this works, I’m afraid. The whole, spaces between the worlds, traveling seer schtick comes with some rules.

RASHIDA: But I don’t want to be alone again!

CASSIE: Don’t worry. You won’t be for long. (their voice starts to fade) Goodbye, and good luck.