The Audio File: Echoes (in) Between

I have often spoken about how sometimes it takes me a bit to get around to certain audio dramas. I’ve also spoken about those unfortunate audio dramas that die after only one season, despite their high quality. Well, today’s review covers an audio drama that ticks off both boxes. It was an excellent show, it only lasted one season, and I took way too long to listen to it. So, without further ado, onto the main event. We’re taking a look at Echoes (in) Between.

Echoes (in) Between starts with an in-universe podcast of the same name. It is hosted by Gemma Avots and Thomas Fonte. They are exploring the concept of memory. More importantly, how we might retrieve memories. They are assisted by Dr. Adrian Thorne. The good doctor has developed a series of sound waves capable of stimulating people’s memory. At first, it seems to work remarkably well. Gemma, Thomas, and their listeners all begin to recall memories that were either hazy or completely lost. Then strange things begin to happen. Gemma and Thomas start remembering each other’s memories, and they begin to hear voices. Gemma and Thomas are going to do whatever it takes to uncover the truth behind the recordings. But what they will discover is beyond anything they could have imagined.

I’d known about Echoes (in) Between since before the first episode even came out. The show’s Twitter account followed me, and they were always really good about liking my posts for Audio Drama Sunday. I wasn’t really sure what to expect based on the description and the trailer. There were mentions of things such as past life memories and parasitic twins, but where was this all going. Well, time went on, and I got sidetracked. Several people requested that I review their shows. I also took time for myself. Sometimes, I need to be able to just listen to a show without taking mental notes, or immediately reviewing it after I finish it. Of course, I usually wind-up reviewing such shows later on, but I digress.

Eventually, much as I did with The Call of the Void, I decided that it was time for me to review Echoes (in) Between. Series creator Jessica Berson followed me on Twitter, and I took that as a hint. Probably should have taken the hint back when Echoes (in) Between first followed me. It was around this time that I learned some troubling news. There had been issues behind the scenes, and Jessica had a falling out with her partner Bronson Metcalfe. Bronson decided to leave Echoes (in) Between, which was a bit of a problem given that he voices Thomas. Ultimately, Jessica decided to end Echoes (in) Between after only a single season.

I doubt it would have made any difference if I hadn’t dragged my feet. Still, hearing how hard all of that was for Jessica made me feeling incredibly guilty. So, here we are; too little, too late. I’m not going to say that we should be thankful for what we got. I’m not going to say that at least Echoes (in) Between will lead to new opportunities for Jessica. Though I have no doubt that this is far from the end of her audio drama journey.

You know what? Screw it all. Sometimes life is unfair. Bad things happen to good people. A good audio drama dies a bad audio drama’s death. You do everything right, and things totally beyond your control prove to be your downfall.

I will now get into my formal review of Echoes (in) Between. I’m just going to warn you that there will be some pretty serious spoilers later on. It will be a bit like the review I did of season one of SINKHOLE. For now, however, I will stick to the non-spoiler stuff.

Echoes (in) Between starts off with an interesting question. What if you could enhance any of your memories? Be able to perfectly recall anything you wished? We all have at least a few things we desperately wish we could remember. What were the lyrics to that one song? What was that interning TV show you randomly came across? What color was the neighbor kid’s dog again? Seems harmless enough. Still, I don’t know if I’d do it if I could.

Autistic people are often noted for having exceptional memories. I bring this up because I’m on the autism spectrum, and that’s certainly true for me. I am noted to have exceptionally good recall. It is certainly helpful when writing audio drama reviews, or remembering random tidbits. I still haven’t full grasped the notion that normal people have trouble recalling events from only a few years ago. But I can’t really control my recall. So, for example, I still had to study for tests. And having such good recall also makes it even harder to forget bad things. My parents have remarked that, at times, it seems like I only remember bad things. There are times I’ll be minding my own business then something, a sound, a taste, a random thought, will summon a bad memory.

Maybe it was a time my parents screamed at me, or a time I did something embarrassing, or a million other things. And it will be just as sharp and painful as when it first happened. Sometimes, I just want to scream for the bad memories to shut up already. As you can imagine, this has caused anxiety and depression to be my constant companions. As screwed up as I am, I’m not sure I’d want to mess with something that could affect my brain.

I wondered if this might be the big twist. That is, that the recordings would give everyone perfect memory, and it would slowly drive them insane. But no, that wasn’t it. As for what it actually was, well, we’ll get into that in the spoilers section. I will say that Echoes (in) Between was one of the scariest audio dramas I’ve listened to in a while. I knew, intellectually, that it was all just a fictional show. All the same, I’d still sometimes get nervous and tense-up whenever the sound tapes were played. I know that probably sounds stupid, but I guess that makes Echoes (in) Between effectively scary.

Though, speaking of bad memories, I was initially wary when I listened to the first couple episodes of Echoes (in) Between. I’ve gotten burned by one too many bad Parcast podcasts, and the banter between Gemma and Thomas reminded me of that. Granted, I’m pretty sure that this was done deliberately. And I will say that it didn’t last long, and I found Gemma and Thomas’ non-podcast host dialog to be well-written and enjoyable to listen to. I got a better feel for the sort of audio drama that Echoes (in) Between was trying to be as I continued listening. I found it to be a very enjoyable audio drama.

So, let’s now talk about our characters. Gemma and Thomas met when they were in college. Gemma was an upperclassmen assigned to show Thomas the ropes. They developed a reputation for investigative journalism. In particular, they managed to bust a professor for forging his credentials. As a result, they refer to each other as Woods and Burnsy, in reference to Woodward and Bernstein, the reporters who broke the Watergate scandal.

Gemma is snarky, driven, and outspoken. Also, her real name is Gemini, but she thinks that sounds too much like a hippie name. Hey, at least it was better than the alternative. Gemma’s mom wanted to name her Tamzin. She and Mr. Avots did a coin toss to pick their daughter’s name, and Mr. Avots won. I looked it up, and apparently Tamzin means twin in Aramaic. So, I guess that kind of makes it an equivalent of the name Gemini. Gemma had been living in New York, with dreams of becoming a hotshot journalist, but she had to moved back to Minneapolis to take care of her father. Still, she’s making the best of things. Gemma is voiced by series creator Jessica Berson.

Thomas, by contrast, has always been soft-spoken, cautious, and a bit reserved. Thomas freely describes himself as bland, but he has his moments of spice. He’s been in therapy for the last few years, but he’s working through his problems. Thomas is voiced by Bronson Metcalfe.

The dialog is edited so that it often slightly overlaps. Jessica says that this is so that it mimics natural speaking. That is true, people often interrupt each other, or talk over each other, in real life. I also really love the intro and outro music for the in-universe podcast, which also serves the same function for the out of universe Echoes (in) Between audio drama. The audio drama does a good job of building a growing sense of mystery and creating an atmosphere of suspense.

Okay, I’ve put it off for as long as I could, but we have to talk about spoilers now. So, if you don’t want any of that, turn back now.

Last chance, you sure you want to continue?

If everyone who wants out is gone, let’s get into it.

There’s one very crucial bit of information I’ve been leaving out until now. You see, the universe of Echoes (in) Between isn’t quite our own universe. There was an event that occurred many years ago, back when Gemma and Thomas were just kids. It involved all adults basically turning into zombies for a day. It was like their brains ran on autopilot; they went about their normal routines, but with no obvious signs of emotion or consciousness. Thankfully, the adults were back to normal by the next day, but it severely traumatized all of the kids. This event became known as The Blackout, and nobody knows what caused it. Though, several hypotheses cropped up over the years.

Dr. Thorne had his own take on the matter. He called it the Chimera Universe Hypothesis. Dr. Thorne proposed that The Blackout was caused when a parallel universe got absorbed by our own universe. The other universe got destroyed, but the consciousnesses from that universe got thrust into our own, and took up residence in the brains of their counterparts in our universe. Children’s minds are yet fully developed, so they were better able to accommodate the other consciousnesses. Adults weren’t able to assimilate the consciousnesses so easily, hence why they blacked out for a bit. If you’re wondering, chimera refers to how, sometimes, one twin will absorb the other in-utero. The surviving twin develops normally, but will now have two sets of DNA.

Okay, so now all the pieces of the puzzle fall into place. The words from the teaser trailer suddenly make sense. I did not see that coming, but that was the point where Echoes (in) Between set itself apart from that crowd. Oh, I was enjoying it before that, and it certainly managed to hold my attention. But this was the point where Echoes (in) Between proved that it was something truly special.

Believe it or not, there is a grain of truth to the idea of a Chimera Universe. Some scientists believe that parallel universes travel around the multiverse. Occasionally, they will bump into each other. Some scientists believe that the Big Bang might have resulted from the collision of two universes. It is theorized that sometimes the universes bounce off each other. However, other times, one subsumes the other, or they merge into a composite universe. These reactions can become especially volatile if the universes have different laws of physics. Though, given that the mind is a byproduct of the brain, I doubt consciousness could survive a universe collision. Still, it does make for an intriguing premise for an audio drama.

I see a lot of interesting implications in the scenes where Gemma and Thomas finally contact the alternate versions of themselves. I see a lot of Jungian shades. In particular, the confrontation with the Shadow. The Shadow is the aspects of ourselves that we like to deny, particularly negative emotions, and project onto others. According to Jungian Psychology, denying your Shadow leads to your mind becoming unaligned. Therefore, you must confront your Shadow, and accept/embrace those suppressed aspects of yourself. Some Jungians believe that it is possible to encounter your Shadow via a dream or vision. In other words, not too dissimilar to the trance that the later recordings are capable of putting people in.

Thomas has a pleasant experience when he confronts who doppelgänger, who he names Tom. So, you could see them as an example of someone who has made peace with their Shadow, and is in a state of alignment. Gemma also confronts her counterpart, who is known as Tamzin. Apparently, their mom won the coin toss in the other universe. This suggests the other universe was very similar, but not completely identical, to our universe. Hmm, Gemini and Tamzin both mean twin, and Echoes (in) Between is set in Minneapolis/St. Paul, which are known as the Twin Cities. Huh, the foreshadow was there from the start.

Well, anyway, Gemma’s encounter with Tamzin is far less cordial. I saw that coming; things with Thomas and Tom seem to go a little too smoothly. I wondered if another shoe was about to drop. Of course, the result was still incredibly chilling, and quite effective. Tamzin makes several sharp remarks claiming that Gemma is selfish, hurts Thomas, and is wasting her life. Gemma denies this, of course, but you get the feeling that she worries that this is all true on some level. However, it is often said that we ourselves are our harshest critics. For example, Gemma could have thrown her dad in an assisted care facility, but she moved back to Minneapolis to help take care of him. She did this even if it meant having to make sacrifices in her own life. Of course, Tamzin would say this was a bad thing. 

I must say that Tamzin is a well-written villain. She’s clearly in the wrong, but a lot of what she says has a grain of truth to it. It is unfair that she, and everyone else from the other universe, had to be trapped in the minds of their doppelgängers. What she went through was horrifying beyond comparison. However, that doesn’t give her the right to take over Gemma’s life. Who is she to pass judgment on Gemma’s choices? I suppose it shows that you can be a victim, and still be a horrible person.

Or here’s a thought. Tamzin was a child when she got stuck in Gemma’s head, and was only recently awakened. She has access to all of Gemma’s memories, but still pretty much only has the lived experience of a child. So, mentally, Tamzin might still essentially be a child, albeit, more akin to a child prodigy. Or maybe she aged, but at a slower rate? That does raise the question of how a mind would develop with the input of hormones. Of course, a mind can’t exist without a brain, and yet here we are…hmm, I’m probably overthinking it.

Getting back on track, I liked the way Jessica voiced Tamzin. In particular, the parts where Tamzin pretends to be Gemma. Tamzin gets ballpark correct, but is off just enough to come across as creepy and disconcerting. Almost a vocal equivalent of the uncanny valley. Tamzin is too cold, too reserved, and a bit too formal to pass as Gemma.

And then there was that ending, after the final tape was played. Just who, or what, were all of those voices? Well, going back to Jungianism, Carl Jung believed that humanity has a collective subconscious. Might the final tape allow listeners to access the collective subconscious? But here’s another thought. We know that the other universe was very similar, but not totally identical, to our own. What if there were people in that universe who lacked counterparts in our universe? What would happen to their minds? Or what if that wasn’t the only universe that got merged into ours?

All are interesting ideas, but sadly, it seems they shall remain unanswered. It is certainly unfortunate that Echoes (in) Between had to end as it did. But there is a light in the darkness. When Jessica Berson next commits to making an audio drama, and I have no doubt that she will, I know it will be absolutely fantastic. Jessica has proven to be a very talented writer, and an excellent voice actress. This isn’t the end for her, it is only the beginning. I look forward to what she will bring us in the future.

My only regret is that I didn’t get to Echoes (in) Between sooner. It is a fantastic science horror audio drama with some strong psychological themes. It joins the ranks of Lights Out and The Hermes & Hekate Road Show as an audio drama that was tragically slain well before its time. Don’t make the same mistake that I did. I strongly encourage all of you to give Echoes (in) Between a listen as soon as possible. And best of luck to Jessica in all her future endeavors. I’ll try not to wait so long next time.

Well, I think that should do it from me for now. I will see you guys next time.

The Audio File: Chain of Being

As is often the case, there are times when I’m aware of an audio drama for a while. However, sometimes it takes me a bit to get around to them. It helps when I get a nudge in that direction. But it almost always proves to be worth the wait. So, without further ado, let’s get into the audio drama we’ll be reviewing today. We’re taking a look at Chain of Being. 

Chain of Being is set far into the future. Humanity has spread to the stars, encountered numerous alien races, and made major advances in science and technology. And yet this world of tomorrow is very much connected to the mythical past. Magic exists alongside science and technology, leviathans and angels attack unsuspecting spaceships, and gods constantly meddle in the affairs of humanity and the other sentient races. The series follows Adam Delta 5. He is the biblical Adam, the very first human ever created. Adam has been wandering the universe for thousands of years, and has grown a bit distant from the rest of humanity. Lately, however, Adam is taking more interest in humanity. A strange force is mutating beings across the universe, and twisting them into strange and unnatural forms. A force that may have a connection to Adam’s past.

I had been aware of Chain of Being for a while. I had been giving some thought to checking it out. Then I got followed by Chain of Being on Twitter. That certainly bumped Chain of Being up in my listening schedule. I have had many audio dramas follow me on Twitter, and I have speculated that they might be fishing for a review. I am always happy to review any audio drama that asks me. However, if you really want to make sure your show gets reviewed, the best way is to ask me directly. My Twitter DMs are open, if you don’t want to ask me in public. You can also message me on Reddit. You can also message this blog’s fan page on Facebook, or you can message my personal Facebook account. Point is, there’s a lot of ways to get in touch with me.

Chain of Being is a member of the Faustian Nonsense podcast network. They are a network of several quality fiction podcasts, such as The Lavender Tavern. One episode of Chain of Being features Kieran Walsh, who plays Gino Whelan on fellow Faustian Nonsense show The Green Horizon.

The first few episodes of Chain of Being are a bit shorter, and are primarily there to ease the viewer into the setting. The show truly starts around episodes six and seven, Epistasis parts 1 and 2. That’s the point where Adam officially appears. I do understand why series creator Cai Gwilym Pritchard started with these prequel episodes. The setting of Chain of Being is a very unusual one. I can best describe Chain of Being as what would happen if China Miéville decided to make an audio drama. The key word here is weird, as in Weird Fiction. Think things along the lines of the stories from The Drabblecast. I would also classify Chain of Being as mythpunk. We’ve got an advanced futuristic setting, but we also have mythological gods and magic existing side-by-side with science and technology. 

You do get some hints of familiarity here and there. There’s certainly plenty of biblical allusions, and nods to various mythologies. However, they’re often presented in an unusual context. For example, our protagonist is the biblical Adam, but he’s an immortal, and he has glass horns and completely black eyes. I thought the horns might have been an obscure mythological reference. However, Cai Gwilym Pritchard says that they’re meant to be a reference to the Mark of Cain.

The politics of the various human and alien races are reasonably easy to follow along with. There’s an alliance of planets that is trying to create unity among the various races of the galaxy. However, they frequently do this by forcibly relocating people to frontier planets, even if it means breaking up families, in hopes of speeding-up integration. And there’s this group of human supremacists who are all descended from colonists from Mars, Venus, and various other parts of our Solar System. Earth is considered semi-mythical, and nobody really knows what became of it. Obviously, the human supremacists are pretty fascist. 

All easy enough to follow, but I also feel I don’t have the complete picture of Chain of Being’s universe. But this is very much by design. Cai Gwilym Pritchard has stated that they deliberately withheld certain bits of worldbuilding. They reason that works set on Earth don’t go into detail about Earth’s entire history. As such, the Chain of Being universe would be no different in that regard.

As previously mentioned, there are numerous references to mythology and religion from Earth. For example, we first encounter Adam aboard an ark ship that is carrying some of the last surviving specimens of birds from East Africa. This is clearly a nod to the story of Noah and the Ark. Interesting that the birds were from East Africa, as that is where humans first evolved. I’m tempted to think that was deliberate. One of the prequel episodes features a character named Tubal Cain. He’s a minor character mentioned in the Book of Genesis, and is claimed to be the world’s first blacksmith.

Angels are described as being Lovecraftian monstrosities that look like a collection of wings and eyes. There are many different types of angels, and the description matches that Seraphim. They worship God directly by surrounding the Throne of Heaven and constantly chanting “Holy! Holy! Holy!” Maybe we’ll get some Cherubs in season two of Chain of Being. Pop culture depicts them as winged babies, but the Bible describes them as having four faces; a man’s face, a lion’s face, an ox’s face, and an eagle’s face. Those are also the symbols of the four gospel writers, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, in that order. It is said that a Cherub guards the entrance to the Garden of Eden. In other types of angels, there’s also the Ophanim. They look like several interlocking wheels made out of eyes.

Adam at one point mentions the different gods that created the different sentient races of the galaxy. Interestingly, it wasn’t Yahweh or Elohim who created humanity. Rather, it was a goddess named Epicurosa. She doesn’t appear to have an analog in any actual mythology, and appears to have been made-up for Chain of Being. Cai Gwilym Pritchard has said they feel a bit embarrassed that most of the aliens are humanoid. However, I think Chain of Being has a pretty brilliant explanation for that. Humans were created in the image of the gods, so it would make sense that other sentient races would be humanoid. It is mentioned that humans aren’t the only race that Epicurosa created. We later learn that Eden is located in another dimension, and is basically the test lab of the gods. The garden is but one small section of it.

There’s a couple religious orders dedicated to the Greco-Roman gods Nemesis and Cupid respectively. So, that means the Greek gods are out there somewhere. I guess that works. The Old Testament doesn’t necessarily deny the possibility that other gods exist; just that you shouldn’t worship them. Though, it does make me wonder how many other gods from Earth are running around. The sign of the entity that is mutating everyone kind of sounded similar to the Elder Sign from the Lovecraft Mythos. I’m not sure if that was a coincidence or not. Or here’s a thought, what if it was meant to be the Chain of Being itself?

So, what exactly is this Chain of Being thing? The Chain of Being is a philosophical concept. It was codified during the Middle Ages by thinkers such as Thomas Aquinas, but it has its roots in the teachings of Aristotle and Plato. The Chain of Being organizes all things in the universe into orders of importance and complexity. God is at the top and minerals are at the bottom. There were also subdivisions within the different sections of the chain. For example, monarchs reigned at the top of human society, and men ranked above women. The Chain of Being was used, among other things, to justify the divine right of kings, and to deny women opportunities to advance in society. Yeah, not a particularly nice system. One of the ways Western society managed to advance was by rejecting the rigid hierarchy of the Chain of Being.

Now, let’s talk about the voice acting. Cai Gwilym Pritchard provides the voice of Adam. Adam speaks with a notable echo. It often sounds like multiple voices speaking at once. This gives Adam an eternal and otherworldly quality. As the series progresses, however, this echo becomes increasingly subdued. Perhaps that symbolizes how Adam is regaining his connection with humanity once again. I should also note that Cai Gwilym Pritchard created Chain of Being at the tender age of seventeen. They wanted to see more science fantasy stories, and decided to be the change they wanted to see in the world. Quite the accomplishment that was indeed. All of the other actors also give excellent performances.

The only real point of criticism I have is the transcripts. They aren’t easy to find on Faustian Nonsense’s website, and it will always display the transcript for the first episode, no matter which episode you click. You find them by selecting an episode, and then clicking the three little dots. Now, Chain of Being does have full transcripts on its Tumblr account, but I wouldn’t have known this if I hadn’t come across it by chance. Transepts are important so that listeners with disabilities can enjoy audio dramas. They’re also quite helpful for people who write reviews as well.

Season one of Chain go Being has certainly been intriguing. Personally, I’m hoping we find out what happened to Eve. Adam doesn’t give much info, as it is still a touchy subject for him, but something significant happened with Eve. Did she grow old and die, while he remained immortal? Or is she immortal, but they had a falling out somewhere along the way? Also, the human supremacists are apparently going to be the main antagonists of season two. It will be interesting to see how that plays out.

But whatever the future holds, I do know that season one of Chain of Being was really great. It combines science fiction, mythology, and magic in a far future where gods still meddle in the affairs of humanity, and the other sentient races. A very unusual setting, to be sure, but also a very creative one. Give it a listen today.

Well, I think that should do it from me for now. I will see you guys next time.