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Episode: 5.28: Juno Steel and the Case Closed (Part 2)

Author: Harley Takagi Kaner and Kevin Vibert
Duration: 00:57:56

Episode Shownotes

Home is what you make it.Thank you for joining us at The Penumbra, dear Traveler. We hope you've enjoyed your stay.(Trigger warnings can be found at the bottom of this episode description and at the end of the transcript.)-------You can find all of our transcripts here: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1OLddnnYamZuglgZc8pM2gqToPOwEBccM?usp=sharingTranscripts will come out

along with the public release of the episode.On staff at the Penumbra:Ginny D'Angelo -- Head of Merchandise and OutreachMelissa DeJesus -- Script editing teamHarley Takagi Kaner -- Co-creator, Head of Episode Development, Director, Sound designerJoelle Kross -- TranscriptionistNoah Simes -- Production managerGrahame Turner -- Script editing teamKevin Vibert -- Co-creator, Head of Operations, Lead writerRyan Vibert -- Composer and performer of original musicJeff Wright -- Graphic designer--------Attribution: Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license.“Outside Bars Night Skopje Ambience” by damjancd https://freesound.org/people/damjancd/sounds/321616/“Electronic club rave music” by TheoJT https://freesound.org/people/TheoJT/sounds/739962/“suburb spring morning traffic 01 200314_0119.wav” by klankbeeld https://freesound.org/people/klankbeeld/sounds/560159/“Confirm Beeps (No Delay)” by Dylan Kelk https://freesound.org/people/SilverIllusionist/sounds/664262/“Bus ride.wav” by theplax https://freesound.org/people/theplax/sounds/614941/“Seedy motel.wav” by MoveAwayPodcast https://freesound.org/people/MoveAwayPodcast/sounds/555375/Battle Of Kandahar by coruscate (c) copyright 2024 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. https://dig.ccmixter.org/files/Coruscate/67657 Shrimp Rich by septahelix (c) copyright 2019 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. https://dig.ccmixter.org/files/septahelix/59735 Ft: PerchanceMusicBoring Walking Blues by Admiral Bob (c) copyright 2021 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. https://dig.ccmixter.org/files/admiralbob77/63608 Ft: RhoninI Miss You (Techno Blues Remix) feat. Snowflake by Attic Ella (c) copyright 2014 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. https://dig.ccmixter.org/files/Levihica/47589 Ft: Snowflake--------TRIGGER WARNINGS:- Sudden loud noises- Deception and gaslighting- Alcohol use- Drug abuse- Theft- Discussions of mortalityFor early and ad-free episodes, production scripts, commentary tracks, blooper reels, livestreams with the creators, and much more, you can find The Penumbra Podcast: SPECIAL EDITION at: https://thepenumbrapodcast.supercast.com (In old episodes, you will often hear us mention Patreon, which was our old platform and is no longer live. Please feel free to ignore!)Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Full Transcript

00:00:00 Speaker_03
Hi, this is co-creator Harley Takagi-Kahner. Before this episode starts, you're about to hear some ads.

00:00:06 Speaker_03
If you find that annoying, like I do, I wanted to let you know that you can access early ad-free versions of the episodes over at thepenumberpodcast.supercast.com, as well as a whole bunch of bonus content that we think you'll really enjoy.

00:00:22 Speaker_03
Thank you for supporting independent queer artists, and enjoy the show!

00:00:31 Speaker_04
Ah, good evening, traveler, and welcome to the Penumbra. We've come a long way with Juno Steel, Private Eye, haven't we, travelers? From Hyperion City to the deserts of Mars, the Outer Rim to abandoned asteroids, Juno Steel has seen it all.

00:00:48 Speaker_04
And now, as at the end of any great journey, it's time for him to return home. But home is not just a place. Home is what you make it. So here we are. The place is Hyperion City. But as for the home? Well, what will Juno Steel make it?

00:01:08 Speaker_04
Tonight's tale is... Juno Steel and the Case Closed.

00:01:38 Speaker_02
Took a while, Mr. Steele, but we're finally here. New Town. The city that used to be another one, but then they destroyed that other one, so now it's New Town instead.

00:01:47 Speaker_07
Rolls right off the tongue. You know, I gotta admit, this place looks nice. I wasn't crazy about it last time we were here, for probably obvious reasons.

00:01:56 Speaker_02
Yeah, how come Mayor O'Flaherty couldn't have just stuck to building nice buildings? He did a good job of that, so long as you ignore the bulldozing everybody's homes and hiring killer gangsters to get the land rights.

00:02:06 Speaker_07
Yeah, but it's not just Ramsey's. It's... Look at that fruit stand over there, you know? Ramsey's didn't build that. Somebody built it into the building. Same with the graffiti on the walls.

00:02:15 Speaker_07
They're making the city work for them instead of, well, the opposite, like Ramsey's wanted.

00:02:21 Speaker_02
It's nice, ain't it?

00:02:22 Speaker_07
Yeah. Yeah, it honestly is. Hell, we gotta get moving, though. We're almost late to our meeting with our contact.

00:02:31 Speaker_02
You don't have to call them a contact, Mr. Steele. We've known them for years.

00:02:33 Speaker_07
Yeah, well, contact sounds more professional, and maybe I'm having fun being a professional again, all right? It sounds like they're waiting for us at a place called a New Town Diner. Figures. Let's go.

00:02:47 Speaker_07
Walking the streets of Hyperion City again felt like reuniting with an old friend. You both changed, sure, but you fall into your old patterns quickly, automatically, until the time you've been apart just melts away.

00:03:01 Speaker_07
I'd made my calls and come up with my plan, and Rita and I were on our way to solving our first case post-Life of Crime, a missing kid named Reggie Caldwell. He was in the city somewhere, and Hyperion wasn't telling me where just yet.

00:03:14 Speaker_07
But the city and I, we had an understanding, and it wouldn't be long before I got what I wanted out of it. My name is Juno Steele. I'm a private eye. Damn, that feels good to say.

00:03:30 Speaker_07
And missing persons cases like this one, they've been my bread and butter for years. A missing kid's admittedly a little harder, even if he is 18. Less likely to have a vehicle or a debit card to trace, more likely to be a kidnapping.

00:03:44 Speaker_07
Luckily, I knew someone who I was sure had experience finding missing kids. I'd watched them find one myself.

00:03:52 Speaker_00
Hey, Steel, Rita, over here. I got us a table.

00:03:57 Speaker_07
Puck Falco. My old partner from back in my cop days was not dressed for the season. It was a brisk fall day in Hyperion City.

00:04:06 Speaker_07
Skies clear and synth winds calibrated to around 65 degrees Fahrenheit, and Puck looked like they'd stepped out of an issue of Bored Shorts Quarterly, all flip-flops and an open shirt with many colored frogs all over it.

00:04:19 Speaker_00
Sheriff Falco! Rita, seriously, you don't have to call me.

00:04:23 Speaker_02
I am so happy to see you, Sheriff. Thanks for coming all the way here.

00:04:27 Speaker_00
Hey, when you told me you and Steele over here were opening up the old PI business again, I knew I had to come and help you celebrate. Didn't expect Juno to put me to work so fast, but hell, I've known you enough years that I should have guessed.

00:04:39 Speaker_07
Sorry about that, Falco. You're definitely dressed for vacation. Aren't you, uh, cold?

00:04:46 Speaker_00
Cold? I'm sweating my shorts off over here, I swear. Desert planets, man. The hell are you gonna do? I thought I hated all that snow on Io, but honestly, I keep tanking these iced coffees, they're pouring for me, and I'm still too damn hot.

00:04:59 Speaker_07
All that coffee explains why you're vibrating, anyway.

00:05:02 Speaker_00
Huh? Look at that. I guess I am. Even the coffee in this city's stronger than I remember.

00:05:08 Speaker_07
You seem like you're in high spirits, Falco. That the caffeine talking, or did you dig up something good for me?

00:05:12 Speaker_00
Oh, I got what you asked for, all right. But I got a bone to pick with you, Steel. You told me you were going to have me breaking the law again. I did, didn't I? Well, sure. But as far as I'm concerned, you still owe me a bank heist or something.

00:05:25 Speaker_00
A real adventure. You get me? How come whenever you call up the sheriff to bend the rules, it's always the boring paperwork stuff? The sheriff hates paperwork.

00:05:35 Speaker_07
Oh, you're calling yourself the sheriff now, huh?

00:05:37 Speaker_00
Rita did it, and I kind of liked it. Sue me. I like most everything Rita's got to say. Aw, sheriff. See what I mean? Love this girl. Yeah, she's the best. We all know that.

00:05:48 Speaker_07
You're telling me you got a hit searching for Reggie Caldwell, then?

00:05:50 Speaker_00
Better than a hit, Steele. I got the whole story from the secretary at his school's front desk.

00:05:56 Speaker_07
Uh, am I supposed to be impressed by that?

00:05:58 Speaker_00
Uh, yeah. You said you pulled me in on this because I've got experience working in the school. So take it from me, Steele. Nobody in the school building knows all the dirt quite like the secretary at the front desk.

00:06:11 Speaker_02
Secretaries are very wise by nature and also beautiful.

00:06:15 Speaker_00
So this kid's got dirt, then. Plenty. I never worked with high school kids, but Caldwell seems like he was a tough one. Was? Past tense as far as the school is concerned. He was supposed to graduate a few months ago, but that, uh, didn't happen.

00:06:29 Speaker_00
He had the option to repeat the year, but his family never returned the paperwork. And at 18, he's allowed to drop out, so sounds like that's what the school's assuming he's doing. I feel for the kid, really. Rumor is his family life's never been good.

00:06:47 Speaker_00
But after everyone got kicked out of Old Town and his dad lost his job, well, sounds like things went from bad to worse. Whole generation of Old Town kids just missed out on, like, half a year of school because of a Flaherty's New Town stunt.

00:07:00 Speaker_00
Can you believe it?

00:07:01 Speaker_07
Yeah, unfortunately.

00:07:03 Speaker_00
Some kids readjusted fine once Newtown opened up. Some didn't. Caldwell's in column B. Always running away from home, playing hooky. Teachers liked him, but given his attendance records, it sounds like they barely knew him.

00:07:17 Speaker_00
Sounds like he made an effort to change things around a few months before graduation. His teachers apparently said he was acting strange, too, talking about being better and doing better all the time, like obsessively. Then he fell off that, too.

00:07:32 Speaker_00
And the girl in that picture with him, do you see anything strange about her? Not much, honestly. You sure? She didn't look familiar to you? She looked like the kind of kid who follows the rules and blends into the background.

00:07:43 Speaker_00
Secretary recognized her, but it took her a while to place a name. If the secretary doesn't know who a kid is, they don't get in trouble too often. I got a peek at her file, but there's not much in it. Comms coordinates, which you already have.

00:07:55 Speaker_00
Oh, I got Caldwell's comms number, too. You said you could use it?

00:07:59 Speaker_02
That's what super secretaries are for, Sheriff. See, we had all this time to wait while we were on the bus, because Mr. Steele's old car was broken, and our new one went back to its home planet. Wait, what was that last part?

00:08:06 Speaker_01
So I wrote up a little program.

00:08:07 Speaker_02
Well, it's technically a virus. Well, it's technically a digital freaking protocol. That's freaking with a P-H, because, you see, a long time ago, they used to call crimes as... That's it! My program's done processing!

00:08:18 Speaker_00
Processing what? I haven't even given you the kids' coordinates yet.

00:08:22 Speaker_02
I'll explain it in a minute, Sheriff. I've got to go outside where it's a little brighter so I can read the results. Bye!

00:08:29 Speaker_00
You must feel like you never left. Hmm. You notice this diner's set up really weird? A lot of little rooms instead of one big dining room. What's up with that?

00:08:42 Speaker_07
Yeah, up front they were saying it's been converted from a few unused apartments. Apparently that happens a lot around here. Too many apartments, too little, everything else.

00:08:50 Speaker_00
Well, Flaherty, huh? Glad I was off Mars by the time he became a thing. Might have sucked him good if I ever saw him in person.

00:09:00 Speaker_07
Yeah, sometimes I wish I did when I had the chance.

00:09:05 Speaker_00
You look good, Steel. Do I? I don't sound so surprised.

00:09:11 Speaker_07
It's just weird being back in Hyperion City, that's all. When I was away, I kept feeling like something was missing, and now that I'm back, I feel kind of whole again. Complete. I'm just worried about whether that's a good thing. How do you mean?

00:09:28 Speaker_07
I don't know. I keep catching myself back at my old habits. Stuff I thought I'd move past, you know? You're gonna have to get more specific than that. I kind of snapped at Rita yesterday.

00:09:38 Speaker_07
Because for a minute I was thinking about calling up one of my old clients to ask for a case. The Kanagawas or someone like them, so I'm not just living off her dime anymore. And then last night, hell, it all just got to be too much.

00:09:51 Speaker_07
So I found this old bottle of Red Desert and poured myself some.

00:09:54 Speaker_00
Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Slow down. Did you call the Kanagawas? No. But you laid into Rita anyway? Did you apologize? Yeah. And how much of the tequila did you actually drink? None. None? So to summarize.

00:10:12 Speaker_00
You're worried you're back at square one because of a comms call you thought about, a bad mood you apologized for, and a drink you didn't drink. Is that the situation here, Steel?

00:10:24 Speaker_07
But I could have done any of those things, is my point.

00:10:28 Speaker_00
But you, and I really can't stress this enough, didn't. Right? Right. Sounds to me like you should just keep doing whatever it is you're doing. Be nicer to Rita, but besides that, it sounds like you're in good shape.

00:10:44 Speaker_07
Falco, I was this close, I swear.

00:10:47 Speaker_00
So it's hard. Who the hell said growing up was gonna be easy? You learn the lesson, you backslide a little, and you get your act together. Rinse and repeat until we're all dead.

00:10:56 Speaker_00
Hate to break it to you, Juno, but if you're waiting for the finish line on being a good person, it ain't coming.

00:11:03 Speaker_07
I guess that makes sense. Thanks, Falco. It's nice catching up. I'm sorry I put you to work when you came to celebrate. We should tie one on in a day or two once I've got this case wrapped up.

00:11:15 Speaker_00
Eh, honestly, I don't think I'm going to be here in a day or two. I'm thinking of hopping a bus back to Io in a few hours.

00:11:21 Speaker_07
Wait, already? You just got here.

00:11:23 Speaker_00
Yeah, well, I wasn't going to say anything because I didn't want to put a damper on your triumphant return, but, uh, I think I've decided I kind of hate it here in Hyperion City.

00:11:35 Speaker_07
MATT Alko, everybody hates it here. That's, like, the one thing we all have in common.

00:11:40 Speaker_00
ANJALI Sure, but I don't mean, like, the fun, cranky, can't live with it, can't live without it thing everyone does here. I mean, it's pretty upsetting being back. For me. You can like it, it's just not for me.

00:11:55 Speaker_00
MATT You have, like, bad memories or something? No, no, the memories are great. You and me and Sasha bumming around the academy. I'll always miss those days. But it's crowded here and noisy and hot.

00:12:15 Speaker_00
And for years, I thought those things were just a fact of life until I went to Iowa and I guess I saw a different way of living. Slower, more peaceful. And now that I've gotten a taste of it, it's tough to go back. Wow.

00:12:34 Speaker_07
I don't relate, like, at all.

00:12:39 Speaker_00
You don't have to. I'm not saying there's anything wrong with this place, other than, uh, everything that's obviously wrong with it. It's just not my home anymore, I guess. Some people get bored into their home.

00:12:52 Speaker_00
Some people have to roam around a while before they find it. I found mine. And now, I don't really want to leave, that's all. Guess that means you won't be visiting too often? Nope, don't think so.

00:13:06 Speaker_00
You're welcome at my place on Io anytime you want, though. We'll build a snowman, use him for target practice, it'll be fun. That... does sound fun, actually.

00:13:17 Speaker_07
Thanks, Falco.

00:13:19 Speaker_02
Mr. Steele! I got it! My virus worked!

00:13:22 Speaker_07
Never doubted you. What'd you pick up?

00:13:23 Speaker_00
And hold on! Don't leave the sheriff out in the cold! You still haven't told me what this virus does.

00:13:28 Speaker_02
Well, by using someone's comms coordinates and pinging the comms provider's database, I can figure out where that comms has been in the past few weeks and months. And even better than that, I can figure out where it's been most often.

00:13:37 Speaker_00
So you can find not just where someone's comms is right now, but also where they tend to hang around.

00:13:44 Speaker_02
Getting a comms location is great, but it's a dead end if they ain't got their comms with them. This way, we can try to guess where they'll go next. Not bad at all.

00:13:51 Speaker_07
So what'd it find?

00:13:52 Speaker_02
Three locations popped up more than any others, Mr. Steele. One of them's the school Sheriff Falco found. The other two are an apartment building in West Newtown and a motel on the opposite side of the district.

00:14:02 Speaker_00
Those sound like leads to me. But wait a tick. A lead for what? Because I know it's not Caldwell. I just gave you his comms coordinates.

00:14:10 Speaker_07
It's not. It's someone else connected to this case. Someone I have a few more questions about. Even if she doesn't seem like she wants to answer them.

00:14:20 Speaker_02
Mr. Steele? Where are you going? We haven't even ordered our food yet!

00:14:24 Speaker_07
Not hungry. I've got my lead. Now I want to chase it.

00:14:29 Speaker_00
Mr. Steele! Let him go, Rita. We both know there's no stopping him when he's like this.

00:14:33 Speaker_07
Rita, I want you to run Caldwell's number through your program. Puck, I hate to ask again.

00:14:37 Speaker_00
You want me to do the legwork with Rita once the results come back on her virus? That cover it?

00:14:43 Speaker_07
Uh, yeah. Thanks.

00:14:45 Speaker_00
I'll do it after we get some food in us. If you're gonna go, then go, Steele. You're antsy and it's stressing me out.

00:14:51 Speaker_07
Thanks. Call me if you find anything.

00:15:07 Speaker_03
No, I've already told you I'm not coming home. Not today, not tomorrow, never again. No housekeeping today, thanks. I'm in the middle of something. No, of course I wasn't talking to you. No, I wasn't implying all you do for me is housekeeping.

00:15:24 Speaker_03
You always do this! When I'm there, you treat me like I'm your garbage! And then when I'm fed up and I leave- One minute, please! When I leave, you make it all about you!

00:15:34 Speaker_03
How could you abandon your poor mother, and why would you make up all those horrible things I said? You said them! I was there! I told you to wait, so just wait, goddammit!

00:15:51 Speaker_07
The family reunion over the comms sounded like it might go on for a while, so I turned away from the door and towards the view outside of the motel in East Newtown. Place looked nice, sure.

00:16:01 Speaker_07
Brand new buildings, endless identical apartment complexes stretching up to scrape the dome overhead. Ramsay's did know that people needed more than just apartments, right? When I get to hell, maybe I'll ask him.

00:16:13 Speaker_07
But my first impression of Newtown had soured a little in the couple of hours since Rita and I met Puck at the diner.

00:16:20 Speaker_07
There was something nice about how people there had carved out the space for themselves, sure, but the longer I spent there, the more I kept thinking that they shouldn't have had to.

00:16:30 Speaker_07
And the more I wondered, well, this place looks nice on the surface, but what else are the people here missing?

00:16:37 Speaker_07
Every once in a while I'd see someone with a look I thought I recognized, though it'd take me a while to figure out where exactly I recognized it from. It was a dazed look, a far away look, more zombified than even the Dokkana zombies had been.

00:16:51 Speaker_07
Made my skin crawl, honestly.

00:16:55 Speaker_03
What is it? What is so important that you had to- Oh, it's you.

00:17:01 Speaker_07
Funny. You know, that's exactly what I say when I look in the mirror each morning, Nightmare.

00:17:04 Speaker_03
How did you find me? And why the hell did you think it was a good idea to go looking for my mom?

00:17:09 Speaker_07
Is that why she called? Because I paid her a visit?

00:17:11 Speaker_03
Things are fine so long as she forgets I exist. Now I'm going to get calls like that for weeks.

00:17:16 Speaker_07
Sorry about that. Like, actually sorry. If it's any consolation, I wasn't looking for her. I was looking for you.

00:17:23 Speaker_03
I knew I should have just figured this out on my own. Hiring a PI? I was asking for trouble.

00:17:28 Speaker_07
Ask and ye shall receive, Nightmare. Your mom was saying that she didn't know where you were. You told her?! Hell no, I didn't tell her.

00:17:34 Speaker_07
Talked to her for about an hour, and I could tell within the first five minutes that I wasn't going to tell her where you were.

00:17:39 Speaker_03
Really?

00:17:40 Speaker_07
Really. Let's just say I know a thing or two about moms best kept at a comfortable distance. Besides, you're 18. Legally, you can do what you want. How do you know my age? Gotta be at least 18 to fly an interplanetary spacecraft.

00:17:53 Speaker_07
And given that you got into the Pereira School for Future Pilots, the top flight school in Hyperion City, that means you must have your license.

00:18:00 Speaker_03
How did you know that? I haven't told anyone that.

00:18:03 Speaker_07
Mom's been opening your mail. Next time, set up a forwarding address. Here. I managed to save one of your letters for you.

00:18:09 Speaker_03
Thanks.

00:18:12 Speaker_07
I can't help but notice you're not reading it. I'm guessing you already know what it says.

00:18:16 Speaker_03
It says final warning on the envelope. I think I can guess the rest.

00:18:21 Speaker_07
Sounds like you got about three days to send in 5,000 creds for your program or they're kicking you off the list. Seems like a shame to me. Pereira School's the best damn flight program in the solar planets.

00:18:31 Speaker_07
They're how you get a job doing the really fun pilot stuff. High-speed supply runs through asteroid belts, testing out experimental spacecraft. Just don't buy anything they tell you about pilot Pereira themself. I met him. Real piece of work.

00:18:42 Speaker_03
Why are you doing this? Doing what? I asked you to find Reggie. That's all I asked you to do. You're not getting paid for any of the rest of this. It's not relevant. You're half right, Nightmare.

00:18:54 Speaker_07
You're paying me to solve a mystery, which is really just answering a million little questions until you get a big answer. Tell me to stop and I'll stop. Seriously.

00:19:02 Speaker_07
But as for relevant, I never know what's relevant until I've answered all the little questions. That's how my job works.

00:19:08 Speaker_03
And what little question are you trying to answer now?

00:19:12 Speaker_07
You.

00:19:12 Speaker_03
Me? What does that mean?

00:19:14 Speaker_07
You don't add up. At least the story you've told me doesn't. You've been saving up for a long time for these tickets, but you're only 18. Graduated from high school barely four months ago.

00:19:25 Speaker_07
Your grades must have been incredible to get into the Pereira school so young, but you're throwing that away.

00:19:29 Speaker_03
If you tell me I'm wasting my potential or something, I swear I'm going to scream.

00:19:35 Speaker_07
Waste whatever you want. You're an adult now, which means nobody has to give a damn if you're dead or alive anymore, legally speaking. I'm just saying it doesn't make any sense.

00:19:43 Speaker_07
You clearly worked hard to get into this school and now you're dumping it like it's nothing? People don't do that. Not unless they've got something else lined up. Those tickets for you and Reggie, they're one way, aren't they, Nightmare?

00:19:59 Speaker_03
There's nothing on Mars for us.

00:20:01 Speaker_07
Nothing on Mars for the both of you or just for him? Because you're holding a letter in your hands right now that suggests there's something like half an hour by bus from here for you.

00:20:09 Speaker_03
It doesn't matter anymore, okay? I don't have the money anymore, so it doesn't matter!

00:20:14 Speaker_07
Anymore? So you used to have the money. And you spent it on that trip off-planet for the two of you. 5K is a lot for one ticket, though. What happened to Reggie's share?

00:20:24 Speaker_03
Reggie... has trouble saving money.

00:20:28 Speaker_07
That's fair. That's fair. Not everybody's great with money. How'd he end up with the tickets if you bought them, though? Because that's kind of the whole problem, isn't it? That your boyfriend with a hole in his pocket disappeared with your tickets.

00:20:39 Speaker_07
Did you give them to him?

00:20:41 Speaker_03
No.

00:20:42 Speaker_07
Give him permission to take them? Anything like that?

00:20:45 Speaker_03
No.

00:20:45 Speaker_07
Because there's a word for that. Taking something without permission.

00:20:49 Speaker_03
I'm not stupid.

00:20:50 Speaker_07
Never said you were. But you're in some kind of love. And that's as good as a hammer to the brains any day. One-way tickets with no refunds. You're planning on running away with this guy, aren't you?

00:21:04 Speaker_07
Ride off into the sunset, start a new life somewhere, live happily ever after.

00:21:08 Speaker_03
Why shouldn't we? After all we've been through, why not have a happy ending together?

00:21:13 Speaker_07
Someone a lot smarter than I am once told me that outside of stories, there's no such thing as happy endings. Only happy middles. Especially your age, I think. You think with 70-odd years to go, any ending you could come to now would be a happy one?

00:21:28 Speaker_07
You're not ending, you're just getting started. What's your point? My point is an ending of any kind, happy or not, implies there's not gonna be a tomorrow. And a tomorrow after that, and a tomorrow after that.

00:21:41 Speaker_07
You're a smart kid, clearly, and running away with this guy, a guy who can't save money and steals from you, doesn't seem that smart to me. It seems like the kind of decision you make if you don't honestly believe tomorrow's ever gonna come.

00:21:54 Speaker_03
What do you want me to say?

00:21:55 Speaker_07
If you have a good reason to go with him, that's fine. Tell me you're not, it's up to you. I'm just trying to figure out what's going on here.

00:22:02 Speaker_03
Well, I don't know what I'm supposed to do about it now. The tickets said they were non-refundable.

00:22:07 Speaker_07
And if you could get a refund, would you want one?

00:22:09 Speaker_03
I don't know. I don't know. After I left home, Richie's the only person I really talk to. He's the only one I've talked to about this, and he wants to leave Mars just so, so badly. It doesn't matter. It's not worth thinking about. What's done is done.

00:22:35 Speaker_03
So just find him, OK? Even if I did throw away my future, I can't just get it back. And that means he's all I have.

00:22:45 Speaker_07
You've got you. And from what I've heard, that's a hell of a lot.

00:22:51 Speaker_03
Just find him, please. I have to be done talking now.

00:22:59 Speaker_07
Sure thing. Take care of yourself, Nightmare. I'll call you when I got him. Yeah, Rita?

00:23:12 Speaker_02
Mr. Steele! I think we found him!

00:23:13 Speaker_00
It took forever, and Sheriff Falco was real sweaty, but we got him! The punk pawned his comms, but we got there quick enough that the pawn shop guy hadn't wiped it yet. You should have seen us, Steele! It was just like the old days in the HCPD.

00:23:25 Speaker_00
I managed to distract the pawn shop guy long enough for Rita to look through his message then-

00:23:30 Speaker_08
Really? An address to where?

00:23:32 Speaker_02
That's the thing, Mr. Steele. We don't know. He's going to buy something there, it sounds like. I guess with the credits he got for his comms.

00:23:37 Speaker_00
Message said whatever he's in the market for, it's supposed to make things easier on him. Illegal, I'm guessing, since he didn't mention it by name. You have any idea what it could be?

00:23:48 Speaker_07
Make things easier. And he kept talking about self-improvement. I've got a hunch. But if it is what I think it is, Well, I just hope I'm wrong, I guess. Can you send that address to my comms, Rita?

00:24:04 Speaker_02
Donezo, Mr. Steele. Should we meet you there?

00:24:08 Speaker_07
That's not far from here. No. No, if the sheriff is leaving soon, you should see them off, Rita. I'll have my comms ready just in case I need backup, but I think I got this one handled.

00:24:20 Speaker_00
Okay, if you're sure. Go get that kid, Steele. And hey, whenever you're sick of sand and you'd like to see some snow, you've always got a place to crash on Iowa.

00:24:29 Speaker_07
Thanks, Felico. I'll take you up on that. Sometime soon, I think.

00:24:34 Speaker_00
Looking forward to it. Go get him, Mr. Steele.

00:24:41 Speaker_07
I thought I had recognized that address from somewhere. I didn't want to believe it, but my mind had gotten used to thinking in conspiracies and settled comfortably into the pattern of them.

00:24:52 Speaker_07
Some kind of product, an obsession with self-improvement, people with dazed and distant looks in their eyes. More of them every block as I grew closer to that address.

00:25:01 Speaker_07
There was a thrill in my chest, a skipping in my heart, and I was honestly disgusted to find it there. Is this what I wanted? People suffering like this all over again just so I could have a good case?

00:25:17 Speaker_07
I recognized the street before I even saw the building. I was walking towards the Old Town Police Department, the building where the Thea Sol's central computer had been stored a few years ago.

00:25:28 Speaker_07
That terrible tower, with those chipped up people crawling all over it like termites on their mound. I readied my blaster, and I opened the door. And in a way, it was Ramsey's in there. in every corner looking back at me from every set of glassy eyes.

00:25:51 Speaker_07
He'd made this mess after all, and now the rest of us had to live with it. People were sprawled out on just about every open patch of floor they could find, eyes open, breathing steady but not moving, not reacting, dead to the world.

00:26:07 Speaker_07
And I guessed they'd paid top dollar for the pleasure. No theosols. Some kind of strange yellow-green residue around their noses and mouths I didn't recognize. A new street drug. Untested. Unsafe. They didn't look like they were having a good time.

00:26:27 Speaker_07
They looked like they wanted to forget. Lives interrupted by some politician's scheme, maybe. Family homes destroyed. Jobs lost. Flashy apartments everywhere but no places to work or eat or live an actual life. My heart slowed down.

00:26:43 Speaker_07
I felt relief more than anything else. And then I knew it wasn't excitement I'd been feeling at the thought that some big conspiracy was reaching out to get us all over again. It was fear. Great work, O'Flaherty. Real bang-up job. Reggie?

00:27:07 Speaker_07
Reggie Caldwell, you in here? I searched the place. It had clearly been abandoned since the Thea Sol was removed, and all these people who couldn't find their place in the grand vision of Newtown had moved in.

00:27:21 Speaker_07
I kept thinking that as I compared face after face to the picture of Caldwell I had on me. If I'd been born a couple decades later, any one of them could have been me. Hey, are you? Let me get a closer look at you. Reggie Caldwell.

00:27:51 Speaker_07
You got people looking for you, you know. The hell do you think you're doing blowing your last creds in here? Can't talk, huh? Can you hear me at least? Blink twice for yes. Well, that's something anyway. You need a hospital, Reggie?

00:28:10 Speaker_07
Answer honestly, because I'm taking your word for it. All right, then. I'm gonna look through your bag, okay, Reggie? I think you've got something in here that belongs to a friend of ours. There. Two interplanetary flights to Atropos.

00:28:30 Speaker_07
And that just leaves what the hell I'm gonna do with you. Listen, you're a good enough kid not to pawn these tickets when you had the chance, but bad enough to steal them in the first place.

00:28:44 Speaker_07
Whatever state your life's in, I'm guessing you were put there by people you've never met, who've never met you, who are chasing profits, or some big idea, or something so hard they weren't paying attention to who they stepped on to do it.

00:28:57 Speaker_07
I'm sorry about that. Everybody's got it hard, but having people making it even harder on you like that, that's not fair. It's life, but it's not fair. But your girlfriend doesn't deserve this. And she loves you, a lot.

00:29:16 Speaker_07
So stealing her stuff and disappearing, you can't do that to people, no matter how much pain you're in. If you want my opinion, you're not ready for someone like that. But even if you don't, you've got to ask yourself.

00:29:28 Speaker_07
If you don't want to be with her, or if you can't be with her without dragging her down, if you're not ready, you've got to let her go.

00:29:35 Speaker_07
Get your act together for a while, and maybe one day, once you're put back together again, if that's what you both want, maybe then something could happen. But this ain't it. I'm not going to leave you empty-handed, though. I'll trade you.

00:29:53 Speaker_07
I take her tickets back. You take my card. Nobody can force you to get better. You've got to want it, and you've got to want to do it. But one day, when you feel ready, call the number on that card.

00:30:13 Speaker_07
I'm no expert, but I've been where you are, and I can at least tell you how one stubborn dame got out of it. Take care of yourself, Reggie. You're the only one who can. Thanks for meeting me back at the office, Nick.

00:30:48 Speaker_07
I got so wrapped up in this new case that I completely forgot that tonight was the night we decided on.

00:30:52 Speaker_06
Wow, a new case already? Haven't you only been back for like, a day? Crazy, right?

00:30:58 Speaker_07
It's been a hell of a day, I gotta tell you all about it, but hey, you want some tea? I hate this stuff, but I'm hoping to come around on it eventually. I'll just make us some tea.

00:31:06 Speaker_06
Sure, but uh, Jay, when it comes to tea, I think you're supposed to... oh.

00:31:13 Speaker_07
I hope you don't mind, but I asked my client to come by the office so I can wrap this case up real quick. You're gonna love her, Mercury. She's a great kid, and you're not gonna believe your eyes when you see her. It's spooky, seriously. Uh, spooky?

00:31:24 Speaker_07
What's spooky? You're not gonna believe this, but I swear, she looks exactly like- Oh! That's gotta be her. I'll just let you see for yourself. Nightmare.

00:31:34 Speaker_03
Detective? You said you had something for me?

00:31:38 Speaker_07
Sure do. Nightmare, this is my, uh, associate, Mr. Mercury.

00:31:42 Speaker_06
Hey, uh, Nightmare. So is that name, like, French or... Mercury?

00:31:48 Speaker_03
As in... Mick Mercury? The guy who writes those stories?

00:31:53 Speaker_06
Yeah! Are you a fan?

00:31:55 Speaker_03
Of stories that are all nostalgia for a time before I was even born? Uh, no. Those stories are so out of touch. Hey, come on, Nightmare. No, no, that sounds like me, honestly. So? Did you find Reggie?

00:32:08 Speaker_07
Yep. And I've got the address he's at, if you really want it. But he's... not exactly in a state where he can talk, if you know what I mean. And I'm guessing you've seen him like that before.

00:32:20 Speaker_03
Yeah. Yeah, I was worried that's what was happening. You know, you can keep the address, actually.

00:32:33 Speaker_04
Yeah? You sure?

00:32:38 Speaker_03
Yeah. Especially after he stole those tickets from me, I'm just tired of chasing after him all the time. I love him, but chasing after him here is hard enough. I don't think I want to try it on some planet we both barely know. So, is that it?

00:32:56 Speaker_03
Can I go now?

00:32:57 Speaker_07
You're forgetting something. Reggie's not the only thing you asked me to find.

00:33:01 Speaker_03
You mean the tickets? I don't really need those either. Even if I go to Atropos, I'll still have nothing. Nothing is nothing, no matter where you go. I guess I'm starting over from scratch, huh? Not quite.

00:33:15 Speaker_07
Here.

00:33:18 Speaker_03
Creds? But aren't I supposed to be paying you?

00:33:23 Speaker_07
Yeah, but this money's not mine, it's yours.

00:33:26 Speaker_03
I don't get it.

00:33:27 Speaker_07
Those tickets to Atropos, I got you a refund.

00:33:30 Speaker_03
No, you didn't.

00:33:32 Speaker_07
Yeah, I did. You think I got 5,000 creds lying around to give to every lousy kid who walks in here? I can barely afford the rubber band holding these bills together.

00:33:40 Speaker_03
But how?

00:33:42 Speaker_07
It's like I was trying to tell you when you first came in here. The tickets always say that. But nothing's actually non-refundable. Not if you go to the office in person and make yourself a big enough pain for long enough. You should try it sometime.

00:33:53 Speaker_07
Honestly, it feels great.

00:33:58 Speaker_03
All right. Maybe I will. I think I need to sit down.

00:34:05 Speaker_07
Go right ahead. You want some tea? I was just making some.

00:34:08 Speaker_03
Yeah. Yeah, that sounds good. Thank you. So, you think I should do it, then? Go to the Pereira school?

00:34:20 Speaker_07
If that's what you want. Best you can do is figure out who you are and then do what's best for that person, I think.

00:34:27 Speaker_07
It's tempting to try to find someone else who'll fill your life up for you, but at the end of the day, you're the only person you're stuck with. Might as well learn to treat her right.

00:34:37 Speaker_03
Yeah. Yeah, I think you might be right. Thank you. You're, um... You're making your tea wrong, by the way. Just unbelievably wrong.

00:34:50 Speaker_07
Wait, what? Yeah, Jay, I was gonna say. All right, I guess everybody's a goddamn tea expert all of a sudden. What's wrong with it?

00:34:57 Speaker_03
Um, everything?

00:35:00 Speaker_07
Oh, shut up, Mercury.

00:35:01 Speaker_03
All those leaves just like floating around in it. And the fact that it smells extremely burnt. Have you ever even seen tea before?

00:35:13 Speaker_07
So it's not supposed to taste like that? Mercury, I swear.

00:35:19 Speaker_03
You see that like cage looking thing attached to the lid of the teapot? You put you put the leaves in there so they don't well, so they don't do exactly what you did. Then you steep it or sorry. I mean, you put it in boiled water.

00:35:32 Speaker_07
Yeah, I know what steeping means. Thanks, Nightmare.

00:35:34 Speaker_03
For like three to five minutes. How long have you been steeping it for?

00:35:37 Speaker_07
However long. Whatever. She's stupid anyway. You gonna keep cackling like a goddamn hyena, Mercury, or are we gonna get moving? We got plans, remember? Sure, JJ. I'm coming, I'm coming. I'll... lock the door.

00:35:54 Speaker_07
Just... close it behind you when you feel ready to get on your feet again, Nightmare.

00:35:59 Speaker_03
Thank you. Again. Oh, wait! I just realized I never paid you.

00:36:03 Speaker_07
Don't worry. I took my fee out of your refund already.

00:36:06 Speaker_03
You did what? ! But wait, there are only 10 creds missing here.

00:36:11 Speaker_07
All I need. Just do me a favor. Next time you meet someone that needs a lot of little questions answered, send them over to Juno Steel. Private Eye.

00:36:25 Speaker_06
Interesting kid. It's nice what you did for her, Jay. It felt like the right thing to do.

00:36:33 Speaker_07
Did you see what I meant, though, about who she looks like? Yeah, you're right. That is spooky. Right? She looks just like Sasha!

00:36:42 Speaker_06
What? Like me? What the hell are you talking about? Like Sasha? What are you, nuts? She didn't look anything like Sasha! You're out of your mind right now. I'm telling you, it was spooky!

00:36:51 Speaker_07
I kept chewing on that as Mick hailed a cab to bring us to whatever dive bar he'd found this time. I kept chewing on how... good I felt, too. It wasn't anything like the cases I used to take, but that felt good. Real good.

00:37:06 Speaker_08
Uh, plate of fried crickets for the two of us, bartender. Ten creds cover it?

00:37:12 Speaker_01
Uh-huh.

00:37:15 Speaker_06
Last ten creds down the drain. I can cover us both, you know.

00:37:19 Speaker_06
Like, I've got plenty of money, plus I never know what to spend it on, so it's just- Stuff that wallet back in your pocket, Mercury, or I'll stuff it somewhere you'll need a team of medical professionals to find it again.

00:37:29 Speaker_06
All right, all right, I'm stuffing, I'm stuffing. So, you're back in town. I'm thinking of sticking around a while this time? Yep. You? I might move back to Hyperion, honestly. That big house, I don't know. I don't need all that space.

00:37:50 Speaker_06
What about that little crew you've been putting together there? They could keep it if they want it. I don't mind. That's not really what I meant. Anyways, just a little hard to be there still since Wilco. Yeah? Did something happen? Yeah, nothing big.

00:38:05 Speaker_06
I kept trying to put him back together again and all that, but one day he just didn't wake up. I'm sorry, Mercury. No, it's okay. Most of the time. In a way, it was nice, you know? The way he died the first time.

00:38:21 Speaker_06
Jumping around, the old excited Wilko, and then BANG BANG BANG! All that pain! And then gone!

00:38:28 Speaker_06
I never got to say goodbye, but this time... Oh yeah, he stank, and yeah, his tail was coming apart in pieces, but... I get to sit with him while he just... drifted away. It's like I got to do it over, but... I'd do it better. You know?

00:38:48 Speaker_06
That's the dream. Yeah. Yeah, I guess it is. What about you? What about me? Yeah, last time we were at a bar like this, you were gonna go look for someone, right? You ever find him? Uh... Yeah. And? Come on, pal! Give me something here! I found him, and...

00:39:13 Speaker_07
It's funny. Well, what's funny? I just... I just realized that after months of wondering what he's doing just about every second of every day, I haven't thought about him even once today. Not till you said that. Sorry to break your streak.

00:39:30 Speaker_07
No, no, it's okay. It doesn't... It's not so hard thinking about him right now.

00:39:39 Speaker_06
So, I guess we're both basically good at this point. I guess so. Kind of weird, isn't it? What's weird? I don't know. For years, it felt like every time we bumped into each other, one of us was going through some kind of wringer.

00:39:58 Speaker_06
It's nice just hanging out. You know what? It really is. You ever think about trees? Uh, trees? You know, tall brown things, get a bunch of leaves on top. Yeah, I know what a tree is, Mercury. What's your point? Well, I've been thinking here. Uh-oh.

00:40:26 Speaker_06
No, really, I've been thinking. I've never, like, had trees before. But the mansion has a bunch, ever since we redid the lawn. And once a year, you know, the leaves all fall off, and it's a big pain to clean them all off the ground. Raking, they call it.

00:40:41 Speaker_06
It's wild. Wait, don't you have a gardener who lives with you for free? Oh, is he supposed to rake the leaves? I was doing it myself. Then he'd jump at the pile, and I'd have to do it again, and I didn't mind the first time.

00:40:51 Speaker_06
Can you just get to the point already? I love you, Mercury, but your living situation makes me want to stick my head in the cricket fryer. All right, all right.

00:40:57 Speaker_06
So when you rake the leaves, right, you got to gather them all up in these big bags, and then you pay someone to pick up the bags.

00:41:02 Speaker_06
But I was thinking, and follow me on this, Jay, I was thinking, what if the leaves started in the bag before they hit the ground? before they left the tree even. Nick, is this seriously another get-rich-quick scheme? You're already loaded.

00:41:18 Speaker_06
Juno, you know as well as I do that any scheme we're doing is about the journey, not the destination. Yeah, all right, yeah, you got me. Tell me about your leaves then. All right, so picture this.

00:41:28 Speaker_06
End of summer, before the leaves start turning, you get a bunch of gigantic bags and you put them over the tops of the trees, right? And then you tie the opening real tight around the trunk, below the branches.

00:41:38 Speaker_06
Then, and this is the good part, when the leaves fall off the branches, they're already in the bag. So when they've all fallen into the bag, right?

00:41:47 Speaker_06
You just take the bag off the tree and boom, you get a bag full of leaves and not one of them hit the ground.

00:41:56 Speaker_08
It's a pretty good idea, huh? Mercury, how the hell are you gonna get the bag off the tree?

00:42:00 Speaker_06
You just take it off, like I said.

00:42:03 Speaker_08
Right, but you put the bag on upside down and you tied it to the trunk, so... How are you gonna get the opening past all the branches again?

00:42:11 Speaker_06
It really isn't that complicated, Judah. You put it on there, you just do that again, but backwards.

00:42:16 Speaker_08
Okay, okay, so going backwards, the first thing you do is untie the bag. Right, right. And when you untie the bag upside down, remember, what happens to the leaves?

00:42:31 Speaker_06
No. No, I don't think you get what I'm saying. The leaves are already in the bag.

00:42:35 Speaker_08
But how the hell are you gonna get the bag off without dropping the leaves? It's just a bag, Jay.

00:42:41 Speaker_06
This isn't rocket science. What does your gardener even do, anyway? A gardener's just a label. We're really more of a self-directed enrichment house.

00:42:49 Speaker_06
So like yesterday, they got really curious where this one bug was going, so we followed it, like, all day long. Only in the end, it turned out it was just some lint, but his breath kept pushing it around.

00:43:03 Speaker_07
So Mick and I ate our crickets and drank a few beers and talked about a whole lot of nothing for a while. It was nice not having some big world shaking thing that I had to get off my chest for once. Just goofing around with my oldest friend.

00:43:16 Speaker_06
I could get used to this, I thought. Good talk tonight, JJ. Same time next week? You bet. See you then. Man, it's good to have you back in town, pal.

00:43:31 Speaker_07
Back in town. I liked the sound of that. Here I was. Back in town. Same job. Same office. Not a single cred in my pocket. So? Here comes the big question, Steele. The one you've been avoiding like it's out to get you.

00:43:55 Speaker_07
Had I really come all this way just to end up back where I started? I wondered about that. The things I thought I had, the ways I thought I'd grown, they were all kind of amorphous, weren't they?

00:44:12 Speaker_07
They weren't the kind of things you could hold in your hand, and I wondered if those things counted, really, if I was just fooling myself. Until I opened the door to my office again and saw Rita.

00:44:25 Speaker_07
Big headphones on, dancing while she straightened up her desk. She didn't notice me, so I just waited for a minute. And it was funny that she gave me the answer I'd been looking for, because she wasn't someone new.

00:44:47 Speaker_07
But she'd been there with me through all the good times and the worst times. She'd seen just about every version of me there was over the past 20 plus years.

00:44:58 Speaker_07
And I realized it had been a long time since I'd seen her as happy as she was right then, dancing badly to bad music while she cleaned up her desk in our old office.

00:45:10 Speaker_07
And was I really going to look at her and say she wasn't any better off than she started just because she didn't have some thief hanging off her arm?

00:45:21 Speaker_02
Mr. Steele, I didn't know you were there.

00:45:22 Speaker_07
Hey, Rita. I was just coming back to grab a few things before I head home. You don't have to work this late, you know.

00:45:30 Speaker_02
Oh, yeah, I know, but I just didn't want to go back yet. It's nice being here again. That's all.

00:45:35 Speaker_07
The office will still be here tomorrow.

00:45:37 Speaker_02
Yeah. Yeah, it will, won't it? Mr. Steele, I'm so happy you solved another case right away. I mean, I knew you would, or at least I thought you would.

00:45:47 Speaker_02
But also, I was thinking about how when we first started the PI business, it took a few months of moping around before you did anything at all. Which would have been okay, obviously, but, um... I'm proud of you, Mr. Steele. I always liked working here.

00:46:01 Speaker_02
I wouldn't have done it if I didn't. But I just keep getting the feeling that the best times are still ahead of us, you know?

00:46:08 Speaker_07
Yeah. Me too.

00:46:15 Speaker_02
I love you a lot, Mr. Steele.

00:46:17 Speaker_07
I love you too, Rita. For the first time in a while, I'm really looking forward to tomorrow.

00:46:25 Speaker_02
Me too. I guess I'll go home and go to bed, so tomorrow comes a little sooner, huh?

00:46:32 Speaker_07
Sounds good. I'll lock up. I'm just going to take one more minute here before I go.

00:46:36 Speaker_02
OK. Good night, Mr. Steele.

00:46:39 Speaker_07
Good night, Rita. See you in the morning. And suddenly, suddenly I know exactly what I want to do. So I make a pot of tea, the right way.

00:47:10 Speaker_01
Not bad.

00:47:21 Speaker_07
Then I sit next to my window and take in the view. The stars above. The dome shimmering overhead and closer by. That jagged skyline I know so well. Hyperion City. Some people say it's the most beautiful place in the galaxy.

00:47:50 Speaker_07
You know, there's an oath they make you say over at the P.I. registry before they'll give you your license. It's written in the front cover of the P.I. handbook in clean, dark type. Apparently it comes from Old Earth a long, long time ago.

00:48:04 Speaker_07
It goes like this. Down these mean streets a man must go who is not himself mean. who is neither tarnished nor afraid. He is the hero. He is everything. He must be a complete man and a common man, and yet an unusual man.

00:48:28 Speaker_07
He must be, to use a rather weathered phrase, a man of honor, by instinct, by inevitability, without thought of it, and certainly without saying it. He must be the best man in his world, and a good enough man for any world.

00:48:44 Speaker_07
If there were enough like him, the worlds would be a very safe place to live in, without becoming too dull to be worth living in. I didn't put much stock in those words the first time I said them.

00:48:56 Speaker_07
They seemed like a lot of promises nobody could ever keep, but now... Hell, now I wonder if that might be the point. It's like this city, too.

00:49:07 Speaker_07
It's too big to take in all at once from one little window, but I know it well enough that I can even see the parts my eyes can't reach. Halcyon Park, where a mother took her sons before she lost herself to the devil's insider.

00:49:21 Speaker_07
The Hyperion City Police Academy, where a snot-nosed cop wannabe fell head over heels for a bombshell who gave him a few good years before going off.

00:49:30 Speaker_07
And the nice thing about not relying on your eyes is you can even see the parts that are long since gone.

00:49:35 Speaker_07
to Milo's of Venus, the blinding supernova of a department store right next to the corner where an angry young PI investigated his very first case.

00:49:45 Speaker_07
The dingy die bars of Old Town, where three kids who knew better skipped school and made a friendship that would change them forever. My point is, it makes promises, this city.

00:49:58 Speaker_07
Live a life of neon signs and rain-slicked streets where adventure lurks in every alley. Make a name for yourself, make a cred or two billion. The city of first light, they call it, with hope and opportunity dawning on the horizon.

00:50:12 Speaker_07
Well, it looks good on camera, but it's not all the way true. Just like how, despite my P.I. oath, I'm still tarnished, and I'm sure as hell afraid. But the promise still matters. It's still worth something, because it gives you something to shoot for.

00:50:36 Speaker_07
I'd like to think I'm closer to that oath than I was when I took it. And if I have my way, I'll be even closer to it tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow. And so long as I'm doing my best to keep my promises,

00:50:49 Speaker_07
I think I'd like to make sure Hyperion City keeps its promises, too. Living up to the dame you want to be, it's a full-time job. Even more so than being a cop, or a space pirate, or a private eye.

00:51:03 Speaker_07
So, I think I've got a full enough plate to get by without worrying about who's missing from it. And then, maybe one day... Well, you never know who's gonna...

00:51:36 Speaker_08
Hey there.

00:51:38 Speaker_01
It's been a while.

00:52:01 Speaker_04
Thank you, from the bottom of our hearts, travelers, for following the adventures of Juno Steel and our Tales of the Second Citadel for all these years.

00:52:09 Speaker_04
Creating these stories for you has been a dream come true, and we can't wait for you to see what tales we have planned next.

00:52:17 Speaker_04
If you'd like to know before anyone else what those mysterious future projects will look like, be sure to support us on Patreon at patreon.com slash ThePenumbraPodcast.

00:52:27 Speaker_04
All patrons will have access to a post-series, live-streamed Q&A on Sunday, September 8th, where, in addition to answering your questions, we will also be announcing our next project, so be sure to pledge and attend if you'd like to know more.

00:52:40 Speaker_04
If you've enjoyed this tale, please consider supporting The Penumbra. You can do so by buying our merchandise. Just go to thepenumbrapodcast.com and click on the store tab.

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You can also make a one-time donation to The Penumbra via PayPal at The Penumbra Podcast.

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$10 Patreon supporters will also receive access to commentary tracks like this one from actors Joshua Elon, Kate Jones, and Noah Symes, and co-creators Harley Takagi-Kaner and Kevin Vibert.

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That's what is a good thing to achieve, is to be able to be a complete person by yourself. And that doesn't mean that your relationships of various kinds, your friends and your romantic partners, whatever, that they aren't very important.

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In fact, they're crucial, but you... I think it is Judith who says it, right? That a person can't be what you do with your life.

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And for that reason, it means a lot to me that the last real interaction we get to see in full with him is with Rita. Yeah. Yeah.

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Oh my gosh, Kate.

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You can't.

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I know.

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Just don't talk about the podcast.

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We would like to give thanks to all who support us on Patreon, but especially to Sylvia Chu. Glowbug is so proud of Rita and will miss her. Ted, I can't believe how bad you got us. My penumbra hyperfixation is back at 100% power.

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Amethyst, the corn eye and the lonely ghost. Alexiu. Tori Zuza. Dandy Fine, aka Mr. Jetsiculiac's number one fan. Zs here. Pietro Juno.

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Spaghetti Mimot, Jonathan Wilkes Will Miss OG Penumbra, Juno Steele and the Costco Hot Dog, Hi My Name is DJ and I Love This Podcast, Ari Berry, An Intrepid Lilac, Andy Bell, The Werners wishing well to Juno's journey.

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Casey O. A log who is going to miss their favorite podcast so much. Juno G. Esca. Bettina Trevino. Alim Muktadir. Brittany Potter. Sophia N. Juno. Thank you for the transgenderism, Juno Steele. The Emerald Eight, this podcast, haha.

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With love for the end and hope for the beginning. Mr. Me, Myself, and I. Noray. Kira. Jack M. Cohen. Ichabod. Paladin of Gawain, good boy of the Citadel. Girl in the Midnight Sky. Adrian Cadena. Thank you, Penumbra team, for your amazing work. Braylon.

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Quintessence puts the science in science fiction. Hannah and Leah's adventures engender shenanigans. The Lady Guinevere and it always needed to end this way. Sidney bids a tearful goodbye to the Juniverse, Cobbled Vibrance, Jemmy, Rachel,

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Osapeet, Laura, Diana Cause, Benjamin Fisher, SCP Chloe, Desert Willow and The Final, Samantha Rodriguez, Carrot Cup Juster, Rachel Howard, June Gashoku, Skyfire Forever, The Lady Has Claimed Another One, Jay Hull, James Evelyn, Emily Will Miss You, Juno Steele,

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Thank you, Juno Steele, Liv Allen, Alice the Time Lord, in memory of Spiral Opal, Eden the Gay Bookworm, Pridon thanks the Penumbra Podcast for getting her a girlfriend, Maybe the real case closed was the friends we made along the way.

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So long, and thanks for all the gender.

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Michael David Smith Nicole Cundiff and I'll miss you, Mr. Steele Kiki's Podcast Patronage Service Amy Thist Caroline Seidman Shura is a guy in the same way that Juno Steele is a lady Radia Selna Rain and Pippin from the Glen Dimension

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Dr. B, Karen Z.H., Genetic, Cortu, Minchowski, Ash, and Angel Acevedo for their incredibly generous contributions per episode. Thank you. This tale, Juno Steel and the Case Closed, was told by the following people.

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Joshua Elon as Juno Steele, Kate Jones as Rita, Chelsea Ruscio as Puck Falco, Stefano Purdy as Mick Mercury, and Harley Takagi-Kaner as Nightmare. The P.I. Oath was excerpted from Raymond Chandler's 1944 essay, The Simple Art of Murder.

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On staff at the Penumbra, Ginny D'Angelo is our Head of Merchandise and Outreach. Melissa DeJesus and Graham Turner are our Script Editing Team. Harley Takagi-Kainer is our Co-Creator, Head of Episode Development, Director, and Sound Designer.

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Joelle Cross is our Transcriptionist. Noah Symes is our Production Manager. Kevin Vybert is our Co-Creator and Lead Writer. Ryan Vybert is our Composer and Performer of Original Music. Jeff Wright is our Graphic Designer.

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Promotional art for this episode was created by Sharon Oh. The Penumbra was created and produced by Harley Takagi-Kanner and Kevin Vibert. I'm afraid that is all the time we have together, dear traveler.

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It has been a pleasure serving you at our humble establishment. May your future journeys find you well, and remember, the Penumbra will always be here should you ever decide to return.

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It's Harley again. I hope you enjoyed this episode. If you're interested in getting early ad-free versions of the show, along with a lot of other bonus content, remember to check out thepenemberpodcast.supercast.com.

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And if you heard anything about Patreon in that episode, ignore it. That was our old platform, and everything has been moved over to the new one. Thank you for considering supporting our work.