Semiotician-Emeritus,

Something is wrong.

I am no great pattern worker. I know a few techniques that aid me in my duty: How to lower the light of an already dim bar room; how to sharpen a blade without a whetstone; how to make voice twice itself. Even to call these 'techniques,' feels false: They are tricks. I know that. But I also know this: The world is askew.

There is a simple pattern I do when trying to find mirrors: I break an egg onto a large, north-facing rock and then break the yolk with something made of copper. The yolk splits in two, and from how it falls, I know which direction to travel. Except for the past month, the yolk doesn't split, it shatters.

But even that is not why I write you, Tel. Patterns change, we know this. The earth shakes 20 days from here and that upsets the alignment. Sure. Fine. But my mundane efforts should not be affected. I am not a successful Collector because of some gimmick, but because I can track a horse's path over stone, Tel, but I lost one in the mud last week. Because I can see in a face the construction of a white lie, but had a thief tell me he was a philanthropist and I believed him. Because I can track the smells of certain plants across distances you would not believe—but I've lost track of a man covered in its scent.

What is happening, Tel? And how can I help?

-M

This week on Friends at the Table: The Shield of Our Will

M—,

Your instinct is right, of course—your technique has not faltered, it is only the world that is changing. I write these next words only because I trust that they will go no further:

Something is wrong. The Original Pattern has come out of alignment. H, K, and I work on it still. We are close to achieving a route to it, but we must send the right agent.

Your quarry is not lost on the wind, my young friend. He is drifting towards where he is needed most.

S.E.U.T..

Hosted by Austin Walker (@austin_walker)

Featuring Jack de Quidt (@notquitereal), Sylvi Clare (@captaintrash), and Keith J Carberry (@keithjcarberry) Produced by Ali Acampora (@ali_west)

Cover Art by Craig Sheldon (@shoddyrobot)

Episode description by Austin Walker

Music by Jack de Quidt

A transcription is available for this episode here.A full list of completed transcriptions is available here. Our transcriptions are provided by a fan-organized paid transcription project. If you'd like to join, you can get more information at https://twitter.com/transcript_fatt. Thank you to all of our transcribers!!