The Go-West Protocol
Written By: Robbie Hyne
Narrated By: Bri Cuoco & Brian Logan Dales
When a deep-space shuttle is forced irrevocably off course, its AI initiates the Go-West Protocol… a final contingency offeringsimulated paradise from the crew. But what happens when this idealistic utopia turns into a living nightmare?
Collection Two: “A Traveler’s Guide”: Stories about Space, Time & Other Worlds
Episode #: One
Release Date: Tuesday, July 2nd
Est. Runtime: » 30 Min
Standout Lines:
"As his eyes adjusted, it was as if all vibrance seemed to drain away around him. Retreating, perhaps, back into the protocol itself.”
"It made him wonder if he'd had the chance to build any sort of life within its world... before death, here.”
"The dreams came like those waves of the ocean slamming against the shore. Hitting her with glimpses, only glimpses, of some faraway life she never had…”
From the Author:
One of the things I love about this podcast is how incredibly diverse the stories become— How different minds can take a theme to so many different places. It was my favorite part of Collection One, and it continues to make my heart sing in Collection Two! It’s also incredibly inspiring, and it helps push me to go beyond the boundaries of what I would normally write.
For me, this extends beyond just what each story is about, but to the way I write them. I always ask myself: What can I do with the style of prose to make it feel different? In Collection One, Flesh & Iron was my first exploration of “broken” prose. Fracturing sentences to make the story feel as visceral as possible. To be so very in the moment with each character.
Here, in Collection Two, I really wanted to try dual narrators— shifting perspectives back and forth in a way that plays off one another, and tells a singular story. The Go-West Protocol was my way into that. It started very simply as an exploration of depression— the way it affects how we feel, how we act, how we think and what we believe. Depression is a constant in my life, and it takes a great deal of diligence to combat it, work through it, and even sometimes embrace it.
I began to think about what it might look like to externalize that battle in sci-fi story form, and soon came to the idea of a simulated reality that was infected in some way. All the ways, big and small, that a virus of some kind would seep into a beautiful world. Paradise turned living nightmare. I also couldn’t help but wonder how one person’s way of coping can be incredibly different than another’s. Just like one person’s paradise is different than another’s, and the same with horrors and nightmares.
This brought me to two characters, best friends, who are experiencing the malfunctioning protocol in two very different ways. Both are being used for a nefarious end goal, but the means to that end work almost opposite one another. It’s a delicate back and forth as they move through the story and each realize different truths about their simulated reality, and what’s going wrong with the protocol. And in the end, both Samara and Kiers meet some version of the truth in their own ways… giving into it, or ending it altogether.
In the end, I can’t say I nailed it all perfectly. But what I can tell you is that this story was a blast to create, and even more fun to navigate. It leaves things open for interpretation, even for me. And I couldn’t ask for better partners in bringing it to life than Bri and Brian. They were so willing and eager to dive in, have fun, and play in this world. The balance of their voices working opposite one another is beautiful. And I am truly in awe of their talent!
— Robbie
