WEBVTT

1
00:00:00.120 --> 00:00:04.860
Speaker 1: [train horn]

2
00:00:04.860 --> 00:00:49.400
Speaker 1: [upbeat music]

3
00:00:49.460 --> 00:00:52.860
Speaker 1: Dust. Chapter One. Heist.

4
00:00:54.980 --> 00:01:00.340
Speaker 1: Regulus K. Boogerton smiled at the
people he was trying to rob. They had no idea

5
00:01:00.380 --> 00:01:05.680
Speaker 1: what was even happening. "It's
incredible what they serve in this place. Did
you see

6
00:01:05.740 --> 00:01:10.820
Speaker 1: that?" The aristocrat pointed at a
blob of text on the menu, far too distant for

7
00:01:10.860 --> 00:01:16.400
Speaker 1: Regulus to read. Regulus agreed
anyway. That was his part.

8
00:01:16.400 --> 00:01:22.200
Speaker 1: "Truly unbelievable." Irita Claire's
two siblings leaned

9
00:01:22.280 --> 00:01:28.140
Speaker 1: in to read the menu. "Corn gravy and
mash. Mashed what?" "It

10
00:01:28.220 --> 00:01:32.860
Speaker 1: just says mash." "Mash for brains, I
assure you."

11
00:01:32.900 --> 00:01:38.300
Speaker 1: [laughs] Everyone in the seating room
laughed, especially Irita Claire.

12
00:01:39.140 --> 00:01:45.060
Speaker 1: She went as far as to curl an
interested eyebrow at him. Scandalous. He needed

13
00:01:45.100 --> 00:01:48.980
Speaker 1: to get out of here before she started
popping buttons on her dress and saying,

14
00:01:49.100 --> 00:01:54.960
Speaker 1: "Oopsies." Romantic affairs were not
part of the plan, but they were frequent

15
00:01:55.020 --> 00:01:59.920
Speaker 1: side effects. Terrible, really. He
practically left a trail of heartsick women

16
00:01:59.980 --> 00:02:05.840
Speaker 1: wherever he went. A few men, too. It
wasn't like he could turn it off, though. Not

17
00:02:05.880 --> 00:02:10.940
Speaker 1: his magnificent charm. Regulus made a
show of looking at his pocket watch.

18
00:02:10.940 --> 00:02:16.840
Speaker 1: "Thank you again for your uncommon
kindness, letting me ride in

19
00:02:16.900 --> 00:02:22.820
Speaker 1: your train." "It isn't our train. We
borrowed it." "Ah,

20
00:02:22.920 --> 00:02:28.680
Speaker 1: then thank you for allowing me to
borrow it with you." Irita Claire looked like
she

21
00:02:28.740 --> 00:02:34.540
Speaker 1: might strangle her younger sister.
"Melon is correct. This car

22
00:02:34.640 --> 00:02:40.560
Speaker 1: and a few others are Fairlane train
cars, but the rest of the train is

23
00:02:40.700 --> 00:02:46.220
Speaker 1: not. It's a tragic story, really."
She managed to slide even closer to

24
00:02:46.280 --> 00:02:51.840
Speaker 1: Regulus as she said the last part of
her sentence. Irita Claire let a gloved

25
00:02:51.920 --> 00:02:57.580
Speaker 1: hand rest lightly on his left thigh
underneath the table. Regulus

26
00:02:57.660 --> 00:03:03.400
Speaker 1: coughed light- [coughs] "Are you
certain the furnace room is not

27
00:03:03.460 --> 00:03:09.040
Speaker 1: next door? Mm." [laughs] Irita Claire
let out a half growl,

28
00:03:09.300 --> 00:03:14.260
Speaker 1: half laugh, but didn't speak. Her
siblings and friends looked at each other and

29
00:03:14.300 --> 00:03:19.600
Speaker 1: either whispered, giggled, or
pretended not to notice. Too much charm.

30
00:03:20.060 --> 00:03:25.360
Speaker 1: Definitely too much charm. He
literally could not turn it off, though.

31
00:03:25.980 --> 00:03:31.400
Speaker 1: Not without ruining the entire plan.
Regulus stood up suddenly as Irita Claire tried

32
00:03:31.460 --> 00:03:36.520
Speaker 1: to lay her head on his shoulder. That
was going too far. She teetered and flopped

33
00:03:36.620 --> 00:03:41.540
Speaker 1: over onto the padded bench, hair and
dress flying through the air. "I've just had a

34
00:03:41.620 --> 00:03:47.480
Speaker 1: wonderful idea." He pretended not to
notice as her sister tried to help Irita Claire

35
00:03:47.580 --> 00:03:53.060
Speaker 1: up. The red-faced woman batted her
away and smiled eagerly at Regulus. He smiled

36
00:03:53.120 --> 00:03:58.900
Speaker 1: back. "I'm going on a tour of the
train. An adventure, really,

37
00:03:59.020 --> 00:04:04.680
Speaker 1: when you consider the state of their
dining menu." Another polite round of laughs.

38
00:04:04.680 --> 00:04:10.640
Speaker 1: [laughs] Except from Irita Claire.
Her eyes simply simmered. He'd seen

39
00:04:10.680 --> 00:04:15.080
Speaker 1: that look before. This pot was about
to boil over.

40
00:04:15.240 --> 00:04:20.760
Speaker 1: "Perhaps you'll visit the furnace
room next door when you return.

41
00:04:21.440 --> 00:04:26.400
Speaker 1: I simply must find the source of this
unbearable heat."

42
00:04:27.800 --> 00:04:33.260
Speaker 1: Regulus coughed to make a show of
hiding his blush. "Irida, are you

43
00:04:33.520 --> 00:04:39.340
Speaker 1: feeling okay?" Irita Claire's friends
had been too afraid to ask, but seemed

44
00:04:39.400 --> 00:04:44.940
Speaker 1: pleased that her sister had. Regulus
felt the wall between worlds weakening.

45
00:04:45.540 --> 00:04:50.620
Speaker 1: He couldn't help but feel the
universe was offering him an insult. It was
definitely

46
00:04:50.700 --> 00:04:56.160
Speaker 1: time to go. He strode out of the room
waving. Irita Claire practically raced him to

47
00:04:56.220 --> 00:05:01.240
Speaker 1: the seating room door. Her friends
and siblings watched her go with concern. She
was

48
00:05:01.300 --> 00:05:06.260
Speaker 1: the highest ranking and thus the head
of the house. Extramarital relationships were

49
00:05:06.320 --> 00:05:12.220
Speaker 1: not forbidden in the aristocracy, but
only because a rule not to destroy one's own

50
00:05:12.260 --> 00:05:18.000
Speaker 1: reputation was so far self-evident.
To them, sex was a negotiation

51
00:05:18.060 --> 00:05:23.160
Speaker 1: tool all its own. If you were in the
habit of giving things away for free, well,

52
00:05:24.040 --> 00:05:28.480
Speaker 1: surely competitors and suitors would
start lining up outside your mansions to take

53
00:05:28.540 --> 00:05:33.900
Speaker 1: further advantage. Regulus wouldn't
know what that was like. His membership to the

54
00:05:33.980 --> 00:05:39.660
Speaker 1: aristocracy ended and began with
putting on the costume. "My private rooms are

55
00:05:39.720 --> 00:05:44.920
Speaker 1: next door." It was clear from the
faces in the room when she opened the door to

56
00:05:44.960 --> 00:05:50.520
Speaker 1: whisper again that everyone had heard
her. "Half an hour." The door

57
00:05:50.620 --> 00:05:56.420
Speaker 1: finally closed for good. Regulus
walked off in haste. He would need to meet her

58
00:05:56.500 --> 00:06:02.440
Speaker 1: again. Irita Claire was a critical
part of the plan, but he had to be careful.

59
00:06:02.940 --> 00:06:08.840
Speaker 1: If he let this go too far, well, the
situation was already as tense as piano wire.

60
00:06:09.456 --> 00:06:15.376
Speaker 1: If he consummated this farce, it
might kill everyone on the train. For

61
00:06:15.436 --> 00:06:18.116
Speaker 1: now, it was time to meet the rest of
his team.

62
00:06:18.196 --> 00:06:30.576
Speaker 1: [upbeat music]

63
00:06:30.656 --> 00:06:35.256
Speaker 1: Regulus made his way to the infamous
dining car. It was clearly not a Fairlane car.

64
00:06:35.656 --> 00:06:38.896
Speaker 1: Based on how they were dressed, at
least half of the current occupants would have

65
00:06:38.936 --> 00:06:44.476
Speaker 1: been thrown off the moving train if
it were a Fairlane car. Very strict dress codes.

66
00:06:45.436 --> 00:06:49.856
Speaker 1: He took a seat at the table with a
privacy wall and waited to be served. While he

67
00:06:49.916 --> 00:06:55.456
Speaker 1: waited, he affixed the yellow piper
pin to his suit coat. Regulus didn't know who he

68
00:06:55.476 --> 00:07:00.736
Speaker 1: was meeting, but they would know him
by the pin he wore. A woman in a black suit and

69
00:07:00.796 --> 00:07:05.656
Speaker 1: a little red bow tie appeared a few
minutes later with a menu. She had prematurely

70
00:07:05.716 --> 00:07:09.616
Speaker 1: gray hair, though her face was still
youthful. She couldn't have been out of her

71
00:07:09.816 --> 00:07:15.456
Speaker 1: 30s. "Oh my, what a striking nose you
have."

72
00:07:16.056 --> 00:07:21.936
Speaker 1: "It's my best feature." "Is it?"
Regulus narrowed his

73
00:07:22.016 --> 00:07:26.856
Speaker 1: eyes. The Fairlanes had been right to
look down on the commoner dining car if this

74
00:07:26.916 --> 00:07:32.796
Speaker 1: was how he was going to be treated.
"I'll take a glass of brandy." The

75
00:07:32.856 --> 00:07:36.996
Speaker 1: server rolled her eyes at him and
then came back a minute later with a glass of

76
00:07:37.616 --> 00:07:43.436
Speaker 1: something. It wasn't brandy. "Are you
sure there's nothing else I can

77
00:07:43.476 --> 00:07:48.856
Speaker 1: help you with?" She tilted her chin
and wiggled one shoulder around. Where had they

78
00:07:49.076 --> 00:07:54.076
Speaker 1: found this server? "Are you having a
seizure or something?"

79
00:07:55.176 --> 00:08:00.276
Speaker 1: She pointed at the metal pin fixed to
her suit coat, a small blue dove.

80
00:08:01.716 --> 00:08:07.316
Speaker 1: Oh. Oh. The Blue Dove. "My apologies.

81
00:08:07.876 --> 00:08:13.656
Speaker 1: It looked like a pigeon." "No, it
doesn't." Blue Dove sat down in the seat across

82
00:08:13.696 --> 00:08:18.436
Speaker 1: from him. "So who are you then? The
bird expert?"

83
00:08:19.395 --> 00:08:24.356
Speaker 1: Regulus took a sip of whatever was in
his glass and frowned. It tasted like shoe

84
00:08:24.416 --> 00:08:30.336
Speaker 1: polish. Blue Dove rolled her eyes.
"No. Who are you? The big-nosed rich

85
00:08:30.396 --> 00:08:36.256
Speaker 1: guy?" "Darling, I can't believe
you've figured me out already." Regulus took

86
00:08:36.296 --> 00:08:42.096
Speaker 1: another sip of his shoe polish.
"Where's our final compatriot?" "The Red Crane?"

87
00:08:42.716 --> 00:08:48.336
Speaker 1: "So you are the bird expert." [sighs]
"I figured you'd already met. Where have you

88
00:08:48.396 --> 00:08:54.356
Speaker 1: been? We've been waiting forever." "I
was, mm, preoccupied."

89
00:08:55.676 --> 00:09:00.156
Speaker 1: Blue Dove pounded on the privacy wall
behind her. A man got out of the neighboring

90
00:09:00.236 --> 00:09:05.636
Speaker 1: booth and sat down next to her. He
looked like... Well, he looked like one of the

91
00:09:05.696 --> 00:09:09.556
Speaker 1: people the Fairlanes would have
thrown off their moving train to clean up the
dining

92
00:09:09.636 --> 00:09:15.076
Speaker 1: car. "Hello, Yellow, uh..." "Yellow

93
00:09:15.256 --> 00:09:21.236
Speaker 1: Piper." "She's the bird expert." Blue
Dove took Regulus' shoe

94
00:09:21.376 --> 00:09:26.796
Speaker 1: polish and downed it in one swig.
That did it then. She wasn't getting a tip.

95
00:09:26.796 --> 00:09:32.216
Speaker 1: "Ah, let's just use our real names.
I'm Sandel Becker, or Sandy,

96
00:09:32.896 --> 00:09:38.096
Speaker 1: but not Sand." "Why would we call you
Sand?" "You wouldn't."

97
00:09:38.736 --> 00:09:43.056
Speaker 1: "Understood. And you are?" "Tritt."

98
00:09:43.056 --> 00:09:48.136
Speaker 1: "Tritt. Do you have a last name?"

99
00:09:49.156 --> 00:09:55.056
Speaker 1: "I do." The man said nothing more.
"You do a lot of talking."

100
00:09:55.056 --> 00:10:00.916
Speaker 1: "That, my dear, is my specialty, and
my name is Regulus K.

101
00:10:01.096 --> 00:10:06.596
Speaker 1: Bookerton." The three of them looked
at each other in turn, no one yet willing to

102
00:10:06.636 --> 00:10:12.596
Speaker 1: broach the ultimate reason they met
on this train. "So I see how our

103
00:10:12.656 --> 00:10:17.996
Speaker 1: bird expert got on the train." "I'm
not the bird expert. I'm just not an idiot."

104
00:10:18.676 --> 00:10:23.296
Speaker 1: "But how did you sneak onto this
train, Tritt?"

105
00:10:24.276 --> 00:10:29.736
Speaker 1: Tritt shrugged. "Bought a ticket."
"You what?"

106
00:10:29.775 --> 00:10:35.456
Speaker 1: "I just bought a ticket. It's a
train, isn't it? Anyone can buy

107
00:10:35.556 --> 00:10:41.436
Speaker 1: one." Regulus had followed six months
of meticulous orders from the puppeteer's

108
00:10:41.496 --> 00:10:47.036
Speaker 1: mysterious notes to get on this
train. He'd forged documents. He'd

109
00:10:47.216 --> 00:10:52.016
Speaker 1: ruined companies. He'd even worn a
fake mustache for a while.

110
00:10:53.036 --> 00:10:58.396
Speaker 1: Regulus finally closed his mouth when
he realized it was hanging open. "Yeah, the

111
00:10:58.456 --> 00:11:03.036
Speaker 1: puppeteer told me to try and work my
way onto the train's security. Ah, it seemed

112
00:11:03.076 --> 00:11:08.616
Speaker 1: like too much work, so I just bought
a ticket." "You don't think maybe the

113
00:11:08.676 --> 00:11:13.596
Speaker 1: reason you were supposed to work
security was so that you could infiltrate them?"

114
00:11:13.596 --> 00:11:19.516
Speaker 1: "Nah, I did something better."
Better? The puppeteer's plans were supposed to

115
00:11:19.556 --> 00:11:25.556
Speaker 1: be followed exactly. That's what made
them work. If this imbecile had already

116
00:11:25.616 --> 00:11:31.456
Speaker 1: deviated from the plan... "So what's
your story, big nose?" Regulus closed his

117
00:11:31.556 --> 00:11:36.616
Speaker 1: eyes and sighed inwardly. There was
no way he was even attempting this without a

118
00:11:36.676 --> 00:11:42.336
Speaker 1: drink. A moment later, another server
wandered by, then stopped and turned around to

119
00:11:42.436 --> 00:11:47.596
Speaker 1: speak to them. "Hey, weird question,
but I mixed up an order and poured this extra

120
00:11:47.656 --> 00:11:53.336
Speaker 1: glass of brandy by mistake. Does
anyone want it?" Tritt swiped the glass

121
00:11:53.376 --> 00:11:58.796
Speaker 1: directly off the server's tray and
downed it. "Ah, thank you." Then the server

122
00:11:58.856 --> 00:12:04.716
Speaker 1: looked at Sandel in confusion. "I'm
on break." The server just shook his head and

123
00:12:04.776 --> 00:12:10.056
Speaker 1: walked off. Regulus massaged his
temples. That was twice this had happened.

124
00:12:10.596 --> 00:12:16.152
Speaker 1: Surely, surely the puppeteer was just
testing him Seeing if he could manage success

125
00:12:16.192 --> 00:12:21.672
Speaker 1: with even the most incapable
buffoons. Did you at least bring your

126
00:12:21.852 --> 00:12:27.572
Speaker 1: ciphers? Sandel slid over a piece of
paper with four letters on it. Trit

127
00:12:27.652 --> 00:12:33.412
Speaker 1: tapped the side of his head and
winked. D-C-S-E.

128
00:12:34.372 --> 00:12:38.552
Speaker 1: It took Regulus a few minutes to use
the three combined ciphers to decode the

129
00:12:38.592 --> 00:12:43.572
Speaker 1: briefing from the Puppeteer. He wrote
down the decoded words one letter at a time.

130
00:12:44.032 --> 00:12:49.612
Speaker 1: When he was done, everyone looked at
each other, uncertain. That's not very helpful.

131
00:12:50.732 --> 00:12:56.112
Speaker 1: Surely, surely this was not the
entire plan. He read it again,

132
00:12:56.672 --> 00:13:00.612
Speaker 1: searching for some hidden meaning,
but there wasn't a lot of room for secrets.

133
00:13:02.052 --> 00:13:03.972
Speaker 1: Rob the vault.

134
00:13:05.772 --> 00:13:10.572
Speaker 1: Maybe he should just go meet Irita
Claire in her room after all. If he was going to

135
00:13:10.632 --> 00:13:16.212
Speaker 1: die on this train anyway, he may as
well enjoy it. Chapter Two:

136
00:13:16.952 --> 00:13:18.252
Speaker 1: The Perfect Plan.

137
00:13:19.832 --> 00:13:24.212
Speaker 1: Trit looked down at the message Big
Nose had written. Maybe he'd done it wrong. He

138
00:13:24.252 --> 00:13:28.832
Speaker 1: wasn't sure how it was supposed to
work. Secret codes weren't really his thing.

139
00:13:29.612 --> 00:13:34.372
Speaker 1: Well, then it was a good thing he'd
ignored his orders to join the security. Being

140
00:13:34.512 --> 00:13:39.192
Speaker 1: smart didn't mean you knew
everything. Sometimes clever people saw things
that smart

141
00:13:39.252 --> 00:13:45.012
Speaker 1: people didn't. He would know because
he was clever. I think we need a new plan.

142
00:13:46.252 --> 00:13:52.252
Speaker 1: Okay, Trit, so we'll just figure out
how to rob an armored vault on the spot. Yeah,

143
00:13:52.272 --> 00:13:57.572
Speaker 1: that's right. That's all we gotta do.
Good. It sounded like she was on board. Big

144
00:13:57.632 --> 00:14:01.732
Speaker 1: Nose was still rubbing his head,
though. Probably wasn't used to using it so
much.

145
00:14:02.552 --> 00:14:07.992
Speaker 1: These vault trains have dozens of
armed guards, and they aren't your usual

146
00:14:08.092 --> 00:14:13.672
Speaker 1: nose-picking, unmotivated variety
either. They will be dangerous men,

147
00:14:13.972 --> 00:14:19.752
Speaker 1: and armed. Did I mention armed?
That's right, which is why you're

148
00:14:19.792 --> 00:14:23.792
Speaker 1: gonna love this. There should have
been 40 shock troopers in the two cars

149
00:14:23.852 --> 00:14:28.572
Speaker 1: surrounding the vault. But I delayed
their deployment before I got on the train. So

150
00:14:28.652 --> 00:14:34.612
Speaker 1: now there's only four, two inside the
vault and four outside. That's

151
00:14:34.812 --> 00:14:40.432
Speaker 1: six. What? That's six guards. You
said four. Uh,

152
00:14:41.052 --> 00:14:46.472
Speaker 1: fine. So there's 36 fewer shock
troopers. How's that? Mathematically accurate.

153
00:14:47.372 --> 00:14:53.292
Speaker 1: Now, is it too late to make it two
guards or none? What? I'm

154
00:14:53.352 --> 00:14:58.212
Speaker 1: just saying, if we're changing the
count, we should go for lower. I'm not changing

155
00:14:58.252 --> 00:15:03.392
Speaker 1: the count. Trit slapped his hands
against his face and slowly pulled them down.

156
00:15:04.192 --> 00:15:10.072
Speaker 1: Here, I'll explain it. So there were
34 guards. 40. Why are we going

157
00:15:10.212 --> 00:15:15.252
Speaker 1: up now? Trit groaned, then reached
under the table to pull something out of his

158
00:15:15.312 --> 00:15:20.192
Speaker 1: boot. He slammed a piece of metal the
size of his hand down between them. It looked

159
00:15:20.212 --> 00:15:25.812
Speaker 1: like a large iron nail with a handle.
And what is that? A hole

160
00:15:25.892 --> 00:15:29.952
Speaker 1: puncher. We walk right up to the
guards and punch that through the weak part of
the

161
00:15:30.072 --> 00:15:34.772
Speaker 1: armor, just between where the neck
plates connect to the helmet. What?

162
00:15:34.892 --> 00:15:40.052
Speaker 1: [sighs] No more talk. Take that. I'll
take the one on the left. Reg, you get the one

163
00:15:40.092 --> 00:15:44.612
Speaker 1: on the right. Then Trit got up from
the table and started walking to the back of the

164
00:15:44.672 --> 00:15:50.412
Speaker 1: dining car. These people were going
to talk all day if he let them. Hold on. Wait.

165
00:15:50.672 --> 00:15:56.432
Speaker 1: I said wait. The train rattled
furiously and a serving cart slammed into him
from

166
00:15:56.512 --> 00:16:00.672
Speaker 1: just out of view. Trit spun with the
blow and kicked the cart. Snacks and bottled

167
00:16:00.732 --> 00:16:04.872
Speaker 1: drinks went flying. He stepped back
into a defensive stance with the hole puncher in

168
00:16:04.912 --> 00:16:09.772
Speaker 1: his hands. Someone put a hand on his
shoulder and he nearly skewered them. Sandel

169
00:16:09.832 --> 00:16:15.672
Speaker 1: took a step back and put her hands
up. Easy, I think you got it. Trit forced
himself

170
00:16:15.732 --> 00:16:21.532
Speaker 1: to relax. He was getting better.
Sandel waved for him to come sit back down, so
he

171
00:16:21.592 --> 00:16:27.492
Speaker 1: did. You can put that away for now.
The other two were looking down

172
00:16:27.532 --> 00:16:32.252
Speaker 1: at his hands. Trit was still holding
the hole puncher in a white-knuckle grip. He

173
00:16:32.291 --> 00:16:37.052
Speaker 1: released it and stowed it back in his
boot. Maybe he wasn't getting that much

174
00:16:37.112 --> 00:16:42.912
Speaker 1: better. I think I have a plan that
won't get us shot, at least not right

175
00:16:42.992 --> 00:16:48.892
Speaker 1: away. I like the sound of that.
Agreed. Big Nose watched Trit

176
00:16:48.972 --> 00:16:54.212
Speaker 1: carefully, like he might punch a hole
in him. He wouldn't. It wasn't right to kill

177
00:16:54.252 --> 00:16:59.192
Speaker 1: people for no reason. You should at
least have a reason. I've walked the entire

178
00:16:59.272 --> 00:17:03.792
Speaker 1: train, except the Fairlane cars, and
I think Trit's right. There aren't very many

179
00:17:03.852 --> 00:17:09.692
Speaker 1: shock troopers. Doesn't take many.
Besides, the vault car is locked. That's sort

180
00:17:09.732 --> 00:17:13.312
Speaker 1: of the point. I'm all out of
explosives, too.

181
00:17:14.832 --> 00:17:20.532
Speaker 1: Regulus and Sandel shared a concerned
look before Sandel continued speaking. We

182
00:17:21.092 --> 00:17:26.012
Speaker 1: don't have to get through the vault
door, though, Trit. Because

183
00:17:27.072 --> 00:17:27.712
Speaker 1: I'm a drifter.

184
00:17:29.672 --> 00:17:35.132
Speaker 1: A what? A drifter. So you're not a
server?

185
00:17:35.732 --> 00:17:41.732
Speaker 1: No. What? She's not just a server.
She's also the bird expert.

186
00:17:41.732 --> 00:17:45.292
Speaker 1: [sighs] You don't know what a drifter
is?

187
00:17:47.132 --> 00:17:51.992
Speaker 1: No. I reckon it's a good time to
learn, though, if it keeps people from putting

188
00:17:52.052 --> 00:17:57.812
Speaker 1: holes in me. Okay. I'll try to
explain. Sandel cleared her throat,

189
00:17:57.972 --> 00:18:02.112
Speaker 1: pulled out a ballpoint pen from her
suit coat, then started writing directly on the

190
00:18:02.172 --> 00:18:07.532
Speaker 1: table. From the look of it, she
wasn't the first person to do so. First of all,
what

191
00:18:07.552 --> 00:18:13.092
Speaker 1: do you know about frames? Uh...
That's fine. I'll start from the top.

192
00:18:13.752 --> 00:18:18.192
Speaker 1: So the whole universe is made of the
same kind of stuff. We call that stuff

193
00:18:18.252 --> 00:18:24.248
Speaker 1: delirium. Are you with me so far?
Sure. There's a whole lot of that stuff,
delirium,

194
00:18:24.808 --> 00:18:30.188
Speaker 1: in its raw form just outside of the
present frame. A frame would make a

195
00:18:30.288 --> 00:18:36.288
Speaker 1: terrible present. Will you just shut
up for two minutes? Hmph.

196
00:18:38.008 --> 00:18:43.648
Speaker 1: Okay, so that's where we are right
now, the present frame. Everything in the future

197
00:18:43.708 --> 00:18:49.188
Speaker 1: is delirium, pure potential, real
physical stuff that hasn't been shaped into the

198
00:18:49.248 --> 00:18:55.068
Speaker 1: world we know and love. Me, you, this
table, the train. So in a way,

199
00:18:55.208 --> 00:18:59.388
Speaker 1: the present frame is like the leading
edge of a wave that moves through the

200
00:18:59.428 --> 00:19:05.308
Speaker 1: delirium. Trit, you're drooling. Huh?
He mopped up the

201
00:19:05.388 --> 00:19:10.428
Speaker 1: drool coming out of his mouth. So the
future is a kind of uniform,

202
00:19:10.908 --> 00:19:16.128
Speaker 1: unshaped potential, and the present
is, well, it's the present. Just look around.

203
00:19:16.688 --> 00:19:22.508
Speaker 1: But what about the past? I'm sure
that's what you're thinking. The past doesn't
just

204
00:19:22.568 --> 00:19:28.208
Speaker 1: turn back into delirium, not right
away anyway. It lingers around for a while in

205
00:19:28.428 --> 00:19:33.948
Speaker 1: frames, frozen moments of reality
that you can visit if you have the right set of

206
00:19:34.008 --> 00:19:39.928
Speaker 1: skills, if you're a drifter like me.
I can't tell if you're lying

207
00:19:39.988 --> 00:19:41.068
Speaker 1: or just crazy.

208
00:19:43.428 --> 00:19:48.728
Speaker 1: It means I can do this. Then she
disappeared completely.

209
00:19:49.588 --> 00:19:55.108
Speaker 1: Oh. Trit stared at the spot where
Sandel used to be for a good twenty

210
00:19:55.328 --> 00:20:00.608
Speaker 1: seconds. Then slowly, he waved a hand
through the air where she'd been sitting.

211
00:20:01.468 --> 00:20:06.808
Speaker 1: Sandel popped back into existence in
the aisle next to their table. Now that's

212
00:20:06.908 --> 00:20:11.748
Speaker 1: impressive. You really should lead
with that instead of a lecture.

213
00:20:12.768 --> 00:20:18.648
Speaker 1: Sandel rolled her eyes and sat back
down. But the mood had changed. This didn't seem

214
00:20:18.708 --> 00:20:23.948
Speaker 1: like such an impossible task anymore.
If she could go right through walls, robbing

215
00:20:23.988 --> 00:20:29.828
Speaker 1: the vault car just got a lot easier.
Of course, there were still two shock troopers

216
00:20:29.888 --> 00:20:35.708
Speaker 1: inside the vault. An inkling of a
plan, one that wouldn't get them all killed,

217
00:20:36.088 --> 00:20:41.868
Speaker 1: started forming in Trit's own mind.
So, you can time travel.

218
00:20:42.668 --> 00:20:48.428
Speaker 1: Sort of. It's more like physical
memories. Memories of a place?

219
00:20:49.008 --> 00:20:55.008
Speaker 1: I can go to a frozen image in the
past. A frame. So, could you just

220
00:20:55.108 --> 00:21:00.608
Speaker 1: go into the vault when they're
loading it and come right back with whatever's

221
00:21:00.668 --> 00:21:06.128
Speaker 1: inside? It doesn't go that far back.
An hour at most, usually, and I can't bring

222
00:21:06.168 --> 00:21:11.248
Speaker 1: anything with me. Trit nodded slowly,
chewing on his bottom lip.

223
00:21:12.148 --> 00:21:17.828
Speaker 1: Why aren't you naked? What? You said
you can't bring anything

224
00:21:17.908 --> 00:21:23.108
Speaker 1: back. Why aren't you naked? If that
were true, you should be naked.

225
00:21:23.848 --> 00:21:29.628
Speaker 1: If you knew how many times I'd heard
that one. Trit ignored Big Nose.

226
00:21:29.908 --> 00:21:35.428
Speaker 1: There was something to learn here. He
needed to understand the limits of what Sandel

227
00:21:35.488 --> 00:21:41.468
Speaker 1: could do. The world looked a lot
different than it did just a few minutes ago. I

228
00:21:41.528 --> 00:21:47.068
Speaker 1: can only really move things that
belong in the present frame. Delirium works on

229
00:21:47.188 --> 00:21:53.088
Speaker 1: identity. It's complicated. The plan
that had started forming in

230
00:21:53.148 --> 00:21:59.048
Speaker 1: his mind finally settled into place.
Guards probably change shifts every few

231
00:21:59.148 --> 00:22:05.068
Speaker 1: hours. Everyone's got to piss. That
means the vault opens. Could you

232
00:22:05.148 --> 00:22:10.368
Speaker 1: go back in time and see the
combination to the locks? Sure.

233
00:22:11.348 --> 00:22:17.048
Speaker 1: And they won't notice you? It's the
past. Nothing I do there can directly change the

234
00:22:17.108 --> 00:22:20.088
Speaker 1: future. Everyone's like a statue.

235
00:22:22.588 --> 00:22:27.908
Speaker 1: If my intelligence is correct, the
Fairlane vault also requires a key that only the

236
00:22:27.948 --> 00:22:33.848
Speaker 1: head of house carries. I've done some
groundwork there already. I should

237
00:22:33.888 --> 00:22:39.788
Speaker 1: be able to procure it if we need it.
Trit nodded and then took Sandel's pen and

238
00:22:39.848 --> 00:22:44.928
Speaker 1: started drawing a map of the train
next to her drawings. It took them half an hour

239
00:22:44.988 --> 00:22:50.648
Speaker 1: to argue through a coherent plan, but
it seemed feasible. Not bad for three

240
00:22:50.708 --> 00:22:56.608
Speaker 1: strangers. All right. It's settled.
Bandy, you get the combination,

241
00:22:56.988 --> 00:23:00.908
Speaker 1: learn the guard change patterns, and
tell us what the inside of the vault looks

242
00:23:00.968 --> 00:23:06.548
Speaker 1: like. Big Nose, you get that key,
then you stay out of the way. Then yours

243
00:23:06.608 --> 00:23:11.788
Speaker 1: truly will take out the guards, open
the vault, and take out more guards. Then the

244
00:23:11.868 --> 00:23:17.348
Speaker 1: job's done. A perfect plan. Easy as
that. The best plans were simple

245
00:23:17.408 --> 00:23:22.948
Speaker 1: plans. Plans with room for error.
There was a commotion at the end of the dining

246
00:23:23.008 --> 00:23:27.988
Speaker 1: car. A flustered aristocrat was
screaming profanities at a group of men in
armor.

247
00:23:28.708 --> 00:23:34.528
Speaker 1: Haven't you been listening? We've
been robbed, you sand eater. Trit couldn't see
the

248
00:23:34.608 --> 00:23:39.428
Speaker 1: faces of the shock troopers beneath
all that armor, but the body language told the

249
00:23:39.508 --> 00:23:45.488
Speaker 1: story. They didn't look happy. Did
she just say robbed? That's him.

250
00:23:45.888 --> 00:23:51.688
Speaker 1: The one who tricked my sister. Uh-oh.
Why are you just standing there? Arrest him.

251
00:23:52.108 --> 00:23:57.268
Speaker 1: Arrest all of them. Trit ducked back
into their seating booth. The sound of metal

252
00:23:57.328 --> 00:24:03.228
Speaker 1: feet came racing down the corridor. I
think we need a new plan. Trit reached

253
00:24:03.248 --> 00:24:07.248
Speaker 1: down for the hole puncher in his
right boot. His heart raced. They had to do this

254
00:24:07.308 --> 00:24:13.108
Speaker 1: perfectly. Even then, it looked bad.
Okay, when the first one grabs Something

255
00:24:13.188 --> 00:24:19.188
Speaker 1: nagged at Trit. He looked over at the
empty seats. They were gone.

256
00:24:19.928 --> 00:24:24.988
Speaker 1: They'd just left him here. Metal
boots came to a stop next to him.

257
00:24:26.048 --> 00:24:30.848
Speaker 1: You, up against the wall. The two of
them hauled him out of his seat and pressed him

258
00:24:30.908 --> 00:24:35.248
Speaker 1: against the wall while they searched
him. They found the hole puncher in his boot.

259
00:24:36.848 --> 00:24:38.668
Speaker 1: I can't believe they left

260
00:25:32.488 --> 00:25:32.548
Speaker 1: me.