EP637: At the Village Vanguard (Ruminations on Blacktopia)

[divs]

Escape Pod 637: At the Village Vanguard (Ruminations on Blacktopia)


AUTHOR : Maurice Broaddus
NARRATOR : Stephanie Malia Morris
HOST: Mur Lafferty

---

“In this, the 25th anniversary of the founding of the lunar colony, First World (colloquially called Blacktopia by its residents), The Indianapolis Recorder, the nation’s oldest-surviving African-American newspaper, continues its series re-visiting key events. Their reporter interviewed (and re-interviewed) many of the principals in order to piece together a picture of the terrorist threat that nearly ended it and the heroic actions of Science Police Officer, Astra Black.
 

Jiminy Crootz (aka J-Croo, Science Police, Senior Investigator. Retired.)

When the alarms sounded for the converter station, I had no doubt she would beat me there. The gate surrounding the solar panel farm had been slit open, like someone wanted to perform a Caesarean but only had a rusted pair of clippers at their disposal. The backdoor of the converter station had been battered in. The air, heavy and re-breathed, like the filters weren’t working at full efficiency. Panels ripped open, wires everywhere. Nanobots probably skittered across the room like roaches in my aunty’s old kitchen. The farm was strictly a backup source of power for the lunar colony, so it wasn’t as heavily guarded as say the nuclear fission power station or the magnetic generators. But there was still a man down and Astra Black stood over his body.
 

Dr. Hensley Morgan (aka Dreamer, ranking Science Council member)

Astra had an elegance about her, like the waltz of a First Lady. When she walked, she stepped with purpose. Long strides, though only the balls of her feet ever seemed to touch the ground. At first glance, nothing about her stuck out as exceptional. Average height and build. Hair drawn back in Afro puffs. But she had this way about her.

Listen to this week’s Escape Pod!

[dvisser]

I just started giving to Escape Artists on Patreon after months of happy Escape Pod listening for free. Episode 636 (Mother Tongue?) made me realize I get way too much enjoyment from Escape Pod to not contribute a little. "Blacktopia" just proved to me how great this podcast is, and that I'm making a good investment. Keep up the great work!

[acpracht]

I just started giving to Escape Artists on Patreon after months of happy Escape Pod listening for free. Episode 636 (Mother Tongue?) made me realize I get way too much enjoyment from Escape Pod to not contribute a little. "Blacktopia" just proved to me how great this podcast is, and that I'm making a good investment. Keep up the great work!

Hooray! That's what we love to hear.

-Adam
Audio producer

[Moritz]

I found the epistolary format a bit difficult to follow. the setting was great though. I recently went to an exhibition on African and African-American SF, and it really needs to be showcased more, since it's not as rare as you might think.

edit:
I approve of the author's first name and the reader's family name

[ZalphaPrime]

I moved to Indianapolis in 1984, at the age of six.

Any time I hear Indianapolis in media and it isn't about the race, I feel like it speaks to me. And, yes, I would cross the universe for a Long's donut.

[CryptoMe]

I liked the idea of this story, but the execution didn't work for me and I found it hard to follow. Still, glad you tried it and others seem to have gotten better milage out of it than I did.

[Katzentatzen]

I really loved the format of this story, but I had a hard time following it in audio. Reading it helped, eternally grateful that Escape Pod provides that! I only learned about Afrofuturism last year and it's been amazing delving into this genre.