EP652-655: And Then There Were (N-One), Parts 1 - 4 (of 4)

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Escape Pod 652: And Then There Were (N-One), (Part 1)


AUTHOR : Sarah Pinsker
NARRATOR : Mur Lafferty
HOST: S.B. Divya

Escape Pod 653: And Then There Were (N-One), (Part 2)


AUTHOR : Sarah Pinsker
NARRATOR : Mur Lafferty
HOST: Tina Connolly

Escape Pod 654: And Then There Were (N-One), (Part 3)


AUTHOR : Sarah Pinsker
NARRATOR : Mur Lafferty
HOST: S.B. Divya

Escape Pod 655: And Then There Were (N-One) (Part 4)


AUTHOR : Sarah Pinsker
NARRATOR : Mur Lafferty
HOST: Tina Connolly

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I considered declining the invitation. It was too weird, too expensive, too far, too dangerous, too weird. Way too weird. An invitation like that would never come again. I’d regret it if I
didn’t go. It lay on our kitchen table for three weeks while I argued out the pros and cons with Mabel. She listened, made suggestions; I countered her, then argued her part, then made both arguments, then reversed them again.

“How do I know it’s not a hoax?” I asked, studying the list of backing organizations for the twentieth time. “The website looks legit, but how could it not be a hoax?”

“Look at it this way,” Mabel said. “Either you’ll be part of a ground-breaking event in human history, or a groundbreaking psych experiment. Someone benefits either way. And you’ve never
been to eastern Canada, so at least you get to see someplace new even if you just end up standing in a field somewhere looking silly.”

She always had a way of making an adventure out of things that would otherwise stress me out. Four months later, I flew to Nova Scotia, took a bus to a seaside town too small for a dot on a
map, boarded a ferry to Secord Island, and stepped through the waiting portal into an alternate-reality resort hotel lobby swarming with Sarah Pinskers. At least two hundred of us by my estimation, with more straggling in.


Listen to Part 1!

Listen to Part 2!

Listen to Part 3!

Listen to Part 3!

[Fenrix]

I voted for this one for the Hugo, as it was the novella on the list that most embodied what I think of with the Hugos. Cozy mystery set at a multi-verse convention. Lost opportunity novels showing up (and our protagonist not picking up Parable of the Trickster!) Nebula as a murder weapon! I imagine every author that has hefted that thing has considered how much force it would take to crush a skull with it. So good.

[Moritz]

How many parts does this one have? I like to listen to multi-part stories in one go...

(sure, the narrator might say how many parts it is in the intro, but I can't switch between podcasts once they're on my player, so that would be difficult)

[Wilson Fowlie]

How many parts does this one have? I like to listen to multi-part stories in one go...

I believe that Divya said in this week's episode that next week's (part 4) would be the conclusion.

[Ichneumon]

I liked this mini-series! I feel like it was a very personal exploration for the author, and I think the way she wrote herself from this dimension into the story was well done. I mean every character was some aspect of her, but it didn't feel narcissistic. The only other example that comes to mind of an author writing themselves into their own story is Steven King  in The Dark Tower series, (also dealing with multiple dimensions) and I wasn't a fan of that instance at all.

A convention of my alternate selves would probably drive me over the edge. It would be like feeling inadequate looking at your friends' social media but turned way way up.

[CryptoMe]

Loved this story!! It was fun and quirky. And I liked how I was able to guess some of the "who done it", but not all of it. Very clever. And of course the idea of a convention of multi-verse versions of the same person was brilliant and well done. I for one, did NOT think about how I would feel if the multi-versioned person was me, and I would like to keep it that way, thank you very much.

On the topic of multi-parts, I liked the longer time to develop the story. But, I am happy that I was behind in my listening when I got to this, because it meant I could listen to all four parts at my leisure. I'm not sure how I would have enjoyed it if I had to wait a week in between each part....

[Ichneumon]

On the topic of multi-parts, I liked the longer time to develop the story. But, I am happy that I was behind in my listening when I got to this, because it meant I could listen to all four parts at my leisure. I'm not sure how I would have enjoyed it if I had to wait a week in between each part....

Same here.