Interface Episode 21

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> "*You're living in the shadow world — and who's casting the shadows?*"
> ― Joseph Greetings
>
>

Mischief floats in front of the sun

## Description

The twenty-first episode of the Interface series was published by 'u m a m i' on September 10th, 2020. This episode features voice performances from Philip Hersh as Mr. Greetings, and Libby Brien as The Interviewer. ArtKarolina provided additional animations for this episode.

## Official Synopsis

*Mr. Greetings is interviewed on television, and describes the Philadelphia Experiment in 1943 that he witnessed that motivated him to start his company. He is leading the pack with the restoration, but perhaps there is another motive that he is not revealing?*

## Summary

The episode is set partly in 1911, partly in 1943, and partly in the present day. It begins with shots of the destruction wrought by the fire at Dreamland, showing the ground smouldering, the remains of a ferris wheel and roller coaster, and a human skull.

The shot changes to show The Interviewer and Mr. Greetings, whose first name is revealed to be Joseph. The two are conducting an interview about the Philadelphia Experiment. It is revealed that Mr. Greetings was a fresh Navy recruit stationed on the USS Eldridge that fateful night.

The Interviewer explains that the mandate upon which Greetings Robotics Corporation was founded was to "restore life as it was before [the Experiment]". Mr. Greetings counters this point by saying, "Restoration is the primary goal of our benefactors, but we have many goals". This could imply that Mr. Greetings does not consider this mandate to be his company's primary objective.

The episode has a minor side plot showing a young boy (the same one who saw Mischief's sunflower form in Episode 5) watching the interview. The boy holds a pack of sunflower seeds, which he plants only to find that they grow exceptionally fast. This may be due to the effects of cerebral electricity.

The Interviewer queries Mr. Greetings about his response to people who were born after 1943. He says that cerebral electricity's discovery, which was inevitable due to human curiosity, also led to the understanding of how it could destroy "us".

The episode then jumps back in time to New York Harbor and shows Mischief (as a human silhouette covered in/consisting of cerebral electricity) materializing in front of the Statue of Liberty, which turns pink. Cerebral electricity spreads outwards from the ship in the harbor, covering the buildings and releasing a huge amount of static as Mischief floats down. The crew onboard the ship rematerialize as well, fusing with the metal. It becomes apparent that the only survivor of this incident besides Mischief was Mr. Greetings. The young Greetings watches in horror at the carnage surrounding him, and sees a face float off of the hull of ship to reveal shifting faces underneath — exactly the same as the ones underneath KAMI's mask.

Mischief rises higher into the sky, his ascent stopping as he floats in front of the sun. He turns, his face briefly appearing as a skull, to see a fighter jet (a Bell P-59 Airacomet) appear to fire numerous rounds at him, which he seems to absorb. Close-up shots of KAMI Mk. II are shown, and cerebral electricity engulfs the entire planet. Mischief falls into the harbor, and KAMI Mk. II arises from a cityscape.

The scene abruptly cuts back to the present day, showing the boy watching the interview. His potted sunflower falls off of the windowsill due to the Greetings Robotics trucks passing his home as the Interviewer asks Mr. Greetings if he has any words for those who are afraid of what a return to "before" looks like. He assures the audience that his corporation knows what the best interests are, and calls the current state of the world a "nightmare".

The episode ends with the young Mr. Greetings watching the sun over the now-red harbor, which now teems with cerebral electricity. Suddenly Mischief emerges from the water, far larger than he has ever appeared so far in the series. Casting a shadow over his former shipmate, he utters "Boo!" before spaghettifying off into the distance.

## Gallery

A smoldering skull in the aftermath of the Dreamland fireMr. Greetings is interviewedA newspaper front page from the aftermath of the experimentNew York Harbor moments before the USS Eldridge materializesThe transformed Statue of LibertyA closeup showing the redesigned KAMI's Mk. II statusCerebral electricity spreads across the globeMischief falls into New York HarborThe full design of KAMI Mk. II"Boo!"The boy observes his sunflowerA young Mr. Greetings materializesAn unused shot from the episode

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