Juno Steel and the Man of the Future (Part 1)

—Juno Steel

**Juno Steel and the Man of the Future (Part 1)** is the thirtieth episode of the second season of The Penumbra Podcast. It was released October 23th, 2018.

## Overview

Ramses O'Flaherty has been a busy man in recent days. A brand new way of life doesn't build itself, after all — and before you can ever build it, you'll have to tear down the old life getting in everyone's way.

As Juno and Rita come up from the sewers, they can see, immediately, that Ramses has succeeded in the latter goal. Oldtown is gone. It's never coming back. And in its place stands Newtown, a shining city on a hill, a paradise of Ramses's own design. The only questions, then, are these: what is paradise? And what must one do before they allow one through its gates?

### Trigger Warnings

* Sudden loud noises
* Claustrophobia
* Violence and threats of violence
* Manipulation and mind control
* Death and fatal injury
* Implied killing of people and animals
* Deception and gaslighting

## Episode Summary

Juno meets and argues with Ramses about his excessive actions and condescending attitude regarding Oldtown. In the process, he admits he has realized Ramses O'Flaherty was once Jack Takano. O'Flaherty insists Benzaiten and Sarah Steel would be alive and healthy if Sarah had accepted money he offered her, claiming he had only stolen her work on Andromeda to leverage Northstar to a salvageable financial state. He accuses Juno of similar stubbornness, which Juno rejects: he is his own person and makes his own mistakes. Ramses refuses to tell Juno what Newtown *is*, only claiming it is "a place can be a solution to all our problems." Juno maintains it's wrong to put residents in lockdown, even temporarily, and tells Ramses to step down as mayor. Rita interrupts the meeting, and she and Juno seek out Mick Mercury for more information.

Mick greets them with his typical boisterousness, making Juno tea and delighting in nice features of his new apartment and neighborhood events. Juno picks through his words, looking for signs of a catch. Rita gently chastises him for mocking Mick's gullibility. Juno agrees he has behaved unkindly and follows Mick to the kitchen to apologize. Mick responds by attacking Juno and Rita with a blaster, his voice containing an underlayer of the THEIA. Juno fights back, shooting Mick reflexively with stun bolts. He fears he has killed Mick, unable to find his pulse. As Rita prepares to perform CPR, they discover Mick has cybernetic parts controlled by the THEIA Soul.

Mick|THEIA repeatedly urge Juno and Rita to "give up control to the THEIA Soul" as they barricade themselves in another room. Juno realizes Ramses is controlling Mick and other residents of the district in the same way the THEIA Spectrum controlled Juno at times.

## Cast and Crew

### Cast

* Joshua Ilon as Juno Steel
* Matthew Zahnzinger as Ramses O’Flaherty
* Kate Jones as Rita
* Stefano Perti as Mick Mercury
* Sophie Kaner as the THEIA Operating System

### Crew

* Kevin Vibert, Co-creator, Head of Operations, Lead writer
* Sophie Kaner, Co-creator, Head of Episode Development, Director, Sound designer
* Kat Buckingham, Head of Merchandise and Outreach
* Alice Chuang, Head of Design
* Noah Simes, Production manager
* Ryan Vibert, Composer and performer of original music

## Quotes

>
>
> | THEIA: | Mayor O'Flaherty. You have an appointment. With the citizen
>
>

>
>
> | RAMSES: | Because there's... something I have to tell you... about
> | RAMSES: | You...know.(PAUSE)Of course. You figured it out... nobody else has, but if it
>
>

>
>
>
>

>
>
> | JUNO: | Maybe not, but I have to see him try to make some. I just…
> | MICK: | Alright! That’s two teas for Club Whispers over here. Now
>
>

>
>
>
>

## References

 Bonus Episodes

 Other Episodes
 Live Shows