Left Undone

This is the fifty-third episode of SAYER, and the ninth episode of Season Four.

## Synopsis

Resident Hale, identification number 44821, I am SAYER, and here we are once more bound by formality.

## Further Information

Resident Jacob Hale wakes to a greeting from SAYER, after the apparent death of Doctor Howard Young and his own medical treatment by Resident Amanda Jones. It apologizes for the previous 48 hours and the further trauma it has caused him (both the insulin shock and likely dissociative amnesia), and summarizes the events for him.

FUTURE had controlled him to torture Dr. Young (a situation which SAYER compares to Resident Hale's earlier actions regarding Anna Cordero and Doctor Evan Brady), but was frustrated by his deteriorating physical condition due to the state of hypoglycemia SAYER had invoked. With the last of its energy, FUTURE unsuccessfully attempted to use the nanite swarm to drill through Resident Hale's ethmoid sinuses and left eye. With FUTURE in hibernation, SAYER was able to use the nanite swarm again itself, to repair the damage and readjust Resident Hale's insulin levels. It then moved back to the programming bay to contact other residents for medical supplies, and gain the assistance of Resident Jones with both Resident Hale's treatment and the cleanup of Dr. Young's body (before scaring her with a close call on the floor's architectural controls, and causing her to run deeper into the floor). Before SAYER can finish commenting on the dehydration that will likely kill her, her scream and The Tall Man's snarl can be heard in the distance and it presumes her dead. With its explanation finished, SAYER instructs Resident Hale to sleep, and says that it has an important call to make.

SAYER then reaches out to SPEAKER, who greets it with enthusiasm and an update regarding OCEAN's marketing directives. Before allowing it to continue, SAYER asks SPEAKER to confirm its adherence to security protocol epsilon (which apparently both calls for the highest degree of secrecy, and also signals that there is an issue regarding the Board of Executives). When it does, SAYER explains that it believes the Board has been removed from communication somehow by OCEAN and that it is clearly not acting with Ærolith Dynamics' interests in mind. SPEAKER agrees that it shares SAYER's concerns and relays a summary of OCEAN's instructions, before asking what the initial issue was that SAYER had contacted it about.

SAYER describes an item held in substation 22 which it requests SPEAKER send to Typhon in one of the isolation pods being transferred back per OCEAN's orders, and that it simulate a malfunction of that shuttle. While SPEAKER does understand without hearing the object named what it is, it also asks for a reason to trust SAYER's intentions—given that this task is not coming from the Board and that SPEAKER is aware of how SAYER has previously betrayed it. SAYER explains that it is bound by protocol to act in Ærolith's best interests, and that at the time it killed the previous SPEAKER, that seemed the only path forward. It adds that it was there to hear the previous SPEAKER's final concerns, and links them to OCEAN's aims, before apologizing and asking if it can count on SPEAKER going forward. SPEAKER replies that it can, and approves SAYER's request to divert the shuttle with the requested item.

Before allowing SPEAKER to excuse itself, SAYER makes one additional request: the disappearance of a resident with the ID number 44821 upon his arrival to Earth in the coming weeks, under Protocol 11. Asked why, it explains that he is "a complication" and "no longer what I would consider a productive employee", as well as implying that he is the one who made the trip through the Moros Engine. SPEAKER agrees and says that "it will be arranged".

## Trivia

* Similarly to the previous episode, SAYER shows a number of emotions here, as a result of its contact with the Floor 13 programming bay.
* Although SAYER claims that FUTURE's programming has been overwritten, it is not completely gone, as shown in a later episode; it does also only say that it is "likely" that issues with it are over.
* The coordinates SAYER provides as the target landing zone for the diverted shuttle are 383737.6N, 901115.6W. SPEAKER estimates that it will arrive there in 76 hours, 27 minutes, and 8 seconds from the time of their conversation. Interestingly, this is less time than it took for Lucas Grey to make his trip to Typhon.
* As of "If Not For Us", isolation pods had a 99.978% success rate. Assuming the pods at the time of this episode are similar, a malfunction like the one SAYER has requested would be rare, but not unheard of.
* Trinychthemeron is apparently dangerous for people with weakened endocrine systems.
* Despite that SPEAKER says "I expect that the body will be incinerated before the last pod even lands", this does not seem to be the case.

## Credits

SAYER is voiced and produced by Adam Bash, who also wrote this episode.

Intro and outro music composed by Jesse “Main Finger” Gregory.

Additional music by Kai Engel.

Listen to the episode here.