Episode 80: Open Twenty-Four Hours by Edward McKeown
Tars Bokara has the unenviable task of seeking out the unlikely location of the long-lost planet Earth. When he finds it, he discovers a thriving business covering the entire world, with employees eager to please. Want to take a guess what their hours are?
Also, Rish talks (and talks and talks) about his recent trip to Comic-Con. Romance, frustration, and murder attempts abounded, apparently. Somewhere in all this, Big tells him why the show’s never had a Parsec nomination.
outtakes
Special thanks to Julie Hoverson and Christy Maia for lending their voices to today’s episode.
Right click HERE to download the episode, select Save Link As, and save the file to your hard drive.
http://media.libsyn.com/media/dunesteef/Dunesteef_80_Open_Twenty-Four_Hours_by_Edward_McKeown.mp3%20Related Links:
Edward McKeown’s SFWA site and his SFReader site.
Julie Hoverson’s 19 Nocturne Boulevard.
Some sound effects were provided by freesound.org.
Music was Fly by C.J. Rogers.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License
The Dunesteef Audio Fiction Magazine 
September 4, 2010 at 8:34 am
Ahhh….This week’s Dunesteef looks gloriously long!
I’m looking forward to it!
Starting a new job this week but want to listen to the episode quickly so we’ll see if the superego or the id wins out this time.
September 7, 2010 at 1:06 am
This was a fun story. I kept having to recite the MST3K mantra to myself every time something implausible happened. (“Just repeat to yourself: “It’s just a show; I should really just relax.”)
There was an RPG set in almost this world. It was called “Low Life,” if I recall correctly. Characters could be rats, roaches, degenerate once-humans, or hideously un-alive snack cake beings. It was… odd.
September 7, 2010 at 6:06 am
I absolutely loved the cockroach voice! And I laughed out loud whilst walking down the street when the pigeons started kicking off. :)
September 7, 2010 at 10:32 am
Yeah, the roach voice was AWESOME. It made the story.
September 7, 2010 at 3:34 pm
What a fun story. Loved the cockroach voice.
September 8, 2010 at 2:48 am
yeah, that was definitely a fun story and reading.
now for the conversation afterwards.
September 8, 2010 at 8:33 am
STORY: Like others before, I too had to keep reminding myself that this is intended as a comedy, and as a sci-fi comedy you have to allow certain scientific inaccuracies to slide by. I mean, I’m a fan of Red Dwarf, I think I can handle this. I would’ve liked a little more negotiation with Bob, or some sort of challenge, although the “I’ve told off the humans” bit was very funny. And the management digs were awesome. Overall enjoyable.
PRODUCTION: The only voice I didn’t care for was Bob the Cat. Also, Tars’s boss’s voice seemed to occasionally dip into southern/western before rising out again.
COMMENTARY: Rish, you said the audience did a 360 when purple dude proposed to purple girl. Very Yogi Berra of you; I don’t know if you intended it that way or not.
Personally, con reports don’t do it for me. I like con STORIES — like, funny stuff that happened — but REPORTS (ie: I saw this trailer and these actors etc) aren’t my bag.
Congrats on the Parsec nomination. I live in Atlanta; if you guys need someone to stand at the podium and read your acceptance speech next year, let me know. I’m actually planning to ATTEND D*C next year, for the first time in what will be seven years of residence here.
September 8, 2010 at 9:50 pm
FWIW, I thought the cockroach voice was the cockroachiest voice I’ve ever heard.
September 9, 2010 at 9:00 pm
If you ever saw a picture of my family tree, all would become clear.
And regarding Josh’s . . . er, “compliment,” I’ve got to admit, I meant 180. Math sure ain’t my strong suit.
September 13, 2010 at 7:24 am
Great job! I also enjoyed the cockroach voice and Bob being both management and a cat was perfect.
Never having attended a con, I found the con recap helpful, since I’m still fuzzy on what all goes on at them. Have either of you been to Balticon or DragonCon? How does ComicCon compare? I might make it to WorldCon in Reno next summer…
September 13, 2010 at 9:35 am
I really enjoyed the silliness of this story. The roach voice was perfect for…well, a roach. :D
September 13, 2010 at 2:57 pm
Cockroach voice was excellent, enjoyed the story. Rish, really liked your con stories, I don’t care what anyone else says.
Big, what’s with your microphone? Had a bit of a ring to it, almost as irritating as a 3-D movie. Thank God I didn’t pay an extra dollar to listen to it.
September 16, 2010 at 9:04 am
Great story. The humor was right up my alley. I also enjoyed all the voice work, including Mr. Cockroach, although I can see how it might irritate some.
Thanks for the con stories. Living on the East Coast I have yet to make it out to Comic Con, so its nice to get an idea of how things roll there. (my local con, while still good, is much, much smaller than CC or Dragoncon). I hadn’t heard about the stabbing. The pen is mighter, etc, etc. (I can never type that line without hearing it in a Sean Connery voice now, IE ‘Celebrity Jeopardy.’ Thanks SNL).
You’re wrong about the line for the women’s room, though. Even if there were no women in attendence at the con at all, there would be a line at the ladies room. If you built a ladies room in the middle of the deserted arctic tundra with nothing but frozen empty plains for hundreds of miles all around, there would be a 20-person line within 5 minutes of its grand opening. There is ALWAYS a line. *sigh*