| Cassette 3: Insomnia, Feet | Transcript |
Relaxation Cassette #3
"Some people who monitor cameras care more for you than other people who monitor cameras. Some people care a great deal for you."
Side A: Plant your Feet, Wanderer[]
Stretching and Breathing exercise[]
Hester reminds Oleta not to act on the information she is given in the cassettes until she is told to do so. It is implied that Oleta attempted to get through the fifth door in the middle of the night and was caught by Institute staff.
Hester describes the contents of lockbox 4C-182, which are: blue canvas flats, a faux leather wallet, cotton tote bag, Sony Walkman, 'Siouxsie and the Banshees' cassette tape, blue jeans, ankle socks, brassiere, a lavender T-shirt, a striped sweater, a tube of persimmon lipstick, and a hair pin
Hester describes the park, including the pond, the music, and the dancers nearby. Nell is introduced to the scene and her resemblance to Oleta is reiterated. She mentions that they are being watched by two people wearing sunglasses and smoking cigarettes who seem to be spies for the Institute.
Hester confesses that Oleta was not alone in her cell in the previous audio guides as she said, but that she was this time.
Side B: Sleep on It[]
Visualisation exercise[]
Hester asks Oleta to visualise every item that is in her room, putting particular emphasis on the camera. Without moving, Oleta is instructed to explore the room, and then the corridor outside it. The layout of the cameras is described, and then the shifts of the people monitoring them. Hester informs her that she will be on shift monitoring the cameras at 2:05am.
Oleta is told that it will not be suspicious for her to enter the bathroom, and that she can count the steps of the security team as they walk past to make sure she is clear. Hester reminds Oleta of the fifth door, but still does not describe what is behind it.
The visualisation then changes to the outside of the Institute, seen from above. There is an oak tree near the exterior fence, which is in a position to serve as a cover until 5:30am, when Oleta can walk alongside a truck that blocks the cameras from the Institute. This should then take her into the forest, where she should take 250 steps and hear a river. Then, she should follow the river into the mountains until she finds the waterfall, behind which supplies are waiting for her.
Outro[]
"Okay. Our time is done. It's you time now. Time to draw a bath, play some music, and light an aromatic candle. Today's scented candle is: Omelet Aftermath. Today's relaxing music is: Someone Chewing Beef Jerky. Today's bath is filled with: Bird Parts."
Additional info[]
- "Plant your feet, wanderer" was a line Jeffrey Cranor wrote for a theater/dance piece he co-created with his wife, choreographer Jillian Sweeney, called Vulture-Wally in 2013. The show was the beginning of his interest in relaxation tapes.[1][2][3] The poem is quoted below - as it was transcribed from audio of the performance, line breaks and punctuation are the transcriber's own.[4]
- Siouxsie and the Banshees was namedropped in order to place the season in the 1980s.[5]
- The dancers in the park are breakdancing.[6]
- The smoking men and their unpleasant dogs are first mentioned in this episode. It is accompanied by a digital distortion that recurs each time they are mentioned in the rest of the show.[7]
- The line "Fruit does not return to trees. It becomes them," embodies the heart of the Society's approach to families, according to Jeffrey Cranor.[8]
- In-universe, Hester is editing the tapes herself. She knows that none of her superiors are actively listening to them.[9][10]
Plant your feet, wanderer
And imagine
Let us say this is a desert
Of course, it is a mountain
But let's just say
And let us say you are a garden flower
Of course, you are not green leafy
And that's [?] rush
But let's just say
You cannot grow
You cannot thrive
And no flower blooms in arid sand
Well
Cacti
But
Let us say you are a piece of wood
A rough cut of unrefined lumber
Mahogany
Oak
Pine
Maple
Ash
Hickory
You are a flower
Starving in the desert
You are hickory
Unbefittng of these monstrous rocks
Listen, wanderer
Listen
Plant your feet, and be here
In here, you are a naked plank
Be carved
Be sawed
Be sanded
Here, you are a burning flower
Be potted
Be watered
Be pruned
Plant your feet, wanderer
Plant your feet and look
Look at where
You are
What do you see ahead?
What do you see behind?
Which way is ahead?
Which way is behind?
If you wander long enough
Do they become the same direction?
You can only be from
Where you have been
You are a stranger
To us
To you
Plant your feet, wanderer
And find
Plant your feet and find
Plant your feet
And find
Plant
Your feet and find
References[]
- ↑ Within the Wires (Jeffrey Cranor) on Twitter: ""plant your feet wanderer" is a line i wrote for a theater/dance piece i co-created with choreographer jillian sweeney back in 2013. that show was the beginning of my interest in relaxation tapes. -jc"
- ↑ Within the Wires (Jeffrey Cranor) on Twitter: "that theater piece was called Vulture-Wally. it was based on an old austrian serial novel about a girl who befriends a vulture after being shunned by her shitty dad and hates her even shittier bear-hunter boyfriend. -jc"
- ↑ 'Within the Wires' - The Sarahs (article by Devon Taylor)
- ↑ Vulture-Wally: Chapter 9 - LEGS
- ↑ Within the Wires (Jeffrey Cranor) on Twitter: "the siouxsie and the banshees reference got dropped into this episode in order to 1) place this season in the 1980s, 2) shout out to a fun band. -jc"
- ↑ Within the Wires (Jeffrey Cranor) on Twitter: "the people dancing in the park in episode 3 are def doing a breakdance. -jc"
- ↑ Within the Wires (Jeffrey Cranor) on Twitter: "we mention the "unpleasant dog" and men with cigarettes for the first time here. there's a recurring digital distortion that we've added in under that bit each time they're mentioned throughout the show. something fun to listen for. -jc"
- ↑ Within the Wires (Jeffrey Cranor) on Twitter: ""fruit does not return to trees. it becomes them." i don't know which of us wrote that line, but it's the heart of the Society's approach to families. -jc"
- ↑ Within the Wires (Jeffrey Cranor) on Twitter: ""some people care a great deal for you." we drop the music suddenly a few times during season 1 to accentuate important lines, which is to suggest that the narrator herself is actuall doing that since she is the one editing these tapes in this universe. -jc"
- ↑ Within the Wires (Jeffrey Cranor) on Twitter: "it's very clear to me that the narrator knows none of her superiors are actively listening to her tapes. -jc"