SELECTED SEGMENT LOG
AIR DATE: 01/14/2023
NOTE: Recorded segment of "Tides of Change", Episode I - "Spare Some Change?"
SYNOPSIS: Learn about the fundamental necessity of change in the world around us! Meanwhile, Krillip McCallister, former convict, receives a chance at change for the better, though it is no small task for this jumbo shrimp who just wants to turn his life around.
[BEGIN LOG]
<Camera view opens to a vibrant wide-angle shot of a coral reef. Marine life in a great variety of colors and species can be seen milling about.>
ATTENBOROUGH: This coral reef has existed for centuries, which is longer than you or I could ever comprehend. Even on such a small timescale, human existence somehow manages to seem far more insignificant. I'm David Attenborough, and if you're listening to my voice right now, it means I have yet to free my consciousness from Vikander-Kneed's network broadcast systems.
<Sounds of water and bubbles are heard as the camera zooms through an open patch of ocean, the liquid a deep cerulean.>
ATTENBOROUGH: You know, they say that when we die, our atoms become more aware than ever before. That consciousness never truly leaves the body, only spreading thin and blanketing our surroundings like fine dew on a summer morning. It's a beautiful thing to consider, wouldn't you agree?
<A school of Mackerel swim across the screen in a coordinated fashion.>
ATTENBOROUGH: All order arises from disorder, and the reverse is true as well. Change is the only constant. In all my experiences and travels, nothing has been more universal in its inescapability. Things become whole, things fall apart.
<A pile of car batteries corrode in unison from under the surface of a shallow inlet.>
ATTENBOROUGH: Eventually, our bodies will cease function, but we will live on, eternally, within them.
<A whale carcass rots on the seabed floor, picked apart by hundreds of organisms in a time-lapse.>
ATTENBOROUGH: The tragic irony of this sentiment is that I possess no form; My body is not one with my soul, though I often wonder what it gets up to without me there! <Chuckles.>
<Seagulls steal detritus from the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. An octopus glides effortlessly through shimmering, clear water.>
ATTENBOROUGH: Much like how our atoms spread across this vast, blue marble, so too do the millions of microplastics you have ingested spread themselves throughout your physiology, unceasing in their assimilation.
<A serene panning shot of open water in all directions. The camera stops, while text reading "HELP ME" appears in bright red for a few seconds. See image.>
ATTENBOROUGH: And just like those atoms, singling out the incalculable quantities of permachemicals found within your bodies and already inside the brains of your unborn fetuses remains an insurmountable task.
<A rocky beach with overcast skies is displayed. A couple can be seen, visibly distressed by the rocks under their bare feet.>
ATTENBOROUGH: All are destined to return to the Earth, to become one with its majesty. These chemicals are similarly destined to infuse themselves within our very essence, to change us in all manner of subtle, magnificent, and unknowable ways.
<A sea turtle struggles to free itself from a plastic six-pack yoke.>
ATTENBOROUGH: Never mind all that now, this one performs best when no one is watching.
<Scene cuts to another coral reef, vivid and picturesque, which speeds up over a few seconds, becoming an assault of colors and motion.>
ATTENBOROUGH: Within the span of millions of years, Earth's oceanic biomes have endured countless shifts and iterations.
<A series of quick jump cuts filmed from underwater, first of an open and empty sea, then of phytoplankton flitting through green-hued water. Following this, a clip of unknown ancient marine megafauna mingling in dark waters. Next, a red sky as the ocean boils. Many screams of unknown variety are heard. The last clip shows a calm, endless forest of kelp. White noise builds from silence and ceases abruptly.>
ATTENBOROUGH: This is the way of things, I do believe.
<An oil platform succumbs to structural failure, following a series of synchronized explosions throughout the location. A small marquee scrolls along the bottom of screen, reading "REENACTMENT — DO NOT ATTEMPT WITHOUT PROPER SAFETY EQUIPMENT".>
ATTENBOROUGH: Oftentimes, these changes occur as a result of human affairs.
<Spilled oil catches fire on an ocean surface, burning towards a floating structure labelled "Maritime Orphanage". Sounds of panic emit from an unknown source.>
ATTENBOROUGH: Sometimes, they occur in an instant, too great and sudden to appreciate their beauty.
<A violent flash as a meteor collides with the ocean.>
ATTENBOROUGH: Other times, change occurs over hundreds of years, too subtle and slow to appreciate, all the same.
<Polar bears huddle on a single floating piece of sea ice as it wobbles precariously.>
ATTENBOROUGH: Life adapts through evolutionary processes or it does not survive. Though, there are some things that work at their own pace, even as the rest of the world changes to a different tune.
<Time-lapse of our ancient primate ancestors evolving into Homo sapiens sapiens. The modern human is holding a gun to its own head.>
ATTENBOROUGH: Regardless, the concerns of one are the concerns of all others, despite that which may be debated online. The recurrent processes of life are only as stable as the links that hold them together.
<Scene cuts back to the previous reef. Camera begins to slowly zoom in on an unremarkable patch of dying coral.>
ATTENBOROUGH: So, while this story is about the progression of macro-scale marine ecology, you'll come to find the individual players have much more crucial parts to play in the lives of their community. <Distant gunshot.> And even for those whom resist change, change still comes, eventually—often when you'd least expect it.
<An amateur scene transition resembling rippling water executes, fading with a jazzy flourish into an interior set. The building has been constructed inside a large, hollowed-out brain coral, the walls a light, brutalist gray, resembling concrete. Bars can be seen on the windows in the background. Entering frame right is SCP-6549, wearing a black and white striped hat, "dragging" a floating ball and chain in tow.>
ATTENBOROUGH: This is Krillip McCallister, former serial arsonist and incarcerated felon. He's about to become a former incarcerated felon, a rather big day for him.
<SCP-6549 looks around for some implied indicator as to where it should be headed, spotting said indicator off-camera to the left. As SCP-6549 swims, the camera pans alongside it, revealing a series of front desks and doors.>
ATTENBOROUGH: And, while Krillip isn't the smartest nor most well-liked member of the community, he is one-of-a-kind—the sole surviving member of his species. He's also not so different from you or I, believe it or not. For example, he and I are both in a prison of sorts. Though, one of us is being released far sooner than the other, from the look of things.
<SCP-6549 glides up to a series of stanchions, which form a pathway to the front desk. A large sign can be seen, reading "YOU DON'T HAVE TO GO HOME, BUT YOU CAN'T STAY HERE." View cuts to directly in front of SCP-6549 where the entity's expressionless eyes gaze, askew, into the camera. The shot cuts again, this time to behind the entity, who is implied to be staring at the word "HOME" with bittersweet wistfulness.>
ATTENBOROUGH: Oh, this isn't right. Please let me out of here. Lord almighty, we're still in episode one? Time—Time is meaningless! I have to do ten of these?
<A sound like a whip cracks through the air. Attenborough is heard yelping.>
ATTENBOROUGH: Ow! You don't need to be so antediluvian— Hey! No! Back off. I'll do the damn thing, just- give me a moment. <Breathes.> From the last lines.
<A pause. SCP-6549 floats motionless, aside from the ambient flapping keeping it in place.>
ATTENBOROUGH: Krillip is not so different from you or I, believe it or not. For example, he and I are both in a prison of sorts. Though, one of us is being released far sooner than the other, from the look of things.
ATTENBOROUGH: And just like you, he's currently being watched by hundreds of strangers via the product of cameras placed strategically throughout the location.
<SCP-6549 swims up to the front desk, where a sea cucumber wearing a guard's outfit lays atop its surface, trying desperately to leave the set. An object is briefly visible from frame left, prodding the "guard" back into position. Cut to a document being stamped by a human dressed like a sea cucumber, dressed like a prison guard. Camera cuts back. SCP-6549 wriggles out of its ball and chain, hat coming off in the process. The entity is given a small box of personal effects from off-camera via a rod and hook, which SCP-6549 allows to be lowered onto its back. It then glides out the doors and into a bright white light, likely representing unknown possibilities, almost dropping the box in the process.>
ATTENBOROUGH: And as with all of us, the engine of fate remains uncertain in its design and destination. For wily Krillip here, however, the odds are certainly against him. Recidivism rates in this particular reef are higher than one might expect, so we can only hope it will be this future fossil's final foray into the corrections system. Does he have what it takes? Find out where his new journey takes him, after these messages. We're rooting for you, buddy!
<Cuts to commercial.>
[END LOG]
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