Future in a Flash – Details, episodes & analysis

Last week’s answer: “[Piper] needs to fail at a task and discover a mentor who will train him in a new skill. Then go back and complete the task he failed before.”

Kyle (as Piper)

So a giant, huh?

Kyle (as Jack)

Apparently.

[Ethereal ambient music begins.]

Kyle

Jack and Piper looked up at their destination, a gigantic tower that pierced the heavens, although tower is a bit too mundane. This looked more like a mechanical version of a beanstalk—various different metals, rubbers and polymers that we currently don’t have coiling together in a way that, at the surface, looked haphazard but the higher up you got the more cohesive and beautiful they became.

This structure was protected on all sides by, near the bottom, massive mountains that had been pulled straight out of the ground, and higher up, weather patterns that circulated around it, keeping the top of this tower permanently at the eye of the hurricane.

With a (breathy repetitive clicking), Piper’s scrat scurried into his pack, but Piper was much less deterred, simply tuning his lute as he asked Jack:

Kyle (as Piper)

So are we gonna kill it?

Kyle (as Jack)

Well… ugh, no. No, no, no. We’re not going to kill it, Piper. We’re going to study it, analyze it, take in its beauty, and… Then yes, probably kill it, but—

Kyle (as Piper)

There we go!

Kyle (as Jack)

That’s not the point of why we do this. It’s just what, you know, typically ends up happening.

Kyle (as Piper)

You say that, but if someone keeps playing the same tune time after time again, eventually…

Kyle

Piper, noticing Jack’s hair standing on end, decided to save this frequent argument for after the danger had passed and instead deflected to a different point of conversation.

Kyle (as Piper)

So uh, how do we know it’s a giant?

Kyle (as Jack)

Well…

Kyle

Jack said, pulling out a well-worn bag from her patch.

Kyle (as Jack)

…you know, it’s a beanstalk, and giants and beanstalks, the two kind of go hand in hand.

Kyle (as Piper)

You would know all about that, wouldn’t you?

Kyle

Piper said with a joking expression that contained just a hint of disdain as he pointed to the bag that Jack had pulled out.

Kyle (as Jack)

Ha, ha.

Kyle

Jack mockingly laughed, pulling out a single glimmering bean from the pouch.

Kyle (as Piper)

I’m just saying, Jack, it’s not a lot to go off of.

Kyle (as Jack)

Well, it’s more than we normally have to go off of. To be honest, thanks To SOMEONE, we have a bit of a reputation. So really, we just gotta walk in, explore it, say the problem’s solved, and everyone can go back to putting their heads in the sand.

Kyle (as Piper)

Right.

Kyle

A somber Piper replied.

Kyle (as Piper)

Because there’s no way for them to see what you see.

Kyle (as Jack)

Unfortunately not, but I suppose that’s the way randomness works.

Kyle

Jack said, pulling a bean out of her pouch and throwing it into her mouth. Jack had a long history with these beans, a history that we may get into at a later point, but for now all you need to know is that the beans turn this jack into a nano.

[Music ends.]

Kyle (as Q-BO)

[Bloop.] Hi! Q-BO Again. Honoring the randomness of the roleplaying games that inspired Future in a Flash, we will occasionally be rolling dice. Specifically we will be rolling a twenty-sided dice. One to 5 means the person fails, badly, 6 to 10 means they somewhat fail, 11 to 15 means they somewhat succeed, and 16 to 20 means they succeed greatly.

At the beginning of next session, Kyle will roll a twenty-sided dice to see how well Jack’s magic works. But before we do that, we need to figure out what the magical effect of the bean is. In the replies, please list the magical effect that you would like the bean to have. No answer is a wrong answer. We will then put all those answers on our Discord, and the one with the most votes, counted by how many people reply with the Q-BO emoji… That’s me! …will be what the effect of the bean is.

Kyle

Our story begins many, many years in the future, and many in the past depending on your point of view.

[Magical western music.]

In the grand city of Charmonde, guarding the south entrance atop the massive golden staircase, are two statues that stand as some of the few monuments not devoted to Queen Armalu herself. On one side, a young woman holding an outstretched hand full of beans, the “Jack” by which all future multitalented adventurers including one Hopper Scotch would be named, and on the other a young man with a lute, a cocky smile, and a scrat on his shoulder, the piper, Jack’s most steadfast companion, and, while not the hero of the stories himself, a very, very important ally.

These two were as old as The Ninth World itself. Many believe that they might have even existed in The Eighth World. Some extreme theorists posit that they’ve been here since the beginning. Regardless of where these two originated, many agree on where they ended.

It was a bright day in the Beyond, one in which the sun shown clearly and the wind blew all sweat off of a weary adventurer.

[Music ends.]

Kyle (as Piper)

[Hums and scats jauntily.]

Kyle (as Jack)

Piper!

[Silly music begins.]

Kyle

A frustrated Jack turned to a beaming Piper who was playing on his lute.

Kyle (as Jack)

I’ve told you multiple times I am just too tired right now.

Kyle (as Piper)

Huh, you’re too tired?

Kyle

Without missing a beat Piper responded, not really listening to Jack’s words.

Kyle (as Piper)

I mean, that’s why I play this song, right? To keep our marching beats. If it’s a “ba, ba, ba, ba,” you know, that’s a pretty common move, but if I go “ba-ba-ba-ba-ba-ba-ba,” then we’re going fast. Alright? You just gotta tell me what beat to match your feet.

[Smirking.] … You get it?

Kyle (as Jack)

I…

[Sighs.] This is serious, Piper.

Kyle

Piper leaned in back at Jack.

Kyle (as Piper)

It’s always serious with you, Piper.

Kyle

Jack, despite herself, smiled at Piper’s comment.

Kyle (as Jack)

And yet you can’t help but keep that dumb grin on your face.

Kyle (as Piper)

Well, what can I say? The ladies love it.

Kyle (as Jack)

What ladies, Piper?

Kyle (as Piper)

I mean, you love it, don’t you?

Kyle

Frustrated, Jack pushed Piper’s head to the side. Piper, who had not stopped playing this whole time, ran back towards a walking-away Jack, moving perfectly in time with his instrument.

Kyle (as Piper)

Whoa, whoa, whoa. I’m just saying, I’m just saying, not everything out here is out to kill you. Alright?

Kyle (as Jack)

Not trying to…

[Stammers.] Piper, you haven’t been sleeping this whole series of adventures. “Everything” out here is trying to kill us. The world is a series of wonders and mysteries, and every single one of them wants us dead—Agh!

Kyle

Jack stumbled over a silk of spider web so strong it could hold together two continents. She pulled it down with a huff and showed it at Piper.

Kyle (as Jack)

Do you see what I mean, Piper? Do you see what I mean? This right here. Hmm? I’m just walking along, and this—

Kyle

As Jack let go of one end, it boinged in a haphazard way that definitely left a few marks on her hand.

Kyle (as Jack)

Do you see? Do you see?

Kyle (as Piper)

[Chuckles.] I see, Jack. I see.

Kyle

Piper grabbed Jack’s hand and tenderly pulled out the web.

Kyle (as Piper)

There sure is a lot of chaos out there, but, if you look at it just right…

Kyle

He said, taking the web and adding it as another line to his lute.

Kyle (as Piper)

…you can turn it into a wonderful musical order.

Kyle

Jack hated to admit it, but she was impressed, but again… she hated to admit it. So instead she masked her wonder with anger.

Kyle (as Jack)

Okay Piper, I just… I just don’t get it. Okay? I just don’t get how, with all of this, you can still act like we’re just in the bar on a Saturday night. I don’t understand what is going on in that head.

Kyle

Piper infuriatingly laughed and, as always, deflected the comment back.

Kyle (as Piper)

Well maybe that’s because your head is the one that is inscrutable, my Jack.

[Music ends.]

Kyle (as Q-BO)

[Bloop.] Greetings. It is I, the Incalculable Quorum of Beneficial Outputs, but you can call me Q-BO! I may have a different sound effect to avoid copyright, but I’m still the same information-giving robot you know and/or love.

Welcome to the first episode of Future in a Flash, a new series that is unique in two main ways. First, with a few exceptions, all the voices will be those that can be replicated by me alone. Second, we need your help to figure out how this story progresses.

At the end of each episode, we will ask a question which you can answer anywhere it’s published including our Substack, our Discord, and our Tumblr. We’ll listen to all suggestions, however any votes will be done on our Discord alone. For example, the question I have for you today: Whose perspective should we follow for the rest of this chapter? Should we follow Jack’s perspective, should we follow Piper’s perspective, or should we follow the perspective of the third-person narrator?

While our episode schedule isn’t absolute, typically we will record on Thursdays and release on Fridays. So, if you want to vote, now is the time to do it.