S2:E5: The Machine by Phenderson Djèlí Clark & The Water Walls of Enceladus by Mercurio D Rivera

Kaleidocast

The Machine For a pair of socks, a guide takes our narrator on a tour of The Machine (representing our world), as well as all the various groups that try to effect or control it. The Author: Phenderson Djéli Clark is an occasional speculative fiction writer. His short SFF stories have appeared in online venues such as Daily Science Fiction, Heroic Fantasy Quarterly, Fantasy-Magazine, Fireside Fiction, Tor.com and several print anthologies including Griots and Hidden Youth. His debut novella The Black God's Drums will be published by Tor in August 2018. You can read his ramblings on SFF, diversity and more at his blog The Disgruntled Haradrim (www.pdjeliclark.com). He also tweets stuff: @pdjeliclark. The Actor: Michael Taylor is undeniably the greatest man in the world. He enjoys games, puzzles, and experiencing interactive theatre to improve upon the subtle, intricate, yet uniquely brilliant greatness of Michael Taylor's mind. ​​ ---------------------------------------- The Water Walls of Enceladus Lily has contracted an extremely rare alien virus after contact with the Wergen, a species that worships and alores human beings. Lily's disfiguring condition makes her hideous to other humans, so she agrees to spend 5 years among the Wergen on Enceladus, but their cloying attention is driving her crazy, so she plots to escape. The Author: Mercurio D. Rivera’s short fiction has been nominated for the World Fantasy Award and has appeared in numerous venues such as Analog Science Fiction and Fact (forthcoming), Asimov's Science Fiction, Lightspeed, Interzone, i09, Nature, Black Static, Abyss & Apex, Space and Time, and elsewhere. His work has been anthologized in Year’s Best SF 34, ed. Gardner Dozois Other Worlds Than These, ed. John Joseph Adams, Year's Best SF 17, ed. Hartwell & Cramer, Unplugged: The Web's Best Sci-Fi and Fantasy, ed. Rich Horton, Paradox: Stories Inspired by the Fermi Paradox, and Solaris Rising 2, ed. Ian Whates. His stories have been podcast at Escape Pod, StarshipSofa, and Beam Me Up and translated and republished in China, the Czech Republic, Poland and Spain. Tor.com called his short story collection Across the Event Horizon (NewCon Press), “weird and wonderful,” with “dizzying switchbacks.” Find him online at mercuriorivera.com. The Actor: Tatiana Grey is a critically acclaimed actress of stage, screen, and the audio booth. She has been nominated for dozens of fancy awards but hasn’t won a single damned thing. She does, however have a feature film hitting the festival circuit called Serious Laundry. She lives in Brooklyn, New York. See more about Tatiana at www.tatianagrey.com [e-mail]