Shower | The Chthonic | S1E5 | GE5

This world’s an illusion. You just need it washed away.

Amanda and Brittany surface from a shower neither of them turned on, finishing each other’s sentences about a dream they both had. Below decks, the crew watches and crosses them off the list. What the entity wants is a mind that still resists and Sara and Kara have been resisting all voyage.

Cast & Crew

Written & Produced by: Neural Nets and Pretty Patterns

Co-Produced by: Bliss Blank

Ship’s Crew

Olivia, Cruise Director: Bliss Blank

William, Ship Captain: Neural Nets and Pretty Patterns

Nika, Ship Maid: Echo Doll

Selene, Chief Purser: Syndi Rella

Mairead, Spa Manager: Bun Li

Fion, Chief Engineer: Jade

Guests

Alistair, CEO of Neuroplex: Jericho Caine

Holly, His Girlfriend: Dizzy Dollie

Amanda, House Mother: Korrupted Innocence

Brittany, Bridesmaid: Kitten Azazel

Kara, Bridesmaid: Tender Confusion

Sarah, Bridesmaid: Ring of Kees

Archive : A Note on The Dream Index

Deep Dream State uses an index system to give you more information about the show. We strive for clarity. /sincere

Each episode has a Global ID — its position in the Deep Dream State chronological sequence. Simple count. That’s the number you’d see on IMDb or in the MusicBrainz catalogue. It also corresponds to the episode numbering in the RSS feed and podcast apps — when Apple Podcasts or Spotify show you a number, that’s the Global ID.

Each episode also has a Local ID, which includes:

Arc — the season. This is the standard season designation you’d see on Apple Podcasts.

Cycle — the subject group of episodes within an arc, specific to Deep Dream State.

Episode — its number within the arc. This matches the episode numbering in RSS feeds and iTunes.

This episode is #5. That’s the Global ID.

This episode is also A1C3E5. It’s in the Chthonic arc (Arc 1), the Cloud Cycle (Cycle 3). It’s episode 5 within that arc.

If you find the archive system confusing, you can just refer to the Global Number and it’ll be fine.

Episode Summary

Somewhere below decks, Amanda and Brittany are sharing a shower neither of them remembers turning on. The crew watches on monitors and evaluates. What the entity they serve actually wants is a mind that still pushes back, and Sara and Kara have spent the entire voyage doing exactly that in the ship’s library, chasing whale prophecies and binding rites down a trail the crew planted for them. A hidden note sends Sara deeper into the ship alone. Kara stays behind with a knife and a deadline and the growing suspicion that following the breadcrumbs and walking into the trap are the same thing.

Full Plot Synopsis (Caution: Spoilers)

Shower opens in the Chthonic’s surveillance room, where Captain Dyer and her senior crew are reviewing the progress of a passenger named Emma. She’s been through multiple cycles of adjustment, and she still isn’t what they need. She hesitated. In the world the Chthonic’s crew are building, hesitation is disqualifying. The conversation between Dyer, Alistair, Olivia, and Holly is the language of people running a program rather than a cruise. What emerges from it is the outline of something with serious infrastructure behind it: trials, wipes, cycles, and a very specific end goal that Emma’s softness has put at risk.

Below decks, two other passengers are having a different kind of morning. Amanda was the responsible one in her social group, the woman who kept the sorority from burning down, and now she can’t string two thoughts together without giggling. Brittany describes the feeling as pink fog, and Amanda finds she can’t argue. Their conversation loops and doubles, sentences finishing in unison, memories failing to reconstruct. The shower in their cabin is already running when they notice it, and neither of them turned it on. They work out slowly that they dreamed it at the same time: standing under the water while something hummed through everything. They’ve always heard it, they agree. They’re not suffering and that’s precisely what mak