ars PARADOXICA is a story about people searching for meaning in a universe that aggressively lacks one, and who occasionally find the next best thing in those around them. It's also about the way power corrupts. When you've got a Time Machine and the backing of the most powerful nation on Earth, you start to get the idea that you can always tilt the scales in your favor, but there is cost and consequence for every action. Above all, it's about science, America, and the deeply human desire to fix our mistakes. A product of the Whisperforge http://whisperforge.org
Dr. Sally Grissom is stuck in the past. When a quirk of physics draws her into the middle of a top-secret military test on the deck of the USS Eldridge in 1943, Sally must convince Director Bill Donovan and his Office of Developed Anomalous Resources that she isn’t a hostile force bent on espionage. But she may be just the answer Donovan has been looking for: an end to the Second World War, and control over the post-war world. **Be advised: This episode contains the sounds of humans vomiting.
A power outage creates an unlikely friendship.
Sally and her assistants Jack Wyatt and Esther Roberts have to present a working Timepiece to the top brass in a week’s time. The only problem? It’s really hard to present time travel in the flesh. To ease the pressure, Anthony Partridge suggests a weekend trip to the newest desert vacation spot: Las Vegas, NV. But sending Sally off in public is a dangerous prospect. Will Sally’s foreknowledge of card-counting techniques and the looming Trinity nuclear test land her in hot water?
Chet Whickman, head of ODAR security, is here to break up the party. Time is ticking down til Judgment Day, but their transport vehicles break down in the middle of the desert. Sally, Chet, Anthony and his wife Helen witness the dawn of a new age of military science, and some of them realize that they may not come away from ODAR with their hands clean.
Something else instead.
Quentin Barlowe dies mysteriously, and all fingers point to Sally Grissom. To prove her innocence, Sally works through the night to create the TAP, a window through time, so she can see what really happened. But when she’s confronted by the widow June Barlowe, Sally may wish she had left well enough alone. **WARNING: This episode contains depictions of gun violence. Listener discretion advised.
Sally is drunk, locked in a broom closet and the town is about to explode. But it’s hard to invest in the future of Polvo when projects are getting cut left and right, and Intelligence Agent Hank Cornish is closing up the town for good. Can Sally and Jack pull off one last miracle? And how can Bill Donovan use that miracle to his advantage?
Bill Donovan’s called in every favor he has to keep the lights on and the Timepiece up and running. Banished to the isolated mountain town of Point-of-Exile, Colorado, and with so many failures under their belt, can Sally, Esther, Jack, Chet, Anthony and Helen find reasons to continue on? And will Bill Donovan live long enough to see them finally succeed?
Trailer
As work continues on a new iteration of ODAR’s time-bending technology, Jack Wyatt can’t shake the feeling that he might not be right for the job, and Esther is left picking up the pieces. Meanwhile, Anthony Partridge is investigating a new face in town: Agent Hank Cornish. But is it really worth all the fuss? Or is he just using this—and his research into Bill Donovan’s declining health—as an excuse to avoid supporting Helen in her cabaret debut?
An accident finally leads to a practically-demonstrable use of the Timepiece: the CAGE, a bubble of time outside the universe. Chet isn’t too happy with Esther’s decision to spend 24 (relative) hours trapped inside it. But when he is trapped inside with her, it gives these two time to talk about the only thing they have in common: ODAR, and its potential future without Bill Donovan.
It’s Christmastime again, and the team is on the verge of a breakthrough. Anthony Partridge has been working nonstop to finish his latest invention, and though he’s made substantial gains, he may stand to lose even more. Jack Wyatt is done with the whole ODAR game and wants to take his girlfriend Penny with him, but Esther’s just stuck one foot further in and might need his help. And Sally, all alone on Christmas, finds solace—and the answers she’s been looking for—in her new 20th-century family. But with Bill Donovan in dire straits and Anthony Partridge left all alone, who knows what discoveries yet lay hidden?
Anthony Partridge has stumbled across a box full of tapes in Bill Donovan’s office. Spoilers: Bill’s had the whole town wired for years, and he’s recorded EVERYTHING. And that’s not all–he’s been blackmailing politicians, he manipulated Helen, and he’s bending the fabric of spacetime to keep himself in power. He doesn’t stop for breath, even when his health starts to fail. Is there anything Bill Donovan won’t do?
When Anthony seeks revenge on Bill Donovan for his crimes, he finds more than he’d bargained for: due to the effects of CAGE therapy, he’s a frail old man, confined to a bed, but otherwise healthy. But that won’t be enough to stop Anthony Partridge when he’s got an axe to grind. Meanwhile, Sally gets a visit from her future self, and if you though one Sally was a lot to handle… Oh man. Just you wait. **WARNING: This episode contains graphic depictions of violence. Listener discretion advised.
As punishment for his crimes, Anthony Partridge is exiled to the Blackroom, ODAR’s communications hub situated at the anchor point. He’s not so sure he wants to be ODAR’s slave until the end of his days, but that all changes when he’s the only one who can get Sally Grissom the care she needs. Sally’s fallen into a coma after a meeting with her future self, and ODAR’s off and running without her. What world will Sally find waiting for her outside the hospital?
Louis Gaines is a journalism professor in trouble for introducing taboo concepts to his students. David Marian is a chess prodigy with an anger streak. The two war buddies are recruited by a mysterious government agency. Is it ODAR? Of course it is. But will their new employer mean the end of their friendship?
Sally and Esther fly out to the east coast. Sally has found a way to communicate with Anthony in the Blackroom, and needs to go to Philadelphia and commit a few crimes and put her life in mortal danger to make it happen– y’know, the usual. Meanwhile, Esther says she’s going to New York for boring supply line reasons, but instead meets with someone from her past.
**WARNING: This episode contains graphic depiction of gun violence. Listener discretion advised. What’s an ODAR agent doing in the Philadelphia harbor? Nikhil Sharma is from a future dangerously close to Sally’s own, and he claims to have forgotten his orders. Claims. Happy to meet someone who gets all of her Back to the Future references, Sally ditches Esther to road trip back to Point-of-Exile with Nikhil. What awaits them at their destination?
**WARNING: This episode contains depictions of animal cruelty. Listener discretion advised. (No animals were harmed in the making of this episode.) Still shaken since Sharma, Sally seeks a shrink. Meanwhile, mild-mannered Maggie manipulates mice.
Sally starts gardening and digs up something from her past. Esther falls back on old habits. Chet realizes he’s not here to make friends.
A visitor appears. [http://thebrightsessions.com]
**WARNING: This episode contains depictions of manipulation & implied harm of children. Listener discretion advised. Petra and Carmen have been recruited for a special training protocol within ODAR. Their mission: Grow up through history backwards, make no connection with the world around them, in an attempt to Stave Off the deadly effects of Butterfly Syndrome. Helped along by their chaperone Van, their peers, and a mysterious guide who offers lemon drops with a side of dissenting opinions on the way things ought to be, can the girls become proper ODAR agents before their last connection to anything in the world–each other–falls apart?
Anthony’s poking at the limits of the Blackroom, and facing his inevitable lonely demise, conspires with Sally to look for a way out. But when Esther and ODAR get word of the team-up, their concern for their future brings them to conflict.
Lou Gaines is on a mission to find his friend David Marian, and in the course of his search ropes in others who have fallen beside ODAR's wake.
June Barlowe's done biding her time. She's out for vengeance for her late husband Quentin, and heaven help ODAR and anyone else who stands in her way–except for a face she never thought she'd see again...
The team has assembled, and it's time to take the fight to ODAR. Step 1: get Victor Lambert out of an ODAR prison facility, with a passcode from the desk of Director Chet Whickman himself. To pull this stunt off, they'll need help from an unlikely source.
The last remaining record of Dr. Nikhil Sharma, friend to Sally Grissom and foe to ODAR. His presence in only three days of 1949 caused deviations to the timeline not even the Blackroom could predict. What led this rogue element to betray his allegiances and leave everything behind?
Chet draws a line in the sand; the Anchorites are trapped. But sand is easily washed away by a rising tide.
A training tape shown to new ODAR recruits.
A day in the life of Sally's cat Archimedes. Follow the Cat About Town; surely he can't get into more trouble than his owner. Can he?
Swearing's come a long way in 70 years, but Sally's getting impatient. She's ready for a new age in linguistic expression. **WARNING: This episode contains very, VERY strong language. Listener discretion advised.
Something... a little weird.
Surprising no one, Dan & Mischa can't announce news about Season 3 without cramming in a dumb bit. Regular episodes of ars Paradoxica return Wednesday, October 25th!
A high-profile mission goes awry when ODAR is struck blind and their enemies begin to anticipate their every move. **WARNING: This episode contains depictions of gun violence. Listener discretion advised.
The trial of Esther Roberts. **WARNING: This episode contains stressful interrogation and hateful speech. Listener discretion advised.
The aftermath of the Roberts trial spurs ODAR’s inner circle to action. A hidden threat must be exposed, before all is lost.
Tensions mount as the crew turns in on itself. Sally and Petra fly east to examine something broken. Petra finds a new confidant.
Trapped in an ODAR lockdown with boiling tempers and a deadly enemy, Sally and crew struggle to find a way out. Meanwhile, Chet finds some downtime. **WARNING: This episode contains graphic content and depictions of gun violence.
On the brink of disaster, our heroes are stretched to their limits.
An announcement about the end of the show. Yes, you heard right: Season 3 will be the last season. But also, the best.
Sally pines for a friend. Esther struggles to catch up without her usual resources. Chet's on his way out. One last secret play before the new Director comes to town.
Sally meets with someone outside her circle and makes a desperate bargain with the mysterious new ODAR Director.
It's all hands on deck in Colorado. Sally Grissom's been kidnapped. An ocean away, she matches wits with somebody new.
Petra, Lou and the 77s infiltrate the KTNK stronghold to rescue Sally. But while inside, they might find more than they bargained for. They may have to pay a dear price to retrieve her.
Though they are glad to return to Point-of-Exile once more after a long mission, our heroes may not be the same people they were when they left. Some for the better, others… less.
After leaving Point-of-Exile, Sally runs into friends old and new. Petra plans a party.
It’s 1943. Sally Grissom has accidentally invented time travel. But things don’t transpire exactly as we remember.
The final confrontation. An end, possibly a beginning.
At PodCon 2017, weary travelers Kristen and Dan just want to check into their hotel room. Deprived a clean bed and a warm shower, they search for food and pine about potentially-lost costumes.
We asked you to fill our question bucket to the brim, and YOU DELIVERED. The whole creative team behind your favorite Cold War time travel tragedy answers all of your deep, burning questions about Anthony, Mateo, and even Archie. Also, about one hour nineteen minutes in, Dan makes a historical claim about the origin of the bong as the Middle East. They misspoke, and should have said China. They regret this error.