LYS Podcast Episode 12

-Intro music-

AMANDA MORRISON’S NARRATION/VOICE OVER (AMANDA MORRISON’S NARRATION/VOICE OVER (AM V/O): When we left you last episode Iris Love, a woman who was working with Lane Kelly, the man in the coma, told us that she had been diagnosed with Fregoli delusion, a condition that caused her to believe that different people are in fact a single person who changes appearance or is in disguise. Lane Kelly didn’t believe Iris was delusional, but rather believed she was actually being followed by one person who was different people, and that this person was connected to a group of people called “The Ascendants”, who were interested in recruiting Iris Love for some reason. Believe me, I understand that this sounds pretty out there, perhaps even impossible, but is there maybe, actually, something to Lane Kelly’s theory? You’re listening to the Leap Year Society. I’m Amanda Morrison. Stay with us.

-Intro ends-

AM V/O:: My friend and producing partner Mitch is going to read another section from what we’re calling “Lane Kelly’s Diary”. When Lane Kelly refers to “Venus” he’s actually referring to Iris Love, and when he refers to “X” he’s talking about the person or entity or whatever he believes has been following Iris Love.

MITCH SORRENSON (MS): (Reading) “Working with Venus has been challenging and I believe that she’s doing her best but she’s fragile, worried and often over-anxious. I believe I’m going to need her help if I’m going to be able to find and confront X. In order to be able to convince Venus that she’s not deluded I’m going to have to prove to her that Stepping isn’t just theoretical, but that it’s something that is actually possible. I feel like X is becoming more aggressive and I’m worried that something is going to happen soon. I’m not certain why X has targeted Iris but I believe it may have something to do with the chemical makeup of her brain.

AM V/O: That’s where the diary entry ends. So, how was Lane Kelly going to prove to Iris Love that “stepping” was possible? We asked her that question.

-Cut to cafe-

AM: Lane Kelly believed that X, the person following you, belonged to a group called The Ascendants.

IRIS LOVE (IL): Yes.

AM: Who are they?

IL: He wasn’t sure about their agenda.

AM: But he was sure they were following you?

IL: He was sure somebody or something was following me. And he believed they were connected to a group called The Ascendants. Yes.

AM: So, in Lane Kelly’s diary, he indicates that he wanted to prove to you that the phenomenon he refers to as “stepping” was possible.

IL: Right. Because he wanted me to try it.

AM: Did he succeed in proving this to you? Iris?

IL: I’m not sure.

AM: What do you mean?

IL: I mean, I need to talk to him.

AM: But you understand that he’s currently in a coma?

IL: Of course. But he’s not just in a coma.

AM: No?

IL: No. He’s on the other side. And when he comes back, he’ll be able to tell us what’s going on.

AM: Are they still following you? (Pause) Iris?

IL: I’m sorry but I have to go.

AM V/O:  That was all we were able to get from Iris Love on Lane Kelly and his experiments. They hadn’t been working together very long before Lane Kelly fell into his coma. We did have something new however. A name. The Ascendants.

COLIN ORRY (CO): (On the phone) There is absolutely nothing out there.

AM: What a surprise.

CO: Yeah. They definitely feel very “conspiracy-esque”

AM: Is there no mention anywhere?

CO: Well there’s a band called The Ascendants and something in ancient Roman law pertaining to ascending to a throne or seat of power.

AM: Well the Roman thing sounds promising, no?

CO: No. There’s nothing.

AM: We should keep digging.

CO: Definitely.

AM: Great, thanks.

CO: You’re welcome.

AM V/O: So, nothing on The Ascendants yet. But we’re going to keep looking into it of course. Now we’re going back to CERN, where Mitch managed to dig something up on the firing of Pierre Lacroix, the research scientist we’ve spoken with back in Episode 10.

MS: I spoke with a person who told me she was there when they fired Pierre Lacroix.

AM: When they fired Pierre Lacroix. And she’s not willing to go on the record?

MS: Yeah I’m afraid not.

AM: But you believe her?

MS: Well I mean she definitely worked with Lacroix at the time. She showed me proof of her credentials.

AM: What did she say?

MS: She told me that Lacroix wasn’t unfit, that he was railroaded out of his position, and that she’d heard people talking about it right before it happened.

AM: Why didn’t she step forward at the time?

MS: Er, well she was scared, she knew she’d lose her job… or worse.

AM: Worse?

MS: Yeah, I mean she was terrified. She told me there was something in the way the people spoke, who she’d overheard, something... scary.

AM: Did she tell you anything else?

MS: Uh, she remembered caling Colleen Danler (??) being fired around the same time but she didn’t know anything about it.

AM: OK.

MS: Apparently Danler had been working in a different department.

AM: Any luck tracking down Colleen Danler or her daughter Joan?

MS: Um Colleen Danler died a couple of years ago, and we’ve been trying to find her daughter. We did find something, a website entry that has her alive and living in Oregon somewhere.

AM: Any idea where?

MS: Not yet, but we’re looking into marriage records just in case she’s changed her name.

AM: Keep me posted?

MS: You bet.

AM: Pierre Lacroix, the former CERN research scientist told us we should send a copy of the video of those geocaching kids uncovering that artifact to Dr. Joan Danler. The problem is - we’ve been unable to locate Dr. Danler.

CO: (Phone) Around 2002 the trail goes cold. It just looks like she dropped off the map.

AM: There’s nothing? Friends? Family?

CO: Sure we know both of those things, the problem is neither of them are willing to speak with us.

AM: Why not? CO: My best guess based on what I’ve been able to figure out is that we’re not the first people to come looking for Dr. Danler.

AM V/O: Colin was right. I reached out to somebody on Linkedin, a person I shared a connection with, who was also connected to one of Joan Danler’s friends. They told me Joan’s family and friends were bothered for a long time after Joan’s leaving the public eye. They said Joan knows what she wants, and what she wants is simple: she wants to be left alone. So, Dr Joan Danler is a dead end, at least for the moment. We’re going to play another recording featuring Patient 81.

-Recording-

WEYLEN TAYLOR (WT): How are you feeling today?

81: Tired. Thank you for asking.

WT: We’re getting concerned that you’re not eating.

81: I’m not hungry.

WT: Why not?

81: I don’t know. It’s not like me.

WT: No, it’s not.

81: You don’t need to worry.

WT: Well I am worried. You need to eat.

81: This won’t last much longer.

WT: What do you mean?

81: I mean I’m not gonna last very long.

WT: Not if you don’t eat.

81: (Laughs) That’s good.

WT: Why would you say that?

81: Because she’s coming back.

WT: I don’t think you have to worry about her. Her and her people have been trying to force your release into their custody, but I’ve stopped them.

81: But they don’t need to have me in custody, Doctor. WT: What do you mean? 81: They have another door. WT: What other door? 81: The door you’ve been looking for. They found it. She has the key. WT: (sighs) What are all these symbols that you’ve drawn on the walls mean? 81: I don’t know. They’re just nonsense. It could mean something?

WT: But you have no idea what something might be? 81: No. WT: Why not? 81: Because Dr. Taylor, I already told you. I didn’t draw those symbols.

 

-Recording ends-

AM V/O: We’ll have more on Patient 81 soon. We’re going to take a deeper look into the think tank called the Flynn Initiative.

CO: (Phone) It was hard to find any information on the Flynn Initiative online.

AM: But you did?

CO: I was able to dig up two people who spent some time working for them.

AM: You’re the best. When can I speak with them.

CO: I forwarded both their info.

AM: Thanks.

CO: Mm-hm, good luck.

AM: Who needs luck, when I have you.

CO: Yeah well I’ll expect a hell of a birthday present this year.

AM V/O: Both of the people Colin had tracked down, who had taken part in or been connected with the Flynn Initiative got in touch. One lived within an hour’s drive, the other in Austin, TX. So I drove to see the first person and flew to see the second. They’ve both asked us not to reveal their names on this podcast so we’re going to use the names Mark and Sheila. First, Mark, the man living close by.

AM: Thanks for agreeing to speak with us. It’s very helpful.

MARK (M): I’m not sure how what I can tell you will help with anything, but I’ll do my best.

AM: Thanks. So could you start by telling me how you got involved with the Flynn Initiative? M: Sure. Well it was a poster on campus. AM: What did it say? M: It was twenty bucks an hour for an interview. AM: How long was the interview. M: Well in my case, the interview lasted about six months. AM: Wow.

M: Yeah. They seemed pretty interested in something about me.

AM: Any idea what that something might have been? Mark?

M: Well… they didn’t really say.

AM: If you had to guess?

M: It may have had something to do with the fact that I speak about a dozen languages.

AM: That’s amazing!

M: Oh, thanks, but it’s something that just comes naturally, I don’t really have to study or anything, it’s just… my thing.

AM: Still, that’s great.

M: Yeah.

AM: So, what can you tell me about the Flynn Initiative.

M: Well, the building was pretty plain, slabs of concrete.

AM: And this was where?

M: Seattle.

AM: Anything else you can remember?

M: I remember thinking that they may have been looking for people who might have special abilities.

AM: Superheroes.

M: Nothing like that. Just regular human abilities but kind of enhanced or you know, like, like I was good with languages. Somebody else had synesthesia, another was a Math savant. Piano, MENSA, those kind of things. There were no normal people there. No offense.

AM: None taken. Any other details about what happened there?

M: Well, it was pretty cool actually. Most of the time we did a lot of discussion. Art, politics, science.

AM: And what about the rest of the time?

M: Well, there were some pretty out there kind of experiments. Some drugs, some sleep stuff.

AM: Well what kind of experiments?

M: I don’t really remember much I’m afraid. I actually experienced pretty significant memory loss near the end. Memory loss that persisted about a year after I left the Initiative.

AM: Well what else do you remember?

M: They did a lot of interview sessions. And I mean a lot.

AM: Right.

M: And they recorded our responses to a variety of questions.

AM: What kind of questions?

M: It was so many years ago, I - I don’t remember much in detail I’m afraid, with all the memory loss stuff.

AM: I understand.

M: I’m good with languages. But my memory has never been that great, even before I signed up for that place.

AM: If you remember anything else, about your time at the Flynn Initiative, or anything you think might be of interest please reach out.

M: Will do.

AM: Thanks.

M: Welcome.

AM V/O: So, that was Mark. Next we’re going to Austin, TX to speak with Sheila.

(Dog barking, steps on a corridor floor)

SHEILA (S): This is it.

AM: It’s beautiful.

S: Thank you.

AM: It’s just you?

S: Just me and the dogs.

AM: Wow, there’s so much space.

S: Well, that’s Texas. A lot of everything out here. Would you like more hot water for your tea?

AM: I’m good, thank you. So, what can you tell me about the time you spent at the Flynn Initiative?

S: Well, I was there for almost a year I think.

AM: How would you describe what you were doing there in that think thank.

S: Well we did a lot of drinking.

AM: Really?

S: Yeah, me and a couple of the other women were a bit younger than the rest so we’d skip out and head downtown.

AM: How did you get involved with the Initiative?

S: I guess I passed the test.

AM: Right. I guess so.

S: No. Sorry, I mean actually passed The Test. Capital T “Test”

AM: Oh, you mean there’s something specifically called The Test? S: Exactly.

AM: And what kind of test is it?

S: It’s just a bunch of weird questions. I understand it’s different for everyone.

AM: Do you remember any of the questions?

S: Sorry, I don’t.

AM: But you passed?

S: I sure did.

AM: And then what happened?

S: Well then I was put into a study group for a period of time.

AM: How long?

S: It varied, uh, first was forty five days.

AM: And what did you do?

S: We just lived our regular lives, but we did it under observation twenty four hours a day.

AM: Really?

S: Yeah, they had cameras and microphones everywhere. And I mean everywhere. A

M: Bathrooms?

S: The whole deal. There was not one moment of privacy.

AM: (Laughs) That must have been a challenge.

S: It was, but we were there to find a cure so it was worth it.

AM: A cure.

S: Some of us were there because we were sick or had been experiencing some kind of, um, disconnection from society.

AM: Well, what do you mean?

S: I mean, I’d been having … issues, for a long time. The Flynn Initiative was supposed to help.

AM: And.. did they help?

S: I don’t think they did.

AM: No. S: No. At first there was a great deal of memory loss. AM: Memory loss? S: Yeah, that went on for a while, but it’s much better now.

AM: What was your condition?

S: It’s called “Sleeping Beauty Syndrome”

AM: What is that?

S: It’s terrible, is what it is.

AM: And, did you get cured?

S: No. Things actually got worse when I finally left.

AM: I’m sorry to hear that.

S: Thank you. I eventually found a therapist, and a couple of years later things are better now. Tolerable.

AM V/O: Sleeping Beauty or Kleine Levin Syndrome is a sleep disorder. It’s rare, and it’s characterised by hypersomnia, which is the reverse of insomnia. It’s also accompanied by persistent, episodic cognitive or mood changes. It can last for a long time, sometimes as long as months. Excessive sleeping and sleepiness accompanied by partial, or complete changes in personality. It does sound terrible. So, that was Mark and Sheila, two participants in whatever had been going on at the Flynn Initiative. It looked like that was where the story of the Flynn Initiative was going to end but it turns out that wasn’t the case. Mitch had found something in an online research library. A database tied to the Columbia University.

AM: What’s this?

MS: A list of names.

AM: I can see that. What do these six people have to do with anything?

MS: They were all participants in the Flynn Initiative.

AM: Really?

MS: Yup.

AM: Wait, this is a lawsuit?

MS: Class action.

AM: What happened?

MS: Well it was withdrawn the same day it was filed.

AM: They settled.

MS: Yeah. But those documents are sealed.

AM: Did we try to get in touch with these people?

MS: Indeed we did.

AM: And?

MS: And we can’t find any of them.

AM: A lot of this paperwork is redacted.

MS: Yeah.

AM: The lawsuit claims that they all suffered some kind of sleep disorder, mental fatigue, and extreme memory loss right after leaving the Flynn Initiative.

MS: Yeah. Sound familiar?

AM: Yeah.

MS: Oh, there’s one more thing.

AM: What’s that?

MS: The Flynn Initiative.

AM: What about them?

MS: I found ‘em.

AM V/O: Mitch found two offices for the Flynn Initiative, one in upstate New York, and one in Sacramento. We tried to call ahead but didn’t receive a response. So, we decided it was worth a drive down.The Flynn Initiative is housed in a three storey, fairly nondescript concrete structure. It looked like a pretty standard government type building. No personality, security cameras everywhere. But it was quiet. It felt far too quiet for a building this size. Mitch and I entered the lobby and found the Flynn Initiative listed in the directory. Their office was located on the second floor.

(Sounds of walking)

AM: Is this it?

MS: I think so.

AM: There’s no name.

MS: It said Suite 200 on the directory.

AM: (Trying the door) It’s locked.

MS: Yeah.

AM: I’ll knock.

(Knocking sound. A pause, walking sounds and the door is opened)

UNKNOWN MAN (UM): How can I help you?

AM: Is this the office of the Flynn Initiative?

MS: Hi, ur, we tried to call ahead, we’re trying to set up an interview.

UM: Yes, what can we do for you? I’m afraid we’re currently between intake sessions.

AM: Oh, it’s not that kind of interview. I host a podcast. We’re looking into secret societies. That kind of thing.

UM: Well that sounds interesting. What’s it called?

AM: It’s called the Leap Year Society.

UM: If you don’t mind taking a seat, somebody will be right out.

AM V/O: Except somebody wasn’t right out. We waited for 45 minutes before the receptionist came back and apologised but told us there was no way we could see anybody today. We explained that we’d driven all the way down from San Francisco, but he said there was nothing he could do. So, we left the Flynn Initiative without an interview, but we did not leave empty handed. While we were waiting both Mitch and I used the restroom which was located down a long hallway. While I was walking down that hallway on the way to the restroom I noticed a conference room. I popped my head into that conference room and took a look. There were eight chairs, a few shelves - nothing out of the ordinary. Except, there was a photograph on the wall. A large framed picture of a group of what appeared to be Flynn Initiative faculty. I took a picture with my phone and then made my way to the restroom. Back at our studio in San Francisco I showed the picture to Mitch.

MS: Oh my god!

AM: Yeah.

MS: Where did you take this?

AM: Flynn Initiative conference room.

MS: This is.. This is huge.

AM: Yeah.

AM V/O: Included in that photo of what appeared to be Flynn Initiative faculty was a familiar face. That face belonged to Dr. Weylen Taylor. And there was something else. He had a scar on his chin. A scar that wasn’t there in any of the other photos we’d been able to find. The Flynn Initiative photograph that included Weylen Taylor had to have been taken after his disappearance.

You’ve been listening to the Leap Year Society. I’m Amanda Morrison. Thank you for listening.

-Outro-