Sept. 12, 2019

Episode 9: Invisible

Episode 9: Invisible

The Ventura twins travel to 1975 to find an invisible danger at the University of Puerto Rico.

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TIMESTORM

The Ventura twins travel to 1975 to find an invisible danger at the University of Puerto Rico. They meet Monsi Román, a primary school student visiting the campus for a local science fair when a mysterious illness spreads among the judges.

EPISODE CREDITS
Written and directed by Dania Ramos
Audio engineering, sound design, and music by Michael Aquino
Episode art layout: M. Aquino; original image: Shutterstock/Anton Khrupin

Leilany Figueroa as Alexa Ventura
Claudio Venancio as Beni Ventura
Orlando Segarra as Horacio Méndez
Alicia Rivas as Atabey
Liliana Zertuche as Monsi Román
A. Ubiera as Estela
John Diego Zertuche as Danny
Mia Diaz as Señora Ramirez
Deivis Garcia as Profesor Reyes
Additional voice: Dania Ramos

Thanks for the Share-out, Lainey!

Series art: Hispanic Legacy Studio

Series Listening Guide | Map Guides | More About Puerto Rico
Episode guide: Printable | Text only
Transcript: Click on the Transcript tab above
Sources: NASA y Tú - A Latina Scientist Keeps an Eye on Smallest Inhabitants of Space | Challenger Center - STEM Profile, Monsi Roman, Microbiologist

Timestorm is a Cocotazo Media production made possible with support from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the Google Podcasts creator program, TRAX from PRX, and our Patreon community. Special thanks to equipment sponsor 3DioSound and the KidsListen community.

Timestorm is produced in Essex County, NJ, the traditional territory of the Leni Lenape people.

Transcript

Episode 09: Invisible

©2018-2020 Cocotazo Media

NARRATOR:
Previously, on Timestorm:

CELESTINA:
Please show my girls equal respect. They deserve it. They want to erase the fact that there are girls in here every day thinking and speaking their minds. Smart girls who can grow up and be better teachers than I could ever dream of being.

COSME:
...en orta vida? You'd tour the world as famous as they come. But you're a young woman living here and now. [...] you wouldn't be respected as a musician. Teaching is an honorable profession.

LOLA:
Aleksandra told me I'm a good teacher.

COSME:
Smart girl.

LOLA:
What are you? Thirteen?

ALEXA:
Twelve.

LOLA:
A couple of years until people start setting limits for you.

ALEXA:
I think it'll be different for me. Things change with time. 

MUSIC: THEME SONG - "IN THE TIMESTORM"

Witness. Find. Remember.
The hidden past seeks its dawn, showing us that we all belong.
Horacio, Alexa, and Beni take back time, find history in the timestorm.
Witness. Find. Remember.

THE TIMESTORM. ANOTHER DIMENSION.

MUSIC: TIMESTORM TRANSITION.

A swish indicates that HORACIO has teleported across the helicopter.

HORACIO:
(from behind) Hi!

Two swishes indicate that ALEXA and BENI have teleported across the helicopter.

ALEXA/BENI:
(from behind) Hi!

A swish indicates that Horacio has teleported across the helicopter.

HORACIO:
(from front) Hi!

Two swishes indicate that ALEXA and BENI have teleported across the helicopter.

ALEXA/BENI:
(Beni far right, Alexa far left) Hi!

ATABEY:
Are you done with your human diversion?

BENI:
Almost.

Two swishes indicate that ALEXA and BENI have teleported across the helicopter.

ALEXA/BENI:
(Alexa far right, Beni far left) Hi!

HORACIO:
That was like a choreographed dance. 

ALEXA:
We're naturals when it comes to teleporting.

ATABEY:
Shall we get to the quest at hand?

BENI:
Where are we going?

ATABEY:
The seventies.

BENI:
Eighteen seventies? Seventeen seventies?

HORACIO:
A bit more recent. Clothing!

A whoosh indicates a costume change.

ALEXA:
Are these bell bottoms?

BENI:
Plaid bell-bottoms?

HORACIO:
Groovy.

The barometer buzzes.

ATABEY:
Synching barometer: mil novecientos setenta y cinco / nineteen seventy-five / Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico / University of Puerto Rico / La IUPI / Monserrate Román / science / la ciencia / microbiology / la microbiología / laboratory / el laboratorio / microbes / microbio / nena / girl / NASA space station / la estación espacial de NASA / illness / la enfermedad / invisible / invisible. Your quest: Retrieve an invisible danger from Rio Piedras in nineteen seventy-five. Quest begins now.

A thunderclap. ALEXA and BENI yell as they travel through the portal.

1975. UNIVERSITY OF PUERTO RICO SCIENCE BUILDING.

ALEXA and BENI laugh as they land in a microscope lab.

ESTELA:
You think this is funny?

MONSI:
Funny? I just want to use one of your microscopes.

ESTELA:
I heard you laugh.

ALEXA:
(whispering) She heard us.

BENI:
(whispering) How do we just appear from behind this cabinet without looking super suspicious?

MONSI:
Please let me into the lab, Estela.

ESTELA:
How do you know my name?

MONSI:
Name tag. I’ve got one too. See?

ESTELA:
Rio Piedras Science Fair participant. Monserrate Román Cerezo. 

MONSI:
You can call me Monsi.

BENI:
I like her.

ALEXA:
She’s pretty cool. 

BENI:
Ooh. Look, medicine droppers and those microscope slides.

ALEXA:
Don't touch them, Beni! 

BENI:
What?

ALEXA:
Can't you read? Sterile materials. Please use gloves.

ESTELA:
Monsi, congratulations on being part of the science fair. It’s great to have young students on campus for the day. But you should be with your teacher and fellow students at the fair.

MONSI:
It's delayed, and since I’m waiting, I thought I'd check out the lab. 

ESTELA:
This isn’t a playground. Microscopes aren’t toys. 

MONSI:
I’m not playing. I’m gathering data about microbial growth in our everyday lives.

ESTELA:
What exactly are you testing?

MONSI:
See these shoes? They’re new. I’ve only ever worn them today. I’d like to swab the bottom of each and see what’s accumulated since I started wearing them. 

ALEXA:
Uh. Gross. 

MONSI:
Inquiry: What have my feet collected on my journey here?

ESTELA:
Ay, nena.

MONSI:
Inquiry: Will the microbes be the same on each shoe?

ESTELA:
This lab is for important research.

MONSI:
Inquiry: What invisible world lurks on the walkways and floors of this fine campus?

BENI holds back laughter.

ALEXA:
Beni? What’s so funny?

BENI:
She sounds like she's playing Microbia.

ALEXA and BENI burst into laughter.

ESTELA:
Who is laughing?

ESTELA walks toward ALEXA and BENI. MONSI follows.

ESTELA:
Who are you and why are you in here?

ALEXA:
Uh, hi. I’m Alexa.

BENI:
Beni. Groovy to meet you.

MONSI:
Groovy to meet you? I like that.

BENI:
Thanks. I like your idea about germs on your shoe.

ESTELA:
So, the three of you have planned this little charade to infiltrate the lab.

MONSI | BENI | ALEXA:
I don’t know them. | Infiltrate? | There’s no plan.

ESTELA:
Oh no? It’s just a coincidence that three primary school students from the science fair are trying to sneak in to use our microscopes at the same time?

BENI:
We weren’t—

ALEXA:
You’re right! We shouldn’t have strayed away from the science fair. We...three science friends...will see ourselves out the door. Thanks so much!

ALEXA, BENI, and MONSI exit into the hallway.

MONSI:
So, you two don’t go to my school.

ALEXA:
Nope. We’re from—

BENI:
Escuela Baldorioty. We’re actually here as... guests... because we’re thinking about entering next year's fair. 

ALEXA:
Yeah, I did a science fair a couple of years ago. You know, back in the early seventies.

MONSI:
What was your project on?

ALEXA:
How we use phones to...call people.

MONSI:
What else would you use a phone for?

BENI:
Uh...what’s your project?

MONSI
A model of a station in space that orbits the earth. Last year, I did an exhibit on mold.

ALEXA:
Gross.

MONSI:
No way. I love seeing the invisible world become visible. 

ALEXA/BENI:
Invisible?

MONSI:
Microscopic life so small we can’t see it with the naked eye. 

ALEXA:
I’m surprised your project isn’t about the germs on your shoe.

MONSI:
My teacher says we should always try to think in new ways. So she asked me to create a model for a space station that lets humans stay in orbit longer than the current record: eighty-four days.

ALEXA:
Wow.

MONSI:
Space is pretty cool. But then, so’s the invisible world on the bottom of my shoes. It's just too bad I can’t prove it in the lab. Guess it’s back to the fair. Come on. I’ll show you my project.

THE UNIVERSITY OF PUERTO RICO, SCIENCE BUILDING.

MUSIC: DISCO!! TRANSITION.

ALEXA, BENI, and MONSI enter the ballroom, where students test their science projects.

ALEXA:
That’s a lot of science projects.

BENI:
And bell-bottoms.

ALEXA:
Look, Beni! Old-school robotics!

BENI:
Whoa!

MONSI:
What do you mean old-school?

ALEXA:
Oh. Uh, you know, classic.

BENI:
It’s groovy.

MONSI:
(laughs) Sure. A groovy robot.

DANNY:
Monsi.

MONSI:
Hi...Danny.

DANNY:
Meet Ricardo.

MONSI:
Looks an awful lot like last year’s robot.

DANNY:
Oh, you mean Pedro - first-place winner in last year's fair?

MONSI:
Yeah, yeah. I was there, Danny.

DANNY:
But your friends weren’t. Hi, I’m Danny, reigning champion.

ALEXA / BENI:
Congrats. That’s great.

MONSI:
The judges probably won’t award first place to the same project two years in a row.

DANNY:
It's not the same project. Ricardo has new capabilities. Like turning its head around and...

DANNY uses a remote to move the robot head, but it gets stuck.

MONSI:
Getting stuck?

DANNY:
It needs charging. It was all ready to go at the scheduled time.

MONSI:
Any word about what's going on?

DANNY:
They're saying they might postpone the entire fair because the judges aren’t here.

BENI:
None showed up?

DANNY:
There’s only one in the faculty lounge. Profesor Reyes. If you’ll excuse me, I’ve got to recharge my creation.

MONSI, BENI, and ALEXA walk to another table.

MONSI:
Here's my project. La Iguaca Space Station.

ALEXA/BENI:
Woah!

BENI:
It looks like a flying bird.

MONSI:
The outside is meant to look like the endangered Puerto Rican Parrot. Bright green on top, and then sky blue underneath.

ALEXA:
You made this by yourself?

MONSI:
Yep. The exterior was the easy part. The interior needed to meet a lot of specifications that could sustain life for more than three months.

MONSI spins her project around.

ALEXA | BENI:
Whoa. | Wow.

ALEXA:
Hey, Monsi. This space station model. Would you say there’s an invisible danger on it?

MONSI:
Like a toxic bacteria or a virus? Probably not, or I would have been infected by now.

SEÑORA RAMIREZ approaches.

SEÑORA RAMIREZ:
I’ve been up and down these hallways looking for you, Monsi. 

MONSI:
Hola, Señora Ramirez. These are my friends, Alexa and Beni.

SEÑORA RAMIREZ:
Mucho gusto.

ALEXA | BENI:
¡Hola! | ¿Cómo estás?

SEÑORA RAMIREZ:
Latest I've heard from one of the student assistants is that all but one of the judges aren't here because they've been...well, vomiting.

MONSI | ALEXA | BENI:
Really? | Gross. | Not good.

VOICE OVER MICROPHONE:
All classroom teachers, please report to the podium at the front of the room.

SEÑORA RAMIREZ:
Maybe they’ll have some news about a new starting time.

SEÑORA RAMIREZ walks away.

BENI:
Barfing. That could have been caused by an invisible danger, right?

MONSI:
Sure. If all of the judges are puking, I’d bet there’s a microbe to blame. Question is, was it passed from human to human or was it ingested?

ALEXA:
Is there any way to find out?

BENI:
None of the judges are here.

MONSI:
Except for one. Profesor Reyes. Danny said he’s in the faculty lounge. Follow me.

MONSI walks toward the exit.

ALEXA:
Beni. If the invisible danger is what’s causing the judges to barf, how are we supposed to bring that back to the timestorm?

BENI:
I don’t know. 

ALEXA:
We are not bringing back puke to the timestorm.

BENI:
We don't control the quests, remember?

VOICE OVER MICROPHONE:
Science fair participants are welcome to help themselves to pan de agua during this delay.

ALEXA:
With all this talk of puke, I’ll think I’ll skip the bread. 

BENI laughs.

BENI:
Come on, let's go find an invisible danger.

THE TIMESTORM. ANOTHER DIMENSION.

MUSIC: TIMESTORM TRANSITION.

ATABEY:
Something on your mind, Lieutenant Méndez?

HORACIO:
I toured La IUPI's campus in 1969. I had plans to go to university before I was drafted. To see Alexa and Beni walk those halls only six years after my visit is...

ATABEY:
Does it look the same?

HORACIO:
Pretty close. I miss Puerto Rico.

ATABEY:
Lieutenant.

HORACIO:
I know. It's no use reminiscing because of the mission and the twins and the invisible danger.

ATABEY:
Monserrate is leading them to the artifact. She also went to that same lounge in the original timeline. And now? Well, she’s got new friends joining her.

HORACIO:
Alexa and Beni have met their match. What a precocious girl. Always seeking a challenge.

ATABEY:
She's still like that in two thousand seventeen.

HORACIO:
Oh. Of course. Monserrate is still alive in Alexa and Beni's time. Where’s Monsi now?

ATABEY:
Huntsville, Alabama. She works at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center. 

HORACIO:
NASA? Whatever happened to her wonder of the invisible world on the bottom of her shoes?

ATABEY:
She traded that for monitoring the invisible world on the International Space Station.

HORACIO:
No me digas.

ATABEY:
She worked on the station back in the nineteen nineties. In nineteen seventy-five, she's about to unknowingly steer the twins to the artifact. Mira. Here they go now.

UNIVERSITY OF PUERTO RICO SCIENCE BUILDING.

MUSIC: DISCO!! TRANSITION.

MONSI, ALEXA, and BENI approach the lounge door.

ALEXA:
So this is the faculty lounge.

MONSI:
That's him there, reading the newspaper and drinking tea.

BENI:
Profesor Reyes.

MONSI:
Let's see what he knows about the puking judges.

MONSI opens the door. PROFESOR REYES lowers his newspaper.

PROFESOR REYES:
¿Qué es esto?

MONSI | ALEXA | BENI:
Hola. | Hola, profesor. | Hola.

PROFESOR REYES:
This room is reserved for judges. 

MONSI:
Of course. So sorry. I'm Monsi Román. Second place in last year's fair.

PROFESOR REYES grunts.

MONSI:
Second place. The mold experiment?

PROFESOR REYES stirs his tea.

MONSI:
Guess you don't remember.

PROFESOR REYES:
Bueno, since you are not judges, you should probably head back to the ballroom.

BENI:
Heh. That makes this the second room we've been kicked out of today.

PROFESOR REYES:
You seem proud of that.

ALEXA:
He's just stating the facts. 

PROFESOR REYES:
Here's a fact: You all risk disqualification from the fair for disobeying the rules.

BENI:
Disqualification?

MONSI:
It's okay, Beni. Rules are rules, right?

PROFESOR REYES:
Exacto. 

MONSI paces around the lounge.

MONSI:
And you've got lots of pressure on your shoulders with all the other judges getting sick. I mean, they should probably let you judge the fair by yourself.

PROFESOR REYES:
Are they considering this? 

ALEXA paces around the lounge.

ALEXA:
I think so. People are saying you're the best judge of them all.

PROFESOR REYES:
I'm glad somebody noticed.

MONSI:
I mean, who doesn't love a super-serious, rule-loving judge for a kid's science fair?

PROFESOR REYES:
Science is serious.

BENI:
As serious as barfing.

ALEXA:
Uh, there's a rumor that's what the other judges are doing right now. Is it true?

PROFESOR REYES:
No sé que pasó. Everyone seemed fine last night at the banquet.

SMONSI, ALEXA, and BENI turn to PROFESOR REYES.

ALEXA:
A banquet? Maybe there was bad milk?

PROFESOR REYES:
I had milk with my tea, and I'm fine.

ALEXA:
Undercooked chicken? 

BENI:
Bad fish?

MONSI:
Trichinosis in pork?

PROFESOR REYES:
They served vegetable lasagna. 

BENI:
I love lasagna.

PROFESOR REYES:
It was pretty good.

ALEXA:
So you ate it, too?

PROFESOR REYES:
We all did.

MONSI:
I see.

MONSI opens a cabinet.

PROFESOR REYES:
What are you doing?

MONSI:
Oh, just looking around. It's so nice in here.

BENI:
Sofa, tables, chairs, wood-paneled walls. Groovy.

BENI pats the wall.

ALEXA:
Sink, refrigerator, coffee maker. 

PROFESOR REYES:
I thought I made it clear that you should be headed back to the fair.

ALEXA bumps into the water cooler.

ALEXA:
Whoops. Didn't see the water cooler there.

BENI:
Good thing it's almost empty.

PROFESOR REYES:
It was pretty full yesterday before the judges drained it making pot after pot of coffee. It was a long day. 

ALEXA:
So, the judges were in the building yesterday?

PROFESOR REYES:
First thing in the morning until early evening. It was for the high school science fair. 

MONSI:
They made pot after pot of coffee. Was everyone drinking it?

PROFESOR REYES:
Everyone, except for me. I brought two thermoses of tea from home. 

BENI grabs the coffee pot.

BENI:
Hey, there's still a little bit of coffee in here. 

MONSI:
There is? Alexa, please hand me a paper cup from the stack next to the water cooler.

ALEXA:
Sure. Here you go. 

MONSI:
All we need is a few drops.

MONSI pours hte last bit of coffe into the cup.

ALEXA:
Beni!

MONSI, ALEXA, and BENI rush out of the room.

PROFESOR REYES:
Hey! I could report this incident and have you disqualified!

UNIVERSITY OF PUERTO RICO SCIENCE BUILDING.

MUSIC: DISCO!! TRANSITION.

Distant thunder. ALEXA, BENI, and MONSI stop outside of the microscope lab.

MONSI:
Here's the plan. We walk in quickly and Alexa, you grab gloves for each of us on the way in. 

ALEXA:
Got it.

MONSI:
I'll get the bottles of methanol and stain. Beni, you get the sterile slide and medicine dropper. You saw where they were, right?

BENI:
Near where we were hiding before.

MONSI:
Operation Puking Judges: begin.

MONSI, ALEXA, and BENI rush into the lab.

ESTELA:
You're back? 

MONSI | ALEXA | BENI:
It's been too long, Estela! | How's it going? | ¿Qué tal?

ESTELA:
Didn't I just say it? You're not allowed in here.

MONSI:
This beaker holder is the perfect size for this paper cup.

MONSI places the cup in the holder.

ALEXA:
Here you go. One-size-fits-all gloves.

MONSI, ALEXA, and BENI put on gloves.

ESTELA:
For adults. They are not meant for children.

BENI places the items on the counter.

BENI:
Here's a sterile slide and medicine dropper.

ESTELA:
You can't just help yourself to whatever you want.

ALEXA:
And the possibly toxic coffee is ready in the beaker holder.

MONSI sucks up old coffee into the medicine dropper.

MONSI:
I just need a half-drop.

ESTELA:
You absolutely cannot bring a contaminant into my lab.

MONSI:
Don't worry. It's not transmitted by air.

MONSI squeezes out a drop of old coffee into the beaker.

ESTELA:
I'm calling the faculty supervisor.

SEÑORA RAMIREZ:
Ah, there you are, Monserrate.

MONSI:
(distant) I'll be right there, Señora. I'm just doing a quick experiment.

ESTELA:
No, actually. She's leaving.

SEÑORA RAMIREZ:
It does look to me like she's in the middle of analysis.

ESTELA:
These are your students, I assume?

SEÑORA RAMIREZ:
Monserrate is. I've only just met her friends. Soy Señora Ramirez.

ESTELA:
Estela. 

SEÑORA RAMIREZ:
Mucho gusto.

ESTELA:
Same here.

SEÑORA RAMIREZ:
It's great that you let young students use the facility. After all, they are the future of science.

ESTELA:
I didn't let those three in. They shouldn't be here.

SEÑORA RAMIREZ:
According to?

ESTELA:
Standard laboratory procedure.

SEÑORA RAMIREZ:
Hm. You have to admit, Monserrate looks quite at home.  

ESTELA:
I'm sure she's promising. But we're doing real research. These kids can play somewhere else.

SEÑORA RAMIREZ:
Where you can't see them?

ESTELA:
I don't care where they go as long as it's not in this laboratory.

A thunderclap.

MONSI:
...and so, you see, the stain helps to identify microbes.

BENI picks up a glass test tube and pours coffee into it.

BENI:
Hey, these test tubes with the little stoppers are pretty groovy. Know what? I'll pour the rest of this coffee in here - just for fun.

BENI places the stopper on the test tube.

MONSI:
You want to do your own experiment, Beni?

BENI:
Thinking about it. 

MONSI places the slide into the microscope.

MONSI:
And the specimen is ready to view in the microscope. Huh. Gram-positive bacteria. Rod-shaped. Wanna look?

ALEXA:
Sure. Ooh. 

A thunderclap. The barometer buzzes.

ALEXA/BENI:
It's purple.

MONSI:
How would you know, Beni? You haven't even looked?

ALEXA:
It's been fun, Monsi.

BENI:
So groovy!

ALEXA | BENI:
But we've gotta go. | See ya!

MONSI:
Okay.

ALEXA and BENI rush toward the exit.

ALEXA/BENI:
Adios!

MONSI:
Bye!

SEÑORA RAMIREZ:
Oh! Uh...Adios?

ESTELA:
No running!

ALEXA and BENI rush into the hallway.

ALEXA | BENI:
Got the test tube? | That was close!

ALEXA and BENI yell as they travel through the portal.

UNIVERSITY OF PUERTO RICO SCIENCE BUILDING.

Students and teachers are heard chattering in the ballroom.

MONSI:
And so, based on my observation in the lab, and the short time it took for the onset of symptoms, I'd say the puking was caused by bacillus cereus. 

SEÑORA RAMIREZ:
Well done, Monserrate. We can let the fair organizer know about your findings before we leave. Now, would you like me to roll up this poster board?

MONSI:
Yes, thank you. There's a rubber band in that little pencil box. I'm glad I did this model of a space station. You know how much I love the invisible world, but it was pretty cool to think about something so huge.

DANNY wheels his robot up to MONSI.

DANNY:
Too bad the fair was postponed, huh, Monsi?

MONSI:
Maybe by the time they reschedule it, you'll be able to come up with a new idea for the fair.

DANNY:
I told you, this robot is different from last year's project.

MONSI:
Sure. Whatever you say, Danny.

DANNY
Adios, Señora Ramirez.

SEÑORA RAMIREZ:
Adios, Daniel.

DANNY wheels his robot toward the hallway.

SEÑORA RAMIREZ:
I thought you deserved to win over him last year.

MONSI:
Robots are impressive and memorable. Mold? Not so much. 

SEÑORA RAMIREZ:
Second place is still impressive.

MONSI:
No impressive enough for Profesor Reyes to remember me.

SEÑORA RAMIREZ:
Ay, Profesor Reyes. 

MONSI:
He didn't remember me at all. Or the mold project.

SEÑORA RAMIREZ:
Forget the Profesor Reyeses of the world who can't be bothered to acknowledge your efforts. And the Estelas? Eh, they think know where you do and don't belong. Forget them, too. Stick with your love of science, Monserrate. Go with your gut, nena.

MONSI:
You sound like mi abuela. She says when she was my age, she had limits placed on her. But she tells me, Not even the can sky can limit you, Monsi. 

SEÑORA RAMIREZ:
Smart woman. She's right, you know. There's no limit to the heights you'll reach.

MONSI:
The question is what kind of microbes will be there?

SEÑORA RAMIREZ:
(laughs) I'm sure you'll let us all know, Monserrate. 

THE TIMESTORM. ANOTHER DIMENSION.

ALEXA and BENI laugh as they land.

ALEXA:
Whoa! That was so much fun!

BENI:
Yeah! Monsi's pretty cool.

HORACIO:
You can go to Alabama and see her again.

ATABEY:
She manages several educational programs for NASA in the Marshall Space Flight Center. 

BENI:
We can meet her as an adult?

ALEXA:
We should get Ma and Pa to take us one day.

HORACIO:
Just don't mention anything about toxic coffee and vomiting judges.

ALEXA | BENI:
Right. | Got it.

ATABEY:
Artifact cloud, emerge.

The artifact emerges, making a rhythm.

BENI:
Here you go: an invisible danger. Not the day-old coffee, but the bacteria in the coffee.

ATABEY:
Artifact, attained.

A whoosh sound indicates that that artifact floats into the cloud.

ATABEY:
Artifact cloud, retreat. 

ALEXA:
Don't mind sending that into the artifact cloud.

The artifact cloud retreats and the rhythm stops.

HORACIO:
Clothing!

A whoosh indicates a costume change.

BENI:
Aw. I'm going to miss my groovy outfit.

HORACIO:
You know, there were some things I never missed when I traded in my civilian clothes for a military uniform. Like bell bottoms. I looked awful in those things.

ATABEY:
The weather’s changing in New Jersey. Autumn. The next time you return, you'll have lived through six months. 

HORACIO:
That’s right. By then it’ll be—

BENI:
Spring. 

ALEXA:
Twenty eighteen.

HORACIO:
And half a year is a long time, Alexa. A lot can happen.

BENI:
Wait a minute. Do you know what happens to us?

HORACIO:
I don't, Beni.

ATABEY:
Lieutenant Méndez only knows what I show him. Knowledge. Such a human concept.

ALEXA:
Ugh. We're not getting an answer, are we? 

HORACIO:
Not from Atabey. 

The barometer buzzes.

HORACIO:
Now, remember, you can still continue the mission on earth in your own time. 

BENI:
Really?

ALEXA:
How?

HORACIO:
It’s different from the quests, of course. Atabey won't give you a riddle to solve and you won’t be chasing artifacts. But when you return to your ordinary lives, you can still—-

A dramatic thunderclap. ALEXA and BENI yell as they travel through the portal.

MUSIC: "IN THE TIMESTORM" (INSTRUMENTAL).

NARRATION:
This episode was written by Dania Ramos with audio engineering, sound design, and original music by Michael Aquino. The role of Alexa Ventura was played by Leilany Figueroa. Beni Ventura was played by Claudio Venancio. Horacio Méndez was played by Orlando Segarra. Atabey was played by Alicia Rivas. Monsi Román was played by Liliana Zertuche. Estela was played by Angelica Ubiera. Señora Ramirez was played by Maria Diaz. Profesor Reyes was played by Deivis Garcia. Danny was played by John Diego Zertuche. 

Now, it's time for our Listener Share-out! 

LAINEY:
Hello. My name is Lainey. I’m twelve years old and I live in Arizona. For my adventure share-out, I want to share about the time I traveled with my family to England. We went hiking and we found these huge waterfalls. They were amazing! And next to the waterfalls, there was a rope that you could walk across the river to these big mossy rocks. But the rope was so thin. There were two ropes at the top to hold onto while you walked across, but my parents wouldn’t let me go. I bet because they thought I’d die if I did. So, it was beautiful, but next time, I will go on the rope.

NARRATION:
Thanks for sharing, Lainey! And if you do go back and cross over the river on that rope bridge, be careful and have fun. Hey, listeners, we want to feature your voice in an upcoming episode! You can learn more about how to submit a Share-out by visiting Timestorm Series dot com.

Timestorm is produced by Cocotazo Media and is a proud member of TRAX from PRX. Support for TRAX comes from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. To learn more about TRAX, visit TRAX dot fm: that’s t-r-a-x-dot fm. Additional support comes from the PRX Google Podcasts creator program.

If you enjoy the show, ask your parents to subscribe to Timestorm on Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, or the Kids Listen App. A quick message for our adult listeners: please be sure to check out our free resources, including episode guides and transcripts over at Timestorm Series dot com. And if you're interested in more bonus and behind-the-scenes content, we hope you’ll consider joining our Patreon community over at Patreon dot com slash Timestorm. You can also show your support for the series by sharing it with a friend or leaving a rating and review on Apple Podcasts and Podchaser.

Timestorm is produced in Essex County, New Jersey, which is situated on the traditional territory of the Leni Lenape people.

As always, thanks for listening.

ATABEY:
Witness. Find. Remember.