Re-Release: “The Coffin Maker” by AnaMaria Curtis
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Why does the episode open with a weather‑themed ad and a promotion for Quince sheets?
When you think of Los Angeles in the summertime you probably think of gorgeous sun-soaked beaches and incredibly warm beautiful days and you would be extremely wrong because we have a Mediterranean climate here and we get something that we call May gray and then June gloom and then July. Why in the hell isn't summer yet here? Because summer waits to arrive until around the end of August. And then it shows up with a vengeance until about the second week of September, around which time false autumn arrives with its promise of cooler weather only to flee in time for the Halloween winds. Why am I telling you all of this? Because I want you to know how grateful I am and why I am so grateful to have my bamboo sheets from Quince.
Quince's bamboo sheets are so incredibly soft and comfortable. And I don't know, they're woven with magic. They are cool in the summer. They are warm in the winter. And right now, when the weather just can't decide to commit to anything, they're perfect every single night, no matter what. I would love to help you make your bed your favorite place to be this season with Quince. Download the Quince app for app-exclusive offers or go to quince.com slash storytime. Get free shipping on your order and 365-day returns. Test out my seasons theory in real time. Now available in Canada and the UK, too. That's q-u-i-n-c-e dot com slash storytime.
Hey,
everybody. I'm Will, and it's story time. I will never understand the reckless inaction humanity seems to have chosen in the face of catastrophic climate change. Last time I looked, Earth was the only planet we have, and taking care of her should probably land real close to the top spot on our species to-do list. Catastrophic climate change is scary. It's real. And it's dangerously close to inevitable because it is so scary we tend to look away and pretend that it's just somehow going to sort itself out and be okay. Y'all, it is not going to sort itself out and be okay. We must choose to make it okay. And one of the ways we can inspire people to do that is through fiction that shows us what our future might look like.
if we stay on our current course. This week, we are going to board the Guiding Light, a research vessel that's been sent on a desperate mission from a dying world, trying to find a new place to live. They have been looking for a long time, and so far, all they've found is death. Maybe this planet will be different. Come on, let's find out. because we are about to join The Coffin Maker.
The Coffin Maker by Anna Maria Curtis, originally published in Uncanny Magazine, issue 54. Stephanie stands in the middle of the crowded mess hall and watches the projection. The screen shows the two main continents on Teridabe and the thin strip of land connecting them. On top of the map are three blinking green dots, three living surveyors. One dot, labeled Mikhail, moves slowly upward to the ice continent that spreads over the top third of the planet. Another, labeled Lorena, moves down. The continent she's heading toward is green on the map, an optimistic flourish. The third dot, Ariadne's dot, remains where the three of them landed. Across the bottom of the screen, the three surveyors' internal data are listed in neat, colorful tables, along with other information about the mission.
The hours Mikhail slept last night, 6.5, is in warm yellow, next to the number of kilometers he's traveled since the landing, 284, in a mild blue. A dozen other metrics create a haphazard rainbow beneath his name. Stephanie could watch on the screen in her bunk. But she feels she ought to be here, standing in the biggest room on the ship, tilting her chin up and sideways to see the screen around the tall person with a messy bun in front of her. She recognizes them. She knew everyone on the ship once, but doesn't remember their name. Yael would have known it. Every so often, audio crackles through the room, too loud, and the crowd stills and quiets as one. Stephanie knows that they are all like her, waiting, waiting, waiting to find out how this mission will fail, hoping it will be a small thing with no ripples, praying they won't have to hear it.
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Chapters
4 chapters
1
Why does the episode open with a weather‑themed ad and a promotion for Quince sheets?
0:00–10:28
2
What is the premise of “The Coffin Maker” and how does the Guiding Light mission begin?
10:28–23:53
3
How are the three surveyors introduced and what are their individual roles on the mission?
23:53–41:33
4
What challenges does Stephanie face while trying to outfit the surveyors with functional suits?
41:33–52:01