The next few episodes focus on the crewmembers and their stories. We first get I look at Andrzej. Every since he was a little kid Andrzej has wanted to be an astronaut. He jumped at the chance to join this experiment. His excitement can clearly be heard in his audio dairies, at least until he realizes the monotony of this work. Astronauts travel to space and experience things most of us can only dream of, but they also have to complete tedious and repetitive tasks. The HI-SEAs crewmembers are doing the same routine everyday, including taking eleven surveys. The Habitat quickly starts to feel like Groundhog Day to Andrzej and the rest of the crew. But the monotony is shattered when the crew gets devastating news.
Most people can remember the November 2015 Paris terror attacks. The series of attacks killed 130 and stunned the world. I, like so many others, was frantically trying to contact those I knew in Paris. Now imagine living through that day while cut off from basic communication.
In the Habitat the crewmembers are allowed access to certain news websites and email. But as communication between Earth and Mars would take twenty minutes to travel between planets it also takes that long in the Habitat.
On November 13, 2015 a member on the HI-SEAs crew turned on the computer and saw the news about the attacks. Cyprien is the only French member of the crew and he was born and raised in Paris. The day of the attacks Cyprien had to wait the entire day to hear news about his friends and family. Even though he could have exited the experiment and called his loved ones at any time, he did not once consider leaving the simulation.
This extremely powerful episode is made more so by Lynn chronicling the crew coming together to comfort Cyprien as best they could.
In the next episode of the Habitat Lynn focuses on the relationships forming inside the dome. The crew starts to pair off. Lynn narrates us through the budding relationship of Carmel and Tristan. They start to appear in each other’s audio dairies. You often hear them laughing, singing, and at one point Tristan tackles Carmel to the ground. Lynn finally flat out asks them if they are a couple and they both firmly say no. Listening to the next few clips of the two its make obviously that they have a completely platonic relationship.
With the focus off Carmel and Tristan, a new couple emerges: Cyprien and Christiane. The two start spending more and more time together. Cyprien teaches Christiane French and they after play music together. However, they are a bit more elusive about their relationship; making it difficult for Lynn to definitively put them in a relationship.
What makes this podcast so strong is Lynn’s fantastic storytelling ability. She concentrates on the human aspect of this experiment. Focusing on one crewmember (or pairs of crew members) at a time help the listener to better grasp the narrative. Just like any good book or movie the Habitat promotes character development. Lynn allows the crew to tell their own stories while helping the listener along in the more confusing parts.
Experiencing something so tragic and relatable with Cyprien gives the listener a chance to connect with him on a deeper level. Then having the next episode focus on the fun and romantic relationships gives a different but still powerful connection between listener and character.
This podcast tells the story of six humans doing something wildly usual. But it still has situations and emotions that everyone can relate to. It reminds us how similar we really are.
(Word Count: 613)
Blair –
I responded to your first blog post because the title sounded cool and am so glad I came across yours again because I am so interested in how The Habitat continues! First of all, reading through the experience that this Andrzej character had to endure, I couldn’t imagine what that would be like to get such scary news and there being not much you can do to get pertinent information about loved ones in a timely manner. I could only guess that the way the story was told by the narrator must’ve been of great detail and empathy. This almost sounding like an audio story, I can tell how powerful this episode was just by the narrator’s attention to important details like the crew coming together. If I remember correctly, this was way different from the first episode where it sounded like the crew was forced together in a smaller space and no one really knew each other yet. The development of friendships and relationships really helps move the story along and makes the listeners even more interested in how they will progress.
Like you said at the end, the ability of the narrator, Lynn, to tell the story in a certain way helps the listeners feel engaged. Not only does it let us connect to the story, we are also able to connect with the specific characters as we begin to learn new things about them.
I’m super excited to continue hearing about what sounds like an amazing story about six humans embarking on a crazy adventure together!
(Word Count: 260)