EP206: Rogue Farm
Published by SFEley on 11 Jul 2009 at 5:00 pm.
Discuss on the forums.
Filed under Podcasts, Rated PG.
By Charles Stross
Recorded at Balticon 43, May 23, 2009
Read by:
Joe -Jared Axelrod (of The Voice of Free Planet X)
Maddie - J.R. Blackwell (of Voices of Tomorrow)
The Farm - Evo Terra and Sheila Dee (of Evo at 11, et al.)
Maddie - J.R. Blackwell (of Voices of Tomorrow)
Brenda the Barkeep - Dee Reed (of Nobilis Erotica)
Wendy the Rat - Laura Burns
Art the Boy Toy - John Cmar
Bob the Dog - Earl Newton (of Stranger Things)
Narrator - Stephen Eley
Special Thanks To:
Paul Fischer (of The Balticon Podcast) for instigating and organizing
Nobilis Reed (of Nobilis Erotica) for engineering
First appeared in Live Without a Net, ed. Lou Anders
Now available in Wireless, by Charles Stross
“Buggerit, I don’t have time for this,” Joe muttered. The stable waiting for the small herd of cloned spidercows cluttering up the north paddock was still knee-deep in manure, and the tractor seat wasn’t getting any warmer while he shivered out here waiting for Maddie to come and sort this thing out. It wasn’t a big herd, but it was as big as his land and his labour could manage – the big biofabricator in the shed could assemble mammalian livestock faster than he could feed them up and sell them with an honest HAND-RAISED NOT VAT-GROWN label.
“What do you want with us?” he yelled up at the gently buzzing farm.
“Brains, fresh brains for baby Jesus,” crooned the farm in a warm contralto, startling Joe half out of his skin. “Buy my brains!” Half a dozen disturbing cauliflower shapes poked suggestively out of the farms’ back then retracted again, coyly.
“Don’t want no brains around here,” Joe said stubbornly, his fingers whitening on the stock of the shotgun. “Don’t want your kind round here, neither. Go away.”
Rated PG for strong language, chemical violence, and drug-abusing dogs.
32 Comments to ‘EP206: Rogue Farm’:
Please visit the forums to comment on this story.
Derrek on 11 Jul 2009 at 6:59 pm: 1
Escape Pod with a laugh track. Yay! This story was too goofy for me. But I liked the talking stoner dog.
Holiday on 11 Jul 2009 at 9:33 pm: 2
This was an enjoyable listen. Perhaps not as amusing as “Elvis in the Attic”, but still pretty good. A good job on a live recording (without a dress rehersal:)
Ken_K on 12 Jul 2009 at 12:29 pm: 3
I didn’t understand any of it. But I still liked it.
Lexicat on 12 Jul 2009 at 5:11 pm: 4
What delightful playfulness with language and contemporary currents in science and technology!
I especially love the image of the guy getting baked with his dog. :}
Lexicat on 12 Jul 2009 at 5:12 pm: 5
Oh! And many kudos for the excellent off-the-cuff performance by Steve & Co.
Dave on 12 Jul 2009 at 7:15 pm: 6
This is the best EP I have ever eaten! Seriously after 205 EP Pod casts I have finally found my favorite!!!
I love stories with tons of implied technology, themes and inside stuff.
Just, Wow! this one was really neat and I love for a story to make me feel this way. the only thing that could have made it better is for the original cast of Monty Python’s Flying Circus to have read it. Not to say this cast was not Great because they were! I tell you Thanks! 3 times!
phignewton on 13 Jul 2009 at 1:22 am: 7
huzzah! great story, preformance and audience!
Duellist Origins on 13 Jul 2009 at 7:29 am: 8
Ooh, uh, audiences. This brings back bad memories of the Decoder Ring adverts, with an enforced laugh track. Nasty.
Megan Pawlak on 13 Jul 2009 at 11:07 am: 9
Having the live track was strange. It seemed me and the audience were always backwards. I was listening raptly and everyone was finding something funny and when it got REALLY quiet I found something to laugh about (of course I have no idea how much laugh track was cut in the end) I found the ending rather sad though. It killed the levity of the rest of the story completely.
Stephen Gideon on 13 Jul 2009 at 1:49 pm: 10
Gotta agree with Dave, this is my fave episode of Escape Pod. Great story, wonderful energy! Awesome.
scatterbrain on 13 Jul 2009 at 5:17 pm: 11
I remember trying to read this story years ago, but getting interupted and not finishing it.
But what a great way to finally hear it; well done Escape Pod!
Saint Nickanuck of the Tundra » Blog Archive » i can be heard - Escape Pod #206, Rogue Farm on 13 Jul 2009 at 11:58 pm: 12
[...] guest of honor this year was Charlie Stross, and Steve Eley was able to secure his story Rogue Farm for the live recording. While he couldn’t stay for the whole panel due to a schedule [...]
Stross’s hilarious ROGUE FARM performed live with a full cast | BLOGCHINA on 14 Jul 2009 at 7:59 am: 13
[...] EP206: Rogue Farm [...]
Gail on 14 Jul 2009 at 1:57 pm: 14
Steve Eley: Cat Herder. Well done, everybody!
GB Steve on 14 Jul 2009 at 9:19 pm: 15
I enjoyed that. The accents made it all the more strange. Cheers!
Rogue Farm | Genetics News on 15 Jul 2009 at 12:57 pm: 16
[...] here’s a strange tale by Charles Stross that you can listen to at Escape Pod: Rogue Farm. It’s a good listen if you like surreal bioengineering, a pot-smoking dog, and, of course, a [...]
Brave Space Monkey on 15 Jul 2009 at 8:00 pm: 17
I’ve always thought that are beloved EP, would one day morph into (or spawn) a radio-drama-like podcast. Were writers would turn in scripts, rather than a traditional stories.
If this was indeed the start of a new venture - I enjoyed it. If however it was not the start of a new venture, I still enjoyed it.
morganlean on 16 Jul 2009 at 12:59 am: 18
Really enjoyed this story, liked all the voices good listening to with some nice GT.
Had all the cool crazy stuff that I like to see in SF
Stross’s hilarious ROGUE FARM performed live with a full cast | timnhanh.us on 16 Jul 2009 at 11:17 pm: 19
[...] EP206: Rogue Farm [...]
nfraser on 17 Jul 2009 at 5:51 pm: 20
I like the story, and I’m glad you took the chance of doing a “live” cast, but I was offput by use of an American cast in what was clearly an English story. Next time perhaps, something that better matches your brave cast of volunteers.
Sarah Alawami on 19 Jul 2009 at 9:42 pm: 21
I loved the story. It was very very good and well read. It was also well recorded as well. i hope you guys consider doing this again.
Dave Leo on 22 Jul 2009 at 1:39 pm: 22
woohoo! does this episode have a video? it’d be fun to watch!
Dave (aka Nev the Deranged) on 22 Jul 2009 at 8:09 pm: 23
Holy crap, that was awesome! You should definitely make this a con tradition in the spirit of KoDT live reads. Well executed by everybody and thoroughly enjoyable!
Oh, and it was a great story, too! ^_^
tim on 28 Jul 2009 at 7:13 am: 24
I’ll echo the positive comments of others. What really made me smile was Evo and Sheila as The Farm. I reminded me of Zippo in the Firesign Theater’s “Everything You Know Is Wrong”.
Karel on 28 Jul 2009 at 2:10 pm: 25
This one stands out ! Interesting themes, hints of a weird yet somehow credible future and most of all sheer fun, all in a nut shell of a story. More ! More !
JimO on 1 Aug 2009 at 1:16 pm: 26
simply wonderful, I love full cast stuff
WyrdestGeek on 3 Aug 2009 at 8:30 am: 27
“Buy our brains for baby Jesus!” It should go on a shirt.
– Furry cows moo and decompress.
Plug: Escape Pod « Erie Science Fiction Book Club on 8 Aug 2009 at 11:42 pm: 28
[...] If you’re interested in more Charles Stross, Escape Pod arranged a live reading in front of an audience of Rouge Farm. [...]
Charlie Stross at Escape Pod | Diary of a Network Geek on 10 Aug 2009 at 7:43 am: 29
[...] to hear something cool? Head over to Escape Pod and listen to Charlie Stross’ latest story, Rogue Farm. But, first, stop by Biology in Science Fiction for the link, so they know we care and appreciate [...]
Top 20 Websites For DRM-Free Science Fiction Ebooks « digiphile on 24 Aug 2009 at 10:53 pm: 30
[...] which feature great short scifi stories. Episode 205 even includes a full cast dramatizing “Rogue Farm” by Charles [...]
Rogue Farm by Charles Stross « Biology in Science Fiction: Free Fiction on 18 Nov 2009 at 12:25 am: 31
[...] can listen to the audio version of this story at Escape Pod. VN:F [1.7.5_995]please wait…Rating: 0.0/5 (0 votes cast) Read the [...]
Balticon Podcast » BC43.86 – GoH Charles Stross on 30 Dec 2009 at 10:02 am: 32
[...] you can sample this Brit’s work in audio form through the first and only live Escape Pod (See Episode 206 or the Special Episode in the Balticon Podcast [...]