The Sounds of Settings: Day 7

A whole week! (7,287 / 1,000,000)

Tap tap tap. Is this thing on? We’re live? Good evening everyone, sorry for the late start today, let’s get right into it.

Tonight we have for you a written radio show called “The Sounds of Settings”. That’s right folks, we’re bringing the noises of your favorite environments right to your imaginary ears, through your actual eyes. Let’s see what we have lined up first… Oh this is a great one, you’ll love this.

The gentle sound of chirping crickets begins to build around you, punctuated by the occasional ribbit of a frog. Closer to you, the wooden porch swing creaks softly and rhythmically against it’s chains as you sway in it lazily. Leaking out from the open kitchen window behind you, you hear the indistinct murmuring voices of your friends and family, as they chat over coffee and dessert. Out in the distant darkness, but not too far to hear, you hear the lone call of an owl. Once, twice, and then no more. You take a moment, and enjoy the peaceful quietude, before all the sounds gradually blend together into white noise, and then, even more gradually, fade to silence.

Welcome back everyone, I hope you enjoyed that one, it’s one of my favorites. It looks like we have a caller request for this next one, and what a great choice, if I may say. This one’s for you, Barbara from Indiana.

The earth-shaking thunder of hooves striking earth erupts all around you. You hear hundreds of accompanying frightened yips extending in every direction. Behind you some distance, you hear a series of deep, terrifying roars. The hoofbeats begin to leave you behind. Only a few moments pass before you hear the same pants-shitting roars, but this time around you, accompanied by the relatively quieter padding of giant paws in the dirt. The hoofbeats and paw steps grow more distant, allowing you to hear more of the fauna surrounding you. Birds chirp incessantly, likely communicating the commotion to one another. In the distance, over your left shoulder, you hear an echoing trumpet sound, and then another in response. After the sound of the padding paws has long faded, a chorus of chuckling calls begin bubbling out of the long grasses around you. The eerie laughter eventually fades as well, moving off in the direction of the continued hunt.

Thanks Barbara, we love everything nature here at “The Sounds of Settings”. Next up, though, we’re bringing it back a little closer to civilization.

A striking clash of metal on metal echoes out from a corner of the room. A roaring fire cracks and spits from the same direction. The beating metal continues at a measured pace, one reverberating clang every few seconds, accompanied only by the occasional grunt or sniffle. As the clanging stops, a new sound catches your attention, the hissing and burbling of suddenly boiling water. A squeak of cloth on metal follows, and then the sound of metal burying itself deep into hot coals. The ringing metronome of beating metal begins again soon after, but with a deeper tone this time, and a slower pace. This cycle continues for who knows how long, before the clanging blows end for good. You hear the shuffling whisper of leather, a few bony pops from knuckles or spinal vertebrae, and a satisfied groan that could only accompany a good stretch. You hear wood handles clacking against each other as various tools are put in their place. The fire is allowed to dwindle to a low crackle, and that eventually fades as well.

You got to love the sounds of metalworking, am I right guys? Moving on, our next track is a little out of left field, so buckle up, and set phasers to stun!

Directly before you, a series of tinkling beeps sounds out, followed by an airy whoosh. You step through the doorway. As you walk, the muffled beat of your shoes on carpet is periodically joined by others. Every so often, words or phrases find their way into your periphery, snippets of quiet conversations between passersby.

“The power coupling is…”

“.. happened on Vacca VI?”

Another chime, this one coming from above, cuts off any conversations. A serious yet collected voice follows, “Red Alert: all hands stand to battle stations”. A blaring siren begins to wail, a call that no one would mistake for celebratory. The previously placid corridor bursts into a flurry of motion, muffled footsteps now urgently pattering in various directions.

Welcome back, listeners, that one was quite the trip, wasn’t it? Hmm, well it looks like there wasn’t anything planned after that one. Let’s see what I can muster up…

You hear a series of different sounds, voices, and static all blending together. Every different sound only playing for a fraction of a second before the next one interrupts. Finally, a deep, muffled baritone cuts through the chaos, “No! I am your father.”

Hmm, no not that one, we don’t have the rights for that one. What about… aha, this one!

The roar of rushing air whips past your ears and around your body. The only other sound near you is the confident beating of your own wings, as you soar across the sky. You give an exulted cry, piercing the relative silence around you for miles, declaring your dominance in this domain. You tuck your wings and dive, the rushing air builds to a deafening torrent as you gain speed. You maintain your dive for as long as you can, accelerating as you plummet towards the earth. At the last moment you extend your broad wings in a muffled swish, halting your dive, and initiating a glide. You give another smug call, in case anyone missed the first one.

Well that was interesting, you were a bird that time! Isn’t this show just great? I mean you literally can’t get it anywhere else, folks! I think we’re coming up to the end of our timeslot. We don’t want to step on the toes of the next show. Is there a next show? I have no idea how radio shows work actually. Anyways, thanks for listening folks, sayonara!