ASEZHIA

Written by

Jerrel McQuen and Marc Rose

CC BY-NC-ND 4.0
(https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)
Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial-NoDerivs 4.0 International

Re-Imagined Radio
Season 11, Episode 10

Final draft

Asezhia

The demon is loose. The legend is real.

Re-Imagined Radio
Season 11, Episode 10
Final Draft

Premier broadcast: October 16, 2023

Written by Jerrel McQuen and Marc Rose

Sound design, Music composition, Post-Production by Marc Rose

Graphics by Holly Slocum

Synopsis
For Halloween, Re-Imagined Radio presents (Ah-SEIZE-sha) (Ah-ZEEZ-jha) Asezhia, by Marc Rose and Jerrel McQuen. A legendary ancient jewel, stolen from Asezhia, a planet with a dark history, transforms into a hellish denizen with an insatiable hunger for death and blood. Even Emille Song, the telepathic Special Detective, may be out of his reckoning as he goes up against a skeletal fiend that can vanish in a ruby mist.

Color Code
Yellow highlighted text = sound effect(s), either pre-recorded or created for episode. Pre-recorded audio is used as content in this episode.

MUSIC = pre-recorded

MUSIC = bespoke, created for this episode

Harlan Ellison. An Edge in My Voice: Essays. Donning Books, 1985.
See Installment 39: 16 August 1982 for an essay about visiting Marc Rose and Robert Cannon, March 1982, St. Petersberg, FL, at Rose's home, to listen to an episode of Dry Smoke & Whispers.

The columnist urges his readers to catch the airing of an episode of “Dry Smoke and Whispers,” a home-made radio drama featuring the sleuth Emille Song and his sidekick Professor Henchard on the planet Quaymet. The brainchild and work of 24-year-old Floridians Robert Cannon and Marc Rose, the science fiction detective series broadcasts over WMNF-FM in St. Petersburg, where Ellison met the creators and cajoled them into letting him borrow a couple episodes to broadcast over Mike Hodel’s Hour 25 show on KPFK, on August 20, 1982.

COLD OPEN
SFX: EMILLE SONG
SONG
Quaymet. My home. Teeming capitol of the Quintocracy. Five regions of space governed in relative peace sprawling across a third of our galaxy. But beyond that, the Frontiers. The Unknown. Filled with planets and beings beyond our control or ken. Explorers, scientists and reckless adventurers bring back tales and legends. And sometimes more.
Ah, the Unknown. It can be thrilling, when it’s a rumor far, far from home. But when it’s unleashed in your own backyard in the middle of a moonless night...
SFX: DISTANT SCREAM
This tale revolves around a distant rumored world of great beauty and instant death. An artifact brought back from it that we had enshrined right here in the capitol. An artifact, waiting to be reborn, that should have remained on its home world. A distant and exotic planet of jewel-encrusted cliffs and kaleidoscopic clouds known as ASEZHIA.
MUSIC: UP AND FADE TO FINISH
THEME AND ANNOUNCER
MUSIC: RIR THEME
ANNOUNCER
Welcome to Re-Imagined Radio, a program about radio storytelling. I’m Jack Armstrong. With each episode we combine dialogue, sound effects, and music to engage your listening imagination. This episode is no different, and here to tell you about it is John Barber, producer and host.
HOST OPEN
HOST
Thank you Jack. Hello everyone. Welcome.
The radio storytelling you're about to hear was written by Jerrel McQuen and produced by Marc Rose in 1989, both 31, living in the Tampa-St. Petersburg area of Florida.
I think it's a perfect episode for Halloween, which is just a week away.
This story, originally called "Vapors," is a sophisticated techno-noir drama of inter-dimensional terror. It was part of a program produced by Rose and MAC When called Shreek Show, a half hour commercial radio anthology series, leaning toward science fiction and horror.
With its fun tag line . . . 
SFX: FROM ORIGINAL PRODUCTION, "IF YOU CAN HEAR IT, IT CAN SEE YOU" SHREEK SHOW.
HOST
Shreek Show was heard on national and international commercial radio stations, from 1988 to 1989.
After its premier broadcast, "Vapors" was shelved and never rebroadcast.
Until now, as an episode of Re-Imagined Radio. The name is changed--it's now Ah-SEIZE-sha ("Asezhia")--but the story is the same. A legend about The Ruby of Death and Ecstasy, rumored to be found on an ancient world of jewel-encrusted cliffs and kaleidoscopic clouds.
When the ruby is stolen, a beast appears as a predatory terror with an insatiable hunger for flesh, a thirst for killing, and a sensual desire for the exquisite moment when life meets death.
Re-Imagined Radio is pleased to once again broadcast this great example of radio storytelling. The cinematic sound qualities are especially striking. You may want to listen through your headphones for best effect.
Our radio storytelling originates from KXRW-FM. Vancouver, Washington's community radio station. We thank them for their support.
And we thank YOU for joining us as Re-Imagined Radio presents Asezhia.
MUSIC: THEME FOR TRANSITION
ACT 1: THE RUBY IS STOLEN
SFX: START CUE: "SEE, WE CAN TAKE THIS WINDOW PANE RIGHT OUT."
* * * (CONTENT HERE)
END CUE: "FREE . . . AT LAST."
SFX: MUSIC FADES OUT
MUSIC: RIR THEME, ESTABLISH AND FADE UNDER AND OUT
HOST
You're listening to Re-Imagined Radio. Our episode is Asezhia, written and produced by Marc Rose and Jerrel McQuen for their SciFi and Horror radio series, Shreek Show, heard on several commercial radio stations from 1988 to 1989.
Asezhia has its roots in Dry Smoke & Whispers, an earlier radio science fiction detective series by Rose and McQuen, produced when they both were 24 and launched January 18, 1980 with the tagline, quote "A Mystery Science Fiction Cinema in Sound Adventure" unquote.
Now, I can't remember being 24 years old, much less imagine creating something of the sweep and depth of Dry Smoke & Whispers. But I, and you, don't have to imagine. Harlan Ellison, author of 40 books and prolific columns of iridescent insight for Future Life and L.A. Weekly, was there. In St. Petersburg, Florida. In the Rose family home. Where Marc and Jerrel played him a demo tape.
This was in March 1982, well before the digital turn and all its magic. And as Ellison wrote, quote "I am amused and captivated at the professional quality and the depth of imagination. Rose tells me he's done over 145 different voices for the show; he writes all the music; every bit of sound effects and editing is done right here, [in his home]" unquote (Ellison 334).

Harlan Ellison. An Edge in My Voice: Essays. Donning Books, 1985, pp. 333-336.
HOSTY
When he returned to Los Angeles, Ellison carried with him taped episodes of Dry Smoke & Whispers, which he arranged to be broadcast as part of Mike Hodel's Hour 25, heard on KPFK-FM.
Dry Smoke & Whispers, and Asezhia, takes place in another dimension. On the planet called Quaymet. The capitol of a galactic civilization. There, "Special Detective" Emille Song and Professor Durrick Henchard solve problems much in the mold of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. John Watson, with a dash of Blade Runner and Casablanca for spiciness.
The series ran for five years on public radio stations in sixty markets and three countries and received grants from The National Endowment For The Arts and the Florida Fine Arts Council.
Rose and McQuen paused Dry Smoke & Whispers in 1985 to pursue jobs with regular paychecks.
The pause was a short one. Only three years before Rose and McQuen began producing Shreek Show, in 1988.
McQuen relocated to Portland, Oregon, in 1996. Rose followed in 1999. There, they rebooted Dry Smoke & Whispers in 2004. The Shadowman Saga and other episodes were heard on Sirius/XM Satellite Radio and many public radio stations.
SFX: SHADOWMAN SAGA TRAILER
HOST
In 2008, The Phantom of Delguire Manor series was released.
Rose and McQuen engaged with Portland's audio drama / radio storytelling community. The Re-Imagined Radio episode, WRW Retrospective, chronicles their connection with the Willamette Radio Workshop, founded and directed by Sam A. Mowry.
So far, you've heard about a hellish denizen loose on Quaymet. Detective Song may be out of his reckoning as he goes up against a skeletal fiend that can vanish into a ruby mist.
Let's continue listening . . .
ACT 2: A DEMON IS LOOSED
SFX: DOOR OPENS
Song: Professor.
Prof. Henchard: I take it you have a hot case.
* * * (content here)
Trickles: Trickles, My name is trickles.
Beast: call us "beast."
SFX: MUSIC FADES OUT
MUSIC: RIR THEME, ESTABLISH AND FADE UNDER AND OUT
THE FUSEBOX BREAK
HOST
This is Re-Imagined Radio. I'm John Barber, producer and host. We'll return to Asezhia, in just a moment. But first I want to tell you about The Fusebox Show . . . It's a different kind of radio storytelling, full of quirky inter-dimensional conversation and comedy, and characters with their own sense of terror. Here's a sample . . .
SFX: THE FUSEBOX SHOW TEASER 
HOST
Learn more at The Fusebox Show website, thefuseboxshow dot com.
MUSIC: RIR THEME, FADE UNDER AND OUT FOR THE FOLLOWING
HOST
This is Re-Imagined Radio. Our episode is Asezhia, written and produced by Marc Rose and Jerrel McQuen.
Their story, a finely balanced mixture of adventure, imagination, and horror, takes place in another dimension, on a planet called Quaymet.
There, "Special Detective" Emille Song and Professor Durrick Henchard are up to their necks in trouble.
Let's continue with our story . . .
ACT 3: THE LEGEND IS REAL.
SFX: MUSIC INTRO
NARRATOR: There are more things than heaven and earth. But was Abra on the Level?
* * * (content here)
BEAST: You will feed our hunger.
SFX: GRUESOME GRINDING
MUSIC: RIR THEME, ESTABLISH AND FADE UNDER AND OUT
THE RIR BREAK
MUSIC: RIR THEME. ESTABLISH, THEN FADE OUT UNDER THE FOLLOWING.
HOST
This is Re-Imagined Radio. I'm John Barber, producer and host. With each episode we explore radio storytelling  using voice, sound effects, and music. Here are some examples . . .
SFX: RE-IMAGINED RADIO AUDIO TRAILER
HOST
This year's remaining episodes include a tribute to the Dimension X science fiction series, and Volume 4 of our annual Christmas sampler.
Dimension X was one of the first science fiction anthology series produced for adult listeners. Many earlier series were geared for younger audiences.
Heard on radio from April 1950 to September 1951, Dimension X episodes were adapted from future visions by then contemporary science fiction writers, many of whom are now household names. Their visions of space travel and fantastic technology have proved quite accurate.
We'll sample from the first episode, "The Outer Limit," which may be the most used science fiction story on radio.
For our December episode we'll sample from a variety of early radio programs, each celebrating the holiday season with unique flairs. We've done this for the past three years and it's been quite popular with listeners. I hope you will join us again.
More information and listening opportunities are available at our website--reimaginedradio DOT net
Re-Imagined Radio is also available as podcasts. Subscribe, listen, like, and review wherever you get your podcasts, or, from our website.
MUSIC: RIR THEME, RETURN. ESTABLISH, THEN DUCK UNDER THE FOLLOWING
HOST
This episode is called Asezhia, the name of a distant world with a dark history. As we've heard so far, "Special Detective" Emille Song and Professor Henchard seek to find a beast with a penchant for killing . . . before it finds them.
Will they be successful? Let's return to our story and find out . . .
ACT 4: THERE ARE TWO OF US 
BEAST: start cue: "You will feed our hunger. You will go out and find us a woman."
* * * (content here)
SONG: ". . . two metal bone talons, leaping out like snakes from the palms of white, alien hands."
SFX: BUILD TO CRESCENDO, THEN FADE OUT.
MUSIC: RIR THEME, ESTABLISH, THEN DUCK UNDER THE FOLLOWING
KXRW SHOUT OUT
HOST
You're listening to Re-Imagined Radio. Our program is produced with support from KXRW-FM. Vancouver, Washington's community radio station. We appreciate their support. Whatever you can do to help them will be much appreciated. All donations are tax deductible.
MUSIC: RIR THEME, FADE OUT
HOST
Our episode is Asezhia, a potent mix of inter-dimensional science fiction and horror by Marc Rose and Jerrel McQuen.
As I mentioned previously, Emille Song is a "Special Detective." What does that mean? Well, he's telepathic, and that special ability is about to pay off. Let's keep listening  . . .
ACT 5: ALL IS REVEALED 
SFX:
SONG: "the capital scrap yard, out in the metal zone, always set my heart pounding to the wrong rhythm."
* * * (content here)
SONG: . . . Remember soaring through the clouds, remember your freedom . . . Remember Asezhia. Asezhia.
SFX: BUILD TO CRESCENDO, THEN FADE OUT.
HOST
As you've heard, Asezhia is an imagined world uniquely its own. An amalgam of 1930s detectives and gangsters, SteamPunk Victorian England, and vaguely exotic and alien Middle Eastern motifs.
But Emille Song seems real enough. A champion for justice, living on the vigilante fringe of a Future Society. The sort of person you'd linger with, over a cup of dark roasted WAX-a-quotal beans from the Central Highlands of Quaymet, listening to his stories. He's eccentric. Intelligent. And, at this techno-noir drama cliff hanger . . . he's in real trouble.
ACT 6: THE WORD OF FREEDOM
SFX: START CUE:
BEAST: Asezhia . . . That is the word of freedom. Now I remember.
SONG: It had been a desperate gamble, but it worked. Now we were about to find out who was what, and from where the evil and the ugliness had truly generated.
* * * (content here)
SONG: Scares me to think that the beast was totally created by the human side. What's scarier still is that, according to the legend, there's still one more combined being, out there . . . Somewhere . . . In the dead of the night.
SFX: DISTANT SCREAM. MUSIC FADES OUT.
MUSIC: RIR THEME, FADE UNDER THE FOLLOWING
HOST CREDITS AND CLOSE
HOST
We just listened to Asezhia, written by Jerrel McQuen and produced by Marc Rose. Both live and work in Portland, Oregon, just across The Columbia River, but in another dimension of creative inspiration.
First broadcast in 1989, as part of their commercial radio series, Shreek Show, Asezhia has, like the demon monster at the center of the story, lay dormant, a jewel of radio storytelling waiting for an audience to breathe life into its inert form.
After more than thirty years, Re-Imagined Radio is pleased, and honored, to return Asezhia to its rightful medium of radio storytelling, transmigrating you to an alien universe, to bear witness to a thought-provoking drama of naked avarice and noble sacrifice.
We'll archive our production of Asezhia, along with other examples of our radio storytelling, at our website, reimaginedradio DOT net. Podcasts are available at the major platforms, or our website.
The script for this episode was written by Jerrel McQuen and produced by Marc Rose.
The voices you heard include . . .
Linda Stroh as Abrah SHA hod (Shahad). 
Kevin Quigley as Alex Hunt. 
Roland Marks as "Beast." 
Marc Rose as Trickles.
Darren Glades as Prof. Durrick Henchard.  
Aaron Niles as Emille Song.
John Summers as the Announcer.
Sound Design, music composition, and post-production by Marc Rose.
Graphic design by Holly Slocum.
Re-Imagined Radio announcer is Jack Armstrong.
This is John Barber, producer and host. Thank you for listening.
MUSIC: RIR THEME UP, THEN DUCK UNDER THE FOLLOWING
ANNOUNCER CLOSE
ANNOUNCER
This is a production of Re-Imagined Radio. Our radio broadcasts are heard on local, regional, and international community radio stations.
For on demand streaming, point your browsers to our website, reimaginedradio (all one word, no punctuation) DOT net. 
Thank you so much for listening, and please join us again for another episode of Re-Imagined Radio where we will continue our exploration of radio storytelling.
MUSIC: RIR THEME UP, AND TO END.