What do you do when the world around you is in active collapse? How do you remain awake when the rest of the world would rather live in a dream world? The themes of isolation and societal collapse resonate in both the illustrated novel “Electric State” by Simon Stålenhag (2018) and “Operation Firewall,” the second season of the Many Sided Media Network‘s Electric State Actual Play podcast using Free League‘s TTRPG system.
In the series, we follow a team of hackers through what remains of a broken country on a heist into the company responsible for societal collapse. This psychological horror podcast draws on techniques commonly used in horror films to build tension and suspense. The way this series concludes is a testament to how incredible this team is, but also makes this series perfect for relistening.
Quick info:
Audio: Great Quality, Audio Drama, surround sound effects
Vibes: Psychological horror, High tension, Electric State illustrated novel by Simon Stålenhag
Number of Episodes Review is based on: Full Season (10 episodes)
System: Electric State TTRPG
Average Episode time: 1 hour 30 minutes
Content Warnings: addiction, harm to children, religious cults, animal endangerment, reckless endangerment
Platforms: YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music
Language: English
Length: Short Term Campaign
Electric State Roleplaying Game
Electric State RPG is rules-light and uses a d6 dice pool with Free League’s Year Zero Engine. Maia remains loyal to the rules system, down to the lore and locations, providing a very accurate portrayal of how the system is played. Some of the main mechanics involve tension between the characters and their hope. The players illustrate the tension mechanic carefully, and they fully commit to the worst parts of these characters to drive their story. The connections between the characters keep them together while also contributing to the struggles they face.
Welcome to the South Republic
In the 1970s, a Civil War tore the USA apart, and the South Republic (Texas, Louisiana, and Oklahoma) considers itself the true remnant of the United States. Breakthrough technology that was developed in the war to pilot drones was redeveloped for public consumption. Neurocasters are personal computers you wear that connect directly to your brain and into the Neurospace. Something like a VR Chat multiplied by 1,000. Sentre, the company responsible for Neurocasters, holds significant power over Pacifica (what was once California), and its influence is seeping its way across the border into the South Republic.
Operation Firewall is set in 1990s Austin, Texas. A company called Happy-Cool developed neurocasters for children, using them not only for recreation but education. Children are the most vulnerable to the addiction of the neurocasters, and now they spend most of their day plugged in.
The series opens with an overwhelmed rehab facility and an exhausted nurse. We learn that more and more children are succumbing to the addiction of the neuroscape. Daniel’s daughter Julia is one of the worst among them, preferring to escape deep into the lense of her neurocaster rather than make friends.
The desperation to cure his daughter reinforced with the guilt of his affiliation to the company that helped put her there, he accepts a job to stop their newest update. With the driver Vincent already hired, Daniel pulls together the hacker Emma-Jane and a demolition specialist Elias. The mission, to “infiltrate Happy Cool’s newest neurotech project, uncover the hidden dangers of neural implants, and shut it down before it consumes a generation.” – From Maia’s Game Room website description.
As the team gets their affairs in order, we get one last glimpse of the South Republic and what each of our characters hope to return to. Each scene we get glimpses of a community starting to lose its grip, some hints more subtle than others. Even as the team starts to drive out, we watch as the ties that bind start to fray.
The team leaves Austin to travel across the border and deep into Pacifica. It doesn’t take long before the landscape changes from small towns to feral wilds of wondering mechanical horrors. The scattered remnants of humanity they do find claws at what’s left of their sanity and tears at the group’s trust in one another.
Before diving in, Season 2 comes with three optional prelude episodes that introduce the characters. These episodes give us a chance to learn about the characters outside of the group and peel back the curtain on the world around them.
The Crew
The show’s game master and editor is Maia (my-ee-uh). What stands out about Maia as a game master, she makes the world feel very rich and tangible. An effective storytelling device in horror is juxtaposition. Maia paints pictures of the southern family and community, only to break them down to reveal the darker side of what can happen to the community and family in times of desperation. One of the stars of this show is the editing. Carefully placed sound effects and ambiance that, if you don’t listen with full surround sound headphones, you are missing out. Maia also knows the importance of giving breathing room between scenes as she provides an audio version of fade to black so the listener can take a mental breath.
Vincent Aldritch, played by Arcturus, is a returning player from season one. Like a scene straight out of Fast and Furious, we find Vincent in his car, ready for a street race with money on the line. Lucky for him, he knows people underestimate him. Vincent is described by the cast as the glue of the group. We are introduced to Vincent and his brother Luther through a distant memory of his childhood. They sneak out of the house, father still connected to his neurocaster, to take a late-night excursion into a lake with a stolen fishing boat. Vincent is hired by Daniel as the driver, and is one of the few people Daniel trusts for the success of their mission. Vincent brings along his dog, Rhonda.
Daniel Collins, played by Todd. In the prelude episode, we find Daniel and Emma-Jane watching Daniel’s daughter, Julia, on a playground. Julia has been in a rehab facility to help with her addiction to the neurocaster. After getting screwed over by his previous employer, Sentre, Daniel is tasked with gathering a group to carry out Operation Firewall. Sentre is responsible for the addictive neurocasters and is the target of the group’s operation.
Emma-Jane Collier, played by Meg, is another returning player from season one. Emma-Jane is hired on for her ability to gather information and as a master grifter. In the prelude episode, we learn that Emma-Jane is not one to do anything that doesn’t benefit her. She finds a familiarity while she watches Daniel’s daughter play on the playground, knowing exactly what it is like to be addicted to the substance called Neurine. The substance is used in the neurotechnology that has taken over this timeline and can create a hallucinatory experience. Emma-Jane is less interested in the job and more interested in the leverage she can use to her advantage.
Elias Bonny, played by Michael. Elias is a demolitionist with steady hands, hired just in case the stealth mission doesn’t go well. In his prelude episode, we meet Elias and his brother, a family who has deep connections with their community, making sure the neighborhood’s equipment is repaired. We fade to black and come back years later to a melancholy scene. Elias is alone, his brother’s things left untouched, and Elias’ temper is whittled down to a splinter.
What’s Next
Michael and Maia return for a two-episode series based on the Liminal Horror roleplaying game. “This series plunges you into modern survival horror. Expect a tense, neo-noir journey filled with paranoia, betrayal, and surveillance dread. It’s a psychological ride where trust collapses, and reality itself starts to fray at the edges. Prepare for constant pressure, inescapable weirdness, and a truly claustrophobic atmosphere.” The character, Oliver Valentine, has one last job to finish, “where the only thing more dangerous than getting caught is making the delivery.” -quotes from the series description.
Following the final episode of the Electric State Actual Play, Operation Firewall, there is a two-hour-long talkback where they discuss their own suspicions and theories on what happens to the characters after the shocking conclusion. I also found the experience of re-listening to the series extremely rewarding, as I was able to pick up on so many subtle hints I didn’t catch the first time.
This actual play left me with the desire to reach back out to my community and do what I can to preserve it. As much as many of us rely heavily on our online communities, we also need to make sure we have people we can physically reach out to.
Images via Free League Publishing
Have strong thoughts about this piece you need to share? Or maybe there’s something else on your mind you’re wanting to talk about with fellow Fandomentals? Head on over to our Community server to join in the conversation!
