Quiver
Quiver | Vale Four: Targeted Cycle

Quiver | Vale Four: Targeted Cycle

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We all make choices.

Vale Four opens its arcade. The subjects get Kamas, games, and three hours they don’t remember losing.

Blake sees the architecture.

Gia sees the shimmer.

Piper sees the high score.

Nobody sees the cameras.

Cast & Crew

Written & Produced by: Neural Nets and Pretty Patterns
Directed by: Neural Nets and Pretty Patterns
Co-Directed by: Bliss Blank

Cast

Guest Stars

    • Gia: Valentina Vallay | IMDb
      We knew Valentina would be perfect in the Neuralverse; her dark romance work perfectly fits the vibe.  There’s a lot of parallels between this episode and her excellent book It Ends in Blood.  We never knew she’d be so FUNNY as well.  Gia is now an ongoing character by fan demand.
    • Piper: Jen Larner
      Jen is a UK-based actress, voiceover artist, and writer.  She really nailed it in a tricky part here; Piper is vulnerable and defiant at the same time.  She has a real dynamic change here, and it’s performed pitch perfect.
    • Blake: Naomi Biela
      Naomi Biela’s professional vocal training makes this chapter particularly immersive. It adds real depth to the “Neuralverse,” and it’s a standout performance.  We’re delighted that the projects drawing in people from across the arts landscape.

Video Game Vixens

    • Glitch Kitten: Eclipse Aleice | IMDb
      Eclipse is a voice actress specializing in character work with a wide range. She works fast, takes immediate direction, and always brings something extra.
    • Power Up Peach: Brie Michelle
    • Joystick Jezebel: Kat McQueen
    • Loot Bunny: Karma Reid
      Karma Reid is an experienced voice actress.  In addition to the Deep Dream State, she has been featured in projects like GTA: Online Rags to Riches.  You can find more of her artistic pursuits on her IMDb Page.
    • Respawn Rouge: Kitty Pawa
    • Pixel Dollie: Cherry Pak

Note On Series Structure

All DDS episodes are organized by Arc > Cycle > Episode. The Cycle part’s unusual, but it’s not a trick. It’s the best way to categorize storylines that run through multiple episodes.

Each Cycle is about something.  This Cycle is about microtargeting, and it’s as unnerving as you’d expect.

Explanation

Quiver opens the Targeted Cycle.  The Vale Four guests are invited to play and maybe get played.

The Valescape is a closed economy with its own currency, feedback loops, and cameras that never stop. The subjects get five hundred free Kamas.  The system calls that a sampler, even if they can’t remember sampling.

Blake sees the architecture because she designed it.  She been a watchmaker, so she clocks the rubberbanding and the addiction loop. She names what she sees.  Nobody listens, because Gia’s already earning Kamas off Gluckgluck and Piper has the high score in Spotlight and the dopamine loop doesn’t care what Blake knows.

Spotlight is the Iris Vale game, and it’s where Iris moves from ad reader to icon.  It was trained on her performance capture, her approval curves and her curve curves.  Tessa explains this without embarrassment: you don’t sell a product, you sell a person. The future of the industry is already running in the arcade and everyone’s paying Kamas to play it.

The Midstream Sports ad breaks the episode in half like it always does, loud and deliberate and exactly as subtle as everything else here. You don’t change horses midstream. You get in the game. The system already knows which game you’ll pick. It just needs you to reach for it yourself.

Quiver is the eighth episode of Deep Dream State, a desire horror audio drama by Neural Nets and Pretty Patterns. It is part of Arc 4: Vale Four, Targeted Cycle.

Listen & Explore

Human Made Art

The poster image for this arc is from Sunrise Forever on Pixabay, under the Pixabay license. Layer art overlays are used to vary each iteration of the image. Deep Dream State uses human art at every stage of the creative supply chain.

Consent Declaration

Deep Dream State is a desire horror audio drama written and produced by Neural Nets and Pretty Patterns. It explores psychological fiction at the boundaries of control, identity, and complicity. The elements depicted are fictional and intentional. All performances are works of fiction and take place within a consensual creative context. ISNI 0000 0005 2877 6254

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