Black Box The Mechanisms

[Spoken word: LYFRASSIR]
The Bifrost Incident. Any schoolchild could tell you about it. The fall of the old order; two hundred years of Asgardian hubris come together in a single epoch-defining event. The maiden voyage of a train through the stars, vanished without a trace. For decades it had been old lady Odin’s passion project, her long-sought legacy: shoot a locomotive through that man-made rainbow wormhole, cut the time between worlds from three months to three days. All the tests had been passed with quite literal flying colours, and the train was deemed safe. And what a train it was: gilded with gold and swirls of bismuth mosaic. Every high-up, well-to-do, nose-turning Asgardian hobnob was on that first trip, or risk Odin’s displeasure. So when it didn’t come out the other side, who's left to rule?​

In the chaos that ensued, no one really had a chance to see what happened to the train itself. And that’s where I come in, Inspector 2nd class Lyfrassir Edda, New Midgard Transport Police. Because the Ratatosk Express has finally arrived in Midgard, 80 years late. There's nothing left, except the twisted ruin of the engine room and a couple of warped skeletons. And the black box. It’s as much a history project as a crime scene at this point, but combing through the data still comes down to me.​

First recording is Odin’s launching speech. Almost a century ruling Asgard, you’d think she’d be a better public speaker, not rambling on about the glories of her pet science project, as though exporting quicker tyranny to Midgard was all she'd ever dreamed of.​