VANNEVAR: Good evening, and welcome to MEME-X. I am your host, the ghost of Vannevar Bush. In our ongoing study of culture and the arts, tonight's subject is TRANSVERSE CITY, the pop-opera that has already stirred up controversy despite having yet to take the stage, with its stories of interpersonal-cast squabbles, cost over-runs, and production delays, even before the curtain has risen.

Pictured here are Treba, Arial, Xinjinmeng, in their roles as Anna, Ruth, and Rastus, the three villians of the play, ... and inset are Mothersbaugh, Frostbyte, and Wesley, the musicians who they seek to control for profit, for power, and for pleasure. Tonight, in the studio, we have the opportunity to ask the reclusive company some first-hand details about their spectacular opera, now finally scheduled to open later this year.

With me now is Xin Jin Meng, the Novelty of the Golden Fantastic, and Diva Emerita of the Risorgimento Opera Company …

XINJINMENG: A pleasure, Vannevar.

VANNEVAR: … Reverend Lucius Mothersbaugh, Conductor of the Hypodulian Choir …

MOTHERSBAUGH: (nods)

VANNEVAR: … John Wesley, founding member of the spook-rock band Ecliptica …

WESLEY: It’s great to be here, Bush.

VANNEVAR: … And Frostbyte, a former Fermi-class war machine turned stage musician.

FROSTBYTE: It’s a thrill to be on your program, Mr. Bush.

VANNEVAR: Miss Xin, you have been absent from the stage since July, when you and the Reverened performed at the X-Day Festival in New York, unannounced. What made you decide to perform there?

XINJINMENG: To this day, I am really unclear on the why or wherefore. I personally blame the Reverend for dragging my tail out to that dreadful swamp. When you are alone and he has all his powers to bear, he can be very persuasive.

VANNEVAR: Reviews of your performance were mixed.

XINJINMENG: You’re so polite, Vannevar. Are you going to show that clip of me falling off the stage?

FROSTBYTE: You have only yourself to blame, with those shoes.

VANNEVAR: Our audience can find the clip in our multimedia archives. … Xin, I imagine you’re anxious to talk about your latest project, Transverse City. Tell us about it.

XINJINMENG: It’s really a group effort, Van. It’s taken a few years, but we’re excited to finally be able to see our vision for the populist-opera crowd. Frost, here, has the key role of Johnny Virgil, a young musician who wants to seek the high points of stardom in the waning days of recorded music media. Wesley, the Reverend, and myself play key roles.

VANNEVAR: Frostbyte, this staging will be your first headlining role in an opera. What made you decide to take on such a demanding role?

FROSTBYTE: Vanity. if I could become worthy of such a role, what would I *not* be worthy of? More seriously, Virgil and I have several significant parallels; his story speaks to me. Both of us are filled with a talent and a drive for success in a market that's rapidly dwindling - apex predators of an obsolete ecology.

VANNEVAR: Your show hasn’t even opened yet, and already Transverse City has been the subject of criticism from the Parents’ Opera Resource Center, the International Concert Rating Board, and the World Neoclassicist Society. Early copies of the libretto depict graphic scenes of sex, violence, and drug abuse. How would you respond to those who dismiss your production as just another shock-opera?

FROSTBYTE: Rudely. Yes, it's shocking, and yes, it's intentional. But there's more than that. Does the presence of fluorescents in the palette of a mural, along side a subtle play of pastels and deep shades, somehow invalidate less intense colors? Likewise, violent, powerful emotional imagery can be used to give strength and power to a subtle or overt emotional narrative. Shock-opera? If you come in expecting shock opera, that's what you'll see, but only because you'll be allowing your expectations to overshadow the subtleties of the work.

WESLEY: We like to think our show stands on its own merits, that these powerful, human themes will resonate with contemporary audiences. The excessive royalty taxes, the pay-for-sing , the infinite extensions of copyrights … Big Bohemia has long been dominated by too few folks who benefit from the work of too many talented artists.

VANNEVAR: You are, no doubt, influenced by the censure that banned you from concert halls for 18 months?

WESLEY: Precisely! That’s exactly what’s wrong with guilds like the World Neoclassicist Society. They want to control what people see and hear. It’s not about “moral standards”, it’s about control.

VANNEVAR: Your lead contralto, Orlean, attempted to block the project from ever taking the stage with a lawsuit, which was later dismissed from court. Orlean has since been replaced, which could only have made your late production even later. What did you gain from this experience?

MOTHERSBAUGH: (coughs, says something unintelligible)

FROSTBYTE: We gained Treba, Orlean's replacement. And Wesley gained an ulcer!

WESLEY: I named the ulcer Luciano, he’s the project’s baby. (laughs)

FROSTBYTE: Seriously, Treba's a class act; marvelous voice, absolutely top-of-the-line respiratory augmentations, and let me tell you, she wields them like the professional she is. Pay close attention to the reviews once we go live, Mr. Bush; even if they pan the rest of us, she's going to go far.

XINJINMENG: It’s a shame that Ms. Orlean wouldn’t reconcile, but such things happen.

VANNEVAR: I’m afraid that’s all the bandwidth we have. I’d like to thank Xin, Frost, the Reverend, and John from the Risorgimento Opera Company.

WESLEY: It was my pleasure!

XINJINMENG: Xie xie.

MOTHERSBAUGH: (nods)

FROSTBYTE: So, what are you doing later?

XINJINMENG: Ugh. Frost, behave. He doesn’t even have a physical body.

VANNEVAR: The Risorgimento’s original production of Transverse City is scheduled to open this November. Ask your bonded and licensed ticket-broker to secure your own seats.

(Treba, Arial, Xinjinmeng, Reverend, Frostbyte, Wesley © their players. All rights reserved.)