Shows
The Masters14. The FoundryPreviously — In episode 13, we learn the backstory of John Spillers, as told by Sergeant Zayas during his final moments following the attack on the Grass Cutting Area. Spillers was an immigrant from Holland who joined the crew of the Santa Maria as a cooper, and was later left behind in Haiti with 39 other men in 1492. He’s not only managed to survive 450 years, he’s doing whatever he wants. With impunity. First, there’s JTF Alpha—soldiers he’s hand-selected and modified with super-human capabilities. They can travel undetected, somehow under the concealment of a strange blue light. They also have as...
2024-08-0619 min
The Masters13. A Game of PoolPreviously — In episode 12, Vandyck reveals her misgivings about Area J operator procedures — specifically, the over reliance on aperture screen technology. She mockingly compares this to Santiago’s no-frills demonstration from earlier, when he took control of a recorded session to directly address a room full of operators from his stone dungeon in Puerto Rico. Privately, she admires the old man, and wonders if she might be able to duplicate his results — essentially creating a bridge between her world and his.
Back at the Grass Cutting Area, there’s a catastrophic descent into chaos shortly after machine gun fire erupt...
2024-03-1834 min
The Masters12. The Control PlanePreviously — In episode 11, we meet the three-man chalk of JTF Alpha—a motley collection of military oddballs hand-picked by John Spillers. There’s Delaloza, who spends most of his time napping, not saying a word. And Chaulette, a full bird colonel recently transferred from an all black airborne unit known as the Triple Nickels. And Dawkins—a disgraced Navy UDT diver who is, in the words of Ramler “a pile-up of unintended consequences”. Dawkins is in charge of the chalk and their mission objectives are clear: jump into the Grass Cutting Area, cut off the compound’s communications with Ramey, locate and tak...
2023-10-1529 min
The Masters11. JTF AlphaPreviously—In episode 10, Sepulveda walks with Spillers in the Grass Cutting Area compound, only to wake up below the canopy of the enormous ceiba tree. Unable to speak or move his legs, things quickly take a turn for the bizarre when Garcia shows up. This is the Spaniard Santiago’s father killed over 400 years earlier while protecting his family. During the melee, Spillers disappears from view and tells Captain Sepulveda he must get up and fight or die at the hands of the Spaniard. There’s a struggle during which Sepulveda is convinced he will die. In what he believ...
2023-08-1236 min
The Masters10. The World Behind the WorldPreviously—In episode 9, Captain Sepulveda and FBI station chief John Spillers go for a short walk. Their conversation is cordial—mostly smalltalk about the new Sikorski helicopters recently shipped to Ramey Air Force base. But deeper into their walk, Spillers suggests moving over to a tall tree in the distance. When this happens, Sepulveda catches a glimpse of something he can’t explain—Spillers’ face seems to wobble and move, capturing and bending the light in a way that acts as a kind of blurring filter. At Area J, we find out that Jesus Santiago has somehow become aware of the act...
2023-03-1330 min
The Masters9. Rough Drafts of MenPreviously—In episode 8, FBI station chief John Spillers arrives at building one of the Grass Cutting Area, and quickly makes it clear to Captain Sepulveda that he and Ramler are there only to interrogate Jesus Santiago. Sepulveda, who’s meeting Spillers for the first time, instantly feels there’s something off about him—he just can’t quite put it into words. After some awkward introductions, Spillers and Ramler leave the captain’s office to confer privately. When they’re gone, Sepulveda calls his old acquaintance Pedro Alvarez, who runs la Princesa prison in San Juan—hoping to learn something that m...
2023-03-0424 min
The Masters8. SpillersIn Episode 8—Spillers arrives at building one of the Grass Cutting Area, a secret interrogation facility nestled in the middle of Ramey Air Force Base. Spillers, who earlier killed Ramler, then reanimated him, seems unsure about whether or not he can count on the man’s loyalty. Sepulveda, having just found out from Ramler the unbelievable story of an indestructible uterus being kept in a jar… doesn’t trust anyone, and begins to wonder how Jesus Santiago fits into all of this.
Previously—In episode 7, PORTREX, Captain Sepulveda revealed to Ramler that earlier in the year, several of his men...
2023-01-0223 min
The Masters7. PORTREXIn Episode 7—Captain Sepulveda explains what happened recently to his men at New York Presbyterian hospital. Ramler, who’s being held at gunpoint, has to decide—is it time for an on-the-spot-correction… or something else? He shares some backstory about what’s in the crate, and how its contents overlap with classified Los Alamos research being done in Puerto Rico.
Previously—In episode 6, the Ceramicist, we learn from Dr. Vandyck that Mr. Spillers, in addition to having extremely long life, can revivify people—can literally bring them back from the dead—which he does to Anton Ramler, after crushing h...
2022-12-0428 min
The Masters6. The CeramicistIn episode 6—We find out about one of Spillers additional capabilities, alluded to by Dr. Vandyck in the previous episode. We also watch as Captain Sepulveda greets a visitor to building one—an FBI interrogator sent by station chief John Spillers. On the face of things, the purpose of this man’s visit is to demonstrate interrogation techniques, but Sepulveda doesn’t quite trust him. For good reason.
Previously—In episode 5, The Hawk’s Bells, we learned that in 1518, John Spillers went to a small Taino village in Aymamio to collect gold (what is now Aguadilla, Puerto Rico). When...
2022-10-2135 min
The Masters5. The Hawk's BellsPreviously—In episode 4, The Calabozos of la Princesa, we learned about Jesus Santiago, a jibaro who is dropped off at the old colonial prison. Right away, he meets the warden, who suspects the old man of having some connection to the wooden crate recovered by the FBI, now in the hands of John Spillers. Santiago, it turns out has history with Spillers, going all the way back to 1518.
In episode 5—We find out more about Spillers and Santiago’s shared history, while also learning about why the operators of Area J are so interested in these events.
h...
2022-09-2935 min
The Masters4. The Calabozos of la PrincesaPreviously, in episode 3, we peeked into the top secret interrogation facility at Ramey Air Force Base, and learned about two of its occupants: a 460 year old ceiba tree and Captain Cristian Monserrate Sepulveda.
In episode 4, we're introduced to Jesus Santiago, an old jibaro who's dropped off at the Spanish colonial prison named la Princesa. Right away, he meets the warden, who suspects the old man of having some connection to the wooden crate recovered by the FBI, now in the hands of John Spillers. Santiago, it turns out, has history with Spillers.
https://roughmasters.substack...
2022-09-1316 min
The Masters3. The Memories of Trees and MenPreviously, in episode 2, Dr. Esteberger of Area J explains point clouds, FOJIP polyhedrons, and type 2 simulations, then draws our attention to the fact that John Spillers was one of the 39 men left behind at La Navidad in 1492 by Christopher Columbus—that Spillers stopped aging in 1518 as a side effect of the deformation of his human luminescence. He also suggests that Spillers has become unclamped from the human layer of the Event Stream.
In episode 3, we peek into the top secret interrogation facility at Ramey Air Force Base, and learn about two of its occupants: a 460 year old ce...
2022-09-0614 min
The Masters2. FOJIPPreviously, in episode 1, we got a glimpse of 1950 Puerto Rico, as seen from the eyes of special agent Anton Ramler of the FBI. We learned that his boss, station chief John Spillers is not at all what he appears to be. In fact, after killing Ramler's partner with his bare hands, Spillers makes the shocking admission that he's been alive for hundreds of years. Then he grabs Ramler by the head and squeezes, until his brains shoot out of his ears.
In episode 2, we meet the operators of Area J—mysterious observers whose business is to exhaustively ex...
2022-09-0128 min
The Masters1. The CrateIn this first episode, we jump into the world of 1950 Puerto Rico. There's been a recent break-in at a lab inside of New York Presbyterian hospital in San Juan. As soon as the FBI station chief, John Spillers finds out, he takes an unusual interest in the case. He sends special agent Anton Ramler to recover the stolen items—stashed in a wooden crate.
The world that Ramler and Spillers find themselves in is one of heightened paranoia: the cold war has just started. 75,000 communist troops, armed by the Soviet Union, have just crossed the 38th parallel an...
2022-08-2332 min
The Masters0. The Masters Teaser Trailer2 minute video trailer that attempts to explain what my writing project is about.
https://www.ben-willenbring.com/willenblog/the-masters-sample-chapter-and-video
2022-08-2201 min
The MastersREADME.mdIn this episode, I describe what The Masters is about and why I'm writing it. Also, why people see Jesus in pancakes, how autobiographical reasoning and historical memory are related (in my opinion), I throw in a story about a Roman emperor killed by his own brother, a childhood anecdote about the KKK, a comb and an afro pick, and recap why the Haitian revolution was such an important event.
https://roughmasters.substack.com/p/a-monster-story-with-a-point-of-view
2022-06-1327 min