The Nautilus - Tumblr Posts
"The Motto of this Craft, the phrase that I hold dear, Mobilis in Mobili"
One of my favourite things to do with Pulp is to take these mechanics that are introduced and ground them in the story. Obviously we have jackie's art in the broadcasts that does a lot of the heavy lifting in this regard- her scenic work transports you into the world of the show. But, when you don't have the broadcast in front of you the imagination is bound to wander. When I first listened to Searcher I had imagined the Nautilus as a capital S Ship. Phrases like Addison walking from Bow to Stern or perhaps the inclusion of a library/study had me thinking of those huge old galleons, or even something smaller. Something like the Ellen Austen, or the Antikythera. Wood Panelled walls and creaking ropes. Remember treasure planet? That ship that trolled the stars? in my mind that was the nautilus. Then I saw the broadcast and it was nothing like I Imagined (and that's kind of beautiful isn't it? The differences in how the artist, in this case Matt and Jackie, imagine the world versus how the audience interprets it?) The Nautilus is instead this sleek red thing, because Dakkar is just so ahead of his time. The man has scanners for god's sake of course his spaceship is a Ferrari! But even then I couldn't let go of the literal "Space Ship" that wormed it's way in from my initial impression, so above is my interpretation of the Nautilus as it stands.
It draws a compromise between my initial interpretation and the artistic intention. A sleek, red, futuristic thing with glass panelling and sharp fins and a map room below a bridge, both with windows that can look out into the galaxy. The top deck is encased by this big glass shell, so the passenger could go out and feel as though they are standing in amongst the stars- of course equipped with it's own airtight doors and purple button. But nonetheless, a ship. A place of familiarity in amongst the unknown.
