1 00:00:02,040 --> 00:00:04,519 Speaker 1: I'm Robert Evans. You probably know me from my podcast 2 00:00:04,559 --> 00:00:07,280 Speaker 1: Behind the Bastards in my two thousand nineteen series It 3 00:00:07,320 --> 00:00:10,959 Speaker 1: Could Happen Here, which was a rather unsparing look at 4 00:00:10,960 --> 00:00:14,600 Speaker 1: the possibility of a second American Civil War. Well, that's 5 00:00:14,600 --> 00:00:16,720 Speaker 1: actually an idea I've been playing around with for a 6 00:00:16,760 --> 00:00:19,200 Speaker 1: long time, ever since I was a young man traveling 7 00:00:19,200 --> 00:00:22,840 Speaker 1: throughout the American Southwest and watching the opening fractures of 8 00:00:22,880 --> 00:00:26,680 Speaker 1: the culture war that currently crypts our country. Starting in 9 00:00:26,680 --> 00:00:29,600 Speaker 1: the mid auts, I began traveling to actual war zones 10 00:00:29,720 --> 00:00:34,280 Speaker 1: and Ukraine, Iraq, and Syria. That further informed my thinking 11 00:00:34,320 --> 00:00:36,520 Speaker 1: on the matter, and I started working on a novel 12 00:00:36,680 --> 00:00:39,120 Speaker 1: called After the Revolution, which you're about to have a 13 00:00:39,200 --> 00:00:42,800 Speaker 1: chance to listen too soon. After the Revolution is set 14 00:00:42,920 --> 00:00:46,960 Speaker 1: in a future United States shattered by Civil War. Most 15 00:00:46,960 --> 00:00:49,800 Speaker 1: of the book takes place in what was once Texas 16 00:00:49,800 --> 00:00:52,920 Speaker 1: and is now an independent republic in the American South. 17 00:00:53,360 --> 00:00:56,200 Speaker 1: It follows three characters, which I'm about to introduce you 18 00:00:56,240 --> 00:01:00,040 Speaker 1: to now. First is Manny, a fixer who lives in 19 00:01:00,080 --> 00:01:05,240 Speaker 1: the independent city of Austin. Manny smiled the way the 20 00:01:05,240 --> 00:01:08,880 Speaker 1: British journalist's face blanched as the old Toyota hit the pothole. 21 00:01:09,280 --> 00:01:12,920 Speaker 1: Reggie wasn't used to bad roads, cars driven by actual humans, 22 00:01:13,319 --> 00:01:15,119 Speaker 1: or the way the heavy metal of the gun mountain 23 00:01:15,160 --> 00:01:18,399 Speaker 1: the truck bed made the aluminum frame grown. That was 24 00:01:18,440 --> 00:01:21,840 Speaker 1: all familiar to Manny. He'd grown up in Siodad de Muerta, 25 00:01:22,120 --> 00:01:25,119 Speaker 1: back before the lake would blast, back when people had 26 00:01:25,160 --> 00:01:28,640 Speaker 1: still called it Dallas. The truck's driver veered around the 27 00:01:28,680 --> 00:01:31,120 Speaker 1: bloated corpse of a large dog lying in the middle 28 00:01:31,120 --> 00:01:33,720 Speaker 1: of the road. Reggie gripped the truck bed with white 29 00:01:33,800 --> 00:01:36,319 Speaker 1: knuckles and eyed the swaying AMMO belt of the twenty 30 00:01:36,319 --> 00:01:39,800 Speaker 1: millimeter cannon like it was a coiled snake. The gunner, 31 00:01:40,000 --> 00:01:44,399 Speaker 1: Manny's cousin, Alejandro, grinned down at the journalist. The suspension's 32 00:01:44,400 --> 00:01:47,919 Speaker 1: a little fucked, yeh. The Briton nodded and turned greener 33 00:01:47,960 --> 00:01:51,400 Speaker 1: when the technical hid another pothole. Many supposed he should 34 00:01:51,440 --> 00:01:53,760 Speaker 1: offer a comforting word to the man. That would be 35 00:01:53,880 --> 00:01:56,680 Speaker 1: good business, but a louder part of him looked at 36 00:01:56,720 --> 00:01:59,560 Speaker 1: Reggie's brand new boots and thought he can stand a 37 00:01:59,560 --> 00:02:03,080 Speaker 1: little discomfort. The journalist would brag about this ride for 38 00:02:03,160 --> 00:02:07,320 Speaker 1: months once he got home, Escorting reporters from the safety 39 00:02:07,320 --> 00:02:10,079 Speaker 1: of Austin to the sundry hotspots of the Old Metroplex 40 00:02:10,240 --> 00:02:13,840 Speaker 1: was not Manny's ideal career. Two years ago, he'd been 41 00:02:13,880 --> 00:02:17,080 Speaker 1: working on a bachelor's in business administration from the University 42 00:02:17,080 --> 00:02:19,639 Speaker 1: of Austin. The plan had been to get a job 43 00:02:19,680 --> 00:02:22,720 Speaker 1: with Ages Biosystems, then charm his way into a working 44 00:02:22,840 --> 00:02:26,120 Speaker 1: visa and a gig in the California Republic. But the 45 00:02:26,160 --> 00:02:28,960 Speaker 1: fighting had started up again and ruined all that. The 46 00:02:29,000 --> 00:02:32,720 Speaker 1: culprit this time was the Heavenly Kingdom, a loose assortment 47 00:02:32,760 --> 00:02:36,240 Speaker 1: of Christian extremist militias. They'd boiled out from the suburbs 48 00:02:36,280 --> 00:02:38,880 Speaker 1: of the Old Metroplex and all but broken the Republic 49 00:02:38,919 --> 00:02:42,800 Speaker 1: of Texas. The Autonomous City of Austin had stabilized the 50 00:02:42,840 --> 00:02:45,600 Speaker 1: situation with the help of an alliance of leftist Texan 51 00:02:45,680 --> 00:02:49,760 Speaker 1: militias the Secular Defense Forces. Beating them back had cost 52 00:02:49,760 --> 00:02:52,200 Speaker 1: a lot in blood and time and forced Manny to 53 00:02:52,280 --> 00:02:55,160 Speaker 1: change every plan he'd ever had for his life. So 54 00:02:55,240 --> 00:02:58,360 Speaker 1: he'd embraced the situation and started his own business, hiring 55 00:02:58,400 --> 00:03:01,679 Speaker 1: on some friends as employees. Together they'd built the best 56 00:03:01,720 --> 00:03:04,960 Speaker 1: network of stringers in North Texas. His boys fed him 57 00:03:05,040 --> 00:03:08,320 Speaker 1: video contacts and news updates, and he sold what he 58 00:03:08,360 --> 00:03:11,640 Speaker 1: could to the big foreign media conglomerates. In a couple 59 00:03:11,720 --> 00:03:13,679 Speaker 1: more months, he'd have enough saved up that he could 60 00:03:13,720 --> 00:03:16,880 Speaker 1: fuck off, fly to Europe and apply for a refugee Viza. 61 00:03:17,360 --> 00:03:19,280 Speaker 1: My aunts are pretty good as long as the war 62 00:03:19,320 --> 00:03:25,440 Speaker 1: doesn't end too soon. Second is Sasha, a girl on 63 00:03:25,480 --> 00:03:28,320 Speaker 1: the verge of adulthood in the American Republic, which makes 64 00:03:28,400 --> 00:03:32,320 Speaker 1: up most of the Northeast coast. She is secretly a 65 00:03:32,400 --> 00:03:35,760 Speaker 1: Christian extremist, planning to leave her home and family behind 66 00:03:35,920 --> 00:03:43,040 Speaker 1: to travel to the Heavenly Kingdom. The drone gun rotated 67 00:03:43,080 --> 00:03:45,880 Speaker 1: on its axis and brought a new, slightly different chunk 68 00:03:45,920 --> 00:03:48,839 Speaker 1: of city escape into view. The world was a dull 69 00:03:48,960 --> 00:03:51,680 Speaker 1: gray green color through the lens of the weapon's camera. 70 00:03:52,280 --> 00:03:55,280 Speaker 1: Once again, there were no humans in sight. That was 71 00:03:55,320 --> 00:03:57,880 Speaker 1: the norm, but Sasha still logged in for her scheduled 72 00:03:57,920 --> 00:04:00,720 Speaker 1: gun time every day. Her pay rants would have been 73 00:04:00,760 --> 00:04:03,200 Speaker 1: mortified if they'd known how she was spending her few 74 00:04:03,240 --> 00:04:06,440 Speaker 1: hours of free time, but she had a good VPN, 75 00:04:06,760 --> 00:04:08,480 Speaker 1: or at least it was good enough to hide her 76 00:04:08,480 --> 00:04:12,320 Speaker 1: activity from her non tech savvy elders. She doubted they'd 77 00:04:12,320 --> 00:04:15,320 Speaker 1: ever suspect her of something like this. Sasha was a 78 00:04:15,360 --> 00:04:18,760 Speaker 1: good student. Her grades guaranteed her admission to the American 79 00:04:18,839 --> 00:04:21,400 Speaker 1: University in d C. At one point, she'd had a 80 00:04:21,400 --> 00:04:24,479 Speaker 1: shot at being her high school's valedictorian and maybe of 81 00:04:24,560 --> 00:04:28,320 Speaker 1: gaining admission to Stanford. But then she discovered the true 82 00:04:28,360 --> 00:04:32,200 Speaker 1: Gospel and given herself to Christ. Her grades were still good, 83 00:04:32,360 --> 00:04:35,160 Speaker 1: but probably not good enough to earn her an educational 84 00:04:35,240 --> 00:04:38,560 Speaker 1: visa to the California Republic. The extra time the old 85 00:04:38,600 --> 00:04:41,279 Speaker 1: heir had dedicated to school was now spent glued to 86 00:04:41,320 --> 00:04:44,560 Speaker 1: a gun camp, browsing live feeds from various Christian militias, 87 00:04:44,600 --> 00:04:47,360 Speaker 1: and reading everything she could from the few pastors brave 88 00:04:47,480 --> 00:04:50,320 Speaker 1: enough to preach the word. The new herd didn't want 89 00:04:50,320 --> 00:04:52,920 Speaker 1: to go to school near San Francisco, capital of what 90 00:04:52,960 --> 00:04:56,839 Speaker 1: Pastor Mike had called the world's most sinful nation. Sasha 91 00:04:56,920 --> 00:04:59,240 Speaker 1: didn't even really want to go to college in d C. 92 00:05:00,040 --> 00:05:03,400 Speaker 1: What was the point? Sash her dad called from the kitchen, 93 00:05:03,680 --> 00:05:07,480 Speaker 1: dinners on cheese Enchilada's. There was still nothing in her 94 00:05:07,520 --> 00:05:09,880 Speaker 1: line of sight. For the eleventh month in a row, 95 00:05:09,960 --> 00:05:12,680 Speaker 1: she was spending sixty five AM fed dollars for the 96 00:05:12,760 --> 00:05:15,159 Speaker 1: privilege of staring through a camera at nothing for a 97 00:05:15,160 --> 00:05:17,919 Speaker 1: half hour a day. Sasha had been warned about this 98 00:05:17,960 --> 00:05:20,680 Speaker 1: when she'd signed up to support the Woodlands Martyrs Brigade. 99 00:05:21,040 --> 00:05:23,880 Speaker 1: Their drone guns didn't see much action. The front had 100 00:05:23,880 --> 00:05:26,800 Speaker 1: been stable for the last year. Rumors said the number 101 00:05:26,839 --> 00:05:29,200 Speaker 1: of backers had even gotten to fire during their turn 102 00:05:29,360 --> 00:05:32,000 Speaker 1: was under a dozen. Sasha had hoped she'd be a 103 00:05:32,000 --> 00:05:35,760 Speaker 1: special case. Something moved. Just as she thought about killing 104 00:05:35,800 --> 00:05:38,839 Speaker 1: the app and going downstairs, something moved across her drones 105 00:05:38,880 --> 00:05:42,000 Speaker 1: field of vision. It happened again, and Sasha realized that 106 00:05:42,000 --> 00:05:45,680 Speaker 1: the somethings were armored soldiers sprinting past her weapon. She 107 00:05:45,800 --> 00:05:48,320 Speaker 1: locked the drone on one and for the first time ever, 108 00:05:48,480 --> 00:05:52,840 Speaker 1: selected the fire approval button. A second went by, then another, 109 00:05:53,200 --> 00:05:56,640 Speaker 1: and then a red box replaced her firing redicule. Target 110 00:05:56,640 --> 00:06:00,960 Speaker 1: declined friendly fire. Sasha her mother called up in that 111 00:06:01,120 --> 00:06:03,960 Speaker 1: grating voice that miant. She was almost frustrated enough to 112 00:06:04,000 --> 00:06:10,320 Speaker 1: start yelling get down here. Next is Roland, an aging 113 00:06:10,400 --> 00:06:12,599 Speaker 1: veteran who lives alone in the desert with a body 114 00:06:12,640 --> 00:06:15,000 Speaker 1: full of U. S. Army cyberware and a head full 115 00:06:15,040 --> 00:06:21,200 Speaker 1: of missing memories. He woke up suddenly aware of two 116 00:06:21,360 --> 00:06:26,279 Speaker 1: equally pressing problems. The acids worn off and eight people 117 00:06:26,320 --> 00:06:29,520 Speaker 1: are here to kill me. Both of these facts concerned 118 00:06:29,600 --> 00:06:32,880 Speaker 1: him equally. He couldn't remember his name or where exactly 119 00:06:32,880 --> 00:06:35,159 Speaker 1: he was, which made the impending killed him all the 120 00:06:35,200 --> 00:06:38,679 Speaker 1: more concerning. He opened his eyes, His vision was blurry 121 00:06:38,680 --> 00:06:42,599 Speaker 1: and unfocused. His head felt filled with sand. Rowland, Oh ship, 122 00:06:42,680 --> 00:06:45,600 Speaker 1: that's my name. Roland wondered how long he'd been asleep. 123 00:06:45,920 --> 00:06:48,760 Speaker 1: He reflexively triggered his deck before the dim firing of 124 00:06:48,800 --> 00:06:51,640 Speaker 1: a synapse reminded him that he'd permanently disabled his datic 125 00:06:51,680 --> 00:06:56,039 Speaker 1: connection well a long time ago. Milion two or twenty 126 00:06:56,080 --> 00:06:59,400 Speaker 1: six minutes his hindbrain, what Roland called the acres of 127 00:06:59,400 --> 00:07:02,880 Speaker 1: microscott processors and data banks, spun into his blood. Spat 128 00:07:02,920 --> 00:07:06,520 Speaker 1: the knowledge out, unbidden into his conscious mind. Roland tried 129 00:07:06,560 --> 00:07:08,520 Speaker 1: to curse, but wound up spitting out a wad of 130 00:07:08,560 --> 00:07:11,960 Speaker 1: brackish flim instead. His eyes settled on a quarter full 131 00:07:12,000 --> 00:07:15,000 Speaker 1: bottle of fungus whiskey. He grabbed it, drained it, and 132 00:07:15,080 --> 00:07:17,360 Speaker 1: rooted around on the table where he'd found it until 133 00:07:17,400 --> 00:07:19,960 Speaker 1: his digging turned up a sheet of acid. He ripped 134 00:07:20,000 --> 00:07:22,400 Speaker 1: the sheet in half, ate one half and pasted the 135 00:07:22,440 --> 00:07:26,080 Speaker 1: other on his sweat damp chest. Roland's brain didn't wait 136 00:07:26,120 --> 00:07:29,120 Speaker 1: for the acid to do its job. Nano machines couriered 137 00:07:29,160 --> 00:07:32,840 Speaker 1: the lysurgic diethyl acid directly to his synapses. The drugs 138 00:07:32,840 --> 00:07:35,480 Speaker 1: took cold in a matter of seconds. Acid softened the 139 00:07:35,480 --> 00:07:38,920 Speaker 1: world around him. His hindbrains running commentary faded into a 140 00:07:38,960 --> 00:07:42,400 Speaker 1: sort of generalized hyper awareness of the world around him. 141 00:07:42,440 --> 00:07:46,720 Speaker 1: He sighed, relaxed, and remembered. Woman hovered over him, her 142 00:07:46,720 --> 00:07:48,920 Speaker 1: hands on his shoulders, her knees on either side of 143 00:07:48,920 --> 00:07:51,600 Speaker 1: his body. Sweat dripped down from her short black hair 144 00:07:51,680 --> 00:07:54,239 Speaker 1: onto his face and chest. Her pupils were the size 145 00:07:54,240 --> 00:07:57,920 Speaker 1: of dinner plates. She smelled like acid and desire. She smiled, 146 00:07:58,120 --> 00:08:01,960 Speaker 1: revealing a row of Damascus steel. Heath Roland pulled himself 147 00:08:02,000 --> 00:08:04,600 Speaker 1: out of the memory. He felt the strike team advance. 148 00:08:04,800 --> 00:08:08,080 Speaker 1: His hindbrain generated a map of the approaching assassins. They 149 00:08:08,120 --> 00:08:10,640 Speaker 1: were still a solid minute from his hovel. There were 150 00:08:10,680 --> 00:08:13,160 Speaker 1: six men and two women on the team. If he'd 151 00:08:13,160 --> 00:08:15,560 Speaker 1: wanted a micro seconds focus could have told him which 152 00:08:15,600 --> 00:08:18,200 Speaker 1: members of the group were vegetarians, where two of the 153 00:08:18,240 --> 00:08:21,000 Speaker 1: team were on their minstrel cycles and how recently each 154 00:08:21,040 --> 00:08:23,840 Speaker 1: of their firearms had been cleaned and oiled. But Roland 155 00:08:23,880 --> 00:08:26,720 Speaker 1: didn't care about that information. He was trying to remember 156 00:08:26,720 --> 00:08:31,640 Speaker 1: where he'd left his gun. Listen to After the Revolution 157 00:08:31,720 --> 00:08:34,880 Speaker 1: every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday on the I Heart Radio app, 158 00:08:34,960 --> 00:08:38,280 Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to podcasts.