WEBVTT - After the Revolution: Chapters One & Two 0:00:00.760 --> 0:00:02.920 Make sure to check out Drink Champs, your number one 0:00:03.000 --> 0:00:06.320 music podcast. On the Black Effect Podcast Network, host n O. 0:00:06.519 --> 0:00:08.319 R E and d J E f N sat down 0:00:08.320 --> 0:00:11.200 with artists and icon Yea, which Vulture called one of 0:00:12.200 --> 0:00:16.280 most significant interviews. I literally had to go like Danos 0:00:16.320 --> 0:00:17.720 and I don't want to have to be the villain. 0:00:18.000 --> 0:00:21.000 But when I went and did the Donda thing, he 0:00:21.120 --> 0:00:24.560 returned and anybody had to sit back and watch the 0:00:24.640 --> 0:00:27.600 real leader. Check out Drink Champs conversation with Yea and 0:00:27.680 --> 0:00:30.560 many more legendary artists each and every Friday on the 0:00:30.600 --> 0:00:33.120 I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or where ever you 0:00:33.159 --> 0:00:38.320 listen to your favorite shows. Hey Leathal listeners, take here. 0:00:38.600 --> 0:00:41.760 Last season on Lethal Lit, you might remember, I came 0:00:41.800 --> 0:00:45.520 to Hollow Falls on a mission clearing my aunt Best's 0:00:45.560 --> 0:00:50.599 name and making sure justice was finally served. But I 0:00:50.640 --> 0:00:53.720 hadn't counted on a rash of new murders tearing apart 0:00:53.760 --> 0:00:57.920 the town. My mission put myself and my friends in danger. 0:00:58.640 --> 0:01:02.360 Though it wasn't all bad, I'm going to be real 0:01:02.400 --> 0:01:06.800 ify Tig. I like you, but now all signs point 0:01:06.880 --> 0:01:10.120 to a new serial killer in Hollow Falls. If this 0:01:10.200 --> 0:01:13.520 game is just starting, you better believe I'm gonna win. 0:01:14.920 --> 0:01:19.800 I'm tig Torres and this is Lethal Lit. Catch up 0:01:19.800 --> 0:01:22.559 on season one of the hit murder mystery podcast Lethal Lit, 0:01:22.560 --> 0:01:25.360 a tig Torre's mystery out now, and then tune in 0:01:25.440 --> 0:01:28.160 for all new thrills in season two, dropping weekly starting 0:01:28.200 --> 0:01:31.560 February nine. Subscribe now to never miss an episode. Listen 0:01:31.600 --> 0:01:33.399 to Leave the Lit on the I Heart Radio app, 0:01:33.480 --> 0:01:38.640 Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Look for 0:01:38.720 --> 0:01:42.080 your children's eyes and you will discover the true magic 0:01:42.400 --> 0:01:45.800 of a forest. Find a forest near you and start 0:01:45.840 --> 0:01:49.000 exploring it. Discover the forest dot Org, brought to you 0:01:49.040 --> 0:01:51.680 by the United States Forest Service and the AD Council 0:01:53.760 --> 0:02:03.200 After the Revolution. Richardson, Republic of Texas, Chapter one. Mannie 0:02:03.960 --> 0:02:07.360 Mannie smiled the way the British journalist's face blanched as 0:02:07.360 --> 0:02:10.400 the old Toyota hit the pothole. Reggie wasn't used to 0:02:10.440 --> 0:02:13.760 bad roads, cars driven by actual humans, or the way 0:02:13.800 --> 0:02:15.560 the heavy metal of the gun mount and the truck 0:02:15.600 --> 0:02:19.119 bed made the aluminum frame groan. That was all familiar 0:02:19.160 --> 0:02:22.359 to Mannie. He'd grown up in Siodad de Muerta, back 0:02:22.400 --> 0:02:25.480 before the lake would blast, back when people had still 0:02:25.520 --> 0:02:29.080 called it Dallice. The truck's driver veered around the bloated 0:02:29.120 --> 0:02:31.240 corpse of a large dog lying in the middle of 0:02:31.240 --> 0:02:34.240 the road. Reggie gripped the truck bed with white knuckles 0:02:34.240 --> 0:02:36.840 and eyed the swaying ammo belt of the twenty millimeter 0:02:36.960 --> 0:02:41.320 cannon like it was a coiled snake. The gunner, Mannie's cousin, Alejandro, 0:02:41.639 --> 0:02:45.079 grinned down at the journalist. The suspeneon's a little fockt 0:02:45.120 --> 0:02:48.200 ye eh. The brit nodded and turned greener. When the 0:02:48.240 --> 0:02:51.760 technical hid another pothole. Mannie supposed he should offer a 0:02:51.760 --> 0:02:54.760 comforting word to the man. That would be good business, 0:02:55.360 --> 0:02:57.440 but a louder part of him looked at Reggie's brand 0:02:57.440 --> 0:03:00.639 new boots and thought he can stand a little comfort. 0:03:01.120 --> 0:03:03.760 The journalist would brag about this ride for months once 0:03:03.760 --> 0:03:07.800 he got home. Escorting reporters from the safety of Austin 0:03:07.880 --> 0:03:10.560 to the sundry hotspots of the old Metroplex was not 0:03:10.840 --> 0:03:14.320 Manny's ideal career. Two years ago, he'd been working on 0:03:14.360 --> 0:03:17.640 a bachelor's in business administration from the University of Austin. 0:03:18.200 --> 0:03:21.080 The plan had been to get a job with Ages Biosystems, 0:03:21.160 --> 0:03:23.440 then charm his way into a working visa and a 0:03:23.440 --> 0:03:27.040 gig in the California Republic, but the fighting had started 0:03:27.080 --> 0:03:30.120 up again and ruined all that. The culprit this time 0:03:30.200 --> 0:03:34.400 was the Heavenly Kingdom, a loose assortment of Christian extremist militias. 0:03:34.800 --> 0:03:37.360 They'd boiled out from the suburbs of the old Metroplex 0:03:37.400 --> 0:03:41.040 and all but broken the Republic of Texas. The Autonomous 0:03:41.080 --> 0:03:43.920 City of Austin had stabilized the situation with the help 0:03:43.960 --> 0:03:47.920 of an alliance of leftist Texan militias, the Secular Defense Forces. 0:03:48.560 --> 0:03:50.760 Beating them back had cost a lot in blood and 0:03:50.800 --> 0:03:53.600 time and forced Manny to change every plan he'd ever 0:03:53.680 --> 0:03:56.680 had for his life. So he'd embraced the situation and 0:03:56.720 --> 0:03:59.920 started his own business, hiring on some friends as employees. 0:04:00.480 --> 0:04:04.120 Together they'd built the best network of stringers in North Texas. 0:04:04.160 --> 0:04:07.480 His boys fed him video contacts and news updates, and 0:04:07.560 --> 0:04:10.720 he sold what he could to the big foreign media conglomerates. 0:04:11.200 --> 0:04:13.280 In a couple more months, he'd have enough saved up 0:04:13.320 --> 0:04:15.600 that he could fuck off, fly to Europe and apply 0:04:15.760 --> 0:04:18.760 for a refugee visa. My ans are pretty good as 0:04:18.760 --> 0:04:22.040 long as the war doesn't end too soon. The technical 0:04:22.160 --> 0:04:24.400 rolled to a creaky stop in front of a checkpoint 0:04:24.400 --> 0:04:26.839 that had clearly been erected within the last few days. 0:04:27.279 --> 0:04:30.400 It was just a collapsible electronic gate and two sandbag 0:04:30.440 --> 0:04:33.679 emplacements on either side of the battered highway. A street 0:04:33.720 --> 0:04:36.400 sign nearby announced that they were on the edge of Richardson, 0:04:36.680 --> 0:04:39.719 formerly a suburb of Dallas and currently a forward position 0:04:39.760 --> 0:04:44.239 of the People's Protection Army, a local anarchist militia. Manny 0:04:44.320 --> 0:04:47.440 could see the p PA's red black triangle emblem stitched 0:04:47.480 --> 0:04:50.960 onto the jackets of the soldiers guarding the checkpoint. One 0:04:50.960 --> 0:04:53.080 of the p PA men walked up to the driver's 0:04:53.080 --> 0:04:56.479 side window and started chatting with Philip, the driver. Phil 0:04:56.560 --> 0:04:59.559 and Manny's cousin Alejandro were both with the Citizens Front, 0:04:59.800 --> 0:05:02.560 a more or less a political militia from the suburbs 0:05:02.600 --> 0:05:06.200 of Austin. Both militias co existed under the broad umbrella 0:05:06.279 --> 0:05:09.960 of the Secular Defense Forces. The SDF had been organized 0:05:09.960 --> 0:05:12.800 by the Canadian government to lump all of North Texas's 0:05:12.800 --> 0:05:15.720 palatable militant groups into a single package that could be 0:05:15.760 --> 0:05:19.440 conveniently armed. While the first guard talk with Philip, his 0:05:19.520 --> 0:05:21.640 partner did a circuit around the back of the truck. 0:05:22.080 --> 0:05:25.000 The man was big, bulging, with muscles so sculpted and 0:05:25.040 --> 0:05:27.599 prominent they had to be vat grown, and he moved 0:05:27.640 --> 0:05:30.000 with the twitchy ungrace of a man who replaced his 0:05:30.040 --> 0:05:33.359 nervous system with circuitry. His weapon was a very old, 0:05:33.520 --> 0:05:36.240 very battered a R fifteen with an M two four 0:05:36.320 --> 0:05:39.600 three grenade launcher below the barrel. The latter was old 0:05:39.720 --> 0:05:42.760 U S military gear. The former had been someone's toy 0:05:42.880 --> 0:05:46.200 before the Revolution gave America's half billion civilian guns a 0:05:46.240 --> 0:05:49.200 new riis on debt. The man moved back to the 0:05:49.240 --> 0:05:51.839 barricades when he had finished his lap. Reggie looked up 0:05:51.839 --> 0:05:54.919 at Manny and asked, was he a Was he chromed? 0:05:55.520 --> 0:05:58.240 Manny smiled. That was always one of the first questions. 0:05:58.279 --> 0:06:00.560 As soon as any foreign journal saw trooper with a 0:06:00.600 --> 0:06:03.440 large enough billed skin with an off shade, or who 0:06:03.480 --> 0:06:06.159 just moved a little too fast to seem completely right. 0:06:06.839 --> 0:06:10.400 Anything beyond basic aesthetic and medical modifications were banned. In 0:06:10.440 --> 0:06:14.960 civilized countries like the UK. The real chrome, the implants 0:06:15.000 --> 0:06:16.640 that would let a man lift a truck or take 0:06:16.640 --> 0:06:19.520 a rocket to the belly that ship was locked up tight. 0:06:19.960 --> 0:06:22.799 A few national militaries even used the stuff these days, 0:06:23.320 --> 0:06:27.120 not after the revolution. He's got some fat, grown muscles, 0:06:27.160 --> 0:06:29.719 Manny said, in an off handed way that suggested such 0:06:29.760 --> 0:06:33.400 things were common aftermarket nerves too. Probably his stuff is 0:06:33.440 --> 0:06:37.159 low grade, that's why it's so visible. Reggie nodded, his 0:06:37.200 --> 0:06:39.960 eyes stayed locked on the big man. He was quiet 0:06:39.960 --> 0:06:43.320 for a while before he spoke again. You just live 0:06:43.400 --> 0:06:47.719 right alongside them, don't you. Manny shrugged. Everybody's got something 0:06:47.720 --> 0:06:49.680 out here and the wet wears, but lets us hold 0:06:49.680 --> 0:06:51.800 back the martyrs. They own the whole city if it 0:06:51.800 --> 0:06:55.159 weren't for half fats like him. The journalist nodded, and 0:06:55.200 --> 0:06:58.000 his gaze stayed fixed upon the militiaman until a troubled 0:06:58.000 --> 0:07:01.440 look crossed his face. He glanced back to Manny. Are 0:07:01.480 --> 0:07:06.120 you all chromed, Reggie asked. Manny smiled. I don't expect 0:07:06.120 --> 0:07:08.520 either of us as stock sabien eh, but I doubt 0:07:08.560 --> 0:07:12.280 I've got anything you don't. Reggie seemed somewhat comforted by this. 0:07:13.000 --> 0:07:15.200 Most of what I've read about the really heavy mods 0:07:15.200 --> 0:07:18.600 says they cause a lot of well unstable behavior. That's 0:07:18.640 --> 0:07:21.640 why that's why this city such as ship Hole, Manny asked. 0:07:22.240 --> 0:07:25.280 The journalist had the grace to blush. Manny looked away 0:07:25.320 --> 0:07:27.760 for a moment. His eyes landed on the bones of 0:07:27.800 --> 0:07:31.440 three large public housing buildings. A barrel bomb had detonated 0:07:31.440 --> 0:07:33.720 in the center of the courtyard. All three shared. It 0:07:33.760 --> 0:07:36.360 had peeled away the walls, some of the floors, and 0:07:36.360 --> 0:07:40.000 the resulting firestorm had burned up everything that wasn't concrete, steel, 0:07:40.120 --> 0:07:43.360 or rebar For just a moment, many felt bad about 0:07:43.360 --> 0:07:47.040 hoping the war hung on. At other six months, the 0:07:47.080 --> 0:07:49.600 old government blamed a lot on roided up veterans with 0:07:49.640 --> 0:07:53.760 military grade mods. He told Reggie. Most was just propaganda, 0:07:53.960 --> 0:07:56.760 fear mongering. People were pissed after twenty years of plague, 0:07:56.760 --> 0:08:00.440 disaster and poverty. Manny shrugged, It's true, a lot of 0:08:00.480 --> 0:08:03.040 chromed up vets turned on the government. You can't make 0:08:03.040 --> 0:08:05.440 men into gods and expect them to keep fighting from men, 0:08:06.280 --> 0:08:09.200 Reggie pointed back to the bolding militiaman, I take it, 0:08:09.320 --> 0:08:12.800 muscles there is pretty far from a god, nah, Manny laughed. 0:08:12.840 --> 0:08:15.280 He's just a guy with too much meat money. Gods 0:08:15.320 --> 0:08:19.120 don't man checkpoints. The brit was excited. Now. These were 0:08:19.120 --> 0:08:21.600 the questions he'd wanted to ask since they met yesterday. 0:08:22.120 --> 0:08:24.200 Do you know where some of those people are. Reggie 0:08:24.240 --> 0:08:26.480 couldn't keep the excitement out of his voice. Could we 0:08:26.520 --> 0:08:29.920 talk to them? Manny didn't have any of those contacts, 0:08:30.080 --> 0:08:32.480 nor did he know any other fixers who did. He 0:08:32.559 --> 0:08:35.120 tried to let the Brit down easy. Most of those 0:08:35.120 --> 0:08:38.720 folks live on the road in between the civilized parts 0:08:38.720 --> 0:08:43.359 of Texas and the Republic of California, oh. Reggie looked disappointed. 0:08:43.520 --> 0:08:46.160 The truck rolled past the wreckage of an old Catholic school. 0:08:46.400 --> 0:08:50.559 It bore signs of being fortified, destroyed, refortified, and redestroyed 0:08:50.600 --> 0:08:54.400 several times. The Brit was inches from asking another question 0:08:54.440 --> 0:08:56.480 when the gate man waved them on, and the battered 0:08:56.480 --> 0:08:59.880 Toyota farted its way into drive, belching and complaining past 0:09:00.040 --> 0:09:02.920 network of potholes until it hit a relatively straight chunk 0:09:02.920 --> 0:09:06.800 of asphalt. Only a few minutes now. Hef a. Manny said, 0:09:07.120 --> 0:09:09.760 the p PA's forward position is about five minutes out. 0:09:10.160 --> 0:09:13.040 He'll be in the ship then, or at least sit adjacent. 0:09:13.800 --> 0:09:16.640 The journalist's face washed over in an even mix of 0:09:16.679 --> 0:09:19.840 anxiety and pride. One of the first lessons Manny had 0:09:19.920 --> 0:09:22.240 learned at this job was that phrases like the ship 0:09:22.280 --> 0:09:26.920 made rich Gringo writers unreasonably excited. An excited journalists always 0:09:26.920 --> 0:09:29.679 called Manny the next time they were in country, giving 0:09:29.679 --> 0:09:32.040 white kids and keffee as a lifetime of bragging rights. 0:09:32.040 --> 0:09:34.199 For surviving a couple of days in his home killed 0:09:34.200 --> 0:09:37.120 his soul just a little bit, but Manny pushed down 0:09:37.160 --> 0:09:39.320 the anger and told himself that a chip on the 0:09:39.320 --> 0:09:41.800 shoulder was a lot less useful than money in the bank. 0:09:42.640 --> 0:09:45.680 The Technical rolled off the old highway. Manny could see 0:09:45.720 --> 0:09:48.560 twenty three and Spring Valley Road and blasmed on a 0:09:48.600 --> 0:09:52.360 weather beaten, bullet scarred sign. The Technical pulled to the right, 0:09:52.600 --> 0:09:55.640 the guns swayed in its mount Manny couldn't help smiling 0:09:55.679 --> 0:09:58.680 as the brit instinctively pulled away from it. They rolled 0:09:58.720 --> 0:10:00.360 up to what had once been a strip hall and 0:10:00.440 --> 0:10:03.600 was now a forward operating base for the People's Protection Army. 0:10:04.080 --> 0:10:07.040 An old laundromat, a bookstore, and a half dozen restaurants 0:10:07.080 --> 0:10:09.560 now had their roofs ringed with barbed wire and machine 0:10:09.559 --> 0:10:12.600 gun emplacements. Manny could see a line of bullet hole 0:10:12.640 --> 0:10:15.520 stitched across three of the shops. None of the windows 0:10:15.559 --> 0:10:18.120 were intact, but otherwise the buildings had weathered the war 0:10:18.280 --> 0:10:22.280 rather well. Three M one ninety eight howitzers were parked 0:10:22.320 --> 0:10:24.400 next to a taco shop that had once served the 0:10:24.440 --> 0:10:27.360 local college kid's beer and cheap grub. There was a 0:10:27.360 --> 0:10:29.360 flagpole out in front of the shop, and from it 0:10:29.440 --> 0:10:32.000 hung the blue and white starburst flag of the SDF. 0:10:32.760 --> 0:10:35.600 Three men in uniforms stood waiting as the old Toyota 0:10:35.679 --> 0:10:39.560 rolled to a stop and Manny and Reggie disembarked. Two 0:10:39.559 --> 0:10:41.319 of the men were officers in the p P, a 0:10:41.640 --> 0:10:45.760 Colonel Jacob Milgram and Major Deshaun Clark. Milgram was a boring, 0:10:45.880 --> 0:10:48.160 tight lipped nerdy type, but De Shaun was one of 0:10:48.160 --> 0:10:51.440 Manny's favorite sources. He was an old infantry guy, a 0:10:51.480 --> 0:10:54.040 consummate brawler with a face full of scars, and three 0:10:54.080 --> 0:10:56.880 published books of poetry to his name. He actually had 0:10:56.880 --> 0:11:00.600 a base of international fans, mostly in Spain. The third 0:11:00.600 --> 0:11:04.640 man was Hamid Mohammed, an adviser from Syrian Kurdistan. The 0:11:04.679 --> 0:11:06.880 Curds had been giving aid to the Sundry militias of 0:11:06.920 --> 0:11:10.440 the Secular Defense Forces for years now. Manny considered Hamid 0:11:10.600 --> 0:11:14.000 almost a local. He shook hands with Jacob since Manny 0:11:14.080 --> 0:11:16.040 knew Deshaun better. He met the man with a full 0:11:16.080 --> 0:11:18.440 embrace and used it as an opportunity to palm the 0:11:18.480 --> 0:11:21.600 major a packet of his favorite cigarettes. Deshaun gave him 0:11:21.600 --> 0:11:24.360 a wink and a smile. Manny shook Hamed's hand next, 0:11:24.520 --> 0:11:27.079 and then kissed him on the cheek. Amid returned the kiss, 0:11:27.160 --> 0:11:29.959 clapped him on the shoulder, and said, Emmanuel, my friend, 0:11:30.120 --> 0:11:32.599 you really should get out of this business. One of 0:11:32.640 --> 0:11:35.000 these days you'll come up here and it won't be safe. 0:11:35.960 --> 0:11:38.120 Mannie frowned a little at the use of his birth name, 0:11:38.240 --> 0:11:40.040 but he didn't make an issue out of the matter. 0:11:40.440 --> 0:11:42.640 There's still a war on, right, he smiled at Hamid. 0:11:42.840 --> 0:11:45.120 He'll get that ship under control. Maybe I'll work a 0:11:45.160 --> 0:11:48.400 straight job again. Not too soon, though, he thought. The 0:11:48.480 --> 0:11:50.559 least this work can do was last long enough to 0:11:50.600 --> 0:11:54.360 get me out of Texas. Hamid smiled back, and Manny 0:11:54.440 --> 0:11:58.280 introduced Reggie to the officers. The journalist was clearly awkward 0:11:58.280 --> 0:12:00.600 in that special way Manny had come to expect from 0:12:00.600 --> 0:12:03.800 new war correspondents. It was the norm for young writers 0:12:03.840 --> 0:12:07.040 to be intimidated by grizzled military men. Some of them 0:12:07.080 --> 0:12:09.360 got over that Manny had worked with a middle aged 0:12:09.440 --> 0:12:12.040 der Schpiegel reporter last week, could probably take in as 0:12:12.120 --> 0:12:16.040 much incoming fire as Major Clark. Colonel Milgram led them 0:12:16.040 --> 0:12:19.520 into the militarized taco shop. A brief blast of nostalgia 0:12:19.600 --> 0:12:23.040 squeezed Manny's lungs. The place had obviously been closed since 0:12:23.080 --> 0:12:26.120 the revolution. The drink specials and meal prices printed on 0:12:26.120 --> 0:12:28.560 the wall were given in U S dollars, a currency 0:12:28.600 --> 0:12:32.480 as dead as the last American president. Many recognized ads 0:12:32.520 --> 0:12:35.280 for bands and movies he remembered from his childhood. The 0:12:35.320 --> 0:12:38.120 glass facade had shattered years ago. The kitchen had been 0:12:38.160 --> 0:12:41.360 gutted and replaced by wall length screens displaying maps of 0:12:41.400 --> 0:12:44.079 the city. At least a dozen uniformed men and women 0:12:44.120 --> 0:12:47.680 milled around the space in small groups. He and Reggie 0:12:47.720 --> 0:12:50.000 sat down at a long picnic table with Hamid and 0:12:50.040 --> 0:12:53.440 the two officers. Reggie set his camera up on the table. 0:12:53.880 --> 0:12:56.360 It was just a small silver sphere, but Manny knew 0:12:56.360 --> 0:12:58.920 it could record everything happening around it at a higher 0:12:58.920 --> 0:13:02.640 resolution than the human i and orderly brought in three beers, 0:13:02.840 --> 0:13:05.680 shiner box from Austin and one dark brown tea and 0:13:05.720 --> 0:13:08.959 a glass cup for hummade the brit raised his glass 0:13:08.960 --> 0:13:11.280 in a friendly salute, thank you for meeting with me, 0:13:11.800 --> 0:13:14.719 and then he started to ask questions. Manny leaned back 0:13:14.760 --> 0:13:17.160 in his chair and enjoyed a long gulp of cold beer. 0:13:17.400 --> 0:13:20.320 If he wasn't needed to translate, he generally checked out 0:13:20.360 --> 0:13:23.240 during interviews. He used the free time to activate his 0:13:23.320 --> 0:13:25.160 deck and check in on the two stringers he had 0:13:25.200 --> 0:13:28.400 working right now. David Allenby was up in Addison today, 0:13:28.480 --> 0:13:31.280 taking a Californian documentary crew on a tour of an 0:13:31.320 --> 0:13:34.400 SDF training facility. He'd messaged Manny to let him know 0:13:34.440 --> 0:13:38.160 they'd gotten through the checkpoints without any issue. Oscar Martinez 0:13:38.200 --> 0:13:40.720 didn't have any journalists with him. He was embedded with 0:13:40.720 --> 0:13:43.800 a Republic of Texas police unit getting footage from inside 0:13:43.800 --> 0:13:47.559 a neighborhood that had recently been liberated from the Heavenly Kingdom. 0:13:47.600 --> 0:13:50.280 There were no new messages from Oscar. His last check 0:13:50.320 --> 0:13:52.959 in had been the night before. It was probably nothing, 0:13:53.000 --> 0:13:55.880 but it concerned Manning. Nonetheless, what if Oscar got a 0:13:55.880 --> 0:13:58.800 better offer for his footage. He'd always been loyal before, 0:13:58.880 --> 0:14:01.840 but if that funk from the Areadian had gotten to him. 0:14:01.880 --> 0:14:05.280 I'm interested in the Abrams Road bombing, Reggie told the colonel, 0:14:05.360 --> 0:14:08.200 and many's attentions swung back to his reporter. That's an 0:14:08.200 --> 0:14:10.880 odd thing to ask about. The bombing had occurred two 0:14:10.880 --> 0:14:13.280 weeks back. It had been big news for a couple 0:14:13.280 --> 0:14:15.760 of hours. Manny had paid one of his contacts and 0:14:15.840 --> 0:14:17.800 rossa front for a video of a walk through of 0:14:17.800 --> 0:14:20.800 the wreckage. It had brought in about three grand profit. 0:14:21.840 --> 0:14:25.240 The Abrams Road bombing was not a martyrdom operation. Colonel 0:14:25.240 --> 0:14:29.480 Milgram sounded almost angry, terribly sorry. Reggie said, you're right, 0:14:29.480 --> 0:14:33.200 of course, there was no driver, so no martyr right right, 0:14:33.360 --> 0:14:36.080 Deshaun Clark said. He pulled a folded piece of white 0:14:36.080 --> 0:14:38.400 paper out of his pocket, opened it up, and smoothed 0:14:38.400 --> 0:14:40.400 it out on the table. It was a map of 0:14:40.440 --> 0:14:43.360 the df W area, color coded to show the positions 0:14:43.360 --> 0:14:46.440 of the various militias in the region. We operate eight 0:14:46.520 --> 0:14:49.440 checkpoints on that part of the Richardson line, DeShawn said, 0:14:49.480 --> 0:14:51.720 as he pointed to each one. Five of them border 0:14:51.800 --> 0:14:55.840 Republic controlled territory. The traffic from there is mostly autonomous, 0:14:55.840 --> 0:14:59.080 and those vehicles slaved themselves to our traffic management system 0:14:59.280 --> 0:15:02.600 before they can in our territory. The other three checkpoints 0:15:02.640 --> 0:15:06.240 border territory controlled by the martyrs. They don't see much traffic, 0:15:06.280 --> 0:15:09.560 and they're all heavily manned. Reggie was quiet for a 0:15:09.600 --> 0:15:12.160 few seconds. Manny could almost hear the gears turning in 0:15:12.200 --> 0:15:14.320 the journalist's head as he struggled to find the words 0:15:14.320 --> 0:15:17.080 for his next question. Would it be fair to say 0:15:17.120 --> 0:15:21.280 the autonomous checkpoints are less secure? Then, Deshaun smiled a thin, 0:15:21.520 --> 0:15:25.600 quiet smile. Amid grimace. Colonel Milgram responded in a terse voice. 0:15:25.960 --> 0:15:30.240 The autonomous checkpoints have fewer defenders, but they border republic territory. 0:15:30.480 --> 0:15:32.480 The martyrs haven't pulled off an attack on one in 0:15:32.560 --> 0:15:36.160 quite some time. Was Abrams Road not on such attack? 0:15:36.360 --> 0:15:39.720 Reggie looked eager now, like a hound, following assent. We 0:15:39.760 --> 0:15:42.720 don't know who bombed Agram's Road, Colonel Milgram said, No 0:15:42.760 --> 0:15:46.240 one's taken credit, but we doubt it was the martyrs. Why, 0:15:46.600 --> 0:15:49.640 the journalist asked, Manny leaned in a little interested, in 0:15:49.680 --> 0:15:53.280 spite of himself, at where this was all going to lead. Perhaps, 0:15:53.400 --> 0:15:56.000 Amid said, you should read a bit more about this 0:15:56.120 --> 0:16:00.360 Heavenly Kingdom. They reject all autonomous technology. They even use 0:16:00.400 --> 0:16:03.440 remote human pilots for their drones like it's two thousand 0:16:03.440 --> 0:16:06.600 and fucking three. That's why our skies are always clear. 0:16:06.920 --> 0:16:10.840 We jammed them. Reggie asked, is it possible they found 0:16:10.880 --> 0:16:14.360 some way to hack your defense system? Hamid laughed, we 0:16:14.480 --> 0:16:17.160 bought this system from the Israelis. If you're telling me 0:16:17.200 --> 0:16:19.200 one of the Martyrs Brigades has a hacker who can 0:16:19.240 --> 0:16:23.000 crack that, then I'm the King of Albuquerque. But something 0:16:23.080 --> 0:16:27.800 still went wrong, Reggie insisted. Hamid smile turned cold. This 0:16:27.960 --> 0:16:32.840 is war, Mr Reggie, It's mostly things going wrong. That's 0:16:32.840 --> 0:16:35.720 where the line of questions petered out. Reggie asked them 0:16:35.720 --> 0:16:38.480 for access to the security footage from the destroyed checkpoint, 0:16:38.680 --> 0:16:41.800 and Colonel Milgram agreed to send it over. We'd like 0:16:41.840 --> 0:16:45.200 to speak to the survivors as well, if possible, Manny interjected, 0:16:45.360 --> 0:16:47.840 not waiting to see if the journalist would ask. He 0:16:47.920 --> 0:16:50.040 knew those men were all stationed behind the line now, 0:16:50.080 --> 0:16:52.200 which would make for a safer, easier rest of the 0:16:52.240 --> 0:16:55.560 day than heading up to the wire, of course, Colonel 0:16:55.600 --> 0:16:58.520 Milgram said, with a smile to Manny. They said their goodbyes, 0:16:58.560 --> 0:17:01.120 and then Major Clark walked them out to their waiting Toyota. 0:17:01.560 --> 0:17:03.800 The Texas heat hit like an oven as they exited, 0:17:03.880 --> 0:17:05.879 and Manny was glad they'd be spending most of the 0:17:05.880 --> 0:17:08.920 rest of their day in doors. Deshaun clapped a hand 0:17:08.920 --> 0:17:11.399 on Manny's shoulder as he lit one of his new cigarettes. 0:17:11.880 --> 0:17:14.280 It's good to see you, Emmanuel, he said, and then 0:17:14.320 --> 0:17:16.679 he smiled at Reggie, and it's nice to meet you, 0:17:16.760 --> 0:17:19.320 my British friend. I'm sorry you've come to the front 0:17:19.359 --> 0:17:24.520 at a boring time. Why, Reggie asked, Because this Deshaun 0:17:24.640 --> 0:17:27.280 gestured at the gun emplacements and loitering militiamen of the 0:17:27.359 --> 0:17:31.920 command post. This is not war, not really. Your job 0:17:32.000 --> 0:17:34.600 is to help your people, children of peace and plenty, 0:17:34.960 --> 0:17:37.920 understand what is going on here. You must teach them 0:17:37.920 --> 0:17:40.800 the language of war. And to paraphrase a dead poet, 0:17:41.080 --> 0:17:43.600 the language of war is a language made of blood. 0:17:43.920 --> 0:17:47.199 To be spoken, it must be earned. There was an 0:17:47.240 --> 0:17:49.639 awkward pause, a little of the blood drained from the 0:17:49.680 --> 0:17:53.160 journalist's face. Hugh Nutty, Old fuck, Manny thought, with more 0:17:53.200 --> 0:17:56.960 amusement than fear. Classic DeShawn, he said, and laughed to 0:17:57.000 --> 0:17:59.920 ease the tension. The major bid them both a good day, 0:18:00.240 --> 0:18:02.960 hugged Manny, and sauntered off back to the command post. 0:18:03.400 --> 0:18:05.879 Smoke from his cigarette curled up into the air behind 0:18:05.960 --> 0:18:08.639 him as he walked. Manny's eyes lingered on it for 0:18:08.640 --> 0:18:11.560 a second before he turned back to Reggie. Ready to go, 0:18:11.840 --> 0:18:16.480 he asked Chipper as he could manage. Three hours, a 0:18:16.520 --> 0:18:19.560 handful of interviews, and one short drive later, Manny and 0:18:19.560 --> 0:18:22.320 Reggie arrived at their home for the night. The Richardson 0:18:22.400 --> 0:18:26.239 Autonomous Project, once a Walmart, now a twenty two year 0:18:26.280 --> 0:18:29.840 old experiment and sustainable urban living. The project was the 0:18:29.880 --> 0:18:33.080 furthest island of civilization on the sd F side of 0:18:33.119 --> 0:18:37.000 the Front. Its militias steadfastly refused to involve themselves in 0:18:37.000 --> 0:18:40.320 the region's greater conflicts. They'd been targeted a few times 0:18:40.359 --> 0:18:43.840 by the Heavenly Kingdom. The sd F, by contrast, left 0:18:43.880 --> 0:18:46.479 them alone, so when a fixer like Manny found himself 0:18:46.480 --> 0:18:48.520 on the wrong side of the L B J Freeway 0:18:48.560 --> 0:18:52.440 after dark, he could usually trust the project to provide food, booze, 0:18:52.440 --> 0:18:56.760 and shelter for a price. Of course, sleeping arrangements in 0:18:56.800 --> 0:18:59.440 the project were broadly communal. The bulk of the old 0:18:59.440 --> 0:19:02.120 Walmart had been converted into an indoor meadow with grow 0:19:02.200 --> 0:19:04.879 lights hanging from the rafters and a wide, lush field 0:19:04.880 --> 0:19:08.320 of native grass sprawling across most of the inhabited space. 0:19:08.920 --> 0:19:12.320 Fruit trees, bushes full of berries, cannabis, plants, and copses 0:19:12.359 --> 0:19:15.399 of bamboo lined the edges of the space. The center 0:19:15.400 --> 0:19:18.240 of the field was dominated by a large circular kitchen 0:19:18.280 --> 0:19:22.199 surrounded by a handsome oaken bar. Table tables, gazebos, and 0:19:22.200 --> 0:19:25.440 sundry personal structures dotted the field, along with a pair 0:19:25.480 --> 0:19:28.560 of dance floors. Reggie's face lit up when he saw 0:19:28.600 --> 0:19:30.959 the bar. By the time Manny had dropped off their 0:19:30.960 --> 0:19:33.120 bags and paid Charlie and the driver for the night, 0:19:33.280 --> 0:19:36.639 the journalist was already three beers in the brit wasn't 0:19:36.640 --> 0:19:40.080 precisely drunk or sober, but at that productive twilight in between, 0:19:40.560 --> 0:19:43.720 he'd unrolled a portable screen and had a holographic display up, 0:19:43.920 --> 0:19:47.360 looping four separate sections of the security footage Colonel Milgriman 0:19:47.400 --> 0:19:51.640 sent over. The journalist alternated between typing furiously scrawling notes 0:19:51.680 --> 0:19:54.160 in his journal and taking huge gulps of something brown 0:19:54.200 --> 0:19:56.680 and foamy. He stopped working when he saw a Manny 0:19:56.720 --> 0:19:59.840 approach and waved him into the adjacent seat. Hey brother, 0:20:00.040 --> 0:20:02.600 check this out. Many pulled up a seat, and the 0:20:02.640 --> 0:20:05.480 journalist directed his attention to a six second loop of 0:20:05.520 --> 0:20:09.120 footage from immediately after the bombing. It showed two man 0:20:09.160 --> 0:20:12.320 size silhouettes standing on top of an old garage. Many 0:20:12.359 --> 0:20:15.040 remembered the building. It stood maybe two hundred meters from 0:20:15.040 --> 0:20:18.399 the Abrams Road checkpoint. One of the silhouettes had a rifle. 0:20:18.760 --> 0:20:21.720 The other held a short squat tube that Manny recognized 0:20:21.720 --> 0:20:26.480 as a camera lens. Notice anything, spotters, Manny said, probably 0:20:26.480 --> 0:20:29.040 trying to get a kill. Count. No, man, look at 0:20:29.040 --> 0:20:31.320 where he's pointed. That Count's not looking at any post. 0:20:31.520 --> 0:20:34.560 He's looking straight back deeper into the old town. And 0:20:34.600 --> 0:20:36.679 I'll bet you he's high up enough to be staring 0:20:36.760 --> 0:20:40.680 right at Colonel Milgram's command post. Manny looked again. He 0:20:40.760 --> 0:20:44.240 thought about the angle. Okay, so what, he asked, You 0:20:44.280 --> 0:20:46.439 think this was a probing attack for some big action. 0:20:46.840 --> 0:20:50.760 The journalists shrugged. Maybe it's something new, is what interests me. 0:20:51.200 --> 0:20:53.560 Two years of Modytem operations that all look more or 0:20:53.640 --> 0:20:56.560 less the same, and now this weird one, an autonomous 0:20:56.680 --> 0:20:59.240 vehicle bomb from a group of fanatics who think autonomous 0:20:59.359 --> 0:21:03.680 vehicles are the evil. Yeah, Manny agreed, that does seem weird. 0:21:04.320 --> 0:21:06.679 The bartender walked up and offered Manny his pick of 0:21:06.720 --> 0:21:10.280 the finest liquor in this particular war zone. Manny ordered 0:21:10.280 --> 0:21:12.440 a Shiner. It was the one beer a drinker could 0:21:12.440 --> 0:21:15.040