WEBVTT - Chapter Three

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<v Speaker 1>Chapter three, Sasha the drone gun rotated on its access

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<v Speaker 1>and brought a new, slightly different chunk of city escape

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<v Speaker 1>into view. The world was a dull gray green color

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<v Speaker 1>through the lens of the weapon's camera. Once again, there

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<v Speaker 1>were no humans in sight. That was the norm, but

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<v Speaker 1>Sasha still logged in for her scheduled gun time every day.

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<v Speaker 1>Her parents would have been mortified if they'd known how

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<v Speaker 1>she was spending her few hours of free time, but

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<v Speaker 1>she had a good VPN, or at least it was

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<v Speaker 1>good enough to hide her activity from her non tech

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<v Speaker 1>savvy elders. She doubted they'd ever suspect her of something

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<v Speaker 1>like this. Sasha was a good student. Her grades guaranteed

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<v Speaker 1>her admission to the American University in d C. At

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<v Speaker 1>one point, she'd had a shot at being her high

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<v Speaker 1>school's valedictorian and maybe of gaining admission to Stanford, But

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<v Speaker 1>then she discovered the True Gospel and given herself to Christ.

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<v Speaker 1>Her grades were still good, but probably not good enough

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<v Speaker 1>to earn her an educational visa to the californ in

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<v Speaker 1>your Republic. The extra time the old heir had dedicated

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<v Speaker 1>to school was now spent glued to a gun camp

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<v Speaker 1>browsing live feeds from various Christian militias and reading everything

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<v Speaker 1>she could from the few pastors brave enough to preach

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<v Speaker 1>the word the New Herd. Didn't want to go to

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<v Speaker 1>school near San Francisco, capital of what Pastor Mike had

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<v Speaker 1>called the world's most sinful nation. Sasha didn't even really

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<v Speaker 1>want to go to college in d C. What was

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<v Speaker 1>the point, Sash her dad called from the kitchen, dinners

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<v Speaker 1>on cheese Enchilada's. There was still nothing in her line

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<v Speaker 1>of sight. For the eleventh month in a row. She

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<v Speaker 1>was spending sixty five am fed dollars for the privilege

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<v Speaker 1>of staring through a camera at nothing for a half

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<v Speaker 1>hour a day. Sasha had been warned about this when

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<v Speaker 1>she'd signed up to support the Woodlands Martyrs Brigade. Their

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<v Speaker 1>drone guns didn't see much action. The front had been

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<v Speaker 1>stable for the last year. Rumors said the number of

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<v Speaker 1>backers had even gotten to fire during their turn was

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<v Speaker 1>under a dozen. Sasha had hoped she'd be a special case.

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<v Speaker 1>Something moved. Just as she thought about killing the app

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<v Speaker 1>and going downstairs, something moved across her drones field of vision.

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<v Speaker 1>It happened again, and Sasha realized that the somethings were

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<v Speaker 1>armored soldiers sprinting past her weapon. She locked the drone

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<v Speaker 1>on one and for the first time ever, selected the

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<v Speaker 1>fire approval button. A second went by, then another, and

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<v Speaker 1>then a red box replaced her firing redicule. Target declined.

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<v Speaker 1>Friendly fire, Sasha, her mother called up in that grating

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<v Speaker 1>voice that mint. She was almost frustrated enough to start

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<v Speaker 1>yelling get down here. She stared at the box for

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<v Speaker 1>another long moment. Friendly fire. That made sense as she

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<v Speaker 1>belatedly realized the men had been rushing out of territory

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<v Speaker 1>occupied by the martyrs. Good thing they check up on

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<v Speaker 1>us before we pull the trigger. Her heart pounded a

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<v Speaker 1>little at the thought of killing the wrong soldier. But

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<v Speaker 1>at the same time she noticed something odd. The men

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<v Speaker 1>were still coming. They rushed past the drone camera in

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<v Speaker 1>waves ten ft apart, ducking low and hefting heavy weapons.

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<v Speaker 1>She must have watched at least a hundred of them,

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<v Speaker 1>asked before she realized what this meant. A new offensive.

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<v Speaker 1>Oh God, dial Alexander, she told her deck. A calm

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<v Speaker 1>window popped up about six inches in front of her hand,

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<v Speaker 1>to the left of the large drone control screen that

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<v Speaker 1>hovered above her. Anyone without a deck would have just

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<v Speaker 1>seen a seventeen year old girl lying on her bed

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<v Speaker 1>and poking at the air, But Sasha saw the space

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<v Speaker 1>in front of her as a giant screen curved around

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<v Speaker 1>her body. She opened another window and flung it up

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<v Speaker 1>on her right side. It was populated with links to

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<v Speaker 1>the camera feeds of all the personality she followed. Most

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<v Speaker 1>of them were located somewhere in the Republic of Texas,

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<v Speaker 1>and more than half of the feeds were dark. It

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<v Speaker 1>was hard to tell just what was happening on the others.

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<v Speaker 1>Sasha decided she'd get a faster update on the situation

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<v Speaker 1>through her news aggregator. She reduced the other windows and

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<v Speaker 1>shifted them to her periphery. Then she opened a new

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<v Speaker 1>window and waited a half second for her curated news

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<v Speaker 1>feed to populate. Her deck kept ringing Alexander while she

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<v Speaker 1>scanned the headlines reports of explo jans across the Dallas Front,

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<v Speaker 1>Texas extremists advance into stf Republic territory. Reports from Dallas

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<v Speaker 1>suggested a new offensive by Heavenly Kingdom. A half dozen

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<v Speaker 1>rings later, Alexander picked up Sasha. He asked his voice

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<v Speaker 1>sounded distant. There was noise on the line. After a

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<v Speaker 1>second or so, Sasha heard a boom and then a strange,

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<v Speaker 1>crackling sound that had to be gunfire. It didn't sound

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<v Speaker 1>like it did in the movies, or even in the

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<v Speaker 1>few VR shooters she'd played. Sasha's heart had started to

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<v Speaker 1>pound by the time she responded, Yes, Alexander, I was

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<v Speaker 1>just on my drone and it looks like something's happening.

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<v Speaker 1>The media saying it's another offensive. They're right for once,

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<v Speaker 1>said Alexander, and they're still wrong at the same time.

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<v Speaker 1>This is something new, Sasha. I'm sorry I couldn't tell

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<v Speaker 1>you before, but it'll all be clear soon. Is this

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<v Speaker 1>just the martyrs Brigade? He smiled, and Sasha's face went red. No, Sasha,

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<v Speaker 1>something wonderful is Are you near the front? Are you

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<v Speaker 1>part of the fighting? Sasha interrupted, She'd never have done

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<v Speaker 1>that normally, but she could hear what's outed like gunfire

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<v Speaker 1>over his line, and Sasha was scared. I'm with the

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<v Speaker 1>second wave, he said the tracks. I'm moving us into

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<v Speaker 1>position now. I'll probably have to Whatever else he'd been

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<v Speaker 1>about to say was cut short as all of Sasha's

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<v Speaker 1>deck apps closed at once, her digital world was replaced

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<v Speaker 1>by a red box that read parental lockdown. Come to dinner,

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<v Speaker 1>Sasha mom. She screamed down the stairs as her eyes

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<v Speaker 1>welled up with tears at the unfairness of it all. Alexander,

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<v Speaker 1>the man she was pretty sure she loved, was going

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<v Speaker 1>into battle for the first time. He was fighting right

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<v Speaker 1>now to re establish the rule of God on earth.

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<v Speaker 1>I should have read him a poem or said something

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<v Speaker 1>beautiful and stirring, something about how my love for him

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<v Speaker 1>was as everlasting as God's own love. It should have

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<v Speaker 1>been a powerful moment, but her heretic horror of a

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<v Speaker 1>mother had ruined it. For Inchiladas, Sasha stormed downstairs right

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<v Speaker 1>with fury, but unable to vent it. Her parents couldn't

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<v Speaker 1>know she'd been giving money to a militant group. They

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<v Speaker 1>wouldn't have to drop in on her talking to Alexander

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<v Speaker 1>to know what she had planned. Six kids from her

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<v Speaker 1>high school had already left for the Republic of Texas

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<v Speaker 1>to fight in one militia or another. It was a

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<v Speaker 1>problem across the American Federation, but here in Virginia, parents

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<v Speaker 1>were particularly wary. The border of the United Christian States

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<v Speaker 1>was just an hour's drive from her front door. Ratlines

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<v Speaker 1>in the UCS brought thousands of young volunteers yearly from

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<v Speaker 1>the heart of corporate America to the various militia groups

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<v Speaker 1>that battled across Texas. Sasha Marian, What did we interrupt

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<v Speaker 1>that was so important? You had to yell? I was praying, mother.

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<v Speaker 1>It wasn't really a lie. Pastor Mike had said that

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<v Speaker 1>every deed done in support of the heavenly Kingdom was

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<v Speaker 1>an act of prayer. Gwendolen Marian frowned back at her daughter.

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<v Speaker 1>She was a stern woman with a broad Germanic face

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<v Speaker 1>and dirty blonde hair pulled back into a severe bun.

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<v Speaker 1>Faint crow's feet trickled out from her eyes, but those

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<v Speaker 1>were from voice rather than times formerly inevitable march. Gwendoline

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<v Speaker 1>was the chief of surgery at Annapolish General Hospital. She'd

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<v Speaker 1>been taking juven treatment since she was twenty. She'd only

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<v Speaker 1>decided to let the crow's feed through once Sasha had

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<v Speaker 1>turned seventeen. You can pray as much as you want, honey,

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<v Speaker 1>but right now it's dinner time, and this is something

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<v Speaker 1>we do as a family. Sasha thought juven was unnatural

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<v Speaker 1>heretical God had created each human to age a certain way.

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<v Speaker 1>Using science to disrupt that natural process was an act

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<v Speaker 1>of blasphemy. She yearned to say something cutting hurtful in response,

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<v Speaker 1>but she fought it down. You don't have to obey

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<v Speaker 1>your father and mother if they try to keep you

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<v Speaker 1>out of the Kingdom of Heaven, words from one of

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<v Speaker 1>Pastor Mike's weekly casts rang in her ears. But the

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<v Speaker 1>Lord God still calls on us to respect our parents,

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<v Speaker 1>he'd added that well behaved kids were the ones who

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<v Speaker 1>caused the least suspicion and had the best chance of

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<v Speaker 1>successful escape. Yes, ma'am, was all she said as the

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<v Speaker 1>families settled into their chairs. Her brother, Ian was just

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<v Speaker 1>five and unusually quiet for his age. He smiled at

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<v Speaker 1>her as their father doled him out an enchilada sash.

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<v Speaker 1>Who's Alexander, he asked, and Sasha felt the blood run

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<v Speaker 1>out of her face. Their father, Tony, smiled wrily at

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<v Speaker 1>the remark as he spooned a proportionately larger serving onto

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<v Speaker 1>his own plate. Alexander, Huh, maybe this means another boyfriend.

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<v Speaker 1>It's been what four years? Tony had opted for fewer

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<v Speaker 1>cosmetic jeven treatments than his wife. Sasha loved her father's

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<v Speaker 1>receding hairline, his slight jowls, his graying hair. He was

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<v Speaker 1>still a heretic, but at least he wasn't a vain one.

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<v Speaker 1>He's not my boyfriend Dad, just a boy I talk

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<v Speaker 1>with sometimes. We pray together. Gwendolen rolled her eyes a little.

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<v Speaker 1>Such an exciting adolescence you're having, she said. Sarcasm swelled

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<v Speaker 1>every word. Sasha didn't rise to the bait. Her self.

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<v Speaker 1>Control was iron now. She wouldn't give them any cause

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<v Speaker 1>to worry or call the authorities. It was better even

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<v Speaker 1>for them to think Alexander was some boy from school.

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<v Speaker 1>If they thought her principles were thawing, they'd be less

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<v Speaker 1>likely to suspect what he had planned. The Marryan family

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<v Speaker 1>ate companionably for several minutes. Tony talked about some cock

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<v Speaker 1>eyed nut who'd come into his office at Deutsche Bank

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<v Speaker 1>looking for a loan. He wanted three million to get

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<v Speaker 1>this build a blimp to take tourists from the am

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<v Speaker 1>Fed to Louisiana without crossing UCS territory. And I'm like,

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<v Speaker 1>first of all, I can name a hundred boat charters

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<v Speaker 1>to do the same thing and second. Sasha tuned most

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<v Speaker 1>of it out and tried to focus on eating, But

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<v Speaker 1>knowing Alexander was out there facing death for his faith

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<v Speaker 1>killed any appetite she otherwise might have had. She ate

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<v Speaker 1>mechanically without really tasting it until her plate was almost clean.

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<v Speaker 1>Sasha was planning her exit when her mother spoke up

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<v Speaker 1>by the way. The school called today and said, you

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<v Speaker 1>still haven't been by to get sized for your graduation robes.

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<v Speaker 1>They need at least forty eight hours to print them out.

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<v Speaker 1>You're running out of time. Sorry, mom, she said, I

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<v Speaker 1>know that important. I've just had a lot on my

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<v Speaker 1>mind lately. The f s T s were last week.

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<v Speaker 1>Sasha had gotten very good at telling her parents what

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<v Speaker 1>they needed to hear without actually lying. The Federation Standardized

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<v Speaker 1>Test had been last week, and she'd certainly had a

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<v Speaker 1>lot on her mind lately, but the fs T hadn't

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<v Speaker 1>been keeping her up at night. It was little more

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<v Speaker 1>than a rubber stamp for a student like Sasha. That's okay, sweetie,

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<v Speaker 1>Gwendolen said, I know how important your school work is

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<v Speaker 1>to you. I just want you to have a fun

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<v Speaker 1>graduation experience. That's important. There's a war going on a

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<v Speaker 1>few hundred miles from your door. Men are dying for

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<v Speaker 1>God's kingdom, and you think school matters to me. But

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<v Speaker 1>Sasha just smiled, told her mom she loved her, and

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<v Speaker 1>went back upstairs to her room. As soon as it

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<v Speaker 1>was politic to do so, she reactivated her VPN and

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<v Speaker 1>popped her deck into stealth mode, which displayed a curated

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<v Speaker 1>selection of websites and chat apps for her mom and

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<v Speaker 1>dad in case they came by. She drew a new

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<v Speaker 1>Price of It window about two feet in front of

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<v Speaker 1>her face and split it in half between a face

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<v Speaker 1>calm with Alexander and a news feed full of her

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<v Speaker 1>favorite militia press offices. Her jaw dropped Voice of the

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<v Speaker 1>Prophet's main headline was Republic of Texas forces clashed with martyrs.

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<v Speaker 1>Judgment day is here, she read in a social media

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<v Speaker 1>post from one of her favorite sources in the area,

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<v Speaker 1>a twenty something mechanic who lived on the fringe of

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<v Speaker 1>the Republic and supported the Heavenly Kingdom. He'd posted a

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<v Speaker 1>picture of the Governor's mansion in Plano. It was burnt

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<v Speaker 1>around several of the windows and riddled with holes. Gone

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<v Speaker 1>was the Republic's flag replaced by a white banner with

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<v Speaker 1>a burning black cross in the center. Sasha sent out

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<v Speaker 1>another call request to Alexander and switched over to Al

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<v Speaker 1>Jazeera's feed to learn more. It galled her to use

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<v Speaker 1>a news source run by Muslims, but she had learned

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<v Speaker 1>from experience that Al Jazeera had the best reporters on

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<v Speaker 1>the ground in the Republic. They negotiated coverage deals with

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<v Speaker 1>several of the militia groups, including Alexander's. The first thing

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<v Speaker 1>she noticed was that their last article had gone up

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<v Speaker 1>over an hour ago, but the titles of the foremost

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<v Speaker 1>recent articles painted a vivid picture Republic capital in Galveston, burning,

0:12:05.360 --> 0:12:09.760
<v Speaker 1>military coup, Republic media feeds go dark, SDF under attack.

0:12:09.800 --> 0:12:15.400
<v Speaker 1>In Dallas, Pastor Mike Donnegan announces new offensive for Heavenly Kingdom.

0:12:15.520 --> 0:12:17.719
<v Speaker 1>How could there possibly be a new offensive against the

0:12:17.760 --> 0:12:21.160
<v Speaker 1>secular forces in Dallas? The Richardson line had been locked

0:12:21.160 --> 0:12:24.160
<v Speaker 1>in a stalemate for the last year. Alexander had told

0:12:24.160 --> 0:12:26.719
<v Speaker 1>her often, how outnumbered and outgunned the martyrs of the

0:12:26.760 --> 0:12:29.520
<v Speaker 1>Heavenly Kingdom were we hold in our own But only

0:12:29.559 --> 0:12:32.320
<v Speaker 1>by the grace of God, was his usual refrain. The

0:12:32.440 --> 0:12:35.760
<v Speaker 1>idea of them advancing again on the SDF seemed impossible.

0:12:36.400 --> 0:12:39.920
<v Speaker 1>Nothing is impossible with God. She could almost hear Alexander's

0:12:40.000 --> 0:12:43.040
<v Speaker 1>voice echo in her mind's ear. She glanced over at

0:12:43.040 --> 0:12:45.160
<v Speaker 1>his chat screen, but it was still just showed the

0:12:45.240 --> 0:12:49.679
<v Speaker 1>standard dialing symbol. Frustrated, Sasha brought up her militia news feed.

0:12:50.080 --> 0:12:52.600
<v Speaker 1>This was one of her most cherished possessions. It had

0:12:52.600 --> 0:12:55.200
<v Speaker 1>taken months for her to sort out the most influential

0:12:55.240 --> 0:12:58.400
<v Speaker 1>Christian militias in the area, find their official spokes feeds,

0:12:58.600 --> 0:13:01.320
<v Speaker 1>and cross index them base on which groups agreed with

0:13:01.360 --> 0:13:05.480
<v Speaker 1>the strict neo Calvinist doctrine she Alexander and Pastor Mike

0:13:05.600 --> 0:13:07.680
<v Speaker 1>all knew to be the one true word of God.

0:13:08.400 --> 0:13:10.800
<v Speaker 1>And for the first time since she had started the feed,

0:13:11.000 --> 0:13:13.800
<v Speaker 1>each and every militia she followed had posted the exact

0:13:13.880 --> 0:13:19.200
<v Speaker 1>same message, The first battle of Armageddon has begun. Sasha

0:13:19.280 --> 0:13:21.599
<v Speaker 1>was confused for a minute. She'd done her homework. She

0:13:21.679 --> 0:13:23.760
<v Speaker 1>knew the final battle of the end Times was supposed

0:13:23.760 --> 0:13:26.880
<v Speaker 1>to occur at Mount Meghito in Israel, but she thought

0:13:26.880 --> 0:13:29.640
<v Speaker 1>back to Pastor Mike's sermons. He had talked about the

0:13:29.679 --> 0:13:33.160
<v Speaker 1>battles of Armageddon many times. The coming end times and

0:13:33.160 --> 0:13:35.400
<v Speaker 1>the central place of the Heavenly Kingdom and the world's

0:13:35.480 --> 0:13:39.280
<v Speaker 1>last battles were constant refrains in his sermons. Sasha had

0:13:39.280 --> 0:13:42.440
<v Speaker 1>always believed the battles of Armageddon would come. She just

0:13:42.480 --> 0:13:45.960
<v Speaker 1>thought they had more time. Sasha was frustrated and a

0:13:46.000 --> 0:13:48.640
<v Speaker 1>little hurt. Alexander must have known this was in the

0:13:48.679 --> 0:13:51.520
<v Speaker 1>offing and kept it from her, she understood, of course,

0:13:51.559 --> 0:13:53.920
<v Speaker 1>but she was furious at herself for being so far

0:13:53.960 --> 0:13:55.800
<v Speaker 1>away from the action that he had been forced to

0:13:55.840 --> 0:13:58.760
<v Speaker 1>hide this from her. The first battle of Armageddon was

0:13:58.800 --> 0:14:01.680
<v Speaker 1>beginning just a few hours south of her bedroom. She

0:14:01.720 --> 0:14:04.640
<v Speaker 1>could either stay here and rot in the American Federation,

0:14:05.000 --> 0:14:07.920
<v Speaker 1>or prove God with her devotion and move there. It

0:14:08.000 --> 0:14:10.839
<v Speaker 1>didn't even seem like a choice. Really. If goodmen were

0:14:10.840 --> 0:14:13.480
<v Speaker 1>fighting and dying to restore the Kingdom of God on earth,

0:14:13.760 --> 0:14:16.520
<v Speaker 1>it fell to her to travel there and support those men.

0:14:17.200 --> 0:14:20.680
<v Speaker 1>She thought of Alexander, his liquid green eyes, his scraggly beard,

0:14:20.680 --> 0:14:23.480
<v Speaker 1>the way his still boyish voice broke in excitement when

0:14:23.520 --> 0:14:26.000
<v Speaker 1>he lost himself in the spirit of the Lord. Her

0:14:26.000 --> 0:14:29.280
<v Speaker 1>beloved was out there right now, fighting and maybe bleeding,

0:14:29.280 --> 0:14:31.880
<v Speaker 1>to bring the truth back to the world. The least

0:14:31.920 --> 0:14:36.000
<v Speaker 1>she could do was join him. Weeks ago, Alexander had

0:14:36.000 --> 0:14:39.080
<v Speaker 1>given her the contact information for a man named Brother Andrew.

0:14:39.600 --> 0:14:42.520
<v Speaker 1>He called the other man a deliverer. Sasha knew her

0:14:42.520 --> 0:14:45.680
<v Speaker 1>parents and the AMFID authorities would have described Brother Andrew

0:14:45.720 --> 0:14:48.520
<v Speaker 1>as a people smuggler. She hadn't reached out to Brother

0:14:48.560 --> 0:14:51.280
<v Speaker 1>Andrew yet. In her fantasy, she had always waited to

0:14:51.320 --> 0:14:54.560
<v Speaker 1>graduate before escaping to the Heavenly Kingdom. She was still

0:14:54.560 --> 0:14:56.720
<v Speaker 1>a few weeks shy of her eighteenth birthday and had

0:14:56.720 --> 0:14:58.840
<v Speaker 1>hoped to at least spin that with her parents before

0:14:58.840 --> 0:15:02.000
<v Speaker 1>setting off. But right now, as she scrolled through articles

0:15:02.040 --> 0:15:04.800
<v Speaker 1>about the martyrs breakthrough and immersed herself and snap bits

0:15:04.840 --> 0:15:08.640
<v Speaker 1>of cheering soldiers raising cross banners over newly captured neighborhoods,

0:15:09.000 --> 0:15:13.320
<v Speaker 1>Sasha felt a powerful anxiety overtake her. She needed to

0:15:13.360 --> 0:15:16.880
<v Speaker 1>be there. There was no other option. Sasha flicked open

0:15:16.880 --> 0:15:19.360
<v Speaker 1>a window on the left side of her viewspace, typed

0:15:19.360 --> 0:15:22.040
<v Speaker 1>in the address she'd memorized for Brother Andrew, and sent

0:15:22.160 --> 0:15:29.560
<v Speaker 1>him a message, I am ready to go. Hey everybody,

0:15:29.760 --> 0:15:31.840
<v Speaker 1>Robert Evans here. I hope you just enjoyed the chapter

0:15:31.960 --> 0:15:34.320
<v Speaker 1>you listen to. I hope you enjoyed the chapters to come.

0:15:34.680 --> 0:15:37.000
<v Speaker 1>If you would like to read the text version of

0:15:37.000 --> 0:15:39.400
<v Speaker 1>this book either on the web or on your e

0:15:39.520 --> 0:15:41.800
<v Speaker 1>reader as an e pub, you can find those on

0:15:41.840 --> 0:15:45.680
<v Speaker 1>the website a t r book dot com. So again,

0:15:45.880 --> 0:15:48.920
<v Speaker 1>the free ad free e pub and the text of

0:15:48.960 --> 0:15:52.080
<v Speaker 1>every chapter will be on a t r book dot com.

0:15:52.080 --> 0:15:52.480
<v Speaker 1>Thanks