1
00:00:02,200 --> 00:00:07,280
Speaker 1: Chapter sixteen. Manny. The Barracks had been a high school,

2
00:00:07,480 --> 00:00:10,000
Speaker 1: once built to serve several thousand of the plain O

3
00:00:10,119 --> 00:00:13,920
Speaker 1: area's wealthy at students. The dozen huge gray buildings were

4
00:00:13,920 --> 00:00:17,680
Speaker 1: centered around an enormous courtyard that included a practice football field,

5
00:00:17,760 --> 00:00:21,159
Speaker 1: several tennis courts, and a running track. The compound was

6
00:00:21,239 --> 00:00:24,560
Speaker 1: boxed in by a high concrete wall topped in razor wire.

7
00:00:24,960 --> 00:00:27,120
Speaker 1: What had been built to defend the scions of wealth

8
00:00:27,160 --> 00:00:29,960
Speaker 1: and Privilege from their jealous piers also made the former

9
00:00:30,000 --> 00:00:34,040
Speaker 1: school an ideal training ground for the kingdoms soldiers. Manny

10
00:00:34,080 --> 00:00:36,880
Speaker 1: could see hundreds of young men just within the courtyard.

11
00:00:37,240 --> 00:00:40,160
Speaker 1: They ran laps or charged through a makeshift obstacle course

12
00:00:40,159 --> 00:00:43,159
Speaker 1: that had been assembled over the old football field. Manny's

13
00:00:43,159 --> 00:00:46,400
Speaker 1: head throbbed just watching them. Ipe. We don't have to

14
00:00:46,400 --> 00:00:48,479
Speaker 1: do too much of that ship, he thought, as he

15
00:00:48,520 --> 00:00:52,080
Speaker 1: scratched the bandage over his severed deck, At least not today.

16
00:00:53,080 --> 00:00:55,880
Speaker 1: Dozens of men sat in small groups around the courtyard,

17
00:00:56,120 --> 00:00:58,600
Speaker 1: reading together from books or cooling down from workouts and

18
00:00:58,680 --> 00:01:01,920
Speaker 1: sweat drenched underclothes, Manny could hear the sharp crack of

19
00:01:02,040 --> 00:01:04,600
Speaker 1: rifle fire from a shooting range near by. The whole

20
00:01:04,600 --> 00:01:07,360
Speaker 1: place buzzed with a sort of busy, nervous energy that

21
00:01:07,440 --> 00:01:09,840
Speaker 1: might have been contagious if not for the ugly stairs.

22
00:01:09,880 --> 00:01:13,560
Speaker 1: Manny attracted. You took the wrong skin to wear, Roland

23
00:01:13,640 --> 00:01:15,959
Speaker 1: muttered at him as a troop of pale, young infantrymen

24
00:01:16,000 --> 00:01:18,920
Speaker 1: clumped past them. Manny couldn't help but notice that he

25
00:01:19,000 --> 00:01:21,360
Speaker 1: seemed to be the only person on the training field

26
00:01:21,400 --> 00:01:25,440
Speaker 1: who wasn't lily white. This might be a problem, he said.

27
00:01:25,920 --> 00:01:28,920
Speaker 1: Roland nodded in response. He spat at the ground and muttered,

28
00:01:29,640 --> 00:01:31,880
Speaker 1: should I ask skullfucker Mike to sew you into some

29
00:01:31,920 --> 00:01:35,520
Speaker 1: new skin before we left? Manny frowned. I'm almost certain

30
00:01:35,600 --> 00:01:39,440
Speaker 1: that's not how martyrs. A rough voice cried out from

31
00:01:39,440 --> 00:01:42,600
Speaker 1: behind them. Turn round, boys, let me see a rise.

32
00:01:43,600 --> 00:01:46,280
Speaker 1: Manny stopped on instinct. He stiff at his back and

33
00:01:46,319 --> 00:01:48,880
Speaker 1: turned around. Roland did the same thing, but with a

34
00:01:48,880 --> 00:01:51,600
Speaker 1: heavy sigh and a roll at his eyes. The shout

35
00:01:51,600 --> 00:01:53,800
Speaker 1: had come from a tall, square jawed man with hair

36
00:01:53,840 --> 00:01:56,720
Speaker 1: that had gone a majestic shade of silver gray. He

37
00:01:56,760 --> 00:01:59,560
Speaker 1: wore a black uniform shirt with brass cross pins in

38
00:01:59,560 --> 00:02:02,400
Speaker 1: the epple uts, black cargo pants, and a big black

39
00:02:02,440 --> 00:02:05,600
Speaker 1: handgun slung low on his left hip. His name tag

40
00:02:05,640 --> 00:02:08,959
Speaker 1: identified him as Ditmar. Manny didn't know enough about the

41
00:02:09,000 --> 00:02:12,600
Speaker 1: martyrs brigades to tell the man's rank. Roland turned as

42
00:02:12,600 --> 00:02:15,560
Speaker 1: Ditmar closed the distance between them. He stopped about a

43
00:02:15,560 --> 00:02:17,799
Speaker 1: foot in from them, looked Roland up and down, and

44
00:02:17,840 --> 00:02:20,560
Speaker 1: then turned to Manny. The fixer forced himself to meet

45
00:02:20,600 --> 00:02:24,600
Speaker 1: the grizzled martyr's gaze. Manny wasn't sure how to look

46
00:02:24,600 --> 00:02:27,200
Speaker 1: like a fanatical Christian soldier. There was no way to

47
00:02:27,240 --> 00:02:30,000
Speaker 1: fake the manic glint of true commitment, so he chose

48
00:02:30,040 --> 00:02:33,280
Speaker 1: a different tack. He thought about Major Clark, the defiant

49
00:02:33,320 --> 00:02:35,960
Speaker 1: set of his jaw and the promise of violence frozen

50
00:02:36,000 --> 00:02:38,800
Speaker 1: into the ice of his blue eyes. D Shaun Clark

51
00:02:38,960 --> 00:02:41,959
Speaker 1: was not a fanatic, but he was a warrior. Many

52
00:02:42,040 --> 00:02:44,120
Speaker 1: knew he might be able to fake that, so he

53
00:02:44,160 --> 00:02:46,720
Speaker 1: screwed up his face into his best imitation and hoped

54
00:02:46,760 --> 00:02:50,440
Speaker 1: it would pass muster well. The silver haired old soldier

55
00:02:50,480 --> 00:02:53,120
Speaker 1: growled and narrowed his eyes, but then his face broke

56
00:02:53,120 --> 00:02:55,720
Speaker 1: out into a grin. His tone lifted up an octave.

57
00:02:56,040 --> 00:02:59,200
Speaker 1: By God, he said, it's good to have you boys here.

58
00:02:59,680 --> 00:03:02,160
Speaker 1: He slapped a hand on both Manny and roland shoulders

59
00:03:02,160 --> 00:03:05,120
Speaker 1: and pulled them into an embrace. Your souls are safe now,

60
00:03:05,240 --> 00:03:09,000
Speaker 1: my boys. Thank God for your warrior hearts. Now. He

61
00:03:09,080 --> 00:03:12,360
Speaker 1: pulled back and straightened up. I'm Martyr Ditmar. Where are

62
00:03:12,400 --> 00:03:16,080
Speaker 1: you bound for intake? Manny said, with more confidence than

63
00:03:16,120 --> 00:03:19,200
Speaker 1: he felt. We just arrived today. He glanced down at

64
00:03:19,200 --> 00:03:21,760
Speaker 1: his papers for a moment and then said, this says

65
00:03:21,800 --> 00:03:27,440
Speaker 1: we're Infantry Reserve Division. Martyr Ditmar seemed surprised, really, he asked,

66
00:03:27,720 --> 00:03:29,880
Speaker 1: I'd have expected them to put you at least he

67
00:03:29,960 --> 00:03:34,920
Speaker 1: nodded at Manny and the storming battalion. The storming battalion. Yes,

68
00:03:35,240 --> 00:03:39,280
Speaker 1: The elder martyr nodded, you've got the right complexion for it.

69
00:03:40,640 --> 00:03:43,280
Speaker 1: That's got to be a bad sign. Manny thought, don't

70
00:03:43,320 --> 00:03:45,960
Speaker 1: press the question too much now, you may not want

71
00:03:46,000 --> 00:03:49,000
Speaker 1: the answer. Instead, he put a hand on Roland's shoulder.

72
00:03:49,480 --> 00:03:52,120
Speaker 1: Wherever we go, I gotta stay with Aaron. He's strong,

73
00:03:52,200 --> 00:03:54,240
Speaker 1: but he took a few hits to the head too many.

74
00:03:54,280 --> 00:03:57,120
Speaker 1: I help him get around. The martyr gave a smile

75
00:03:57,200 --> 00:04:00,280
Speaker 1: that seemed genuine. Well, then he said, you want to

76
00:04:00,280 --> 00:04:02,600
Speaker 1: get your butts down to cadet processing it's a hundred

77
00:04:02,600 --> 00:04:05,360
Speaker 1: meters down that away. He clapped them both on the shoulders.

78
00:04:05,400 --> 00:04:08,120
Speaker 1: It's good to see you here. Smile boys, your heroes

79
00:04:08,200 --> 00:04:12,360
Speaker 1: now warriors in Christ. Go forth, God bless you, Martyr

80
00:04:12,440 --> 00:04:15,080
Speaker 1: Manny said. Roland followed up with his best attempt at

81
00:04:15,120 --> 00:04:19,000
Speaker 1: honest enthusiasm. Yea God, he said, in a two wide smile.

82
00:04:19,480 --> 00:04:22,000
Speaker 1: We should go, Manny said quickly. I don't want to

83
00:04:22,240 --> 00:04:26,120
Speaker 1: terry on the Lord's time. That's the spirit. Martyr Ditmar replied,

84
00:04:26,279 --> 00:04:29,080
Speaker 1: I'll see you both on the training field. They stomped

85
00:04:29,080 --> 00:04:32,120
Speaker 1: off towards the Cadet process in building, which until recently

86
00:04:32,279 --> 00:04:35,480
Speaker 1: had been the high school's administrative building. There were posters

87
00:04:35,520 --> 00:04:38,120
Speaker 1: for school dances and after school clubs on the walls.

88
00:04:38,279 --> 00:04:40,479
Speaker 1: It looked like a student body election had been under

89
00:04:40,480 --> 00:04:43,440
Speaker 1: way when the Heavenly Kingdom captured this place. Manny and

90
00:04:43,560 --> 00:04:46,360
Speaker 1: Rowland qued up behind a half dozen other confused looking

91
00:04:46,400 --> 00:04:48,960
Speaker 1: young men and waited for their turn at the processing desk.

92
00:04:49,640 --> 00:04:52,479
Speaker 1: The intake process lasted around an hour. They took his

93
00:04:52,600 --> 00:04:54,720
Speaker 1: name as date of birth and his measurements, and then

94
00:04:54,760 --> 00:04:58,320
Speaker 1: Manny helped Aaron answer the same questions. It would have

95
00:04:58,320 --> 00:05:00,680
Speaker 1: been triflingly easy for anyone with a deck and a

96
00:05:00,680 --> 00:05:03,159
Speaker 1: good connection to find evidence of Manny's career as a

97
00:05:03,160 --> 00:05:06,640
Speaker 1: war zone fixer, but the martyr handling their information wrote

98
00:05:06,640 --> 00:05:10,440
Speaker 1: things down on actual paper. Manny got the distinct impression

99
00:05:10,480 --> 00:05:13,000
Speaker 1: that many of the martyrs had disabled their decks. He

100
00:05:13,040 --> 00:05:15,719
Speaker 1: also knew from experience that data speeds tended to be

101
00:05:15,760 --> 00:05:19,480
Speaker 1: pretty ship this close to the fighting. Someone will check eventually,

102
00:05:19,520 --> 00:05:22,640
Speaker 1: he warned himself. You'd better be fast about this whole business.

103
00:05:23,640 --> 00:05:26,280
Speaker 1: Roland stayed on his best behavior through the whole process,

104
00:05:26,360 --> 00:05:28,240
Speaker 1: although he grew twitch eer and twitch eer as the

105
00:05:28,279 --> 00:05:31,160
Speaker 1: minutes wore on. Manny wasn't sure if the chromed man

106
00:05:31,200 --> 00:05:34,440
Speaker 1: was allergic to bureaucracy or just frustrated at having sobered up.

107
00:05:34,800 --> 00:05:36,400
Speaker 1: Once they were done with the first stage of the

108
00:05:36,440 --> 00:05:39,080
Speaker 1: intake process, they were ushered over to another room filled

109
00:05:39,120 --> 00:05:41,320
Speaker 1: with folded stacks of clothing and dins with the scent

110
00:05:41,360 --> 00:05:44,560
Speaker 1: of mothballs. They were issued uniforms and then bundled off

111
00:05:44,600 --> 00:05:48,000
Speaker 1: to a locker room to change. Manny was somewhat nervous

112
00:05:48,040 --> 00:05:50,880
Speaker 1: about stripping down and changing in front of Roland, a dude.

113
00:05:50,960 --> 00:05:54,000
Speaker 1: He barely knew if the post human felt the same nervousness,

114
00:05:54,040 --> 00:05:56,600
Speaker 1: he didn't show it. Roland pulled off his clothes in

115
00:05:56,640 --> 00:05:58,960
Speaker 1: a couple of seconds, revealing a body that was tight

116
00:05:59,000 --> 00:06:02,600
Speaker 1: with wiry muscle and covered in thick surgical scars. Roland

117
00:06:02,600 --> 00:06:04,839
Speaker 1: started to pull on his beaty you pants and noticed

118
00:06:04,880 --> 00:06:08,599
Speaker 1: Manny hadn't yet started to strip. What's up, Roland asked,

119
00:06:08,760 --> 00:06:13,080
Speaker 1: you smell nervous? Manny shrugged. I guess I'm a little prude.

120
00:06:13,160 --> 00:06:16,200
Speaker 1: Still must be the Catholic in me. Don't let them

121
00:06:16,240 --> 00:06:18,760
Speaker 1: hear that. Roland knifed those fucker's all hang you with

122
00:06:18,800 --> 00:06:21,839
Speaker 1: your rosary beads. He pulled the pants up and button them.

123
00:06:21,960 --> 00:06:24,840
Speaker 1: Then he paused again and looked back at Manny. You ah,

124
00:06:25,200 --> 00:06:28,880
Speaker 1: you still Catholic? He asked. Manny shook his head. No,

125
00:06:29,120 --> 00:06:33,240
Speaker 1: I don't believe, but my family does. Ah. Roland nodded,

126
00:06:33,480 --> 00:06:36,839
Speaker 1: you fake belief. Well that's a talent. It's not a talent,

127
00:06:36,960 --> 00:06:39,839
Speaker 1: Manny said, it's a survival skill. Grow up in Texas

128
00:06:39,839 --> 00:06:41,599
Speaker 1: and you either learned to fake what you need to

129
00:06:41,640 --> 00:06:45,280
Speaker 1: fake where you learn to fight. Someone knocked on the door.

130
00:06:46,040 --> 00:06:48,880
Speaker 1: You ready yet, a voice called out to them. Almost

131
00:06:49,080 --> 00:06:52,000
Speaker 1: Manny responded, and then he started to strip his clothing off.

132
00:06:52,400 --> 00:06:54,360
Speaker 1: A few minutes and a change of clothes later, they

133
00:06:54,400 --> 00:06:56,760
Speaker 1: arrived on the field where their training unit, twenty four

134
00:06:56,800 --> 00:06:59,680
Speaker 1: sweat drenched young men, were doing push ups. Manny was

135
00:06:59,680 --> 00:07:02,520
Speaker 1: surprise to see that these martyrs at least weren't all white.

136
00:07:02,680 --> 00:07:04,479
Speaker 1: There was one black man right in the middle of

137
00:07:04,480 --> 00:07:07,039
Speaker 1: the group. It took Manny a second to recognize that

138
00:07:07,040 --> 00:07:09,560
Speaker 1: the instructor drilling them was Ditmar, the man they'd met

139
00:07:09,560 --> 00:07:11,560
Speaker 1: on their way to the base. He broke into a

140
00:07:11,560 --> 00:07:15,200
Speaker 1: broad smile when he saw them. God's will is truly magnificent,

141
00:07:15,280 --> 00:07:17,640
Speaker 1: is it not? And then he nodded down to the ground.

142
00:07:17,880 --> 00:07:20,040
Speaker 1: I'll let and join us, lads. Let's see what you've got.

143
00:07:20,920 --> 00:07:23,000
Speaker 1: Manny and Roland dropped down and joined the unit in

144
00:07:23,040 --> 00:07:25,440
Speaker 1: another set of push ups. If Roland had any trouble

145
00:07:25,480 --> 00:07:27,520
Speaker 1: at all with the workout regimen, he didn't show it.

146
00:07:27,800 --> 00:07:30,680
Speaker 1: The chrombed man barely sweated, and Manny had a feeling

147
00:07:30,720 --> 00:07:32,640
Speaker 1: that his sweat was more for show than the result

148
00:07:32,640 --> 00:07:35,880
Speaker 1: of an actual biological process. Even with the show, it

149
00:07:35,960 --> 00:07:38,080
Speaker 1: was obvious to every one that Roland was not having

150
00:07:38,160 --> 00:07:41,160
Speaker 1: any trouble with the exercises. God's blessed us with a

151
00:07:41,200 --> 00:07:44,120
Speaker 1: new Sampson, Ditmar said a hundred or so push ups.

152
00:07:44,120 --> 00:07:47,440
Speaker 1: In the rest of the men, Manny included, had collapsed

153
00:07:47,440 --> 00:07:50,520
Speaker 1: from the exertion, but Roland just kept going for a while.

154
00:07:50,560 --> 00:07:53,360
Speaker 1: They all sat there, huffing and exhausted and watching him go.

155
00:07:53,760 --> 00:07:56,040
Speaker 1: Ditmar smiled and shook his head a little odd at

156
00:07:56,080 --> 00:07:59,640
Speaker 1: the sight. Finally, he waved for Roland to stop. You've

157
00:07:59,680 --> 00:08:02,160
Speaker 1: made point, son, and we're all blessed to have you

158
00:08:02,200 --> 00:08:04,880
Speaker 1: here with us. Now get up, all of you and

159
00:08:04,920 --> 00:08:08,320
Speaker 1: sit around me. Many stood, shook the soreness from his arms,

160
00:08:08,320 --> 00:08:10,280
Speaker 1: and moved to take a seat in the semicircle of

161
00:08:10,360 --> 00:08:13,920
Speaker 1: young martyrs. Once they were all properly positioned, Ditmar squatted

162
00:08:13,920 --> 00:08:16,480
Speaker 1: down and cast his eyes around the group, settling on

163
00:08:16,520 --> 00:08:19,280
Speaker 1: each of them in turn. I don't know how you

164
00:08:19,360 --> 00:08:22,120
Speaker 1: all got here, he said, in a quiet, somber voice,

165
00:08:22,520 --> 00:08:25,160
Speaker 1: but I know what brought each of you here, the

166
00:08:25,280 --> 00:08:28,880
Speaker 1: spirit of our Lord and savior, Jesus Christ. He cleared

167
00:08:28,880 --> 00:08:32,360
Speaker 1: his throat. Now, he said, very soon, you'll all be

168
00:08:32,400 --> 00:08:35,400
Speaker 1: going into battle, sooner than i'd prefer. We don't have

169
00:08:35,480 --> 00:08:38,120
Speaker 1: time for the kind of training you boys deserve. You'll

170
00:08:38,120 --> 00:08:41,600
Speaker 1: be fighting against men with more experience better weaponry. It's

171
00:08:41,600 --> 00:08:44,319
Speaker 1: a scary thought, but I'll tell you all right now,

172
00:08:44,480 --> 00:08:46,600
Speaker 1: if you go into that battle with the same blind

173
00:08:46,679 --> 00:08:49,680
Speaker 1: faith that brought you here, you'll do just fine. God

174
00:08:49,720 --> 00:08:59,160
Speaker 1: won't let any other end come to pass. It was

175
00:08:59,240 --> 00:09:01,240
Speaker 1: dark by the time Tim ditmar led them all into

176
00:09:01,280 --> 00:09:04,079
Speaker 1: the dining facility. The sight of the high school cafeteria

177
00:09:04,120 --> 00:09:06,839
Speaker 1: set off a surprising pang of nostalgia in Manny's heart.

178
00:09:07,200 --> 00:09:10,040
Speaker 1: He hadn't enjoyed school, but something about the gray, fabric

179
00:09:10,040 --> 00:09:12,920
Speaker 1: colored walls, the colorful posters, and the dozens of identical

180
00:09:13,000 --> 00:09:15,640
Speaker 1: faux wood tables made him long for a simpler time.

181
00:09:16,320 --> 00:09:18,560
Speaker 1: For a second, he was almost able to forget where

182
00:09:18,559 --> 00:09:21,040
Speaker 1: he was, what he was doing, and pretend this was

183
00:09:21,120 --> 00:09:24,760
Speaker 1: just another day in school. That illusion was broken when

184
00:09:24,800 --> 00:09:27,679
Speaker 1: he looked at his fellow martyrs. Hundreds of them had

185
00:09:27,679 --> 00:09:30,600
Speaker 1: filed into the cafeteria, dressed in a motley assortment of

186
00:09:30,600 --> 00:09:33,040
Speaker 1: battle dress uniforms from the old U. S Army, the

187
00:09:33,080 --> 00:09:36,160
Speaker 1: Republic of Texas, and even the Mexican Army. Most of

188
00:09:36,200 --> 00:09:38,800
Speaker 1: them were young, not even into their twenties. Around a

189
00:09:38,880 --> 00:09:41,439
Speaker 1: quarter of them, though, were old for soldiers, and their

190
00:09:41,480 --> 00:09:45,160
Speaker 1: forties or fifties. There was no military discipline in their appearance.

191
00:09:45,360 --> 00:09:48,080
Speaker 1: Many of the men had beards or long, unruly hair.

192
00:09:48,600 --> 00:09:51,240
Speaker 1: These fox aren't soldiers, Roland whispered to him as they

193
00:09:51,240 --> 00:09:53,200
Speaker 1: took their seats at one of the fake wooden tables

194
00:09:53,200 --> 00:09:55,000
Speaker 1: on the left side of the room. This is what

195
00:09:55,200 --> 00:09:58,079
Speaker 1: can father looks like. Kid. The heavenly Kingdom just expects

196
00:09:58,080 --> 00:10:01,640
Speaker 1: these people to die. Many felt a surge of anxiety.

197
00:10:01,840 --> 00:10:04,079
Speaker 1: He was sure someone else must have heard Rowland, but

198
00:10:04,120 --> 00:10:06,200
Speaker 1: when he glanced around, he saw their table mates were

199
00:10:06,200 --> 00:10:09,079
Speaker 1: all deep in conversation with each other. Most of them,

200
00:10:09,120 --> 00:10:12,160
Speaker 1: at least Jonathan, the only other non white person in

201
00:10:12,200 --> 00:10:15,160
Speaker 1: their training unit, seemed to have been excluded. The other

202
00:10:15,200 --> 00:10:17,680
Speaker 1: soldiers leaned away from him. The focus of the table

203
00:10:17,720 --> 00:10:19,960
Speaker 1: seemed to be a tall, square jawed young man with

204
00:10:20,000 --> 00:10:24,000
Speaker 1: a Georgian twang to his accent Martyrs. A loud voice

205
00:10:24,040 --> 00:10:26,319
Speaker 1: cried from a podium at the center of the cafeteria.

206
00:10:26,679 --> 00:10:28,839
Speaker 1: The sound of hundreds of bodies on hundreds of chairs

207
00:10:28,840 --> 00:10:31,640
Speaker 1: turning to face the noise filled the room. The speaker

208
00:10:31,720 --> 00:10:34,120
Speaker 1: was a tall, painfully thin man clad in a long

209
00:10:34,160 --> 00:10:37,160
Speaker 1: black robe. An enormous wooden cross hung from his neck.

210
00:10:37,440 --> 00:10:40,400
Speaker 1: His hair was greasy, unruly, and shock white. He had

211
00:10:40,440 --> 00:10:43,240
Speaker 1: a patchy beard and the overall look of an unkimpt madman.

212
00:10:43,720 --> 00:10:46,720
Speaker 1: But then he spoke, My brothers, it is a blessed

213
00:10:46,800 --> 00:10:49,360
Speaker 1: thing to have you all here today. He began, in

214
00:10:49,400 --> 00:10:51,559
Speaker 1: a voice that was little more than a whisper. There

215
00:10:51,600 --> 00:10:54,439
Speaker 1: was a raw rasp to his voice. He sounded almost hoarse.

216
00:10:54,800 --> 00:10:58,640
Speaker 1: Something about that quality drew Manny's attention. In the coming days,

217
00:10:58,679 --> 00:11:01,560
Speaker 1: your instructors will prep pare you for the great battles

218
00:11:01,559 --> 00:11:04,200
Speaker 1: that lie ahead. You will be given the best arms

219
00:11:04,200 --> 00:11:07,720
Speaker 1: and armorack Kingdom can provide. But just by being here,

220
00:11:08,000 --> 00:11:10,320
Speaker 1: each of you has shown you already have a weapon

221
00:11:10,360 --> 00:11:13,760
Speaker 1: more powerful than any tool in our armory. Faith in

222
00:11:14,120 --> 00:11:18,200
Speaker 1: God Almighty. His voice raised in pitch. Now it was

223
00:11:18,240 --> 00:11:20,280
Speaker 1: still raspi and horse, but it picked up a sharp,

224
00:11:20,400 --> 00:11:24,360
Speaker 1: booming quality. He spoke faster, his cheeks grew red. Put

225
00:11:24,400 --> 00:11:27,160
Speaker 1: on the armor of God, he cried, And you will

226
00:11:27,200 --> 00:11:30,200
Speaker 1: stand firm against the schemes of the devil. Be strong

227
00:11:30,280 --> 00:11:33,240
Speaker 1: and courageous. Do not panic before the enemy, For in

228
00:11:33,320 --> 00:11:36,120
Speaker 1: every battle the Lord your God will go ahead of you.

229
00:11:36,320 --> 00:11:40,240
Speaker 1: He will never fail you nor abandon you. At this

230
00:11:40,679 --> 00:11:42,840
Speaker 1: several of the men around the room pounded their fists

231
00:11:42,840 --> 00:11:45,080
Speaker 1: on the tables. One man in the back led out

232
00:11:45,080 --> 00:11:48,200
Speaker 1: a whoop. These outbursts inspired other men to cry out

233
00:11:48,280 --> 00:11:51,920
Speaker 1: praise God. Manny glanced around, trying to gauge if more

234
00:11:52,000 --> 00:11:53,920
Speaker 1: or less than half of the room was joining in.

235
00:11:54,360 --> 00:11:56,280
Speaker 1: He didn't want to stay quiet if that was going

236
00:11:56,320 --> 00:11:59,160
Speaker 1: to look weird. But then the pastor went quiet. A

237
00:11:59,200 --> 00:12:01,960
Speaker 1: sense of antis had patient filled the room. There were

238
00:12:01,960 --> 00:12:04,560
Speaker 1: about four hundred cadets all dining together in this shift,

239
00:12:04,720 --> 00:12:07,319
Speaker 1: and of course the officer in charge, a tall, gangly

240
00:12:07,360 --> 00:12:10,480
Speaker 1: redhead with no chin but a strangely beautiful baritone voice,

241
00:12:10,840 --> 00:12:13,719
Speaker 1: led them in prayer before the meal. Manny repeated the

242
00:12:13,720 --> 00:12:16,000
Speaker 1: words after him, but he didn't hear them. He did

243
00:12:16,040 --> 00:12:18,080
Speaker 1: have to elbow Rowland once when he saw the big

244
00:12:18,120 --> 00:12:21,680
Speaker 1: post human wasn't chanting along with the other soldiers. Just then,

245
00:12:21,800 --> 00:12:23,520
Speaker 1: a pair of big doors to the left of the

246
00:12:23,559 --> 00:12:26,959
Speaker 1: stage swung open. Ditmar walked out with a hefty brown

247
00:12:27,040 --> 00:12:29,400
Speaker 1: canvas bag over his shoulder. He was followed by an

248
00:12:29,480 --> 00:12:32,680
Speaker 1: armed guard and then two men in shackles. The captives

249
00:12:32,679 --> 00:12:35,360
Speaker 1: wore striped white prison pajamas, and they both looked the

250
00:12:35,360 --> 00:12:38,280
Speaker 1: worse for wear. One of them, a middle aged black man,

251
00:12:38,400 --> 00:12:41,200
Speaker 1: looked familiar. Many thought he must be a captured sd

252
00:12:41,320 --> 00:12:43,840
Speaker 1: F fighter. His lip looked as if it had recently

253
00:12:43,880 --> 00:12:46,840
Speaker 1: been split, and there was a nasty gash on his forehead.

254
00:12:47,080 --> 00:12:49,360
Speaker 1: He kept his head down and his shoulder slumped. His

255
00:12:49,440 --> 00:12:52,760
Speaker 1: posture was one of complete resignation. The other man was

256
00:12:53,080 --> 00:12:57,360
Speaker 1: Manny's heart skipped a beat Oscar. He'd been beaten too,

257
00:12:57,480 --> 00:13:00,080
Speaker 1: although not as badly as the soldier. He looked not

258
00:13:00,160 --> 00:13:03,360
Speaker 1: so much frightened as bewildered, starving, and probably reeling from

259
00:13:03,360 --> 00:13:07,120
Speaker 1: one or more head injuries. Dude Roland nudged Manny's rib

260
00:13:07,160 --> 00:13:10,400
Speaker 1: cage and whispered to him the fuck. Many realized his

261
00:13:10,480 --> 00:13:13,360
Speaker 1: masket slipped. He let himself stare in horror rather than

262
00:13:13,400 --> 00:13:16,760
Speaker 1: the excitement evident in everyone else's face. No one else

263
00:13:16,760 --> 00:13:19,040
Speaker 1: seemed to have noticed yet, they were all focused on

264
00:13:19,080 --> 00:13:22,000
Speaker 1: the prisoners, But Many forced a grim smile onto his

265
00:13:22,040 --> 00:13:24,120
Speaker 1: face and tried to look at least like he was

266
00:13:24,160 --> 00:13:28,280
Speaker 1: deeply satisfied. An armed martyr prodded Oscar and the STF

267
00:13:28,320 --> 00:13:30,360
Speaker 1: man in their backs with his rifle and ushered them

268
00:13:30,440 --> 00:13:33,880
Speaker 1: up onto the stage. Dead silence reigned over the cafeteria.

269
00:13:34,120 --> 00:13:36,520
Speaker 1: No one spoke. It took Manny a few seconds to

270
00:13:36,559 --> 00:13:39,720
Speaker 1: realize he was actually holding his breath. Once the captives

271
00:13:39,720 --> 00:13:42,000
Speaker 1: were up on stage, the armed martyrs pulled them down

272
00:13:42,000 --> 00:13:45,040
Speaker 1: to their knees. Ditmar set his bag down and zipped

273
00:13:45,040 --> 00:13:47,440
Speaker 1: it and pulled out a wooden rod about two feet

274
00:13:47,480 --> 00:13:50,880
Speaker 1: in length and as stick around as Manny's forearm. Warriors

275
00:13:50,880 --> 00:13:53,480
Speaker 1: of God, The priest in toned in a low whisper.

276
00:13:53,679 --> 00:13:56,160
Speaker 1: Manny felt himself lean into the man's words, even as

277
00:13:56,200 --> 00:13:59,000
Speaker 1: dread pickled the pit of his stomach. These men appointed

278
00:13:59,000 --> 00:14:02,720
Speaker 1: themselves enemies of our heavenly kingdom, foes of God. He

279
00:14:02,840 --> 00:14:05,240
Speaker 1: raised a hand up to Ditmar. His hand shook, but

280
00:14:05,320 --> 00:14:08,920
Speaker 1: not out of fear. He positively vibrated with excitement. Who

281
00:14:09,000 --> 00:14:11,480
Speaker 1: among you will take up the rod and punish these men?

282
00:14:12,160 --> 00:14:15,000
Speaker 1: The chair scraping floor sound of someone standing up very

283
00:14:15,080 --> 00:14:18,160
Speaker 1: quickly rose behind him. Many glanced back and saw that

284
00:14:18,200 --> 00:14:19,800
Speaker 1: one of the men from his cadet group had been

285
00:14:19,800 --> 00:14:22,400
Speaker 1: the first to stand. He was tall, with broad, thick

286
00:14:22,440 --> 00:14:24,720
Speaker 1: shoulders and chest muscles that spoke of a youth spent

287
00:14:24,800 --> 00:14:27,640
Speaker 1: laboring in the field. He had thin, dirty blonde hair,

288
00:14:27,760 --> 00:14:30,360
Speaker 1: a thick jaw and blue eyes that shone with excitement.

289
00:14:30,840 --> 00:14:34,800
Speaker 1: What's your name, Martyr, the priest asked Eric Friedman, Sir.

290
00:14:35,080 --> 00:14:38,760
Speaker 1: The young man cried back, Martyr Freedman, Ditmark cried out

291
00:14:38,760 --> 00:14:40,840
Speaker 1: as he held the rod up. Come forward and do

292
00:14:40,920 --> 00:14:44,440
Speaker 1: the Lord's work. The young man walked forward, stepped up

293
00:14:44,440 --> 00:14:46,880
Speaker 1: onto the stage and took the rod from Ditmar's hand.

294
00:14:47,160 --> 00:14:49,760
Speaker 1: He glanced down at the captives. His eyes passed over

295
00:14:49,800 --> 00:14:52,920
Speaker 1: Oscar and lingered on the battered black soldier. Strike a

296
00:14:52,960 --> 00:14:56,640
Speaker 1: blow for the Lord. The priest whispered, and Martyr Freedman obliged.

297
00:14:56,960 --> 00:14:59,600
Speaker 1: His first swing was weak and sure and poorly aimed,

298
00:15:00,080 --> 00:15:02,720
Speaker 1: struck the soldier on his shoulder. He didn't cry out.

299
00:15:03,120 --> 00:15:06,240
Speaker 1: Martyr Friedman's second strike was harder, sure. He hit the

300
00:15:06,280 --> 00:15:08,240
Speaker 1: soldier right in the gash on his forehead, and the

301
00:15:08,240 --> 00:15:11,200
Speaker 1: man dropped with a muffled cry. Eric hit him again,

302
00:15:11,400 --> 00:15:14,480
Speaker 1: and again and again. Ditmark grabbed another rod from the

303
00:15:14,480 --> 00:15:17,640
Speaker 1: bag and held it out. Stand up, Men of God.

304
00:15:17,680 --> 00:15:19,920
Speaker 1: The priest's voice rose again to a pitch so high

305
00:15:19,960 --> 00:15:22,080
Speaker 1: it was almost a shriek. Step up and be the

306
00:15:22,160 --> 00:15:26,640
Speaker 1: hands of justice. Just for a moment. Oscar saw him surprise,

307
00:15:26,840 --> 00:15:29,800
Speaker 1: then confusion, and then anger passed over the stringer's face.

308
00:15:29,800 --> 00:15:32,520
Speaker 1: In the space of about a second. Manny didn't want

309
00:15:32,560 --> 00:15:35,480
Speaker 1: to think about what Oscar saw in his face. And

310
00:15:35,520 --> 00:15:38,360
Speaker 1: then men rushed the stage, and Oscar disappeared in the

311
00:15:38,360 --> 00:15:41,080
Speaker 1: swarm of martyrs to be rushing to share in the beatings.

312
00:15:41,560 --> 00:15:44,120
Speaker 1: Roland took the opportunity provided by the chaos to lean

313
00:15:44,160 --> 00:15:47,040
Speaker 1: back and whisper a question to Manny, what's going on? Guy?

314
00:15:47,760 --> 00:15:49,720
Speaker 1: I know that guy, the one on the left. Manny

315
00:15:49,760 --> 00:15:52,320
Speaker 1: whispered back, he's one of my stringers. He works for me.

316
00:15:52,600 --> 00:15:55,920
Speaker 1: He's my friend. Roland nodded and then stood up and

317
00:15:56,000 --> 00:15:58,920
Speaker 1: rushed up to the stage. By the time he reached it,

318
00:15:58,960 --> 00:16:01,960
Speaker 1: a dozen other martyrs joined Eric and beating the two captives.

319
00:16:02,160 --> 00:16:04,080
Speaker 1: There was blood on the floor, blood on the sticks,

320
00:16:04,080 --> 00:16:07,480
Speaker 1: and blood splattering the martyr's new uniforms. Oscar cried out

321
00:16:07,520 --> 00:16:09,760
Speaker 1: from each blow. It sounded like his mouth was full

322
00:16:09,800 --> 00:16:12,720
Speaker 1: of blood. And then Roland took a rod from Ditmar's

323
00:16:12,720 --> 00:16:14,840
Speaker 1: hand and in the space of a second, brought it

324
00:16:14,880 --> 00:16:18,080
Speaker 1: down on both men's skulls with dull, meaty thuds. The

325
00:16:18,120 --> 00:16:21,240
Speaker 1: soldiers went still, the screaming stopped, and every eye in

326
00:16:21,240 --> 00:16:24,160
Speaker 1: the room turned to Roland. The chrombed man looked out

327
00:16:24,200 --> 00:16:26,880
Speaker 1: at the crowd. There was an agonizing moment of silence,

328
00:16:26,960 --> 00:16:30,320
Speaker 1: and then Manny knew what he had to do. Praise God,

329
00:16:30,640 --> 00:16:33,400
Speaker 1: he screamed out. The room joined in, and soon a

330
00:16:33,480 --> 00:16:37,720
Speaker 1: chorus of cheers filled the cafeteria. After that, Roland was

331
00:16:37,760 --> 00:16:41,160
Speaker 1: everyone's favorite martyr. Once the men's bodies were dragged off

332
00:16:41,160 --> 00:16:43,800
Speaker 1: the stage and dinner began, the martyrs could barely contain

333
00:16:43,840 --> 00:16:47,440
Speaker 1: their admiration for his strength. That was incredible. Eric said,

334
00:16:47,600 --> 00:16:49,880
Speaker 1: I can't wait to go into battle with you. What

335
00:16:49,920 --> 00:16:52,120
Speaker 1: did you do before? A young man with a thick

336
00:16:52,160 --> 00:16:55,080
Speaker 1: Oklahoma twang asked, from the way you cracked those skulls

337
00:16:55,120 --> 00:16:57,960
Speaker 1: out of guest, You've been doing that for years. Roland

338
00:16:57,960 --> 00:17:01,840
Speaker 1: gave short, non committal responses. His taciturn attitude didn't stop

339
00:17:01,840 --> 00:17:04,520
Speaker 1: the other martyrs from talking about him with supreme glee.

340
00:17:05,119 --> 00:17:07,920
Speaker 1: Their words sickened Manny, but their focus on Roland gave

341
00:17:07,960 --> 00:17:10,280
Speaker 1: him a chance to breathe and mourn and avoid looking

342
00:17:10,280 --> 00:17:13,679
Speaker 1: over at the stage while Ditmar's men dragged Oscar's body away.

343
00:17:14,240 --> 00:17:16,920
Speaker 1: By the time the excitement had subsided and dinner had ended,

344
00:17:17,040 --> 00:17:19,199
Speaker 1: Manny felt like he could just barely make it to

345
00:17:19,320 --> 00:17:22,439
Speaker 1: his bunk without breaking down. He lacked behind Roland and

346
00:17:22,440 --> 00:17:25,399
Speaker 1: the others as they all filed into the barracks. Mannie

347
00:17:25,400 --> 00:17:28,320
Speaker 1: was grateful for Roland's ability to draw attention until during

348
00:17:28,359 --> 00:17:31,040
Speaker 1: the walk that young black martyr sidled up to Manny

349
00:17:31,080 --> 00:17:35,240
Speaker 1: and introduced himself. I'm Jonathan, he said, and I'm honored

350
00:17:35,280 --> 00:17:38,800
Speaker 1: to meet you. Why, Manny asked. I think you and

351
00:17:38,880 --> 00:17:41,000
Speaker 1: I were the only ones who weren't cheering to ring

352
00:17:41,440 --> 00:17:44,879
Speaker 1: that ah, Manny said with a nod. He took a

353
00:17:44,920 --> 00:17:48,080
Speaker 1: careful look at Jonathan's face. The other man's chubby cheeks

354
00:17:48,080 --> 00:17:51,560
Speaker 1: and soft smile seemed almost calculated to make him look guileless.

355
00:17:52,119 --> 00:17:55,760
Speaker 1: Whatever he says, he's one of them, be careful. I

356
00:17:55,880 --> 00:17:58,960
Speaker 1: understand why it was necessary, Manny said, but I don't

357
00:17:58,960 --> 00:18:02,199
Speaker 1: have to like it. Neither do I. Jonathan said. We

358
00:18:02,320 --> 00:18:04,960
Speaker 1: have to fight them. We're fighting for God hereafter all,

359
00:18:05,200 --> 00:18:08,600
Speaker 1: but we don't have to become monsters. Manny nodded, he

360
00:18:08,640 --> 00:18:11,840
Speaker 1: didn't say anything. Jonathan took that as an invitation to

361
00:18:11,880 --> 00:18:14,600
Speaker 1: say more. I think we're going to have a harder

362
00:18:14,640 --> 00:18:17,000
Speaker 1: time here than the others, he said, and gestured to

363
00:18:17,040 --> 00:18:19,800
Speaker 1: the very Caucasian crowd ahead of them. We've got a

364
00:18:19,840 --> 00:18:22,320
Speaker 1: lot to overcome here, but I think that just means

365
00:18:22,359 --> 00:18:24,840
Speaker 1: God will shower more glory on us for the effort.

366
00:18:25,800 --> 00:18:28,800
Speaker 1: Manny was proud that, in his sorrowful and half panicked state,

367
00:18:28,920 --> 00:18:33,240
Speaker 1: he managed to avoid shouting what the fuck at Jonathan. Instead,

368
00:18:33,400 --> 00:18:37,040
Speaker 1: he matched the martyr's smile and just said praise God.

369
00:18:44,520 --> 00:18:47,320
Speaker 1: Their next morning started with an hour of calisthenics. The

370
00:18:47,400 --> 00:18:50,560
Speaker 1: workout was strenuous, but Manny actually enjoyed it. The speed

371
00:18:50,600 --> 00:18:52,960
Speaker 1: with which they were dragged outside and forced into motion

372
00:18:53,080 --> 00:18:55,960
Speaker 1: kept him from picturing Oscar's face for a while. After

373
00:18:56,000 --> 00:18:58,280
Speaker 1: the workout, they dove into the real meat of the day,

374
00:18:58,600 --> 00:19:01,320
Speaker 1: a trip to the gun range. It had been set

375
00:19:01,400 --> 00:19:03,800
Speaker 1: up on what had once been a marching band's practice field.

376
00:19:04,240 --> 00:19:06,720
Speaker 1: Dozens of vaguely human shaped targets had been cut out

377
00:19:06,720 --> 00:19:08,960
Speaker 1: of sheet metal and set up at varying intervals behind

378
00:19:09,000 --> 00:19:12,119
Speaker 1: a crude sandbag line. Their group of about two dozen

379
00:19:12,119 --> 00:19:15,560
Speaker 1: new recruits were each issued weapons of varying quality. Manny

380
00:19:15,640 --> 00:19:18,960
Speaker 1: received a jankie old kalashnikov that rattled like a Morocca

381
00:19:19,240 --> 00:19:22,280
Speaker 1: Rowland was given and almost knew g thirty six assault rifle.

382
00:19:23,000 --> 00:19:25,480
Speaker 1: The range instructor was a one legged old martyr with

383
00:19:25,520 --> 00:19:28,639
Speaker 1: a prodigious belly and an equally overgrown white beard. He

384
00:19:28,720 --> 00:19:30,600
Speaker 1: walked them through the basics if how to operate a

385
00:19:30,680 --> 00:19:33,520
Speaker 1: variety of different assault rifles. You can't know what weapon

386
00:19:33,560 --> 00:19:36,160
Speaker 1: you'll end up needn't to use, and then set them

387
00:19:36,200 --> 00:19:38,720
Speaker 1: up on the sandbag line and told them to start firing.

388
00:19:39,359 --> 00:19:41,480
Speaker 1: Manny took aim at a target around a hundred feet

389
00:19:41,480 --> 00:19:42,919
Speaker 1: in front of him. It was hard to tell if

390
00:19:42,960 --> 00:19:44,800
Speaker 1: he hid it or not. Several other men had aimed

391
00:19:44,840 --> 00:19:47,520
Speaker 1: at the same target. Again, Manny got the feeling that

392
00:19:47,560 --> 00:19:50,000
Speaker 1: the purpose of this training was not to make them marksmen.

393
00:19:50,280 --> 00:19:54,840
Speaker 1: Basic familiarity was all the Heavenly Kingdom had time to provide. Rowland,

394
00:19:54,840 --> 00:19:58,120
Speaker 1: of course, proved a fabulous shot. He stitched a smiley

395
00:19:58,160 --> 00:20:00,640
Speaker 1: face and bullet holes across four of the old targets

396
00:20:00,640 --> 00:20:04,600
Speaker 1: and earned genuine praise from the instructor. My godson, you've

397
00:20:04,600 --> 00:20:08,520
Speaker 1: got a gift. This only increased Roland's social cachet with

398
00:20:08,560 --> 00:20:11,119
Speaker 1: the martyrs. They crowded around him during the walk to

399
00:20:11,119 --> 00:20:13,760
Speaker 1: the next activity of the day, lunch in a lecture

400
00:20:13,760 --> 00:20:17,359
Speaker 1: on assault tactics, This was held in a little concrete amphitheater,

401
00:20:17,600 --> 00:20:20,600
Speaker 1: something that had presumably once served the school's drama department.

402
00:20:20,960 --> 00:20:23,520
Speaker 1: Manny tried to sit down next to Roland, but Eric

403
00:20:23,520 --> 00:20:25,560
Speaker 1: and a gaggle of his friends settled around the post

404
00:20:25,600 --> 00:20:29,240
Speaker 1: human First, they babbled excitedly to him. Manny wasn't sure

405
00:20:29,320 --> 00:20:31,480
Speaker 1: what they were saying, but every time he glanced back,

406
00:20:31,640 --> 00:20:35,280
Speaker 1: Roland looked absolutely miserable. Manny wound up in the back,

407
00:20:35,480 --> 00:20:38,440
Speaker 1: seated next to Jonathan. The young martyr patted his leg.

408
00:20:38,680 --> 00:20:41,040
Speaker 1: Don't worry, brother, he said. It's gonna be tough for

409
00:20:41,119 --> 00:20:43,120
Speaker 1: us to earn their respect, but once we're all out

410
00:20:43,119 --> 00:20:45,280
Speaker 1: in the field together, they'll stop caring about your skin.

411
00:20:46,000 --> 00:20:48,760
Speaker 1: You are sure about that, Manny asked, happy he was

412
00:20:48,800 --> 00:20:51,200
Speaker 1: never going to wind up in the field with any

413
00:20:51,240 --> 00:20:54,320
Speaker 1: of these people. Of course, I am, Jonathan said, I

414
00:20:54,359 --> 00:20:56,320
Speaker 1: grew up in Atlanta. You know, I knew it was

415
00:20:56,320 --> 00:20:58,119
Speaker 1: going to be rough coming out here. But that's the

416
00:20:58,160 --> 00:21:00,800
Speaker 1: sacrifice we make for God. I know he's going to

417
00:21:00,880 --> 00:21:03,560
Speaker 1: bring this nation back together. Tell you the truth, I'm

418
00:21:03,600 --> 00:21:06,679
Speaker 1: honored to be a part of that. Jonathan's eyes shone

419
00:21:06,680 --> 00:21:10,440
Speaker 1: when he spoke. He's a true believer. Manny realized there's

420
00:21:10,440 --> 00:21:12,199
Speaker 1: not a doubt in his mind that he's doing the

421
00:21:12,280 --> 00:21:16,080
Speaker 1: right thing. That was scary, and things got scarier still

422
00:21:16,119 --> 00:21:19,520
Speaker 1: when their next instructor stepped into the amphitheater. The man

423
00:21:19,680 --> 00:21:22,080
Speaker 1: was old and grizzled too. He had both his legs,

424
00:21:22,160 --> 00:21:24,439
Speaker 1: but his right arm was missing below the elbow, and

425
00:21:24,480 --> 00:21:27,080
Speaker 1: a jagged scar ran up the left side of his face.

426
00:21:27,480 --> 00:21:30,120
Speaker 1: The skin on most of his forehead was bald and modeled,

427
00:21:30,160 --> 00:21:33,760
Speaker 1: as if he'd been badly burned. Afternoon, boys, and God

428
00:21:33,800 --> 00:21:36,680
Speaker 1: bless you. I'm Mada Caruthers. Today you're going to learn

429
00:21:36,680 --> 00:21:40,200
Speaker 1: how to assault a fortified position. Most of the strategies

430
00:21:40,240 --> 00:21:42,679
Speaker 1: you walked them through began and ended with the application

431
00:21:42,720 --> 00:21:46,400
Speaker 1: of shoulder fired rockets and incendiary grenades. Manny couldn't help

432
00:21:46,400 --> 00:21:48,600
Speaker 1: but notice that no time was spent talking about how

433
00:21:48,640 --> 00:21:52,720
Speaker 1: to avoid civilian casualties. He wasn't even sure specialist Caruthers

434
00:21:52,800 --> 00:21:55,800
Speaker 1: knew how to pronounce the word civilian. Remember what it

435
00:21:55,840 --> 00:21:58,800
Speaker 1: says in the Book of Samuel, Boys, the older man drawled.

436
00:21:58,960 --> 00:22:01,720
Speaker 1: Now go and strike, can devote to destruction all that

437
00:22:01,760 --> 00:22:04,400
Speaker 1: you have. Do not spare them, but kill both man

438
00:22:04,480 --> 00:22:07,800
Speaker 1: and woman, child and infant. Ox and sheep, camel and donkey,

439
00:22:08,200 --> 00:22:10,280
Speaker 1: he laughed, which made a few of the young martyrs

440
00:22:10,280 --> 00:22:13,720
Speaker 1: comfortable enough to laugh too. I don't expect you'll run

441
00:22:13,720 --> 00:22:16,320
Speaker 1: into any camels or donkeys out in Austin, but there

442
00:22:16,320 --> 00:22:19,119
Speaker 1: will be men, women, children and infants. If they stand

443
00:22:19,119 --> 00:22:21,960
Speaker 1: in your way, they all equally deserve to be purged.

444
00:22:22,920 --> 00:22:25,399
Speaker 1: Manny didn't like the eagerness he saw in the faces

445
00:22:25,440 --> 00:22:27,880
Speaker 1: of his fellow students. The pit in his stomach grew

446
00:22:27,960 --> 00:22:30,520
Speaker 1: Throughout the day, While Martyr Caruthers explained how to use

447
00:22:30,560 --> 00:22:33,400
Speaker 1: the various heavy munitions they might be called upon to deploy,

448
00:22:33,880 --> 00:22:36,320
Speaker 1: there weren't enough rockets or mortars for them to actually

449
00:22:36,359 --> 00:22:39,080
Speaker 1: train on any of those things. Manny wasn't sure how

450
00:22:39,119 --> 00:22:41,640
Speaker 1: good a gist anyone really got. He wondered how much

451
00:22:41,640 --> 00:22:43,760
Speaker 1: that would matter when these men took to the field.

452
00:22:44,760 --> 00:22:48,120
Speaker 1: He ate ravenously at dinner. Thankfully, there were no executions

453
00:22:48,160 --> 00:22:50,920
Speaker 1: that day, but Martyr Ditmar did take the stage again

454
00:22:50,960 --> 00:22:53,120
Speaker 1: and announced that the busses were ready to take any

455
00:22:53,200 --> 00:22:55,680
Speaker 1: interested recruits down to the main drag for a couple

456
00:22:55,760 --> 00:22:58,280
Speaker 1: of hours of what passed for R and R. One

457
00:22:58,359 --> 00:23:00,720
Speaker 1: of the older martyrs handed everyone ash and cards and

458
00:23:00,760 --> 00:23:02,919
Speaker 1: explained they were good for either a cup of coffee

459
00:23:03,000 --> 00:23:05,000
Speaker 1: or tea, or a small amount of food from one

460
00:23:05,000 --> 00:23:08,480
Speaker 1: of the few stores that had opened back up. Fucking tea,

461
00:23:08,640 --> 00:23:10,960
Speaker 1: Roland grumbled into Manny's ear as they headed out for

462
00:23:11,000 --> 00:23:14,640
Speaker 1: the buses. That's what these jumped up Puritans considered recreational

463
00:23:14,680 --> 00:23:18,440
Speaker 1: beverage this fucking country. Manny had noticed the post human

464
00:23:18,480 --> 00:23:21,640
Speaker 1: growing increasingly jittery in irritable throughout the day. He'd seen

465
00:23:21,720 --> 00:23:24,639
Speaker 1: Roland cautiously cough up another small bag of pills right

466
00:23:24,680 --> 00:23:27,399
Speaker 1: before lunch that had sated him for a while. But

467
00:23:27,520 --> 00:23:30,320
Speaker 1: considering his post human metabolism, man he thought he had

468
00:23:30,320 --> 00:23:33,439
Speaker 1: to be pretty close to sober. I am so fucking lucid.

469
00:23:33,480 --> 00:23:36,600
Speaker 1: I can't stand it, Roland muttered, What is it with

470
00:23:36,640 --> 00:23:39,560
Speaker 1: you people and being high all the time? Manny whispered back,

471
00:23:39,840 --> 00:23:42,520
Speaker 1: can you stand being sober for a few days? Not

472
00:23:42,600 --> 00:23:45,080
Speaker 1: if I'm gonna help it, Roland said. He pointed to

473
00:23:45,119 --> 00:23:47,480
Speaker 1: his head. There's just too much going on in there, man,

474
00:23:47,560 --> 00:23:49,639
Speaker 1: too much input. It's like my whole body itches, but

475
00:23:49,680 --> 00:23:53,320
Speaker 1: I can't scratch ah, Mann, he said, since he wasn't

476
00:23:53,359 --> 00:23:56,560
Speaker 1: sure what else to say. The bus hit downtown Plano

477
00:23:56,640 --> 00:23:59,359
Speaker 1: after twenty minutes or so. It wasn't an impressive site.

478
00:23:59,760 --> 00:24:02,600
Speaker 1: There were maybe a dozen little shops in one cafe open,

479
00:24:02,800 --> 00:24:05,440
Speaker 1: plus a pretty sad looking farmer's market. He could see

480
00:24:05,440 --> 00:24:07,800
Speaker 1: no signs of any bars, any clubs, anything that even

481
00:24:07,880 --> 00:24:12,000
Speaker 1: vaguely resembled nightlife. The main drag was crowded with people,

482
00:24:12,160 --> 00:24:14,560
Speaker 1: throngs of soldiers and young women in long dresses and

483
00:24:14,640 --> 00:24:18,080
Speaker 1: new immigrants into the heavenly Kingdom. Where should we go first,

484
00:24:18,200 --> 00:24:21,159
Speaker 1: Manny asked. As soon as they'd filed off the bus well,

485
00:24:21,359 --> 00:24:23,680
Speaker 1: Roland grunted, Unless you're in the mood for shaky coff

486
00:24:23,680 --> 00:24:26,720
Speaker 1: here some rude vegetables, I'd say we check out that gallows.

487
00:24:27,640 --> 00:24:30,280
Speaker 1: Manny had avoided looking too long at the gallows. It

488
00:24:30,359 --> 00:24:32,320
Speaker 1: was empty now, but just staring at it made him

489
00:24:32,359 --> 00:24:35,280
Speaker 1: feel sick. There was something sinister and unsettling about the

490
00:24:35,320 --> 00:24:37,440
Speaker 1: ground beneath it. It was as if he could feel

491
00:24:37,440 --> 00:24:41,359
Speaker 1: the death radiating outwards. What could we possibly learn there,

492
00:24:41,760 --> 00:24:44,880
Speaker 1: the Big man shrugged, not much. But if they wind

493
00:24:44,920 --> 00:24:46,840
Speaker 1: up hanging anyone tonight, I might be able to sniff

494
00:24:46,840 --> 00:24:50,359
Speaker 1: out where they're keeping the prisoners. That'd be useful data. Well,

495
00:24:50,359 --> 00:24:52,760
Speaker 1: I'm gonna be useless for that, Manny said, what should

496
00:24:52,760 --> 00:24:55,880
Speaker 1: I do? I don't know, man grab some coffee what

497
00:24:56,640 --> 00:24:58,840
Speaker 1: Roland locked eyes with him. He didn't do that often.

498
00:24:59,040 --> 00:25:01,280
Speaker 1: His gaze was normal lee, as shifty and juttery as

499
00:25:01,280 --> 00:25:03,720
Speaker 1: the rest of him. Look, kid, you've done a great

500
00:25:03,800 --> 00:25:06,240
Speaker 1: job above and beyond the collie and a duty or whatever,

501
00:25:06,280 --> 00:25:08,240
Speaker 1: and you're good company too. But I got half a

502
00:25:08,280 --> 00:25:10,720
Speaker 1: dozen satellites worth a sensory equipment in my brain and

503
00:25:10,800 --> 00:25:14,080
Speaker 1: hundreds of wee bitty microscopic robots floating around the air

504
00:25:14,160 --> 00:25:16,679
Speaker 1: feeding me news. There's really not much for you to

505
00:25:16,720 --> 00:25:19,920
Speaker 1: do here. Chill out, find whatever passes for relaxation here

506
00:25:19,960 --> 00:25:21,800
Speaker 1: and do it. I'll get you when it's time to go.

507
00:25:23,119 --> 00:25:25,880
Speaker 1: Many started to protest, but then he thought, what the hell,

508
00:25:26,040 --> 00:25:28,720
Speaker 1: He's right, I'm useless. I've earned a cup of flavorless

509
00:25:28,800 --> 00:25:31,919
Speaker 1: gringo coffee. So we thanked Roland and headed off in

510
00:25:31,920 --> 00:25:35,080
Speaker 1: the direction of the strip's functioning coffee house, the Cafe Clement.

511
00:25:35,440 --> 00:25:37,639
Speaker 1: It looked like it was less crowded than the others.

512
00:25:37,800 --> 00:25:40,720
Speaker 1: As he reached for the door, someone slammed into him.

513
00:25:40,800 --> 00:25:43,280
Speaker 1: She was a young blonde, younger than Manny, at any rate.

514
00:25:43,480 --> 00:25:46,800
Speaker 1: She wore baggy surgical scrubs. Her jaw was tight and clenched.

515
00:25:46,960 --> 00:25:49,040
Speaker 1: Her brown eyes were wide with fear, and there were

516
00:25:49,080 --> 00:25:52,480
Speaker 1: deep bags under them. Oh oh my, she said, I'm

517
00:25:52,480 --> 00:25:55,160
Speaker 1: so sorry, sir. Please let me. It's okay. Manny said,

518
00:25:55,240 --> 00:25:58,400
Speaker 1: no damage done. Are you all right? You look terrified.

519
00:25:59,119 --> 00:26:02,320
Speaker 1: I'm just just trying to avoid someone. It's nothing serious.

520
00:26:03,000 --> 00:26:05,400
Speaker 1: Manny wasn't sure why, but he pulled the ration cards

521
00:26:05,400 --> 00:26:07,160
Speaker 1: he'd been given out of his pocket and offered one

522
00:26:07,160 --> 00:26:09,760
Speaker 1: to the stranger. Here, if you want, we can grab

523
00:26:09,760 --> 00:26:11,520
Speaker 1: a table together and I'll sit with my back to

524
00:26:11,560 --> 00:26:14,600
Speaker 1: the door. You're not big, I can block you. She

525
00:26:14,680 --> 00:26:17,520
Speaker 1: looked surprised and a little hesitant, but after a few

526
00:26:17,520 --> 00:26:20,880
Speaker 1: blinks she nodded and said, I actually appreciate that a lot.

527
00:26:21,119 --> 00:26:25,760
Speaker 1: Thank God for you, sir. Yeah, Manny agreed, praise him.

528
00:26:25,880 --> 00:26:28,639
Speaker 1: They sat and ordered coffee. The young woman kept craning

529
00:26:28,640 --> 00:26:32,160
Speaker 1: her neck around Manny to peek at the door behind them. Look,

530
00:26:32,200 --> 00:26:33,879
Speaker 1: I'm not going to ask what's up with you? But

531
00:26:33,960 --> 00:26:35,639
Speaker 1: can I get your name? At least that might make

532
00:26:35,680 --> 00:26:40,600
Speaker 1: this less awkward. I'm man U Emmanuel Manny for short, Sasha.

533
00:26:40,840 --> 00:26:43,440
Speaker 1: She said, I just got here a few days ago.

534
00:26:43,720 --> 00:26:47,919
Speaker 1: You this is my second day, She looked, surprised. I

535
00:26:47,920 --> 00:26:52,040
Speaker 1: wouldn't have guessed, what with the uniform, he laughed. It

536
00:26:52,080 --> 00:26:54,000
Speaker 1: turns out they just hand these to anyone who hold

537
00:26:54,000 --> 00:26:56,720
Speaker 1: a gun. I didn't even really have a choice. Well,

538
00:26:56,760 --> 00:26:58,800
Speaker 1: if that's where you wound up, I'm sure it's where

539
00:26:58,840 --> 00:27:01,800
Speaker 1: the Lord wants you. Praise God for that. She didn't

540
00:27:01,840 --> 00:27:04,120
Speaker 1: seem like she was joking, but there was something about

541
00:27:04,119 --> 00:27:06,120
Speaker 1: her tone and the way her jaw and never unclinched

542
00:27:06,160 --> 00:27:08,119
Speaker 1: that made Manny suspect she was a little less than

543
00:27:08,160 --> 00:27:10,879
Speaker 1: convinced about her own words. For the next few minutes

544
00:27:10,880 --> 00:27:14,280
Speaker 1: they talked in between SIPs of mediocre coffee. He learned

545
00:27:14,320 --> 00:27:16,520
Speaker 1: she was from the American Federation and enough of a

546
00:27:16,560 --> 00:27:19,960
Speaker 1: true believer that she'd smuggled herself into the heavenly kingdom.

547
00:27:20,040 --> 00:27:22,680
Speaker 1: She didn't seem like a zella, though. More than anything,

548
00:27:22,880 --> 00:27:26,199
Speaker 1: she seemed scared. How do you like it here, he

549
00:27:26,240 --> 00:27:29,840
Speaker 1: finally asked, Is it what you'd expected? She didn't respond

550
00:27:29,880 --> 00:27:32,560
Speaker 1: for quite a while. Instead, she stared into his eyes.

551
00:27:33,000 --> 00:27:36,000
Speaker 1: Manny stared back. It was a strange feeling. She must

552
00:27:36,000 --> 00:27:38,280
Speaker 1: have been trying to search out whether he was trustworthy

553
00:27:38,400 --> 00:27:41,199
Speaker 1: or trying to trick her into revealing her disloyalty. He

554
00:27:41,280 --> 00:27:43,679
Speaker 1: maintained eye contact and tried not to seem like a

555
00:27:43,680 --> 00:27:46,600
Speaker 1: member of whatever the Heavenly Kingdom called their secret police.

556
00:27:47,040 --> 00:27:50,439
Speaker 1: Apparently it worked. Of course, I'm happy here in God's Kingdom,

557
00:27:50,680 --> 00:27:53,280
Speaker 1: she smiled, an empty smile. I've been blessed to meet

558
00:27:53,320 --> 00:27:56,480
Speaker 1: so many dedicated people, but um, I've also met some

559
00:27:56,520 --> 00:28:00,400
Speaker 1: people who am I am well, she coughed. Not everyone

560
00:28:00,440 --> 00:28:03,399
Speaker 1: here seems to have the Lord in their heart. Manny

561
00:28:03,480 --> 00:28:06,120
Speaker 1: almost laughed at the irony and her admitting that to him,

562
00:28:06,320 --> 00:28:09,119
Speaker 1: but he kept his mouth shut and just nodded. Sasha

563
00:28:09,160 --> 00:28:11,159
Speaker 1: took a long sip of her coffee. He felt a

564
00:28:11,200 --> 00:28:14,159
Speaker 1: little bad for staring. She was very pretty, but she

565
00:28:14,320 --> 00:28:17,040
Speaker 1: was also pretty young, and of course she'd volunteered to

566
00:28:17,080 --> 00:28:20,280
Speaker 1: join a theocratic murder state. That was probably another reason

567
00:28:20,320 --> 00:28:24,879
Speaker 1: he shouldn't get too attached. So anyway, Sasha explained, I've

568
00:28:24,960 --> 00:28:26,960
Speaker 1: run into some men I don't like very much, and

569
00:28:26,960 --> 00:28:28,600
Speaker 1: they keep finding me when I get off from my

570
00:28:28,640 --> 00:28:31,280
Speaker 1: shift at the hospital. I'm sure they're waiting outside the

571
00:28:31,280 --> 00:28:34,160
Speaker 1: house of where I'm staying right now. I just don't

572
00:28:34,160 --> 00:28:37,399
Speaker 1: want to deal with that again. Well, Manny smiled his

573
00:28:37,440 --> 00:28:40,240
Speaker 1: most charming smile. I'm happy to help you waite them out.

574
00:28:40,360 --> 00:28:42,600
Speaker 1: I've got another hour at least before the buses take

575
00:28:42,680 --> 00:28:45,920
Speaker 1: us back to the barracks. And so for a while

576
00:28:46,040 --> 00:28:48,200
Speaker 1: they just talked. She told him about her work in

577
00:28:48,240 --> 00:28:50,400
Speaker 1: the hospital, and he tried to say as little as

578
00:28:50,400 --> 00:28:53,600
Speaker 1: possible about his two shitty days as a martyr. Sasha

579
00:28:53,640 --> 00:28:55,640
Speaker 1: didn't seem to mind that he didn't have much to

580
00:28:55,680 --> 00:28:58,360
Speaker 1: say about himself. Manny got the feelings she was just

581
00:28:58,440 --> 00:29:00,920
Speaker 1: happy to have someone to talk with. Most of her

582
00:29:00,960 --> 00:29:04,080
Speaker 1: words passed over him until she mentioned something about a prisoner.

583
00:29:04,640 --> 00:29:06,640
Speaker 1: She's from one of the road people from some moving

584
00:29:06,680 --> 00:29:09,560
Speaker 1: city with an obscene name, and she's pregnant. So I'll

585
00:29:09,560 --> 00:29:11,640
Speaker 1: be seeing her again tomorrow, probably to do a more

586
00:29:11,680 --> 00:29:15,520
Speaker 1: thorough examination. I feel weird about it. She was so strange,

587
00:29:15,600 --> 00:29:17,920
Speaker 1: so different from anyone I've met, but I really don't

588
00:29:18,000 --> 00:29:21,800
Speaker 1: like Wait, a prisoner is this at the hospital? Sasha

589
00:29:21,800 --> 00:29:24,400
Speaker 1: seemed confused by that question, and Mannie worried he might

590
00:29:24,400 --> 00:29:27,600
Speaker 1: have overplayed his hand. Why do you The rest of

591
00:29:27,600 --> 00:29:29,480
Speaker 1: her question was cut off by the sound of a

592
00:29:29,480 --> 00:29:32,760
Speaker 1: bull horn outside. Manny couldn't make out most of what

593
00:29:32,840 --> 00:29:35,880
Speaker 1: was being said until he heard prisoners and sd F

594
00:29:36,120 --> 00:29:40,560
Speaker 1: in an electronically distorted Southern drawl. Oh no, Sasha moaned,

595
00:29:40,920 --> 00:29:45,360
Speaker 1: what what are they talking about? It's another execution. Manny

596
00:29:45,440 --> 00:29:47,960
Speaker 1: stood up and stepped towards the door. He had to

597
00:29:47,960 --> 00:29:50,440
Speaker 1: see who it was. Even before he got there, a

598
00:29:50,560 --> 00:29:52,719
Speaker 1: terrible feeling had started to boil up in the pit

599
00:29:52,800 --> 00:29:55,800
Speaker 1: of his gut. He pushed the door open, jogged towards

600
00:29:55,800 --> 00:29:58,120
Speaker 1: the gallows, and pushed his way back through the crowd.

601
00:29:58,360 --> 00:30:00,600
Speaker 1: He could see Rowland standing to the feed off to

602
00:30:00,600 --> 00:30:03,320
Speaker 1: the left from the wooden platform, but Manny's eyes were

603
00:30:03,360 --> 00:30:05,640
Speaker 1: focused on the four men and two women in shackles

604
00:30:05,640 --> 00:30:08,400
Speaker 1: at the foot of the gallows. Five of them were strangers.

605
00:30:09,200 --> 00:30:16,320
Speaker 1: Six was Mr Coron. Hey, I'm Robert Evans. I hope

606
00:30:16,320 --> 00:30:18,360
Speaker 1: you enjoyed this chapter. I hope you enjoyed the chapters

607
00:30:18,400 --> 00:30:20,280
Speaker 1: to come. You can find the free e pub of

608
00:30:20,320 --> 00:30:22,480
Speaker 1: every chapter and eventually the whole book at a t

609
00:30:22,720 --> 00:30:25,960
Speaker 1: r book dot com, complete with illustrations. If you want

610
00:30:26,000 --> 00:30:28,840
Speaker 1: to support me in writing the sequel, you can crowdfund

611
00:30:28,880 --> 00:30:31,440
Speaker 1: me at After the Revolution the Sequel at go fund me.

612
00:30:31,560 --> 00:30:34,640
Speaker 1: Just type and go fund me After the Revolution the Sequel.

613
00:30:35,200 --> 00:30:37,480
Speaker 1: Um I'd like my books to always be free, so

614
00:30:37,640 --> 00:30:40,040
Speaker 1: I'm just going to try to crowdfund the next one

615
00:30:40,120 --> 00:30:42,160
Speaker 1: and see how that works. So After the Revolution the

616
00:30:42,200 --> 00:30:45,480
Speaker 1: Sequel on go fund me. You can also find the

617
00:30:45,480 --> 00:30:49,320
Speaker 1: community of fans of this book online at our slash

618
00:30:49,360 --> 00:30:53,080
Speaker 1: after the Revolution on Reddit. So after the Revolution the

619
00:30:53,120 --> 00:30:55,680
Speaker 1: Sequel on go fund me and our slash after the

620
00:30:55,720 --> 00:30:58,400
Speaker 1: Revolution on Reddit. A t r book dot com for

621
00:30:58,440 --> 00:30:59,440
Speaker 1: the whole book. Thanks