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Speaker 1: What's up? Guys have a shop Aloud and I am

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Speaker 1: Troy Millions and we are the host of the Earnier

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Speaker 1: Leisure podcast, where we break down business models and examine

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Speaker 1: the latest trends in finance. We hold court and have

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Speaker 1: exclusive interviews with some of the biggest names of business, sport,

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Speaker 1: and entertainment, from DJ Khaled to Mark Cuban, Rick Ross

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Speaker 1: and Shaquille O'Neil. I mean our alumnilist is expansive. Listen

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Speaker 1: to as our guests reveal their business models, hardships and

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Speaker 1: triumphs and their respective fields. The knowledge is in death

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Speaker 1: and the questions are always delivered from your standpoint. We

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Speaker 1: want to know what you want to know. We talked

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Speaker 1: to the legends of business, sports and entertainment about how

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Speaker 1: they got their start and most importantly, how they make

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Speaker 1: their money. Earn your Leisia is a college business class

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Speaker 1: mixed with pop culture. I want to learn about the

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Speaker 1: real estate game, unclears, how the stock market works. We

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Speaker 1: got you interested in starting a truck and company or

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Speaker 1: vendor machine business. Not really sure about how taxes or

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Speaker 1: credit work. We got it all covered. The Earnier Leisure

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Speaker 1: podcast is available now. Listen to Earnier Leisure on the

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Speaker 1: Black Effect podcast Network, I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts

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Speaker 1: or wherever you get your podcasts. Give us the attention.

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Speaker 1: We need. Everything you've got fast. Waiting on Reparations would

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Speaker 1: beat the podcast. Tune in every Thursday politics and wordplay.

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Speaker 1: We fight for the people because they got us in

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Speaker 1: the worst way, from the Hill Cooper, the Bombay to

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Speaker 1: Kanye from the left enclave to what the neo kanse

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Speaker 1: every Thursday heavy conversation and to break us off with

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Speaker 1: some break because we're waiting the reparations. Listen to Waiting

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Speaker 1: on Reparations on the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts

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Speaker 1: or wherever you get your podcast. Outer Space a vast

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Speaker 1: unknown frontier. We don't yet know the dangers that lurk

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Speaker 1: beyond the stars. But unfortunately for Captain Sidney Owens and

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Speaker 1: Jenna Prescott, they're about to find out. Magmaal from I

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Speaker 1: Heart Radio and Bamford Productions. Listen to Magmaal on the

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Speaker 1: I Heart Radio app, Apple podcast or wherever you get

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Speaker 1: your podcast. Chapter nine, Sasha, they unloaded her in plain o.

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Speaker 1: The porters who cracked open her crate, two men in

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Speaker 1: dirty jumpsuits seemed disappointed. That she wasn't food. One of

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Speaker 1: the men was tall and balding, the others shorter and

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Speaker 1: still fairly young. They had white skin burnt reddish by

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Speaker 1: the sun, and neither of them looked like they bathed

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Speaker 1: in quite some time. Their faces were gaunt. Sasha didn't

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Speaker 1: see any extra fat on either of them. Add Dang,

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Speaker 1: said the tall one, welcome, said the short one. I

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Speaker 1: hope you're ready for what this is. They were not

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Speaker 1: exactly the welcome crew she'd expected. Saul had told her

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Speaker 1: a man named David would be waiting, but neither of

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Speaker 1: the porters knew who David was. They seemed much more

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Speaker 1: frustrated than joyous at her presence. The building wasn't what

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Speaker 1: she'd expected either. It looked like an old FedEx facility,

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Speaker 1: with all the branding covered by red spray paint. There

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Speaker 1: was trash everywhere, mostly food waste from rates of aid

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Speaker 1: supplies that had been opened too late. The spoiled food

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Speaker 1: had been shoved into large piles and left to rot

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Speaker 1: In one center of the large room. Sasha guessed this

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Speaker 1: had once been a loading dock where delivery trucks would

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Speaker 1: have dropped off and received packages. The room was filled

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Speaker 1: with a mix of aid crates and miscellaneous boxes stacked

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Speaker 1: into piles by a ragged army of tired looking men.

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Speaker 1: Like the two men who had greeted her, they all

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Speaker 1: looked malnourished and skinny. The only people not dressed in

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Speaker 1: blue jumpsuits were a pair of armed guards. They stood

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Speaker 1: in the back of the room, near a door that

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Speaker 1: seemed to lead deeper into the facility. Both men had

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Speaker 1: white paint crosses daubed across the body armor on their chests.

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Speaker 1: Both carried very large black rifles. One of them ran

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Speaker 1: over once he saw her emerge from the shipping crate.

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Speaker 1: Welcome to the heavenly Kingdom, ma'am, the boy drawled. He

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Speaker 1: looked young enough to have come from her own high school.

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Speaker 1: There was a dusting of acne on his unlined face,

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Speaker 1: and his round cheeks still held a bit of baby fat.

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Speaker 1: Thank you, sir, she said, and pointed to the cross

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Speaker 1: on his chest. It's good to see that. The young

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Speaker 1: martyr smiled, Yes, ma'am, we wear the cross here. He

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Speaker 1: glanced at the porters and narrowed his eyes. Most of

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Speaker 1: us anyway. He extended his hand. Sasha took it, and

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Speaker 1: he helped her take her first few steps into this

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Speaker 1: strange new world. Her legs felt wobbly and unstable after

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Speaker 1: so much time crammed into a crate. She was grateful

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Speaker 1: for the help. I'm looking for David, she said, Do

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Speaker 1: you know where I might find him? No David here, ma'am,

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Speaker 1: the martyr replied, But Darrell's the team leader for this

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Speaker 1: receiving yard. He'll set you to rights. They walked through

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Speaker 1: the rear door and into the building proper. Sasha's escort

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Speaker 1: guided her past old offices and break rooms into what

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Speaker 1: looked like it had been a waiting area for customers.

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Speaker 1: It had been transformed into an office. The only occupant

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Speaker 1: was a single man, surrounded by four folding tables, each

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Speaker 1: piled high with a mix of paper shipping manifests and

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Speaker 1: folding e paper displays. He sat in the middle of

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Speaker 1: it all and scrolled feverishly on a heavy government issue

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Speaker 1: tablet computer. This man, dar role, was tall and broad shouldered,

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Speaker 1: but stooped forward. It looked as if his spine had

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Speaker 1: been bent at the mids shoulders. Sasha relished the deep

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Speaker 1: lines on his face, the bags under his eyes, his

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Speaker 1: receding hairline, and even the way His joints popped audibly

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Speaker 1: as he stood when she entered. No man she'd met

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Speaker 1: in the American Federation had aged so honestly, not even

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Speaker 1: her father. Sasha realized with a start that this was

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Speaker 1: the first older man she'd ever really seen. He must

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Speaker 1: be fifty at least. Hello, sir, she started, ah nuts,

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Speaker 1: He spat not another one? Ee you. The man had

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Speaker 1: a thick drawl. He sounded country in a way Sasha

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Speaker 1: had only heard in movies. Her voice caught in her

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Speaker 1: throat as she tried to respond, Sir, I'm I'm looking

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Speaker 1: for David. It he grunted you and every other teenager

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Speaker 1: what's come through my depot? I'll tell you the same

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Speaker 1: thing I told them others. Ain't no David here. Sasha's

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Speaker 1: eyes widened, She squeaked, and immediately hated herself for it. No,

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Speaker 1: no David. Darrel must have seen the fear in her

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Speaker 1: face and taken pity, because his tone softened. Listen, I uh.

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Speaker 1: He glanced at the small screen wrapped around his wrist,

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Speaker 1: tapped it a couple of times, and looked back to her.

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Speaker 1: I got about fifteen minutes left herefore, I got a

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Speaker 1: mating downtown. I can drop you off. Folks there can

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Speaker 1: help you get set up if and you decide to stay.

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Speaker 1: I would appreciate that very much, Sasha said. Her face

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Speaker 1: reddened again when she asked, is there a restroom I

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Speaker 1: can use around here? I'd like to clean up a bit. Ye,

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Speaker 1: the man grunted and nodded towards a red door in

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Speaker 1: the back of his office. That's brabit no shower, but

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Speaker 1: the water runs. Sasha couldn't really smell herself anymore, which

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Speaker 1: she knew she probably smelled terrible. The thing she wanted

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Speaker 1: most was a long, hot shower with shampoo. Holy God,

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Speaker 1: she realized, shampoo is amazing. She was so preoccupied with

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Speaker 1: the thought of clean hair that she didn't even chastise

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Speaker 1: herself for the blasphemy. Sasha knew she wouldn't find shampoo

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Speaker 1: in this restroom, but any kind of clean was better

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Speaker 1: than her current level of filth. She thanked Darrell and

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Speaker 1: stepped into his bathroom. Sasha told herself it wasn't the

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Speaker 1: worst bathroom she'd ever seen, even though that was a

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Speaker 1: clear lie. The floor, once white tile, was so crusted

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Speaker 1: with black and yellow she could only tell they'd ever

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Speaker 1: bin tile by the slight suggestion of squarish shapes underneath

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Speaker 1: the filth. The toilet had been shattered almost completely. All

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Speaker 1: that remained was a little circle of busted ceramic around

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Speaker 1: a hole in the ground. It seemed to function as

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Speaker 1: a squat toilet. Now. The sink was intact, but it

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Speaker 1: also looked like it hadn't been cleaned at all in

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Speaker 1: the last year. The metal of the faucet was green

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Speaker 1: where it should have been silver. Sasha held her nose,

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Speaker 1: turned the hot water on and hoped for the best.

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Speaker 1: It took her a round minute to stop hoping for

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Speaker 1: hot water. Of course, this place didn't have a functioning

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Speaker 1: water heater. This is a war zone, you stupid girl,

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Speaker 1: Sasha cursed herself. She felt tears at the edge of

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Speaker 1: her vision, but fought them down. Slowly, deliberately. She pulled

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Speaker 1: off her top, undid her braw and hung both from

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Speaker 1: the door knob. As she did, she thought of the

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Speaker 1: Book of Romans. We rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that

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Speaker 1: suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope.

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Speaker 1: And hope does not put us to shame, because God's

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Speaker 1: love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy

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Speaker 1: Spirit who has been given to us. The word of

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Speaker 1: God gave her some comfort, but Sasha's stomach still churned

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Speaker 1: as she scrubbed the grime from her body. She confronted

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Speaker 1: the fact that this was all real. Now. She'd fled

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Speaker 1: her home and her family, traveled to a war zone,

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Speaker 1: and now she was here. It was done. Her great

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Speaker 1: sacrifice was now real, not theoretical. The excitement she felt

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Speaker 1: that that realization was marred by an anxious kind of

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Speaker 1: horror at the things she'd never do now. She hadn't

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Speaker 1: really thought about that before she'd left, but now Sasha

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Speaker 1: realized that she was never going to graduate high school,

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Speaker 1: she'd never go to college, she'd never see her father's

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Speaker 1: face again. She started to cry. It surprised her a little.

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Speaker 1: For days now, her emotions had felt stunted, buried under

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Speaker 1: the very immediate concerns of escape and survival. But as

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Speaker 1: soon as she had a minute to breathe, everything she

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Speaker 1: hadn't been able to let herself feel flowed out of

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Speaker 1: her eyes. First, she tried to fight it, but then

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Speaker 1: she remembered something Pastor Mike had written in one of

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Speaker 1: his columns for Revelator. Embrace your pain, for you will

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Speaker 1: hurt again. Embrace your grief, for it is a gift.

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Speaker 1: Lean into the wounds the world gives you. Have faith

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Speaker 1: that the Lord God does not send us burdens we

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Speaker 1: are too weak to bear. She'd left behind a world

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Speaker 1: where people denied their age with science, saved their pain

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Speaker 1: with narcotics, and fought the natural order of the world

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Speaker 1: the Lord had built. Sasha had wanted authenticity. She'd wanted

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Speaker 1: to live the truth of Christianity without compromise. That meant

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Speaker 1: leaning into this pain and letting it lift her up

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Speaker 1: into the arms of God. So Sasha leaned in. She sobbed,

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Speaker 1: and sobbed and sobbed, shook and shuddered with a pain

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Speaker 1: more profound than any she'd known before. And then she stopped.

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Speaker 1: She dried herself off, pulled her one fresh pair of

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Speaker 1: clothes out of her backpack, and got dressed to go

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Speaker 1: and meet the heavenly kingdom she'd sacrificed so much to join.

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Speaker 1: Darryl banked twice on the door right as she slid

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Speaker 1: on her socks. Ma'am, I gotta get moving. Maybe do

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Speaker 1: the make up later. Sasha shoved her dirty clothes in

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Speaker 1: her backpack, zipped it up, and opened the door. The

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Speaker 1: Heavenly Kingdom included rather more ship and bullet casings than

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Speaker 1: Sasha had expected. She'd known, of course, that it was

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Speaker 1: a war zone. The whole Kingdom was less than two

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Speaker 1: years old. Plaino had been taken just days ago. It

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Speaker 1: had all been won by blood and violence. She just

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Speaker 1: sort of figured the Army of God would have cleaned

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Speaker 1: up after itself. Darryll's truck was the oldest vehicle and

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Speaker 1: the first non autonomous one she'd ever ridden inside. It

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Speaker 1: was frightening to think that one person's movements were the

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Speaker 1: only thing that stood between her and a grizzly death,

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Speaker 1: but her fear at that soon faded into anxiety at

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Speaker 1: the state of the world around them. The signs identified

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Speaker 1: this as plain O. She knew the center of that

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Speaker 1: city had been a stronghold for the Republic of Texas

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Speaker 1: and its corporate masters. They'd been content to leave many

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Speaker 1: of the surrounding cities in the hands of the Heavenly

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Speaker 1: Kingdom since that had meant more work for the SDF

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Speaker 1: in Austin. Despite its proximity to the front, Plano's status

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Speaker 1: as a stronghold for some of the Republic's wealthiest citizens

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Speaker 1: and corporations had made it seem unassailable. The notoriously stingy

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Speaker 1: Republic had spent heavily on the city's garrison. Sasha still

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Speaker 1: didn't know what had happened, how a Republican stronghold had

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Speaker 1: fallen so fast, but she saw evidence of how the

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Speaker 1: fall had gone down all around her. The city was devastated.

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Speaker 1: They drove past a police station that was filled with

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Speaker 1: bullet holes and burnt black around its windows. They passed

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Speaker 1: an elementary school that looked as if it had been barricaded,

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Speaker 1: turned into a fortress, and then blasted apart with rockets.

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Speaker 1: The streets they rolled over had been cracked and broken

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Speaker 1: by shellfire. Sasha stared out with wide, excited eyes as

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Speaker 1: they passed mansions that had completely collapsed under the weight

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Speaker 1: of heavy bombardment, and all around them the streets were

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Speaker 1: filled with soldiers. There seemed to be a checkpoint every

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Speaker 1: two or three minutes. The martyrs who manned those checkpoints

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Speaker 1: looked impossibly young. That made Sasha feel a little less lonely.

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Speaker 1: This is what it looks like when a generation comes

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Speaker 1: back to God, she thought, at each stop. Darrel pulled

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Speaker 1: a laminated paper id out of his pocket. The soldiers

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Speaker 1: would take it, look it over, and then asked him

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Speaker 1: about her. None of them met her eyes. Just arrived today,

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Speaker 1: Darrell always said, she's here to help build the kingdom.

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Speaker 1: Thanks be to God was the usual reply. Some of

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Speaker 1: the men at the checkpoints were enthusiastic and shouted it

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Speaker 1: with all the joy she'd expected to hear, but a

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Speaker 1: few of them just looked at her with eyes that

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Speaker 1: were half sullen, half hungry. Darrell, she asked, twenty minutes

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Speaker 1: and three checkpoints into their drive, what exactly happened here?

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Speaker 1: I left home the day after plain Oh fell. It

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Speaker 1: felt like just such a miracle. It seems impossible for

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Speaker 1: things to change so much, so fast. Darrell fixed her

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Speaker 1: with a look that Sasha couldn't quite read and made

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Speaker 1: her nervous. The next words jumbled up as they left

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Speaker 1: her mouth. It's just I mean, I know all things

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Speaker 1: are possible through God, But how how did we win here?

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Speaker 1: From what I read on the news? The older man laughed, Well,

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Speaker 1: there's your problem. Trust in the news. You ain't gonna

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00:13:08,920 --> 00:13:12,000
Speaker 1: read much true about Texas. There all those foreign papers

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Speaker 1: love the s DF. He spat out the window for emphasis,

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Speaker 1: and they treat the Republic like a real government, not

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Speaker 1: like a collection of robber barons and their hired guns.

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Speaker 1: Truth is, their position was always rocky. People around here.

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Speaker 1: You'd rather live under God's law than the rule of

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Speaker 1: the rich or those Prance and Austin faggots. He spat again,

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Speaker 1: and somehow made the gesture look like an apology. Sorry

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Speaker 1: for the curse, Miss Sah, It's been a minute since

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Speaker 1: I spent much time around a woman. She smiled in response,

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Speaker 1: because she wasn't really sure what else to do. And

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00:13:41,160 --> 00:13:43,680
Speaker 1: then they turned a corner pasted a mostly intact line

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Speaker 1: of shops and a sign that welcomed them to downtown

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Speaker 1: plan Oh. The wide streets had been cordoned off by

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Speaker 1: sandbags and what looked like enormous fabric cubes filled with rocks.

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Speaker 1: Several dozen armed men milled about, and in the center

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Speaker 1: of the broad thoroughfare, Sasha saw what could only be

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Speaker 1: a gallows built right in the middle of the two

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Speaker 1: lane street. It was her first gallows. Capital punishment was

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Speaker 1: illegal in the American Federation. She stared horrified at the

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00:14:08,240 --> 00:14:10,800
Speaker 1: way the six corpses strung up there swung to and

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Speaker 1: fro with the breeze. Sasha squeaked just a bit in shock.

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Speaker 1: She was glad the bodies weren't very close. Darrell seemed

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Speaker 1: to notice her discomfort. He looked down at her with

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Speaker 1: a mix of pity and understanding, ain't always pretty what

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Speaker 1: we're doing, but it's the Lord's work. The truck rolled

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Speaker 1: to a stop outside of a large red brick building

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Speaker 1: that reeked of government. Sasha couldn't tell what it had

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00:14:33,560 --> 00:14:36,520
Speaker 1: once been. The sign was too thoroughly burned. A new

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00:14:36,560 --> 00:14:39,720
Speaker 1: sign made of white vinyl identified this building as the

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Speaker 1: House of Miriam. This be your stop, ma'am. Darrell said

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00:14:44,360 --> 00:14:46,920
Speaker 1: thank you. She forced a smile and then asked, should

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Speaker 1: I just go in? I'll walk in, how about that?

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00:14:51,440 --> 00:14:54,840
Speaker 1: Sasha nodded her gratitude. She wasn't a hundred percent sure

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00:14:54,880 --> 00:14:57,400
Speaker 1: what was supposed to happen at this point. Revel latter

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00:14:57,480 --> 00:14:59,560
Speaker 1: had claimed that every man and woman who journeyed to

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00:14:59,560 --> 00:15:02,600
Speaker 1: the Heavenly Kingdom would be given meaningful work, food, and

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00:15:02,640 --> 00:15:05,720
Speaker 1: as much shelter as the martyrs can provide. She knew

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00:15:05,720 --> 00:15:07,560
Speaker 1: that she could expect to be housed with other young,

289
00:15:07,680 --> 00:15:11,120
Speaker 1: unmarried women at least until she and Alexander were finally together.

290
00:15:11,840 --> 00:15:14,760
Speaker 1: But this trip and the Heavenly Kingdom was already so

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00:15:14,880 --> 00:15:18,520
Speaker 1: very different from everything she'd expected. That was reinforced when

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00:15:18,560 --> 00:15:20,800
Speaker 1: she stepped out of the truck and directly onto a

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00:15:20,880 --> 00:15:23,960
Speaker 1: pile of spent bullet casings. There were burnt cars in

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Speaker 1: the street, burnt buildings all around her, and a vague

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00:15:26,600 --> 00:15:29,280
Speaker 1: but persistent smell of sour milk in the air. The

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00:15:29,320 --> 00:15:31,560
Speaker 1: feeling of dread that had built inside her since she

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00:15:31,600 --> 00:15:34,720
Speaker 1: had left the crate hit a new crescendo, and then

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00:15:34,800 --> 00:15:37,600
Speaker 1: Darrell took her inside the House of Miriam, and everything

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00:15:37,680 --> 00:15:41,160
Speaker 1: changed again. Sasha saw a middle aged woman sitting behind

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00:15:41,160 --> 00:15:43,360
Speaker 1: a desk in a big white room while younger women

301
00:15:43,440 --> 00:15:46,320
Speaker 1: sat and lined the walls around her. The older lady

302
00:15:46,360 --> 00:15:48,680
Speaker 1: had loose, friendly jowls and a mop of gray hair

303
00:15:48,800 --> 00:15:52,000
Speaker 1: tossed into a lazy bun. She looked exhausted until the

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00:15:52,080 --> 00:15:55,080
Speaker 1: moment she fixed eyes on Sasha. At that moment, her

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00:15:55,080 --> 00:15:57,640
Speaker 1: eyes lifted, along with her lips, into a smile that

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00:15:57,720 --> 00:16:00,920
Speaker 1: was the truest thing Sasha had ever seen. Praise be

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00:16:01,000 --> 00:16:04,080
Speaker 1: to God, She cried, You've made it, and then a

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00:16:04,160 --> 00:16:06,880
Speaker 1: sea of girls rose up around her. Most of them

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00:16:06,920 --> 00:16:09,720
Speaker 1: appeared to have been sewing up military uniforms, but at

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00:16:09,720 --> 00:16:11,960
Speaker 1: the moment's call, every one of them set their work

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00:16:12,040 --> 00:16:14,880
Speaker 1: down and rose up to meet her. Sasha was swarmed

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00:16:14,920 --> 00:16:17,680
Speaker 1: by a sea of smiling faces, as girls pressed their

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00:16:17,680 --> 00:16:20,680
Speaker 1: hands to hers, or embraced her, or prayed over her

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00:16:20,720 --> 00:16:23,680
Speaker 1: and chanted in tongues. A dozen people told her their

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00:16:23,760 --> 00:16:26,960
Speaker 1: names at once. Sasha went stiff at first, shocked and

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00:16:27,000 --> 00:16:29,800
Speaker 1: a little mortified by the mass display of physical affection

317
00:16:29,840 --> 00:16:33,000
Speaker 1: by so many strangers. But then the older woman made

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00:16:33,000 --> 00:16:34,960
Speaker 1: her way through the crowd and put her hands on

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00:16:35,040 --> 00:16:38,480
Speaker 1: Sasha's shoulders. She brushed a stray hair out of Sasha's

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00:16:38,520 --> 00:16:40,720
Speaker 1: face and fixed her with a smile that was more

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00:16:40,760 --> 00:16:44,440
Speaker 1: motherly than Sasha's actual mother had ever been. It's all

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00:16:44,520 --> 00:16:46,880
Speaker 1: right now, she said, in a voice that was pure comfort.

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00:16:47,240 --> 00:16:50,800
Speaker 1: I'm sure you're probably feeling frightened and overwhelmed, but you've

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00:16:50,840 --> 00:16:54,680
Speaker 1: reached the heavenly kingdom. Loose yourself from the chains around

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00:16:54,680 --> 00:16:59,520
Speaker 1: your NECKO, captive daughter of Zion. Your home now. Something

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00:16:59,560 --> 00:17:01,840
Speaker 1: about the woman's voice and the way her hands felt

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00:17:02,040 --> 00:17:05,200
Speaker 1: broke through the anxious wall around Sasha's heart. She found

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00:17:05,200 --> 00:17:08,120
Speaker 1: herself in the older woman's arms. She sobbed, and then

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00:17:08,160 --> 00:17:10,800
Speaker 1: she felt the press of bodies close against her. The

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00:17:10,880 --> 00:17:14,440
Speaker 1: mingled sense of lavender, citrus and human beings filled her nose.

331
00:17:14,880 --> 00:17:17,600
Speaker 1: It comforted Sasha in a way she'd never quite known.

332
00:17:18,160 --> 00:17:21,159
Speaker 1: The anxiety and fear were gone now, but so was

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00:17:21,240 --> 00:17:24,960
Speaker 1: any sense of motive inspiration. She let her sisters guide

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00:17:24,960 --> 00:17:28,000
Speaker 1: her to a pillow on the ground. The room got

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00:17:28,200 --> 00:17:31,760
Speaker 1: very busy. Girls scattered. They heated up water and prepared food,

336
00:17:31,800 --> 00:17:35,080
Speaker 1: and generally bothered themselves with every aspect of Sasha's comfort.

337
00:17:35,640 --> 00:17:37,960
Speaker 1: Soon she had coffee and buttered muffins and a heavy

338
00:17:38,040 --> 00:17:40,960
Speaker 1: jug of gatorade. A fan was moved into position where

339
00:17:40,960 --> 00:17:43,520
Speaker 1: it could blow more cool air onto her face. The

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00:17:43,560 --> 00:17:46,560
Speaker 1: older woman sat down next to Sasha and started to speak.

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00:17:47,240 --> 00:17:49,840
Speaker 1: My name is Helen, she said. I watch over the

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00:17:49,880 --> 00:17:52,320
Speaker 1: newcomers here, and I helped him adjust to life in

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00:17:52,320 --> 00:17:55,159
Speaker 1: the heavenly Kingdom. The most important thing for you to

344
00:17:55,200 --> 00:17:58,240
Speaker 1: know is that you are loved and wanted. Here. You'll

345
00:17:58,280 --> 00:18:01,719
Speaker 1: have food and shelter into purpose. Do you understand that, darling?

346
00:18:02,359 --> 00:18:05,120
Speaker 1: Sasha tried to smile, but realized her face was still

347
00:18:05,160 --> 00:18:07,919
Speaker 1: stuck in the same absent grin she'd worn since the greeting.

348
00:18:08,480 --> 00:18:14,040
Speaker 1: After a long pause, she managed to nod and speak, yes, er, sorry, Sasha,

349
00:18:14,160 --> 00:18:16,960
Speaker 1: my name is Sasha Marian. I'm from Virginia in the

350
00:18:17,000 --> 00:18:22,199
Speaker 1: American Federation, Sasha, Helen said, just Sasha, we have no

351
00:18:22,320 --> 00:18:25,359
Speaker 1: last names here and no nationalities beyond our allegiance to

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00:18:25,400 --> 00:18:30,640
Speaker 1: God and his heavenly kingdom. Do you understand? Sasha nodded yes.

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00:18:30,720 --> 00:18:33,520
Speaker 1: I mean, of course, I've I read every issue of

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00:18:33,600 --> 00:18:36,480
Speaker 1: Revelator before coming here. I know that nations and states

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00:18:36,480 --> 00:18:38,959
Speaker 1: are a worldly concept that only serves to separate us

356
00:18:38,960 --> 00:18:42,399
Speaker 1: from God Almighty. I memorize, Pastor, It's one thing to

357
00:18:42,480 --> 00:18:45,679
Speaker 1: read the truth, it's another to live it. Don't worry, child,

358
00:18:45,920 --> 00:18:49,119
Speaker 1: It'll take some time to unlearn your old habits. Helen

359
00:18:49,160 --> 00:18:51,359
Speaker 1: had cut her off, but she'd done it so gently

360
00:18:51,400 --> 00:18:53,840
Speaker 1: that Sasha didn't even take it as a rebuke. She

361
00:18:54,000 --> 00:18:57,280
Speaker 1: just nodded again, and then she remembered something. I need

362
00:18:57,320 --> 00:18:59,760
Speaker 1: to find a young man. His name is Alexander. He's

363
00:18:59,760 --> 00:19:02,120
Speaker 1: in a recognized infantry unit. I think he's a corporal,

364
00:19:02,240 --> 00:19:03,760
Speaker 1: and I have a picture of him printed out in

365
00:19:03,760 --> 00:19:07,320
Speaker 1: my bag. If it will help, Dear Helen's voice dropped

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00:19:07,320 --> 00:19:09,760
Speaker 1: an octave. I know this is hard to hear, but

367
00:19:09,800 --> 00:19:12,719
Speaker 1: the martyrs have important work to do. They fight that

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00:19:12,800 --> 00:19:15,720
Speaker 1: we might build the heavenly Kingdom if the Lord sees

369
00:19:15,800 --> 00:19:18,720
Speaker 1: fit to deliver him safe from the fray. Sasha really

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00:19:18,760 --> 00:19:21,320
Speaker 1: didn't like the way she said. If then we will

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00:19:21,359 --> 00:19:25,080
Speaker 1: find him and reunite you two. Re Sasha gave a

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00:19:25,119 --> 00:19:28,720
Speaker 1: nervous laugh. Oh no, we we've never met except for online.

373
00:19:28,960 --> 00:19:31,400
Speaker 1: He convinced me to come. I mean, I didn't come

374
00:19:31,520 --> 00:19:33,760
Speaker 1: for him, but I was really on the fence until

375
00:19:33,800 --> 00:19:37,399
Speaker 1: I met him. Helen's expression shifted. She looked was that

376
00:19:37,520 --> 00:19:40,840
Speaker 1: anguished or angry? But Sasha didn't detect any anger in

377
00:19:40,880 --> 00:19:43,840
Speaker 1: her voice when she replied, I know it's hard, love,

378
00:19:44,000 --> 00:19:46,480
Speaker 1: but you're going to need to wait to hear from Alexander.

379
00:19:46,920 --> 00:19:49,000
Speaker 1: For right now, it should be enough that you're here,

380
00:19:49,440 --> 00:19:52,680
Speaker 1: you're safe, You've done it. Do you know what this means.

381
00:19:53,400 --> 00:19:56,359
Speaker 1: It means I didn't get caught. Helen laughed. She had

382
00:19:56,400 --> 00:19:58,920
Speaker 1: a beautiful laugh. Sasha wanted to curl up and fall

383
00:19:59,000 --> 00:20:02,760
Speaker 1: asleep inside it. No. I mean well, yes, of course,

384
00:20:02,880 --> 00:20:05,359
Speaker 1: she said, But more than anything, it means that for

385
00:20:05,400 --> 00:20:08,520
Speaker 1: all time, forever and ever, You're a person who made

386
00:20:08,560 --> 00:20:11,000
Speaker 1: the choice to be brave. You took a leap into

387
00:20:11,040 --> 00:20:13,520
Speaker 1: the dark and trusted that God's light would rise to

388
00:20:13,560 --> 00:20:16,840
Speaker 1: meet you. There were tears in her eyes, genuine tears

389
00:20:17,080 --> 00:20:19,600
Speaker 1: wrapped up in genuine wrinkles and laugh lines that had

390
00:20:19,600 --> 00:20:22,639
Speaker 1: never felt the touch of a surgical laser. That's the

391
00:20:22,680 --> 00:20:25,760
Speaker 1: most beautiful thing in the world, Helen said, I want

392
00:20:25,760 --> 00:20:29,440
Speaker 1: you to know that. Sasha started to cry too. Helen

393
00:20:29,520 --> 00:20:33,040
Speaker 1: embraced her, held her close, and Sasha was certain she'd

394
00:20:33,119 --> 00:20:43,520
Speaker 1: never been happier. What grows in the forest trees, Sure,

395
00:20:43,920 --> 00:20:47,040
Speaker 1: no one else grows in the forest. Our imagination, our

396
00:20:47,119 --> 00:20:50,680
Speaker 1: sense of wonder, and our family bonds grow too, because

397
00:20:50,680 --> 00:20:57,000
Speaker 1: when we disconnect from this and connect with this, we

398
00:20:57,040 --> 00:21:00,800
Speaker 1: reconnect with each other. The forest is so then you think,

399
00:21:01,080 --> 00:21:04,440
Speaker 1: find a forest near you and start exploring. I Discover

400
00:21:04,520 --> 00:21:06,919
Speaker 1: the Forest dot Org, brought to you by the United

401
00:21:07,000 --> 00:21:10,960
Speaker 1: States Forest Service and the AD Council. Hello, and welcome

402
00:21:10,960 --> 00:21:13,160
Speaker 1: to our show. I'm Zoe de Channel and I'm so

403
00:21:13,200 --> 00:21:15,600
Speaker 1: excited to be joined by my friends and cast mates

404
00:21:15,680 --> 00:21:18,560
Speaker 1: Hannah Simone and Lamar and Morris to recap our hit

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00:21:18,600 --> 00:21:22,000
Speaker 1: television series New Girl. Join us every Monday on the

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00:21:22,040 --> 00:21:24,639
Speaker 1: Welcome to Our Show podcast, where we'll share behind the

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00:21:24,680 --> 00:21:27,639
Speaker 1: scenes stories of your favorite New Girl episodes, revealed the

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00:21:27,640 --> 00:21:31,240
Speaker 1: truth behind the legendary game True American, and discuss how

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00:21:31,240 --> 00:21:33,919
Speaker 1: this show got made with the writers, guest stars, and

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00:21:33,960 --> 00:21:36,640
Speaker 1: directors who made the show so special. Fans have been

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00:21:36,720 --> 00:21:39,040
Speaker 1: begging us to do a New Girl recap for years,

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00:21:39,119 --> 00:21:41,960
Speaker 1: and we finally made a podcast where we answer all

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00:21:42,080 --> 00:21:45,600
Speaker 1: your burning questions like is there really a bear? In

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00:21:45,720 --> 00:21:48,840
Speaker 1: every episode of New Girl. Plus each week you'll hear

415
00:21:49,000 --> 00:21:52,280
Speaker 1: hilarious stories like this at the end when he says

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00:21:52,359 --> 00:21:54,719
Speaker 1: you got some schmid on your face. I feel like

417
00:21:54,840 --> 00:21:57,280
Speaker 1: I pitched that joke. I believe that. I feel like

418
00:21:57,320 --> 00:21:58,960
Speaker 1: I did. I'm not on a thousand percent. I want

419
00:21:59,000 --> 00:22:01,520
Speaker 1: to say that was I tossed that one out. Listen

420
00:22:01,560 --> 00:22:03,480
Speaker 1: to the Welcome to Our Show podcast on the I

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00:22:03,600 --> 00:22:06,959
Speaker 1: Heard Radio app, Apple podcast, or wherever you get your

422
00:22:07,000 --> 00:22:12,280
Speaker 1: podcasts from Cavalry Audio. Comes the new true crime podcast

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00:22:12,640 --> 00:22:16,119
Speaker 1: The Shadow Girls. I always wanted to know what it

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00:22:16,200 --> 00:22:19,800
Speaker 1: felt like to kill somebody and started laughing. Prosecutors described

425
00:22:19,880 --> 00:22:23,080
Speaker 1: him as a serial killer, surt kicking up these girls,

426
00:22:23,200 --> 00:22:26,120
Speaker 1: getting him in a position of vulnerability when he got

427
00:22:26,240 --> 00:22:28,800
Speaker 1: hold of their neck. That was it. I'm Caroline Asia,

428
00:22:28,920 --> 00:22:32,560
Speaker 1: a journalist and lifelong resident at the Pacific Northwest. I

429
00:22:32,600 --> 00:22:35,280
Speaker 1: grew up near the banks of the Green River and

430
00:22:35,400 --> 00:22:37,960
Speaker 1: in the shadow of the killer that bears its name.

431
00:22:38,320 --> 00:22:40,960
Speaker 1: How many times did you bring the camera? One of time?

432
00:22:41,200 --> 00:22:45,080
Speaker 1: Just want He started fantasizing about having sex with his mother,

433
00:22:45,320 --> 00:22:49,040
Speaker 1: and he fantasized about killing her. But this podcast isn't

434
00:22:49,080 --> 00:22:52,400
Speaker 1: only about tracking down the killer. It's about the victims.

435
00:22:52,840 --> 00:22:55,159
Speaker 1: We stayed in the woods. He always liked to go

436
00:22:55,280 --> 00:22:59,200
Speaker 1: in the woods. All of the kind of strange you

437
00:22:59,280 --> 00:23:02,040
Speaker 1: know how it feels brock prostitutes. Listen to the Shadow

438
00:23:02,080 --> 00:23:05,480
Speaker 1: Girls on the I Heart Radio app on Apple Podcasts

439
00:23:05,600 --> 00:23:15,240
Speaker 1: or wherever you get your podcasts. Chapter ten, Manny. It

440
00:23:15,280 --> 00:23:17,520
Speaker 1: couldn't have been much past ten in the morning when

441
00:23:17,520 --> 00:23:21,320
Speaker 1: they arrived at the City of Wheels. Topaz and Skullfucker

442
00:23:21,400 --> 00:23:23,720
Speaker 1: Mike had helped him and Reggie into an open topped

443
00:23:23,760 --> 00:23:26,359
Speaker 1: red buggy they had apparently driven out to the ambush.

444
00:23:26,640 --> 00:23:29,119
Speaker 1: The old vehicle beat the hell out of walking, but

445
00:23:29,200 --> 00:23:32,240
Speaker 1: it had not been built with comfort in mind. Every

446
00:23:32,280 --> 00:23:34,960
Speaker 1: bump and jostle on the road sent Payne shooting up

447
00:23:35,040 --> 00:23:37,439
Speaker 1: from Mannie's fucked knee to what felt like a small

448
00:23:37,560 --> 00:23:41,080
Speaker 1: forest of tears in his shoulder muscles. Mike the driver

449
00:23:41,320 --> 00:23:44,080
Speaker 1: kept the vehicle at a conspicuously slow pace, but he

450
00:23:44,160 --> 00:23:47,560
Speaker 1: heard all the same. The ten minute drive was agony,

451
00:23:47,840 --> 00:23:50,720
Speaker 1: but then Rolling Fuck came into view and all thought

452
00:23:50,720 --> 00:23:54,199
Speaker 1: of pain faded from Mannie's mind. The main structure of

453
00:23:54,200 --> 00:23:56,960
Speaker 1: the city had once been a colossal Bagger two eighty

454
00:23:57,000 --> 00:24:00,840
Speaker 1: eight strip mining machine. It looked like a sideway skyscraper

455
00:24:00,920 --> 00:24:04,359
Speaker 1: sized spider made of scaffolding and cranes. At the center

456
00:24:04,400 --> 00:24:06,639
Speaker 1: of the vehicle was a four story building on a

457
00:24:06,680 --> 00:24:10,400
Speaker 1: massive set of treads. Four spindley towers rose up out

458
00:24:10,440 --> 00:24:12,959
Speaker 1: of that main structure and in a giant half circle

459
00:24:13,000 --> 00:24:15,720
Speaker 1: in the air around it. A gantryway the length of

460
00:24:15,720 --> 00:24:18,639
Speaker 1: a football field connected the spindles to a mighty steel

461
00:24:18,720 --> 00:24:20,960
Speaker 1: arm at the end of the structure. It had once

462
00:24:21,000 --> 00:24:24,320
Speaker 1: housed an enormous wheel bucket mining apparatus, but that had

463
00:24:24,320 --> 00:24:27,800
Speaker 1: been replaced by a queer cube structure. It sat high

464
00:24:27,840 --> 00:24:30,000
Speaker 1: in the air and gleamed in a shade of black

465
00:24:30,080 --> 00:24:34,080
Speaker 1: that made Manny's stomach hurt. The overwhelming motif of Rolling

466
00:24:34,119 --> 00:24:37,960
Speaker 1: Fuck was after market. The spindle towers had originally looked

467
00:24:37,960 --> 00:24:40,879
Speaker 1: like scaffolding and mainly existed to offset the weight of

468
00:24:40,880 --> 00:24:43,919
Speaker 1: that Titanic arm but they'd been built on and added

469
00:24:43,920 --> 00:24:46,800
Speaker 1: to with a series of tree house looking contraptions. He

470
00:24:46,840 --> 00:24:49,520
Speaker 1: saw people, hundreds of them, climbing from door to door

471
00:24:49,600 --> 00:24:52,720
Speaker 1: via a series of ladders, ropes, and what looked like vines.

472
00:24:53,280 --> 00:24:55,520
Speaker 1: Below the main body of the city, a series of

473
00:24:55,640 --> 00:24:58,480
Speaker 1: vehicles surrounded the vast rolling building that made up the

474
00:24:58,480 --> 00:25:02,280
Speaker 1: city's foundation. Many saw long haul trucks, deuce and a

475
00:25:02,280 --> 00:25:05,480
Speaker 1: half army transports, and at least one old Abrams tank.

476
00:25:05,960 --> 00:25:09,160
Speaker 1: Hundreds of sets of solar panels glistened under the Texas sun.

477
00:25:09,760 --> 00:25:14,760
Speaker 1: Good God, Reggie whispered, aw temporarily overwhelming his pain, but

478
00:25:14,880 --> 00:25:17,520
Speaker 1: didn't realize any of the road tribes with this lodge.

479
00:25:18,119 --> 00:25:20,760
Speaker 1: There were easily two or three thousand people visible in

480
00:25:20,800 --> 00:25:24,240
Speaker 1: the sprawling camp. Mike glanced back at Reggie, a somewhat

481
00:25:24,280 --> 00:25:27,360
Speaker 1: stern look on his face. This is not a tribe,

482
00:25:27,720 --> 00:25:32,040
Speaker 1: it's a city, oh, said Reggie. That's just how a

483
00:25:32,080 --> 00:25:34,480
Speaker 1: lot of people back home refer to I get it,

484
00:25:34,840 --> 00:25:38,359
Speaker 1: Mike interrupted, but there are actual indigenous tribes out on

485
00:25:38,400 --> 00:25:41,440
Speaker 1: these roads, Comanche bands, and the Panhandle roving up from

486
00:25:41,440 --> 00:25:44,760
Speaker 1: New Mexico to Colorado. We've got defensive and trade agreements

487
00:25:44,760 --> 00:25:47,159
Speaker 1: with a few different groups of Apache out west. The

488
00:25:47,240 --> 00:25:50,200
Speaker 1: Navajo have the only stable territory south of Mormon Land,

489
00:25:50,320 --> 00:25:53,720
Speaker 1: north of Albuquerque. Mike glanced back at the road long

490
00:25:53,840 --> 00:25:55,879
Speaker 1: enough to steer around a pothole and turn them in

491
00:25:55,920 --> 00:25:58,080
Speaker 1: the direction of what looked to be a greater station.

492
00:25:58,400 --> 00:26:02,800
Speaker 1: Then he continued, Anyway, there are tribes out west, but

493
00:26:02,920 --> 00:26:05,200
Speaker 1: we're a city. The fact that we don't hold any

494
00:26:05,280 --> 00:26:08,119
Speaker 1: land or control any territory is important to most of

495
00:26:08,119 --> 00:26:10,240
Speaker 1: the folks here. Think of it as a kind of

496
00:26:10,280 --> 00:26:15,040
Speaker 1: rebellion from people born to a settler culture. Ah. Reggie nodded,

497
00:26:15,280 --> 00:26:18,000
Speaker 1: that's absolutely fascinating. I have so much I want to

498
00:26:18,000 --> 00:26:21,360
Speaker 1: ask in good time, buddy, Mike said, Let's get y'all

499
00:26:21,440 --> 00:26:25,120
Speaker 1: settled in first. Manny knew that every foreign correspondent he'd

500
00:26:25,119 --> 00:26:27,720
Speaker 1: ever met would kill to have the opportunity Reggie had

501
00:26:27,720 --> 00:26:31,119
Speaker 1: just lucked into the road. People were a popular topic

502
00:26:31,160 --> 00:26:34,320
Speaker 1: in world media. He supposed that wasn't surprising. They all

503
00:26:34,440 --> 00:26:38,400
Speaker 1: led visually spectacular lives. Rolling fuck was just the grandest

504
00:26:38,480 --> 00:26:41,600
Speaker 1: variation on a theme. It was famous across the West

505
00:26:41,640 --> 00:26:45,040
Speaker 1: for having the highest proportion of post human citizens. Something

506
00:26:45,080 --> 00:26:46,760
Speaker 1: like a third of them were chromed enough to no

507
00:26:46,840 --> 00:26:50,440
Speaker 1: longer fit into the Homo sapiens category. Manny had never

508
00:26:50,480 --> 00:26:53,159
Speaker 1: heard of them traveling this close to Dallas before they

509
00:26:53,160 --> 00:26:55,720
Speaker 1: were banned in all of the Republic cities. People with

510
00:26:55,800 --> 00:26:59,959
Speaker 1: military grade mods were uncontrollable. That and cultural PTSD from

511
00:27:00,080 --> 00:27:03,640
Speaker 1: the war made them pariah's pretty much everywhere. The main

512
00:27:03,720 --> 00:27:05,840
Speaker 1: structure of the city was encircled by a ring of

513
00:27:05,920 --> 00:27:09,200
Speaker 1: thirty ish large and heavily customed r vs. A few

514
00:27:09,240 --> 00:27:12,480
Speaker 1: dozen smaller vehicles, many of them bearing sundry armaments, were

515
00:27:12,520 --> 00:27:15,480
Speaker 1: scattered throughout the campground. The only thing that resembled a

516
00:27:15,560 --> 00:27:18,159
Speaker 1: checkpoint was a tidy, little one room trailer with a

517
00:27:18,200 --> 00:27:21,520
Speaker 1: bright welcome sign above it. Mike steered them into park

518
00:27:21,520 --> 00:27:23,879
Speaker 1: in front of it. The guard who approached them was

519
00:27:23,920 --> 00:27:26,879
Speaker 1: a shirtless, dreadlocked person with dusky brown skin and an

520
00:27:26,920 --> 00:27:30,879
Speaker 1: automatic shotgun. Topass kissed them. Then the guard greeted Manny

521
00:27:30,880 --> 00:27:34,720
Speaker 1: and Reggie, Welcome to Rolling Fuck. Rules are don't start,

522
00:27:34,760 --> 00:27:38,800
Speaker 1: no ship, won't be no ship cool. Manny nodded, so

523
00:27:38,920 --> 00:27:42,960
Speaker 1: did the brit All right, they said, enjoy. Manny was

524
00:27:43,000 --> 00:27:45,919
Speaker 1: a little shocked by how loud it was. Several of

525
00:27:45,920 --> 00:27:48,360
Speaker 1: the camps appeared to have been built mainly out of speakers.

526
00:27:48,760 --> 00:27:51,000
Speaker 1: There were a handful of open air bars outside the

527
00:27:51,000 --> 00:27:54,680
Speaker 1: main structure of the city, heterogeneous mixes of teaky torches,

528
00:27:54,720 --> 00:27:58,080
Speaker 1: brightly colored silk shade structures, and scrap metal bar tables.

529
00:27:58,400 --> 00:28:00,879
Speaker 1: Despite the early hour, quite a few people were drinking

530
00:28:00,880 --> 00:28:04,080
Speaker 1: and dancing. Manny noted more people were doing the former

531
00:28:04,119 --> 00:28:07,000
Speaker 1: than the latter. Most people were either naked or wearing

532
00:28:07,040 --> 00:28:10,960
Speaker 1: a few pieces of light ornamental clothing. Nearly everyone carried

533
00:28:10,960 --> 00:28:14,080
Speaker 1: a firearm. He looked over to the journalist and noticed

534
00:28:14,119 --> 00:28:17,119
Speaker 1: that Reggie was blinking rapidly and working his jaw. His

535
00:28:17,240 --> 00:28:19,560
Speaker 1: arm was still dislocated, and it seemed to pain him

536
00:28:19,560 --> 00:28:22,080
Speaker 1: as much as Manny was pained by his leg. Manny

537
00:28:22,160 --> 00:28:24,840
Speaker 1: sense of professional pride lit up again, and he leaned

538
00:28:24,880 --> 00:28:27,520
Speaker 1: forward to speak to their hosts. I don't mean to

539
00:28:27,560 --> 00:28:30,040
Speaker 1: seem ungrateful, he said, but is there some way we

540
00:28:30,080 --> 00:28:34,480
Speaker 1: could see a medic? We're pretty shredded back here. Yeah, yeah, skullfucker.

541
00:28:34,560 --> 00:28:36,800
Speaker 1: Mike grunted topes and I got some meta ship in

542
00:28:36,840 --> 00:28:38,920
Speaker 1: our trailer. We'll get you. Just suck it up a

543
00:28:38,920 --> 00:28:42,160
Speaker 1: bit longer and oh. He popped open the glove compartment.

544
00:28:42,360 --> 00:28:45,040
Speaker 1: Inside it, Manny could see a handgun, a battered can

545
00:28:45,120 --> 00:28:47,840
Speaker 1: of Miller High Life, and a large bottle of pills.

546
00:28:48,200 --> 00:28:52,200
Speaker 1: Skullfucker Mike passed the bottle back. Oxy printed him out

547
00:28:52,240 --> 00:28:55,560
Speaker 1: myself like two weeks back. Probably shouldn't take more than

548
00:28:55,640 --> 00:28:58,240
Speaker 1: two or three unless you've got a robust, fucking Narco

549
00:28:58,320 --> 00:29:02,040
Speaker 1: suite in your brain. Meat. Manny took two, Reggie took four.

550
00:29:02,640 --> 00:29:05,640
Speaker 1: Mike guided the little buggy through the organized chaos of

551
00:29:05,680 --> 00:29:08,480
Speaker 1: the encampment and towards a large silver air stream parked

552
00:29:08,520 --> 00:29:10,800
Speaker 1: about a dozen feet away from what Manny guessed was

553
00:29:10,840 --> 00:29:14,520
Speaker 1: the backside of Rolling Fuck. He guessed that because someone

554
00:29:14,560 --> 00:29:16,880
Speaker 1: had bolted a twenty foot tall license plate to that

555
00:29:16,960 --> 00:29:19,880
Speaker 1: end of the city. It said honk please in glowing

556
00:29:19,920 --> 00:29:23,760
Speaker 1: white letters. The Bucky slowed to a stop, and skullfucker

557
00:29:23,800 --> 00:29:26,040
Speaker 1: Mike hopped out. He put out a hand as Manny

558
00:29:26,080 --> 00:29:29,160
Speaker 1: and Reggie started to stand. Hold up, guys, y'all are

559
00:29:29,200 --> 00:29:32,240
Speaker 1: just covered in pieces of dead people. He went up

560
00:29:32,280 --> 00:29:34,320
Speaker 1: to the air stream and came out moments later with

561
00:29:34,360 --> 00:29:36,600
Speaker 1: one armful of towels and a large jug of hot,

562
00:29:36,640 --> 00:29:40,040
Speaker 1: soapy water. Manny and Reggie washed their hands and faces,

563
00:29:40,160 --> 00:29:42,760
Speaker 1: pulled off their shirts, and scrubbed the blood from their chests.

564
00:29:43,160 --> 00:29:45,280
Speaker 1: The brit looked over at Topaz when it came time

565
00:29:45,320 --> 00:29:48,560
Speaker 1: to take off his pants. Um, he said. When she

566
00:29:48,640 --> 00:29:52,800
Speaker 1: made no motion to hide her face, she asked, would

567
00:29:52,880 --> 00:29:57,080
Speaker 1: you mind turning around? Oh? She seemed surprised. Her face

568
00:29:57,080 --> 00:29:59,200
Speaker 1: went a bit red, but not with embarrassment at their

569
00:29:59,200 --> 00:30:02,040
Speaker 1: impending nudity. I didn't even think about it. You people

570
00:30:02,200 --> 00:30:05,520
Speaker 1: come from the world. She turned. Reggie and Manny scrubbed

571
00:30:05,520 --> 00:30:08,600
Speaker 1: most of the blood off their aching wounded bodies. Skullfucker

572
00:30:08,640 --> 00:30:11,360
Speaker 1: Mike brought them a pair of fluffy white robes, buddled

573
00:30:11,360 --> 00:30:14,440
Speaker 1: them up, and ushered them inside the air stream. It

574
00:30:14,600 --> 00:30:17,600
Speaker 1: was tame by comparison to the grand weird wheeled city

575
00:30:17,640 --> 00:30:20,640
Speaker 1: above them. The gleaming silver vehicle had been modified with

576
00:30:20,680 --> 00:30:23,080
Speaker 1: a roof top greenhouse that was filled with pot plants

577
00:30:23,120 --> 00:30:25,720
Speaker 1: and some squat bush with red berries Manny had never

578
00:30:25,760 --> 00:30:28,840
Speaker 1: seen before. The back had been extended, and the stainless

579
00:30:28,880 --> 00:30:32,120
Speaker 1: steel replaced by an enormous bay window. As he entered,

580
00:30:32,160 --> 00:30:34,040
Speaker 1: Mannie was hit by a wave of cold air and

581
00:30:34,080 --> 00:30:38,000
Speaker 1: the strong smell of marijuana. Roughly half the trailer's interior

582
00:30:38,080 --> 00:30:40,640
Speaker 1: was taken up by a huge popissan bed covered in

583
00:30:40,720 --> 00:30:44,320
Speaker 1: velvet blankets and dozens of furs. A circular table started

584
00:30:44,400 --> 00:30:46,080
Speaker 1: right where the bed ended, and the rest of the

585
00:30:46,120 --> 00:30:50,200
Speaker 1: trailer was a large glass walled combination bathroom bar. There

586
00:30:50,200 --> 00:30:53,200
Speaker 1: did not appear to be a kitchen. Mannie's leg had

587
00:30:53,240 --> 00:30:55,440
Speaker 1: started throbbing as soon as he stood up to eggsit

588
00:30:55,440 --> 00:30:57,480
Speaker 1: the buggy, so he dropped into the first seat he

589
00:30:57,480 --> 00:31:00,440
Speaker 1: could find, a little padded bench by the table opposite

590
00:31:00,480 --> 00:31:02,840
Speaker 1: the bed. Reggie sat down on the other side of

591
00:31:02,880 --> 00:31:06,440
Speaker 1: the table. Manny noticed that he looked nervous, sweaty. The

592
00:31:06,520 --> 00:31:10,440
Speaker 1: journalist's hand shook just a little, his skin seemed pale.

593
00:31:10,840 --> 00:31:14,040
Speaker 1: Topaz came in after them, followed by skullfucker Mike. She

594
00:31:14,120 --> 00:31:16,080
Speaker 1: hopped over the table with a grace of a deer

595
00:31:16,160 --> 00:31:19,120
Speaker 1: jumping a fence, and in one smooth motion, spun round

596
00:31:19,160 --> 00:31:22,000
Speaker 1: and settled into a cross legged sit on the plush mattress.

597
00:31:22,680 --> 00:31:25,080
Speaker 1: Skullfucker Mike walked up to the bar and pulled down

598
00:31:25,080 --> 00:31:28,440
Speaker 1: a large white bottle with the words Rufies written across

599
00:31:28,440 --> 00:31:32,080
Speaker 1: it in black marker. He took two pint glasses, filled

600
00:31:32,080 --> 00:31:34,080
Speaker 1: them three quarters up with the white liquid, and then

601
00:31:34,160 --> 00:31:37,920
Speaker 1: added a splash of cranberry juice to each glass. Scully

602
00:31:38,360 --> 00:31:42,600
Speaker 1: Topaz sounded reproachful. Mike stiffened, then dropped his shoulders in contrition.

603
00:31:42,880 --> 00:31:46,240
Speaker 1: He turned towards them, Sorry, guys, my manners are burnt out.

604
00:31:46,440 --> 00:31:49,480
Speaker 1: Would either of you like a G teeny? Neither of

605
00:31:49,480 --> 00:31:51,920
Speaker 1: them answered for a long second. It was Reggie who

606
00:31:52,000 --> 00:31:57,240
Speaker 1: finally responded, gee teeny. Mike laughed, Yeah, that's what Topes

607
00:31:57,280 --> 00:32:00,160
Speaker 1: and I call g HB and cranberry juice. Really, it's

608
00:32:00,160 --> 00:32:02,560
Speaker 1: the spot after shooting something I can make you guys

609
00:32:02,680 --> 00:32:07,280
Speaker 1: some human sized portions. No thanks, Manny, and Reggie said

610
00:32:07,280 --> 00:32:10,240
Speaker 1: at the exact same time. The big man handed one

611
00:32:10,240 --> 00:32:13,200
Speaker 1: glass to Topaz and belted down the other himself. The

612
00:32:13,240 --> 00:32:16,040
Speaker 1: woman took two gulps to finish hers. She handed her

613
00:32:16,040 --> 00:32:17,800
Speaker 1: cup to Mike, and he walked back to the bar

614
00:32:17,880 --> 00:32:22,080
Speaker 1: to fill both classes again. Reggie looked shocked. I'm fairly

615
00:32:22,120 --> 00:32:25,680
Speaker 1: certain you just ingested enough GHB to kill two normal humans.

616
00:32:26,840 --> 00:32:29,080
Speaker 1: Top Has shrugged. Let's say what we've had so far

617
00:32:29,080 --> 00:32:31,640
Speaker 1: as only se or so of a fatal dose for

618
00:32:31,680 --> 00:32:34,760
Speaker 1: some one your size and metabolism and mods Skully is

619
00:32:34,800 --> 00:32:38,440
Speaker 1: better at drugging people, though, skullfucker. Mike finished pouring two

620
00:32:38,440 --> 00:32:41,400
Speaker 1: more g tens and nodded, She's about right. The brit

621
00:32:41,520 --> 00:32:43,360
Speaker 1: drinks more, though I'd say he could take a heavier

622
00:32:43,400 --> 00:32:47,040
Speaker 1: dose than what what was your name again, Manny? Manny

623
00:32:47,080 --> 00:32:49,640
Speaker 1: gasped out, and would it be too much to ask

624
00:32:49,680 --> 00:32:52,920
Speaker 1: for like some medical care? We are both in tremendous pain.

625
00:32:53,680 --> 00:32:59,760
Speaker 1: Topaz and skullfucker. Mike looked ashamed. Cheese Topaz side fucking hell, guys,

626
00:32:59,760 --> 00:33:02,280
Speaker 1: We're so sorry, added Mike. Then he grabbed a long

627
00:33:02,360 --> 00:33:04,960
Speaker 1: knife from his belt and gouged it deep into his wrist.

628
00:33:05,400 --> 00:33:08,760
Speaker 1: Reggie Damn near jumped out of his chair. Manny kept still.

629
00:33:09,080 --> 00:33:10,960
Speaker 1: The pills had started to help, but he was in

630
00:33:11,040 --> 00:33:14,440
Speaker 1: too much pain to react to anything with Gusto. It's

631
00:33:14,440 --> 00:33:17,120
Speaker 1: all right, Topez assured them, and the kind of voice

632
00:33:17,120 --> 00:33:19,400
Speaker 1: Manny remembered his mom using on their cat when it

633
00:33:19,440 --> 00:33:23,520
Speaker 1: was sick. I know it looks weird, but he's helping, helping.

634
00:33:23,960 --> 00:33:27,160
Speaker 1: Reggie gasped, a skullfucker. Mike positioned his open wound over

635
00:33:27,200 --> 00:33:29,360
Speaker 1: a shot glass, jammed the knife and slightly to the

636
00:33:29,440 --> 00:33:31,880
Speaker 1: left and let a thick strand of his syrupy red

637
00:33:31,880 --> 00:33:34,600
Speaker 1: blood fill the glass. He filled a second one in

638
00:33:34,600 --> 00:33:37,000
Speaker 1: the same manner. Then he pulled the knife free, set

639
00:33:37,040 --> 00:33:39,000
Speaker 1: it on the bar counter, and handed the shots to

640
00:33:39,040 --> 00:33:41,560
Speaker 1: Manny and Reggie. By the time he reached them, many

641
00:33:41,640 --> 00:33:44,440
Speaker 1: noticed that the big man's wounded arm had already scabbed over.

642
00:33:45,080 --> 00:33:48,360
Speaker 1: Don't worry, skullfucker, Mike smiled. My blood's pretty sterile, and

643
00:33:48,360 --> 00:33:50,400
Speaker 1: it's full of good robots. They'll take care of you.

644
00:33:50,920 --> 00:33:53,440
Speaker 1: Manny took the shot right away. He knew it was

645
00:33:53,480 --> 00:33:55,400
Speaker 1: working when he felt pain from the wounds in his

646
00:33:55,440 --> 00:33:58,520
Speaker 1: back again. That meant Mike's blood had fixed whatever god

647
00:33:58,520 --> 00:34:00,760
Speaker 1: awful thing had happened to his You well enough that

648
00:34:00,840 --> 00:34:05,040
Speaker 1: it barely throbbed Merta Santa, the curse slipped out. Man

649
00:34:05,040 --> 00:34:08,160
Speaker 1: He felt better, great, in fact, but kind of queasy.

650
00:34:08,239 --> 00:34:11,760
Speaker 1: At the same time, he felt somehow in motion, almost

651
00:34:11,760 --> 00:34:14,040
Speaker 1: as if his whole body were shifting and burbling, like

652
00:34:14,080 --> 00:34:16,840
Speaker 1: the contents of his gut. The fixer glanced at his

653
00:34:16,920 --> 00:34:20,680
Speaker 1: journalist and nodded to the empty shot. It's a it's good.

654
00:34:21,239 --> 00:34:25,000
Speaker 1: Reggie looked terrified. His knuckles were white. The journalist gripped

655
00:34:25,040 --> 00:34:26,719
Speaker 1: the edges of the table like he was holding on

656
00:34:26,800 --> 00:34:31,600
Speaker 1: for dear life. I am fine, he gritted out. A

657
00:34:31,880 --> 00:34:34,919
Speaker 1: damn it, Scully. Topez said, you've scared the poor kid

658
00:34:34,960 --> 00:34:38,960
Speaker 1: with your damned wizard blood shit, said skullfucker Mike. Sorry,

659
00:34:39,040 --> 00:34:41,120
Speaker 1: we were trying real hard not to trip your head.

660
00:34:42,000 --> 00:34:45,239
Speaker 1: Topez nodded. The gesture looked a little telegraphed, as if

661
00:34:45,239 --> 00:34:48,320
Speaker 1: she were out of practice with making it stock Sapiens

662
00:34:48,400 --> 00:34:51,120
Speaker 1: like yourself don't always do well around folks like me

663
00:34:51,160 --> 00:34:53,600
Speaker 1: and Mike. We moved too fast, or we've got too

664
00:34:53,600 --> 00:34:56,120
Speaker 1: many weird extra parts. I don't know. It's probably different

665
00:34:56,160 --> 00:34:58,879
Speaker 1: for every one of us, but your brains definitely read

666
00:34:59,000 --> 00:35:03,360
Speaker 1: monster when you see us. Oh, Reggie croaked, You're not monsters.

667
00:35:03,400 --> 00:35:08,000
Speaker 1: You've both been very polite, perfect hosts, Ah said Mike.

668
00:35:08,160 --> 00:35:10,440
Speaker 1: It's got nothing to do with how nice we are, aren't.

669
00:35:10,640 --> 00:35:12,560
Speaker 1: It's how your brain reacts to the way we look

670
00:35:12,560 --> 00:35:16,120
Speaker 1: and move. It's because we're fucking monsters, Scully. She fixed

671
00:35:16,120 --> 00:35:17,920
Speaker 1: her eyes on the journalist. I don't mean that in

672
00:35:17,960 --> 00:35:20,319
Speaker 1: a bad sense, but like we've taken a big damn

673
00:35:20,360 --> 00:35:23,160
Speaker 1: step out of anything near to nature. Nothing is supposed

674
00:35:23,200 --> 00:35:25,320
Speaker 1: to be the way we are. It's normal for humans

675
00:35:25,360 --> 00:35:27,560
Speaker 1: to feel weird when they're around us for the first time.

676
00:35:28,040 --> 00:35:32,080
Speaker 1: Oh well, said Reggie. Maybe don't slice your wrists open

677
00:35:32,080 --> 00:35:34,200
Speaker 1: in front of company in the future, or at least

678
00:35:34,280 --> 00:35:37,040
Speaker 1: do it behind a screen. Mike nodded as if that

679
00:35:37,080 --> 00:35:40,080
Speaker 1: had been a profound suggestion. Then he handed Topaz her

680
00:35:40,080 --> 00:35:43,000
Speaker 1: second g teeny and belted down his own. They were

681
00:35:43,000 --> 00:35:47,160
Speaker 1: both visibly intoxicated now. Topas his eyes looked unfocused, and

682
00:35:47,200 --> 00:35:49,760
Speaker 1: she sprawled out backwards on the bed and cuddled absent

683
00:35:49,840 --> 00:35:51,919
Speaker 1: mindedly with one of the fur blankets on her bed.

684
00:35:52,480 --> 00:35:55,000
Speaker 1: Mike drifted off too, tapping his foot to a beat

685
00:35:55,040 --> 00:35:57,399
Speaker 1: Manny couldn't hear, and drumming his fingers on the bar

686
00:35:57,440 --> 00:36:00,480
Speaker 1: top to what looked like a completely different beat. The

687
00:36:00,560 --> 00:36:03,040
Speaker 1: journalist stared at his blood shot. It looked like it

688
00:36:03,080 --> 00:36:06,040
Speaker 1: had begun to clot. A thin rind had formed across

689
00:36:06,040 --> 00:36:08,600
Speaker 1: the top. Reggie was an obvious pain, but he was

690
00:36:08,680 --> 00:36:11,640
Speaker 1: just as obviously too squeamish to drink a stranger's blood.

691
00:36:12,239 --> 00:36:14,520
Speaker 1: Mannie felt a lot better, though it was weird how

692
00:36:14,560 --> 00:36:17,319
Speaker 1: fast Mike's blood had worked. He found himself worrying at

693
00:36:17,320 --> 00:36:19,520
Speaker 1: the scab for a gash he'd received on his forearm,

694
00:36:19,760 --> 00:36:22,120
Speaker 1: only for the scab to fall away and reveal clean

695
00:36:22,120 --> 00:36:24,719
Speaker 1: new skin underneath. An hour ago, it had been a

696
00:36:24,760 --> 00:36:28,759
Speaker 1: bleeding wound. It really works, man, he told Reggie. Just

697
00:36:28,840 --> 00:36:33,200
Speaker 1: trust me, choke it down. Reggie didn't look convinced. Think

698
00:36:33,239 --> 00:36:35,560
Speaker 1: about what a story this'll make for everyone back home,

699
00:36:35,719 --> 00:36:38,120
Speaker 1: Manny said, You escape to kill your drone and drink

700
00:36:38,160 --> 00:36:39,880
Speaker 1: the blood of an immortal. You'll dine down on that

701
00:36:39,920 --> 00:36:43,640
Speaker 1: for years. Reggie still looked pale and rather disgusted, but

702
00:36:43,680 --> 00:36:46,040
Speaker 1: he put his fingers around the shot, closed his eyes,

703
00:36:46,120 --> 00:36:49,000
Speaker 1: and then gulped it down. Mannie heard him wretch once

704
00:36:49,080 --> 00:36:51,560
Speaker 1: and then twice. Tears beat it at the corners of

705
00:36:51,560 --> 00:36:54,879
Speaker 1: the journalist's eye, but then he swallowed and slumped back

706
00:36:54,920 --> 00:36:58,200
Speaker 1: in his chair. Schoffucker. Mike was hard at work mixing

707
00:36:58,239 --> 00:37:00,960
Speaker 1: up another batch of cocktails. These ones seem to just

708
00:37:01,000 --> 00:37:03,960
Speaker 1: be normal gin and tonics, four of them. There's not

709
00:37:04,000 --> 00:37:06,960
Speaker 1: anything fucking crazy about those drinks, is there, Manny asked.

710
00:37:07,400 --> 00:37:10,600
Speaker 1: Mike shrugged. Two shots of gin, splash a tonic. Nothing

711
00:37:10,600 --> 00:37:13,960
Speaker 1: you norms can't handle. Neither of us. Asked for a drink.

712
00:37:14,120 --> 00:37:17,600
Speaker 1: Manny said, yeah, Topas yawned from her place stretched out

713
00:37:17,600 --> 00:37:20,000
Speaker 1: on the bed, But he almost died today. You should

714
00:37:20,000 --> 00:37:23,400
Speaker 1: always have a drink after almost dying. Listen to Topez,

715
00:37:23,560 --> 00:37:25,920
Speaker 1: said Mike as he passed out the drinks. She's almost

716
00:37:26,000 --> 00:37:29,240
Speaker 1: died more than almost anyone I know. Reggie came alive

717
00:37:29,280 --> 00:37:31,799
Speaker 1: as his hands touched the drink. He gulped it down

718
00:37:31,880 --> 00:37:34,520
Speaker 1: faster than either of the post humans. Manny took a

719
00:37:34,560 --> 00:37:37,000
Speaker 1: couple of slight SIPs of his own. It was heinously

720
00:37:37,120 --> 00:37:40,080
Speaker 1: strong before he sat the glass down and asked, polite

721
00:37:40,080 --> 00:37:43,480
Speaker 1: as he could manage. So why are we here and

722
00:37:43,520 --> 00:37:46,840
Speaker 1: why were you there? That kind of luck doesn't just happen,

723
00:37:47,000 --> 00:37:49,719
Speaker 1: And now we're just all gonna what hang out in

724
00:37:49,760 --> 00:37:53,080
Speaker 1: your trailer getting lit? Would that really be so bad?

725
00:37:53,440 --> 00:37:58,120
Speaker 1: Asked Mike Scully. Topaz said, in a warning tone, he's right,

726
00:37:58,320 --> 00:38:00,000
Speaker 1: and it'd be rude of us to pretend we've got

727
00:38:00,080 --> 00:38:03,600
Speaker 1: altruistic motives here. She looked Manny in his eyes. It

728
00:38:03,680 --> 00:38:05,799
Speaker 1: was a little unnerving because her left eye was a

729
00:38:05,840 --> 00:38:08,520
Speaker 1: notably different shade of brown than her right one, and

730
00:38:08,560 --> 00:38:11,800
Speaker 1: then there were her metal fangs. Look kid, she said.

731
00:38:12,120 --> 00:38:14,600
Speaker 1: We got a duty to help strangers in immediate need.

732
00:38:14,840 --> 00:38:17,400
Speaker 1: It's rule number one for all the monsters here. But

733
00:38:17,520 --> 00:38:19,840
Speaker 1: we were out there because we were looking for someone

734
00:38:19,920 --> 00:38:22,960
Speaker 1: like you, a fixer. He felt dumb as soon as

735
00:38:23,000 --> 00:38:26,800
Speaker 1: he asked. To her credit, Topaz just smiled. A citizen

736
00:38:27,200 --> 00:38:30,080
Speaker 1: of the Republic of Texas, one who's not afraid of

737
00:38:30,160 --> 00:38:33,799
Speaker 1: dangerous work, Mike added, and judging by the day you've had,

738
00:38:34,000 --> 00:38:37,840
Speaker 1: I'm a guess you've a certain familiarity with danger. What

739
00:38:37,960 --> 00:38:40,719
Speaker 1: about me, Reggie asked. Mike put a hand on the

740
00:38:40,760 --> 00:38:44,120
Speaker 1: journalist's shoulder. Many guessed it was meant as a calming gesture,

741
00:38:44,200 --> 00:38:47,120
Speaker 1: but the Brits still flinched at the contact. Don't worry,

742
00:38:47,160 --> 00:38:49,520
Speaker 1: Guy said Mike. We'll get you back to Austin or

743
00:38:49,520 --> 00:38:52,200
Speaker 1: wherever's got an airport that'll fly at home. Your friends

744
00:38:52,239 --> 00:38:55,000
Speaker 1: the only one who's help we need. What help do

745
00:38:55,160 --> 00:38:58,080
Speaker 1: you need? Manny asked. The best person to take that

746
00:38:58,200 --> 00:39:01,120
Speaker 1: question is up in the city. Topas you guys up

747
00:39:01,160 --> 00:39:04,120
Speaker 1: for a bit of a trick. Minnie stood halfway to

748
00:39:04,160 --> 00:39:06,879
Speaker 1: test the strength of his knee. It felt good as

749
00:39:06,880 --> 00:39:09,520
Speaker 1: good as new. In fact, his back and shoulders which

750
00:39:09,520 --> 00:39:12,640
Speaker 1: had been peppered with shrapnel. Just itched now. He didn't

751
00:39:12,640 --> 00:39:16,080
Speaker 1: even feel particularly tired. On the other side of the table,

752
00:39:16,440 --> 00:39:19,120
Speaker 1: Reggie looked to be doing well too. He worked his

753
00:39:19,160 --> 00:39:22,480
Speaker 1: formerly dislocated shoulder in its socket and gave Manny the

754
00:39:22,520 --> 00:39:26,960
Speaker 1: thumbs up. Apparently so, he said, Rolling Fuck had not

755
00:39:27,080 --> 00:39:29,640
Speaker 1: been built by the mines or for the comfort of

756
00:39:29,680 --> 00:39:33,000
Speaker 1: mortal men. That much was obvious. The second the elevator

757
00:39:33,080 --> 00:39:36,239
Speaker 1: doors closed, the narrow metal box launched up with the

758
00:39:36,280 --> 00:39:38,880
Speaker 1: force of a rocket. It climbed six stories in the

759
00:39:38,920 --> 00:39:41,560
Speaker 1: space of about a second. By the time it stopped

760
00:39:41,560 --> 00:39:44,520
Speaker 1: and the doors slid open with a pleasant ding, Manny

761
00:39:44,560 --> 00:39:47,520
Speaker 1: and Reggie were both on the edge of vomiting ah

762
00:39:47,520 --> 00:39:50,399
Speaker 1: ship topes. Mike said, you forgot to drop the speed

763
00:39:50,440 --> 00:39:54,640
Speaker 1: back down to normal. Topez looked genuinely distraught. Fuck me

764
00:39:54,680 --> 00:39:57,560
Speaker 1: with a splintery dick, she cursed. I'm sorry, guys, this

765
00:39:57,680 --> 00:40:00,200
Speaker 1: is the nearest elevator to our trailer. It doesn't only

766
00:40:00,280 --> 00:40:04,040
Speaker 1: take humans. The city's got an elevator under each spindle,

767
00:40:04,200 --> 00:40:07,160
Speaker 1: Mike explained. There's also a big lift under the main roller.

768
00:40:07,320 --> 00:40:09,239
Speaker 1: That's what we call the big building on treads in

769
00:40:09,239 --> 00:40:12,279
Speaker 1: the middle, and another behind the rear roller. Humans tend

770
00:40:12,280 --> 00:40:14,640
Speaker 1: to stick to the rollers. It gets weird up in

771
00:40:14,640 --> 00:40:20,560
Speaker 1: the spindles. Weird, Reggie asked, weird skullfucker. Mike leaned down

772
00:40:20,680 --> 00:40:23,640
Speaker 1: and hissed the word into the journalist's ear. He winked

773
00:40:23,640 --> 00:40:25,759
Speaker 1: at the brit in a way that somehow suggested both

774
00:40:25,800 --> 00:40:29,920
Speaker 1: coitus and violence. Topaz punched Mike's shoulder and annoyance. She

775
00:40:30,080 --> 00:40:32,120
Speaker 1: gestured for Manny and Reggie to follow her down the

776
00:40:32,200 --> 00:40:35,880
Speaker 1: narrow metal hallway. We live life on a different scale

777
00:40:35,920 --> 00:40:38,600
Speaker 1: than the rest of you, she said. We see more colors,

778
00:40:38,640 --> 00:40:40,799
Speaker 1: hear more sounds. Most of us have at least a

779
00:40:40,840 --> 00:40:43,200
Speaker 1: thousand times as many nerve endings, and no fear of

780
00:40:43,239 --> 00:40:46,480
Speaker 1: mortality to draw the line between pleasure and pain. The

781
00:40:46,560 --> 00:40:51,280
Speaker 1: kind of environments we enjoy can be intense to unmodified humans.

782
00:40:52,080 --> 00:40:54,719
Speaker 1: Right as she said humans, the group emerged from the

783
00:40:54,719 --> 00:40:58,120
Speaker 1: hallway into a wide, open gantry way. There were no

784
00:40:58,360 --> 00:41:00,520
Speaker 1: There was no ceiling above them now, and a huge

785
00:41:00,560 --> 00:41:03,600
Speaker 1: rectangular metal frame loomed over them, connected to the other

786
00:41:03,640 --> 00:41:06,560
Speaker 1: spindles of the vehicle city via thick metal tension wire.

787
00:41:07,000 --> 00:41:09,360
Speaker 1: The surface of the spindles had been covered in colorful

788
00:41:09,400 --> 00:41:12,120
Speaker 1: bits of metal and wood welded and nailed into dozens

789
00:41:12,120 --> 00:41:14,960
Speaker 1: of crude structures that stippled up the iron frames like

790
00:41:15,080 --> 00:41:18,840
Speaker 1: technicolor mushrooms. Everything was covered in lights and screens and

791
00:41:18,920 --> 00:41:22,640
Speaker 1: buzzed with the hum of a thousand speakers. Reggie's pace slowed,

792
00:41:22,840 --> 00:41:25,920
Speaker 1: the journalist's jaw was slack. He mouthed what must have

793
00:41:25,920 --> 00:41:28,759
Speaker 1: been a curse, and then asked their guides, Is it

794
00:41:28,840 --> 00:41:32,680
Speaker 1: okay if I record skullfucker might grinned and clapped him

795
00:41:32,680 --> 00:41:35,680
Speaker 1: on the shoulder. Of course, it's okay. If you ask nice,

796
00:41:35,719 --> 00:41:37,120
Speaker 1: I might even let you film me in one of

797
00:41:37,160 --> 00:41:40,400
Speaker 1: the fondel boats. What the hell is a Reggie started

798
00:41:40,400 --> 00:41:43,239
Speaker 1: to ask, but then the first fondel boat came into view.

799
00:41:43,440 --> 00:41:46,560
Speaker 1: At least many assumed that's what it was. A very

800
00:41:46,680 --> 00:41:49,319
Speaker 1: large lifeboat hung off the gantry as if it was

801
00:41:49,320 --> 00:41:51,920
Speaker 1: the deck of a cruise ship. The interior of the

802
00:41:51,960 --> 00:41:54,759
Speaker 1: boat was all soft cushions, pillows, blankets, and about two

803
00:41:54,800 --> 00:41:58,720
Speaker 1: dozen writhing naked people. Some of them were surely having sex,

804
00:41:58,800 --> 00:42:01,399
Speaker 1: but it was hard to tell actly what was going on.

805
00:42:02,160 --> 00:42:06,000
Speaker 1: Manny saw several tails curled around limbs or jerking spasmodically

806
00:42:06,000 --> 00:42:08,640
Speaker 1: in the air. His eyes were drawn to one mechanical

807
00:42:08,680 --> 00:42:11,319
Speaker 1: limb that looked like a large metal chicken's foot. He

808
00:42:11,360 --> 00:42:14,200
Speaker 1: watched it kick repeatedly into the chest of a young woman.

809
00:42:14,560 --> 00:42:17,439
Speaker 1: She cried with joy at every impact. The whole mass

810
00:42:17,480 --> 00:42:20,239
Speaker 1: of coiled post humanity gleamed wet in the morning light,

811
00:42:20,520 --> 00:42:22,600
Speaker 1: coated with a mixture of blood and what looked like

812
00:42:22,719 --> 00:42:27,120
Speaker 1: motor oil. Christ Reggie whispered. Manny was at a loss

813
00:42:27,120 --> 00:42:30,240
Speaker 1: for words. He felt a bit nauseous. He never considered

814
00:42:30,320 --> 00:42:32,759
Speaker 1: himself a prude, but something about what was going on

815
00:42:32,840 --> 00:42:36,320
Speaker 1: in the Fondel boat just seemed wrong in the physics sense,

816
00:42:36,560 --> 00:42:40,760
Speaker 1: not the moral sense. Probably best not to watch, said Topaz.

817
00:42:41,040 --> 00:42:45,200
Speaker 1: It can make humans sick er, Yeah, Reggie coughed. Is

818
00:42:45,239 --> 00:42:48,880
Speaker 1: that a common sight? Mike shrugged. It's not uncommon. We

819
00:42:49,000 --> 00:42:51,280
Speaker 1: try to keep stuff like that on the outside spindles

820
00:42:51,320 --> 00:42:54,520
Speaker 1: away from the rollers as a courtesy. They walked on,

821
00:42:54,719 --> 00:42:56,880
Speaker 1: passed the boat and through another covered section of the

822
00:42:56,920 --> 00:42:59,640
Speaker 1: gantry way, surrounded by a half dozen little buildings that

823
00:42:59,680 --> 00:43:03,200
Speaker 1: looked shops. Many saw fruits and vegetables hanging in one,

824
00:43:03,239 --> 00:43:06,239
Speaker 1: an assortment of labeled decks and other electronic googas on

825
00:43:06,320 --> 00:43:08,680
Speaker 1: tables in another. It had the look of a Middle

826
00:43:08,719 --> 00:43:12,560
Speaker 1: Eastern bazaar, but with no shopkeepers present. Y'all want food,

827
00:43:12,719 --> 00:43:15,360
Speaker 1: Topaz stopped and gestured at the shop filled with produce.

828
00:43:15,960 --> 00:43:18,319
Speaker 1: Manny held up his left hand, which had his cash ship,

829
00:43:18,360 --> 00:43:21,440
Speaker 1: and planted in it. I've got Republic of Texas currency

830
00:43:21,480 --> 00:43:24,719
Speaker 1: and some Californian crypto, if you guys take either. Mike

831
00:43:24,800 --> 00:43:27,520
Speaker 1: and Topaz both laughed, and then Mike grabbed an apple

832
00:43:27,560 --> 00:43:30,680
Speaker 1: and tossed it Manny's way. Many caught the fruit, although

833
00:43:30,719 --> 00:43:33,719
Speaker 1: it was a near thing. We don't use money, not

834
00:43:33,840 --> 00:43:36,960
Speaker 1: within the city, skullfucker, Mike explained. We do sell a

835
00:43:36,960 --> 00:43:39,120
Speaker 1: lot of what we grow for foreign money's, but that's

836
00:43:39,120 --> 00:43:41,759
Speaker 1: mostly used to book bands or buy stuff we can make.

837
00:43:42,400 --> 00:43:45,440
Speaker 1: Nothing costs anything here, not to us and not to

838
00:43:45,520 --> 00:43:50,560
Speaker 1: our guests. Y'all are guests, Topaz clarified. Manny hadn't really

839
00:43:50,560 --> 00:43:52,520
Speaker 1: had time to think about his stomach in the hour

840
00:43:52,640 --> 00:43:55,160
Speaker 1: since their explosion he wake up call. They'd been on

841
00:43:55,200 --> 00:43:57,520
Speaker 1: the run and endanger the whole time, but now that

842
00:43:57,560 --> 00:43:59,480
Speaker 1: he had a moment to think, he felt a mild

843
00:43:59,520 --> 00:44:02,879
Speaker 1: gnawing sensation in his gut. The journalist must have been

844
00:44:02,920 --> 00:44:06,000
Speaker 1: in the same way, because He immediately set to piling fruit,

845
00:44:06,120 --> 00:44:08,360
Speaker 1: bags of nuts, and a paper sack of vat grown

846
00:44:08,400 --> 00:44:11,040
Speaker 1: jerky into his arms. Manny went for a bag of

847
00:44:11,080 --> 00:44:14,319
Speaker 1: shelled pistachios himself, and the two munch to Skullfucker. Mike

848
00:44:14,400 --> 00:44:17,080
Speaker 1: and Topaz led them across the spindles gantry and down

849
00:44:17,160 --> 00:44:20,080
Speaker 1: towards the main roller. The main roller had once held

850
00:44:20,080 --> 00:44:22,880
Speaker 1: the control center and engine room for the gargantuan strip

851
00:44:22,880 --> 00:44:25,879
Speaker 1: mining vehicle and its conversion to rolling fuck. Two new

852
00:44:25,960 --> 00:44:29,200
Speaker 1: levels built from a half dozen sorely abused airstream trailers

853
00:44:29,360 --> 00:44:32,040
Speaker 1: had been added to the top four of the spindles

854
00:44:32,040 --> 00:44:35,240
Speaker 1: met on the roller's roof, which also hosted a lively cafe.

855
00:44:35,680 --> 00:44:38,320
Speaker 1: There were around a dozen patrons drinking at the circular

856
00:44:38,360 --> 00:44:41,480
Speaker 1: center bar, and perhaps a dozen lounging on cushions around

857
00:44:41,480 --> 00:44:44,959
Speaker 1: low slung Moroccan style tables. Most of the customers looked

858
00:44:45,000 --> 00:44:48,000
Speaker 1: human to Manny's eye. They wore an assortment of colorful,

859
00:44:48,040 --> 00:44:52,239
Speaker 1: loose fitting garments, sarongs, long skirts, and caffeia's. Most of

860
00:44:52,280 --> 00:44:55,040
Speaker 1: it looked handmade, although Manny was hardly an expert on

861
00:44:55,080 --> 00:44:58,200
Speaker 1: such things. As they walked past the bar, Mike scooped

862
00:44:58,280 --> 00:45:00,839
Speaker 1: up four pint glasses of dark browned agger. He kept

863
00:45:00,840 --> 00:45:02,680
Speaker 1: them in one hand. As he opened a metal hatch

864
00:45:02,680 --> 00:45:05,279
Speaker 1: on the rooftop. Many could see a ladder that led

865
00:45:05,280 --> 00:45:08,960
Speaker 1: down into semi darkness. Mike nodded towards the ladder. Down

866
00:45:09,040 --> 00:45:12,400
Speaker 1: you go. Beer at the bottom. Manny and Reggie descended

867
00:45:12,440 --> 00:45:16,200
Speaker 1: into a luxurious conference room. It was candlelit, dim enough

868
00:45:16,239 --> 00:45:18,640
Speaker 1: to see him intimate, but bright enough for human navigation.

869
00:45:19,000 --> 00:45:22,320
Speaker 1: A single redwood table dominated the space. It was twelve

870
00:45:22,320 --> 00:45:24,680
Speaker 1: feet in diameter and low to the ground, like all

871
00:45:24,680 --> 00:45:28,480
Speaker 1: the tables he'd seen in the cafe. Cushions and other colorful, lumpy,

872
00:45:28,520 --> 00:45:31,440
Speaker 1: soft things surrounded it. One man and one woman were

873
00:45:31,440 --> 00:45:35,120
Speaker 1: already seated cross legged around the table. Manny was shocked

874
00:45:35,120 --> 00:45:38,120
Speaker 1: to see they were both quite old. The man was

875
00:45:38,160 --> 00:45:40,680
Speaker 1: heavy set, with a lot of curly black hair piled

876
00:45:40,680 --> 00:45:44,400
Speaker 1: atop his head and around his craggy lined face. Startlingly

877
00:45:44,480 --> 00:45:47,399
Speaker 1: bright blue eyes stood out over the flickering candle light.

878
00:45:47,840 --> 00:45:50,520
Speaker 1: He wore an old fashioned suit with a necktie and everything.

879
00:45:50,840 --> 00:45:52,680
Speaker 1: It was the kind of suit a banker might have

880
00:45:52,719 --> 00:45:55,200
Speaker 1: worn fifty years ago. If the old movies man he'd

881
00:45:55,200 --> 00:45:57,960
Speaker 1: watched were close too accurate, He looked to be in

882
00:45:58,000 --> 00:46:01,400
Speaker 1: his sixties, while the woman next to him seemed considerably older.

883
00:46:01,719 --> 00:46:03,919
Speaker 1: Her face was so lying and her skin so thin

884
00:46:04,200 --> 00:46:07,520
Speaker 1: she almost looked fake, like some kind of animatronic creation.

885
00:46:08,080 --> 00:46:11,360
Speaker 1: No one looked that old anymore. The Austin Autonomous Region

886
00:46:11,400 --> 00:46:15,120
Speaker 1: wasn't wealthy, but basic juven treatments were cheap and heavily subsidized.

887
00:46:15,480 --> 00:46:17,640
Speaker 1: Even the poor could afford to combat the worst side

888
00:46:17,680 --> 00:46:20,560
Speaker 1: effects of aging. Things were different in the Republic of

889
00:46:20,600 --> 00:46:23,160
Speaker 1: Texas proper, but none of the poor there lived long

890
00:46:23,239 --> 00:46:26,080
Speaker 1: enough to look like this woman. She wore high waisted

891
00:46:26,120 --> 00:46:28,520
Speaker 1: purple yoga pants and a very tight T shirt with

892
00:46:28,520 --> 00:46:31,360
Speaker 1: a faded print of a five fingered Bart Simpson flipping

893
00:46:31,360 --> 00:46:34,560
Speaker 1: the bird. Her hair was completely white and bound behind

894
00:46:34,560 --> 00:46:37,239
Speaker 1: her in a tight ponytail. She smiled at Manny when

895
00:46:37,239 --> 00:46:39,239
Speaker 1: he looked at her. The old woman's teeth were as

896
00:46:39,280 --> 00:46:42,520
Speaker 1: white as her hair. Hello there, young men, she said,

897
00:46:42,560 --> 00:46:46,840
Speaker 1: in a voice that evoked the Platonic ideal of a grandma. Hello, Topaz,

898
00:46:47,320 --> 00:46:51,200
Speaker 1: Mike schofucker, Mike, ma'am skullfucker, Mike corrected her. As he

899
00:46:51,280 --> 00:46:53,799
Speaker 1: came down the ladder. He handed Manny and Topaz each

900
00:46:53,840 --> 00:46:55,800
Speaker 1: a beer and then found a cushion large and plush

901
00:46:55,880 --> 00:46:58,480
Speaker 1: enough for his bulk and dropped down. Manny took his

902
00:46:58,560 --> 00:47:00,880
Speaker 1: cue and found a seat. Red She grabbed the cushion

903
00:47:00,920 --> 00:47:03,600
Speaker 1: next to him. Topaz leaned against the back wall, but

904
00:47:03,680 --> 00:47:07,319
Speaker 1: stood as she introduced them. This is Mannie Sanchez, he's

905
00:47:07,320 --> 00:47:10,200
Speaker 1: a fixer from the Austin region. And this is Reggie Sullivan.

906
00:47:10,280 --> 00:47:13,960
Speaker 1: He works for the BBC. Manny, Reggie, this is Nanna Yazzie,

907
00:47:14,200 --> 00:47:17,400
Speaker 1: she's our eldest. And the less old fart is Donnie Ferris.

908
00:47:17,440 --> 00:47:21,960
Speaker 1: He's a guest and a brit too. Wait the Donald Ferris,

909
00:47:22,120 --> 00:47:25,359
Speaker 1: Reggie asked, the guy who made Visions of Blood. Yes,

910
00:47:25,640 --> 00:47:28,040
Speaker 1: said the old man. Did you actually watch it or

911
00:47:28,080 --> 00:47:30,440
Speaker 1: have you just seen a handful of ten second clips

912
00:47:30,440 --> 00:47:34,400
Speaker 1: in your media feed over the years. Both actually, Reggie

913
00:47:34,400 --> 00:47:38,600
Speaker 1: replied Donald grunted. Many had heard of Visions of Blood

914
00:47:38,640 --> 00:47:41,399
Speaker 1: back in school. It was a documentary released a year

915
00:47:41,400 --> 00:47:44,720
Speaker 1: before the Second American Civil War caught fire. It followed

916
00:47:44,760 --> 00:47:48,080
Speaker 1: two Navajo Special Forces veterans as they organized a massive

917
00:47:48,120 --> 00:47:51,480
Speaker 1: direct action campaign that started in Santa Fe but spread

918
00:47:51,520 --> 00:47:54,440
Speaker 1: throughout the Southwest. His textbook had called it one of

919
00:47:54,480 --> 00:47:56,800
Speaker 1: the major seeds of the old u s has collapse.

920
00:47:57,719 --> 00:48:01,040
Speaker 1: Reggie was clearly star struck by Donald. Mannie was more

921
00:48:01,080 --> 00:48:04,040
Speaker 1: curious about the old woman. No matter where he turned

922
00:48:04,040 --> 00:48:06,399
Speaker 1: his head, he couldn't quite seem to escape her eyes.

923
00:48:06,920 --> 00:48:09,520
Speaker 1: She had this strange way of staring at him without

924
00:48:09,560 --> 00:48:13,920
Speaker 1: really staring. It made Mannie feel somehow naked and vaguely comforted,

925
00:48:13,960 --> 00:48:17,720
Speaker 1: all at the same time. Nana meant grandma, which made sense,

926
00:48:17,880 --> 00:48:19,960
Speaker 1: but he wasn't sure what the rest of her title meant.

927
00:48:20,000 --> 00:48:24,280
Speaker 1: Exactly Are you in charge, then, he asked her. In response,

928
00:48:24,440 --> 00:48:27,879
Speaker 1: every one but Reggie chuckled. No one is in charge here,

929
00:48:28,000 --> 00:48:31,600
Speaker 1: said Nana Yazi. That will become increasingly clear the longer

930
00:48:31,680 --> 00:48:34,560
Speaker 1: you stay. I'm the eldest, which means exactly what it

931
00:48:34,640 --> 00:48:36,759
Speaker 1: sounds like. I'm old as dirt, and I'm older than

932
00:48:36,800 --> 00:48:39,160
Speaker 1: any of the other dirt around here too. She eyed

933
00:48:39,200 --> 00:48:42,400
Speaker 1: Donald Ferris and continued, when I give advice or have

934
00:48:42,400 --> 00:48:45,200
Speaker 1: an opinion, some people listen. This is not a state,

935
00:48:45,239 --> 00:48:47,280
Speaker 1: and I am not a head of state, but sometimes

936
00:48:47,280 --> 00:48:50,280
Speaker 1: I play one for the folks outside, for in policy,

937
00:48:50,400 --> 00:48:53,839
Speaker 1: diplomatic relations, that sort of thing, mainly because no one

938
00:48:53,880 --> 00:48:57,640
Speaker 1: else can be arst by the way. She added welcome

939
00:48:57,680 --> 00:49:00,560
Speaker 1: to the city of Wheels, or she ound a little

940
00:49:00,960 --> 00:49:04,920
Speaker 1: rolling fuck. I argued rather strenuously against that name, but

941
00:49:05,120 --> 00:49:08,879
Speaker 1: I was outvoted. I like the name, said skullfucker. Mike,

942
00:49:09,120 --> 00:49:12,480
Speaker 1: it's fun, said he shouldn't take themselves too seriously. That's

943
00:49:12,520 --> 00:49:16,360
Speaker 1: when the problems start. So why are we here, Manny asked.

944
00:49:16,520 --> 00:49:19,280
Speaker 1: I mean, I'm grateful, and all we're grateful. He nodded

945
00:49:19,280 --> 00:49:21,920
Speaker 1: to Reggie. But I know y'all aren't just being nice.

946
00:49:22,080 --> 00:49:26,399
Speaker 1: Mike said, you had dangerous work. Skullfucker, Mike, skullfucker, Mike

947
00:49:26,400 --> 00:49:30,040
Speaker 1: insisted again. Nanni Yazzi ignored him and replied to Manny,

948
00:49:30,160 --> 00:49:32,640
Speaker 1: we do have a job for you, Miho. You are

949
00:49:32,680 --> 00:49:34,880
Speaker 1: not required to take it, though if you say no,

950
00:49:35,040 --> 00:49:37,600
Speaker 1: we'll still return you when your journalist friend to Austin,

951
00:49:37,800 --> 00:49:41,080
Speaker 1: and if you do help us, you'll be compensated. So

952
00:49:41,120 --> 00:49:44,200
Speaker 1: what is it you need? The old woman snapped her fingers.

953
00:49:44,320 --> 00:49:46,560
Speaker 1: A projection screen hummed to life on the wall of

954
00:49:46,560 --> 00:49:50,080
Speaker 1: the room that faced Manny and Reggie. It displayed three faces,

955
00:49:50,400 --> 00:49:53,520
Speaker 1: two women and one man. They all looked young, although

956
00:49:53,600 --> 00:49:56,279
Speaker 1: that meant very little. One woman was white and kept

957
00:49:56,320 --> 00:49:58,560
Speaker 1: her hair in a bright purple mohawk. The other was

958
00:49:58,600 --> 00:50:02,320
Speaker 1: as bald as skullfucker Mike, with round cheeks, green scowling eyes,

959
00:50:02,360 --> 00:50:05,000
Speaker 1: and skin a little darker than Manny's. The young man

960
00:50:05,120 --> 00:50:07,640
Speaker 1: was very pale. He appeared to be of Chinese descent,

961
00:50:07,719 --> 00:50:10,920
Speaker 1: and his exposed skin was covered in scarified symbols from

962
00:50:10,920 --> 00:50:15,640
Speaker 1: a language Mannie didn't recognize. From left to right, Marigold, Fulton,

963
00:50:16,040 --> 00:50:19,759
Speaker 1: Tooley Black Elk, and Rick Hartford. They're all citizens and

964
00:50:19,800 --> 00:50:21,960
Speaker 1: they act as our negotiators when the city is in

965
00:50:22,000 --> 00:50:25,040
Speaker 1: the southwest. Two days ago, they arrived in Plaino to

966
00:50:25,080 --> 00:50:28,200
Speaker 1: negotiate a trade deal with the Republic of Texas. We

967
00:50:28,280 --> 00:50:30,359
Speaker 1: have quite a lot of processed coffee and we were

968
00:50:30,400 --> 00:50:32,839
Speaker 1: hoping to trade it for She trailed off a bit

969
00:50:32,880 --> 00:50:38,400
Speaker 1: and her cheeks reddened. Manny thought she looked embarrassed. For snacks. Snacks,

970
00:50:38,760 --> 00:50:42,920
Speaker 1: Reggie asked, yes, she nodded. The Frido Le Corporation is,

971
00:50:43,120 --> 00:50:46,080
Speaker 1: or at least was still headquartered in Plaino. The junk

972
00:50:46,120 --> 00:50:49,480
Speaker 1: food they produces harder to find out West. We mostly

973
00:50:49,520 --> 00:50:52,840
Speaker 1: wanted cheeto's. Topez licked her lips. For whatever reason, the

974
00:50:52,880 --> 00:50:55,840
Speaker 1: imitations we print out here just don't cut it. We

975
00:50:56,000 --> 00:50:59,840
Speaker 1: barter everywhere we go, Nana Yazi continued, and since post

976
00:51:00,040 --> 00:51:03,799
Speaker 1: humans aren't welcome in most populated areas, our negotiators are

977
00:51:03,840 --> 00:51:07,240
Speaker 1: all pretty close to baseline. They traveled unarmed into Plano.

978
00:51:07,480 --> 00:51:11,360
Speaker 1: The city fell six hours after they arrived. Reggie grunted

979
00:51:12,080 --> 00:51:14,200
Speaker 1: two days ago. People were telling me the Kingdom was

980
00:51:14,239 --> 00:51:18,319
Speaker 1: on its last legs. Yes, Nana Yazi said, it would

981
00:51:18,320 --> 00:51:21,280
Speaker 1: appear they are not quite the paper tiger everyone expected.

982
00:51:21,719 --> 00:51:24,239
Speaker 1: We're still scrambling through good data, but it's safe to

983
00:51:24,280 --> 00:51:27,200
Speaker 1: say they've pilfered the majority of the Republic's heavy equipment

984
00:51:27,239 --> 00:51:30,239
Speaker 1: and converted as much as half their standing army. At

985
00:51:30,280 --> 00:51:33,320
Speaker 1: the same time Plaino fell, dozens of Christian militias across

986
00:51:33,320 --> 00:51:36,880
Speaker 1: Texas launched fresh offensives. Galveston is still holding, but that

987
00:51:36,920 --> 00:51:39,799
Speaker 1: could change at any moment. Houston blew their levies and

988
00:51:39,800 --> 00:51:42,319
Speaker 1: flooded half the city in order to save the other half.

989
00:51:42,560 --> 00:51:44,560
Speaker 1: But that also means the Kingdom can move on to

990
00:51:44,600 --> 00:51:47,920
Speaker 1: Austin without worrying about their flank. They pushed the stf

991
00:51:48,200 --> 00:51:50,839
Speaker 1: entirely out of Siada de Muerta, so there's nothing left

992
00:51:50,880 --> 00:51:54,760
Speaker 1: between them and your home. Donald Ferris spoke up Grave

993
00:51:54,840 --> 00:51:58,360
Speaker 1: and gravelly. We know that the offensives started with dozens

994
00:51:58,360 --> 00:52:02,360
Speaker 1: of autonomous car bombings at checkpoints and fortifications. We don't

995
00:52:02,360 --> 00:52:06,840
Speaker 1: know how they managed it. What's important now, Nana Yazzi continued,

996
00:52:07,040 --> 00:52:09,799
Speaker 1: is that three of our people have been captured. Manny

997
00:52:09,880 --> 00:52:13,000
Speaker 1: fought down a spike of anger. With all due respect, Nana,

998
00:52:13,080 --> 00:52:16,200
Speaker 1: he said, in a deliberately neutral tone, they just conquered

999
00:52:16,200 --> 00:52:18,360
Speaker 1: the city I was born in. I've probably lost a

1000
00:52:18,400 --> 00:52:21,000
Speaker 1: dozen friends in these god fascists are only what two

1001
00:52:21,040 --> 00:52:25,359
Speaker 1: hours away from Austin ninety minutes, Donald said. They seem

1002
00:52:25,400 --> 00:52:27,799
Speaker 1: to be a holding position now, digesting them meal, but

1003
00:52:27,920 --> 00:52:30,680
Speaker 1: they'll be on the march soon. I expect the vaunted

1004
00:52:30,719 --> 00:52:32,799
Speaker 1: Austin defense forces will be able to hold them off

1005
00:52:32,840 --> 00:52:36,080
Speaker 1: for oh a good four or five days, maybe a week.

1006
00:52:36,520 --> 00:52:40,719
Speaker 1: Unless he glanced over to Nani Yazzi, she nodded in agreement.

1007
00:52:41,480 --> 00:52:46,680
Speaker 1: Unless asked Manny, unless Nana agreed, unless our militia comes

1008
00:52:46,680 --> 00:52:48,840
Speaker 1: to their aid. We're not in the habit of fighting

1009
00:52:48,840 --> 00:52:51,160
Speaker 1: other people's battles, but we're also not in the habit

1010
00:52:51,200 --> 00:52:54,120
Speaker 1: of letting regressives win. I asked for a vote once

1011
00:52:54,120 --> 00:52:57,000
Speaker 1: we learned our people had been captured our fighters, most

1012
00:52:57,040 --> 00:52:59,759
Speaker 1: of them agreed to stop the Heavenly Kingdom's advance and

1013
00:52:59,760 --> 00:53:02,920
Speaker 1: give your people time to coordinate a proper defense. But

1014
00:53:03,000 --> 00:53:06,120
Speaker 1: there's a catch, ah, Manny was starting to get it.

1015
00:53:06,440 --> 00:53:10,480
Speaker 1: If you step in, they'll kill your people. Nani Yazzi nodded, yes,

1016
00:53:10,680 --> 00:53:13,879
Speaker 1: and none of our fighters are willing to risk that. Well,

1017
00:53:13,920 --> 00:53:16,000
Speaker 1: I'm not sure what you want from me, Manny said,

1018
00:53:16,239 --> 00:53:19,520
Speaker 1: I'm a talker, not a fighter. A talker is exactly

1019
00:53:19,560 --> 00:53:23,080
Speaker 1: what we need, Immanuel Nani Yazzi assured him. Manny winced

1020
00:53:23,080 --> 00:53:26,280
Speaker 1: in irritation at the use of his full name, Manny.

1021
00:53:26,480 --> 00:53:29,319
Speaker 1: He insisted, in the same tone, skullfucker might get used

1022
00:53:29,320 --> 00:53:33,120
Speaker 1: a little earlier as you say, what kind of talking

1023
00:53:33,160 --> 00:53:35,040
Speaker 1: do you want me to do? He asked. I'm sure

1024
00:53:35,040 --> 00:53:38,480
Speaker 1: you've all got better negotiators than me, perhaps, but you've

1025
00:53:38,480 --> 00:53:41,520
Speaker 1: got something none of our people possess. You're a citizen

1026
00:53:41,560 --> 00:53:44,280
Speaker 1: of the Republic, and the Heavenly Kingdom has just issued

1027
00:53:44,280 --> 00:53:47,040
Speaker 1: a general amnesty for all citizens willing to repent and

1028
00:53:47,040 --> 00:53:50,359
Speaker 1: declare allegiance. You know how the people in this region talk.

1029
00:53:50,760 --> 00:53:53,919
Speaker 1: You won't arose suspicion if you enter, So you want

1030
00:53:53,920 --> 00:53:56,120
Speaker 1: me to find your people, and then what break them out?

1031
00:53:56,320 --> 00:53:58,279
Speaker 1: I can barely shoot straight. I don't think I'm the

1032
00:53:58,320 --> 00:54:01,120
Speaker 1: man to execute a prison break. They've got plenty of

1033
00:54:01,120 --> 00:54:04,240
Speaker 1: fight a son. Donald Ferris growled, But if two Pez

1034
00:54:04,280 --> 00:54:06,440
Speaker 1: and Schofucker Mike haven't keyed you in on this, the

1035
00:54:06,560 --> 00:54:12,120
Speaker 1: chrome don't exactly good at blending. He's right, Nana smiled sadly.

1036
00:54:12,520 --> 00:54:14,760
Speaker 1: We'll pare you with some one who could do the violence,

1037
00:54:14,960 --> 00:54:16,799
Speaker 1: but we'll need you to get them close enough to

1038
00:54:16,840 --> 00:54:19,440
Speaker 1: find our people. In effect an escape, You'll need to

1039
00:54:19,440 --> 00:54:22,960
Speaker 1: help our person maintain their cover. Manny felt a powerful

1040
00:54:23,000 --> 00:54:26,080
Speaker 1: anger boil up inside his belly. So basically, you and

1041
00:54:26,120 --> 00:54:28,840
Speaker 1: your militia are holding my homeland hostage. And if I

1042
00:54:28,880 --> 00:54:33,400
Speaker 1: don't risk my coulo to save your negotiators, Austin dies. Miho,

1043
00:54:33,600 --> 00:54:36,479
Speaker 1: it's nothing as sinister as that our people want to fight.

1044
00:54:36,600 --> 00:54:40,719
Speaker 1: But but Donald picked up. We're all family here, and

1045
00:54:40,880 --> 00:54:44,640
Speaker 1: family comes before corrupt fractious foreign militia's and equally corrupt

1046
00:54:44,680 --> 00:54:48,080
Speaker 1: fractious foreign cities. Old told I'd say it's a good

1047
00:54:48,120 --> 00:54:52,120
Speaker 1: deal for you. What was your plan before this meeting,

1048
00:54:52,280 --> 00:54:55,520
Speaker 1: Nani Yazi asked. Manny opened his mouth to respond, but

1049
00:54:55,600 --> 00:54:58,720
Speaker 1: realized he didn't have a clear answer. He hadn't exactly

1050
00:54:58,760 --> 00:55:01,200
Speaker 1: had much time to puzzle that out in any time

1051
00:55:01,239 --> 00:55:04,239
Speaker 1: he'd tried. He thought about Oscar, his missing stringer, and

1052
00:55:04,280 --> 00:55:07,560
Speaker 1: that made him want to panic. He's dead or worse,

1053
00:55:07,680 --> 00:55:09,600
Speaker 1: and there's nothing you can do about it. What you

1054
00:55:09,680 --> 00:55:12,000
Speaker 1: can do is by a fucking plane ticket and beg

1055
00:55:12,040 --> 00:55:14,360
Speaker 1: the Germans to take you in as a refugee. That

1056
00:55:14,480 --> 00:55:16,839
Speaker 1: seemed like a good plan, or at least the best

1057
00:55:16,880 --> 00:55:19,560
Speaker 1: of a bunch of shitty options. But a scornful voice

1058
00:55:19,640 --> 00:55:22,600
Speaker 1: rose up from the dark recesses of his semi withered conscience.

1059
00:55:22,960 --> 00:55:24,759
Speaker 1: What about his wife? Are you just gonna leave her

1060
00:55:24,760 --> 00:55:27,160
Speaker 1: broken widowed? You have to at least give her something.

1061
00:55:27,960 --> 00:55:30,800
Speaker 1: I'm flying to Germany, he said, or maybe France, wherever

1062
00:55:30,800 --> 00:55:32,799
Speaker 1: I can get the cheapest ticket, either in Austin or

1063
00:55:32,840 --> 00:55:36,359
Speaker 1: El Paso. How much money do you have saved up, son,

1064
00:55:36,640 --> 00:55:39,560
Speaker 1: Donald Ferris asked, They won't issue a long term visa

1065
00:55:39,600 --> 00:55:43,120
Speaker 1: unless you've got at least sixty grand Californian. Manny hit

1066
00:55:43,120 --> 00:55:45,479
Speaker 1: a little more than half that less once he paid

1067
00:55:45,520 --> 00:55:49,080
Speaker 1: off Oscar's wife widow. Fuck man, you sent him out there.

1068
00:55:49,680 --> 00:55:52,320
Speaker 1: The uncertainty and despair must have been obvious on his face.

1069
00:55:52,600 --> 00:55:55,160
Speaker 1: Both Donald Ferris and Nana Yazzi gave him the sort

1070
00:55:55,160 --> 00:55:58,560
Speaker 1: of looks normally reserved for wounded kittens. I may be

1071
00:55:58,640 --> 00:56:00,920
Speaker 1: able to help the old Brits that I do have

1072
00:56:01,040 --> 00:56:04,280
Speaker 1: some connections in Germany, people who might sponsor your visa

1073
00:56:04,600 --> 00:56:08,000
Speaker 1: if you help. The thought of a visa, the mental

1074
00:56:08,080 --> 00:56:11,400
Speaker 1: image of seeing one stamped in his otherwise worthless passport

1075
00:56:11,719 --> 00:56:15,319
Speaker 1: was intoxicating Mann. He'd never traveled outside of Texas, but

1076
00:56:15,360 --> 00:56:17,880
Speaker 1: he had kept at all times an active passport. It

1077
00:56:17,960 --> 00:56:21,200
Speaker 1: had been the physical anchor for his wildest dreams, and

1078
00:56:21,320 --> 00:56:23,880
Speaker 1: now Donald Ferris was telling him he could make something

1079
00:56:23,920 --> 00:56:28,360
Speaker 1: as magical as a visa real Manny almost swooned. Do

1080
00:56:28,440 --> 00:56:30,960
Speaker 1: I have to decide now? He asked, careful to keep

1081
00:56:30,960 --> 00:56:34,000
Speaker 1: his tone as calm as he could manage, of course not.

1082
00:56:34,360 --> 00:56:37,799
Speaker 1: Nana Yazi said that would be terribly unfair. You should

1083
00:56:37,840 --> 00:56:40,440
Speaker 1: get some sleep and then a proper breakfast. There's certainly

1084
00:56:40,520 --> 00:56:43,960
Speaker 1: enough time for that, and you look exhausted he was.

1085
00:56:44,440 --> 00:56:46,440
Speaker 1: Now that the excitement of the morning had faded, he

1086
00:56:46,440 --> 00:56:48,719
Speaker 1: felt gripped by a bone deep weariness that was not

1087
00:56:48,840 --> 00:56:51,360
Speaker 1: at all helped by the dim lighting and comfortable cushions

1088
00:56:51,360 --> 00:56:54,120
Speaker 1: around him. Reggie should have been even more tired but

1089
00:56:54,239 --> 00:56:57,120
Speaker 1: with the jet lag, but the journalist looked alert, jittery

1090
00:56:57,200 --> 00:57:00,680
Speaker 1: despite the bags under his eyes. If it's possible, Reggie said,

1091
00:57:00,719 --> 00:57:02,560
Speaker 1: and you have one, I could really use a high

1092
00:57:02,600 --> 00:57:05,880
Speaker 1: speed data connection. My deck's been spotty since the shooting started.

1093
00:57:05,960 --> 00:57:07,800
Speaker 1: I've got a lot to upload to the company's servers,

1094
00:57:07,840 --> 00:57:09,920
Speaker 1: and I should probably check in with my editors, let

1095
00:57:09,920 --> 00:57:12,400
Speaker 1: them know I'm not dead, et cetera, et cetera. That

1096
00:57:12,520 --> 00:57:15,040
Speaker 1: won't be a problem. She stood, and her knees popped

1097
00:57:15,080 --> 00:57:18,280
Speaker 1: audibly with the movement. Oh, she grunted, and then continued.

1098
00:57:18,640 --> 00:57:22,520
Speaker 1: Topaz and Mike Schofucker. Mike, we'll show you to a nice,

1099
00:57:22,600 --> 00:57:25,360
Speaker 1: relatively sound proof room. They'll help you get onto our

1100
00:57:25,440 --> 00:57:28,919
Speaker 1: data tower too. Reggie, thank you. She looked at Manny

1101
00:57:29,000 --> 00:57:32,200
Speaker 1: again and fixed him with her sad grandmother's smile. We'll

1102
00:57:32,240 --> 00:57:34,120
Speaker 1: give you as much time to decide as we can.

1103
00:57:34,400 --> 00:57:36,560
Speaker 1: We expect the Kingdom to hold for a few days,

1104
00:57:36,920 --> 00:57:39,320
Speaker 1: but we didn't expect them to launch an attack like this,

1105
00:57:39,760 --> 00:57:43,120
Speaker 1: So take that with a grain of salt. I'm Texan, Nana,

1106
00:57:43,440 --> 00:57:53,840
Speaker 1: Manny said, I take everything with salt. I call the

1107
00:57:53,920 --> 00:57:57,200
Speaker 1: Union haul as his male alife and dear, I thank

1108
00:57:57,240 --> 00:58:00,760
Speaker 1: these people of planning to kill Doctor King. On April four,

1109
00:58:02,200 --> 00:58:04,680
Speaker 1: Dr Martin Luther King was shot and killed in Memphis.

1110
00:58:04,960 --> 00:58:08,280
Speaker 1: A petty criminal named James Earl Ray was arrested. He

1111
00:58:08,400 --> 00:58:10,600
Speaker 1: pled guilty to the crime and spent the rest of

1112
00:58:10,640 --> 00:58:15,880
Speaker 1: his life in prison. Case closed right, James L. Ray

1113
00:58:16,160 --> 00:58:20,880
Speaker 1: was upon for the official story. The authorities would parade

1114
00:58:20,920 --> 00:58:23,840
Speaker 1: all we found a gun the James L. Ray bought

1115
00:58:23,880 --> 00:58:27,920
Speaker 1: in Birmingham the killed Dr King. Except it wasn't the

1116
00:58:27,920 --> 00:58:30,920
Speaker 1: gun that killed Dr King. One of the problems that

1117
00:58:31,160 --> 00:58:34,520
Speaker 1: came out when I got the Ray case was that

1118
00:58:34,800 --> 00:58:37,960
Speaker 1: some of the evidence, as far as I was concerned,

1119
00:58:38,000 --> 00:58:42,080
Speaker 1: did not match the circumstances. This is the MLK tapes.

1120
00:58:42,440 --> 00:58:45,440
Speaker 1: The first episodes are available now. Listen on the I

1121
00:58:45,520 --> 00:58:49,320
Speaker 1: Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

1122
00:58:51,480 --> 00:58:54,960
Speaker 1: Hay Ley, the listeners take here. Last season on Lethal Lit,

1123
00:58:55,440 --> 00:58:58,440
Speaker 1: you might remember I came to Hollow Falls on a

1124
00:58:58,520 --> 00:59:03,320
Speaker 1: mission clearing my ant festinat and making sure justice was

1125
00:59:03,440 --> 00:59:07,320
Speaker 1: finally served. But I hadn't counted on a rash of

1126
00:59:07,360 --> 00:59:11,640
Speaker 1: new murders tearing apart the town. My mission put myself

1127
00:59:11,680 --> 00:59:15,680
Speaker 1: and my friends in danger, though it wasn't all bad.

1128
00:59:16,120 --> 00:59:19,480
Speaker 1: I'm going to be real. If you Tig, I like you.

1129
00:59:20,040 --> 00:59:23,360
Speaker 1: But now all signs point to a new serial killer

1130
00:59:23,400 --> 00:59:27,120
Speaker 1: in Hollow Falls. If this game is just starting, you

1131
00:59:27,200 --> 00:59:32,120
Speaker 1: better believe I'm gonna win. I'm tig Torres and this

1132
00:59:32,680 --> 00:59:35,760
Speaker 1: is Lethal Lit. Catch up on season one of the

1133
00:59:35,800 --> 00:59:38,800
Speaker 1: hit murder mystery podcast Lethal Lit, a tig Tara's mystery

1134
00:59:38,920 --> 00:59:41,360
Speaker 1: out now, and then tune in for all new thrills

1135
00:59:41,360 --> 00:59:45,080
Speaker 1: in season two, dropping weekly starting February nine. Subscribe now

1136
00:59:45,120 --> 00:59:47,360
Speaker 1: to never miss an episode. Listen to Leave the Lit

1137
00:59:47,440 --> 00:59:49,960
Speaker 1: on the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever

1138
00:59:49,960 --> 00:59:54,000
Speaker 1: you get your podcasts. Look for your children's eyes to

1139
00:59:54,080 --> 00:59:57,600
Speaker 1: see the true magic of a forest. It's a storybook

1140
00:59:57,640 --> 01:00:00,720
Speaker 1: world for them. You look and see a tree. They

1141
01:00:00,760 --> 01:00:04,160
Speaker 1: see the wrinkled face of a wizard with arms outstretched

1142
01:00:04,160 --> 01:00:07,480
Speaker 1: to the sky. They see treasure in pebbles. They see

1143
01:00:07,480 --> 01:00:10,600
Speaker 1: a windy path that could lead to adventure, and they

1144
01:00:10,640 --> 01:00:15,240
Speaker 1: see you. They're fearless. Guide is this fascinating world? Find

1145
01:00:15,240 --> 01:00:17,960
Speaker 1: a forest near you and start exploring it. Discover the

1146
01:00:18,000 --> 01:00:20,480
Speaker 1: Forest dot Org brought to you by the United States

1147
01:00:20,480 --> 01:00:28,480
Speaker 1: Forest Service and the ad Council Chapter eleven Roland Roland

1148
01:00:28,600 --> 01:00:31,720
Speaker 1: loved fighting men in powered armor. The increased firepower and

1149
01:00:31,800 --> 01:00:34,760
Speaker 1: durability gave them an outside chance, which made it fun,

1150
01:00:34,880 --> 01:00:37,400
Speaker 1: and the sheer expense of modern suits made it feel

1151
01:00:37,440 --> 01:00:40,040
Speaker 1: a little like wailing on rich kids with fancy toys.

1152
01:00:40,760 --> 01:00:44,040
Speaker 1: But Roland did not like fighting normal humans. He'd hoped

1153
01:00:44,080 --> 01:00:46,720
Speaker 1: the infantry coming up behind the armored troopers would run

1154
01:00:46,720 --> 01:00:49,919
Speaker 1: like hell once he popped their vanguard, but instead they'd

1155
01:00:49,920 --> 01:00:52,200
Speaker 1: insisted on a fight and started shooting at him with

1156
01:00:52,320 --> 01:00:55,800
Speaker 1: very large guns. One explosive munition had hit nine yards

1157
01:00:55,800 --> 01:00:58,120
Speaker 1: ahead of his position, and the other had impacted close

1158
01:00:58,240 --> 01:01:01,600
Speaker 1: enough to pepper Roland's torso and face with shrapnel, so

1159
01:01:01,920 --> 01:01:05,360
Speaker 1: regretfully he charged the enemy. The martyrs shot back. They

1160
01:01:05,440 --> 01:01:07,680
Speaker 1: hit him a few times, but Roland paid their bullets

1161
01:01:07,680 --> 01:01:10,200
Speaker 1: as much mind as he would a mild rain. He

1162
01:01:10,280 --> 01:01:13,560
Speaker 1: drew close enough for visual contact. These martyrs were a

1163
01:01:13,640 --> 01:01:16,760
Speaker 1: motley site. Several of them fought shirtless, with white crosses

1164
01:01:16,840 --> 01:01:20,160
Speaker 1: daubed across their chests. Most of them wore body armor,

1165
01:01:20,320 --> 01:01:22,960
Speaker 1: very little of it modern. Roland saw a lot of

1166
01:01:23,040 --> 01:01:26,440
Speaker 1: old pre war plate carriers and surplus police vests. That

1167
01:01:26,560 --> 01:01:29,760
Speaker 1: crap wouldn't stop military grade rifle rounds, although since the

1168
01:01:29,800 --> 01:01:31,920
Speaker 1: only weapon in Roland's hand was a big guess wrench,

1169
01:01:32,160 --> 01:01:35,600
Speaker 1: how these men were armored hardly mattered. They were mostly

1170
01:01:35,680 --> 01:01:37,880
Speaker 1: armed with old M fours and a smattering of newer

1171
01:01:37,920 --> 01:01:42,160
Speaker 1: assault rifles, probably pilfered from the Republic of Texas. Fifty men,

1172
01:01:42,520 --> 01:01:46,640
Speaker 1: six technicals, two drone carriers. Rowland hit their skirmishing line

1173
01:01:46,680 --> 01:01:49,520
Speaker 1: before the teams on the recoilists rifles. His first target

1174
01:01:49,640 --> 01:01:53,560
Speaker 1: could reload. Roland's wrench broke jaws and orbital bones. It

1175
01:01:53,680 --> 01:01:57,560
Speaker 1: cracked pelviss and shattered thighs. He dispatched the rifle teams

1176
01:01:57,560 --> 01:01:59,920
Speaker 1: and then danced through the on rushing mob of militia

1177
01:02:00,000 --> 01:02:03,560
Speaker 1: like some sort of compound fracture dispensing ballerina. And as

1178
01:02:03,560 --> 01:02:07,000
Speaker 1: he fought, Roland felt the familiar sunlight warmth of serotonin

1179
01:02:07,000 --> 01:02:09,720
Speaker 1: flowed his synapses. He remembered a little of how the

1180
01:02:09,840 --> 01:02:12,280
Speaker 1: army had explained the battle. Drugs now flowing through his

1181
01:02:12,320 --> 01:02:16,680
Speaker 1: brain a guarantee of sustained aggression. The longer he fought,

1182
01:02:16,960 --> 01:02:19,520
Speaker 1: the harder would be for him to stop fighting and

1183
01:02:19,600 --> 01:02:23,120
Speaker 1: to avoid killing Roland felt his self control begin to

1184
01:02:23,200 --> 01:02:26,080
Speaker 1: fade as he knocked out his dozenth martyr. He started

1185
01:02:26,080 --> 01:02:30,880
Speaker 1: swinging harder, his blows increasingly connected with clavicles instead of coxyxes,

1186
01:02:31,120 --> 01:02:34,800
Speaker 1: and jaws instead of elbows, his hindbrain warned him. As

1187
01:02:34,840 --> 01:02:37,480
Speaker 1: the kill likelihoods jumped from for to six percent up

1188
01:02:37,480 --> 01:02:41,920
Speaker 1: to twenty thirty forty, he felt his conscience fade beneath

1189
01:02:41,920 --> 01:02:46,160
Speaker 1: the uphoric red haze of narcotic splendor. Before he knew it,

1190
01:02:46,320 --> 01:02:48,600
Speaker 1: the whole platoon of martyrs was either on the ground

1191
01:02:48,720 --> 01:02:51,960
Speaker 1: or fleeing for the relative safety of their technicals. Roland

1192
01:02:52,000 --> 01:02:54,600
Speaker 1: laughed a madman's laughed, tickled that they thought a bunch

1193
01:02:54,600 --> 01:02:56,960
Speaker 1: of old Toyota trucks with machine guns in the beds

1194
01:02:57,040 --> 01:02:59,520
Speaker 1: might slow him down. He put a fist through the

1195
01:02:59,520 --> 01:03:02,040
Speaker 1: engine of one and ad a burst of fifty caliber

1196
01:03:02,120 --> 01:03:04,520
Speaker 1: fire from the other. As he pivoted and launched his

1197
01:03:04,520 --> 01:03:08,160
Speaker 1: wrench through the driver's side window. The improvised missile connected

1198
01:03:08,160 --> 01:03:10,400
Speaker 1: with the face of the driver, who spun his wheel

1199
01:03:10,400 --> 01:03:13,440
Speaker 1: hard to the left. The truck flipped forward onto its cabin.

1200
01:03:13,840 --> 01:03:16,880
Speaker 1: Something about the wet crunch had maid sounded so familiar.

1201
01:03:17,320 --> 01:03:20,320
Speaker 1: Oh God, Oh dear sweet Jesus, Please, sir. The National

1202
01:03:20,360 --> 01:03:23,600
Speaker 1: Guardsman was nineteen years old. Randall Wallace was his name.

1203
01:03:23,920 --> 01:03:26,080
Speaker 1: Roland knew that because his hind brain had sucked in

1204
01:03:26,160 --> 01:03:28,720
Speaker 1: every piece of publicly available data on the boy once

1205
01:03:28,760 --> 01:03:30,880
Speaker 1: it had scanned his face. It had done that with

1206
01:03:30,920 --> 01:03:33,200
Speaker 1: all the occupants of the humvey and the four seconds

1207
01:03:33,200 --> 01:03:35,920
Speaker 1: before Roland had blown it on its side. Wallace was

1208
01:03:36,000 --> 01:03:39,520
Speaker 1: just the only member of the crew unlucky enough to survive. Please, Sir,

1209
01:03:40,040 --> 01:03:43,400
Speaker 1: Roland stepped towards the broken, bloody boy. He came back

1210
01:03:43,440 --> 01:03:46,600
Speaker 1: to himself, a bit disoriented, but none the worse for wear.

1211
01:03:47,160 --> 01:03:49,560
Speaker 1: His hind brain and a lifetime of combat memories had

1212
01:03:49,600 --> 01:03:52,960
Speaker 1: kept his body fighting in his mind's absence. Now wrenchless,

1213
01:03:53,040 --> 01:03:55,440
Speaker 1: Rowland used his bare hands to tear open doors and

1214
01:03:55,480 --> 01:03:58,720
Speaker 1: break faces. The gunners on the remaining technicals tried to

1215
01:03:58,800 --> 01:04:01,200
Speaker 1: fire back, but their maneuver ability was limited by the

1216
01:04:01,240 --> 01:04:04,760
Speaker 1: rubble choked streets and their own fleeing infantry. One minute

1217
01:04:04,760 --> 01:04:07,720
Speaker 1: after first contact, the martyr contingent had been reduced to

1218
01:04:07,760 --> 01:04:10,480
Speaker 1: a dozen shell shocked soldiers piled hastily on to the

1219
01:04:10,480 --> 01:04:14,200
Speaker 1: tops of the retreating drone carriers. Roland hopped onto the

1220
01:04:14,280 --> 01:04:16,840
Speaker 1: last of the technicals. He disabled it by pulling the

1221
01:04:16,920 --> 01:04:19,640
Speaker 1: driver out through the front windshield and using the man's

1222
01:04:19,680 --> 01:04:23,080
Speaker 1: body to beat the gunner into unconsciousness. Roland tore the

1223
01:04:23,160 --> 01:04:26,040
Speaker 1: vehicle's twenty millimeter cannon free from its swivel mount and

1224
01:04:26,120 --> 01:04:29,360
Speaker 1: sided in on the fleeing troops. His synapses promised him

1225
01:04:29,360 --> 01:04:32,600
Speaker 1: more chemical rewards if only he'd pulled the trigger, but

1226
01:04:32,720 --> 01:04:36,360
Speaker 1: something in Roland's forebrains stopped him. Under the joyous miasma

1227
01:04:36,400 --> 01:04:40,000
Speaker 1: of the battle drugs, his conscience reasserted itself. He lowered

1228
01:04:40,040 --> 01:04:42,400
Speaker 1: his weapon and watched as his enemies beat hell for

1229
01:04:42,520 --> 01:04:45,520
Speaker 1: leather in the opposite direction. His hands shook, and he

1230
01:04:45,560 --> 01:04:47,960
Speaker 1: felt the first symptoms of withdrawal. As his heart rate

1231
01:04:48,040 --> 01:04:51,680
Speaker 1: dropped and the adrenaline drips stopped its flow, Roland closed

1232
01:04:51,760 --> 01:04:54,600
Speaker 1: his eyes. He breathed in and out, and centered himself.

1233
01:04:55,520 --> 01:04:59,000
Speaker 1: The crash came. Now that the fighting was done, Roland

1234
01:04:59,000 --> 01:05:01,360
Speaker 1: had time to process the since data he'd pulled from

1235
01:05:01,360 --> 01:05:03,960
Speaker 1: his enemies. He knew what the driver he'd ripped out

1236
01:05:03,960 --> 01:05:06,560
Speaker 1: of the windshield had eaten for breakfast. He knew which

1237
01:05:06,600 --> 01:05:09,000
Speaker 1: of the militia he'd crippled were fathers he knew, which

1238
01:05:09,040 --> 01:05:12,040
Speaker 1: had wives, or at least girlfriends. He could smell traces

1239
01:05:12,040 --> 01:05:14,520
Speaker 1: of football leather on some of their hands. One man

1240
01:05:14,560 --> 01:05:18,440
Speaker 1: he'd wrenched had smelled of rosin a violinist. Roland couldn't

1241
01:05:18,480 --> 01:05:20,720
Speaker 1: fight a man without learning much more about him than

1242
01:05:20,720 --> 01:05:24,080
Speaker 1: any killer should know about their victims. That knowledge crashed

1243
01:05:24,080 --> 01:05:26,640
Speaker 1: down on him in a hail storm of guilt. Roland

1244
01:05:26,720 --> 01:05:29,360
Speaker 1: dropped the cannon into the truck's bed. He hopped down,

1245
01:05:29,520 --> 01:05:32,400
Speaker 1: pulled Sardar's wrench free from the wreck of the second Technical,

1246
01:05:32,640 --> 01:05:35,040
Speaker 1: and headed back towards Biggsby and his squad with a

1247
01:05:35,080 --> 01:05:39,600
Speaker 1: heavy heart. Maadine and Asime both looked pretty seriously wounded.

1248
01:05:39,880 --> 01:05:42,000
Speaker 1: Biggsby was helping to carry them both back to the

1249
01:05:42,040 --> 01:05:45,160
Speaker 1: a PC while Will handled Overwatch with his grenade launcher.

1250
01:05:45,680 --> 01:05:48,400
Speaker 1: Roland caught up with them and fell into step. Biggsby

1251
01:05:48,480 --> 01:05:50,480
Speaker 1: looked over at him and grunted, are you gonna try

1252
01:05:50,520 --> 01:05:53,760
Speaker 1: to take my nipple now? Roland shrugged. He wasn't in

1253
01:05:53,800 --> 01:05:56,360
Speaker 1: the mood. His brain was in the dark, ugly place

1254
01:05:56,360 --> 01:05:58,680
Speaker 1: that always went after a bloody fight, when the raw

1255
01:05:58,840 --> 01:06:01,280
Speaker 1: data about all the men he killed or battered lingered

1256
01:06:01,280 --> 01:06:03,000
Speaker 1: in his brain. Like a fart in the back of

1257
01:06:03,040 --> 01:06:07,160
Speaker 1: a hum V. They reached the APC. Sardar gasped when

1258
01:06:07,160 --> 01:06:10,800
Speaker 1: he saw them, Pedro vomited. Roland was confused until he

1259
01:06:10,840 --> 01:06:14,120
Speaker 1: realized Biggsby and will had also started to stare. Roland

1260
01:06:14,160 --> 01:06:16,160
Speaker 1: looked down at himself and saw that he looked like

1261
01:06:16,240 --> 01:06:19,680
Speaker 1: a literal dead man walking. He'd been shot forty seven

1262
01:06:19,720 --> 01:06:22,600
Speaker 1: times by his hindbrain's best count, and peppered with shrapnel.

1263
01:06:22,640 --> 01:06:25,320
Speaker 1: On top of that, he had ribs showing through holes

1264
01:06:25,360 --> 01:06:27,880
Speaker 1: blasted in his biceps, in his belly, and the bone

1265
01:06:27,880 --> 01:06:31,640
Speaker 1: on his left thigh was completely exposed. It looks worse

1266
01:06:31,680 --> 01:06:34,919
Speaker 1: than it is. Roland said, it looks like you should

1267
01:06:34,960 --> 01:06:38,560
Speaker 1: be dead about five times over, Sardar replied. Roland looked

1268
01:06:38,600 --> 01:06:42,480
Speaker 1: Sardar up and down. His hindbrain did the math eleven times.

1269
01:06:42,560 --> 01:06:45,840
Speaker 1: If I were you Jesus, he handed Sarda the wrench,

1270
01:06:46,040 --> 01:06:48,920
Speaker 1: now dented and bloodstained. A large clump of hair and

1271
01:06:49,000 --> 01:06:51,880
Speaker 1: scalp was still stuck to the heel jaw. The mechanic

1272
01:06:51,960 --> 01:06:54,520
Speaker 1: took his tool with one hesitant hand. He stared at

1273
01:06:54,520 --> 01:06:56,800
Speaker 1: the gore on it until Biggsby started to yell again.

1274
01:06:57,080 --> 01:06:59,920
Speaker 1: OHI fucos. In case you've forgotten, there's an army breathing

1275
01:07:00,040 --> 01:07:03,400
Speaker 1: up our asses. Sar, you get to drive man Sardar

1276
01:07:03,480 --> 01:07:05,720
Speaker 1: nodded his head. Then let's get the wounded in the

1277
01:07:05,760 --> 01:07:08,600
Speaker 1: cab and power the funk out of here. Will stay

1278
01:07:08,600 --> 01:07:11,960
Speaker 1: on watch, Will grunted and jerked his head at Rowland.

1279
01:07:12,280 --> 01:07:14,360
Speaker 1: This funk erota cover us. He just took out half

1280
01:07:14,400 --> 01:07:17,120
Speaker 1: a company on his lonesome. You trust him to watch

1281
01:07:17,120 --> 01:07:21,000
Speaker 1: your six Biggsby, asked Roland. Only half heard them. He

1282
01:07:21,120 --> 01:07:23,880
Speaker 1: stared off into the distance, worked his jaw and clenched

1283
01:07:23,920 --> 01:07:26,560
Speaker 1: his left fist so hard his finger nails drew blood.

1284
01:07:26,880 --> 01:07:29,280
Speaker 1: He was lost in his head, scanning scent memories and

1285
01:07:29,320 --> 01:07:32,439
Speaker 1: analyzing the men he'd just beaten. He was drawn again

1286
01:07:32,480 --> 01:07:34,800
Speaker 1: and again to the memory of one man. In particular.

1287
01:07:35,200 --> 01:07:37,480
Speaker 1: He'd worn a tattered U S Army issue vest and

1288
01:07:37,520 --> 01:07:39,520
Speaker 1: an M sixteen that posed as much of a threat

1289
01:07:39,560 --> 01:07:42,000
Speaker 1: to Rowland as a drunken hornet. He'd had the scent

1290
01:07:42,040 --> 01:07:44,000
Speaker 1: of a woman on him. He wasn't alone in that,

1291
01:07:44,280 --> 01:07:46,640
Speaker 1: but the rich wave of oxytocin that had poured off

1292
01:07:46,720 --> 01:07:49,440
Speaker 1: him was intense and real. In his memory. The man's

1293
01:07:49,440 --> 01:07:52,640
Speaker 1: face kept twisting and morphing into the face of Randall Wallace.

1294
01:07:53,440 --> 01:07:57,680
Speaker 1: Roland started to cry. Bigsby and Sardar loaded Ryan, Nadine,

1295
01:07:57,720 --> 01:08:00,720
Speaker 1: and Asime into the transport. Will a stare at him,

1296
01:08:00,920 --> 01:08:03,200
Speaker 1: his gaze locked on Roland's tears, as if each one

1297
01:08:03,240 --> 01:08:06,760
Speaker 1: were the locknest monster. Roland didn't care. His hind brain

1298
01:08:06,840 --> 01:08:08,960
Speaker 1: kept up its glitchy feet of data, a mix of

1299
01:08:09,000 --> 01:08:11,120
Speaker 1: information on the men he'd just killed and the men

1300
01:08:11,160 --> 01:08:14,240
Speaker 1: he'd killed years ago. Once the wounded were loaded up,

1301
01:08:14,280 --> 01:08:17,760
Speaker 1: everyone filed into the Madis APC. Will popped the top

1302
01:08:17,760 --> 01:08:21,120
Speaker 1: hatch and sat Gunner with his grenade launcher. Inside the APC,

1303
01:08:21,360 --> 01:08:23,840
Speaker 1: Bigsby and Pedro did their best version of first aid

1304
01:08:23,840 --> 01:08:26,960
Speaker 1: on their wounded companions. There wasn't much for them to do,

1305
01:08:27,000 --> 01:08:30,160
Speaker 1: though everyone in the squad had fairly advanced healing suites.

1306
01:08:30,920 --> 01:08:33,600
Speaker 1: Roland trudged into the APEC and took his seat. No

1307
01:08:33,640 --> 01:08:36,519
Speaker 1: one made eye contact with him. Sardar kicked it into gear,

1308
01:08:36,880 --> 01:08:41,320
Speaker 1: and off they went. Waco had always been one of

1309
01:08:41,360 --> 01:08:44,360
Speaker 1: the worst cities in Texas in the late eighteen hundreds

1310
01:08:44,400 --> 01:08:47,439
Speaker 1: that had been a refuge for former Confederate loyalists. In

1311
01:08:47,479 --> 01:08:49,920
Speaker 1: the nineteen hundreds. It had developed a reputation as a

1312
01:08:49,960 --> 01:08:53,960
Speaker 1: haven for KuPS and religious extremists. Caught between the economic

1313
01:08:54,000 --> 01:08:57,240
Speaker 1: powerhouse of Dallas and the relative cultural mecca of Austin,

1314
01:08:57,600 --> 01:09:00,400
Speaker 1: Waco was a second rate college town at best, and

1315
01:09:00,640 --> 01:09:04,240
Speaker 1: at worst, a meth filled rest stop between Texas's good cities.

1316
01:09:05,080 --> 01:09:08,439
Speaker 1: The revolution had changed that. After the lake would blast,

1317
01:09:08,560 --> 01:09:12,040
Speaker 1: Dallas had bled sixty percent of its population. Most of

1318
01:09:12,080 --> 01:09:14,960
Speaker 1: those people had fled to Austin since constant flooding had

1319
01:09:14,960 --> 01:09:18,240
Speaker 1: rendered much of Houston uninhabitable, but half a million of

1320
01:09:18,280 --> 01:09:21,760
Speaker 1: them ish had swelled Waco into something resembling a worthwhile

1321
01:09:21,800 --> 01:09:24,840
Speaker 1: place to exist. The city had thrived in the post

1322
01:09:24,880 --> 01:09:29,360
Speaker 1: revolutionary years. It was nominally controlled by the Austin regional government,

1323
01:09:29,640 --> 01:09:31,400
Speaker 1: and so it had been spared the worst of the

1324
01:09:31,439 --> 01:09:34,960
Speaker 1: Republic of Texas's corruption. But now it looked like Waco

1325
01:09:35,040 --> 01:09:38,680
Speaker 1: would be the next city eaten by the expanding Heavenly Kingdom.

1326
01:09:38,840 --> 01:09:41,000
Speaker 1: Roland could smell the stink of fear in the air

1327
01:09:41,040 --> 01:09:43,320
Speaker 1: when they were still a half dozen miles out from

1328
01:09:43,320 --> 01:09:46,240
Speaker 1: the city limits. Once they hit the city proper, their

1329
01:09:46,240 --> 01:09:50,760
Speaker 1: convoy halted at a military checkpoint. Power armored Austin Republican

1330
01:09:50,800 --> 01:09:53,320
Speaker 1: guardsmen opened the side hatch of the Maddis a PC

1331
01:09:53,560 --> 01:09:57,080
Speaker 1: and inspected the squad Bigsby spoke for them, beamed over

1332
01:09:57,120 --> 01:09:59,720
Speaker 1: some credentials from the SDF, and they were waved in.

1333
01:10:00,600 --> 01:10:02,760
Speaker 1: They stopped at a fueling depot with the rest of

1334
01:10:02,760 --> 01:10:05,120
Speaker 1: the STF column, and Roland hopped out of the a

1335
01:10:05,200 --> 01:10:08,200
Speaker 1: PC to stretch his legs and roll another blunt. He

1336
01:10:08,320 --> 01:10:10,639
Speaker 1: picked a cherry apple rap he dipped in a vat

1337
01:10:10,680 --> 01:10:14,320
Speaker 1: of extra strength hydrocodone syrup earlier that morning. As he

1338
01:10:14,439 --> 01:10:16,680
Speaker 1: rolled it tight and sealed the scene with his saliva,

1339
01:10:16,840 --> 01:10:19,679
Speaker 1: he watched the st F unload hundreds of wounded warriors

1340
01:10:19,680 --> 01:10:21,880
Speaker 1: from half tracks and a PCs in the beds of

1341
01:10:21,880 --> 01:10:25,240
Speaker 1: flatbed trucks. Many of the walking men and women looked

1342
01:10:25,240 --> 01:10:29,519
Speaker 1: wounded too. Most of the vehicles were damaged. Roland lit

1343
01:10:29,560 --> 01:10:32,400
Speaker 1: the blunt and stared off towards Dallas. It was still

1344
01:10:32,400 --> 01:10:34,479
Speaker 1: early in the morning, and the sky was streaked with

1345
01:10:34,520 --> 01:10:37,519
Speaker 1: red and orange. On the horizon, black smoke rose to

1346
01:10:37,560 --> 01:10:40,759
Speaker 1: meet the sunrise. Roland was struck with a powerful sense

1347
01:10:40,760 --> 01:10:43,880
Speaker 1: of dejah vous. This wasn't the first time he'd watched

1348
01:10:43,880 --> 01:10:46,200
Speaker 1: a great city burn in the light of the rising sun.

1349
01:10:46,600 --> 01:10:49,639
Speaker 1: According to his hind brain, it was around the thirtieth time.

1350
01:10:50,000 --> 01:10:54,000
Speaker 1: He recalled a few of those cities Denver, Baltimore, d C. Richmond,

1351
01:10:54,240 --> 01:10:57,280
Speaker 1: but the particulars of each calamity were lost to his memory.

1352
01:10:57,840 --> 01:11:00,599
Speaker 1: He wondered, not for the first time, if his broken

1353
01:11:00,640 --> 01:11:04,600
Speaker 1: brain might be a blessing boy it was, Sardar. He

1354
01:11:04,680 --> 01:11:07,360
Speaker 1: approached from the rear and stepped up to Roland's right side.

1355
01:11:07,920 --> 01:11:10,960
Speaker 1: Rowland offered the mechanic his blunt, now half smoked, and

1356
01:11:11,000 --> 01:11:14,160
Speaker 1: Sardar accepted it. He drew in a deep lungful of

1357
01:11:14,200 --> 01:11:17,479
Speaker 1: medicated smoke, held it in his lungs for three long seconds,

1358
01:11:17,680 --> 01:11:20,080
Speaker 1: and then exhaled with only a small fit of coughing.

1359
01:11:20,479 --> 01:11:24,400
Speaker 1: This tastes like fucking cough, Sarah man. Yep, Roland agreed,

1360
01:11:24,640 --> 01:11:26,880
Speaker 1: there's enough opiates on that to kill a small cat.

1361
01:11:27,400 --> 01:11:32,479
Speaker 1: That's a weird thing to say. Yep, Roland agreed. Sardar

1362
01:11:32,479 --> 01:11:34,519
Speaker 1: took a second hit and then passed the blunt back

1363
01:11:34,560 --> 01:11:37,920
Speaker 1: to Roland. They stood in companionable silence for a minute

1364
01:11:37,920 --> 01:11:40,519
Speaker 1: and watched the distant smoke mingle with the morning light.

1365
01:11:41,000 --> 01:11:44,639
Speaker 1: Sardar spoke first, Jim's on his way out here. He's

1366
01:11:44,680 --> 01:11:48,200
Speaker 1: flying in with three more squads. Austin's approved emergency funding

1367
01:11:48,240 --> 01:11:51,080
Speaker 1: to stabilize the front. Apparently a chunk of that's coming

1368
01:11:51,080 --> 01:11:55,320
Speaker 1: our way. Grats, said Rowland. Then he asked, what's the

1369
01:11:55,360 --> 01:12:00,559
Speaker 1: money mean, do you? Sardar shrugged, Cascadia. Probably been saving

1370
01:12:00,600 --> 01:12:03,360
Speaker 1: for a couple of years now. Fifty grand buy residency.

1371
01:12:03,680 --> 01:12:05,800
Speaker 1: Another hundred grand or so to set me up for

1372
01:12:05,800 --> 01:12:08,840
Speaker 1: the first year while I find work. Roland finished another

1373
01:12:08,880 --> 01:12:11,120
Speaker 1: deep poll on the blunt and offered it to Sardar.

1374
01:12:11,520 --> 01:12:13,960
Speaker 1: The other man declined with a polite wave of his hand.

1375
01:12:14,400 --> 01:12:18,080
Speaker 1: Now thanks. Roland puffed again and asked, so, what's the

1376
01:12:18,080 --> 01:12:22,280
Speaker 1: Pacific Northwest got that you want the future? Sardar said,

1377
01:12:22,520 --> 01:12:24,519
Speaker 1: I mean, that's what it always meant in my head.

1378
01:12:24,840 --> 01:12:27,000
Speaker 1: I grew up in El Paso, got trained up by

1379
01:12:27,040 --> 01:12:30,080
Speaker 1: that army blooded in their first little civil war, the

1380
01:12:30,200 --> 01:12:35,280
Speaker 1: Albuquerque Secession. Right, Sardar nodded. Didn't see much action then,

1381
01:12:35,320 --> 01:12:37,800
Speaker 1: but I got Jim's attention. He made me an offer

1382
01:12:37,840 --> 01:12:41,040
Speaker 1: when my term of service expired. The idea was I'd

1383
01:12:41,040 --> 01:12:43,200
Speaker 1: be with him for five years and retire with enough

1384
01:12:43,240 --> 01:12:45,920
Speaker 1: money to make a new start out west. I always

1385
01:12:46,040 --> 01:12:48,639
Speaker 1: dreamed of a life in Portland. It seems nice there,

1386
01:12:49,160 --> 01:12:52,519
Speaker 1: it is, Roland agreed, or at least I got nice memories.

1387
01:12:52,600 --> 01:12:54,880
Speaker 1: I met a girl out there when I was younger.

1388
01:12:55,360 --> 01:12:58,000
Speaker 1: I remember watching the fog rolland with her he ran

1389
01:12:58,040 --> 01:13:00,280
Speaker 1: a hand over the stubble on his head. It was

1390
01:13:00,320 --> 01:13:02,360
Speaker 1: weird to him that he'd been given so much control

1391
01:13:02,400 --> 01:13:04,960
Speaker 1: over his bodily functions, and yet he still found himself

1392
01:13:05,000 --> 01:13:08,280
Speaker 1: making nervous gestures. For some reason, talking about her made

1393
01:13:08,320 --> 01:13:10,960
Speaker 1: him want to cover his face. The impulse was wired

1394
01:13:10,960 --> 01:13:13,920
Speaker 1: into him deeper than the carbon fiber that laced his bones.

1395
01:13:14,880 --> 01:13:18,720
Speaker 1: That uh sounds tough, Sardar said. He managed to look

1396
01:13:18,720 --> 01:13:22,320
Speaker 1: concerned without showing pity. I can't imagine having all these

1397
01:13:22,360 --> 01:13:25,400
Speaker 1: memories floating around with no through line to connect them together.

1398
01:13:25,960 --> 01:13:30,360
Speaker 1: It must hurt. Roland shrugged. What hurts most is knowing

1399
01:13:30,479 --> 01:13:33,920
Speaker 1: that it should hurt more. I don't remember enough to

1400
01:13:33,960 --> 01:13:37,000
Speaker 1: give the pain its proper due. They were quiet for

1401
01:13:37,040 --> 01:13:39,519
Speaker 1: a bit. Roland finished the blunt and put it out

1402
01:13:39,560 --> 01:13:42,519
Speaker 1: on his right. In next finger, Sardar pulled a bronze

1403
01:13:42,520 --> 01:13:45,280
Speaker 1: flask out from his jacket pocket, took a belt, and

1404
01:13:45,320 --> 01:13:48,719
Speaker 1: then offered it to Roland. It was Lafroy whiskey. Even

1405
01:13:48,760 --> 01:13:50,960
Speaker 1: if he hadn't been chrome to the gills, Rowland would

1406
01:13:50,960 --> 01:13:53,840
Speaker 1: have recognized that smell from three feet away. He took

1407
01:13:53,840 --> 01:13:56,479
Speaker 1: a gulp from the flask and passed it back. Sardar

1408
01:13:56,560 --> 01:14:01,120
Speaker 1: broke the silence again. Look, maybe I'm reading things wrong,

1409
01:14:01,200 --> 01:14:04,200
Speaker 1: but we've got some tents set up near the a PC.

1410
01:14:05,120 --> 01:14:07,840
Speaker 1: You up for a fuck? Roland looked the man up

1411
01:14:07,840 --> 01:14:11,280
Speaker 1: and down again. Sardar was a good looking guy, short,

1412
01:14:11,400 --> 01:14:14,120
Speaker 1: broad and muscular, with a neat trimmed beard and curly

1413
01:14:14,200 --> 01:14:19,360
Speaker 1: black hair. Yeah, all right, it was pretty good sex.

1414
01:14:19,640 --> 01:14:22,080
Speaker 1: Nothing to blow Roland's mind, but the release provided a

1415
01:14:22,160 --> 01:14:25,640
Speaker 1: quantum of chill to calm the pangs of memory. Afterwards,

1416
01:14:25,720 --> 01:14:29,920
Speaker 1: Sardar fell asleep, nuzzled into his shoulder. Roland didn't particularly

1417
01:14:30,040 --> 01:14:32,679
Speaker 1: feel like cuddling, but he since the other man needed

1418
01:14:32,680 --> 01:14:35,360
Speaker 1: the human contact, so he laid there with him for

1419
01:14:35,400 --> 01:14:38,080
Speaker 1: a couple of hours, rolled and smoked two more blunts,

1420
01:14:38,120 --> 01:14:40,120
Speaker 1: and tried not to think about the lives. He didn't

1421
01:14:40,120 --> 01:14:43,320
Speaker 1: died that morning. A little afternoon, Biggsby came by and

1422
01:14:43,400 --> 01:14:47,160
Speaker 1: knocked on the tent flap zarre. Roland, l f's here,

1423
01:14:47,360 --> 01:14:49,120
Speaker 1: clean up your fox. Stink and meet us by the

1424
01:14:49,160 --> 01:14:53,479
Speaker 1: a PC. They did. Five minutes later, the whole squad

1425
01:14:53,479 --> 01:14:56,519
Speaker 1: had assembled around the maddis. Ryan looked more or less

1426
01:14:56,520 --> 01:14:59,400
Speaker 1: recovered from his injuries, as am A also seemed good

1427
01:14:59,439 --> 01:15:02,120
Speaker 1: as new. Nadine was still pretty bandaged and her eyes

1428
01:15:02,120 --> 01:15:05,639
Speaker 1: were litted and unfocused from blood loss and opiates. Will

1429
01:15:05,720 --> 01:15:08,120
Speaker 1: had brewed up a large French press of coffee. He

1430
01:15:08,200 --> 01:15:11,280
Speaker 1: busied himself pouring measures of it out into himp foam cups.

1431
01:15:11,760 --> 01:15:14,400
Speaker 1: Roland took one and drained it in a single mighty gulp.

1432
01:15:14,760 --> 01:15:18,280
Speaker 1: It was proper post human strength coffee. The caffeine rush

1433
01:15:18,400 --> 01:15:21,800
Speaker 1: mingled with the opiates and THHC already flooding his synapses,

1434
01:15:22,040 --> 01:15:24,200
Speaker 1: and brought him to a lovely, half lucid state of

1435
01:15:24,240 --> 01:15:28,920
Speaker 1: quasi awareness. Did you guys fuck? Pedro finally asked, after

1436
01:15:28,960 --> 01:15:31,080
Speaker 1: about a minute of staring at Roland and Tardar and

1437
01:15:31,120 --> 01:15:34,600
Speaker 1: asking the same question with his eyes. Yes. Bigsby and

1438
01:15:34,680 --> 01:15:38,320
Speaker 1: Nadine both replied. Sardar laughed at that, so did Roland.

1439
01:15:38,520 --> 01:15:41,160
Speaker 1: For one beautiful moment he felt nice, a kind of

1440
01:15:41,240 --> 01:15:43,200
Speaker 1: nice he was pretty sure he hadn't felt in a

1441
01:15:43,240 --> 01:15:46,800
Speaker 1: long time, And then came a familiar pattern of bootsteps

1442
01:15:46,920 --> 01:15:52,120
Speaker 1: tickling Roland's ears. Jim Roland turned just as Jim walked

1443
01:15:52,120 --> 01:15:54,720
Speaker 1: into view. His legs were covered by a pair of

1444
01:15:54,840 --> 01:15:57,800
Speaker 1: armored red leather chaps. His groin was wrapped up in

1445
01:15:57,800 --> 01:16:00,320
Speaker 1: a thick kevlar thong, but his penis and as were

1446
01:16:00,320 --> 01:16:03,880
Speaker 1: otherwise unguarded. He wore a double shoulder holster with a

1447
01:16:03,880 --> 01:16:06,559
Speaker 1: pair of bone handled wheel guns under his arms. The

1448
01:16:06,600 --> 01:16:09,839
Speaker 1: snake tattoos on Jim's chest and shoulders danced to a melody.

1449
01:16:09,960 --> 01:16:15,080
Speaker 1: Roland eventually recognized as La kukaracha. Your ink looks good today, boss,

1450
01:16:15,320 --> 01:16:19,280
Speaker 1: said Bigsby. Ass Lequer said, Sardar takes one to no one.

1451
01:16:19,640 --> 01:16:22,840
Speaker 1: I don't lick ass Sarda replied haughtily. I eat it

1452
01:16:23,040 --> 01:16:26,880
Speaker 1: like a starving hyena. More laughter and another fleeting moment

1453
01:16:26,880 --> 01:16:29,519
Speaker 1: of community that was broken when Jim addressed the squad.

1454
01:16:29,920 --> 01:16:33,040
Speaker 1: All right, so several bunks have been hummed here. This

1455
01:16:33,160 --> 01:16:36,439
Speaker 1: Heavenly Kingdom's got at least ten thousand effectives in theater

1456
01:16:36,600 --> 01:16:41,360
Speaker 1: with Almah artillery drones the works. A new employer, Austin

1457
01:16:41,439 --> 01:16:44,519
Speaker 1: has about three thousand fighters here in Waco, plus now

1458
01:16:44,600 --> 01:16:47,439
Speaker 1: the fifteen e U lot I flew in with Ajax

1459
01:16:47,479 --> 01:16:51,200
Speaker 1: and Florin. They have prepping their squads now, Biggsby spat

1460
01:16:51,680 --> 01:16:53,800
Speaker 1: Ajax fights about as well as a drunk dog in

1461
01:16:53,840 --> 01:16:57,439
Speaker 1: a burlap sack. Will replied, you just saying that because

1462
01:16:57,439 --> 01:16:59,320
Speaker 1: he choked you out in the blood Dome last year.

1463
01:16:59,640 --> 01:17:04,479
Speaker 1: Big responded with a middle finger. Ahem. Jim hemmed, plenty

1464
01:17:04,479 --> 01:17:06,920
Speaker 1: of time for Dick, measuring later, time enough for the

1465
01:17:06,920 --> 01:17:09,080
Speaker 1: rest of you. At least this city doesn't have a

1466
01:17:09,160 --> 01:17:11,840
Speaker 1: ruler long enough for my dick. He paused for a laugh.

1467
01:17:12,240 --> 01:17:16,719
Speaker 1: No one obliged. Jim rolled his eyes, ass holes. So look,

1468
01:17:16,880 --> 01:17:19,800
Speaker 1: we're in a bad position with funk All for reinforcements

1469
01:17:19,840 --> 01:17:22,559
Speaker 1: coming in. Austin might be able to scrape up a

1470
01:17:22,600 --> 01:17:25,719
Speaker 1: couple of battalions if they suddenly clear out the Houston front,

1471
01:17:26,080 --> 01:17:29,000
Speaker 1: but that don't look likely. Enemy has another ten thousand

1472
01:17:29,000 --> 01:17:32,519
Speaker 1: men there. Fuck. Sardar was the only one to actually

1473
01:17:32,520 --> 01:17:34,560
Speaker 1: say it, but everyone else in the group mouthed the

1474
01:17:34,600 --> 01:17:38,280
Speaker 1: word or some equivalent curse. How is that even possible?

1475
01:17:38,800 --> 01:17:41,480
Speaker 1: As Amee's voice was still a little slurred from the painkillers,

1476
01:17:41,560 --> 01:17:44,960
Speaker 1: but her eyes were focused now. Jim shrugged hard to

1477
01:17:45,000 --> 01:17:49,200
Speaker 1: say exactly masked affections from the Republic at Texas. Intel

1478
01:17:49,240 --> 01:17:52,000
Speaker 1: suspects the U c S probably sent in some spec

1479
01:17:52,000 --> 01:17:55,759
Speaker 1: ops guys. I don't know, some sort of skulduggerous bullshit

1480
01:17:55,880 --> 01:17:58,719
Speaker 1: went down. The how of it ain't really our problem today,

1481
01:17:58,960 --> 01:18:02,160
Speaker 1: but now we've got to deal with the reality. The

1482
01:18:02,200 --> 01:18:05,679
Speaker 1: snakes on Jim's torso stopped writhing. He locked eyes with Roland,

1483
01:18:05,680 --> 01:18:08,280
Speaker 1: and Roland felt compelled to meet his old friend's gaze.

1484
01:18:08,880 --> 01:18:11,800
Speaker 1: Can we count on your help? Jim asked, fuck no,

1485
01:18:12,200 --> 01:18:14,960
Speaker 1: Roland said, I've killed enough naive young men today. I

1486
01:18:14,960 --> 01:18:18,080
Speaker 1: don't aim to kill any more. To his surprise, Jim

1487
01:18:18,120 --> 01:18:21,920
Speaker 1: nodded an acceptance. Understandable. This kind of fighting was a

1488
01:18:22,040 --> 01:18:25,840
Speaker 1: violation of our contract. I regret that, Rowland. If I'd

1489
01:18:25,840 --> 01:18:28,040
Speaker 1: known this was gonna be a meat grinder, I wouldn't

1490
01:18:28,040 --> 01:18:31,519
Speaker 1: have interrupted your retirement. Roland wasn't sure he believed that,

1491
01:18:31,840 --> 01:18:34,800
Speaker 1: but he kept his mouth shut as Jim continued, I'd

1492
01:18:34,840 --> 01:18:38,160
Speaker 1: like to propose a renegotiation of our contract in a

1493
01:18:38,240 --> 01:18:41,559
Speaker 1: lot of the changing situation on the ground, I'm not

1494
01:18:41,720 --> 01:18:45,280
Speaker 1: blowing anything else up for you. That's fine. Jim put

1495
01:18:45,320 --> 01:18:47,599
Speaker 1: his hands out in the sort of placating gesture. One

1496
01:18:47,600 --> 01:18:50,479
Speaker 1: would use on an angry dog. I don't need you

1497
01:18:50,560 --> 01:18:53,599
Speaker 1: killing us, I need your sneakiness. You can still take

1498
01:18:53,680 --> 01:18:57,120
Speaker 1: faces right. Roland's memories of his time in the army

1499
01:18:57,120 --> 01:19:00,080
Speaker 1: were as patchy as his memories of everything else. He

1500
01:19:00,120 --> 01:19:02,519
Speaker 1: didn't remember much about how they used him, but he

1501
01:19:02,600 --> 01:19:04,439
Speaker 1: knew that some of the wet where they'd installed in

1502
01:19:04,520 --> 01:19:07,040
Speaker 1: him allowed him to modify his skin and bone structure

1503
01:19:07,040 --> 01:19:10,200
Speaker 1: to full facial recognition scanners, thumb print readers, and of

1504
01:19:10,240 --> 01:19:15,480
Speaker 1: course human beings. Yes, he said, but Jim cut him off.

1505
01:19:15,520 --> 01:19:18,679
Speaker 1: You don't need to kill anyone. The face you'll need

1506
01:19:18,920 --> 01:19:21,360
Speaker 1: is already dead. And what do you want me to

1507
01:19:21,400 --> 01:19:24,519
Speaker 1: do with this man's face that isn't more murder? Jim's

1508
01:19:24,520 --> 01:19:27,719
Speaker 1: lips curled up into a grin. The expression sent shivers

1509
01:19:27,800 --> 01:19:30,880
Speaker 1: arcing down rolland spine. He felt like he'd seen that

1510
01:19:30,960 --> 01:19:35,839
Speaker 1: grin before, never preceding good things. Rolling fuck is nearby

1511
01:19:36,120 --> 01:19:38,240
Speaker 1: and in the city of Wheels, a six hundred or

1512
01:19:38,280 --> 01:19:41,960
Speaker 1: so real scary bastards. I have it on good authority

1513
01:19:42,000 --> 01:19:44,160
Speaker 1: that they'd be happy to throw down on our side.

1514
01:19:44,800 --> 01:19:47,639
Speaker 1: But it turns out some of the negotiators were captured

1515
01:19:47,720 --> 01:19:50,400
Speaker 1: back at the start. All this ship. No one in

1516
01:19:50,400 --> 01:19:53,200
Speaker 1: the city will risk fighting until they pulled out safely.

1517
01:19:53,960 --> 01:19:58,519
Speaker 1: Roland raised an eyebrow. So a rescue mission, then that's right,

1518
01:19:59,080 --> 01:20:02,200
Speaker 1: Jim grinned in a a Roland didn't quite trust you'll

1519
01:20:02,200 --> 01:20:06,240
Speaker 1: be saving lives. Roland's gut twisted into knots. The shades

1520
01:20:06,280 --> 01:20:08,519
Speaker 1: of a thousand Memories spoke up and warned him not

1521
01:20:08,600 --> 01:20:11,800
Speaker 1: to trust Jim at his word. But those shades also

1522
01:20:11,920 --> 01:20:13,920
Speaker 1: drove him to take Jim up on the offer. He

1523
01:20:14,040 --> 01:20:18,240
Speaker 1: wanted his memories back. Jim smiled that hackle raising smile again.

1524
01:20:18,760 --> 01:20:21,360
Speaker 1: You don't have to agree and come to Roland funk

1525
01:20:21,439 --> 01:20:24,240
Speaker 1: with me. We'll talk things over with the eildas. You

1526
01:20:24,240 --> 01:20:26,639
Speaker 1: can do some of the fancy space drugs, and then

1527
01:20:26,680 --> 01:20:30,400
Speaker 1: you can make your decision. All right, rolland side, but

1528
01:20:30,479 --> 01:20:35,000
Speaker 1: only because you said fancy space drugs. They flew to

1529
01:20:35,120 --> 01:20:38,960
Speaker 1: Rolling Fuck in Jim's hellicraft. It had been military issue originally,

1530
01:20:39,000 --> 01:20:41,840
Speaker 1: but the interior had been redone to Jim's tastes. That

1531
01:20:42,000 --> 01:20:43,960
Speaker 1: mostly meant a lot of the lure and a full

1532
01:20:44,000 --> 01:20:46,559
Speaker 1: wet bar. There were four beers on tap just to

1533
01:20:46,600 --> 01:20:49,080
Speaker 1: the right of a double barreled thirty five millimeter grenade

1534
01:20:49,120 --> 01:20:52,519
Speaker 1: launcher mounted beside the door. Roland drank for the duration

1535
01:20:52,560 --> 01:20:56,640
Speaker 1: of the ten minute flight. You know, Jim said, Topez

1536
01:20:56,720 --> 01:21:00,000
Speaker 1: lives there now, been with the city a while, tope.

1537
01:21:00,040 --> 01:21:03,599
Speaker 1: As Rowland asked, something shuddered in his gut. He felt

1538
01:21:03,600 --> 01:21:06,519
Speaker 1: his hippocampus flicker with the dim light of recognition. He

1539
01:21:06,560 --> 01:21:08,880
Speaker 1: saw that face again, the woman from so many of

1540
01:21:08,920 --> 01:21:11,400
Speaker 1: his dreams and a few of his shattered memories. So

1541
01:21:11,520 --> 01:21:13,600
Speaker 1: that was her name, it felt right now that he

1542
01:21:13,640 --> 01:21:16,919
Speaker 1: knew it again. Do you remember her at all, Roland,

1543
01:21:17,360 --> 01:21:22,320
Speaker 1: Jim asked, his voice uncharacteristically tender. Roland nodded and swirled

1544
01:21:22,320 --> 01:21:24,960
Speaker 1: the beer in his hands to buy some time. I

1545
01:21:25,040 --> 01:21:28,760
Speaker 1: remember snatches of her, he said, I remember loving her.

1546
01:21:29,160 --> 01:21:32,880
Speaker 1: I remember enough that it hurts sometimes. Mostly it hurts

1547
01:21:32,920 --> 01:21:34,760
Speaker 1: that I don't remember enough to be as sad as

1548
01:21:34,760 --> 01:21:37,639
Speaker 1: I ought to be. There was a spark of real

1549
01:21:37,760 --> 01:21:40,880
Speaker 1: sorrow in Jim's eyes. The other man's hand twitched in

1550
01:21:40,880 --> 01:21:42,680
Speaker 1: a way that made Roland think he might have been

1551
01:21:42,720 --> 01:21:45,080
Speaker 1: about to reach out to him, but Jim kept his

1552
01:21:45,120 --> 01:21:48,679
Speaker 1: hand to himself. I'm not sure how much I should say,

1553
01:21:48,920 --> 01:21:52,320
Speaker 1: he said, I'm sorry. There was something in Jim's face

1554
01:21:52,360 --> 01:21:55,600
Speaker 1: when he said that it resembled regret or guilt, but

1555
01:21:55,680 --> 01:21:58,759
Speaker 1: it passed quickly and nothing else was said. During the flight.

1556
01:21:59,360 --> 01:22:01,920
Speaker 1: They landed on one of the top spires of Rolling Fuck,

1557
01:22:02,120 --> 01:22:04,160
Speaker 1: on a landing pad that doubled as a nude bar.

1558
01:22:04,640 --> 01:22:06,920
Speaker 1: He and Jim grabbed another round of drinks before they

1559
01:22:06,920 --> 01:22:09,639
Speaker 1: proceeded down through the infinite party that was the City

1560
01:22:09,640 --> 01:22:11,920
Speaker 1: of Wheels and on to the top of the main roller.

1561
01:22:12,400 --> 01:22:14,680
Speaker 1: They grabbed another round of drinks there and sat at

1562
01:22:14,680 --> 01:22:16,680
Speaker 1: the bar table while Jim waited for the word to

1563
01:22:16,720 --> 01:22:19,720
Speaker 1: go down. It was late afternoon by this point, and

1564
01:22:19,760 --> 01:22:22,759
Speaker 1: the evening had started to close. In the normal boiling

1565
01:22:22,800 --> 01:22:26,080
Speaker 1: Texas heat was cut by a cool breeze. White clouds

1566
01:22:26,160 --> 01:22:28,800
Speaker 1: rolled in around them. Rollan's hind brain told him there

1567
01:22:28,840 --> 01:22:31,439
Speaker 1: was at best a twelve percent chance of rain, but

1568
01:22:31,520 --> 01:22:34,120
Speaker 1: the clouds were still welcome. He and Jim drank in

1569
01:22:34,200 --> 01:22:36,639
Speaker 1: silence for a few minutes until the other man tapped

1570
01:22:36,640 --> 01:22:40,040
Speaker 1: his shoulder and said they are ready fororus. They stood

1571
01:22:40,120 --> 01:22:42,840
Speaker 1: a bit unsteadily and headed towards the ladder down into

1572
01:22:42,840 --> 01:22:45,439
Speaker 1: the main roller. They reached the ladder just as two

1573
01:22:45,479 --> 01:22:47,800
Speaker 1: other people came up it, a man and a woman

1574
01:22:48,240 --> 01:22:51,559
Speaker 1: the man's face triggered a flurry of memory fragments, fighting

1575
01:22:51,600 --> 01:22:54,200
Speaker 1: back to back in the choking streets of Baltimore, drinking

1576
01:22:54,240 --> 01:22:56,559
Speaker 1: heavily on the edge of a canyon in the Arizona Desert,

1577
01:22:56,880 --> 01:22:59,639
Speaker 1: charging a riot line with pipes and hammers in their hands.

1578
01:23:00,040 --> 01:23:03,839
Speaker 1: A name bubbled up from inside the memories. Mike, he shouted,

1579
01:23:03,880 --> 01:23:07,679
Speaker 1: before he really thought about it. Hey, brother, schoolfucker, Mike Froze.

1580
01:23:08,160 --> 01:23:10,280
Speaker 1: Roland was already half way to a hug when he

1581
01:23:10,320 --> 01:23:13,280
Speaker 1: realized Mike wasn't feeling it. And then he caught his

1582
01:23:13,320 --> 01:23:15,559
Speaker 1: first good look at the woman coming up the ladder

1583
01:23:15,600 --> 01:23:19,960
Speaker 1: behind him. She had short, cropped teal hair, damascene fangs,

1584
01:23:20,040 --> 01:23:23,840
Speaker 1: and eyes so loud he could almost hear her thoughts. Topaz.

1585
01:23:25,400 --> 01:23:27,559
Speaker 1: She started to say his name, and then her voice

1586
01:23:27,600 --> 01:23:30,600
Speaker 1: caught He heard the ghost of tears beneath it, and

1587
01:23:30,600 --> 01:23:35,960
Speaker 1: then she finished, Roland, Yes, he said, not sure of

1588
01:23:36,040 --> 01:23:41,120
Speaker 1: what else to say. Do you remember me? No, he admitted.

1589
01:23:41,600 --> 01:23:44,160
Speaker 1: Part of him wanted to lie, but he couldn't. The

1590
01:23:44,200 --> 01:23:46,360
Speaker 1: broken scraps that remained of his love for her made

1591
01:23:46,360 --> 01:23:49,400
Speaker 1: it impossible. So we gave the honest answer, and he

1592
01:23:49,439 --> 01:23:53,280
Speaker 1: watched her die a little inside. Topez nodded, She closed

1593
01:23:53,280 --> 01:23:55,720
Speaker 1: her eyes for a second, bit down on her bottom lip,

1594
01:23:55,760 --> 01:23:57,879
Speaker 1: and then she put a quick hand on Mike's shoulder

1595
01:23:57,920 --> 01:24:00,680
Speaker 1: before she walked away up one of the gantries and

1596
01:24:00,720 --> 01:24:04,400
Speaker 1: into the chaos night of rolling Fuck. Roland looked to Mike,

1597
01:24:05,320 --> 01:24:10,360
Speaker 1: I'm sorry, skullfucker. Mike smiled sadly back, I know, buddy,

1598
01:24:10,960 --> 01:24:14,280
Speaker 1: and then he left too. Roland felt confusion and a

1599
01:24:14,360 --> 01:24:16,640
Speaker 1: distant hurt. He had a feeling that he should have

1600
01:24:16,680 --> 01:24:19,920
Speaker 1: been crying, but for some reason he couldn't, and so

1601
01:24:20,040 --> 01:24:23,160
Speaker 1: he didn't. Instead, he took a fistful of oxycontent and

1602
01:24:23,160 --> 01:24:27,439
Speaker 1: stumbled down the ladder following Jim rolling Fox. Conference room

1603
01:24:27,439 --> 01:24:31,840
Speaker 1: was sumptuous, elegant, and surprisingly professional. Two old people sat

1604
01:24:31,880 --> 01:24:34,519
Speaker 1: at the far end of the conference table. Roland had

1605
01:24:34,560 --> 01:24:37,200
Speaker 1: a vague memory tingle of having met the man before,

1606
01:24:37,479 --> 01:24:39,880
Speaker 1: long ago, but neither of their faces brought a name

1607
01:24:39,920 --> 01:24:42,799
Speaker 1: to his mind. Jim introduced them, but their names fled

1608
01:24:42,840 --> 01:24:45,559
Speaker 1: his head a few seconds later. In fact, the first

1609
01:24:45,680 --> 01:24:48,360
Speaker 1: minute or so of conversation flowed around him in an

1610
01:24:48,360 --> 01:24:51,280
Speaker 1: indistinct haze that may have had something to do with

1611
01:24:51,280 --> 01:24:54,040
Speaker 1: a soft ball sized mass of oxycontent he'd eaten. As

1612
01:24:54,040 --> 01:24:57,040
Speaker 1: he'd climbed down the ladder with Jim. Rowland had assumed

1613
01:24:57,080 --> 01:24:59,840
Speaker 1: the drugs would help him focus through the boredom. Apparently

1614
01:24:59,840 --> 01:25:05,040
Speaker 1: he miscalculated. Okay, so the old lady said, with a

1615
01:25:05,080 --> 01:25:08,680
Speaker 1: hint of finality, that's the situation we're in. Are you

1616
01:25:08,720 --> 01:25:12,600
Speaker 1: willing to help us? In response, Roland blacked out, just

1617
01:25:12,720 --> 01:25:15,160
Speaker 1: for a few seconds. He was reawokened by the thud

1618
01:25:15,160 --> 01:25:18,120
Speaker 1: of his head hitting the conference room table. Fuck, that's

1619
01:25:18,120 --> 01:25:22,120
Speaker 1: good oxy. He wished he could remember where he'd gotten it. Oh, dear,

1620
01:25:22,360 --> 01:25:26,400
Speaker 1: said the lady. He's fun, Jim sighed, but we have

1621
01:25:26,560 --> 01:25:29,920
Speaker 1: probably gonna need to start over. The lady brought him

1622
01:25:29,960 --> 01:25:33,800
Speaker 1: some coffee and reintroduced herself as Nana Yazzi. Thanks to

1623
01:25:33,840 --> 01:25:36,679
Speaker 1: the coffee and Roland's clearing head, her name stuck. This time.

1624
01:25:37,000 --> 01:25:39,200
Speaker 1: It was hard not to marvel at her age, and

1625
01:25:39,280 --> 01:25:42,200
Speaker 1: harder still to stop his hindbrain from calculating how much

1626
01:25:42,240 --> 01:25:46,200
Speaker 1: longer till her human heart gave out. Roland smelled cancer

1627
01:25:46,280 --> 01:25:50,200
Speaker 1: on the old man. Not serious cancer, nothing basic medicine

1628
01:25:50,200 --> 01:25:52,799
Speaker 1: couldn't handle, but all the same, the odor that wafted

1629
01:25:52,800 --> 01:25:55,640
Speaker 1: off him brought Roland a sort of primal discomfort. Or

1630
01:25:55,640 --> 01:25:57,479
Speaker 1: maybe it was the old man's eyes that made his

1631
01:25:57,520 --> 01:26:00,559
Speaker 1: guts warble. It was hard to say. There was something

1632
01:26:00,640 --> 01:26:04,679
Speaker 1: disconcerting in the way he looked at Roland Rowland, Jim shouted.

1633
01:26:04,880 --> 01:26:07,360
Speaker 1: Roland shook himself out of the haze and refocused on

1634
01:26:07,439 --> 01:26:12,120
Speaker 1: Nana Yazzi. Sorry, he grunted. It's fine, she said, and

1635
01:26:12,200 --> 01:26:15,080
Speaker 1: set into her spiel again. She showed him pictures of

1636
01:26:15,120 --> 01:26:18,719
Speaker 1: her captured friends, explained the dire situation in North Texas

1637
01:26:18,720 --> 01:26:21,559
Speaker 1: and the doom that marched towards Waco and Austin. It

1638
01:26:21,680 --> 01:26:24,280
Speaker 1: was a sad story, but not one that compelled Roland

1639
01:26:24,320 --> 01:26:27,679
Speaker 1: to action. Other than Topaz and Skullfucker Mike, the citizens

1640
01:26:27,680 --> 01:26:30,600
Speaker 1: of Rolling Funk were total strangers to him. Austin was

1641
01:26:30,640 --> 01:26:33,599
Speaker 1: just another little ailing republic in a continent full of them.

1642
01:26:34,280 --> 01:26:36,439
Speaker 1: I'm sorry for your people, he told her, And I'm

1643
01:26:36,479 --> 01:26:38,720
Speaker 1: sorry for Austin, but I really don't see how any

1644
01:26:38,720 --> 01:26:41,920
Speaker 1: of this is might am business. Jim took those words

1645
01:26:41,960 --> 01:26:45,800
Speaker 1: as his cue. Tullian Topaz are close, said Jim. His

1646
01:26:45,920 --> 01:26:49,799
Speaker 1: voice was low, his tone smooth. The silk La Sisters

1647
01:26:49,840 --> 01:26:53,320
Speaker 1: from what I hear, Marigold vouched for Topaz and skullfuk

1648
01:26:53,360 --> 01:26:56,040
Speaker 1: a mike when they adjoined the city. She's all funked

1649
01:26:56,120 --> 01:27:00,120
Speaker 1: up over this from what I hear, he added, so

1650
01:27:00,200 --> 01:27:02,560
Speaker 1: let her do some about it. Then Roland muttered, just

1651
01:27:02,680 --> 01:27:05,240
Speaker 1: got enough chrome to choke a river ship. The city's

1652
01:27:05,240 --> 01:27:07,680
Speaker 1: got enough monster people to burn the eastern seaboard. What

1653
01:27:07,800 --> 01:27:11,639
Speaker 1: do you need me? Because the modas aren't stupid, Jim said,

1654
01:27:12,040 --> 01:27:14,960
Speaker 1: They are scanning for chrome, for bile, mods for everything

1655
01:27:15,080 --> 01:27:18,160
Speaker 1: but the ship you've got, because no one left alive.

1656
01:27:18,240 --> 01:27:21,760
Speaker 1: As packing the ship you've got. Roland grunted again. His

1657
01:27:21,840 --> 01:27:25,320
Speaker 1: nostrils flared. There was something strange about the words Jim

1658
01:27:25,360 --> 01:27:28,639
Speaker 1: had chosen. No one left alive? Had there been others?

1659
01:27:29,200 --> 01:27:31,120
Speaker 1: He knew his mods had come courtesy of the old

1660
01:27:31,200 --> 01:27:33,800
Speaker 1: U S Defense Department, but he didn't remember which unit

1661
01:27:33,840 --> 01:27:35,920
Speaker 1: he'd been a part of, her what he'd done. There

1662
01:27:36,000 --> 01:27:38,639
Speaker 1: was a bit of memory, hazy and fragmented, that popped

1663
01:27:38,640 --> 01:27:41,240
Speaker 1: into his dreams from time to time. He was stuck

1664
01:27:41,280 --> 01:27:43,880
Speaker 1: inside a long, cool metal pod. The cold black of

1665
01:27:43,920 --> 01:27:46,960
Speaker 1: space unfolded around him. Roland felt warm bodies to his

1666
01:27:47,040 --> 01:27:50,160
Speaker 1: left and right, smelled the comforting sense of men he trusted.

1667
01:27:50,520 --> 01:27:53,080
Speaker 1: Red lights blinked above his field of vision. Something tugged

1668
01:27:53,080 --> 01:27:55,360
Speaker 1: at his belly. There was a powerful feeling of inertia.

1669
01:27:55,880 --> 01:27:59,000
Speaker 1: Roland closed his eyes, leaned forward, pinched the bridge of

1670
01:27:59,040 --> 01:28:01,559
Speaker 1: his nose, and groaned just a little bit. When he

1671
01:28:01,640 --> 01:28:04,480
Speaker 1: came back up, Nana Yazzi stared at him in confusion.

1672
01:28:04,960 --> 01:28:08,000
Speaker 1: Jim looked, perhaps worried. It was hard to tell with

1673
01:28:08,080 --> 01:28:10,880
Speaker 1: that guy. What's gonna happen if I don't do it?

1674
01:28:11,120 --> 01:28:16,000
Speaker 1: He asked, Nana Yazzi, to you nothing, Roland shook his head.

1675
01:28:16,360 --> 01:28:18,320
Speaker 1: Not to me. What are you guys gonna do if

1676
01:28:18,360 --> 01:28:22,320
Speaker 1: I don't help? Oh, she frowned. I suppose we'll have

1677
01:28:22,400 --> 01:28:24,720
Speaker 1: to mount an assault, send in a small team, four

1678
01:28:24,840 --> 01:28:27,960
Speaker 1: or six commandos and try to pull them out. It'll

1679
01:28:28,000 --> 01:28:31,280
Speaker 1: be bloody, Jim said. The old man frowned at that.

1680
01:28:31,640 --> 01:28:33,679
Speaker 1: He opened his mouth like he wanted to say something,

1681
01:28:33,880 --> 01:28:35,680
Speaker 1: but the lady put her hand on his and gave

1682
01:28:35,760 --> 01:28:39,360
Speaker 1: him a significant look. That's true, she said, it will

1683
01:28:39,400 --> 01:28:42,880
Speaker 1: be bloody. Roland felt a twinge of anger, but he

1684
01:28:42,880 --> 01:28:46,080
Speaker 1: couldn't blame Nana Yazzi for trying to manipulate him. The

1685
01:28:46,120 --> 01:28:48,599
Speaker 1: lives of her friends were on the line. Roland knew

1686
01:28:48,640 --> 01:28:51,360
Speaker 1: himself though, and he knew that missions like this always

1687
01:28:51,400 --> 01:28:54,280
Speaker 1: went wrong. If he took this job, Roland knew he'd

1688
01:28:54,320 --> 01:28:59,120
Speaker 1: take more lives. You'll save lives by being there, Jim insisted,

1689
01:28:59,320 --> 01:29:03,240
Speaker 1: smiling that fucking smile. Roland was sure that Smile had

1690
01:29:03,240 --> 01:29:06,479
Speaker 1: tricked him into dumb, violent things in the past. You're

1691
01:29:06,479 --> 01:29:08,799
Speaker 1: the only one who can handle this with a minimum

1692
01:29:08,840 --> 01:29:11,960
Speaker 1: of death. Roland didn't believe that, and at the same

1693
01:29:12,000 --> 01:29:15,080
Speaker 1: time he had to admit it was technically true. He

1694
01:29:15,200 --> 01:29:18,439
Speaker 1: just didn't trust himself, or reality or Jim. And yet

1695
01:29:19,240 --> 01:29:22,400
Speaker 1: I'll do it, he said. I'm sure I'll regret agreeing

1696
01:29:22,439 --> 01:29:25,599
Speaker 1: to do it, but whatever, I'll do it. Jim looked

1697
01:29:25,600 --> 01:29:29,800
Speaker 1: satisfied with himself. Nanayazi looked relieved. The old man looked

1698
01:29:29,920 --> 01:29:33,679
Speaker 1: somehow angry. Most of Roland's reason for agreeing to help

1699
01:29:33,760 --> 01:29:36,719
Speaker 1: came down to Topaz. He hated to admit that, even

1700
01:29:36,720 --> 01:29:39,200
Speaker 1: to himself, but it was true. The thought of her

1701
01:29:39,200 --> 01:29:41,599
Speaker 1: in pain twisted something in the center of his heart.

1702
01:29:41,960 --> 01:29:44,519
Speaker 1: He wasn't used to pain there, and his tolerance was

1703
01:29:44,560 --> 01:29:47,960
Speaker 1: pretty low. This is so dumb, he told himself. You

1704
01:29:47,960 --> 01:29:51,000
Speaker 1: couldn't even remember her name this morning. He and Jim

1705
01:29:51,040 --> 01:29:53,120
Speaker 1: and the old woman shook hands on the deal. Then

1706
01:29:53,120 --> 01:29:55,800
Speaker 1: they let him loosen their city to imbibe and fornicate

1707
01:29:55,840 --> 01:29:58,479
Speaker 1: and test the limits of his wet wear. We have

1708
01:29:58,680 --> 01:30:04,400
Speaker 1: things to plan, she said. Hey, I've written a novel.

1709
01:30:04,439 --> 01:30:06,360
Speaker 1: It's called After the Revolution. You can find it as

1710
01:30:06,360 --> 01:30:08,800
Speaker 1: a podcast under After the Revolution, and you can find

1711
01:30:08,840 --> 01:30:11,240
Speaker 1: it at dtr book dot com as a free e

1712
01:30:11,439 --> 01:30:14,599
Speaker 1: pub if you like it. I am crowdfunding the sequel

1713
01:30:14,640 --> 01:30:16,840
Speaker 1: so that I can keep making my books free. That

1714
01:30:16,920 --> 01:30:19,479
Speaker 1: will be it After the Revolution, the sequel on go

1715
01:30:19,680 --> 01:30:22,400
Speaker 1: fund me. That's After the Revolution, the sequel on go

1716
01:30:22,600 --> 01:30:25,640
Speaker 1: fund me. Raffi is the voice of some of the

1717
01:30:25,760 --> 01:30:31,840
Speaker 1: happiest songs of our generation. Baby So who is the

1718
01:30:31,880 --> 01:30:36,800
Speaker 1: man behind Baby Beluga? Every human being wants to feel respected.

1719
01:30:37,240 --> 01:30:41,320
Speaker 1: When we start with young, all good things can grow

1720
01:30:41,439 --> 01:30:44,759
Speaker 1: from there. I'm Chris Garcia, comedian, new dad and host

1721
01:30:44,800 --> 01:30:47,639
Speaker 1: of Finding Raffie, a new podcast from my Heart Radio

1722
01:30:47,760 --> 01:30:50,920
Speaker 1: and Fatherly Listen every Tuesday on the I Heart Radio

1723
01:30:50,960 --> 01:30:55,240
Speaker 1: app or wherever you get your podcasts. Look for your

1724
01:30:55,320 --> 01:30:58,840
Speaker 1: children's eyes and you will discover the two magic of

1725
01:30:58,880 --> 01:31:02,760
Speaker 1: a forest. Find a forest near you and start exploring

1726
01:31:02,760 --> 01:31:05,519
Speaker 1: a Discover the Forest dot Org brought to you by

1727
01:31:05,520 --> 01:31:10,080
Speaker 1: the United States Forest Service and the AD Council. Look

1728
01:31:10,120 --> 01:31:13,240
Speaker 1: for your children's eyes and you will discover the true

1729
01:31:13,320 --> 01:31:16,960
Speaker 1: magic of a forest. Find a forest near you and

1730
01:31:17,040 --> 01:31:20,439
Speaker 1: start exploring a Discover the Forest dot org brought to

1731
01:31:20,479 --> 01:31:23,280
Speaker 1: you by the United States Forest Service and the AD Council.