After the Revolution: Chapters Fifteen, Sixteen, and Seventeen

Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:02):
Chapter fifteen, Sasha. The man on the gurney was the
most comprehensively broken human Sasha had ever seen. His jaw
had been ripped completely out of its socket and shattered
in four places. His eyes had been gouged into horrible, smashed,
grape looking things. His hands and fingers were all broken,
as were his feet and shins. His ears appeared to

(00:24):
have been bitten off. His tongue had been severed, and
the wound cauterized with something that had charred the flesh black.
Sasha hadn't known a person could take such punishment and survive.
The chart at the end of the bed identified him
as Sergeant Lufkin, a two year veteran martyr whod been
guarding a checkpoint outside of Dallas. He was conscious. Every
now and then he'd thrash about and let out a

(00:45):
burbling moan, but the man didn't appear capable of any
sort of intelligible communication. Well these aren't combat injuries, doctor
Brand said. These men look almost like they've been in
a car wreck, only the damage is too precise and
too liberately targeted. I've never seen anything like it. It
was Sasha's duty to administer the men's pain killers just

(01:06):
a tiny drop of morphine each. It wasn't enough by
any proper hospital standards. The soldiers were all in clear agony,
but the Heavenly Kingdom was short on pain killers, and
this was the most they could afford to spare for invalids,
as doctor Brandt had called them. This frustrated Sasha. Her
mother's hospital could have restored all four men to full
health and vigor with perhaps a month of treatment and

(01:28):
physical therapy, but the Heavenly Kingdom forbade that grown organs
and limbs cloning contravened the Lord's will. Sasha agreed with
that in theory. She'd fled to the Heavenly Kingdom partly
because she believed juven treatments had robbed the ampt of
its humanity. But still it seemed so wrong that these
men would go the rest of their lives as twitching

(01:50):
and sinceate lumps of flesh. The number of things that
felt wrong about this place grew every day. The executions
had been the first big shock to her system, but
she'd accepted Helen's justification. The Bible was filled with decent
men doing awful things in times of war. The gallows
weren't pretty, but they were hardly without biblical precedent. She'd

(02:11):
been unable to justify Alexander's actions in the same way. Oh, yes,
she knew polygamy was condoned by the Word of God.
She'd read about Lammick and Abraham, and Solomon and David,
and of course Jacob, the patriarch of the Twelve Tribes
of Israel and a parent namesake for Alexander's order. She
still hated what he'd done to her. Sasha couldn't bring

(02:32):
herself to believe that a man as truly good as
Pastor Mike would condone their actions. Polygamy is a biblically
sound strategy for a people on the edge of destruction,
He'd written in one of his Revelator columns. But it
is not the human ideal and our Lord's eyes, the
most perfect union is one man, one woman, and as
many children as they can bear. Had he decided since

(02:54):
that the Heavenly Kingdom was a people on the edge
of destruction. After the disastrous meet with Alexander, Sasha had
made her way back to the House of Miriam. Helen
was seated at her desk when Sasha barged in the
older woman looked tired, resigned, and almost depressed. It seemed
as if she'd been waiting for Sasha. Hello, dear, she said,
with a sad smile. I assume you just met Alexander. Yes,

(03:19):
Sasha couldn't help but shout. What they're doing is vile, Helen.
He wanted me as his third wife. He lied to
convince me to come down here. He says. There's a
whole group of martyrs. They call themselves Jacobeans, and they're
just catfishing girls down here. We have to tell someone.
This isn't okay, this is so wrong. I just I can't.
Sasha started to sob. She'd been too angry to cry
in front of Alexander. But the House of Miriam was

(03:41):
a safe place. Helen was a safe person. Sasha's grief
caught up with her anger, and she found herself doubled
over on the floor, racked by sobs. She lost herself
in sorrow for a few long heartbeats, and then Helen
was there beside her. She felt the older woman's strong
arms around her, felt a hand running through her hair.
There there, child, it's all right, it's going to be okay.

(04:04):
We have to do something Sasha choked out, Pastor Mike
needs to know what's being done in his name. She
looked up into Helen's eyes. She saw pain and anger there, Sasha.
Helen said, this will be hard for you to understand,
but the pastor is well aware of what those men
are doing. I've spoken to him about it myself. Sasha stiffened.

(04:26):
She pulled away from Helen, and Helen let her go.
They sat next to each other on the floor in
silence until Sasha spoke again. Authenticity is the strongest arrow
in our quiver. She quoted, When did that stop being true?
When did it become ok to lie in the name
of the Lord? Helen sighed and shook her head. It's
not OK, But so much about this world we live

(04:48):
in is not OK. They still murder forty thousand babies
per year in the American Federation, hundred thousand in the
California Republic. Sodomi and cloning are rampant across the world.
We the faithful are surrounded on all sides. Sasha recognized
that last line. It was the opening sentence of Pastor
Mike's infamous Sinful Continent in the Hands of an Angry

(05:09):
God column Sasha couldn't deny the truth of those words.
Everything Helen said was accurate. But but how are we
any better than them if we stooped to dishonesty to
fill the heavenly kingdom. Helen stiffened and straightened her back.
We are better than them, dear, because our goals are godly.
There was a hint of pride in her voice. We

(05:29):
are fighting for the one singular truth. You must never
forget that the men and women fighting for that truth
are flawed. We are all falluable, we will all fall
short of God's standards. But we are also the only
ones trying to meet God's standards. And that makes what
Alexander did okay. Helen shook her head. Sasha saw tears
in the corner of the older woman's eyes. No, child,

(05:52):
nothing makes it okay. You were wronged. That boy played
with your heart. He lied to you about his love,
and that's an un a givable thing. But you're here now,
aren't you, And that's what matters most. Helen held her
and talked with her for the next few hours. By
the time the other girls came back, she felt better.
Not good exactly, but better, stable enough to not burst

(06:14):
into tears during dinner. She kept quiet at meal time
and was glad that the others seemed too exhausted from
their day of labor to say much either. After dinner,
they had another hour of personal time. Anne and Susannah
zeroed in on her with military precision. Sasha's vaunted poker
face hadn't been enough to hide her sorrow. Her new
friends had guided her to a corner of the room

(06:34):
where they'd have relative privacy. What's wrong, Anne asked in
a low voice. She and Susannah both laid their hands
on Sasha's shoulders. Sasha reached up to grasp both their hands.
It happened automatically, as if by reflex, but it brought
her great comfort. She closed her eyes and stood quiet
for a moment as her mind and heart calmed down.

(06:55):
I met Alexander today, she said. Anne looked confused. Susannah frowned,
then laughed and asked, what did have? Bad breath? Where
his eyes all? She blew out her cheeks and crossed
her eyes. Anne laughed, but Sasha stayed quiet. Susannah smile faded. Sash,
She said, in a quiet voice, what happened? Sasha looked

(07:15):
from Susannah to Anne, she felt a surge of gratitude
and her new friends for being there at all. She
took a deep breath in and then told them what
had happened. She went quickly in the hope that her
clipped recitation of events would make it all seem less devastating. Oh, Sasha,
Anne said, I am so sorry. This has to be
some sort of mistake. Helen didn't seem to think so,

(07:36):
Sasha said, I don't think Alexander lied about the sons
of Jacob being powerful here. It's chaos right now, Sash.
Susannah assured her. Maybe a few guys can get away
with acting like this now during the war, but once
it's over, Pastor Mike won't let them treat us like this.
Anne nodded. Kyle gets rotated back from the front tomorrow,
she said, I'll ask him about the sons of Jacob.

(07:58):
Maybe he'll know something we can to. Sasha knew from
the look she'd seen in Helen's eyes that further protest
against the Jacobeans would be useless, and besides, she thought
the most painful thing was Alexander's dishonesty. He's already hurt
me as much as he can. She tried to convince
herself of that, just as she tried to enjoy the
company of her friends without dwelling on the face of

(08:19):
the boy who betrayed her. She was less than successful.
Bedtime came, the girls washed up, said their good nights,
and snuggled up in their beds. As usual, Sasha's mind
stayed awake and active. She wasn't having second thoughts exactly,
of course, not never, but so much about today felt wrong.
Alexander and the sons of Jacob, of course, but also

(08:39):
that the brave men she'd worked on that afternoon would
never walk or see your talk again. This is war,
she reminded herself. A great deal of it is going
to seem wrong. The next morning and afternoon went by
in a haze of industrious activity, breakfast and bandages and
preparing medications for doctors and nurses. Sasha lost herself in
the work and for a few hours was happy or sad.

(09:01):
Her shift at the hospital ended at five, She took
her nightly jeep ride back to the House of Miriam,
but rather than going right inside, she decided to take
a walk around the downtown strip. She had a few
ration scripts in her pocket enough that she could have
bought coffee or even a meal in the one functioning
restaurant still in town. But she wasn't hungry. She just
wanted to walk. This part of the Heavenly Kingdom looked

(09:23):
less like a war zone and more like a functional polus.
With every passing day. Most of the piles of rubble
and spent shell casings were gone. Now there was still
quite a lot of damage to all the buildings and
very few intact windows to be found, but that strange
spoiled milk smell was gone. Some shops were open again,
along with a small farmer's market about ten minutes down
from the House of Miriam. There were people out too,

(09:45):
Not many families yet, but she saw a lot of sweaty,
tired looking soldiers. They wandered in small groups and clustered
around the strips only functional cafe. There were refugees too,
and new immigrants to the Kingdom. Greeters in blue and
white uniforms the foot soul ers of the Kingdom's Immigration Department,
led columns of them down the main Dragon into old
government buildings that had been repurposed into housing collectives. Sasha

(10:08):
felt herself filled with a strange pride at odds with
all the doubt that still roiled in her gut. From
right here, the Heavenly Kingdom looked exactly like what had
been promised to her. It was still rough, raw and unfinished,
but it overflowed with the good intentions of godly men
and women. Helen had been right. Sasha could see that now,
as ugly as Alexander's lies were, as detestable as she

(10:29):
found the whole idea of the Jacobeans, the Heavenly Kingdom
was still a thing of beauty. It was still worth
fighting for. She just had to accept that it would
never be perfect. And hello, Sasha, she stopped. The hair
prickled up on the back of her neck. Sasha turned
around to face Alexander. Sasha had been lost in thoughts,
so it was hard to say for how long they've

(10:50):
been following her. Three other men were with him. They
all wore clean, pressed, new uniforms and side arms at
their waists. She didn't recognize the rank and sickney as
on their shoulders, but she did notice that each of
them wore a large gold badge in the shape of
a lion's head on their lapel. She'd seen a lot
of uniformed martyrs during her short time with the Heavenly Kingdom.
She'd never seen a badge like that before. Hello, Alexander.

(11:14):
She tried to keep her voice cool but respectful. Hello, brothers,
Peace be with you and also with you. The other
young men mumbled, by habit, are you walking alone right now?
My dea, Alexander asked, his lips curled up into an
unctuous smile. That worries me. These streets still on as
safe as they should be. Let us walk with you
a while. Sasha stiffened. There was something dark in Alexander's eyes.

(11:39):
She wondered if it had always been there and she
just ignored it before her heart began to race. Sweat
beat it on the back of her neck. There were
a lot of people around still, but she was away
from the most crowded part of the main drag. It
wouldn't be hard for three strong young men to move
her somewhere less visible. I'd prefer to walk alone, she
tried to keep her tone. Even Sasha felt like they

(12:00):
must still have heard the trembling in her voice. That's nonsense, Sasha,
Alexander said. No woman wants to be alone when they
can enjoy the company of their protect us. He stepped
towards her, reached a hand out and brushed the hair
away from her eyes. Alexander stroked her cheek. His hand
drifted down to her shoulder, where he applied firm pressure.

(12:21):
Sasha wanted to pull away, but Alexander was much stronger
than she was. He had a gun, and two friends
with guns, and apparently the personal support of Pastor Mike,
so she stood still and tried to stop her heart
from beating quite so fast. Sasha, he said, in the gentle,
sweet voice that had helped to carry her here. You
deserve to be cared for. I know the full truth

(12:42):
was a shock to you, and I'm not angry at
your reaction, really, but you still hold it on to
fragments of the secular world. You need to drop that
veil from your eyes and accept that God wants this.
He wants men like us, Alexander gestured to his friends,
men with superior attacks, to breed and fill the world
with more holy warriors. Sasha closed her eyes. She took

(13:06):
a deep breath in and out, and then another. Just
go with it, a part of her said, he won't
hurt you if you just tell him what he wants
to hear. She knew that wasn't right, though she hadn't
risked her life to cross into the heavenly kingdom just
to compromise her morals. Now I am doing good and
valuable work here, she replied, in the calmest voice she
could muster. I don't want to be your third wife.

(13:27):
I know God has another purpose for me, and I
intend to seek it. At his hand clinched tight on
her shoulder, Sasha's eyes widened in fear. There was something dull, black,
and hungry in his eyes. The two men behind him
straightened their backs and started glancing around, scoping out the area. Sasha,
Alexander said, I brought you here. You are my responsibility.

(13:50):
I don't believe you're thinking clearly. We should take a
walk and find somewhere private to talk about all this.
I've comm indeed a home near by. Come on, walk
with me. He pushed at her. The whole time he spoke,
and grew angrier with each passing word, so that by
the time he said walk with me, his voice had
grown tight and cold. Sasha steadied her heart met his

(14:13):
eyes with as steady a gaze as she could manage,
and said, I don't want to walk with you. Her
heart was pounding so loud she was sure Alexander and
his friends could hear it. But Sasha didn't move. She
was sure at any minute now he would grab her
full on and force her forward. But before he had
the chance, a familiar voice called out to her, Sasha,

(14:34):
is that you? It was doctor Brandt, and all her
focus on Alexander and his posse, she hadn't even noticed
the electric hum of the doctor's jeep as it pulled
up behind them on the main street. Yes, sir, she cried,
her voice a bit higher and more frantic than she'd
meant it to sound. What do you need getting the
back girl? You can flirt with soldiers later. The Heavenly
Kingdom needs your skills. We've got a bit of an issue.

(14:56):
Alexander's face went purple. The two men behind him seemed confused.
One put a hand on his gun, but Alexander waved
him back. He shot Sasha a vicious look and then
turned to doctor Brandt. Suddenly composed any idea how long
you'll need her? What are you a lieutenant? Doctor Brandt scoffed,
she'll be gone as long as the Kingdom needs her.

(15:16):
I don't see a ring on either of your fingers,
so I'm fairly certain it's not your place to care
how long this takes Sasha. He beckoned to her with
his index finger. Come on now, girl, gladly, she said,
with a genuine smile. Sasha darted past Alexander and his
men and hopped up into the back seat of the jeep.
She tried to keep her head and eyes down while
the doctor's driver gunned the engine and sped off down

(15:37):
the main street. Once they were under way, Doctor Brandt
turned back to her. Sasha. He asked, was anything going
on with those young men? Anything untoward? I ask because
you seem positively elated. I've picked you up to deal
with a problem. Do I tell him the truth? Sasha wondered,
Do I admit I was lured to the kingdom by
a catfisher? He'll never take me seriously. Then, this job

(15:59):
was her favorite part of serving the Kingdom. Sasha didn't
want to do or say anything that might disrupt it.
And besides, Doctor Brandt was a busy man. Lives were
in his hands every day. I can't distract him with this. No, No,
everything's fine. I'm fine. Doctor Brandt gave her a stern look.
Sasha smiled a tense smile in response. He shrugged and

(16:19):
turned his head back to the road. All right, he said,
And then there was a problem with one of your
patient's blood tests. Oh, Sasha frowned. I'm so sorry. What
did I do wrong? Nothing at all, doctor Branda shared her.
But that vile woman, Marigold, she's pregnant. Pregnant, Sasha was shocked.
Most adult women in the American Federation had afrodity rings installed.

(16:41):
Sasha had refused hers, but the government offered them for free.
They provided complete control over reproduction and allowed women to
select whether or not they wanted to be fertile. She'd
assumed anyone with as many bio modifications as Marigold would
have a ring as well. Maybe she just wants a
baby for some reason. Sasha hadn't initially considered that possibility.
It was hard to imagine someone has fallen as Marigold

(17:03):
choosing to raise children. Yes, Sasha, doctor Brandt said, or
at least that first test indicated so false positives do
still happen. That's why we're headed back. We need you
to administer another test so we can be certain. Well, shit,
Marigold grunted. I didn't expect to see you back this soon.
You need a friend, Darlin. The heathen woman looked the

(17:23):
same as she had on their last interaction. Her hair
was less greasy, so they must have let her wash,
but she wore the same slip dress and sat in
the same corner of the same cell. Sorry, no, Sasha said,
I'm here to administer a pregnancy test. Mirrigold's eyes widened
for a few seconds. The woman was speechless. Her mouth
opened and closed. She nodded and clutched her left knee

(17:44):
with her left hand. Okay, the captive said, right, where
do you want me to do it? Do? Sasha looked
down at the stick in her hand and then realized
how these things worked. I'm sure Dr Brandt doesn't expect
me to watch her. Pa, you can go over to
your normal space. I'll just I'll turn around. She handed
Marigold the test and spun around on her heels so

(18:05):
the other woman wouldn't see how much she'd already started
to blush. Damn, girl, are you that squicked out by
the human body? What Sasha asked without turning around. Your
face is as red as a damn beat. I'm sorry why,
I don't know, Marigold laughed. You can turn around now,
I'm decent and done. Sasha turned around. Marigold smirked at her.

(18:26):
You know, she said, that instinct to apologize might actually
come in handy around here. I'm sure the sort of
men who jump in on this bullshit will appreciate it.
Sasha recovered her senses and felt a bit of anger
at Marigold's words. I don't appreciate you saying those things.
She said. The men here are good and brave and uh.
Sasha's voice caught it broke just a little. Marigold saw

(18:48):
and heard her doubt. The other woman didn't laugh like
Sasha expected. In fact, her smile fell away. Marigold looked
at her with something like pity. I know you don't
believe that, she said. Sasha closed her eyes and took
a deep breath in. Then she replied, no men are perfect,
just as no women are perfect. But every one here
in the Kingdom tries every day to abide by the

(19:10):
Lord's will. That's what elevates us above. Marigold interrupted, does
your Lord say women don't get last names. We don't
use last names in the Kingdom because they distract us.
We can't afford connect. The men keep their surnames, don't they.
That was true. Sasha hadn't thought about it much, what
with everything else that was going on. But doctor Brandt
went by his last name, didn't he? And Alexander had

(19:31):
a surname too. She's trying to weaken your faith in
the kingdom. Don't give into the doubts of the serpent.
It doesn't matter, Sasha said, and immediately regretted it. Any
response would surely just egg Marigold on and sure enough,
Oh it doesn't. Then why is that the rule? Well,
it's obviously because we need some way to tell families
apart from one another. Marigold smirked. Now, and the only

(19:53):
lineage that matters is the man's, isn't it. Women are
just appendages in your belief system. I am not an appendage,
Sasha shouted, surprised at her own anger. She heard shuffling feet,
and a second later the guard had one hand on
the door and another on his rifle. Ever then, all right, miss,
he asked, Yes, Sasha called back to him over her shoulder.
I'm fine, sorry, she's just Sasha fixed Marigold with a

(20:15):
withering gaze. She's very frustrating. Marigold smirked at that, then
she held out the test. Sasha hesitated for just a
second before taking the strip from the other woman. Marigold
smiled at that too. You're pregnant, Sasha said, yep. Marigold nodded, congratulations.
Sasha tried to sound genuine. Marigold's eye roll didn't help that, cause,

(20:38):
oh yeah, the other woman said, this is a real
joyous moment for me. I hope your people let me
live long enough to know whether or not my kid
will deserve a last name. You know, Sasha said, in
growing anger. This place isn't perfect, but if you got
to know the people here, you'd understand they are the
best people I've ever met. I wish you could have
seen the welcome I received. I've never felt so loved.

(20:59):
Marigold asked, like, all you needed to do was show
up to earn their acceptance. Yes, Sasha admitted, suspicious. Did
they sort of swarm you but in a nice way,
everyone hugging you and holding you and offering you, say,
physical affection? Yes? Marigold nodded as if she'd just gotten
the answer to a longstanding question. They love bombed you what.

(21:21):
It's a tactic colts use, Marigold explained, you sort of
overwhelmed someone with love and acceptance and camaraderie and all that.
It nurtures loyalty and dependence. She shrugged. It's a smart
way to manipulate young people in your position. You've just
fled your home and family for a strange and dangerous land.
You're scared and alone and isolated, and then, like magic,
you've got a family in a support network. You are

(21:43):
so cynical. Sasha had the fight back, the urge to
say damned cynical. This woman was making her forget herself.
She opened her mouth as if to deliver a tongue lashing,
but the words wouldn't come. Instead, she just narrowed her
eyes at Marigold and stared for a few seconds. I'm
leaving now, she said, I'm going to go enjoy the
companionship of my new family. You enjoy this cell. Then

(22:04):
Sasha turned on her heels and walked out. She returned
late to the house of Miriam. The other girls had
already finished dinner. Helen had left out Sasha's plate a
ham sandwich, carrot sticks and apple and a small block
of cheese, and she took it into the common room,
where the other girls were talking and winding down from
their day. Look who finally showed up? May sneered when

(22:25):
she walked in. I guess you're too important to eat
with the rest of us now, I Sasha started to reply.
Then she saw Anne and Susannah huddled in the same
corner where they'd all sat last night. There were tears
in Anne's face, and her eyes looked swollen in red.
She made no noise, but her back and shoulders shook
as she sat there, half shielded from view in Susanna's embrace.
Sasha gave maya withering glare, but turned and moved past

(22:48):
her towards her friends. She heard the other girl scoff
and say something to her coterie of friends. Sasha couldn't
hear what, though, and she didn't much care. She squatted
down next to Anne and put a hand on the
back of her neck. Hey, she said, not sure of
what else to say. Susannah met Sasha's eyes and offered
up a sad smile. Anne continued to sob for a
few minutes, they just held her. Sasha burned with morbid

(23:11):
curiosity over what exactly had happened. She knew it must
have something to do with Kyle, and had been set
to meet with him today. Had he revealed himself to
be a son of Jacob too. He's dead, Anne whispered
in a cracked, broken voice. I went to meet him
at the Cafe Clement, and there were two martyrs there
waiting for me. They both she stifled a sob. They

(23:31):
both smiled when they told me he'd been killed. They
said I should thank God for the blessing of a
death and battle. I'm so sorry Anne, Sasha said, Susannah
and I are here, though, we'll take care of you.
She hoped that might comfort Anna a little, but the
other girl lost herself in another fit of tears. Sasha's
heart broke for her. The pain over her own comparatively

(23:52):
minor tragedy flowed into the empathy she felt for Anne,
and soon Sasha was crying too. She was sure some
of the other girls were whispering about them. Egged on
by May, she didn't care. After a few more minutes
of tears, Anne managed to clear her throat and speak again.
The man the martyrs I met told me the same thing.
She said. They told me I'd be taken care of,

(24:12):
that they'd find God's choice for me among the martyrs.
I tried to tell them, I don't want anyone else,
not now I need to mourn, But they said, they said.
Anne's voice caught in her throat, and she fought to
throttle another sob before she continued. He said, the heavenly
Kingdom might not be able to wait for my grief
to pass. What's that supposed to mean, Susannah asked. Sasha

(24:34):
didn't say anything, because the only answer that occurred to
her was surely unhelpful. She had a strong suspicion that
the sons of Jacob had turned their eyes on Anne.
Sasha stared into Marigold's vagina. She'd seen it before, of course,
the first time they'd met, but it hadn't been her
focus then, and she'd tried very hard not to look
at it too much. Now, though the point was to look.

(24:56):
Doctor Brandt had picked her up halfway through her shift
at the hospital to conduct a apsmere on the captured woman.
She'd only had about an hour to practice. It's a
procedure I've done myself a hundred times, doctor brand had
told her, But that was back in the am Fed.
It's a simvil thing for a man to touch a
woman other than his wife. That's why the Israelites used midwives.
That's why we used midwives. And I think this kind

(25:17):
of work might be why God drew you here. His
words made her proud. She liked doctor Brandt for all
his prickliness. She also liked to learn it and feeling
like she had a useful skill that made her special.
So she'd paid close attention as doctor Brandt had walked
her through the procedure. It had been fun, and the
act of learning had distracted her from her worries about
Anne and her own grief over Alexander. Marigold shuddered as

(25:39):
Sasha slid the speculum in past her labia. You could
stand to be a little gentler, and would it kill
you to, I don't know, warm it up first or something.
Doctor Brandt didn't say to do that. Sasha kept her
voice firm, This is for the baby's good. I'm sorry
if it's uncomfortable. This is my first time. The woman snorted, Oh, well,
in that case, you're doing a great jow, maybe a

(26:00):
little less hard and mine slopes down. You're going against
the grain, the grain. Marigold rolled her eyes in disdain,
but didn't dignify Sasha with a response, you're pushing the
wrong way. Sasha readjusted, and Marigold gave a sigh of relief.
That sucks less at least, thanks. Sasha busied herself with
the swabbing and rubbing that came next. She worked slow, methodical,

(26:22):
with as much care and gentleness as the instruction she'd
received from Dr Brandt would allow. She did her best
to focus, but the other woman kept talking. You don't
look old enough to have graduated high school. I'm gonna
guess they don't train teenagers to do pap smears in
the am fed Marigold added, do they? With surprising earnestness, no,
Sasha grunted, I'm gonna guest doctor what's his name taught

(26:43):
you then? Because why he's too scared of my demon
snatch to come in here and do with the jab himself.
Sasha's face reddened. She did not like the words snatch
or Marigold's casual mention of demons, but she kept her
eyes straight and stared into the other woman's vagina. I
have one too. It's not that big a deal, she
told herself. It's impressive you were able to learn that.
I'm serious. Real props, lady, you're the only woman I've

(27:05):
seen do a damn thing around here. How do you
trick them into treating you sort of like a person?
Sasha's ire Rose and Rose Lord, Calm my heart, she prayed.
I know she's just trying to set me off. It's
just desperation, she told herself. How long do you think
they'll let you keep playing like you've got a real life.
I'm gonna guess it won't be too long before somebody
puts a baby in you. You know that'll be the

(27:26):
end of all this, right, like your life, using your
brain all that, you're going to be a broodmare before
to stop. Sasha didn't yell, but she used her firmest voice,
and she was quite loud about it, despite herself. She
looked up from her work and at Marigold's face. The
other woman didn't look surprised or chagrinned. One edge of
her lips curled up into a wry grin, her eyes twinkled.

(27:46):
Sasha had never actually seen someone's eyes twinkled before there
we go. I wondered where the edge was the edge
of what Sasha asked, without thinking, idiot, this is exactly
what she wants you to do. The edge of your patients,
the point where meekness ends. I was worried they've beating
it out of you. No one beat me, Sasha insisted,

(28:07):
And there's nothing wrong with being meek. The Lord asks
us to put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness,
and patience. Maybe you wouldn't be in a cell if
you'd accepted that for yourself. I'm in a cell because
I came here to trade. We weren't waging any kind
of war. We weren't harming anyone. We wanted freaking cheetohs
in exchange for our latest coffee crop. Your people killed
the old government and captured us. Sasha closed her eyes,

(28:30):
breathed in and out, and tried to calm herself. For
some reason, Marigold's words made her feel anxious and angry.
She wanted to say the anger was towards the other woman,
but that wasn't quite right. Marigold had been sarcastic and caddy,
but she had also been complimentary, thoughtful, and far from cruel.
I'm sure you'll be sent back to your people soon.
The heavenly Kingdom doesn't want any kind of fight with

(28:51):
with your city yet. Sasha finished her work. She withdrew
the speculum and started gathering up her kit. I do
hope you're not laboring under the impression that this war
will ever end, Marigold said, because it won't, not while
your kingdom exists. You're wrong. Will take Austin soon and
then there will be peace. And what about San Antonio?

(29:12):
Sasha shrugged, heathen nation, But they haven't launched any strikes
against us. If they'll let us be, will let them
be remain and expand, Marigold quoted one of the slogans
Pastor Mike had coined during the early days of the Kingdom.
The other woman had a surprisingly deep understanding of their movement.
Marigold continued, The Kingdom of God will remain and expand
until it reunites this broken land from sea to shining sea.

(29:35):
That's your profit, right, you're mighty, Pastor sure sounds like
a recipe for eternal war. Mexico, the Navajo, the California Republic,
and the king of God, Damn Albuquerque don't seem likely
to sign up for a theocracy, and those are just
the big powers in the Southwest. Pastor Mike would have
had an answer to that, of course. He'd said that
as the Heavenly Kingdom grew, it would draw in millions

(29:56):
from around the world and become a shining beacon to
the fallen people of the world. Fighting would be replaced
by peaceful annexation. She'd believed that once before she'd left
the American Federation. It had seemed sensible. With Alexander's romantic
words in her ear and the fiery prose from Revelator
in her mind, how could she not believe? But now
she'd spent time in the reality of the Heavenly Kingdom.

(30:18):
She'd met beautiful people and seeing wondrous things, But she
had also helped treat a seemingly endless train of broken
men whose bodies had been shattered by war. She'd watched
a dozen people be executed by hanging. Sasha was anxious,
and Marigold must have picked up on it. The other
woman's eyes changed. There was something almost predatory in them.
She leaned forward. I know I'm hitting nerves. Sasha that's

(30:41):
because you were too smart for this shit. You got
suckered into a fucking nightmare. It's time to wake up.
Sasha kept Marigold's words in her mind. She headed back
to the hospital. A fresh wave of wounded men had
been sent over from the Lake Houston Front, and she
wound up working three hours later than normal just to
help handle the load. It was a whirlwind of bloody bandages,

(31:02):
screaming martyrs, and i rate exhausted doctors trying to do
too much with far too little. By the time she
got off shift, it was dark outside and downtown was
almost deserted. Her driver dropped her off in a weird
spot at the other end of Main Street. It was
a good two blocks away from the normal location, but
she chalked that up to the fact that this wasn't
her normal driver. She didn't really mind the extra walk.

(31:24):
In fact, after a long day under the hospital's fluorescent lights,
a dark walk and some fresh air seemed relaxing. So
she strolled, and she tried to forget the faces of
the men she'd seen that day. For a few blissful minutes,
Marigold's words fled from her head, and she lost herself
and the peace that came at the end of a
good day's labor. The streets of the heavenly Kingdom felt safe.
She'd done meaningful work. The Lord must be hey, hey, no, please,

(31:47):
I really don't want to. Sasha heard a familiar female
voice cry out in distress. A man yelled something, but
she couldn't tell what. The woman let out a brief
scream that was muffled by something. Her voice sounded familiar,
very familiar. Was an Sasha rounded a corner and saw them.
It was Anne, all right. The girl had a bag
over her head, but Sasha clearly recognized her friend. Two

(32:09):
men in black uniforms held her by either arm and
forced her to walk forward with them. Two other men
walked beside them. They all wore red berets. The man
who seemed to be their leader locked eyes with her.
It was Alexander, Sasha. He said, in a clipped tone,
you're out late. She stopped, stared, and continued to thrash
between the men. Her cries were muffled by the bag,

(32:31):
but far from an audible She seemed terrified. You you
all need to let her go, Sasha insisted, she belongs
at the House of Miriam, Alexander laughed, where do you
think we gotta from, silly girl. Two of the other
men laughed at that. They seemed nervous, though she could
see both hunger and a strange sort of anxiety in
their eyes. Alexander was all hunger. Alexander, please, please, what

(32:55):
he asked, with a wry smirk. Deny this girl the
bliss of servant God? Why would you want that for her?
Do you even believe anymore? Sasha, his lips, the lips
she dreamed about for months, the lips she'd watched say
such lovely things to her. Curled up in disgusted. Look
at you. You're wearing surgical scrubs. You look like a man.

(33:16):
You've lost your proper place in the world. It disgusts
me that they let you do that work. Have you
forgotten what God himself calls on you to be Titus
two five, Sasha, our Lord wants you to be discreet, chaste,
homemaker's good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word
of God may not be blasphemed. Remember that, Sasha, none

(33:37):
of you are her husband. Alexander laughed, That's not true
at all. He put a hand on the shoulder of
one of the men restraining and Tamasia married her today.
We're just helping the happy couple to their marital bed.
Then why is there a bag over her head? Why
is she fighting? Because it was a rather abrupt marriage,
Alexander frowned, and her mind is still polluted with ungodly

(34:00):
ideas about how a marriage should look. Thomas chose her.
The spirit of the Lord spoke to him when he
saw her from afar. It is right and good that
they should be wed. And he moves up to the
front tomorrow Tonight will be his first and maybe a
last chance to help the kingdom remain and expand. He
held out a seal, a golden badge in the shape

(34:21):
of a shield with a heavenly cross and blazoned on
the front. This comes from the pasta I have the
authority to grant marriages to any worthy men who wished them,
He smiled again. Sasha's heart fluttered. She felt Nauja rise
up inside her. So back away, let us pass, and
I'd suggest you'd dedicate some more time to thinking about

(34:41):
why God brought you here when your time comes. I
think you'd prefer doing this without the bag. But I'm
fine either way. Really, it was past dinner and passed
bedtime when she entered the house of Miriam. Helen was
seated at her desk. She looked up as Sasha entered,
and in an instant Sasha knew there was no use
in reporting what had happened to Anne. Helen's eyes were

(35:03):
bloodshot and puffy with tears. She knew. Sasha the older woman, said,
I have some bad news. I saw them, Sasha said,
is that what's going to happen to all of us?
Is this place just a bulbing area until we get
married off? This place is your home, Helen said, in
a voice that was almost pleading. It's here, and I'm

(35:23):
here to shepherd you to the next phase of your life.
Don't you believe I want the best for you? I do,
Sasha said, her voice softened. But Anne didn't want this,
she told me so. Didn't she deserve time to grieve?
She did, Helen said, But the Lord demands sacrifices from
all of us, sometimes more sacrifices than seem fair. Anne

(35:45):
is in a dark place now, but the Lord will
send his light to guide her. Helen seemed to straighten
up as she spoke Sasha saw resolve settle into the
older woman's flint gray eyes. So may it be, she said,
May the peace of the Lord be with you. Sasha
started to walk off. She didn't trust herself to stay
and talk. She was sure more of her anger would

(36:06):
bleed out into the conversation, and she wasn't sure what
Helen would do if she got the impression that Sasha's
loyalty had started to waver. Sasha dear, she said, and
Sasha looked back. You forgot your dinner. It's in a
bag on the table. Sasha took it in aiden's silence
as fast as decorum would allow. Then she cleaned up
for bed and headed back into the dormitories. As soon

(36:28):
as she saw the light glinting off of Susanna's open eyes,
she knew the other girl was awake. Sasha knelt down
at her bed and the two shared a long look.
Susanna held out her hand and Sasha took it. What happened,
she asked. They let us out early and drop us
off down town. Susanna's eyes were wet with tears. Anna
and I had a coffee and we visited the market.

(36:49):
It was nice, normal, almost we headed for the house
of Miriam. Once it started to get dark, and she gulped.
They were just there waiting with Miss Helen. Susannah swallowed
loudly and her eyes grew watery, but she didn't cry.
Sasha was proud of her friend. That was them, wasn't it.
Susannah asked, those men were the sons of Jacob. Sasha

(37:13):
just nodded. How long until they take me too? Chapter sixteen, Manny.
The Barracks had been a high school, once built to
serve several thousand of the Plaino area's wealthy as students.

(37:34):
The dozen huge gray buildings were centered around an enormous
courtyard that included a practice football field, several tennis courts,
and a running track. The compound was boxed in by
a high concrete wall topped in razor wire. What had
been built to defend the scions of wealth and privilege
from their jealous peers also made the former school an
ideal training ground for the Kingdom's soldiers. Manny could see

(37:56):
hundreds of young men just within the courtyard. They ran
laps are charged through a makeshift obstacle course that had
been assembled over the old football field. Manny's head throbbed
just watching them. I hope we don't have to do
too much of that ship, he thought, as he scratched
the bandage over his severed deck, At least not today.
Dozens of men sat in small groups around the courtyard,

(38:18):
reading together from books or cooling down from workouts, and
sweat drenched underclothes. Many could hear the sharp crack of
rifle fire from a shooting range nearby. The whole place
buzzed with a sort of busy, nervous energy that might
have been contagious if not for the ugly stairs Manny attracted.
You took the wrong skin to wear, Roland muttered at
him as a troop of pale, young infantrymen clumped past them.

(38:39):
Many couldn't help but notice that he seemed to be
the only person on the training field who wasn't lily white.
This might be a problem, he said. Roland nodded in response.
He spat at the ground and muttered, should I ask
skullfucker Mike to sew you into some new skin before
we left? Many frowned. I'm almost certain that's not how martyrs,

(39:00):
A rough voice cried out from behind them. Turn round, boys,
let me see a rise, Manny stopped on instinct. He
stiff at his back and turned around. Roland did the
same thing, but with a heavy sigh and a roll
of his eyes. The shout had come from a tall,
square jawed man with hair that had gone a majestic
shade of silver gray. He wore a black uniform shirt

(39:20):
with brass cross pins and the epaulets, black cargo pants,
and a big black handgun slung low on his left hip.
His name tag identified him as Ditmar. Mannie didn't know
enough about the martyr's brigades to tell the man's rank.
Roland turned as Ditmar closed the distance between them. He
stopped about a foot in from them, looked Roland up
and down, and then turned to Mannie. The fixer forced

(39:42):
himself to meet the grizzled martyr's gaze. Mannie wasn't sure
how to look like a fanatical Christian soldier. There was
no way to fake the manic glint of true commitment,
so he chose a different tack. He thought about Major Clark,
the defiant set of his jaw and the promise of
violence frozen into the ice of his blue eyes. Deshaun
Clark was not a fanatic but he was a warrior.

(40:04):
Many knew he might be able to fake that, so
he screwed up his face into his best imitation and
hoped it would pass muster well. The silver haired old
soldier growled and narrowed his eyes, but then his face
broke out into a grin. His tone lifted up an octave.
By God, he said, it's good to have you boys here.
He clapped a hand on both Manny and Roland's shoulders

(40:24):
and pulled them into an embrace. Your souls are safe now,
my boys. Thank God for your warrior hearts. Now. He
pulled back and straightened up. I'm Martyr Ditmar. Where are
you bound for intake? Manny said, with more confidence than
he felt. We just arrived to day. He glanced down
at his papers for a moment and then said, this
says we're infantry reserved a vision. Martyr Ditmar seemed surprised, really,

(40:49):
He asked, I'd have expected them to put you at
least he nodded at Manny and the storming battalion. The
storming battalion, Yes, the elder martyr nodded, you've got the
right complexion for it. That's got to be a bad sign.
Manny thought, don't press the question too much now you
may not want the answer. Instead, he put a hand

(41:10):
on Roland's shoulder. Wherever we go, I gotta stay with Aaron.
He's strong, but he took a few hits to the
head too many. I help him get around. The martyr
gave a smile that seemed genuine. Well, then he said,
you'll want to get your butts down to Cadet Processing.
It's a hundred meters down that away. He clapped them
both on the shoulders. It's good to see you here.
Smile boys, your heroes now warriors in Christ. Go forth.

(41:33):
God bless you, Martyr Manny said. Roland followed up with
his best attempt at honest enthusiasm. Yea God, he said,
in a two wide smile. We should go, Manny said quickly.
I don't want to terry on the Lord's time. That's
the spirit. Martyr Dittmar replied, I'll see you both on
the training field. They stomped off towards the Cadet Processing building,
which until recently had been the high school's administrative building.

(41:57):
There were posters for school dances and after school clubs
on walls. It looked like a student body election had
been under way when the Heavenly Kingdom captured this place.
Manny and Rowland queued up behind a half dozen other
confused looking young men and waited for their turn at
the processing desk. The intake process lasted around an hour.
They took his name as date of birth and his measurements,
and then Manny helped Aaron answer the same questions. It

(42:20):
would have been triflingly easy for anyone with a deck
and a good connection to find evidence of Manny's career
as a war zone fixer, but the martyr handling their
information wrote things down on actual paper. Manny got the
distinct impression that many of the martyrs had disabled their decks.
He also knew from experience that data speeds tended to
be pretty ship this close to the fighting. Someone will

(42:41):
check eventually, he warned himself, You'd better be fast about
this whole business. Roland stayed on his best behavior through
the whole process, although he grew twitch eer and twitch
eer as the minutes wore on. Manny wasn't sure if
the chromed man was allergic to bureaucracy or just frustrated
at having sobered up. Once they were done with the
first stage of the intake process. They were rush it
over to another room filled with folded stacks of clothing

(43:02):
and dince with the scent of moth balls. They were
shot uniforms and then bundled off to a locker room
to change. Manny was somewhat nervous about stripping down and
changing in front of Roland, a dude he barely knew.
If the post human felt the same nervousness, he didn't
show it. Roland pulled off his clothes in a couple
of seconds, revealing a body that was tight with wiry
muscle and covered in thick surgical scars. Roland started to

(43:25):
pull on his beady you pants and noticed Manny hadn't
yet started to strip. What's up, Roland asked, you smell nervous?
Manny shrugged. I guess I'm a little prude. Still must
be the Catholic in me. Don't let them hear that.
Roland knifed those fucker's all hang you with your rosary beads.
He pulled the pants up and buttoned them. Then he
paused again and looked back at Manny. You are you

(43:47):
still Catholic? He asked. Manny shook his head. No, I
don't believe, but my family does. Ah. Roland nodded, you
fake belief. Well, that's a talent. It's not a talent,
Manny said, it's a survival skill. Grow up in Texas
and you either learned to fake what you need to
fake where you learned to fight. Someone knocked on the door.

(44:08):
You ready yet, a voice called out to them. Almost,
Manny responded, and then he started to strip his clothing off.
A few minutes and a change of clothes later, they
arrived on the field where their training unit, twenty four
sweat drenched young men were doing push ups. Manny was
surprised to see that these martyrs, at least weren't all white.
There was one black man right in the middle of
the group. It took Manny a second to recognize that

(44:29):
the instructor drilling them was Detmar, the man they'd met
on their way to the base. He broke into a
broad smile when he saw them. God's will is truly magnificent,
is it not? And then he nodded down to the ground,
fallt and join us, lads. Let's see what you've got.
Manny and Roland dropped down and joined the unit. In
another set of push ups. If Roland had any trouble
at all with the workout regimen, he didn't show it.

(44:50):
The chrombed man barely sweated, and Manny had a feeling
that his sweat was more for show than the result
of an actual biological process. Even with the show, it
was obvious to every one that Roland was not having
any trouble with the exercises. God's blessed us with a
new sampson, Ditmar said. A hundred or so push ups
in the rest of the men, Manny included had collapsed
from the exertion, but Roland just kept going for a while.

(45:12):
They all sat there, huffing and exhausted and watching him go.
Ditmar smiled and shook his head, a little awed at
the sight. Finally, he waved for Roland to stop. You've
made your point, son, and we're all blessed to have
you here with us. Now get up, all of you
and sit around me. Manny stood, shook the sore news
from his arms, and moved to take a seat in
the semicircle of young martyrs. Once they were all properly positioned,

(45:35):
Ditmar squatted down and cast his eyes around the group.
Settling on each of them in turn. I don't know
how you all got here, he said, in a quiet,
somber voice, but I know what brought each of you here,
the spirit of our Lord and savior, Jesus Christ. He
cleared his throat. Now, he said, very soon, you'll all
be going into battle, sooner than i'd prefer. We don't

(45:57):
have time for the kind of training you boys deserve.
You'll be fighting against men with more experience, better weaponry.
It's a scary thought, but I'll tell you all right now,
if you go into that battle with the same blind
faith that brought you here, you'll do just fine. God
won't let any other end come to pass. It was
dark by the time ditmar led them all into the

(46:17):
dining facility. The sight of the high school cafeteria set
off a surprising pang of nostalgia in Manny's heart. He
hadn't enjoyed school, but something about the gray, fabric colored walls,
the colorful posters, and the dozens of identical faux wood
tables made him long for a simpler time. For a second,
he was almost able to forget where he was, what
he was doing, and pretend this was just another day

(46:38):
in school. That allusion was broken when he looked at
his fellow martyrs. Hundreds of them had filed into the cafeteria,
dressed in a motley assortment of battle dress uniforms from
the old U. S Army, the Republic of Texas, and
even the Mexican Army. Most of them were young, not
even into their twenties. Around a quarter of them, though,
were old for soldiers in their forties or fifties. There

(46:59):
was no mill a tarry discipline in their appearance. Many
of the men had beards or long, unruly hair. These
fox aren't soldiers, Roland whispered to him as they took
their seats at one of the fake wooden tables on
the left side of the room. This is what canned
father looks like. Kid. The heavenly Kingdom just expects these
people to die. Man. He felt a surge of anxiety.
He was sure someone else must have heard Rowland, but

(47:20):
when he glanced around, he saw their table mates were
all deep in conversation with each other. Most of them,
at least Jonathan, the only other non white person in
their training unit, seemed to have been excluded. The other
soldiers leaned away from him, the focus of the table
seemed to be a tall, square jawed young man with
a Georgian twang to his accent Martyrs. A loud voice
cried from a podium at the center of the cafeteria.

(47:43):
The sound of hundreds of bodies on hundreds of chairs
turning to face the noise filled the room. The speaker
was a tall, painfully thin man, clad in a long
black robe. An enormous wooden cross hung from his neck.
His hair was greasy, unruly, and shock white. He had
a patchy beard and the overall look of an unkimpt madman.
But then he spoke, My brother said, is a blessed

(48:03):
thing to have you all here to day. He began
in a voice that was little more than a whisper.
There was a raw rasp to his voice. He sounded
almost hoarse. Something about that quality drew Manny's attention. In
the coming days, your instructors will prepare you for the
great battles that lie ahead. You will be given the
best arms and armorah Kingdom can provide. But just by

(48:23):
being here, each of you has shown you already have
a weapon more powerful than any tool in our armory.
Faith in God Almighty, his voice raised in pitch. Now
it was still raspi and horse, but it picked up
a sharp, booming quality. He spoke faster, his cheeks grew red.
Put on the armor of God, he cried, And you
will stand firm against the schemes of the devil. Be

(48:46):
strong and courageous. Do not panic before the enemy, for
in every battle, the Lord your God will go ahead
of you. He will never fail you nor abandon you.
At this, several of the men around the room pounded
their fists on the tables. One man in the back
let out a whoop. These outbursts inspired other men to
cry out praise God. Manny glanced around, trying to gauge

(49:07):
if more or less than half of the room was
joining in. He didn't want to stay quiet, if that
was going to look weird. But then the pastor went quiet.
A sense of anticipation filled the room. There were about
four hundred cadets all dining together in this shift, and
of course the officer in charge, a tall, gangly red
head with no chin but a strangely beautiful baritone voice,
led them in prayer before the meal. Manny repeated the

(49:30):
words after him, but he didn't hear them. He did
have to elbow Rowland once when he saw the big post.
Human wasn't chanting along with the other soldiers. Just then,
a pair of big doors to the left of the
stage swung open. Ditmar walked out with a hefty brown
canvas bag over his shoulder. He was followed by an
armed guard and then two men in shackles. The captives
wore striped white prison pajamas, and they both looked the

(49:51):
worse for wear. One of them, a middle aged black man,
looked familiar. Many thought he must be a captured sd
F fighter. His lip looked as if it had re
simply been split, and there was a nasty gash on
his forehead. He kept his head down and his shoulders slumped.
His posture was one of complete resignation. The other man
was Manny's heart skipped a beat oscar. He'd been beaten too,

(50:13):
although not as badly as the soldier. He looked not
so much frightened as bewildered, starving, and probably reeling from
one or more head injuries. Dude Roland nudged Manny's rib
cage and whispered to him the fuck. Many realized his
masket slipped. He let himself stare in horror rather than
the excitement evident in everyone else's face. No one else
seemed to have noticed yet, they were all focused on

(50:35):
the prisoners. But many forced a grim smile onto his
face and tried to look at least like he was
deeply satisfied. An armed martyr prodded Oscar and the stf
man in their backs with his rifle and ushered them
up onto the stage. Dead silence reigned over the cafeteria.
No one spoke. It took Manny a few seconds to
realize he was actually holding his breath. Once the captives

(50:56):
were up on stage, the armed martyrs pulled them down
to their knees. Did Mars at his bag down and
zipped it and pulled out a wooden rod about two
feet in length and as thick around as Manny's forearm.
Warriors of God, the priest in toned in a low whisper.
Manny felt himself lean into the man's words, even as
dread pickled the pit of his stomach. These men appointed
themselves enemies of our heavenly kingdom, foes of God. He

(51:19):
raised a hand up to Ditmar. His hand shook, but
not out of fear. He positively vibrated with excitement. Who
among you will take up the rod and punish these men?
The chair scraping floor, sound of someone standing up very
quickly rose behind him. Many glanced back and saw that
one of the men from his cadet group had been
the first to stand. He was tall, with broad, thick
shoulders and chest muscles that spoke of a youth spent

(51:41):
laboring in the field. He had thin, dirty blonde hair,
a thick jaw, and blue eyes that shone with excitement.
What's your name, Martyr, the priest asked Eric Friedman, Sir?
The young man cried back, Martyr Freedman, Ditmark cried out,
as he held the rod up. Come forward and do
the Lord's work. The young man walked forward, stepped up
onto the stage, and took the rod from Ditmar's hand.

(52:03):
He glanced down at the captives. His eyes passed over
Oscar and lingered on the battered black soldier. Strike a
blow for the lord. The priest whispered, and Martyr Freedman obliged.
His first swing was weak and sure and poorly aimed.
It struck the soldier on his shoulder. He didn't cry out,
Martyr Freedman's second strike was harder, suer. He hit the
soldier right in the gash on his forehead, and the

(52:24):
man dropped with a muffled cry. Eric hit him again
and again and again. Ditmar grabbed another rod from the
bag and held it out. Stand up, men of God.
The priest's voice rose again to a pitch so high
it was almost a shriek. Step up and be the
hands of justice. Just for a moment Oscar saw him. Surprise,
then confusion, and then anger passed over the stringer's face

(52:46):
in the space of about a second. Manny didn't want
to think about what Oscar saw in his face, and
then men rushed the stage, and Oscar disappeared in the
swarm of martyrs to be rushing to share in the beatings.
Roland took the opportunity provided by the else to lean
back and whisper a question to Manny. It's going on, guy,
I know that guy, the one on the left. Manny
whispered back, he's one of my stringers. He works for me.

(53:09):
He's my friend. Roland nodded and then stood up and
rushed up to the stage. By the time he reached it,
a dozen other martyrs had joined Eric and beating the
two captives. There was blood on the floor, blood on
the sticks, and blood splattering the martyr's new uniforms. Oscar
cried out from each blow. It sounded like his mouth
was full of blood. And then Roland took a rod
from Ditmar's hand and in the space of a second,

(53:30):
brought it down on both men's skulls with dull, meaty thuds.
The soldiers went still, The screaming stopped, and every eye
in the room turned to Roland. The chromed man looked
out at the crowd. There was an agonizing moment of silence,
and then Manny knew what he had to do. Praise God,
he screamed out. The room joined in, and soon a
chorus of cheers filled the cafeteria. After that, Roland was

(53:54):
everyone's favorite martyr. Once the men's bodies were dragged off
the stage and dinner began, the martyrs could barely tain
their admiration for his strength. That was incredible. Eric said,
I can't wait to go into battle with you. What
did you do before, A young man with a thick
Oklahoma twang asked, from the way you cracked those skulls
out of guess you've been doing that for years. Roland

(54:14):
gave short, noncommittal responses. His taciturn attitude didn't stop the
other martyrs from talking about him with supreme glee. Their
words sickened Manny, but their focus on Roland gave him
a chance to breathe and mourn and avoid looking over
at the stage while Ditmar's men dragged Oscar's body away.
By the time the excitement had subsided and dinner had ended,
Manny felt like he could just barely make it to

(54:35):
his bunk without breaking down. He lacked behind Roland and
the others as they all filed into the barracks. Manny
was grateful for Roland's ability to draw attention, until during
the walk that young black martyr sidled up to Manny
and introduced himself. I'm Jonathan, he said, and I'm honored
to meet you. Why, Manny asked, I think you and
I were the only ones who weren't cheering during that ah,

(54:59):
Manny said with a nod. He took a careful look
at Jonathan's face. The other man's chubby cheeks and soft
smile seemed almost calculated to make him look guileless. Whatever
he says he's one of them. Be careful. I understand
why it was necessary, Manny said, but I don't have
to like it. Neither do I. Jonathan said, we have
to fight them. We're fighting for God here, after all,

(55:21):
but we don't have to become monsters. Manny nodded, he
didn't say anything. Jonathan took that as an invitation to
say more. I think we're going to have a harder
time here than the others, he said, and gestured to
the very Caucasian crowd ahead of them. We've got a
lot to overcome here, but I think that just means
God will shower more glory on us for the effort.

(55:42):
Manny was proud that, in his sorrowful and half panicked state,
he managed to avoid shouting what the fuck at Jonathan. Instead,
he matched the martyr smile and just said praise God.
Their next morning started with an hour of calisthenics. The
workout was strenuous, but Manny actually joined it. The speed
with which they were dragged outside and forced into motion

(56:03):
kept him from picturing Oscar's face for a while. After
the workout, they dove into the real meat of the day,
a trip to the gun range. It had been set
up on what had once been a marching band's practice field.
Dozens of vaguely human shaped targets had been cut out
of sheet metal and set up at varying intervals behind
a crude sandbag line. Their group of about two dozen
new recruits were each issued weapons of varying quality. Manny

(56:26):
received a jankie old kalashnikov that rattled like a Morocca
Rowland was given an almost knew G thirty six assault rifle.
The range instructor was a one legged old martyr with
a prodigious belly and an equally overgrown white beard. He
walked them through the basics of how to operate a
variety of different assault rifles you can't know what weapon
you'll end up needing to use, and then set them

(56:46):
up on the sandbag line and told them to start firing.
Manny took aim at a target around a hundred feet
in front of him. It was hard to tell if
he hit it or not. Several other men had aimed
at the same target. Again, Manny got the feeling that
the purpose of this training was not to make them marksman.
Basic familiarity was all the Heavenly Kingdom had time to provide. Roland,
of course, proved a fabulous shot. He stitched a smiley

(57:08):
face and bullet holes across four of the metal targets,
and earned genuine praise from the instructor. My godson, you've
got a gift. This only increased Roland's social cachet with
the martyrs. They crowded around him during the walk to
the next activity of the day, lunch in a lecture
on assault tactics. This was held in a little concrete amphitheater,
something that had presumably once served the school's drama department.

(57:31):
Manny tried to sit down next to Rowland, but Eric
and a gaggle of his friends settled around the post human. First,
they babbled excitedly to him. Manny wasn't sure what they
were saying, but every time he glanced back, Roland looked
absolutely miserable. Manny wound up in the back, seated next
to Jonathan. The young martyr, patted his leg. Don't worry, brother,
he said. It's gonna be tough for us to earn

(57:52):
their respect, but once we're all out in the field together,
they'll stop caring about your skin. You are sure about that, Manny,
asked happy he was never going to up in the
field with any of these people. Of course, I am,
Jonathan said, I grew up in Atlanta. You know, I
knew it was going to be rough coming out here.
But that's the sacrifice we make for God. I know
he's going to bring this nation back together. Tell you

(58:13):
the truth. I'm honored to be a part of that.
Jonathan's eyes shone when he spoke he's a true believer.
Manny realized there's not a doubt in his mind that
he's doing the right thing. That was scary, and things
got scarier still when their next instructor stepped into the amphitheater.
The man was old and grizzled too. He had both
his legs, but his right arm was missing below the elbow,

(58:34):
and a jagged scar ran up the left side of
his face. The skin on most of his forehead was
bald and modeled as if he'd been badly burned. Afternoon, boys,
and God bless you. I'm Monicauda's Today you're going to
learn how to assault a fortified position. Most of the
strategies who walked them through began and ended with the
application of shoulder fired rockets. And incendiary grenades. Manny couldn't

(58:56):
help but notice that no time was spent talking about
how to avoid civil and casualties. He wasn't even sure
specialist carruthers knew how to pronounce the word civilian. Remember
what it says in the Book of Samuel Boys, the
older man drawled. Now go and strike and devote to
destruction all that you have. Do not spare them, but
kill both man and woman, child and infant, ox and sheep,

(59:17):
camel and donkey. He laughed, which made a few of
the young martyrs comfortable enough to laugh too. I don't
expect you'll run into any camels or donkeys out in Austin,
but there will be men, women, children, and infants. If
they stand in your way, they all equally deserve to
be purged. Manny didn't like the eagerness he saw in
the faces of his fellow students. The pit in his

(59:37):
stomach grew throughout the day. While martyr carruthers explained how
to use the various heavy munitions they might be called
upon to deploy. There weren't enough rockets or mortars for
them to actually train on any of those things. Manny
wasn't sure how good a gist anyone really got. He
wondered how much that would matter when these men took
to the field. He ate ravenously at dinner. Thankfully there
were no executions that day, but Martyr did mar did

(01:00:00):
take the stage again and announced that the busses were
ready to take any interested recruits down to the main
drag for a couple of hours of what passed for
R and R. One of the older martyrs handed everyone
ration cards and explained they were good for either a
cup of coffee or tea, or a small amount of
food from one of the few stores that had opened
back up. Fucking tea, Roland grumbled into Manny's ear as

(01:00:20):
they headed out for the buses. That's what these jumped
up Puritans consider a recreational beverage this fucking country. Manny
had noticed the post human growing increasingly jittery in irritable
throughout the day. He'd seen Roland cautiously cough up another
small bag of pills right before lunch That had sated
him for a while, but considering his post human metabolism,
many thought he had to be pretty close to sober.

(01:00:42):
I am so fucking lucid. I can't stand it, Roland muttered,
what is it with you people and being high all
the time? Manny whispered back, can you stand being sober
for a few days? Not? Am I gonna help it?
Roland said. He pointed to his head. There's just too
much going on in there, man, too much input. It's
like my whole body it. But I can't scratch ah,
Manny said, since he wasn't sure what else to say.

(01:01:05):
The bus hit downtown Plano after twenty minutes or so.
It wasn't an impressive site. There were maybe a dozen
little shops in one cafe open, plus a pretty sad
looking farmer's market. He could see no signs of any bars,
any clubs, anything that even vaguely resembled nightlife. The main
drag was crowded with people, throngs of soldiers and young
women in long dresses and new immigrants into the heavenly Kingdom.

(01:01:27):
Where should we go first, Manny asked. As soon as
they'd filed off the bus, well, Roland grunted, unless you're
in the mood for shake off for your some rude vegetables,
I'd say we check out that gallows. Manny had avoided
looking too long at the gallows. It was empty now,
but just staring at it made him feel sick. There
was something sinister and unsettling about the ground beneath it.
It was as if he could feel the death radiating outwards.

(01:01:50):
What could we possibly learn there, the Big Man shrugged.
Not much. But if they wind up hanging anyone tonight,
I might be able to sniff out where they're keeping
the prisoners. That'd be useful data. Well, I'm gonna be
useless for that, Manny said, What should I do? Oh?
Man grabbed some coffee? What Roland locked eyes with him.
He didn't do that often. His gaze was normally as

(01:02:10):
shifty and juddery as the rest of him. Look, kid,
you've done a great job above and beyond the collie
and a duty or whatever, and you're good company too.
But I got half a dozen satellites worth a sensory
equipment in my brain and hundreds of wee bitty microscopic
robots floating around the air feeding me news. There's really
not much for you to do here. Chill out, find
whatever passes for relaxation here and do it. I'll get

(01:02:31):
you when it's time to go. Manny started to protest,
but then he thought, oh the hell, he's right, I'm useless.
I've earned a cup of flavorless gringo coffee. So we
thanked Roland and headed off in the direction of the
strip's functioning coffee house, the Cafe Clement. It looked like
it was less crowded than the others. As he reached
for the door, some one slammed into him. She was

(01:02:51):
a young blonde, younger than Manny at any rate. She
wore baggy surgical scrubs. Her jaw was tight and clenched.
Her brown eyes were wide with fear, and there were
deep eggs under them. Oh oh my, she said, I'm
so sorry, sir. Please let me. It's okay. Manny said,
no damage done. Are you all right? You look terrified.
I'm just just trying to avoid someone. It's nothing serious.

(01:03:13):
Manny wasn't sure why, but he pulled the ration cards
he'd been given out of his pocket and offered one
to the stranger. Here, if you want, we can grab
a table together and I'll sit with my back to
the door. You're not big, I can block you. She
looked surprised and a little hesitant, but after a few
blinks she nodded and said, I actually appreciate that a lot.
Thank God for you, sir. Oh yeah, Manny agreed, praise him.

(01:03:36):
They sat and ordered coffee. The young woman kept craning
her neck around Manny to peek at the door behind them. Look,
I'm not going to ask what's up with you? But
can I get your name? At least that might make
this less awkward. I'm man U Emmanuel Manny for short, Sasha,
she said, I just got here a few days ago.
You this is my second day. She looked surprised. I

(01:03:58):
wouldn't have guessed what with the form, he laughed. It
a turns out they just hand these to anyone whole
hold a gun. I didn't even really have a choice. Well,
if that's where you wound up, I'm sure it's where
the Lord wants you. Praise God for that. She didn't
seem like she was joking, but there was something about
her tone and the way her jaw and never unclenched
that made Manny suspect she was a little less than

(01:04:18):
convinced about her own words. For the next few minutes,
they talked in between SIPs of mediocre coffee. He learned
she was from the American Federation and enough of a
true believer that she'd smuggled herself into the Heavenly Kingdom.
She didn't seem like a zella though. More than anything,
she seemed scared. How do you like it here? He
finally asked, Is it what you'd expected? She didn't respond

(01:04:40):
for quite a while. Instead, she stared into his eyes.
Manny stared back. It was a strange feeling. She must
have been trying to search out whether he was trustworthy
or trying to trick her into revealing her disloyalty. He
maintained eye contact and tried not to seem like a
member of whatever the Heavenly Kingdom called their secret police.
Apparently it worked. Of course, I'm happy here in God's Kingdom,

(01:05:01):
she smiled, an empty smile. I've been blessed to meet
so many dedicated people, but um, I've also met some
people who am I am well, she coughed. Not everyone
here seems to have the Lord in their heart. Manny
almost laughed at the irony and her admitting that to him,
but he kept his mouth shut and just nodded. Sasha
took a long sip of her coffee. He felt a

(01:05:21):
little bad for staring. She was very pretty, but she
was also pretty young, and of course she'd volunteered to
join a theocratic murder state. That was probably another reason
he shouldn't get too attached. So anyway, Sasha explained, I've
run into some men I don't like very much, and
they keep finding me when I get off from my
shift at the hospital. I'm sure they're waiting outside the

(01:05:41):
house of where I'm staying right now. I just don't
want to deal with that again. Well, Manny smiled his
most charming smile. I'm happy to help you wait them out.
I've got another hour at least before the buses take
us back to the barracks. And so for a while
they just talked. She told him about her work in
the hospital, and he tried to say as little as
possible about his two shitty days as a martyr. Sasha

(01:06:04):
didn't seem to mind that he didn't have much to
say about himself. Manny got the feelings she was just
happy to have someone to talk with. Most of her
words passed over him until she mentioned something about a prisoner.
She's from one of the road, people from some moving
city with an obscene name, and she's pregnant. So I'll
be seeing her again tomorrow, probably to do a more
thorough examination. I feel weird about it. She was so strange,

(01:06:26):
so different from anyone I've met, but I really don't
like Wait, a prisoner is this at the hospital? Sasha
seemed confused by that question, and Manny worried he might
have overplayed his hand. Why do you The rest of
her question was cut off by the sound of a
bullhorn outside. Manny couldn't make out most of what was
being said until he heard prisoners and SDF in an

(01:06:46):
electronically distorted Southern drawl. Oh no, Sasha moaned, what what
are they talking about? It's another execution. Manny stood up
and stepped towards the door. He had to see who
it was. Even wore he got there, a terrible feeling
had started to boil up in the pit of his gut.
He pushed the door open, jogged towards the gallows, and

(01:07:06):
pushed his way back through the crowd. He could see
Roland standing twenty feet off to the left from the
wooden platform, but Manny's eyes were focused on the four
men and two women in shackles at the foot of
the gallows. Five of them were strangers. The sixth was Mr.
Coron Chapter seventeen Roland. Roland smelled the execution before it started.

(01:07:36):
There's been a lot of strong smells in downtown Plano
when he arrived. Gunpowder and sour, fierceweat, the acrid stink
of anxiety, and the warm, wet odors of grief and confusion.
He'd smelled the stale reek of military rations, the sharp
pang of anemia, and the boiling hot testosterone that wafted
off the martyrs like a jet stream. But a half
hour into his time downtown, something else had drifted over

(01:07:58):
the packed masses of refugees in pilgrims and militiamen. It
was hard to define a bit of tension, a bit
of anticipation. The odor was faint enough to suggest something unconscious,
a collective emotion, the aggregate scent of a crowd of
people who weren't consciously aware of how they felt. There
was no neurotransmitter, no pheromone he could identify. In particular.

(01:08:18):
This scent was more elusive. He was only able to
lock it down through the memory fragments that triggered col
gray sky, a biting chill in the air. Hundreds of
men and women bundled up, clustered around barrel fires, everyone talking,
excitement in their voices. Anxiety on the air mingled with
the gun oil, and anticipation something was about to happen.
A few seconds later, the scent of anxious anticipation started

(01:08:41):
to rise. Roland heard the deep bouncing thrumb of heavy
rubber wheels on pavement. His hind brain tied the sound
to a particular species of obsolete armored personnel carrier originally
manufactured in Bulgaria. After following its route for several seconds,
his hind brain guessed the a PC was bound for
the main square. Roland spent the net a few minutes,
jockeying for a good position close to the gallows. He

(01:09:03):
wasn't sure that's where the convoy was headed. It seemed
like a good guest, though, and he was quickly proven
right when the APC pulled up to a stop just
a hundred feet away. The crowd stopped and gawked as
the heavy doors slid open. Soldiers in full body armor
stepped out, dragging six men and women and honest to God,
manacles and chains out into the dying light. The captives
were all l stf. Roland didn't even have to make

(01:09:25):
an educated guess on that one. The heavenly Kingdom had
made sure to address them. In their tattered and bloodstained uniforms.
They were all of them emaciated and broken looking. The
evidence of torture was so clear that Roland's enhanced eyes
weren't even necessary. The captives had broken, bleeding finger nails,
black eyes, painful limps, and feet that looked like they
could barely stand to touch the ground. One of the martyrs,

(01:09:48):
a tall man wearing a red beret instead of a
combat helmet, strode ahead of the group. He had a
voice hamp in one hand. He raised the other up
in the air in a prayerful gesture that was matched
by most of the crowd. Brothers are the sistas, the
martyr's voice boomed. Today the Lord and his loyal soldiers
have delivered unto you a blessing it The crowd tightened
around Rowland. He could see here feel as people rushed

(01:10:10):
out from the cafes and shops to watch. The fear
and excitement was so thick in the air. Roland was
sure even unmodified humans could have sensed it. Here we
have six prisoners from the s DF the martyr began.
These men and women were all captured in the last week.
Rather than accept their defeat, they chose to fight as
insurgents against the heavenly kingdom. God and his martyrs are merciful,

(01:10:32):
but these sinners have spat on that mercy. Now it
is our privilege to execute upon them the judgment written
this honor. Have all his saints praise ye the Lord.
A ragged cheer went up from the crowd. Many of
the assembled sounded less than enthusiastic, at least to Roland's ears,
but there were still dozens and dozens of voices full
of reckless hate. The prisoners marched forward with their escort,

(01:10:54):
every nearer to the gallows. Roland's ear tingled, and he
sensed Manny's presence out in the street. Now the kid
smelled afraid, with a faint, fading tinge of permonal arousal humh.
Roland backed away and escaped the main press of the crowd.
In a few seconds he was behind Manny, and he
put a hand on the fixer's back. The young man
jumped and then shot rolland a furious look hell Manny

(01:11:15):
caught himself and instead pointed up to the line of
doomed men and women. Roland, I know that. Hey, a
girl ran up to them. She smelled scared too, but
the scent was much deeper on her, sunken into her skin.
She'd been scared for quite some time. She seemed to
know Manny, and he definitely knew her Sasha, Manny said,
I'm sorry, I just needed to. He paused, shook his head,

(01:11:36):
and then put a hand on Roland's shoulder. This is
my comrade, Martyr Erin. We fled here together once the
SDF retreated from Farmer's branch. Aaron, This is Sasha. It's
good to meet you, Martyr Aaron, she said, and flashed
him an anxious smile. I'm so glad God's grace has
brought us all together. Oh yeah, Roland said, in his
most convincing voice. God soa so good. I'm really just

(01:12:00):
he gestured toward the gallows. I'm a psych to see this. Oh,
look crossed over her face, disgust mixed with building anxiety.
She was dressed to play the part of the good
Christian woman, her hair done up in a tasteful bun,
her face unadorned by make up, her sleeves long and
her clothing baggy, but her scent didn't lie. It suggested
she was pretty far from all in on this whole

(01:12:20):
heavenly Kingdom thing. You're ah not excited to see God's justice,
Rollin asked the young woman frowned and shook her head.
I understand the necessity of such brute of such extreme measures,
but I don't have to like it, Manny, do you?
She started to ask Manny something, but the young man
broke off from their little group and darted forward towards

(01:12:41):
the gallows. Oh, Sasha finished in surprise. I'll h I'll
go check on him. Roland said, it's a probably best
if you wait here. Huh. She looked confused, but she nodded.
Roland followed behind Manny and caught up to him. About
four people deep into the growing crowd around the scaffold.
The fixer's eyes were locked on one of the stf prisoners,
a middle aged man with a prominent black mustache and

(01:13:02):
a look of courageous resignation in his brown eyes. He
stood in the middle of the gallows, calm as a
stone in the ocean, while one of the martyrs fitted
a noose around his neck, Manny, Roland said, that's Mr Barrowne.
Manny said, someone you know. Then Manny swallowed and nodded
his head. Tears threatened at the corners of his watery eyes.
Roland felt like it would probably be a good idea

(01:13:24):
to get the kid away from the gallows before he
did something stupid. Roland's hind brain helpfully informed him that
there were only around sixty armed men in the whole square,
but he also knew there were one hundred and eighty
three armed men within a mile of their current position.
If ship started now, it wouldn't end for a while.
Roland put a hand on Manny's shoulder. We have to
do something, Manny said, What do you want me to do?

(01:13:46):
Roland asked, Rush up there, beat that red barred fun
I get with an own side arm, and then cock
punched the rest of him into submission. You can beat them,
Manny said, yeah. Roland nodded. But if I do, that's
the end of the mission and probably the end of
those hostages. I can't save your buddy, and you probably
even that girl if she wants to come. But the
Kingdom's going to assume some monster man from rolling fucked

(01:14:08):
just terrorism them. They'll bury those captives too deep for
us to find. And then Austin's as fucked as a
blind pussy in a dick forest. A man the crowd
turned and stared at Roland volume. Man volume. Roland guessed
he'd heard just the tail end of his last sentence.
The word pussy had probably piqued his ears. Before the
man could say anything, Roland pointed towards the gallows and

(01:14:28):
let out aloud whoop, followed by a Praise God, Praise God.
The inadvertent eavesdropper started cheering along with him and turned
back to the impending execution. Roland turned back to Manny.
The boy was quiet, his face controlled, but fat tears
ran down his cheeks and his shoulders shook with silent sobs.
Roland directed him back away from the worst of the crowd.

(01:14:49):
Mr Pirrone baked the cake for my twelfth birthday. Manny whispered.
He showed us Monty Python, he dropped us off at
soccer practice. Manny had started to babble. He smelled on
the edge of an outright pa nick attack. Roland's hind
brains started to identify potential improvised weaponry options among the crowd.
He settled on a small, thick set man He's got
a real denscranium, good weight distribution. He'll make a great club.

(01:15:12):
Roland shook himself out of it. Then he tried to
shake Manny out of it by literally shaking him by
the shoulders. Hey, listen, you're friend up there. It's gonna
die or a lot of other people are going to die.
Those are the two options. I know it sucks, I
know it's ship, but we cannot fix this. If you
stay calm, though, we can fix something worse. Do you
understand me. Manny's eyes came unglazed, The flow of tears slowed,

(01:15:35):
then stopped. It was an impressive feed of willpower. Most
people didn't have that kind of control over their emotions.
Roland had to guess Manny's work as a fixer had
at least prepared him to function in the middle of
a waking nightmare. Okay, the kid said, but I have
to watch. Roland wanted to argue, but one look at
Manny's eyes made it clear that arguing wouldn't do any good,

(01:15:56):
So instead he stood there next to Manny and kept
his hand on the boy a shoulder until the terrible
thing was done. It was as ghastly as these things
always were. Most of the crowd cheered every snapneck, every
jerk of a dying soldier's legs. Shock Waves of memory
racked Roland's mind at the sight. He felt warm spring
hair blow across his cold chest. He saw a small
sea of familiar strangers, men and women he'd known once

(01:16:18):
upon a bloodier day. He felt a big gun kick
in his hands. He felt a warm splash of blood
across his chest and face. He heard the heavy final
thump of a tiny body heading the ground. He saw Topaz,
She looked ill. He saw skullfucker Mike with a hand
on her shoulder. He heard Jim's voice, make sure the
camera's catch this next one. Jim cried, We've got an

(01:16:39):
honest to god Shaney with us today. Back in the present,
Roland watched as Manny's friends turn came around. Manny swallowed,
his face went pale. Tears streamed down the boy's face,
and Roland felt a sudden, peculiar urge to bury him
in a hug. He did not do that, though. Roland
just stood still with a firm hand on Manny's shoulder
while they tightened the noose around mister Perrone's neck and

(01:16:59):
dropped him down own to hang until he was dead,
dead dead. Roland was proud of how straight Manny stood,
how the boy held back from sobbing, and how once
the sad spectacle was over, Manny turned back around and
headed towards the Christian girl, Sasha. She still stood where
they had left her. Roland could tell she'd been crying too,
although she'd taken some pains to describe it. She was
hard to get a read on that one. She struck

(01:17:21):
him as one of the faithful, but she didn't strike
him as a nut. Maybe she just gotten suckered into
this awful place. Roland could surely understand that. He was
pretty sure he'd been suckered into dumber things. Praise God,
she said, with hesitation. Praise God, Manny responded. Roland didn't
say much. She gave him a look, but not an
angry one. That was she locked eyes with Manny. Roland

(01:17:44):
was pretty sure she'd blocked the rest of the world out.
She must have seen the signs of his tears too.
She coughed a little and continued, that was awful. I
know it's necessary, but I'll never stop hating that. It's
a good thing to hate, Manny said. And then, look,
we you have to get back to base. Curfuse coming
up soon. But if you want to hide from those
undesirables tomorrow, I'll be waiting outside the cafe. They kept talking,

(01:18:10):
but what they said was beyond Roland's interest. He was
busy listening as the prison convoy drove off. Now that
he knew the sound of the prisoner transport a PC
urally tracing it back to its origin point was child's play.
Aaron Manny's voice jerked his attention back to the conversation
happening in front of him. We should probably go, Manny said.
The busses will leave soon. Oh ship, surely, surely right, right,

(01:18:34):
surely right, we should go. Roland smiled at Sasha. It
was lovely to meet you. Good evening. He put a
hand on Manny's shoulder, and together they headed off to
the buses. Manny only stopped twice to cry. Manny didn't
say much the rest of the night. Roland was proud
of him for holding back his tears during the bus ride,
and they walked to the barracks, the kid broke down

(01:18:55):
as soon as he got into bed, of course, but
he kept his sobs silent, and Roland was pretty sure
none of the other roots noticed. It helped that they
were all exhausted. At the end of the day, Roland
puked up, then popped a handful of ambient and percocets
and washed them down with a tall glass of the
beer he'd brewed in his own guts. He offered Manny some,
but the boy declined, so Roland had a second glass,
and then a third. It wasn't enough to get him wasted,

(01:19:17):
but the cocktail of drugs did a tolerable job of
leading him into unconsciousness. He drifted off to sleep an
hour or so after the rest of the men in
the barracks. The next day was more army style bullshit
push ups and wind sprints in a big dumb obstacle course.
Roland had to be real careful to act challenged. As
the day went on, he instructed his body to elevate
his blood pressure and temperature, to flush his face red

(01:19:40):
with blood, and to send enough sweat from his pores
to make a passable imitation of exertion. It was tedious
and he hated it, but the first half of the
day went by pretty fast. Then it was time for
a close quarters firefight drill. The men were given actual
rifles sans ammunition, and divided up into assault teams. They
spent the next five hours taking turns defending or attacking
different rooms in an old apartment complex that had been

(01:20:01):
commandeered by the Heavenly Kingdom. There was a lot of
shouting from instructors who sure as ship wanted the recruits
to think they knew more about urban warfare than they did.
At the end of one particularly long set of door
bridging drills, one of the instructors dropped to his knees
and started chanting in tongues. He seemed to be celebrating
that one of his slowest squads had finally nailed a
textbook entry. Roland wasn't sure what the hell to make

(01:20:22):
of it. The man almost smelled like he was having
a schizophrenic break. The heavy wash of neurotransmitters wafting off
him made it clear this wasn't just some gesture for show.
He seemed legitimately overcome with joy. Other soldiers and even
a couple of instructors started kneeling around him. They were
all chanting in some strange language. The first instructor kept
repeating what sounded like hom noshkalashka, hom nosh kalashka. Roland's

(01:20:45):
heidenbrain knew a lot of languages, but this sounded like
nonsense to him. He noticed the speech patterns of each
chanting man were pretty consistent with American English. The actual
words were gibberish, though, and many grabbed him by the
shoulder and pushed gently down. Roland took the hint and
then took knee. The kids started to chant in a
low voice Latish killa, josepha Tinchala. It was more gibberish,

(01:21:06):
but Roland followed suit. He started to spit out nonsense
of his own, and a tone low enough that it
didn't rise above the din of chanting maniacs. Manny's strategy,
he realized, was to make big, exaggerated mouth motions without
actually speaking at a high volume. It made him look
right without drawing any attention. The whole weird scene went
on for a little over two minutes. Eventually, the instructor
stopped chanting and lay on his back, sweaty and spent.

(01:21:29):
The other soldiers seemed to have ended their fits in
the same way. Roland could tell from their heart rates
and body temperature that about half of the men had
been faking it, just like he and Manny. The humid
stink of guilt was heavy in the air. Roland's heart
went out for them. It must be agony to believe
so hard and something so dumb that you'd castigate yourself
for not buying into it enough. After that they filed

(01:21:49):
into the mess hall. They said their prayers ate their dinners,
and then queued up for the buses downtown. The ride
was uneventful, and the instant their feet hit the square,
Manny went off to find Sasha. Roland shook his head
in appreciation for the all consuming power of human desire,
and then bounded off to check out the presumed location
of the jail. It was about a three mile jog.
At full speed, Roland could have cleared the distance in

(01:22:10):
a few minutes, but a low profile was the name
of the game. He stuck to a fast walk and
kept to the shadows and alleys as best he could.
Plano hadn't been a very dense city before the martyrs
had taken over, so there were a lot of times
where he was basically out in the open. He had
to trust that his uniform, in the general state of
chaos and the newly founded Kingdom would obscure him. This
was the first look he'd gotten of the Kingdom on foot,

(01:22:30):
Roland decided he didn't care much for it. There was
a great deal of foot and vehicle traffic, but most
of the people seemed to be either soldiers or refugees
without anywhere else to go. He passed two checkpoints where
twitchy looking martyrs performed data scans on decks and personal
hard drives. He even saw one soldier sorting through paperback
books in the trunk of some poor fox car. Roland
noticed several white vans with black crosses painted on the side.

(01:22:53):
They cruised the streets, clearly on patrol for something. He
watched one stop in front of a family of refugees
heavy with back packs and carrying intake papers in their hands.
Men in white jumpsuits with gold cross badges piled out
and surrounded the family. Roland concealed himself behind a dumpster
and watched as the patriarch of the family handed them
his papers and spoke in a frantic, animated tone. One

(01:23:14):
of the men pointed at his daughter, who wore a
stained T shirt and a ragged pair of denim shorts.
They were baggy and hardly stylish, but the men in
the jumpsuits seemed furious. They pointed and shouted. The man
put his hands in the air and tried to say something,
but one of the jumpsuited men smashed his head with
a cane. Cold rage bubbled up inside Roland. Fuck this place,
he simmered to himself, Fuck these jinkiest throwback fundamentalists and

(01:23:37):
their fascist bullshit. He wanted to charge out from behind
the dumpster and tear into these low rent his bomb motherfucker's.
He wanted to shove those thick wooden rods so far
up their asses they'd be shipping splinters for weeks. The mission,
he reminded himself, the fucking mission, And so he watched
as the men in white beat the old guy. He
watched as they pulled the poor bastard's daughter into a

(01:23:57):
van and forced a hideous gray woolen dress over her head.
It didn't fit, and it looked liable to give her
heat stroke in the late Texas summer. She didn't fight them, though.
Roland moved on reluctantly and found what his hind brain
suspected was the old jail. The a PCs he'd seen
last night were parked out front. The compound was guarded
and busy. Roland counted fourteen guards just outside. Mind you,

(01:24:18):
there were human guards, no powered armor, no heavy artillery,
nothing at hand that could do much more than tickle him.
They wouldn't present a danger, but they would cause a
hell of a lot of noise if he attempted a
daylight prison break. He scrambled up onto a half collapsed
condo building that had been abandoned after a heavy mortar
shell gutted the inside. It provided a good view of
the jail. For the next hour, Roland just watched. His

(01:24:40):
hindbrain mapped the pattern of the guard rotations and noted
the security protocols they followed when each new vehicle arrived.
He took a lot of deep breaths and gradually pulled
enough sense from inside the jail to have a decent
idea of how many people were in there. He'd never
smelled Marigold or the other rolling negotiators before, but his
nose picked up on three people with a handful of
to market modifications. Most of the martyrs he'd met had

(01:25:03):
been limited to civilian grade healing sweets and sensory upgrades.
It was a safe bet that these were their targets. Then,
and you've got the message. Put down the phone. Roland
wasn't sure where or when he'd heard that aphorism, but
it came into his head, and a moment later he
realized the sun was pretty low in the sky. It'd
be bus time soon. He headed back through the high
shadows and across the cracked and bullet scarred boulevards until

(01:25:25):
he was able to merge back into the evening crowd
at the square. Manny and the Christian girl had moved
on from the cafe by that point. He actually ran
into them in front of some building with a sign
that identified it as the House of Miriam. They were
saying weird, chaste, religiously goodbyes, Oh hello Aaron. Sasha smiled
when she saw him. Manny turned around and flashed him
a weary smile too. Roland could see pain in the

(01:25:47):
kid's eyes, but it was at least cut with a
bit of arousal. He decided that was a good thing.
Ever since Oscar's death, Manny had been writing the line
between function and complete emotional collapse. He decided to encourage
the fixer's weird friendship with the Christian girl. Hey, Roland said,
how is the guffey? Smelled like it was mostly chickory
and food die when I walked by earlier. But maybe

(01:26:08):
they sold you all the good stuff they did not,
Manny said, you must be blessed with an exceptional nose.
Sasha said, and gave him an odd look. Then she asked,
what did you get up to? I checked out the
farmer's market. Roland lied, I'll tell you what. Some uh,
some good freaking cucumbers up in there. That's where I
was cucumbers. Sasha's odd look deepened. Manny brought a hand

(01:26:31):
up to the bridge of his nose and needed his
brow and frustration. We should head back to the buses.
I'll I'll see tomorrow, Sasha. Yeah, yes, of course, Sasha
replied with a genuine smile. If this was a sane world,
Roland thought the two of them would have had a
real date by now. But this was the Heavenly Kingdom.
They were surrounded by extremist militants, and Sasha probably wasn't
even allowed to look at condoms. Also, she's one of

(01:26:53):
those militants, Roland reminded himself. He let the kids say
their goodbyes and then walked back to the bus with Manny.
The had seemed unsettled. I feel like I'm making a
real dumb decision, he said, what Roland asked, talking with
that girl? Manny shrugged. She's told me all she knows
about those prisoners already. But we're supposed to meet at
the one shitty cafe in this town tomorrow. I know

(01:27:14):
it's stupid, but I kind of want to make that meeting.
Why is it stupid, Rowland asked. They had to drop
their voices a little as they drew closer to the
line for the buses, because Manny said, we're not going
to be here long. Sasha confirmed, our people are in
the jail, and you scattered it out today, right yup,
So we're confirmed twice over. It's time to do this
thing and get out. I don't have time to eat

(01:27:34):
shitty food with a pretty girl. Roland turned and fixed
his eyes on Manny's. He leaned in until their noses
were almost touching, and then he poked the boy's chest
with his index finger for emphasis while he spoke Emmanuel
Sanche's listen to me, there is always time to eat
shitty food with a pretty girl. Fuck the war, funk,
what's a good idea? Go eat some garbage and stare
into her eyes. Do something human in this in human place.

(01:27:57):
Late night will be a better time for the rescue anyway.
Manny was silent for several long seconds, then he said okay.
The next day started with more pete as usual, Then
it rolled right into an extra long trip to the
firing range. In three more hours of close AsSalt drills,
Roland found himself disgusted by the Kingdom's tactics. Their go

(01:28:17):
to was to dump heavy artillery on any embedded resistance.
No heed was paid to the civilian cost. They were
fine having untrained kids lob mortars in decrowded neighborhoods. The
Lord will recognize his own. Martyr Carruthers had said over
and over again that evening before the dinner prayer, the
raspy voiced priest, the raspy voiced priest came by to

(01:28:37):
speak to all the recruits in the chow hall. Roland
missed Martyr Ditmar's introduction of the priest. He was too
busy puking up and surreptitiously eating his last bag of drugs,
but his ears perked up when the wild haired old
nut fuck launched into his speech. The burdens placed upon
the warriors of God are great. You men have sworn
yourselves to a ponderous duty, but that duty does not

(01:28:58):
end on the battlefield. If the heaven a kingdom is
to remain and expand, we will need you to fight
in the field and with your other God given attributes.
This elicited a dim chorus of chuckles from the audience.
It took Roland an embarrassing amount of time to realize
what the preacher was talking about. Not jeez, this speech
is about fucking. The Lord commands us to be fruitful

(01:29:19):
and multiplied. The priest wheezed, But he also calls us
to respect the sacred bonds of holy matrimony in times
of war. At the times we all live in now,
this might seem to create some difficulty, but that's only
because most of us are trained to think of marriage
in the secular context. The average married couple in the
American Federation dates for eight years before being wet. In California,

(01:29:41):
it's closer to ten. Of course, in both those places,
dating is more or less a form of cash less prostitution.
Roland had to strain to avoid rolling his eyes. Next
to him, many listened dutifully. His face was almost unreadable.
Perhaps people who don't trust their creator need years of
time to decide if another person is a suitable partner. Happily,
we have the will of God to guide us. You

(01:30:03):
young men, are strong and virile and faithful. Your Lord
wants you to find love. He wants you to bring
more children into this world. This is why, as the
hour of action draws closer, we still encourage each of
you to spend time every day going out into the
city and mingling with the other sheep of our great flock. Aha.
Suddenly Roland understood it. It seemed odd to him that

(01:30:25):
the Heavenly Kingdom, a state still so unformed and tumultuous,
devote time and resources to bussing their military recruits downtown.
It made sense now, they wanted all these young men
to find women and fill them up with babies before
they went off to die. It was grim as hell,
but it was also quite logical. The truth of it
is the pastor rasped. Marriage is a simple process. When

(01:30:45):
you find the right person, the right arrangements can be
made in an hour or two. That is why I'm
here along with Pastor Sandor Ellsworth and Biggins. You can
find us at any hour of the day or night
to bless your unions. Once God shows you to your wives,
and there are more pastors at the House of Jacob
near the square. I urge you to go out into
the kingdom in search of love and make use of us.

(01:31:07):
Our chief job and our chief joy, is to help
our noble martyrs find the love and bless God promises
every faithful man. Wives are his blessing to us. Children
are our duty to him. Now, the man said, with
a rakish grin, go forth and multiply the flock. The
line for the buses was extra long that day. By

(01:31:28):
the time Rowland and Manny actually made it to the square,
there were nearly an hour later than usual. Manny rushed
right off to find Sasha. Rowland found his way to
an alley and then darted across town and towards the jail.
Once again. They'd already confirmed the location of their targets,
so Rowland's last job was to mark out a good
exit route from the city. He didn't expect it be
a quiet prison break that would draw attention and fighters.

(01:31:51):
The good news was that nothing within the Heavenly Kingdom
looked particularly well organized. A ton of fighters patrolled the streets,
but most of Plano was still pretty war to worn.
Their camera grid was far from comprehensive. If they had
a sizeable drone force, it was kept nearer to the
front than here. The quickest route seemed to be to
head straight north from the jail, up k Avenue and
pasted an old housing development filled with crumbling mansions. That

(01:32:14):
route would take them past two fortified bases. There'd be
a couple hundred infantry to deal with, along with their
attendant d PC's and a handful of drones. Roland felt
confident he could have punched a hole through all that
on his own, but he expected to have four or
five civilians in tow The odds of one of them
taking a stray round were just too high. Another possible
route took him up and to the left towards an

(01:32:34):
old tollway that seemed to mark the end of the
Heavenly Kingdom's static defenses. They controlled a lot of the
territory beyond, but the patrols there looked random. There were
no fortifications or checkpoints. It was a much longer route
than the other, but potentially one that required a lotless fighting.
The last option was to veer right and take Park
Avenue to Richardson. The Heavenly Kingdom had controlled that territory

(01:32:55):
for even less time than they had held Plaino, and
the fighting there had been heavier. They'd pass a lot
of check points, but not much in the way of
troop concentration, as long as they kept south and away
from Dallas proper. The scouting work itself was exhilarating. Roland
had a lot of ground to cover, so he spent
most of his time sprinting and scaling buildings, leaping from
roof to roof and in between shattered windows. His senses

(01:33:15):
were in full use. There were always passing convoys of civilians,
or patrols of martyrs, or those odd white police fans
somewhere nearby. He was close to caught a dozen times,
and he loved every minute of the work. By the
time he got back to the main square, it was
quite late and almost time for the buses to leave.
He did a quick loop of the square to see
if he could find Manny and Sasha. He caught traces

(01:33:36):
of their sense, but neither of them seemed to be
out and about. He eventually tracked Sasha's pheromone trail back
to the house of Miriam, but Manny seemed to be gone.
That was strange. Roland headed back to the buses and
the hope of finding him there. But Manny wasn't in
line or on any of the buses. So Roland headed
back to the base and tried to ignore the unease
as it blossomed in his belly. Maybe he headed back early.

(01:33:57):
Maybe the date went bad. That made sense. Sasha seemed
nice for a religious extremists, but you couldn't predict Zellots.
It was so damn easy to set them off. Manny
might have just said the wrong thing. That decided it'd
be safest to head back to base and chill in
the barracks. The bus pulled into the school comb training
facilities little vehicle depot. Roland noticed at once that Martyr

(01:34:18):
Ditmar and a small bodyguard of armed men were waiting.
That was unusual. Roland's hindbrain warned him that this was
probably related to Manny's disappearance. He felt a thin drip
of adrenaline start tapping on the back of his amygdala.
It was the feeling he associated with shit about to happen.
Roland tried to enjoy it without letting it push him
into action. Before he knew what was really going on,

(01:34:39):
Martyr Aaron Ditmar said as he approached Roland, the instructor's
bodyguard stayed close behind. Would you come with me. We've
got some news for you. Where's a manual? Roland asked,
we'll explain everything. The older martyr said, just come with me.
Roland followed him into the maze of buildings and towards
a small office occupied by a white haired man and

(01:35:00):
what looked like the Heavenly Kingdom's equivalent of a dress uniform.
It was blue, bedecked with metals and had a shining
silver cross on each epaulette. The fancy man looked very tired.
Roland could smell cheap caffeine wafting from his pores. This
is Commandant Dawkins, Martyr Ditmar explained. He's in charge of
this facility. We've been telling him about you. Martyr Ditmar

(01:35:21):
is hard to embrass, the commandant said, But to his eyes,
you're some sort of latter day Sampson. The strongest man
I've ever seen, said Martyr Ditmar. He's a darned fine
shot too, something of a marvel. Where's my friend? Roland asked,
where's a manual? The commandant gave an indulgent smile. It
didn't meet his tired eyes. Listen, Martyr, I know you

(01:35:42):
can appreciate how important unit cohesion is during a situation
as stressful as combat. We've had to make some changes
in order to ensure unity. Emanual is one of a
number of soldiers we've transferred to special duty. Roland could
read between the lines. He was sure if he checked
in the barracks that Manny Jonathan and the other handful
of non white recruits would all be absent. What kind

(01:36:04):
of special duty? Ditmar growled behind him. Now, listen, Son,
just because the commandant called you a Samson doesn't mean
you're in charge around here. We're prosecuting a war. You
won't be privy to every decision made above you. When
you're just going to have to get used to that.
The commandant was a bit calmer. He put his hands
forward in a placating gesture and tried it again. Your

(01:36:26):
friend is fine, he's better than fine. He's going to
get a chance to serve his Lord and the heavenly
Kingdom and glorious martyrdom. You should be happy for him.
Ditmar stepped forward and squatted down next to him. He
put a hand on Roland's thigh. A third of a
second later, Roland had calculated the best way to rip
that arm free of its socket and beat the other
men in the room to death with it, but he

(01:36:47):
held still for now. Manny would have been proud. Listen, boy,
Ditmar said, I know you got used to having that
brown kid help you talk with people, and I'm sure
he did a fine job. I get that you're not
much for social graces, but we're going to take care
of you now, all right, You've got a whole army
of brothers here. Just do what you do best and
we'll handle the rest, okay, Roland said. He put a

(01:37:10):
hand on Martyr Ditmar's wrist and clinched it hard enough
that everyone in the room heard the bone snap. The
look of dawning terror on the other man's face was
the best high Roland had gotten in days. He savored
it for a quarter second before finishing his sentence. I'll
do what I do best. Then, Hey, I've written a novel.

(01:37:31):
It's called After the Revolution. You can find it as
a podcast under After the Revolution, and you can find
it at a t r book dot com as a
free e pub if you like it. I am crowdfunding
the sequel so that I can keep making my books free.
That will be it After the Revolution, The Sequel on
go fund me. That's After the Revolution, the Sequel on
go fund me.

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Robert Evans

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.css-14f5ked{margin:0;word-break:break-word;display:-webkit-box;-webkit-box-orient:vertical;box-orient:vertical;-webkit-line-clamp:2;overflow:hidden;}After the Revolution: Chapters Fifteen, Sixteen, and Seventeen