July 26, 2021 • 11 mins
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:04):
Epilogue. Manny stumbled out of Ayisha's house at around seven
p m. It was still bright outside. The scorching boil
of the day had faded a bit into more of
a humid simmer. The normal stark, blinding blue of Texan
September had been replaced by the oily gray white of
cloud cover. It looked and felt like a storm front
(00:24):
was moving in. He took a few steps forward just
to get away from the door. The meeting had gone awfully.
There had never really been any chance of it going well.
Of course, Manny had opted to be as blunt and
honest as possible. He'd told her that Oscar had been
captured and executed by the Heavenly Kingdom. He left out
that Rowland had mercy killed him, as he had left
(00:44):
out his own little stint in the Kingdom's militia. It
would have taken too long to explain. She'd reacted with rage.
Ayisha had hit him a few times. She'd screamed at
him off and on for more than an hour, in
between bouts of collapsing into his chest and sobbing. If
who hadn't talked him into this fucking job, he'd still
be alive, she'd spat at him. Manny hadn't argued in
(01:06):
his defense. Ayisha had been right. After all, there was
nothing for him to do but endure her rage, soak
up her pain, and transfer tens of thousands of am
fed dollars into her bank account. Before the bodies at
rock Creak had gone cold, Manny had made up his
mind to hand Ayisha every penny he'd saved. Schofucker, Mike,
and Topaz had assured him that the cash would be
(01:27):
all but useless in his new life on the road
with rolling fuck, and more than that it was the
right thing to do. He couldn't bring oscar back, he
couldn't make anything okay, But the money he'd saved would
mean Ayisha had one less worry In the immediate wake
of the tragedy. He stepped off her porch and tried
not to focus too much on the muffled sounds of
her howling cries behind him. Ahead, parked across the street
(01:51):
was an old beat to ship jeep Wrangler. It had
no doors, no top, and tuley black elk sat in
the driver's seat, legs propped up on the dash, and
a Fats Gar bleating smoke into the air around her.
She glanced up as he approached and favored him with
a lopsided grin. Hey kid, how'd it go. Tullie had
seemed less than friendly on their initial meeting. Given the circumstances,
(02:13):
Manny couldn't blame her. She'd warmed up to him in
the two days since the battle and had thanked him
repeatedly for saving her and Rick. Manny had tried to
brush off her praise, but she'd ignored his every effort.
When it came time to take his last trip into Austin,
she'd volunteered to drive. Her mods were all minor enough
that she was still legal inside the city and went
(02:34):
the way it went. He replied, she's fucked up about it,
and she hates me, probably always will. Manny hopped into
the driver's seat and looked around for a seat belt,
before remembering that Tullie's jeep had none. He settled back
into the seat and looked over to her. The woman
took two more deep puffs of her cigar, then put
the nub out on the side of her vehicle. She exhaled, belched,
(02:55):
and then fixed him with a weary smile that it
then Manny had already visited his father. It hadn't taken long.
The old man was happy to see him alive, proud
of what he'd done, and livid that he planned to
flee Texas to live with a bunch of weirdos and
a moving city. He hadn't fought Manny on the matter,
though life in Austin didn't exactly promise a bright future
(03:16):
for anyone. The city's defense forces had counterattacked the Martyrs
coming up from Lake Houston at the same time as
Rolling Fuck and Roland had made their stand. That battle
hadn't been as one sided, but the Martyrs had been
pushed back. Rumor had at the SDF forces around Lake
Houston were sallying out, sending gunboats with pocket artillery into
the flooded parts of the city to shell Kingdom forces
(03:38):
in the suburbs. The Heavenly Kingdom had withdrawn from Waco.
They'd probably pull back from around Houston soon, but they
still held Dallas, Galveston, and hundreds of miles of territory. Besides.
Word was the Canadians and Californians were sending in more
military advisers. The Choctaw and the Navajo were sending in
special Forces. The u c S had recoiled at all
(03:59):
this or an intervention. They were threatening to send in
ground troops to protect the faithful. Texas would not stop
bleeding anytime soon. Yeah, that's it, he told Tullie. Austin's
got nothing else for me? Now good. She reached over
and squeezed his shoulder. One look at her eyes told
Manny she'd been crying while he'd been inside with Ayesha.
(04:21):
It was odd, but he appreciated her grief. She hadn't
said anything about Marigold, but the fact that she was
clearly racked with pain and guilt too made his own
burden easier to bear. Tullie popped the jeep and to drive,
and together they rolled forward and out of the subdivision
where Oscar had lived and Ayisha still did without really
thinking about it. Manny opened the glove compartment. His time
(04:43):
with Rolling Funck had taught him that there had to
be drugs squirreled away somewhere inside. He was right. A
full clear plastic hip flask sat next to a ziplock
bag filled with blunts. Many grabbed the flask and fished
out one of the blunts. You got a light, he
asked to Lee snorted in laughter, the kind of fucking
question is that? Of course, I got a light. She
(05:05):
handed it over. He lit the blunt, hit it and
passed it off to her, and then unscrewed the top
of the flask and pounded back a shot. You're learning,
Tullie told him as she took a sharp right turn
onto South Congress Avenue. Learning what Learning that the world's
too fucked to take on with a clear head. She
passed the blunt back. Manny took it and handed off
(05:27):
the flask. When I first came to rolling fuck, she started,
I didn't get why of room was so damned wasted
All the time I'd been an activist back in Albuquerque.
You know, I thought having a clear head would help
me fight. She laughed, took a deep belt of liquor,
and then continued. It turned out my clear head and
my hard work didn't stop home from going to ship.
(05:47):
After a couple of weeks with Marigold, Topaz and Mike,
I realized something. What Manny asked already kind of sure
he knew the answer. The world's gonna be, more or
less exactly is fucked up. Man. I are serious, I
take it so I might as well enjoy the ship show.
Manny nodded. He gulped down more of the liquor, took
another hit from the blunt, and stared off into the sun,
(06:10):
which had started to set over the Colorado River. It
was a beautiful day. He thought. It was fitting that
this would be his last day in the city of
his birth. It was like Austin had dressed up to
say goodbye to him. I never really thought I could
fix the world, Manny said, But I thought I might
be able to fix my own life, you know, be
clever enough, good enough to escape to somewhere better. Yeah,
(06:32):
Tually grinned. Did you give up on that or did
you decide Rolling Fuck is somewhere better? I don't know,
Manny said, but it's definitely somewhere different. I think right now,
that's enough. Rolling Funck had moved south since the battle
to Georgetown. Tually pulled onto Highway thirty five, waved her
way through a handful of checkpoints and to rass until
(06:53):
they reached the outskirts of the camp. By then, the
flask was long empty and the blunt burnt down. That
was mine. Though Manny was a bit of a lightweight,
and he felt pretty wasted. As they pulled up to
the Greater Station, Skullfucker, Mike and Topaz were waiting for them.
Welcome home, pal, Mike told him and wrapped him in
a rib crushing embrace. Topaz kissed his cheek and smiled
(07:15):
at him. It didn't reach her eyes. She was still
fucked up. He knew over Marigold's death and over whatever
had happened with Roland. So was Manny. For that matter,
Roland's brain had read it within about an hour of
his injury. Manny had expected things to go back to
normal then, or as normal as Roland ever was, But
the post human had been left with no clear memories
(07:35):
of Manny, Sasha, or anything that had happened inside the
Heavenly Kingdom. He remembered Mike's name, and he talked frequently
about a shack on the top of some mountain in Arizona,
but that was it. Manny tried not to dwell on it. Together, he, Mike, Topaz,
and Tulli started to walk towards the enormous modified backer
at the heart of Rolling Fuck. Mike put a hand
(07:56):
on Manny's shoulder and squeezed. Got some bad news for you, Bud,
what Manny asked, hyper vigilance, spiking anxiety into his brain.
Sasha left, said Topaz, her voice as gentle as it
ever got what he asked, where back to the mfant
or No? Mike replied, she went with Jim and that
(08:16):
stupid aircraft of his. I think he offered her a job.
Is that bad? Manny asked. He wasn't sure how to feel.
He'd wanted to get to know her better. He'd also
gotten the distinct impression she wouldn't be happy in rolling.
Fuck depends on your perspective. Topaz said, Jim can give
her a lot of the things she might need right now.
He's also the worst person on earth. She paused for
(08:39):
a moment and then reconsidered, Okay, second worst. You're talking
about Roland, Manny asked, fuck you, She replied, kids got
a right to talk about him. Topes. Mike said they
went through a nightmare together, Yeah, Topaz said, looking up
at Manny, And now he's left you alone with the
ship you did together while he wanders off into the
(08:59):
desert to get wrecked, hasn't he? Roland had, in fact
started his walk to Arizona about a day ago laden
down with several backpacks full of pain killers. In Silas Syben,
he hadn't bothered to say goodbye, but then again he
hadn't remembered Manny at all. He can't help it. Manny
told her he'd been thinking about this a lot. Roland
warned me before he went out there. He told me
(09:21):
he couldn't handle the guilt, the killing. He made it
clear how much it fucked him up, and I still
asked him to go anyway. Sure Topez said, her voice
icy and sharp. And you don't have guilt over anything
that happened out there. You think Mike and I don't
have blood on our hands. Schoolfucker, Mike, Mike gently insisted.
We spent years fighting alongside Rowland. Topaz continued, We shed
(09:44):
a lot of blood together. He told us he'd always
be there to help us deal with whatever came after,
and then one day he was gone. Mike said, in
a dull, haunted tone. He left us, just like he
left you. The big man shook his head as if
to ro out the darkness inside. I don't hold it
against him, it's just how he is. Fuck that, Topaz
(10:06):
pat He doesn't get to do that and not be
a son of a bitch. The rest of us have
to live with our consciences. He takes a bullet train
to Forgetsville, and that's fine. It's not fine, Mike said,
but it is Rowland. We have to take him as
he is. You do. Maybe I'm happy cutting the fucker
out of my life. You do well to do the same, Manny,
when he comes back next time. You think there will
(10:28):
be a next time, Manny asked, Of course, all right,
cut the ship, Tulie said, as they reached the lift
that would lead them up to the main roller. Man
he's here for good. Now. We've all got plenty to
sniffle over, but it's time to properly welcome this dumbass
to the city. What's that look like, Manny asked. Who
probably takes him? M dum a, Mike said, and I
(10:49):
got a couple dozen pounds of dynamite. Topaz added, explosives
are stupid fun when you're rolling. We can toss him
while we do donuts in the jeep, Tulie said, I'll
crack open a case of whippets, will make a night
of it. Schofucker. Mike squeezed Manny into a bear hug
Topez joined, and after a few seconds, so did Tully.
This is gonna be the best party of your life,
(11:09):
he said, at least till whatever we do tomorrow.
Epilogue. Manny stumbled out of Ayisha's house at around seven
p m. It was still bright outside. The scorching boil
of the day had faded a bit into more of
a humid simmer. The normal stark, blinding blue of Texan
September had been replaced by the oily gray white of
cloud cover. It looked and felt like a storm front
(00:24):
was moving in. He took a few steps forward just
to get away from the door. The meeting had gone awfully.
There had never really been any chance of it going well.
Of course, Manny had opted to be as blunt and
honest as possible. He'd told her that Oscar had been
captured and executed by the Heavenly Kingdom. He left out
that Rowland had mercy killed him, as he had left
(00:44):
out his own little stint in the Kingdom's militia. It
would have taken too long to explain. She'd reacted with rage.
Ayisha had hit him a few times. She'd screamed at
him off and on for more than an hour, in
between bouts of collapsing into his chest and sobbing. If
who hadn't talked him into this fucking job, he'd still
be alive, she'd spat at him. Manny hadn't argued in
(01:06):
his defense. Ayisha had been right. After all, there was
nothing for him to do but endure her rage, soak
up her pain, and transfer tens of thousands of am
fed dollars into her bank account. Before the bodies at
rock Creak had gone cold, Manny had made up his
mind to hand Ayisha every penny he'd saved. Schofucker, Mike,
and Topaz had assured him that the cash would be
(01:27):
all but useless in his new life on the road
with rolling fuck, and more than that it was the
right thing to do. He couldn't bring oscar back, he
couldn't make anything okay, But the money he'd saved would
mean Ayisha had one less worry In the immediate wake
of the tragedy. He stepped off her porch and tried
not to focus too much on the muffled sounds of
her howling cries behind him. Ahead, parked across the street
(01:51):
was an old beat to ship jeep Wrangler. It had
no doors, no top, and tuley black elk sat in
the driver's seat, legs propped up on the dash, and
a Fats Gar bleating smoke into the air around her.
She glanced up as he approached and favored him with
a lopsided grin. Hey kid, how'd it go. Tullie had
seemed less than friendly on their initial meeting. Given the circumstances,
(02:13):
Manny couldn't blame her. She'd warmed up to him in
the two days since the battle and had thanked him
repeatedly for saving her and Rick. Manny had tried to
brush off her praise, but she'd ignored his every effort.
When it came time to take his last trip into Austin,
she'd volunteered to drive. Her mods were all minor enough
that she was still legal inside the city and went
(02:34):
the way it went. He replied, she's fucked up about it,
and she hates me, probably always will. Manny hopped into
the driver's seat and looked around for a seat belt,
before remembering that Tullie's jeep had none. He settled back
into the seat and looked over to her. The woman
took two more deep puffs of her cigar, then put
the nub out on the side of her vehicle. She exhaled, belched,
(02:55):
and then fixed him with a weary smile that it
then Manny had already visited his father. It hadn't taken long.
The old man was happy to see him alive, proud
of what he'd done, and livid that he planned to
flee Texas to live with a bunch of weirdos and
a moving city. He hadn't fought Manny on the matter,
though life in Austin didn't exactly promise a bright future
(03:16):
for anyone. The city's defense forces had counterattacked the Martyrs
coming up from Lake Houston at the same time as
Rolling Fuck and Roland had made their stand. That battle
hadn't been as one sided, but the Martyrs had been
pushed back. Rumor had at the SDF forces around Lake
Houston were sallying out, sending gunboats with pocket artillery into
the flooded parts of the city to shell Kingdom forces
(03:38):
in the suburbs. The Heavenly Kingdom had withdrawn from Waco.
They'd probably pull back from around Houston soon, but they
still held Dallas, Galveston, and hundreds of miles of territory. Besides.
Word was the Canadians and Californians were sending in more
military advisers. The Choctaw and the Navajo were sending in
special Forces. The u c S had recoiled at all
(03:59):
this or an intervention. They were threatening to send in
ground troops to protect the faithful. Texas would not stop
bleeding anytime soon. Yeah, that's it, he told Tullie. Austin's
got nothing else for me? Now good. She reached over
and squeezed his shoulder. One look at her eyes told
Manny she'd been crying while he'd been inside with Ayesha.
(04:21):
It was odd, but he appreciated her grief. She hadn't
said anything about Marigold, but the fact that she was
clearly racked with pain and guilt too made his own
burden easier to bear. Tullie popped the jeep and to drive,
and together they rolled forward and out of the subdivision
where Oscar had lived and Ayisha still did without really
thinking about it. Manny opened the glove compartment. His time
(04:43):
with Rolling Funck had taught him that there had to
be drugs squirreled away somewhere inside. He was right. A
full clear plastic hip flask sat next to a ziplock
bag filled with blunts. Many grabbed the flask and fished
out one of the blunts. You got a light, he
asked to Lee snorted in laughter, the kind of fucking
question is that? Of course, I got a light. She
(05:05):
handed it over. He lit the blunt, hit it and
passed it off to her, and then unscrewed the top
of the flask and pounded back a shot. You're learning,
Tullie told him as she took a sharp right turn
onto South Congress Avenue. Learning what Learning that the world's
too fucked to take on with a clear head. She
passed the blunt back. Manny took it and handed off
(05:27):
the flask. When I first came to rolling fuck, she started,
I didn't get why of room was so damned wasted
All the time I'd been an activist back in Albuquerque.
You know, I thought having a clear head would help
me fight. She laughed, took a deep belt of liquor,
and then continued. It turned out my clear head and
my hard work didn't stop home from going to ship.
(05:47):
After a couple of weeks with Marigold, Topaz and Mike,
I realized something. What Manny asked already kind of sure
he knew the answer. The world's gonna be, more or
less exactly is fucked up. Man. I are serious, I
take it so I might as well enjoy the ship show.
Manny nodded. He gulped down more of the liquor, took
another hit from the blunt, and stared off into the sun,
(06:10):
which had started to set over the Colorado River. It
was a beautiful day. He thought. It was fitting that
this would be his last day in the city of
his birth. It was like Austin had dressed up to
say goodbye to him. I never really thought I could
fix the world, Manny said, But I thought I might
be able to fix my own life, you know, be
clever enough, good enough to escape to somewhere better. Yeah,
(06:32):
Tually grinned. Did you give up on that or did
you decide Rolling Fuck is somewhere better? I don't know,
Manny said, but it's definitely somewhere different. I think right now,
that's enough. Rolling Funck had moved south since the battle
to Georgetown. Tually pulled onto Highway thirty five, waved her
way through a handful of checkpoints and to rass until
(06:53):
they reached the outskirts of the camp. By then, the
flask was long empty and the blunt burnt down. That
was mine. Though Manny was a bit of a lightweight,
and he felt pretty wasted. As they pulled up to
the Greater Station, Skullfucker, Mike and Topaz were waiting for them.
Welcome home, pal, Mike told him and wrapped him in
a rib crushing embrace. Topaz kissed his cheek and smiled
(07:15):
at him. It didn't reach her eyes. She was still
fucked up. He knew over Marigold's death and over whatever
had happened with Roland. So was Manny. For that matter,
Roland's brain had read it within about an hour of
his injury. Manny had expected things to go back to
normal then, or as normal as Roland ever was, But
the post human had been left with no clear memories
(07:35):
of Manny, Sasha, or anything that had happened inside the
Heavenly Kingdom. He remembered Mike's name, and he talked frequently
about a shack on the top of some mountain in Arizona,
but that was it. Manny tried not to dwell on it. Together, he, Mike, Topaz,
and Tulli started to walk towards the enormous modified backer
at the heart of Rolling Fuck. Mike put a hand
(07:56):
on Manny's shoulder and squeezed. Got some bad news for you, Bud,
what Manny asked, hyper vigilance, spiking anxiety into his brain.
Sasha left, said Topaz, her voice as gentle as it
ever got what he asked, where back to the mfant
or No? Mike replied, she went with Jim and that
(08:16):
stupid aircraft of his. I think he offered her a job.
Is that bad? Manny asked. He wasn't sure how to feel.
He'd wanted to get to know her better. He'd also
gotten the distinct impression she wouldn't be happy in rolling.
Fuck depends on your perspective. Topaz said, Jim can give
her a lot of the things she might need right now.
He's also the worst person on earth. She paused for
(08:39):
a moment and then reconsidered, Okay, second worst. You're talking
about Roland, Manny asked, fuck you, She replied, kids got
a right to talk about him. Topes. Mike said they
went through a nightmare together, Yeah, Topaz said, looking up
at Manny, And now he's left you alone with the
ship you did together while he wanders off into the
(08:59):
desert to get wrecked, hasn't he? Roland had, in fact
started his walk to Arizona about a day ago laden
down with several backpacks full of pain killers. In Silas Syben,
he hadn't bothered to say goodbye, but then again he
hadn't remembered Manny at all. He can't help it. Manny
told her he'd been thinking about this a lot. Roland
warned me before he went out there. He told me
(09:21):
he couldn't handle the guilt, the killing. He made it
clear how much it fucked him up, and I still
asked him to go anyway. Sure Topez said, her voice
icy and sharp. And you don't have guilt over anything
that happened out there. You think Mike and I don't
have blood on our hands. Schoolfucker, Mike, Mike gently insisted.
We spent years fighting alongside Rowland. Topaz continued, We shed
(09:44):
a lot of blood together. He told us he'd always
be there to help us deal with whatever came after,
and then one day he was gone. Mike said, in
a dull, haunted tone. He left us, just like he
left you. The big man shook his head as if
to ro out the darkness inside. I don't hold it
against him, it's just how he is. Fuck that, Topaz
(10:06):
pat He doesn't get to do that and not be
a son of a bitch. The rest of us have
to live with our consciences. He takes a bullet train
to Forgetsville, and that's fine. It's not fine, Mike said,
but it is Rowland. We have to take him as
he is. You do. Maybe I'm happy cutting the fucker
out of my life. You do well to do the same, Manny,
when he comes back next time. You think there will
(10:28):
be a next time, Manny asked, Of course, all right,
cut the ship, Tulie said, as they reached the lift
that would lead them up to the main roller. Man
he's here for good. Now. We've all got plenty to
sniffle over, but it's time to properly welcome this dumbass
to the city. What's that look like, Manny asked. Who
probably takes him? M dum a, Mike said, and I
(10:49):
got a couple dozen pounds of dynamite. Topaz added, explosives
are stupid fun when you're rolling. We can toss him
while we do donuts in the jeep, Tulie said, I'll
crack open a case of whippets, will make a night
of it. Schofucker. Mike squeezed Manny into a bear hug
Topez joined, and after a few seconds, so did Tully.
This is gonna be the best party of your life,
(11:09):
he said, at least till whatever we do tomorrow.
Host
Robert Evans
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