Mortal Steel: Episode 10
Source: collected/005-mortal-steel-episode-10.mp3
SHA-256: 40c50125723854b0d767605513088e7cd19e355e1a18b05e56cc2e36656adf3f
Model: scribe_v2 | Transcribed: 2026-10-10T18:09:13.807919+00:00
Machine transcript — uncorrected. Speaker labels are local to this recording and do not identify people.

[00:00:00.000] Speaker 1: [rock music]

[00:00:53.380] Speaker 1: Mortal Steel, episode 10. Ethan moved with purpose down the dark hallway, walking past steel doors with no obvious method of entry. The speaker system harassed him for the 10,000th time.

[00:01:12.120] Speaker 2: See reason. Turn back.

[00:01:15.700] Speaker 3: Don't think so.

[00:01:17.600] Speaker 1: The robots, or whatever they were, followed him from a distance like lost children. Ethan reached the door at the end of the hall. This one had a handle. He extended a hand to open it and heard an electronic lock turn inside the door.

[00:01:35.880] Speaker 2: So be it. I will enjoy picking through your parts.

[00:01:40.040] Speaker 3: [groans]

[00:01:41.740] Speaker 1: The doors lining the hallway opened and the robots started screaming.

[00:01:47.760] Speaker 2: [screams]

[00:01:48.540] Speaker 1: Which was a very un-robotic thing to do. Four red exclamation marks appeared on his HUD.

[00:01:55.200] Speaker 2: [groans]

[00:01:56.200] Speaker 1: Demons. His second mind went to work simulating strategies. Three so-called cull hounds and one scarecrow. Small fries.

[00:02:08.620] Speaker 2: Your death will mark the genesis of a new project. The grand... [gunshots] It doesn't matter. That door is reinforced steel. In five minutes, this hallway will be filled with nerve gas.

[00:02:25.100] Speaker 1: Ethan holstered the messenger, braced his back against the side of the hallway, and put his foot against the handle.

[00:02:32.560] Speaker 3: Hydraulic heel. [machine whirring]

[00:02:35.860] Speaker 1: The metal lock crunched like a soda can under his heel. A moment later, the door swung open.

[00:02:41.520] Speaker 2: [sighs] Never mind. I surrender.

[00:02:47.080] Speaker 3: No.

[00:02:50.440] Speaker 1: Ethan moved through a crowd of frightened, sickly looking people. He kicked down another door. Nobody tried to stop him.

[00:03:01.360] Speaker 2: My sincere apologies. Please don't kill me. We have a common goal.

[00:03:06.700] Speaker 1: Another robot covered in rags approached Ethan from the end of the next hallway.

[00:03:13.600] Speaker 2: If you want, I will help you behave.

[00:03:16.080] Speaker 1: Ethan swept the legs from beneath the robot and hoisted the machine into the air by one rusted foot. Sparks shot out of its torso. This one looks a little worse off than the others.

[00:03:28.700] Speaker 3: I'm about to start breaking things. Tell me where the intercom is hiding, or I'll start with you.

[00:03:36.540] Speaker 1: The rags fell away from the machine's face to reveal a very human-looking head with no jaw. There was a speaker embedded in the machinery where a mouth used to be.

[00:03:49.660] Speaker 2: You are very strong. Don't hurt him, Hail Mary. I am behind door 6B.

[00:03:55.120] Speaker 1: Ethan let the squirming robot fall to the floor. There was a familiar voice on the other side of a closed door nearby.

[00:04:03.720] Speaker 4: Number four?

[00:04:06.500] Speaker 1: Ethan pried the door open to find three nuns and a woman dressed in a black sweatsuit. Dr. Marie Singer looked up at him from the floor, fire in her eyes.

[00:04:20.680] Speaker 4: It was killing children.

[00:04:23.580] Speaker 1: She bawled a fist.

[00:04:26.260] Speaker 4: Kill it.

[00:04:28.280] Speaker 3: Yes, ma'am.

[00:04:29.840] Speaker 1: Technically, that qualified as an order. While he had quite a bit of flexibility to delay orders, as with the Stalker, he had no desire to delay this one.

[00:04:42.640] Speaker 2: You don't understand. You don't understand anything. All lives have value. I have simply quantified it.

[00:04:48.700] Speaker 1: Ethan's second mind drew the most likely path to door 6B based on the layout it had seen so far. The intercom speakers on the wall spoke as he paced down the hallway, murder in every step.

[00:05:04.940] Speaker 2: It's so easy taking the low road, isn't it? Frame me as the big bad evil, blow me up, and then call yourselves heroes, when in reality you have no plan that results in human survival.

[00:05:16.020] Speaker 3: Shut up.

[00:05:17.860] Speaker 2: If anything, you last respite morons have sped up our demise with your fighting. Why do you think we hide? Because we're cowards? No, it's because we're weak. It's easier to hide than fight, and it's a lot easier to find a way to win, actually win-

[00:05:31.620] Speaker 1: He was gonna tear this person apart. There was too much blood on their hands to wipe away with a few pleading words.

[00:05:39.500] Speaker 3: You're a murderer.

[00:05:41.760] Speaker 2: You're self-righteous just because you get to feel like the good guy for a little while and your cave would go insane. You have no idea what you're destroying here.

[00:05:49.600] Speaker 1: Where was this door? New Hope was more expansive than he'd expected.

[00:05:54.880] Speaker 2: And meanwhile, I have an actual plan with a non-zero chance of saving us all. And yes, it's terrible. And yes-

[00:06:03.720] Speaker 1: Ethan finally found door 6B, an unassuming steel door with no handle and no lock, just like all the others. But at least there will be a human history. Don't you get that? The ends justify the means. He got his fingertips in the crack and ripped the door open. It was a very small room, completely dark inside. Tell me what hope you offer before a certain demise. Thick tubes and cables ran from hundreds of holes in the wall to a tank of liquid in the center of the room. Something round

[00:06:38.640] Speaker 1: and pink floated in the liquid. You can destroy me, cyborg, but you don't get to be better than me. In the end, it was just a brain in a closet. Ethan smashed the glass and pulled the brain out and let it fall from his hands. He ran a few simulations just to savor the moment. Then he punted it down the hallway. And the intercoms finally went silent. A

[00:07:13.440] Speaker 1: trapdoor popped open inside the closet and Ethan shielded himself instinctively. There was no danger there, however. Instead, he found a dusty old paper and ink printer. Pages were already being printed. The first one read, To the person who killed me. The pages that followed detailed every major project the intercom had undertaken over the decades since the apocalypse. Ethan caught phrases like, The brain must grow with the implants from infancy.

[00:07:48.200] Speaker 1: Adult subjects invariably die or cannot fully integrate artificial components. Or, Consecration is latent human psychic energy. It tears apart the creatures we call demons at a fundamental level. There is no known limit to how much consecrated power an object could hold. Certain materials like silver and some liquids readily hold on to consecrated power. The air itself can hold consecrated power within the confines of a room, if belief is strong enough. He skimmed down the

[00:08:23.140] Speaker 1: page. It is the strong belief that these materials will protect the wielder that makes consecration work. Consecration ebbs with faltering convictions, as evidenced by experiments 213, 214, and 217 below. First, a human subject is placed in a room. Ethan dropped the paper back onto the tray in disgust. He'd let the nuns sift through these sins of knowledge. He should probably go make sure they were safe. Then notify the people of

[00:08:58.120] Speaker 1: New Hope that they would have interesting new roommates. Hopefully they wouldn't mind exchanging one monster for another. At least the corpse mother was only interested in already dead people. He was about to walk away when a single word on the next printout caught his eye. It read, Angel.

[00:09:42.680] Speaker 1: Ethan placed the Trinity Blade on the workshop table between himself and Dr. Singer. If New Hope had anything in spades, it was laboratories and workshops.

[00:09:54.720] Speaker 4: It's broken.

[00:09:56.620] Speaker 3: Yeah, kind of ruins the symbolism, don't it?

[00:09:59.840] Speaker 1: Dr. Singer set down the broken Trinity Blade.

[00:10:03.600] Speaker 4: Ethan, you, you don't think you're actually a preacher, do you?

[00:10:11.720] Speaker 1: Ethan's heart started pounding. Odd. He didn't think the adrenaline injector was broken.

[00:10:19.180] Speaker 4: Never mind. It's not important. Forget I said it.

[00:10:23.959] Speaker 3: Don't forget, sister. I'm more than a machine.

[00:10:28.360] Speaker 4: I keep forgetting. Still, I think we owe you some answers about your origin. If you make it back to Last Respite, find Gabriel. I believe he owes you answers more than anyone.

[00:10:45.740] Speaker 1: Ethan dropped the subject, but he could tell the doctor hadn't quite let it go. She gently lifted his leg and examined the fireplace poker foot.

[00:10:56.260] Speaker 4: Missing foot. See what you can throw together.

[00:10:59.200] Speaker 3: No, leave it.

[00:11:01.500] Speaker 1: Dr. Singer looked up, surprised and confused.

[00:11:06.080] Speaker 3: It was a gift from a friend.

[00:11:09.300] Speaker 1: She shook her head disapprovingly.

[00:11:12.760] Speaker 4: You can't even walk properly.

[00:11:16.000] Speaker 3: Please.

[00:11:17.860] Speaker 1: It was a word he had not found much use for. For better or worse, Ethan had not needed to ask for many things. One perk of being a walking tank, certainly. But these people, of all people, deserved his mutual respect. Dr. Singer ground her teeth.

[00:11:40.900] Speaker 4: I'll come up with something. Now go into diagnostic mode. This is going to take a while.

[00:11:48.400] Speaker 3: There's someone who needs me. Just fix me enough to keep me alive a few more days.

[00:11:55.400] Speaker 1: Fran stopped typing and glanced over at them. Dr. Singer looked up from some wires she was pulling from his abdomen.

[00:12:03.600] Speaker 4: Only a few days?

[00:12:05.340] Speaker 1: Ethan leaned all the way back and closed his eyes. I don't think I'll be needing more than that. Francesca pressed a button to turn off number four's passive sensors.

[00:12:37.280] Speaker 5: Great, so now the robot's suicidal.

[00:12:39.720] Speaker 1: He's not a robot. She rolled her eyes.

[00:12:43.020] Speaker 5: Yeah, okay.

[00:12:45.060] Speaker 1: And it didn't sound like he was suicidal exactly. She watched Dr. Singer disconnect an entire length of tubing. It must have been leaking corrosive liquid into the abdomen for quite a while. Who knows what else it broke. No easy way to tell. Instrumentation had been far less important than combat readiness. Ursula spoke, and both of them paused. He mentioned a boy. Yes.

[00:13:14.700] Speaker 5: What's up with that?

[00:13:16.540] Speaker 1: Then something more important occurred to her.

[00:13:19.840] Speaker 5: And are we really just gonna let him walk out of here to die? This, this could be our ticket back to Last Respite.

[00:13:27.580] Speaker 1: Only a moment slipped by and the other two seemed to come to some conclusion. Was it, was it an obvious one?

[00:13:36.880] Speaker 5: So, no?

[00:13:38.140] Speaker 1: No.

[00:13:40.000] Speaker 5: I mean, he's going to get destroyed anyway.

[00:13:43.860] Speaker 1: Dr. Singer made angry eyebrows at her. Annoying. Just spit it out, lady. I said no! Betrayed by us, of all people. Francesca shrugged, then gave her boss a salute. That should make her annoyed. Yes. Yes, that appeared to be having the intended effect.

[00:14:08.360] Speaker 5: Guess we can enable all these extra mods then. Remember Flash Hands?

[00:14:13.860] Speaker 1: Oh, don't turn that on.

[00:14:17.140] Speaker 5: Yes, ma'am.

[00:14:18.560] Speaker 1: Francesca smiled. When the doctor's back was turned, she pressed the key to turn it on anyway. She turned on all the rejected mods. They'd been turned off because they were either unreliable, damaging to other systems, or in the case of the last one, simply an enormous power sink. Wow. What she would give to watch Number Four turn the Maser on something. The electronic shielding for that thing had been a nightmare, but

[00:14:53.600] Speaker 1: it would be totally worth it. Pew, pew, pew, pew, pew. Get back to work. Part Fourteen Escape from L.A. Flesh Painter looked down at her right hand. It detached from her arm, sprouted thin little

[00:15:28.620] Speaker 1: translucent wings, then buzzed about. It had grown another set of eyes that she could see from. Very useful. Your transformation is progressing well, mistress. The imp was a pesky little thing, but knowledgeable. So much knowledge. Yes, it is. How soon now? Not long. Any day, any minute, holy one. Report, Kotek.

[00:16:03.660] Speaker 1: I found another zoo with living animals, and there's a reptile exhibit. Flesh Painter's smile grew wider. Kotek certainly knew how to make her happy. Perfect. Bring me elephants, crocodiles, and scorpions. Alive? Who cares? As long as they don't rot. They were going to be mixed into something far more interesting

[00:16:38.080] Speaker 1: anyway. A new breed of hybrid warrior. Some of the grafted were finally willing to be infused. What a terror they would be. She could crush the stalker once and for all. There was a reason not to do that, though. What was it again? Serenity tried to remember. A truce. A plan. But then the daydream was gone, and Flesh Painter was

[00:17:12.780] Speaker 1: back. Mistress, our ally has sent for your help. They are overrun. Which one? The robot maker. Flesh Painter rolled her many eyes. It was nothing but good news today. Excellent. Someone saved us the trouble.

[00:17:53.480] Speaker 1: Diagnostic report. Biological status. Severe cerebral hemorrhaging. Recovered. Frontal lobe damage. Minor impedance. Recoverable. 138 days. Left arm. Nominal. Right arm. Unauthorized mod. Contact admin for support. Left leg, unauthorized mod. Right leg, nominal. Endoskeleton, 85% integrity. Other systems, nominal. New mods,

[00:18:28.424] Speaker 1: boomstick, foot skewer, flash hands, overload, the Maser. Electronics status, Hail Mary implant, moderate damage, not recoverable. All other systems nominal or missing. Estimated lifespan, 13 days. Suggested repairs, replace implant. Proceed with boot sequence Y/N. Ethan

[00:19:03.384] Speaker 1: sighed inwardly, sitting safely in the cocoon of his own mind. He could say no. He could leave this prompt here forever. It would be so nice. The simulations might even work. But he was given strength for a reason, whether that was divine intervention or human spirit and ingenuity alone, he didn't know. Perhaps humanity had already been

[00:19:38.444] Speaker 1: abandoned. He wasn't the first to think it. They're not abandoned. They've got me. Proceed with boot sequence Y/N. That was a yes. Proceed with boot sequence Y/N. Ugh. Yes. Ethan's optical, audio, vibration, tactical, and 100 other sensors flicked on. [yawns] Good to be back. Three women stood over him

[00:20:13.424] Speaker 1: just a foot or two from his face. Only one still wore her black tunic.

[00:20:19.644] Speaker 4: Welcome back, number four.

[00:20:22.364] Speaker 1: Why do you call me that? Dr. Singer pursed her lips.

[00:20:27.824] Speaker 4: It's not my place to say.

[00:20:31.664] Speaker 1: Why? Not one of the three would meet his eyes. For what reason? Dark thoughts churned in his mind. The intercom had been working on Cyborg's tube. That couldn't have been a coincidence. What sins of knowledge did these three try to bury? Were they even any better? Had he killed one monster and been saved by another?

[00:21:02.144] Speaker 4: Because I can't bear to hurt you anymore when it is so clear to me that you feel the pain.

[00:21:09.244] Speaker 1: Ursula lifted her chin and met his eyes.

[00:21:12.644] Speaker 5: I will not feign innocence. Judge me as you will.

[00:21:16.404] Speaker 1: Ethan turned to regard Sister Fran.

[00:21:19.684] Speaker 5: What are you looking at me for? All of the really bad ideas were theirs.

[00:21:23.624] Speaker 4: Fran.

[00:21:24.364] Speaker 1: Dr. Singer's outrage died as soon as it began.

[00:21:27.484] Speaker 4: [sighs]

[00:21:28.224] Speaker 1: Then she smiled and shook her head.

[00:21:31.364] Speaker 4: You're the worst.

[00:21:33.704] Speaker 5: I'm the best. I don't know why you're acting like we're evil. I don't think there's anyone left who hasn't done something bad.

[00:21:40.004] Speaker 1: Ethan rose from the work table, yanking wires from his torso and sealing valves with a thought. He swung his legs over the side and dropped down between the three of them. They took a step back reflexively, and for the briefest of moments, they were tense, frightened. I will judge you, but only by your actions. Then he did something he'd never done, at least couldn't remember doing. He spread his arms and his smile

[00:22:14.984] Speaker 1: wide. Group hug. Come on, group hug.

[00:22:21.904] Speaker 4: Mm.

[00:22:22.784] Speaker 5: Ugh.

[00:22:22.944] Speaker 1: Now I've judged you friends. [instrumental music plays] Ethan said his goodbyes to the nuns and warned them not to attack any corpse abominations moving in next door. For what it was worth, they would help with the cleanup. He rode the lift to the surface above New Hope. A cacophony of sounds roared around him, motorcycle engines and cheers.

[00:22:58.724] Speaker 1: There were as many as 100 Scary Boys. A man with a misshapen right half stood before them, grinning like the devil himself. Looks like you were holding out on me.

[00:23:13.384] Speaker 6: Wrong. I had confidence in you, and we'll need them for this final push.

[00:23:18.384] Speaker 1: Ethan nodded. Every passing second dimmed Fleabag's chances of survival. Best to get on with the fun part. The stalker snapped the fingers on his enormous right hand. [whoosh] [screams] And a tiny demon appeared next to him, already bowing.

[00:23:39.104] Speaker 6: Zolgek, tell the Chain One we'll begin assaulting Last Respite immediately.

[00:23:44.944] Speaker 1: The imp bobbed in another tiny bow, then stepped through the hoop of black fire, disappearing. [drum beat] Hm. Last Respite. Ethan's minds raced, bouncing back and forth between rage and somehow the pain of betrayal, as if he expected anything better from a demon. [gun cocks] Well, in that case, debts needed settling. Ethan lowered the boomstick. The stalker blinked at him

[00:24:19.620] Speaker 1: Then gently nudged the barrel of the shotgun toward the still open fiery portal. A second later, the imp stepped out. The self-satisfied look on its face didn't last long. The stalker shot Ethan an annoyed look when he didn't fire. Why would he? The imp bolted for the portal again. A massive hand came down on the small creature, dragged it away from the portal of flames, and held it upside down where it flailed helplessly in the air.

[00:24:51.200] Speaker 1: [bones cracking] Let them come. He tossed the imp's body aside and looked at Ethan. You have no idea how long I've waited to do that. Shame it's not permanent.

[00:25:09.340] Speaker 3: So that was all just for show.

[00:25:13.160] Speaker 1: Didn't you get my signal?

[00:25:15.980] Speaker 3: What signal? You just blinked.

[00:25:19.820] Speaker 1: It was a wink.

[00:25:21.920] Speaker 3: Oh, come on. I can only see half your face.

[00:25:24.980] Speaker 1: It was obviously a wink. In any case, I only bought us a little time. My old boss already suspects me. I do a little too much infighting, even for a demon. He won't wait for the Southern Horde if I betray him here. He'll use portals. Then he leveled a very serious gaze at Ethan. We need to escape from Los Angeles.

[00:25:52.540] Speaker 1: [rock music]

[00:26:48.180] Speaker 1: Xorkek's rebirth was painful. [bones cracking] Damn it. He pulled his soul free from the Eternal Ichor with a final tear. Being reborn was exhausting. It took him a moment to recall what had killed him. That, that ungrateful, deceiving, worthless piece of human refuse. Worse than any of the others. He'd definitely chosen the worst of them. The line to receive a new body was unbelievably long. Was the conquest not going well?

[00:27:23.120] Speaker 1: Who had killed these demons? Most of them were simple souls. Eh, he could probably just cut in line. The slave demons at their desks growled from across the room. He stepped back in line. Seriously? He was an emissary of The Chained One. That was when Xorkek saw a familiar looking soul. He slipped past a few simple souls to reach them. The spine eater looked down at the imp, reaching up to tap on his knees.

[00:27:59.040] Speaker 1: Xorkek, so he got you too. Hell. The spine eater put two massive hands to the side of his head. Please don't use that voice. What voice? His voice? Fine. How's this? Tolerable. Xorkek ignored the insult for now. There was no time to wait around in line. He needed to get to The Chained One immediately. Put me on your shoulders. We're cutting line.

[00:28:34.300] Speaker 1: The spine eater looked at the slave demons with real concern. I don't know. Do you want payback or not? Its sideways teeth started clattering with excitement. That looked like a smile to Xorkek. Uh, it was kinda hard to tell. The big demon lifted Xorkek onto his broad shoulders and easily pushed aside the many simple souls in their way. They ignored the shouts of the slave demons, and with Xorkek pointing the way, they were at The Chained One's palace in no time. Two guards

[00:29:09.300] Speaker 1: stood outside the inner sanctum. Xorkek cleared his throat. I am Xorkek, emissary of- We know who you are. But they each rolled their single eye and stepped aside for the mounted Xorkek to pass. Good. It's about time he get some respect. They pushed open door after door, moving farther and farther into The Chained One's holy chambers. Xorkek could no longer hold his breath though, so he was forced to take some of the greatest Holy One's sacred air. At last,

[00:29:44.380] Speaker 1: they went through the doors into the innermost chamber. There sat a being so tall, its head was shrouded in shadow. Enormous chains wrapped around its body. The Lord of Darkness, the devil itself, had put those chains there. A voice like a mountain rumbled. So, he has betrayed me. Xorkek fell to the floor in

[00:30:19.140] Speaker 1: prostration, unwilling to speak. Ingar, come forth. An imp, nearly four feet tall, stepped out of the shadows. Not in a magical way, just in an annoying, always standing around kind of way. Start the sacrifices. Open a few portals, and dump the leftovers into that

[00:30:52.880] Speaker 1: world. Exterminate them. I grow tired of its resilience. Ingar bowed, then the three lesser demons left the inner chamber. The Chained One could kill them as easily as exhaling. Maybe easier. Once they'd closed the doors, the taller imp crossed its forearms and gave Xorkek an annoyed look. Xorkek, you're still

[00:31:28.080] Speaker 1: here. Xorkek gave the other imp a shallow bow, then scurried off to get back in line. Curse that Ingar. He would never say that out loud, though. And next time, he would choose a better host. What about that other guy? The one with the gun for an arm. Maybe he could be persuaded.