Uncorrected Scribe v2 machine transcript. Neutral speaker labels are specific to this recording. Review flags: 8.
TXT · SRT · VTT · Untouched JSON · Review flags
Source: collected/008-mortal-steel-episode-8.mp3
SHA-256: 44f0c4d359304e9f216fdaeafc76a55fe9fc9e4704774e82f5026098fee4f1f3
00:00:00.000 Speaker 1 [rock music]
00:00:54.800 Speaker 1 Mortal Steel, episode eight.
00:01:01.100 Speaker 1 Part 10: Babies, Bodies, and Steel.
00:01:09.600 Speaker 1 Dr. Marie Singer stood at the end of an underground tunnel in the
00:01:15.220 Speaker 1 dark. Moments like this were precious. It gave her an opportunity to
00:01:21.100 Speaker 1 reflect on her mistakes. Where to start? Hitting her third grade
00:01:26.880 Speaker 1 teacher in the face because she didn't know what mitosis meant. No, that was too far
00:01:31.680 Speaker 1 back, and she wouldn't classify that as a mistake anyway. Taking on the Hail Mary
00:01:37.720 Speaker 1 project. Yes, in retrospect, that was a poor career choice.
00:01:44.100 Speaker 1 Based on her current situation, perhaps a lethal one. It wasn't long until Sister
00:01:50.160 Speaker 1 Francesca interrupted her inner dialogue.
00:01:53.040 Speaker 2 Do you think we're gonna die?
00:01:55.580 Speaker 3 Quite probably.
00:01:57.540 Speaker 1 Hmm. It was rare that Ursula offered her opinion. When she did, she
00:02:03.460 Speaker 1 was usually right.
00:02:05.140 Speaker 4 Hush, you two. There's hope yet. Did either of you hear where that robot went off
00:02:09.759 Speaker 4 to?
00:02:12.540 Speaker 4 If you're shaking your heads, I can't see that.
00:02:16.360 Speaker 3 I'm shaking my head.
00:02:19.100 Speaker 1 Ugh. Why couldn't someone other than Francesca have jumped down this hole? As a
00:02:24.620 Speaker 1 matter of fact, why had she? She added that as one more
00:02:30.480 Speaker 1 mistake to the list, directly under the imaginary heading, choices that will
00:02:36.360 Speaker 1 probably kill me.
00:02:39.080 Speaker 1 A bright vertical white line appeared in the darkness near them. The line resolved
00:02:43.740 Speaker 1 into an open doorway with a kind-looking woman standing inside.
00:02:49.840 Speaker 1 She'd come down this hole because even low odds were better than zero.
00:02:56.420 Speaker 1 Marie reorganized her mental list, only belatedly realizing she should probably say
00:03:01.640 Speaker 1 hello.
00:03:02.840 Speaker 4 Is this New Hope?
00:03:05.280 Speaker 1 The stranger closed her eyes and smiled warmly, moving to the side while holding the
00:03:11.160 Speaker 1 door open for them to enter.
00:03:14.180 Speaker 3 It is. I'm so glad you found us. I'm Kelly John Four.
00:03:20.560 Speaker 1 Dr. Singer traded a nervous glance with the other two. Well, with Ursula anyway.
00:03:27.180 Speaker 1 Francesca just gave her that same slightly annoyed, slightly bewildered look she
00:03:32.320 Speaker 1 always did. It said, "Why are you looking at me?" Marie
00:03:38.040 Speaker 1 walked in first, signaling with her hands to enter battle formation. The other two
00:03:43.220 Speaker 1 flanked her to the left and right, and slightly behind. One of them groaned audibly.
00:03:49.060 Speaker 1 It wasn't hard to guess who. Kelly John Four appeared to be human,
00:03:55.900 Speaker 1 and Dr. Singer considered herself to be somewhat of an expert on the topic as well.
00:04:01.100 Speaker 1 She would recognize a cyborg. Supposedly, New Hope had some past
00:04:06.800 Speaker 1 dealings with the late, great Professor Saitama. To what extent they had their
00:04:12.780 Speaker 1 own version of the Hail Mary project, well, that she had never discovered.
00:04:18.779 Speaker 1 No, no. She had stayed as far away from politics as possible and
00:04:24.660 Speaker 1 kept her focus on building The Man. She'd said that phrase so
00:04:30.660 Speaker 1 often it was burned into her very soul. No time for politics. No
00:04:36.480 Speaker 1 time for a relationship, or family, or friends, or God.
00:04:42.780 Speaker 1 Just building The Man. This, this was not the time to
00:04:48.720 Speaker 1 have a mental breakdown. Marie balled a fist, prepared to club this kind-looking
00:04:54.340 Speaker 1 lady at the first sign of danger.
00:04:57.120 Speaker 4 Where are you taking us?
00:04:59.280 Speaker 3 The cafeteria.
00:05:01.060 Speaker 1 She let the balled fist relax.
00:05:04.160 Speaker 4 Oh, that's very kind of you.
00:05:07.420 Speaker 1 Sister Francesca leaned uncomfortably close to Marie's left ear.
00:05:12.120 Speaker 2 What if they're going to eat us?
00:05:14.800 Speaker 1 Kelly John Four flashed that wonderful smile again. No wonder they sent her to greet
00:05:20.560 Speaker 1 them. She was infuriatingly friendly.
00:05:23.940 Speaker 3 We're not going to eat you. If you don't want to come, you don't have to.
00:05:30.460 Speaker 2 So you'll let us leave?
00:05:32.500 Speaker 4 Francesca.
00:05:34.140 Speaker 1 Kelly put a thoughtful finger to her chin and shrugged.
00:05:37.600 Speaker 3 Oh, I don't know. Probably. You can ask the intercom.
00:05:45.080 Speaker 2 I think she's stupid.
00:05:47.040 Speaker 4 Will you stop?
00:05:48.840 Speaker 1 Fortunately, Kelly either didn't hear or didn't notice the insult. Or maybe it
00:05:54.460 Speaker 1 simply didn't phase her. The four of them walked down a hallway lined with steel
00:05:59.540 Speaker 1 doors which had no handles or locks. Very curious.
00:06:05.780 Speaker 1 Emergency exits? Or something else. Dr. Singer stepped
00:06:11.632 Speaker 1 covertly to the side and rapped three times on one of the doors as she passed.
00:06:16.912 Speaker 1 [knocking] Nothing happened.
00:06:23.332 Speaker 1 Kelly opened the door at the other end of the long hallway. It led to a large lobby
00:06:27.852 Speaker 1 that had been retrofitted into a small cafeteria. 50 or so people in vintage
00:06:33.672 Speaker 1 clothing sat at the tables, stood in line, and, well, generally looked like normal
00:06:39.592 Speaker 1 people, if a little malnourished. She took it all in.
00:06:45.312 Speaker 1 Pieces. The clues of an unknown puzzle to put together in her
00:06:50.792 Speaker 1 mind. Clues she might need later. Not much communication came
00:06:56.792 Speaker 1 out of New Hope. If old world fiction was any guide, that was
00:07:02.352 Speaker 1 probably not a good sign. Francesca and Ursula hurried ahead to the end
00:07:08.292 Speaker 1 of the food line with a complete lack of decorum. Kelly John 4 closed the door
00:07:13.832 Speaker 1 behind them. There was neither a handle nor a lock on this side.
00:07:21.132 Speaker 1 And as she closed the door, Dr. Marie Singer heard her first
00:07:26.932 Speaker 1 clue.
00:07:27.512 Speaker 1 [banging]
00:07:37.932 Speaker 1 Kelly quickly closed the door all the way. Marie met her eyes. She saw
00:07:44.472 Speaker 1 not the gleeful look of a spider catching a fly, but the terrified,
00:07:50.532 Speaker 1 shameful look of a fly betraying its own.
00:07:56.512 Speaker 1 Then an instant later, she smoothed the expression and smiled as if nothing had
00:08:01.152 Speaker 1 happened. Marie put a gentle hand on Kelly's upper arm.
00:08:07.292 Speaker 1 It was time to stop building the man. The man was built and gone.
00:08:13.452 Speaker 1 It was time to start asking questions.
00:08:16.832 Speaker 4 What was that?
00:08:19.332 Speaker 3 I don't know. I don't ask, and neither should you.
00:08:25.732 Speaker 1 Kelly John 4 walked away toward a table of people waving to her. She kissed a man
00:08:31.292 Speaker 1 seated there and then took the baby from his arms.
00:08:35.932 Speaker 1 She cradled it in her arms in that way that only a mother does, like it
00:08:41.872 Speaker 1 was the only thing in the world.
00:08:45.112 Speaker 1 What she would give to feel that again.
00:08:50.512 Speaker 1 It was still not the time for a mental breakdown. Dr. Singer joined the other two in
00:08:56.152 Speaker 1 line. They were speaking to each other quickly under their breath.
00:09:00.712 Speaker 2 And what kind of a name is Kelly John 4?
00:09:03.712 Speaker 4 Perhaps we should ask her.
00:09:05.632 Speaker 1 Francesca shot her a look of total confusion.
00:09:10.792 Speaker 2 You can't just ask the crazy cult people if they're crazy.
00:09:16.132 Speaker 4 Why not?
00:09:17.432 Speaker 2 Because, because...
00:09:20.652 Speaker 4 Oh, because they don't do it in movies?
00:09:23.792 Speaker 2 No. Because they'll murder us right away.
00:09:28.512 Speaker 1 Marie looked over at Kelly John 4 and her thin, cheerful companion skeptically.
00:09:35.912 Speaker 4 I don't think she's the murdering type.
00:09:39.132 Speaker 1 So she left the line and walked right over to their table, then did the unthinkable.
00:09:45.432 Speaker 1 She simply asked for all their secrets up front.
00:09:49.292 Speaker 4 Why are you named Kelly John 4? And are you going to murder us?
00:09:53.832 Speaker 1 Kelly John 4 looked like she'd been run through with a spear. The look of horror on
00:09:59.352 Speaker 1 her face was frameable artwork.
00:10:03.092 Speaker 3 I, I...
00:10:05.852 Speaker 2 Holy crap, they were going to murder us.
00:10:08.892 Speaker 1 But instead of sprouting fangs then attacking, Kelly John 4 pulled her baby tightly
00:10:14.812 Speaker 1 to her chest and began crying.
00:10:19.212 Speaker 3 Please, don't make trouble. Please.
00:10:25.192 Speaker 3 They let me keep this one.
00:10:29.492 Speaker 3 They let me keep her.
00:10:31.872 Speaker 1 A fire grew in Marie Singer's chest, a rage she did not know
00:10:37.712 Speaker 1 she still contained.
00:10:41.612 Speaker 1 A fire which had started when her son died, Raphael, and had
00:10:47.472 Speaker 1 burned her soul every day since.
00:10:51.432 Speaker 1 Her eyes narrowed to slits, the gaze sharp as a razor.
00:10:56.832 Speaker 4 You will keep this one. You will see her laugh and learn and grow well into
00:11:02.172 Speaker 4 adulthood. You will see her live.
00:11:06.132 Speaker 1 Then she placed a gentle hand on Kelly's upper arm for a second time.
00:11:11.692 Speaker 4 Now, why don't you tell me everything about this place so I can make sure she lives?
00:11:17.852 Speaker 1 And so she could tear it apart. Dr. Singer really didn't need to know
00:11:23.872 Speaker 1 any more. It might take time. It might put many entries under
00:11:29.872 Speaker 1 choices that will probably kill me, but you didn't mess with kids, and you
00:11:35.932 Speaker 1 sure as hell didn't mess with moms.
00:11:37.692 Speaker 1 [upbeat music]
00:11:55.452 Speaker 1 Ethan and the gang rode their bikes through the broken city for almost an hour. Even
00:12:01.172 Speaker 1 on vehicles well-suited for fast travel, it was laborious. The lead rider
00:12:07.172 Speaker 1 put up her hand and signaled for them to stop.
00:12:11.412 Speaker 1 The seven of them pulled up in a line and cut the engines on their bikes
00:12:17.176 Speaker 1 The scene before them was quite unlike the rest of the urban landscape. It could
00:12:23.096 Speaker 1 best be described as a pit lined with bones and covered in a webbing of bizarre,
00:12:29.276 Speaker 1 alien arteries, as if the earth itself had sprouted some living tumor, and the
00:12:35.196 Speaker 1 infection had spread across this football-sized clearing.
00:12:40.996 Speaker 1 At the bottom of the pit was a gaping hole. From here, it was impossible to
00:12:46.956 Speaker 1 see how deep.
00:12:49.376 Speaker 1 One of the scary boys chuckled and made a joke to his companion, elbowing them in
00:12:53.856 Speaker 1 the side. Then both of them looked at Ethan and laughed again.
00:12:59.736 Speaker 5 What's so funny?
00:13:00.656 Speaker 1 [laughs] It's a butt hole. He put a hand to his
00:13:06.576 Speaker 1 face.
00:13:08.016 Speaker 5 Seriously?
00:13:09.696 Speaker 1 We're not going in there.
00:13:11.596 Speaker 5 And why not?
00:13:13.896 Speaker 1 Just look at it.
00:13:15.536 Speaker 5 I thought this was supposed to be your ally.
00:13:18.356 Speaker 1 The scary boy shook her head. That doesn't mean I'm going in the demonic butt hole.
00:13:24.176 Speaker 1 Then the other scary boys laughed, and Ethan ground his teeth.
00:13:29.016 Speaker 5 Fine.
00:13:30.276 Speaker 1 He got off the bike and started making his way down the incline, careful to avoid
00:13:35.356 Speaker 1 stepping on any of the pulsing veins that grew up from the ground. Surely there was
00:13:40.336 Speaker 1 a more convenient way to meet with this creature. If there was, the scary boys would
00:13:45.596 Speaker 1 have likely withheld that information simply for their own amusement.
00:13:52.036 Speaker 1 Ethan looked up the hill at the scary boys. They seemed content to watch him
00:13:56.876 Speaker 1 struggle, still laughing and cutting jokes at his expense.
00:14:02.856 Speaker 1 At last, he made it to the edge of the hole and looked down. A wave of
00:14:08.536 Speaker 1 warm, foul air wafted upward. There was only darkness, so
00:14:14.576 Speaker 1 he switched to infrared. It helped a little in the sense that he could see what was
00:14:20.636 Speaker 1 down there now. It did not help to know what he would be dropping
00:14:26.276 Speaker 1 down into.
00:14:29.396 Speaker 1 A pit of human bodies. The walls and floor were made of
00:14:35.036 Speaker 1 people, reanimated corpses attached to each other to form a single
00:14:40.496 Speaker 1 gigantic organism.
00:14:43.536 Speaker 1 Countless undead eyes watched him from the walls and floor of that pit.
00:14:49.496 Speaker 1 Untold numbers of human mouths opened and spoke as one, calling
00:14:55.556 Speaker 1 for him.
00:14:56.916 Speaker 5 You may enter, warrior.
00:15:01.556 Speaker 1 Ethan took one last look up the hill at the other riders. They hadn't left,
00:15:08.396 Speaker 1 yet.
00:15:10.636 Speaker 1 Then he groaned with resignation and let himself fall into the demonic butt
00:15:16.616 Speaker 1 hole.
00:15:23.836 Speaker 1 Dozens of limbs reached out to catch him with surprising gentleness. The hands and
00:15:28.636 Speaker 1 legs and faces broke his fall, then pushed him along the floor of bodies to a place
00:15:34.056 Speaker 1 where the flesh parted before him, a small hill of dirt upon which he could
00:15:39.756 Speaker 1 stand.
00:15:42.436 Speaker 1 When he found his balance there, the many limbs of the creatures disappeared back
00:15:48.156 Speaker 1 into an indistinct writhing mass. Ethan spun around in a circle,
00:15:54.696 Speaker 1 trying to take in the sight, so unimaginable that he found it difficult to even
00:15:59.696 Speaker 1 comprehend, even as he looked right at it. He queried his second
00:16:05.236 Speaker 1 mind.
00:16:08.756 Speaker 5 Oh, do you have the ability to repress memories?
00:16:12.836 Speaker 1 The answer came back as pure intuition. Of course, it was one of his
00:16:18.676 Speaker 1 most used functions.
00:16:22.136 Speaker 1 That response didn't make him feel as good as it should have.
00:16:26.816 Speaker 5 Can you repress this memory?
00:16:30.496 Speaker 1 Again, the response was immediate, but this time it replied with a quotation from
00:16:35.536 Speaker 1 some old world psychological text. Traumatic memories can be
00:16:41.156 Speaker 1 useful if framed correctly. They can provide lessons that a person may draw
00:16:46.776 Speaker 1 upon later in life for strength. Repressing memories, therefore, is almost
00:16:52.576 Speaker 1 never in a person's best interest.
00:16:55.816 Speaker 1 Ethan rolled his eyes. That was a very fancy way of saying, "I can do it, but you
00:17:01.136 Speaker 1 can't." He turned his attention back to the corpse abomination before him,
00:17:07.636 Speaker 1 the so-called corpse mother. He had only two priorities now.
00:17:13.756 Speaker 1 One, deal with this creature as fast as possible. And two, find
00:17:19.756 Speaker 1 somewhere to bathe.
00:17:23.036 Speaker 1 Thousands of human mouths began to speak.
00:17:27.476 Speaker 5 You are in disgust. Why? There are
00:17:33.316 Speaker 5 so many hearts and necks and eyes.
00:17:40.076 Speaker 5 They are not being used. Surely you can see, Pastor,
00:17:46.076 Speaker 5 the compulsion to the practicality of this.
00:17:50.456 Speaker 1 As much as Pastor Cutter wanted to start pulling the trigger on the messenger, or
00:17:54.896 Speaker 1 better, refill his tank of holy fire, he didn't kill
00:17:59.796 Speaker 1 indiscriminately. Not only was that not heroic, a trait which his second mind
00:18:05.816 Speaker 1 seemed almost pre-programmed to admire, it wasn't right.
00:18:12.036 Speaker 1 If this thing wasn't harming humans, at the very least it deserved to be rotated to
00:18:18.016 Speaker 1 the bottom of his things to kill list. The Lord knew that list was already
00:18:23.876 Speaker 1 unrealistically long.
00:18:26.452 Speaker 5 I take it the stalker told you I was coming.
00:18:29.712 Speaker 6 Yes. I was promised a home by
00:18:33.752 Speaker 6 Melchizedek.
00:18:36.192 Speaker 5 Well, forget whatever he told you. Here's the deal. One, you don't attack unless
00:18:42.271 Speaker 5 I say go. Two, you don't hurt anyone acting only in
00:18:47.732 Speaker 5 self-defense. And three, you do all that, and you can have the dead
00:18:53.492 Speaker 5 bodies of anyone in New Hope, as long as they die of natural causes.
00:19:00.892 Speaker 6 Promise already broken.
00:19:05.012 Speaker 5 What is your answer, demon?
00:19:10.532 Speaker 6 I decline.
00:19:12.412 Speaker 1 There was movement in the darkness all around him. He cocked his arm to load two
00:19:17.132 Speaker 1 shells into the gun, then flipped to infrared only.
00:19:21.772 Speaker 1 He saw distinct creatures made of people separating itself from the mass of parts at
00:19:26.292 Speaker 1 the edge of the pit. The tide of human limbs rose at his feet, threatening to pull
00:19:31.332 Speaker 1 him into the mass. He kicked away the first grasping hands. If that happened, he
00:19:37.312 Speaker 1 would disappear into suffocating darkness beneath hundreds of writhing, reanimated
00:19:43.292 Speaker 1 bodies. His second mind didn't request this capability, but it gladly
00:19:49.132 Speaker 1 request his terror. As the bodies rose to his waist, Ethan
00:19:55.072 Speaker 1 forced himself to remain calm.
00:19:57.632 Speaker 5 Did I mention that I have a bomb?
00:20:00.832 Speaker 1 The flesh abomination stopped enveloping him.
00:20:05.972 Speaker 5 Oops. Must have slipped my mind.
00:20:09.312 Speaker 1 The stitched-together creatures released him, then slipped and folded back into the
00:20:14.092 Speaker 1 walls and floor.
00:20:16.832 Speaker 6 You break your master's word and then threaten my life.
00:20:23.092 Speaker 6 Your deeds are crooked, my lonely warrior.
00:20:29.172 Speaker 1 Ethan wasn't sure if that was a compliment or an insult coming from a demon.
00:20:34.552 Speaker 1 Hopefully, it would never catch his bluff. While he had a bomb, he had no way of
00:20:40.112 Speaker 1 setting it off now. His second mind pinged him with an update.
00:20:46.172 Speaker 1 Hmm. Apparently, that was no longer true. With his most recent
00:20:51.972 Speaker 1 patch, he'd acquired full control over a very explosive self-destruct.
00:20:58.532 Speaker 1 And it had been the very pocket fusion reactor itself that powered him the entire
00:21:04.472 Speaker 1 time. That, that would be a very big
00:21:10.192 Speaker 1 boom. He could glass half of old LA.
00:21:15.612 Speaker 1 Now, that was a very useful negotiation tool. Of course, that had
00:21:21.572 Speaker 1 the same drawbacks as using fission nukes back when the hordes first appeared.
00:21:27.772 Speaker 1 But when innocents mixed tightly with enemies all across the globe, nuclear weapons
00:21:33.552 Speaker 1 could not be used effectively. At least, not unless you wanted to duke it out in a
00:21:39.152 Speaker 1 fallout wasteland afterward. A few places had still taken that route, despite the
00:21:45.032 Speaker 1 drawbacks.
00:21:51.372 Speaker 6 Why did the defenders kill my children? Am I to allow
00:21:57.172 Speaker 6 this?
00:21:58.332 Speaker 5 Then you'll lose a few roaches.
00:22:01.252 Speaker 6 Why do you speak so to a human mother? Because you believe
00:22:07.132 Speaker 6 we disgust, we deserve death?
00:22:13.172 Speaker 1 Damn it. What was with these monsters? Were they making sense, or was he simply too
00:22:19.032 Speaker 1 far gone to tell the difference anymore? What happened to the good old days? Like
00:22:24.752 Speaker 1 when they jumped at you snarling and you got to blow them apart, then go home
00:22:29.352 Speaker 1 knowing you did the right thing.
00:22:32.932 Speaker 1 It was going to get exhausting if every nightmare he slew gave him a lecture
00:22:38.992 Speaker 1 about the value of life with its dying breath.
00:22:44.731 Speaker 5 Fine. Just treat the people like people and the monsters like
00:22:50.152 Speaker 5 monsters.
00:22:51.292 Speaker 6 How do you know the difference?
00:22:56.492 Speaker 5 By their actions.
00:23:01.352 Speaker 6 I accept.
00:23:05.352 Speaker 5 Good. Because if I have to climb back down here again, I'm setting off a nuke.
00:23:10.932 Speaker 5 [outro music]
00:24:35.440 Speaker 1 The camera turned to fit the subject into the frame.
00:24:39.040 Speaker 7 What is your name?
00:24:41.920 Speaker 1 Temperance. Sister Temperance.
00:24:48.280 Speaker 1 Where am I?
00:24:50.920 Speaker 7 I will give you a questionnaire. Please answer it to the best of your ability.
00:24:56.200 Speaker 1 Then the intercom ran down the list of forty questions. It would give them a
00:25:00.380 Speaker 1 satisfactory quantitative view of the subject's true religious convictions and
00:25:05.040 Speaker 1 personal history with faith. Yeah, as close as one could get to quantitative anyway.
00:25:11.620 Speaker 1 It took quite a while to get the subject to finish the questionnaire, as they
00:25:15.500 Speaker 1 continually interrupted to ask questions or spend long moments trying to peer into
00:25:20.600 Speaker 1 the next room.
00:25:22.420 Speaker 7 Now I'm asking you to pray for twenty minutes. Pray as hard as you can in whatever
00:25:27.220 Speaker 7 way is most meaningful to you. If you need something specific to pray for, pray for
00:25:32.260 Speaker 7 safety. Pray that you will escape.
00:25:35.940 Speaker 1 Where am I?
00:25:39.200 Speaker 1 Twenty minutes later, the intercom remotely opened the metal gate between experiment
00:25:43.160 Speaker 1 chambers four and five. The intercom did everything remotely, except think
00:25:48.620 Speaker 1 perhaps. Hmm. That idea deserves some deliberation, but not now.
00:25:55.800 Speaker 1 The intercom turned its visual system back to the camera feed. An uncontrolled demon
00:26:00.640 Speaker 1 moved toward the opening from the other side. Predictably, the subject tried to
00:26:05.600 Speaker 1 flee. It was one of the so-called cull hounds. They looked like bizarrely tall
00:26:11.340 Speaker 1 dogs with reverse joints and a skin disease, but they actually had a lot more in
00:26:15.800 Speaker 1 common with spiders. The exceptionally strong, sharp fibers on their body were what
00:26:21.100 Speaker 1 allowed them to find and kill people cowering in unexpectedly high places like
00:26:26.340 Speaker 1 apartments, skyscrapers, and even second-floor attics.
00:26:31.480 Speaker 1 The subject pressed her back, moving away from the demon as expected. It was rare,
00:26:36.560 Speaker 1 but sometimes the subjects attacked the demon first. The dog-like creature had been
00:26:41.600 Speaker 1 reused for multiple experiments by then, so it was more cautious than was ideal. The
00:26:47.260 Speaker 1 intercom made note of that in their logs.
00:26:51.060 Speaker 1 The demon cautiously touched one foreleg to an almost invisible divide between the
00:26:56.040 Speaker 1 two rooms. The hairs on that foreleg burst into flame, and the demon froze in place,
00:27:01.760 Speaker 1 staring down the subject with statue-like patience. Again, the intercom noted this
00:27:07.220 Speaker 1 creature's familiarity with the process. It knew a meal was inevitable. It would
00:27:12.580 Speaker 1 need to be destroyed after this experiment regardless. [screaming]
00:27:18.340 Speaker 7 That's it. Just keep praying.
00:27:21.680 Speaker 1 The intercom switched over to the camera feeds of the neighboring experiments. Two
00:27:26.020 Speaker 1 more newly acquired subjects acted as controls, one with a sealed room, the
00:27:32.060 Speaker 1 other with a sealed grate between them and the demon. In the experiments so far,
00:27:37.460 Speaker 1 removing that grate had made all the difference. The study of consecration was
00:27:43.340 Speaker 1 such a laborious one. It was frustratingly difficult to measure objectively.
00:27:49.360 Speaker 1 But if anything without fangs was going to survive the apocalypse, it would need to
00:27:55.340 Speaker 1 be understood completely.
00:27:59.880 Speaker 1 If humanity could reliably generate a natural weapon against the demons,
00:28:05.980 Speaker 1 maybe a future was still possible.
00:28:09.400 Speaker 7 If you need something specific to pray about, pray for survival.