0:00

We are actuaries. In a world

0:03

filled with unpredictability, we use our

0:05

math skills to navigate uncertainty.

0:08

Actuaries make a difference in people's lives

0:10

across industries and the world. Actuaries

0:13

have the freedom to work anywhere and according

0:15

to US News and World Report, we're

0:18

the 25th top-paying career. Make

0:20

an impact as a fact seeker and

0:22

a truth teller. Use your math skills

0:25

for good as an actuary. The

0:27

world needs you. I want

0:30

to welcome everyone back to part 11 of

0:33

my reading of Jean Raspail's

0:36

The Camp of the Saints. A

0:39

reminder about Speechify. I've had a

0:41

couple people contact me and they're

0:44

enjoying it. They've signed up

0:46

for it. It put a

0:48

PDF in there that something you

0:50

know is not available in an audiobook. Put

0:52

a PDF in there but you can also

0:54

put articles in there, links

0:56

to articles. Read it to

0:59

you perfectly, whatever speed you want. Yeah,

1:01

you'll like it. It's at freemanbeyondthewall.com/speech

1:07

and the Thought Crime

1:11

Syndicate episode in

1:13

which we review Israel the

1:15

Psychopathic Nation by Lorraine Guignon.

1:18

That is available

1:21

at freemanbeyondthewall.com/T C

1:24

S and the more it's

1:26

getting downloaded the more I'm hearing about it

1:28

and people are getting a lot out of

1:30

it. So, um, yep, check those

1:32

out. and let's just

1:34

jump in. We're gonna do chapter 29

1:38

and see how far we can get. So all

1:41

right. The news that

1:44

the fleet had passed through Gibraltar quickly

1:46

spread throughout Europe. It was Spain though

1:48

that suffered the most drastic shock. Of

1:50

the famous Good Friday processions that had

1:52

long lined the streets of every Spanish

1:54

town, only the folklore and traditional pomp

1:56

remained as colorful as ever. Hooded penitents

2:00

Brass Bands pre stressed investments of a

2:02

debt been a of a bygone day

2:04

all for the greater glory and profits

2:06

of the Chambers of Commerce. People.

2:08

Brought their children everyone's at pictures and

2:11

only a few old woman women would

2:13

still neil in prayer as the Cross

2:15

was born. Pass on that particular Good

2:17

Friday. as the news blared out over

2:20

every transistor again and again, the procession

2:22

strangely found the spirit. They had long

2:24

since lost the transformation one last, but

2:26

as long as it did, the crowd

2:29

fell to their knees and sang the

2:31

old hims. those who didn't remember the

2:33

Latin words were same just to hum.

2:36

Throws: Reason long ornamental on

2:39

new life as their beads

2:41

past one by one between

2:43

the join hands and trembling

2:45

fingers of black garbed penitence.

2:48

Then. In no time the streets

2:50

for does deserted everyone went back

2:53

home. Setters closed as whole family's

2:55

huddled around huge. Huddled.

2:58

Around their Tvs and radios. Bishops.

3:00

For claim their messages as charities

3:03

and a rolling leftists clicks drones

3:05

on and the name of universal

3:07

harmony and brotherly love But even

3:09

as the Spanish government spoke of

3:11

peace and com the highways and

3:13

of every city along the Mediterranean

3:15

mullah I'm gotta hang Yes Outset:

3:17

Alice Allah com say. Valencia.

3:20

All the way down a barcelona were jammed

3:22

with cars. Packed. With baggage

3:24

and children to streams in fact, we're

3:27

cutting across Spain and opposite directions. One,

3:29

a river of words rolling down to

3:31

the sea. and again, she's flip a

3:34

fleet beyond. the other, a river of

3:36

life flowing inland away from the coast.

3:38

On Good Friday evening, the second streams

3:40

wins or than died. The fleet had

3:43

gone by and kept assistance. It was

3:45

then that the stream of words Weldon

3:47

was gushing torrents When that wouldn't set.

3:50

Subside. Until Easter Monday when clearly

3:52

it was France that was going to

3:54

be invaded. The

3:56

evening of that same day a band of

3:58

and the Lucien fishermen. The village of

4:00

gotta near I'll matter how many I.

4:04

Came. Upon some twenty naked corpses on

4:06

the beach around each neck biting into

4:08

the flash each body still bore that

4:11

site nodded cord that had choked off

4:13

it's life. Could it be the fishermen

4:15

turn and fled and panic Afraid of the. Of

4:17

an epidemic or that the police with the

4:20

whole of the coast of a troll simply

4:22

couldn't get involved in. got said the moment.

4:24

Be that as it may, the inquest was

4:26

delayed. For. Reasons hard to fathom at

4:28

the time before of beef that were for reasons

4:30

hard to fathom at the time. Before.

4:33

Jumping to conclusions, the Spanish authorities

4:35

insisted on bringing a team of

4:37

medico legal experts to Gotta. Some

4:40

other way from Madrid was took a

4:43

whole day. It wasn't until Easter Sunday

4:45

morning that they finally came up out

4:47

with the facts namely that the corpses

4:49

weren't Hindus at all. according to the

4:51

experts. Most of them were white with

4:54

three Chinese thrown in and one an

4:56

Afro American mulatto. One. Of the

4:58

whites was identified by a bracelet which

5:00

is killers had apparently forgotten to remove.

5:02

He was a young Frenchman allay ministry,

5:05

a missionary and agriculture advisor in a

5:07

village along the Ganges who had joined

5:09

the fleet and dragged all his villagers

5:11

with him. The. Last wait to see

5:13

him alive had been console him ends. In.

5:16

His office at the Belgian Consulate general

5:18

in Calcutta a few days before the

5:20

fleet would sell. But.

5:23

Nobody knew. As. Would balance

5:25

The Philosopher murdered by the crowd on

5:27

the docks by the Ganges and a

5:29

renegade writer strangled a drone into the

5:31

sea. Offsets homey. Before.

5:34

The gates of the Western World. The

5:36

armada slot sloths through all of those

5:38

wheeling stealing traders who had served

5:40

at all too well. It

5:43

has used them in much the

5:45

same way: an occupying army, some

5:47

occupying enemy subverts, and exploits as

5:49

native collaborators, all judged and condemns

5:51

sooner or later. A classic

5:54

situation in which basic human

5:56

justice will invariably prevail. The.

5:58

armada was standing fourth alone now, cleansed

6:01

in advance of all compromise,

6:03

steeled against all illusion, its

6:05

racial diamond pure and unflawed,

6:07

xenophobia in a word. And

6:10

the word was pronounced and written and

6:12

published because finally at long last the

6:14

foes of the beast were raising their

6:16

voices and people were listening.

6:19

At noon on Easter Sunday it was Pierre

6:22

Saint-Gronaut, not Albert Dervort,

6:24

whose voice was heard over Radio

6:26

East. The change had been smoothed

6:28

with no pressure from above. Albert

6:31

Dervort had merely failed to appear for

6:33

his broadcast the previous evening. His telephone

6:35

didn't answer, his friends were at a

6:37

loss to imagine where he was. For

6:40

the record let's note what actually

6:42

happened and how Zorro of the

6:44

airwaves, erstwhile idle of millions, bowed

6:47

out leaving public and microphone behind.

6:49

Quite simply by running off to Switzerland

6:51

with a few tens of thousands of

6:54

francs worth of gold in his luggage

6:56

and a young Antillesian mistress of

6:58

whom he was terribly fond and who clung to

7:01

him like glue since that moment a few days

7:03

before when he picked her up at the Mantinikin

7:09

embassy sticking her last

7:11

little flag on the map. Since the

7:13

Swiss would be slow and deliberate as

7:15

usual in marshalling their forces, Dervort made

7:17

tracks for the south hoping to reach

7:20

Geneva before the inevitable closing of the

7:22

borders. Let's add

7:24

that he wasn't alone that day and that others

7:26

too were speeding in the same direction and

7:29

so it was Pierre Saint-Gonaut

7:32

whose voice was heard, a sharp

7:34

voice, curt and biting, almost unpleasant.

7:38

The time has come he began to call

7:40

the role of our dead and there's one

7:42

in particular to whom I want to pay

7:44

tribute, one who died for us all some

7:47

two months ago. I'm speaking of Consul Himmens,

7:49

Consul General of Belgium in the city

7:52

of Calcutta. People said he was mad,

7:54

they screamed it from the rooftops. You

7:56

remember, I'm sure, that one man, Consul

7:59

Himmens, on the in Calcutta standing

8:01

up to the crowd to keep them

8:03

off the ships and they trampled them

8:05

to death. Mad, console humans, then

8:07

it's time we were all acting mad, I'm

8:10

afraid. And the others, the ones killed at

8:12

Gata in Spain. A few moments

8:14

ago on another station I heard Boris Vilsberg

8:16

call them martyrs to the cause of brotherhood.

8:19

That just shows you how blind we've become.

8:21

The enemy's henchmen have your brains in their

8:24

clutches. Bird brains, I'm sorry to say. Stop

8:26

listening to them. See them for what they

8:28

are. Fight them off if you still have

8:30

the strength. The monster is here. He's a

8:32

ground off our shores, but he's still full

8:35

of life. And everywhere, the same plea to

8:37

throw your doors open, to take him in.

8:40

Even from the Pope, that feeble voice

8:42

of the sick Christian world. Well, listen

8:44

to me for heaven's sake. Shut them.

8:47

Shut your doors. Shut them tight. If

8:49

it's not too late, be hard, be

8:51

tough. Turn a deaf ear to your

8:54

heart. Remember, console humans. Remember, console humans.

8:56

Remember Luke Nataris. At

8:58

noon on Easter Sunday, after

9:00

so many words and sentences and statements piled

9:03

up over so many years, may

9:05

as well try to grab a river and make

9:07

it flow back from its mouth to its source.

9:09

Too late, too late. That too is

9:11

one explanation. And who really knew what

9:13

Saint-Clinac meant? Well, at

9:16

least let's admire the good people for trying.

9:18

They managed to lift an enormous weight like

9:20

a corpse comes suddenly to life, budging

9:23

his tombstone for a moment, enough to let in

9:25

a sliver of light, then plunge

9:27

back into endless darkness. Josiane

9:29

asked Marcel, you

9:32

know those Arabs up on the sixth floor?

9:34

They ate of them in two rooms. Like

9:36

you wonder sometimes how the kids can keep

9:38

so clean while all day they've been outside

9:40

our door. The minute I open up, there's

9:42

one of them out there staring with our

9:44

three rooms. I mean, and only the two

9:47

of us. You think you

9:49

think that's what Saint-Clinac meant

9:52

when he yelled about keeping your doors

9:54

closed, Marcel? What if we kept

9:56

ours closed? We'll never be alone unless we move

9:58

up to the sixth floor. floor, maybe, and

10:00

change places with the Arabs. But where would we

10:03

put all our things? We'd never

10:05

be able to fit them all in there.

10:07

The sliver of light as the trump tombstone

10:09

moves a crack, then falls back in place

10:11

with all its weight. Too heavy,

10:13

Marcel. Much too heavy. We

10:18

are actuaries. In a world filled

10:20

with unpredictability, we use our math

10:23

skills to navigate uncertainty. Actuaries

10:25

make a difference in people's lives across

10:27

industries and the world. Actuaries

10:30

have the freedom to work anywhere, and according

10:32

to US News and World Report, we

10:35

are the 25th top paying career. Make

10:37

an impact as a fact seeker and a

10:40

truth teller. Use your math skills

10:42

for good as an actuary. The

10:45

world needs you. He

10:51

knew that one of them was going to

10:53

turn tail and run and it would be the person

10:55

who spoke

10:57

the loudest when he realized what was happening.

11:00

Just like our politicians who know that

11:03

this insane immigration that

11:06

we're suffering is never going to

11:08

touch them. And when

11:11

a busload does get sent to them, they

11:13

say, oh no, we have no room

11:15

here. There's no room at the end. We

11:17

couldn't even feed them. Chapter

11:20

30. They died in

11:22

great numbers on the ships of the refugee

11:24

fleet, although not so many more when you

11:26

stop and think than in Ganges villages ravaged

11:29

by war, epidemics, famines, and floods. The

11:31

last chance Armada had simply brought with

11:33

it the death rate at the Indian

11:35

subcontinent. Since fuel, saccremas, and the

11:37

bodies had run out very early, it will

11:40

be recalled that the fleet, once into the Straits

11:42

of Ceylon, had begun to screw the sea with

11:44

its cadavers like a hop

11:46

of my thumb of tragic dimensions.

11:49

Then Cape Gata and only a score

11:51

of corpses, all foreign at that. Because

11:54

Pastor Bralter, they were saving their dead

11:56

and plenty of them, and plenty of

11:58

them too. In the last

12:00

three days of the improbable epic, they were

12:02

dying on board left and right. On the

12:04

big ships, especially like the India star and

12:06

the Calcutta star. Malnutrition, sheer exhaustion,

12:09

both the body and soul at the

12:11

end of so long a crossing. It's

12:13

safe to assume that the second the dying who

12:17

had held out only by clinging to their hope,

12:19

gave up the ghost during those three days once

12:22

they saw the shores of Europe and realized their

12:24

dream. Others merely died

12:27

of hunger and thirst, the feeblest of

12:29

the lot, the old, the infirm, the

12:31

misshapen little children, except that is for

12:33

the dwarves and utter monsters, treated as

12:35

they were with very special care. Indeed,

12:39

by the end of the voyage, the rice and

12:41

fresh water were probably so scarce that some must

12:43

have had to, that

12:46

some must have had to be made who would

12:49

get them. Perhaps some chose

12:51

to let themselves die or perhaps they were

12:53

marked out for death in the name of

12:55

the general good. Cruel though

12:57

it was, in an event,

12:59

the plan succeeded. We are told the

13:01

hardest races are the ones pruned down

13:03

from by natural selection. Today is

13:06

in the past. And so

13:08

in due time, very shortly, in fact, there

13:10

will pour out over the soul of

13:12

France, a flood of hungry,

13:15

scrawny creatures, but solid and healthy, no

13:17

less, and ready to pounce with all

13:19

their might. The others, the dead of

13:21

the last few days, thrown ashore by

13:23

the thousands once the fleet runs aground,

13:25

will be gently born on the waves and

13:27

land at last in paradise as well. In

13:31

the eyes of their living companions, they won't

13:33

have lost out one iota. Since ideas are

13:35

the stuff that keeps man alive, death makes

13:37

no great difference once the mission is fulfilled.

13:40

There was only one white still left on board

13:43

the fleet, one and only one, spared no doubt

13:45

because he was mad and because he had spent

13:47

a long life of charity serving a people who

13:49

had learned to trust him if not to love

13:51

him. He lay on the

13:54

deck of the Calcutta sun, day

13:56

in, day out, lying in the shadow of one of her smokestacks. Everyone

13:59

knew him. madness and decay striking

14:01

little by little couldn't wipe from the

14:03

minds of ones embarked with him the

14:06

knowledge of who this man was. But

14:08

seeing this sort of deranged aesthetic half

14:10

naked with his full stained

14:13

rags who else would have

14:15

known that a mere two months before

14:17

he was still his grace. The Catholic Bishop

14:20

prefix apostolic to

14:22

the entire Ganges region. He could

14:24

hardly remember himself, although once

14:26

in a great while he would set up from his

14:28

letter and bless the crowd around

14:30

him. The crowd would laugh his former

14:32

flock would laugh too, but a few, but a

14:35

few of them just to make him happy with

14:37

trace out a sign of the cross and reply.

14:40

Then he would lie back and dredge from

14:42

his muddled senses those curious Latin syllables. He

14:44

had thought he could read in a puddle

14:46

of blood on the dock by the Ganges.

14:49

He wants it for nothing. He was brought

14:51

food and drink kind hearted children would sit

14:53

it would sit at his meals

14:55

and encourage him to eat for fear that

14:57

he might slip off into debt and bring

14:59

him some scraps when his meal had been

15:02

forgotten. Serenely insane with each

15:04

passing day. He seems to grow happy

15:06

as if some strange harmony had sprung

15:08

up within him, bringing him peace. Sometimes

15:11

in the morning, he would mutter and

15:13

mumble on and on snatches of prayers

15:15

or verses from the Vedas, because,

15:18

after all, he had always professed holy,

15:20

broad mind demand that he was that

15:22

truth can shine forth in

15:24

many a different form. And

15:27

at night, while the whole dark slept in the grip

15:29

of a heavy tank heat

15:32

old women would slither to his side through

15:34

a fold in his rags. The hand would

15:36

gently grasp it as phallus and slowly caress

15:38

it until it was swell between shadow fingers

15:40

to spasm of pleasure. Pleasure given

15:43

and receive that kind of pleasure that India bounds

15:45

in and one that the old women doubtless believe

15:47

the poor man should share. One

15:50

woman would leave another would come in the

15:52

dark silence stillness in time. As soon as

15:55

night would fall, the poor mad bishop would

15:57

get an erection as easily as others get

15:59

religious. so to speak. On

16:02

board his phallus became first the

16:04

subject of conversation, then of curiosity,

16:07

and finally almost of reverence. Lines

16:09

would form by the light of the stars to

16:11

inspect it up close. Much like

16:13

those secret Hindu temples where ages on

16:15

end have seen lingams carved

16:18

in stone offer themselves for the crowd's

16:20

veneration. When the fleet plastered the great

16:22

straits of Gibraltar, the bishop from the

16:24

Ganges had become a holy man twice

16:27

in one lifetime. Gods will be

16:29

done. I

16:32

assure you it is as uncomfortable for

16:34

me reading those parts out loud as

16:37

it is for you to listen to them. Parts

16:40

like that are told because they're

16:42

going somewhere. So all right

16:44

chapter 31. Early

16:47

Good Friday evening, Monsieur Jean Pade, Undersecretary

16:50

for Foreign Affairs and Personal Advisor of

16:52

the President of the Republic arrived at

16:54

the Elise Palace and was immediately ushered

16:57

into the executive office. The president was

16:59

alone doing nothing apparently but

17:01

smoking a cigar and drinking a highball

17:03

in gluttonous little gulps. Beside him on

17:05

a load table, the wires that an

17:08

aide had been bringing in every 15

17:10

minutes were piling up higher and higher. Certain

17:13

passages were underlined in red. On the

17:15

same table, a radio volume turned down

17:17

was playing the Mozart Requiem. Please

17:21

have a seat, Monsieur Pade. The president

17:24

told them. One might imagine that time is of the essence

17:26

that we have to make thousands of decisions and

17:28

that our minutes are numbered. If

17:31

my cabinet had its way and the other frantic

17:33

old women I have running the country, that's

17:35

how I'd be

17:37

spending my time. And I'd never even noticed that it's

17:39

slipping by for good. Well, that's

17:42

not how things are at all. One simple decision is all

17:44

we're going to need and we still have

17:47

lots of time to make it. History must be

17:49

full of heads of states who have lived through just

17:53

such moments and who have never felt

17:55

calmer or more relaxed than before they

17:57

pronounced that faithful word war. It

18:00

takes in so much. It puts so many

18:02

lives on the line. Actually, when you think

18:04

about it, it's much more a philosophical question

18:06

than a physical or moral one. There's

18:08

nothing as stark, as concise as that word,

18:11

when you really understand it. Anyway,

18:14

you see we still have time. Now

18:17

I suggest we sit here and listen to the news. Obviously,

18:20

we're not going to learn anything, you and I.

18:22

He tossed an offhand gesture at the pile of

18:24

wires beside him. But I'd

18:26

like to put myself in the shoes of

18:28

an average citizen who realizes all of a sudden,

18:31

after six weeks of altruistic frenzy, that his

18:33

Easter weekend is ruined, and

18:35

who even begins to suspect that the rest of

18:37

his weekends are in for a change, and that

18:39

life will just never be the same as it

18:41

was. I want to feel the

18:43

shock of it myself. Like my humblest constituent,

18:46

I'm going to have to address the nation,

18:48

probably on Sunday. Maybe that way

18:50

I'll find the right tone for my

18:52

speech. You'll notice, since this morning, we've

18:55

been swimming in Mozart. That means Jean-Arnaud has

18:57

finally seen the light. When you own a

18:59

magnificent place in province on the water, right

19:02

in the thick of where the action's going to be, it

19:05

has to make you stop and think, well, let's not

19:07

be mean. He was in here just

19:09

now in an absolute daze, poor man. I

19:11

know, Monsieur. I ran into him in

19:13

the gray room and we chatted for a moment. I

19:15

hardly knew him. His ideas, that is, wild,

19:18

weird ideas, like a nationwide draft, only

19:20

no arms, no guns, and including the

19:22

women and children, a huge peace offensive

19:25

into the South. Nonviolent aggression,

19:27

he called it. He was babbling.

19:30

Poor things, said the president. Such an

19:32

elegant, refined gorilla. Put yourself in his

19:34

place. Artist and warrior rolled into one.

19:37

Every war of liberation, no matter where,

19:39

suddenly there he was. 50

19:41

years fighting the battle, and sometimes with a lot

19:43

of courage too. Though lately

19:45

they seem to be holding him back to

19:47

keep him out of danger. I guess a

19:49

Nobel Prize is worth more to the cause

19:51

alive than dead. At each time he would

19:53

come back more famous than before, ready

19:56

to write his magnificent books and go

19:58

chasing around from salon to salon. collecting

20:00

his art, inviting his select little

20:02

circle to his lady friend's fancy

20:04

chateau, playing both ends for

20:06

all he was worth, the best of two worlds. Then

20:09

all of a sudden, things have changed

20:11

and his game is no good. It won't work

20:13

anymore. But the warrior can't bring himself to ring

20:15

the artist's neck. At the end of his life,

20:17

he sees the light that lasts, sees

20:20

what it was all about. Unlike

20:22

most people, I think old age was just a

20:24

time when man finds himself, when he finally and

20:27

sadly learns to trim. That's what

20:29

happened just now to Jean Raurel. The

20:31

man who left here a few moments ago

20:34

was terribly sincere and terribly sad. He

20:36

had been through it all, which explains the

20:38

Mozart Requiem, I suppose. After

20:40

all that time poisoning the airwaves, he finds

20:42

that he's really all Western man at heart.

20:45

You can trust him now to be sure

20:47

as we go out in style. Berlin came

20:49

tumbling down to Wagner. With Raurel, it will

20:52

be more elegant, more refined. A

20:55

voice broke softly through the silence that followed. 75,

20:58

9, and 30 seconds. The president leaned over and

21:02

turned up the volume. The time

21:04

is exactly 8 o'clock. And now, the

21:06

news. According to rather confused reports reaching

21:08

us from several third world countries, it

21:11

would seem the refugee fleets are currently

21:13

forming all over the globe. The

21:15

governments in question admit their

21:17

powerlessness to stem the apparently

21:20

spontaneous uprisings. In Indonesia,

21:22

notably in the capital Jakarta, the

21:24

port has been overrun and a number

21:26

of foreign vessels have been seized without

21:28

bloodshed. The government of Australia, Indonesia's

21:31

closest Western neighbor, has officially declared

21:33

that, quote, the situation must be

21:36

considered as extremely grave, end of

21:38

quote. In Manila, the Philippines,

21:40

the police have been unable to

21:42

prevent a large mob from invading

21:44

a trio of cruise ships, among

21:46

them the giant French liner Normandy,

21:49

all of whose passengers have been removed to several

21:51

of the city's hotels. In

21:54

the city of Kanakri in

21:56

Africa, Karachi in Pakistan, and

21:58

again in Calcutta, the docks

22:00

have been virtually taken over

22:02

by crowds estimated to number

22:04

in the tens of thousands,

22:06

milling aimlessly about. Meanwhile,

22:08

the government of China has officially denied

22:11

a report originating in Moscow stating that

22:13

millions of Chinese civilians have been massing

22:15

along the Siberian border. In

22:17

addition, it was learned two hours ago that

22:19

in London where the labor force includes some

22:21

800,000 Commonwealth Nationals, a group

22:25

calling itself the non-European Commonwealth

22:27

Committee is planning a peaceful demonstration

22:29

Monday evening in order to quote,

22:32

demand British citizenship, full voting rights

22:34

and human rights, equal salary, equal

22:36

employment, and equality in housing, recreational

22:39

facilities, and social welfare, end

22:41

of quote. The British government as yet, as

22:44

yet had no official reaction. I

22:48

hope there is lots of Zulus

22:50

in London. The president muttered, there's

22:52

something I'd like to see a

22:55

Zulu citizen of Great Britain. As

22:59

we announced in our three o'clock news slash,

23:01

the voice went on. The last chance Armato

23:03

was seen passing through the straits of Gibraltar

23:05

at that time, heading in a northeasterly direction.

23:08

Reconnaissance aircraft of England, France, and Spain immediately

23:10

flew over the fleet. The

23:12

skies were clear, the seas calm. We have

23:14

a special report from our correspondent on the

23:16

scene aboard one of those planes. It was

23:19

phoned in shortly after his return to Gibraltar

23:21

as rebroadcast for you

23:23

now. I'm speaking to you from

23:25

the air base on Gibraltar where I landed 10

23:28

minutes ago in a Royal Navy vulture. What

23:30

I saw is we circled the fleet, the

23:33

fleet defies the imagine, the imagination.

23:35

The ocean is covered. There must be a

23:38

good hundred ships, almost no wind, no waves

23:40

to speak of. Still the decks

23:42

barely show above the water. I

23:44

don't think I saw one ship intact. Every

23:46

hole is resting away. Some have holes below

23:48

the waterline. This is what miracles are made

23:50

of and it's a miracle they've made it

23:52

all the way. We circled

23:54

low several times. The smell was

23:56

unbearable. The decks are literally a

23:59

solid maze of Black and white, black

24:01

skin, white tunics, thousands of poor

24:03

souls. You simply can't imagine what

24:05

it's like. You'd think you

24:07

were flying over one huge mass grave, except

24:10

that the corpses are still alive. I could see

24:12

them waving their arms in the air. As

24:14

close as I could figure, there must be 800,000 survivors on

24:16

those ships. The

24:19

fleet is sailing Northeast, which means that

24:21

it's heading straight for Conte D'Azur. The

24:25

ships are bound to run aground. I think

24:27

it's safe to say, since none of them

24:29

even has an anchor, no mooring lines, nothing.

24:31

And I'm sure that judging by what I

24:33

saw, there's no way they could go back

24:35

where they came from, or

24:38

even stay afloat another week for that

24:40

matter. According to my rapid calculations, if

24:42

they hold their present speed and if

24:44

the weather doesn't change, they'll be running

24:46

aground sometime Saturday night or

24:51

early Easter Sunday morning. In other words, in

24:53

about a day. I should mention too,

24:55

that up and down the Spanish coast, the

24:57

prevalent feeling is one of great relief. Everywhere

25:00

people are speaking again of the need for

25:02

compassion and brotherly love. This report

25:04

has come to you direct from Gibraltar. We

25:07

return you now to Paris. Steve

25:10

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25:13

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26:12

you. The

26:15

Parisian announcer broke in there has been

26:17

an eyewitness account from our special correspondent

26:19

recorded at 4 o'clock this afternoon. Subsequent

26:22

reports confirm that the refugee fleet is

26:24

indeed sailing toward France and the. In

26:28

addition, Arab radio stations throughout North Africa

26:30

have stepped up their broadcast in Hindi.

26:33

Arguing, urging their brothers to keep

26:35

heading north since quote,

26:38

that's where the West begins and where

26:40

milk flows like water end of quote.

26:42

It should be added to that a note of

26:44

alarm can be detected in the announcer's voices. Meanwhile,

26:47

throughout the South, recent appeals

26:49

by press and local officials to remain

26:52

calm and presenting unified, the United front

26:54

have gone largely unheeded and exodus is

26:56

already underway toward the cities of the

26:58

north. Since morning trains and

27:00

planes have been filled to capacity and

27:03

traffic on highway a7 as

27:06

our ready bumper to bump was already bumper

27:08

to bumper by 4 o'clock. Large

27:10

numbers of homes and businesses have closed their

27:12

doors transport companies throughout the area have announced

27:14

that their vans are unable to handle any

27:17

further calls at 5 o'clock

27:20

minister of information and spokesman for the government read

27:22

the following statements of the press 3 broadcast

27:25

at this time. In

27:27

the face of the report, officially confirmed that

27:29

the fleet from the is indeed sailing toward

27:32

the southern coast of France. The

27:34

aging ministers voice sounded firm muted as if

27:36

he were fighting off a feeling of great

27:38

fatigue. The government has decided to

27:40

adopt a number of tentative measures. These are

27:42

the. These

27:44

are the love

27:46

that work the refugees themselves. The

27:49

4 departments along the coast have been

27:51

placed under the command of most, under

27:55

secretary for foreign affairs and personal representative

27:57

of the president of the Republic for

27:59

the entire. southern region. Should circumstances

28:01

demand, the government will not hesitate to declare

28:04

a state of emergency. Army

28:06

and police units have been ordered to set

28:08

up quarantine lines along the coast to guard

28:10

against possible epidemic and have been ordered to

28:12

prevent any unauthorized landing

28:15

that might prove detrimental to one of

28:17

our nation's most prosperous areas. The government

28:19

pledges to make every effort to find

28:22

humane solutions to the present problem in

28:24

keeping with its unprecedented nature and will

28:26

not hesitate to impose them if need

28:29

be. The president of the republic wishes

28:31

to reaffirm his respect for those citizens,

28:33

sizable in number, who have expressed their

28:35

support and sympathy for the refugees, but

28:38

he feels obliged to alert them against

28:40

certain excesses antagonistic to the preservation of

28:42

law and order, so essential at this

28:44

time. Attempts that individual action

28:46

will not be tolerated. In addition,

28:48

all residents of the southern areas of the

28:50

country are requested to remain calm, to

28:54

cooperate with the government and to go

28:56

about their daily business. When

28:59

he left me a few moments ago, the

29:01

president observed that wasn't all that

29:04

wasn't at all how he felt. We

29:06

worked out that statement at about four, the

29:08

two of us, but things happened fast, like

29:10

that story that some Italian writer dreamed up

29:12

once upon a time. Bazzotti,

29:15

I think it was. Someone accidentally rips

29:17

a shutter off one of the windows and

29:19

the whole house comes tumbling down bit by

29:22

bit and kills everyone inside. While

29:24

it seems as if our starving friends have

29:26

ripped off the shutter, Bazzotti,

29:28

if I remember, didn't try to explain

29:30

it. He just described what happened. I'm

29:33

afraid we can't do much better. You

29:35

have just heard the statement, the announcer's voice went

29:37

on, read by the minister of

29:39

information at five o'clock this afternoon. Since

29:42

that time, however, a number of people

29:44

leaving the south have considerably increased. A

29:46

mass migration would seem to be in

29:48

the making. At the same time, a

29:50

modest current has been noted in the

29:52

opposite direction, composed of the most diverse

29:55

elements. Whole hippie and Christian communes have

29:57

been seen heading south along with them

29:59

in groups. recruited from the outskirts of

30:01

Paris, young industrial workers, bands

30:03

of students from the several disciplines, as

30:07

well as large number of clergymen

30:09

and nonviolent militants of varying persuasions.

30:12

One serious confrontation has already been reported. It

30:14

took place on Highway A6 at

30:16

toll booth number three, when police tried to turn

30:19

back one of the groups in question. Monsieur

30:21

Clement Dio, editor in chief of

30:23

Le Pen-Sineau-Vaux, has voiced

30:25

a formal protest against what he terms

30:28

as vicious attempt to prohibit freedom of

30:30

movement and has let it be known

30:32

that he too is heading south as

30:34

a symbolic gesture. Our

30:36

reporter interviewed him outside the offices of

30:38

Le Pen-Sineau-Vaux, only moments

30:41

before he drove off. Then Dio's

30:43

voice in the background, street sounds

30:45

and frequent cheers and applause. People

30:48

are leaving the south in droves and that doesn't

30:50

surprise me one bit. The west is having conscience

30:53

pangs. It can't stand the sight

30:55

of misery on the march. So instead of waiting

30:57

to face it, to welcome it with open arms,

30:59

it sneaks off without a word. Too bad, let

31:02

it go. If the south turns into one

31:04

great big desert, all the better for the

31:06

armada. All the more room

31:08

to put our poor devils and give

31:10

them the last chance they'll ever, give

31:13

them the last chance they're after. I'll

31:15

tell you the truth. That's why I'm leaving

31:17

Paris myself and heading south. And

31:19

right here and now, I'm inviting everyone

31:21

who feels the way I do. Everyone

31:23

who puts human ideals above governments and

31:27

economic systems and religions and races to

31:29

come and join me. I'd like to see us

31:31

turn out in force. Who cares how

31:34

many soldiers they send? And as for Paris,

31:36

that fascist puppet, listen, I heard John

31:38

R.L. too. I heard him talk about

31:40

his tentative measures and his imposed solutions

31:43

and his quarantine line. Quarantined my foot,

31:45

it's a battle line. That's what they're

31:47

drawing. Are they going to order our

31:49

troops to fire on poor starving bastards?

31:51

Are they going to set up concentration

31:53

camps? Are they going to? He's

31:56

getting on my nerves, said the president turning down

31:58

the volume, but at least he added. was

32:00

fully or someone who knows

32:02

what he's after. Whose idea

32:04

was that quarantine line? Monsieur asked John

32:07

Paree mind the president's

32:09

side. He hesitated quite a

32:11

while. But as soon as I saw the

32:13

exit is beginning in earnest, I

32:15

realized nothing could stop it. It's a

32:17

long standing national habit of ours, especially the

32:19

richer and better off we are. May as

32:21

well spend it speed it along. I thought

32:23

and make the most of it. I

32:26

figured if we cleaned out the home front, so to

32:28

speak, and got rid of all that fear and trembling,

32:30

the army might have a chance to do its job.

32:33

All the rest, the part about remaining calm

32:35

and going about their business. Well, that

32:37

was so much window dressing. But everyone

32:40

knows there are no more epidemics, Monsieur.

32:42

No more medieval plagues. Well, then said

32:44

the president, the

32:46

ones who want an excuse to turn and

32:48

run instead of defending their property can pretend

32:50

they there still are if they want to.

32:52

I owe my constituents that

32:55

much, don't I? And he bent over

32:57

the radio dial immediately after making his

32:59

statement. The announcer's voice continued. Monsieur

33:01

Clement Dio left Paris, accompanied by

33:03

his wife, the well-known writer, Iris

33:06

Nanshan, and a number of

33:08

friends inviting the cheering crowd

33:10

to come join him on the coast. What

33:14

are they going to do? What

33:18

would you do? Think about that. If

33:20

your house was down there on the coast, what

33:23

would you do? Think about it. The first

33:25

three chapters, chapter

33:27

32, hurtling

33:29

some southward goes hurtling southward goes

33:31

Clement Dio passes his powerful car

33:33

can take him. He speeds past

33:35

long infantry convoys truck after truck.

33:37

Their canvas flaps open him back

33:39

and sitting inside young soldiers lined

33:42

up on benches. The army

33:44

has certainly changed. It reeks of gloom. The

33:47

soldiers don't even lean out to admire

33:49

his magnificent sleek red bomb with its

33:51

endless hood and Iris Nanshan, that

33:54

beautiful lady, why they don't even blow her kisses

33:56

or laugh to catch her eye. thighs

34:00

and a flurry of off-color comments. Not

34:02

so much as one dawdling, private flashing,

34:04

and obscene gesture as that

34:07

strictly untouchable ivory flesh passes close to

34:09

his truck. The army looks good,

34:11

said Dio, not exactly singing their way to

34:13

the front. He's delighted, his

34:15

handiwork currently. How

34:18

well he remembers his noble battle, dragging

34:20

his army through the courts, forcing it

34:22

to lift its ban on publications of

34:24

a certain persuasion, and winning the case

34:26

hands down. For ten years now,

34:29

la pensne nouvelle, la granon,

34:33

and the rest had been read in the

34:35

barracks of every French regiment under the sun.

34:37

Prisons too, for that matter. They

34:39

had taken advantage and gotten into the act.

34:41

Our friend, Ben Suad, alias

34:44

Dio, who had had

34:46

his revenge. Revenge

34:48

for that bill of sale, found in

34:50

his family papers, the one that showed

34:52

his grandmother, a black harem slave girl,

34:54

sold to a brothel for French officers

34:56

in Rabat. Why on

34:58

earth had his Moroccan father, mild-mannered

35:01

civil servant, under the French, hold

35:03

on to that odious proof of his past,

35:06

to keep his hatred alive? That's why. At

35:09

the tollbood, squadrons of security police and

35:11

black helmeted in massive and not in

35:13

too good a

35:15

mood either. I wouldn't go south if I were

35:18

you. You wouldn't? What do you mean, Lieutenant? Just

35:20

what I said, growls to be metal

35:22

to the Lieutenant, eyeing the long red

35:25

hood, the beautiful Eurasian, the driver's swarthy

35:27

skin and elegant crop of kinky hair.

35:29

Back where you came from and on the double.

35:31

You wouldn't be racist, would you, Lieutenant? Me?

35:34

A racist? You've got to be kidding. No.

35:37

No one is racist today anymore. That's

35:40

the official word everyone agrees. The police

35:42

even less so than the rest. They're

35:45

paid to remember. A glimpse of the

35:47

press card and open sesame. Go ahead,

35:49

Monsieur. Sorry for the trouble. A

35:52

press card works wonders in the right hands these

35:54

days, though not that it came without

35:57

a struggle, mind you. Across the highway traffic is

35:59

on the... Dio looks at his

36:01

watch a few hours until Saturday, the

36:03

day before Easter, and the road is

36:05

crammed with cars streaming up from the

36:07

south away from the sun, a weekend

36:09

turned around. Clement Dio

36:11

loads a crowd of sheep as

36:14

much as he loathed them before in reverse when

36:16

they flew to the sun, white convicts to their

36:18

feet. His smiles, he smiles,

36:21

his wife smiles. Their hands meet for

36:23

a moment. They're bucking the current turning,

36:25

they're bucking the current turning the tide.

36:27

The south is draining dry, spewing its

36:30

stinking self-indulgent slime, and soon a different

36:32

kind of slime will surge in to

36:34

take its place. All perfectly clear, apocalypse

36:36

or birth, a new breed of man,

36:39

a new social order, or the death

36:41

of all bearable life as we know

36:43

it. Dio couldn't give less of a

36:45

damn. He admits it. Human

36:48

ideals above governments and economic systems

36:50

and religions and races. Yes,

36:53

that's what he said. But what does it mean? Not

36:56

a blessed thing, really. There's nothing

36:58

at all above those things. An absolute

37:00

void, like the splitting of the

37:02

atom or a great giant or a great

37:05

empty nothingness let loose all at once.

37:08

A show too good to miss, a sight

37:10

to send even the horrible mushroom back

37:12

to the prop room through the morgan, burgundy,

37:15

and Dio, crooning as he drives. For now,

37:17

the thousand years are ended. Yes, the thousand

37:19

years are ended now. Master

37:22

of mankind, even for a moment, enough

37:24

to make a whole life worth living,

37:26

like the killer at Sarajevo, but suddenly

37:28

with a gift to see into the

37:30

future, going through with his action instead

37:32

of holding back, spelled down by the

37:34

vision of the cataclysm he's unleashing. Beyond

37:38

the Macomb, a rest area with a

37:40

lot of bright lights and a column of tanks, standing

37:43

still lined up like huge toys. Dio

37:45

slows down, turns off the road, and pulls up next

37:47

to the tank at the head of the line. Get

37:50

the fuck out of here, cries a voice. A

37:52

Colonel, none too pleased. Second

37:54

Hussars. a

38:00

military tradition, grouped around him in silence

38:02

a few flustered officers in front of

38:04

the tanks, the men, much more vocal,

38:06

arguing back and forth. Let's take a

38:08

vote, says one of the Hussars, Chamburant.

38:11

Three centuries of glory, and this is how it

38:14

ends, in a mutiny, no less. Press

38:16

explains to you. Kiss my ass, replies the

38:18

Colonel. Great khaki colossus lumbering

38:20

toward him, murdering his eye, fists clenched,

38:23

an officer comes between them with all

38:25

due respect. Top dead roars

38:27

to Colonel, and he turns and climbs

38:29

into his tank, only his chest ablaze

38:31

with ribbons and his glowering helmeted

38:34

face stick up from the turret. Lovely

38:37

military tableau, washed in a flood

38:39

of almost eerie light. The

38:41

tank bears the name of a beer, Hushin,

38:45

relic of battle glories past. Suddenly

38:48

its motor begins to growl, an officer shouts

38:50

out, but Colonel, they're still there. You can't

38:53

do it. You can't.

38:55

I can't cries the Colonel in his front line voice.

38:57

If the bastards don't get up, I'll run them all

38:59

over. Dio moves around to

39:01

the front of the tank. He sees

39:03

the bastards, some 20 or so, lying

39:05

across the exit ramp leading back to

39:07

the highway. Most of them are in

39:10

uniform, red shoulder braid, Chamburant, three

39:12

centuries, etc. Five are

39:14

in civilian clothes, one stretched out almost under

39:16

the track of the tank. Long

39:19

beard, curly hair, the faces of

39:21

a sculptured Italian Christ. Who

39:24

are you, Dio asks. GLA, the

39:26

prone figure, replies, Gay

39:29

Liberation Alliance. And you, he

39:31

asks another, just people is the answer. Proletarians,

39:33

no special name. The purist

39:35

of the pure in Dio's book. He's going

39:37

to mow you all down, he tells them.

39:39

Not a chance he won't dare the homosexual

39:41

answers. Me, he wouldn't mind, but not

39:44

his own men. For God's sake, get

39:46

up and officer pleads. Can't you see, here

39:48

he comes. The massive steel has

39:50

started to move imperceptibly at first as

39:52

the tracks nibble forward, inch by inch.

39:55

Colonel screams the officer. Balls, replies the

39:57

Colonel. Iris Nenchen shuts her

39:59

eyes. her western half can't take

40:01

anymore. A few moments later, when she

40:03

opens them again to please her Oriental

40:06

half, the Italian crisis disappeared and the

40:08

tank tracks are dragging chunks of shredded

40:10

bloody flesh and all without a sound.

40:13

One after another, each one of the

40:15

figures gets out of the way, but

40:17

only at the very last moment. The

40:20

bullfighter is elegant dodge just out of

40:22

reach of the metallic beast quick and

40:24

agile. One by one, the soldiers roll

40:26

over their sides like a tank, like

40:28

a training maneuver, an obstacle course, crack

40:30

regiment the best. The tank beer hummus

40:33

has begun to speed up and head for the highway. The

40:36

Colonel doesn't even turn around. Three tanks roll

40:38

along behind it with a roar, then a

40:40

fourth. And that's all back from the Russian

40:43

campaign in 1813. The chamberet husters, who who

40:47

stars had twice that many survivors.

40:50

CEO can't take his eyes off the patch of bloody

40:52

muck on the pavement. Aside him

40:54

and officer are certainly choosing back

40:57

his tears. And what's that hero's

40:59

name? The officer misunderstood.

41:01

misunderstand him. He

41:04

asked shaking pointing to the pool of blood. I'm

41:06

not sure I think he said his name was

41:08

Paul. No, not him. Not Paul. The other one.

41:12

The other one, the one who just left the killer with

41:14

all the stripes. Oh, you mean the Colonel, Colonel

41:17

Constantine, the raggus. Strange

41:19

name. Thanks, do and he muses

41:22

to himself. Fall of constant Constantinople,

41:24

May 29 1493 Constantine, the 11th paleo paleo paleo

41:33

paleo. Last

41:35

Emperor Byzantine, known as

41:38

drug, jotagosis. That's where the

41:40

officer hadn't flinched at the epithet killer. Why

41:42

should he why not call the Colonel

41:45

a killer after all, and the notion

41:47

begins to make the rounds. The officer

41:49

meanwhile, as if on maneuvers to huddles

41:51

the barrier and plunges on foot headlong

41:54

into the moonlit country before him. The

41:56

O is back behind the wheel straight ahead. Full

41:58

speed. The car is flying. But this

42:01

is no night to wind up dead in

42:03

a stupid pile of twisted wreckage. Oh no,

42:05

tonight he feels he can live forever. Not

42:07

far down the road he passes Colonel Dragosas.

42:10

Five tanks and all. He laughs. He's

42:13

happy. The VIA French toll booth

42:15

looms up into view. Oasis

42:17

of harsh, oasis of harsh raw

42:19

light. Lots of motorcycles parked in a row.

42:22

Shadow figures with helmets and boots. Strange

42:24

helmets for police. White, red,

42:27

bright blue, colorful phosphorescent

42:29

stripes. Who are you, gents? We're

42:32

the rodeo, we're the rodeo, chemical

42:35

people strike force. The purest of the

42:38

pure. All out on

42:40

this glorious night of nights. Sit down

42:42

strikes, hunger strikes, ransom demands, sabotage, laboratory

42:45

smash ups, anti-racist purges,

42:48

anti-antiprocess pogroms, ready

42:51

to loot shops, to

42:53

struggle against all forms of oppression available

42:56

for all kinds of action. Running on

42:58

nothing but cycles, girls, tobacco, and slogans.

43:00

Ready to break up everything in sight

43:03

and they lose their temper. Often

43:05

fired, but always rehired. Because after

43:07

all, they have everyone terrified.

43:10

Political delinquents, since that's the term we found

43:12

that fits them best, and that covers and

43:15

excuses their multitude of sins. And

43:20

what are you doing here? Where are the cops?

43:23

Just an hour ago, a magnificent specimen answers. Tall

43:25

young man in jeans and surplus US Army

43:28

jacket with a sleeve full of stripes and

43:30

a shoulder patch marked Panama Rangers. Not

43:32

too many of them, but he sweeps his arm around in

43:34

an arc like there's 200 of us, maybe more.

43:38

Besides, they're all a bunch of pussies. No guts. Company

43:40

three out of Macon. Old

43:42

pals of ours. They're the ones

43:45

who shot us up last year. Like I

43:47

mean, it was just a peaceful demonstration,

43:49

you know? Of course they had it tough,

43:51

I guess, kind of outnumbered the stupid assholes.

43:54

Anyway, they got two of us, but man, what

43:56

a funeral. I mean, great. 100,000 people. All

43:59

the plants are for sale. factory shut down and the

44:01

workers marching behind the bodies. Since

44:03

then, people spit when they go by their barracks.

44:05

Like when they do, when they go into a

44:07

store or in town, they

44:11

get treated worse than a black in South Africa

44:13

and their kids don't have any friends. Nobody

44:16

will talk to them at school and

44:18

their women can't walk out in the street. There's

44:20

even this priest who says from now on, he's

44:22

going to say mass at their place so as

44:24

not to screw up things, to screw

44:26

things up in his church. Like

44:29

their captain even got the boot, you know, poor

44:31

bastards, they've had it. All they

44:33

can do now is wait to retire, not

44:36

even much good for directing traffic. So I

44:38

mean, when they saw us coming this time,

44:40

they turned around and split said they come

44:43

back with more men. Meanwhile, we're having a

44:45

ball when Panama Ranger laughs. He's charming beyond

44:47

belief like a handsome young God striding free

44:49

and victorious from the deep, dark

44:52

forests of machines of

44:54

the rates of conquering heroes. Who cares

44:56

what conquests, what cause no difference. He

44:59

tells him who he is. And again, he asks, what

45:01

are you doing here? All

45:03

kinds of stuff. Panama Ranger answers today. Today

45:05

is our day to have a blast. Like

45:08

first, scrounge up a little bread. We've got

45:10

ourselves a toll booth. So I mean, people

45:12

have to pay us right for

45:14

everyone leaving the South and going up north 10

45:16

times the price 200 francs, a

45:19

real bargain. They cough it

45:21

up and never even bitch too much of a

45:23

hurry to get the hell out. For the ones

45:25

going south, we've got ways to slow them down.

45:28

I mean, unless they're some of ours, like we

45:30

found a roadblock the cops left behind, kind

45:32

of folds out, you know, with long spikes.

45:34

The first batch of army trucks managed to

45:36

slip right by. They were going so damn

45:38

fast before we could get it set up.

45:41

I mean, but the second one was something

45:43

else. We got them but good. The officers

45:45

cheap in the first three trucks plunk plunk

45:48

down right on the spikes, all four wheels.

45:50

So I said chow time folks, everyone out.

45:53

The soldiers thought it was funny, but the officer was

45:55

a tough ass son of a bitch. He

45:57

had his men line up like for real and he

45:59

yelled clean clear out this crap. Then I piped

46:01

up and said, Listen, you guys, take a look

46:03

at us. We're just about your age. Let's see

46:06

all your factory workers. Let's see all you factory

46:08

workers step forward and all you farmers and students,

46:10

all you laborers and the struggle of the people

46:12

against depression. Well, you should have seen

46:15

the rush when it was over. The officer stood

46:17

there with five poor bastards and in no time

46:19

they ran off and left him high and dry.

46:21

They're probably still running and the officer do ask

46:23

he's down the road trying to thumb a ride,

46:25

but I don't think he's going to have much

46:28

luck. Like I mean, before he left, we ripped

46:30

all ripped off all his clothes. Deal

46:32

laughs a hearty laugh in the midst

46:34

of the parking area in front of

46:37

the police building, a crowd of young

46:39

men in chaotic array of uniforms and

46:41

jackets, helmets, a jumble in fraternal melange

46:43

sits warming themselves around giant

46:46

campfires on

46:48

all sides. The sounds of joy, voices singing jokes about

46:50

the captain's big bare ass, big bare ass raised to

46:52

rebel ass. Big bare ass. Big bare ass. Raise

46:55

to rebel lacy and

46:58

proportions. No harm intended. When

47:00

benches and panels stripped from the trucks

47:03

standing idle crackle get crackle

47:06

gaily in the fields. I guess we'll pull

47:08

out and take the backwards. So it says

47:10

Panama ranger. Like they say, the tops down

47:13

down there are pretty tough, but we've made

47:15

up. We've made out our will and we're

47:17

leaving it behind. He raises his arm and

47:19

points to the toll booth. See

47:22

spread across the facade, a broad

47:24

steamer streamer shining in the

47:26

light and all and on

47:29

it. The words workers, soldiers,

47:31

Genji's refugees, United against oppression.

47:34

Beautiful geo exclaims, but

47:37

you'd better get going in a little while. Five

47:39

tanks will be coming this way with a colonel

47:41

who's out of his head and believe me, he

47:43

won't think twice about shooting. Thanks as the young

47:45

man. See you on the Riviera. When

47:47

deal asked them Panama ranger smiles back his

47:50

reply. No rush with so many pigs running

47:52

north. We'll have our pick of fancy places

47:54

to take ourselves a vacation in the sun.

47:56

I just hope they haven't emptied their pools.

47:58

Like I mean. Now that's

48:00

the revolution finally here. The first

48:03

thing to do, enjoy ourselves, right?

48:05

Dio's thoughts exactly. In a moment,

48:07

a great friendly hubbub, a couple

48:10

offenders, merrily scrapped in

48:12

a flurry of pretended insults, hurled

48:16

back and forth from driver to driver

48:18

in the best French style, then off

48:20

into the darkness. Young men, trucks and

48:22

all, as the tune goes running through

48:24

Clement Dio's brain, lyrics by himself, for

48:27

now the thousand years are ended. Yes, the

48:29

thousand years are ended now. For a few

48:31

moments, silence only to be broken

48:33

by the ominous rumble of Drogasa's tanks

48:35

looming out of the shadow and into

48:37

the light of the toll booth. The

48:39

gun on the lead tank points up

48:41

a few degrees and fires off four

48:43

rounds. In a cloud of dust,

48:46

the facade comes crumbling down and with

48:48

it, the pretty streamer, Panama Rangers last

48:50

will and testament. The Colonel was

48:52

never a big one for slogans and the

48:54

five tanks roll on pushing doggedly forward up

48:57

over the mounds of debris and off into the

48:59

night, further south, further

49:01

south. On the outskirts

49:03

of Lyon, Dio takes the boulevard circling

49:05

the city, deserted in these wee small

49:07

hours while convoys of army trucks rattle

49:09

along the river through the heart

49:12

of town and turns left on the road

49:14

to Grenoble via

49:16

the tourist route as

49:18

a sign announces towards Nice. Toward

49:20

Nice on the road Napoleon took

49:23

when he came back from Elba

49:25

and marched up to Paris. Iris

49:27

Nunchon finds it rather

49:29

amusing and draws out a long exultant

49:31

laugh. Napoleon Dio, my own little eagle,

49:33

flying in triumph from steeple to steeple,

49:36

only we're going to land in this

49:38

plush Negresco towers. When

49:41

they reach Grenoble, one of the

49:43

suburbs in the banks of the Iseté

49:45

is glow with flames. Press

49:48

declares, it is

49:50

Nunchon's little eagle. What's up? A

49:52

captain of the security police is standing on

49:55

the highway in front of a roadblock of

49:57

trucks lined up zigzag. The prison, it's on

49:59

fire. The prisoners escaped every

50:01

damn one, at least 2000. If

50:04

you folks are driving farther down, watch out.

50:06

From Grenoble on, we can't be responsible. How

50:08

did it happen, Dio? Ask him. Oh, it wasn't

50:10

hard, the captain replies. Standing there

50:12

with 50 odd years behind him, his

50:14

drooping gray mustache and the downcast look

50:16

of a faithful public servant, who suddenly

50:19

feels the trap door of anarchy fall

50:21

open beneath his big booted feet. I

50:23

was sure it would end this way, he says. I was

50:26

sure to, echoes Dio, in

50:28

his most concerned voice, it happened just like

50:30

I expected. 100 guys come

50:32

and attack, blowing the doors, knock

50:34

them down, yelling something like, workers, prisoners,

50:36

Ganges refugees united. Then all of a

50:38

sudden fire breaks out in the section

50:41

where they keep the political prisoners. And

50:43

the guards just open up the gates and take off.

50:45

Put yourself in their shoes, after all. For

50:47

10 years now, everyone's been down on them,

50:50

blaming them for everything. The same

50:52

with us, so why risk their necks? If

50:54

you want to know, I think it was a put up job. The

50:57

Ganges, that's all they ever talked about. The

50:59

idea they had that when the fleet finally

51:02

got here, all the prisons would fall in

51:04

a heap. Last year it was the pump.

51:07

They were sure he was going to show up at

51:09

Christmas in person and open all the gates. And why

51:12

not with things the way they are? You

51:14

don't know what to expect these days. Everything's

51:16

upside down, the world is on his head.

51:19

Exactly, Captain Dio replies. Picture

51:22

of composure. That's why you have to

51:25

be careful whose head you're kicking. The

51:27

captain turns to ask him a question.

51:29

Say you, what paper

51:31

did you write for anyway? But Dio had

51:33

already been gone speeding off. Gap,

51:36

Sistanon, Dina. In

51:38

no special hurry, the mountain garrisons have

51:40

come down from their Valvin built forth

51:43

and are calming the valleys for the

51:45

escapees. And when in the fading

51:48

darkness, the neck closes around an occasional

51:50

catch. Strange whisper dialog safe

51:52

place. Who are you? Prisoners,

51:54

victims just like you. Come

51:56

on, you guys give us a break. Go on, beat it.

51:58

You sweat it enough. School's out. have a ball. The

52:01

ball is right, thanks a million. Next

52:04

morning, a total of four have been recaptured

52:06

and put under lock and key. One of

52:08

them, a famous criminal. 20 years

52:10

at hard labor for kidnapping the little daughter

52:13

of a wealthy perfume magnate of the region. The

52:16

early risers stand around him, around and cheer

52:18

him on. Don't worry, Bévère, you

52:21

won't be in long. Damn army pigs,

52:23

they're working for the cops. Deathly

52:25

pale, an officer flings down his cap and

52:27

elbows his way through the crowd. Suddenly, hushed

52:29

and still as if waiting for a funeral

52:31

to pass. At bed, Em, Dio

52:34

just stops at a station and fills his tank.

52:36

You're my last customer, the attendant tells him. After

52:38

you, I'm closing up and getting the hell out.

52:40

It's too dangerous. Between here and Graz, five

52:44

stations I know have already been hit and

52:46

the cops won't even answer when you call anymore.

52:48

I had a dog, but since last night,

52:50

he's practically gone nuts. Like he could sniff

52:52

out that gang all 800,000.

52:55

Oh, you mean you're paying? Say thanks.

52:58

The last car, the one before you, ran out

53:00

on the bill. Just like that. No bones about

53:02

it. Eight of them inside, dressed like a bunch

53:04

of tramps, crammed in like sardines. The

53:06

guy you see heading for the coast in the summer. The

53:09

driver looks at me and says, listen, man, no

53:11

sweat about the bread. From now on, everything belongs

53:13

to the people. Does that make sense? Anyone.

53:16

Anyway, I'm getting out. I'll

53:18

come back later when things settle down. In a

53:20

dim light of dawn, as he shifts into gear,

53:23

Dio spots a big German shepherd, like

53:26

sentinel at his post, left behind in

53:28

the debacle. He's trembling all over

53:30

and whining. And all at once, rearing

53:32

up his hind legs, he faces the

53:34

south, opens his jaws and lets out

53:37

a long, mournful, mournful whale. Nasty

53:39

dog, Eris Nanchan

53:41

remarks with a shudder. That's very

53:44

darling, for that dreadful beast is going to spoil

53:46

my day. At the Lefebvre

53:48

Pass, another stop. More

53:50

trucks blocking the road. The army this

53:52

time. Dio recognizes the insignia of the

53:54

Marine Commandos. A unit never seen in

53:56

France, but one that the reporters at

53:58

La Pena Nivelle Follow

54:00

step by step all over the world like

54:02

a dung beetle sticking to the bull that

54:04

feeds it and Uprising to put

54:06

down in Chad or Guinea or

54:09

Djibouti or Madagascar They're the

54:11

spearhead sent alone overseas to

54:13

those presidents be set by the hatred of their

54:16

people and officers steps forward

54:18

Elegant and polite the living

54:20

image of that soldier in the posters the

54:22

one ripped to shreds so often So

54:24

often of late young men with

54:27

ideals enlist reenlist Do really

54:29

has forgotten that such creatures still exist

54:32

your press card, please officer asked

54:34

well Well, he exclaims must hear Clement

54:36

Dio after loathing you all these

54:39

years I finally get to meet you in the

54:41

flesh some paratroopers come over They surround

54:43

the red car and stare silently at Dio They

54:46

haven't forgotten that such creatures still exists

54:48

but off on their distant campaigns. They've

54:50

never seen one in person That's all

54:52

take a good look men. The officer tells

54:54

him if you've never seen a swine close

54:56

up Here's your chance now. Maybe you can

54:59

see why we're crawling with assholes His

55:01

voice is so matter-of-fact and calm

55:03

that Dio past past master himself

55:07

Composer wonders if this is the end of the road

55:10

impossibly thinks stifling the original Africa

55:12

thought not here would be too

55:14

stupid Meanwhile, Eris Nanchen has

55:17

turned toward the officer trying to taunt

55:19

him in her most honeyed tones Why

55:22

I'm a Sierra but on to sort us. We

55:24

thought your breed died out eons ago And

55:26

now here you are and you even talk

55:28

it and you can even talk my

55:31

my but the conversation doesn't last long strangely enough

55:33

It's the soldiers who lose interest like a living

55:35

organism that begins to reject the foreign body You

55:37

see that you see says the officer. They don't

55:39

give a damn about you. All right, you can

55:42

go I have no orders to do anything with

55:44

you. In fact, I have no orders at all

55:46

And that's how I like it my unit is

55:48

all alone in the world and that suits us

55:51

fine Just one word of advice from

55:53

here south the country is dead the people who

55:55

should have left Who people should

55:57

have stayed left and the ones who did?

56:00

or the ones who are coming

56:02

shouldn't be here at all. You'll find plenty

56:04

of friends in San Valle

56:08

down over the past, but I'm not

56:10

too sure you'll like them. Especially

56:12

Madame Nanchen. There's a

56:15

little bit of everything. The

56:17

whole of the Dragunyan prison,

56:19

in fact, sex criminals and baby killers included.

56:22

Not to mention the pack of striking workers

56:24

from some stinking factory in Nice, a bunch

56:26

of Arabs from Bulmendin

56:29

village. A few died in the wool

56:31

blacks who can only speak Wolof. And

56:34

just for good measure, some student union a

56:36

cell or other. So I really couldn't tell

56:38

you what they stand for. You can't miss

56:41

them all. They've taken over the Hotel Projolé.

56:43

40 rooms, baths and

56:45

toilets, bar, elevator, grill, phone in

56:47

every room, heated pool, tennis courts.

56:50

At least that's what it says in the guide Michelin.

56:53

Of course now he gives a doubtful shrug. Well

56:55

at least I can tell you that your friends

56:57

are nice and clean. With my glasses it's easy

57:00

to see the pool. They've all been bathing and

57:02

the water is filthy. I should really go in

57:04

there and clear them out so my men can

57:06

move on. Oh yes, I forgot

57:08

to tell you. They all have sought off

57:10

shotguns. There's a gun store for miles around

57:12

that hasn't been broken into, but I'd rather

57:14

wait until they're all dead drunk. It

57:16

won't take me long. You can hear me. You can

57:18

hear them from here. Well my friends,

57:20

Monsieur Madame, so much for our chat.

57:22

I hope you have a delightful trip.

57:25

And what do you do after that when your

57:27

name is Clement Dio? Shift into

57:29

year and drive off. Resolutely to

57:32

Saint-Valier, which is just

57:34

what he did. All right. Paintin'

57:37

a picture. And

57:42

if you haven't read this before it makes

57:44

you wonder where they're going with this. But

57:48

I think the setup is pretty nice.

57:50

And just know when that

57:53

Commie... Was

58:00

talking everything he said. That's

58:07

they exist here. I

58:09

think most of you know that, but if you

58:11

don't. People like

58:13

that exist here and. Just

58:18

want to let you know. Alright.

58:21

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to pay the bills if you want

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episodes ad-free all of them. Even

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can go to Freeman beyond the wall.com forward

58:37

slash support subscribe

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through the website right there

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subscribe through substack subscribe star.

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and yeah, you'll get all the episodes

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early and without ads and

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just goes to make it so that I

58:58

can keep pumping out the amount

59:01

of information and readings

59:03

and everything that I'm doing here. So,

59:06

all right until part

59:08

12 and

59:10

chapter 33 take care of.