The Pantheon

Escape 2: Blood on the Horizon

May 22, 2021 Joshua White
The Pantheon
Escape 2: Blood on the Horizon
Show Notes Transcript

Sometimes advice is not listened to. But is the advice ignored because it isn't received, or because it is disagreed with? Maybe it's just out of hatred.

And no, I wrote this before listening to Jonas Kyratzes' Gospels of the Flood. It's an amazing podcast of similar type to my own, albeit done by a professional. I recommend checking it out. 

https://gospelsoftheflood.com/

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Again you never cease to amaze me. Your efforts are spectacular, but I must remind you they are FUTILE. The ship leaves in two days, and I cannot stop the voyage on your regard. I could not stop it on my regard, either. This is a force in motion that neither of us can control. And I’m just talking about the ship. I’m NOT talking about the anomaly. You can see that for yourself. There is no hope here. PACK YOUR BAGS AND LEAVE. 

What do you think? That you can burrow underground and hide from this? It permeates all of the atmosphere, the very molecules of the air. And it will find you underground, because you have to BREATHE underground, or am I mistaken? Of course I’m correct. That was a rhetorical question, after all. I have to point this out to you because it seems like you’ve lost all your brain cells. 

You have in your band purportedly twenty three thousand. I understand that makes you feel like a hero. BUT IT MUST NOT. It must not, how could it? Estimates put it at six days before the entire planet’s surface is covered. And we have seen, we have recordings, of what happens to those who are trapped. I know you have seen them, too. It makes you want to fight harder. Makes you… it’s futile. You must understand that!

The flesh amalgamations will BE you. Not devour you. Be you. And I don’t understand how, I don’t understand why… none of us do. That doesn’t matter! We don’t have enough time to figure out what, why, when, where, and how. We have two days, and then we get to relative safety. We have friends out in the eastern rim. They’re quite knowledgeable about all these anomalies that have been popping up. If you want satisfaction in how this played out, you will have to join us there, you have to ask your questions to them, access their resources in a place that is safe. Because if you stay here, I guarantee you will not live to answer any of your questions, or to see your heroism proven to have any value at all. 

I don’t mean to demean you. Again, the evacuation was incredibly impressive. The loss of only forty-five souls in circumstances such as this… it’s absolutely ridiculous. Genius logistical work. But, I must remind you, there is only one seat left on the ship. We can’t put any more people on it. This we do understand, right? We only have enough thrust to get a certain amount of weight out of the atmosphere. From there it doesn’t really matter, but as long as the atmosphere is there, which it looks like it will be even if it’s tainted… as long as the atmosphere is there we can’t put anything more than you on our ship. I understand some of the thoughts which are swirling about in your head. You're bringing the people here. You think that in some form you will be able to find seats enough for them. The ship will only carry four hundred and eighty. No more. No less. Well, perhaps more if you get skinnier folks aboard, but fundamentally, you won’t be able to save as many people as you think you can.

Of course you’re angry. You’re angry at yourself for participating in this. I understand. I’m angry at myself, too. But what good will it do if you bring the mob here, and direct them to slaughter us? Because I know that idea is running around your head. There’s not much time, and you’re very close. Close to death, one way or the other. Death by your hand, or by the hand of the red. One way or the other. So you think that maybe if you bring the others here, if they understand what we’re trying to do in saving our own skins, that you’ll be able to rile them up in a fury to massacre us all. That will work. I guarantee you that will work. You’ll be able to escape to the eastern realms, king of a band of refugees. Because of course, unless some member of your flock decides to supersede your command in the time in between, you will be the leader of the mob which hurls itself into the stars. You will be powerful in a way that which we promised ourselves upon our success that we would all be. And… you think to yourself that would be righteous. Because we all did wrong. And you would be only one left, carrying the cross of your guilt, but that things would still be a bit better because the rest of us, we villains, would be gone. You would have excised a lot of evil from the universe, and the propagation of justice upon our souls would in effect redeem yours. I understand that line of thinking. And I understand how tempting it is. 

But these things aren’t so easy to judge. No doubt you’re fueled by a range of emotions which I can only guess at. I’m sorry for bringing you into this in the first place. If I hadn’t, I understand that none of this would have happened. Maybe it eventually would have, but if it did, you wouldn’t have to listen to this. You wouldn’t have to care about leading everyone north. It simply would be something that you did. When you reached the base, you would have no qualms about killing us all. Because we would just be demons. You'd have no personal connection, no reason to doubt yourself. I’m sorry because I know that none of these paths laid out for you are good, or even acceptable. You stay and try to fight the looming darkness, you get slaughtered in the most horrific way, losing control over your body. You command the mob to seize our ships, you remove a good quantity of evildoers from existence, and in doing so become the greatest evildoer of them all. That’s not acceptable, either. Or you take the path that I suggest for you, which is to abandon your flock and join us. But you must despise that also. It will make you a coward. It will make you wonder if you really could fight in the end, even when I tell you with absolute certainty that you couldn’t. All of these paths. I do not envy you for it. As for myself I only have one rational path, which is to wait, wait until the ship is ready for takeoff, and hopefully keep you by my side. 
I’m in a much more enviable position, and yet I still look up to the sky and see my absolute failure. That’s not just. But I don’t want you to sorrow for me. I don’t you to sorrow at all. I never wanted any of us to sorrow. Just… take the seat. It’s still here for you. Please.