All the Souls of Mars: Episode 3

The Book Knows Everything

Greetings! Here it is! Episode 3! Audio and Text. It’s a big episode, I hope you enjoy! Please feel free to ask questions and leave a comment - I will do my best to get back to every one (Questions aimed at characters will be answered in character!)!

Episode 3 Audio

Episode 3

The Stripclub…

Muted bass thumps through the back room.

"If one more gooner gets their cock out tonight, I’m cutting it the fuck off," Beth Finlay mutters, yanking their robe tight like it’s the only thing holding them together.

“Haruna! One minute!” someone shouts outside the changing room.

(- Osiris, really? A strip club?)

(Sssshhh - ut the fuck up, you idiot ball.)

"Honey, get a bouncer. They don’t pay for touching." Haruna Matsunami flicks mascara onto their lashes. Doesn’t look up.

"Babes, my ass looks good in green, right?" Sammy Pincone twists, looking up and down the mirror.

(- Osiris, this dialogue is failing the Bechdel test.)

(There are three reasons why this has nothing to do with the Bechdel test, Prop.)

(- What…? Oh. …Oh. …OH, COME ON.)

A pause.
Haruna adjusts their bulge in the mirror,
"All asses look good in green.”

Beth Finlay’s eyes ignore the ass in green, glued to the little screen propped up by pyramid of makeup:

Your planet will burn. You will watch. (The King growls…)

You lost. You’re a loser. This is how it feels, Kingy.

Lights out over the city as Earth threatens t-

Beth rewinds.

You lost. You’re a loser. (The King winces.)

Again.

You’re a loser. (The King blinks hard, swallowing.)

Again.

The King’s breath shudders—just slightly.

Did you see that? The King’s going mad! - (A street hot dog stand. Everyone looks up from their screens. The sanctum crowning the citadel explodes!)

KABOOOOOM!!!

A circle within a circle. (A Kid on a bike freezes in front of a pentagram on a construction site. A body fallen, spayed like a star in the middle.)

"Are you watching the King’s Day by Day"

"No."

"Usually, why?"

"Have you seen this?"

Silence: You’re a loser. (The King winces.)

“Haruna! Get your sissy ass up!”

"Shit."

"What?"

"No fucking way.."

"Babes," Haruna sighs, "You know the King always wins in the end. My ass will still be earning rent tomorrow."

The other two watch Haruna sway towards the door, then they turn back to the screen.

“What does this mean?”

“Toil and trouble.”

Sammy taps the side of their face,

“Have you subscribed to Violet?”

“Violet? No, that shit’s expensive. Why?”

“She’s second in Day by Day. Something is going to happen.”

"Yeah. Earth will roll in, murder us, and put the survivors in cages."

“No. Not that. Something worse.”

One stripper looks to the other, confused, scared, and doubtful. She shakes her head,

“You need to stop doing tarot…”

Scene 4: The Detectives wonder what this means

“Rav?”

The android turns her Day by day to the King’s feed,
“You’ll want to see this yourself.”

“...fine,” they scratch their neck, tuning Day By Day while Rav holds the book. She wonders lots of things in that time.

( - That's lazy writing.)

Just keep reading, says the book.

“Holy shit,” El looks down at the book. She turns off her Day by Day, “We’re so fucked.”

Rav opens the book, flicks into the later pages - sees she can't read those bits - then returns to her place. Here Rav.

“Fuck…they’ll need everyone back at base.”

El’s communicator starts to flash.

Perfect timing.

Remember the TV casting a light over the ritual site, the books, the dead body?

Rav does. She looks at Violet on the screen, the star puts a finger to her lips, grinning. Rav tunes to Day by Day,
"The King and the news are already erasing Xelda."

Rav wonders if she should leave the book in the library. The book that gave her a soul. The book that sees everything.

So does El. Everyone on her feed saw her with it. Did they see what it wrote? Did they see it changing?

Of course they did.

“Leave the book, Rav. We cant - fuck this is so fucked. We’re so fucked - if there is a definition of ‘heresy’ it’s that fucking book.”

Rav knows. She looks at El’s terrified face. She’s never seen her master like this before, hands in hair. Day by Day off.

El turns to the door of the library, away from the headless body in the middle of the pentagram.

Violet says nothing from the TV, as though watching the detectives. Seeing what they do next.

The android puts the book back down next to the body and the chalk circle.

Footsteps stalk away…

…

…then scurry back!

Rav picks up the book…!

You were never going to leave me behind.

Good girl.

Something stutters.

A vibration through the words, the sentence structure fraying at the edges -

You notice her singing, don't you Spike? Don't get too distracted, you're not even at the beginning yet…

Scene 5: Osiris and Scarlett give Spike the book

(- Somewhere back in the past, in a race that already happened (or is still happening, depending on how you measure time), a Champion spins out.)

Time is frozen. Scarlett and I fly through the starry void, surrounded by the Asteroid Racer Course.

I magick the cockpit of the starship open and hover the metal disc we stand on closer to the exposed pilot, now exposed. I lean down and tap the pilot on the shoulder.

He unfreezes, blinks, and looks around at my face, space, thoroughly confused,
“You've got the wrong fucking guy,” he says.

Prop bleeps, laughing in orb.

“(Unfortunately not. I am Osiris. This is Scarlett.)”

Prop bleeps again and begins a very slow orbit around my head.

The pilot shifts in his seat, then he scratches his arm where his Retcon tattoo is hidden by his space suit. His eyes narrow,
“What the fuck are you?”

“(I’m a sorcerer from another dimension. As you can see, I’ve stopped time. Your time-tech won’t work.)”

“You talk real fucking funny. I don’t like you. Fuck off and put me back.”

Prop hisses a laugh of static.

( - I love him. He’s perfect.)

Spike looks up at the metal floating ball, but says nothing.

“I was expecting more,” says Scarlett, looking at me.

Spike folds his arms, glaring at her,
“I'm a fucking Champion, baby. You don’t get more than this.”

“Oh really?”

Spike squints, then looks Osiris up and down. The way his eyes flick across Osiris’s body isn’t casual - it’s calculated. Like he’s sizing up a competitor,
"Your boyfriend is standing like a guy who’s used to getting hit. Weight on the balls of his feet, left side slightly turned, like he expects a punch. Not a soldier, though - too loose. A duelist, maybe? Or a conman. But he’s not a fighter, is he?"

Scarlett tilts her head,
"What makes you say that?"

Spike smirks,
"Because a fighter would’ve punched me by now."

“(Why did you spin out, Spike? Don’t Champions usually win races?)”

Spike snaps to sudden seriousness,
“Hey! I got paid a fuck lot for this fucking gig; more than just attention credit - gold. Real fucking gold, like the stuff the fucking aliens want.”

Scarlett plants her hands on her hips, looming over Spike,
"Do we really need him?"

“Pot…kettle,” Prop mumbles.

Spike smirks,
“Oh yeah? And what makes you two so special?”

Scarlett gestures vaguely at the frozen void around them,
"Look around you, imbecile! We’re space wizards who’ve stopped time! Who the hell do you think you’re talking to, you grade-A, arrogant waste-of-a-bastard cock stain?!”

Spike crosses his arms,
“Obviously the wank wizards who are about to save this cock stain.”

"There it is," I sigh, "Should’ve brought popcorn."

“Hahaha!” laughs Prop.

Spike looks at Prop again,
“What's that?” Spike points at Prop, “Your floating buttplug?”

Prop stops laughing.

I hold my breath.

( - Osiris.)

(Yes Prop.)

( - This human has enraged me.)

(Was it when he called you a ‘floating buttplug’?)

( - There is a reason that I have no enemies, Osiris.)

Spike looks at me, dead in the eyes,
”Look, as fun as this is, I’ve got a race to get back to.”

I nod, considering my next words,
“(I know, but listen. I’m not here to save you. I’m here to put you in danger.)”

“What…danger?” He looks me up and down, trying to read me.

I pull a book from my Space-Wizard sleeve and push it through space towards him,
(I just need you to read this, and everything will make sense.)”

“That’s asking a lot, isn’t it?”

The book is leatherbound, plain, black, no title on the cover.

Spike takes the book in two hands,
“What the fuck is this-”

“(This book is for you. This is your destiny.)”

Spike studies my eyes, then looks down his nose at the book in his hands,
“I don't want it.”

“(Just…Just open it.)”

“No. You guys are bad news,” he offers the book back to me.

I look around at the infinite of space, the glistening stars, the nexus of the Asteroid belt,
“(Look, maybe we should start over. This book is your future. Something big is going to happen…this is about destiny! The stakes are really quite high!)”

“Still no - in fact, definitely no,” he hikes the book, lobbing it into space, “you just turn up, stop time, wave your wizard dicks around and just expect me to read a fucking book, in the middle of a fucking race. You don't socialise often, do you?”

That stings.

I hold out my hand and the book flies into it,
“(This has to be your choice, and you will find out why when you start reading. I’ve stopped time so I can meet you and give this to you. Sorry about these two,)” I motion to Prop and Scarlett, “(but I wouldn’t have bothered you if it wasn’t world shatteringly important. I wouldn’t have come if I didn’t think you could handle it.)”

Both Scarlett and Prop turn away from me.

I ignore them.

The Racing Driver takes in a long breath and seems to be thinking,
“Tell me what you really want.”

I nod, feeling like I’m getting through to him,
“(Violet, the V-Tuber on Mars: I need you to find her, capture her and help her escape the planet.)”

“Why?”

“(She’s going to steal something that Earth will want. Earth will make contact with you soon. They want her too.)”

“Earth? Earth doesn’t like me.”

“(They need you. The Secret War is ending. You are the last Infinity Warrior.)”

( - The last Idiot Warrior.)

Spike looks at me, eyes squinting,
“No…that’s not -”

“(They’re all gone, Spike. It’s just you left. I’m not with Earth or Mars, I have some other foot in the game, yeah?)”

Spike shakes his head as if shaking off a thought that didn’t belong to him, looks flatly at me, then slowly turns to Scarlett,
"I'll do it for a blowjob from her, but she needs to mean it."

"Fuck you!" Scarlett sings.

"(That's a no,)" I say dryly, "(Try again.)"

Spike smirks, but there's something thin about it now. He glances down at the book,
"This thing really tells my future?"

"(More than that,)" I say, "(It tells you how to survive.)"

"And if I don’t read it?"

"(Then the King of Mars finds you. And you lose.)"

Spike stares at the book, fingers twitching.

“(And he’ll be coming for you, after this race. No one beats the King of Mars. Do they?)”

Spike pauses, his eyes scanning the cover of the book. His grip twitching like he’s trying to stop himself from throwing it again.

I feel Scarlett looking at me, and I hold back looking at her. I keep my eyes on Spike, wondering if I got this right.

Then, without another word, Spike opens the book.

Scarlett sends me a telepathic message,

Sorry he wound me up.

It’s ok. I think it worked in our favour.

Scarlett's face softens as she watches Spike read,

I wonder what his di-

Scarlett! Telepathy!

Oh! Shit! She looks at me in horror, I was totally not thinking what you think I was thinking - just…forget I thought that!

I look from her to Spike, widen the metal disk and summon an armchair,
“(Keep your eye on him, Scarlett. I need to run an errand,)” I hold my hand out for Prop, who flies into it, then I settle back into the chair.

"Are you sleeping?"

"(Dream traveling. Catching up to the future.)"

"Lazy."

"(You’ll see.)"

(- You are lazy.)

The moment my eyes shut, I feel it. The weight of the book pressing against time.

I sink into the void.

(Here you are Spike - you’re all caught up. This is how your story begins…)

Chapter 2

Scene 6: Spike is sent to Mars

I remember seeing a story about the loneliest man on Earth: this astronaut floating on his own in orbit, the furthest from any other human possible. I'm envious of this man.
Everyone else on Earth is partying. Earth humans jamming and vibing with each other, their artificial, hyper-intelligent overlords piggybacking on their synapses.

(When you get to this moment in time, they need to believe you want this too. You want a Mind-Union.)

I can only really see 2% of what’s actually happening. The Minds have their own digital realm, but we can all hear their moans of pleasure, as loud as any human’s.

There are celebratory balloons dotted around the glossalaliating bodies and one bottle of beer for me.

Woopie…

I stand back to an outside balcony, watching the Day by Day broadcast on the little screen in my hand, the Earth version, the one where you can see Xelda taunting the King.

I pocket the screen, sick to the stomach, and turn away from the party to the dark sea, sparking under the sky of the dark, dark night. I knew all this was going to happen, I read this part in the book before I got…distracted…funny how I knew and I still feel like shit…

(You need to feel like shit. She needs to see that. She can’t know about the book, or me.)

The moon is full over the sea, its black-scarreed face beaming over the waves hushing through the long arms of the cliffed bay; the darkness in the distance speckled with home lights and the calm glow of streets between.

“Well, if it isn’t my favourite person in the whole wide world. Feeling romantic?”

I don’t turn,
“There’s another word I’d use beginning with ‘r’.”

“Resplendent? Ravishing? Righteous - perhaps?” The tall, thin, chrome skinned Mind glides next to me. They place both feet next to the balcony, next to me, and lean with me to watch over the bay, “Excited?”

“That doesn’t begin with ‘r’, Xelda.”

The Mind smiles, its silver skin a little sad at the edges of its cheeks. It folds their fingers and follows my gaze to the moon,
“The war with Mars is over. This time tomorrow, the planet will be under Earth dominion. The psychic masters are of little threat to us, any more. This is your victory as much as it is mine, Spike. You made much of this Secret War possible. You did so well. I’m proud of you. We all are.”

I focus on the moon, the great charred scar gouged across the face. A reminder of how close Mars got. I tap the railing, wondering why Xelda’s words feel so hollow,
"I’m not going back to Mars."

The Mind sighs a little and rolls their back onto the balcony railing to face me, their smile still gentle and too damn…understanding,
"Of course you’re not."

I blink,

"Wait. Really?"

"No. That was a joke.”

I turn from the moon to the Mind,
“Even with all your power, your promises of invasion. You still need me.”

Xelda’s face curls into a smile. She leans in, like she's sharing a secret,
“We own you, Spike.”

I look down at my feet, telling myself it’s not true. Don’t listen Spike.

“You’re a weapon, that thinks. A blade that cuts without a hand to hold it. Nothing more.”

(She needs to think you want a Mind-Union. She’s expecting that.)

“I deserve a Mind-Union, like everyone else. I’ve earned it! I…I deserve to belong.”

They nod,
“You are the last agent we have in the last stage of our Secret War.” The Mind reaches out and places a hand on my shoulder.

I turn back to the moon,
“You’re all partying in there like the Secret War is over. You told the King of Mars it’s over, but it was a lie.”

“Our simulations are 99.9% certain -”

“- of crushing Earth victory. I know, I saw you on the broadcast.”

“It’s not a lie Spike. My war is over, but yours is not.”

I sigh and look down from my feet, already so tired just thinking about what could possibly be to come. My mind wanders back to all the missions, the killings, betrayals, lies before I ran away. Before I started racing.

(Tired of what is to come before you even get started? I know the feeling.)

“Earth will join the Intergalactic Alliance. But, there is a…situation.”

I stare at them, not sure if I believe I heard them right.

Xelda tilts her thin head back,
“We understand that the Intergalactic Alliance might have been monitoring Mars very, very closely. They might even be monitoring this conversation, right now.”

I think back to the book and huff,
“Sometimes I do feel like I’m being watched all the time.”

“Oh Spike, if only you knew.”

I keep my mouth shut.

“Mars has something even the Alliance doesn’t understand. And they hate that. They hate the unknown. This is the real reason we pulled all our agents off of Mars.”

“Because we’re getting ready to go to war for them?”

“Oh no, the war, the invasion tomorrow, that’s all my idea, actually.”

“Right.”

“No, the Alliance told us to ‘Withdraw all personnel from Mars immediately.’ So we have, mostly.”

“But you’re using it as an opportunity to turn it into a warzone.”

The Mind turns away from me and looks up at the moon, her eyes dancing over the scar on the moon’s face, but I catch her mouth twitch as though she were imagining something thrilling,
“We pulled every agent off Mars. Every. Single. One. I know you don’t want to go, but you need to grow up. This is about more than you, now.”

I feel my foot drumming against the floor. I didn’t notice that I was doing that. I look down at my hand holding the beer bottle, my knuckles white, the glass cracking.

The Mind smiles wickedly in a way that means very, very bad things for me,
“You are going to go to Mars and find the thief who is stealing an Elixir from the King of Mars, a V-Tuber called ‘Violet’. You will bring them home, with the Elixir. And I will reward you with a Mind, and a home.”

I feel my eyes shut, almost on their own. I know I’m going to ask before I even do. I think about trying not to, but my mouth moves all the same,

(Why do you need this Elixir?)

“Why do you need this, Elixir?”

I hear it smile as it speaks, acting as if I had done something funny,
“We have no idea what it really does. Even with the tech from the Intergalactic Alliance upgrading our sensors and effectors, we still can’t tell what it is or what it does. It shouldn’t exist.”

“Sounds scary.”

Hands grab my collar and shake me, lift me and pull me closer to the silver being’s snarling face.

I Retcon.

Time rewinds: her face unsrlnarls, I'm pushed away, lowered to the ground, my collar let go, her hands go to her sides.

As her hand moves I step back.

She pauses, her fingers outstretched, eyes squinted, like she’s looking for something. Then she smiles,
“You ever get the feeling you’re already dead, but no one’s told you yet, Spike?”

I swallow. Does she know I Retconned? Did she anticipate I would?

“Yes, it’s terrifying. The Alliance is far more powerful than us. If they don’t know what’s on Mars, it’ll mean far more than a failed invasion. It could be an extinction of all of us. Even you.”

“Why?” I gasp, “Why would they do that?”

"The Alliance doesn’t punish failure, Spike. They prune it.”

I look at her eyes, wide, mad. Hungry. Burning. Monstrous.

A shudder chills me.

“Earth only joins the real game, the Game of the Galaxy, if they decide we won’t spread whatever the hell Mars has become,” they slide their mouth to my face, their voice a low, soft hiss, “Or, they’ll just leave us to whatever horror - you better hope with all your pitiful soul - you don’t find lurking.”

I nod,
“I’ll pack my bags.”

Xelda winks, turns, and stalks away, joining the throng of flesh through the balcony doors.

Scene 7: The Detectives discuss heresy

El looks panicked. She walks from side to side on the pavement.

The car sits on the road. The citadel cranes above, close.

“We need to hand the book in. It’s…it’s our duty to hand the book in.”

“It is,” says Rav, “but the book hasn’t told us to do that.”

“Fuck - fuck the book!” El stops, eyes flaring, fists at sides, “Fuck the book. Fuck all of this. We know too much. We know way too fucking much.”

Rav holds the book over her chest, stroking the cover with soft fingers. She looks up at the citadel, to the top where the sanctum was, now shattered like the bottom of an eggshell,
“We are the only ones who know the truth. Who knows everything. We know about the invasion, the Infinity Warrior. Osiris.”

“It could just be recording us now, right now, in real time, Rav!” the Inquisitor shudders.

“How does it speak to us then?” Rav says, her mind wandering back to the moment when her artificial body hummed with the glow of a soul.

“I…It…It could be Earth! The book could be an Earth weapon! An Alliance weapon!”

“It could be. In which case it would be our duty to report it. We are Inquisitors.”

El shakes her head and begins to pace again,

“Fuck no. No. No no no. We can’t do that,” she starts to bite her nail, “They’ll mind-probe us. Wipe us. I won't survive that again. Worse, we could be delivering our enemies' most powerful weapon into the heart of the planet. It could be a bomb.”

Rav’s sighs, shoulders sinking,
“So what do you want to do? We can’t throw it away. Especially not if its a weapon.”

“I’ll…Put it on the ground. It’s heresy, I’ll destroy it.”

Rav hesitates. Just for a second. The weight of the Book is real, solid, warm against her fingers. She watches El raise her hand towards her, destructive energy pooling in her palm.

“Rav?” El swallows. Then she says, firmer, “Detective.”

The android with a soul blinks, then places the book on the ground,
“But, what if it’s true and…there really is something on Mars that Earth and the Alliance are afraid of?”

El holds the power in her hand, looking from the book to Rav.

“If the book is true, we can see Violet. We’re the only people on the planet who will know where she is,” Rav says stepping towards El.

El looks down at the book, the glow from her power dancing ultraviolet light over its cover.

“And,” Rav reaches a hand to El’s shoulder, “we know where this Infinity Warrior is. What if - we can use it to save Mars? You could save Mars.”

El’s hand twitches. The light from her power waning.

“All we have to do is read a book, El. Just because we read it, doesn’t mean we have to listen. Right?”

El stares. Thinking. Blinking. Playing Rav’s words through her mind…

Well done, Rav.

El tells Rav to leave the book in the car. She turns and begins walking towards the citadel.

Rav pretends to, and hides it on her person, under her coat.

Scene 8: Violet Infiltrates the Citadel

(Far, far away, across the void of space, billions of people tune into Violet's Day by Day, not just wondering how and what she will steal from the King, but how she will survive…)

At the very base of the King of Mars's Citadel of psychic iron and ebon darkness is a wide, empty pentagonal marching ground. Today, like everyday, it's empty. However, something is very strange about today: the rain falls in heavy sleets, dashing down onto the planet in ranks of shivering ranks of grey from unnatural clouds.

The slanted sheets tear through the stark lights eliminating the shadows of the neon city, blowing through the marching ground.

The streets around bustle with the mow of cars and mash of crowds teeming through themselves. No common folk are permitted to walk the marching grounds; even dirtying a single brick meant an instant death.

So, as you may imagine, guarding the King's Marching Ground at the foot of his colossal Citadel is both the toughest and easiest jobs on the planet: the King of Mars detests surprises. Anyone clever enough to enter through the main door at the end of the marching ground, and through the heaviest of armed guards is exactly the person the King most detests.

That’s where I come in, dear viewers. I'm quite pleased with myself in this regard, if you couldn't tell.

The guard on the left is called…um…John? And the one on the right is…er…James. I made that up, but their names don't matter - their lives do. They are real, after all.

“Fuck all this rain.”

“Your wife says the same.”

“That's hilarious! Your wife likes rain, my rain! All over her tits, from my dick!”

“That's funny, I thought you had no dick.”

“Hur hur hur…”

See, real men! The future doesn't change, much.

(- Note Violet exaggerates, and is prone to deception. This portrayal of the MarsGuards may not be entirely accurate.)

The two guard's conversation, if you can call it that, patters along like the streaming drizzle dripping from their wide brimmed hats and gun muzzles. They seem to scan the dark, peering through through slanted rain; their visors and optic enhancements hardwired into their cerebral cortex, viewing their reality in a hundred (well…sixty two, to be precise) different means, from vibration sonar through to the unseen spectrums of light, effecting an awareness of almost all forms of matter.

“Shame you were off on Tuesday.”

“Your wife didn't think so.”

“I got to shoot someone who stepped onto the Marching Ground. Just a toe. I almost thought they wouldn't.”

“Nice.”

“Shot a Hyper-Turbo round and watched the whole thing in slow motion. Fucking brilliant. Their whole body went - blam! Eyes popped, belly burst, brains everywhere - bits a stuff everywhere. Splat!”

“Nice.”

“Yeah,” says John…um…James? Does it really matter, you get the point, right?

The two watch out through the wet slanted downpour. Their eyes linger on a spot in the middle of the rain, almost thinking they see…something.

Even with the umbrella, my feet are sodden through boots and a long coat. The rain gushes down around me, lashing a thick patter over the canvas layer shielding me. My shadow points in five directions away from the five main beaming spotlights around the pentagonal grounds, stalking with me as I take my sweet time finishing the last of my cigarettes.

The two goons - erm…guards, scan the darkness with their cortex-linked optics, looking right through me as if I don’t exist.

John seems to drift off a little, for some reason the darkness and drowning rain draws him to a memory of a window with streaky blinds, drumming with a soft patter. He thinks first of the smell of ash drafted cloth, the dark faded blue of his carpet, and the round glass ash tray in its spot in the middle of the low table, next to his Virtual Reality headset. Even now, his digital wife is planning a night of haptic ecstasy for him - lucky boy. Later she will visit his dreams; they'll fly together over a sea…something John has never seen for real, but is enchanted by as the million sunbright waves crest and fall in chaotic equilibrium.

I've upgraded his vocabulary, poor thing. You know, he seems quite sweet, really…

I pause and regard their stony, stoic grimaces, just a few feet away. I kiss the end of my cigarette from under the shade of my umbrella, take two final draws, and blow two smoke rings: one inside the other. Then I step between the guards and enter the King’s citadel. Not one, out of all the souls of Mars, can stop me.