After the Revolution · Cool Zone Media and iHeartPodcasts

Epilogue

July 26, 2021·11 min·1 clip

Manny tells Oscar's widow he was executed, absorbing her rage and guilt before leaving Texas forever.

Manny exits Aisha's house at 7 pm into cloudy heat after delivering news of Oscar's death. He omits the details of Roland's involvement and his own time in the Heavenly Kingdom militia to keep the explanation manageable. Aisha strikes him and screams for over an hour, alternating with sobbing in his arms. Manny doesn't argue because she's right: his involvement led Oscar there. Before the battle bodies at Rock Creek were cold, he had already decided to give Aisha every dollar he'd saved, assured by Mike and Topaz that money would be useless in his new nomadic life. Outside, Thule Black Elk waits in a doorless Jeep. She has warmed to Manny after he saved her and Rick in the battle and volunteered to drive him for this final Austin errand. They drive away, sharing liquor and blunts from the Jeep's glove compartment. Tooley recounts how she used to be a sober activist in Albuquerque until she concluded that the world remains roughly as broken regardless of personal effort. Manny watches the sunset over the Colorado River and reflects that he wanted to escape to somewhere better, though he settles for somewhere different. They pass through several checkpoints on the way to Georgetown, where Rolling Fuck has relocated. Skullfucker Mike and Topaz greet them at the greeter station. Manny learns that Sasha has departed with Jim, who offered her a job. Topaz considers Jim the second worst person on Earth. The conversation turns to Roland, whose brain healed from injury but left him with no memory of Manny, Sasha, or events inside the Heavenly Kingdom. He walked toward Arizona a day earlier, carrying backpacks of painkillers and psilocybin. Topaz is angry that Roland escapes guilt through forgetting while everyone else must live with their conscience. Mike says it isn't fine but is simply Roland's nature. Topaz urges Manny to cut Roland out when he returns, predicting there will be a next time. Tooley interrupts to redirect toward welcoming Manny properly. The celebration plan involves MDMA, several dozen pounds of dynamite, Jeep donuts, and Whippets. The group hugs Manny and Mike tells him it will be the best party of his life.

As heard by us

A dry, bruised epilogue that makes Manny's idea of "different" feel earned.

Epilogue stays with Manny as he stumbles out of Aisha's house, rides through the Austin heat, and lands in a blunt, a flask, and a talk about why a clear head does not make the world any less fucked up.

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Why you'd press play

You want one last smoke break after the battle.

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