Episode description[edit | edit source]
“What sort of shape is it though?”
“It is empire.”
“Yes, no, I get that, but... Is empire a square? Is it circle? It helps to know the shape of a thing if you’re hoping to break it.”
“Yes. I understand. You tell me, then. What shape do you think empire takes? Perhaps you can see it in a way I cannot, because you first apprehended it from outside.”
“Well, I can’t tell you about all empires, but this one? It wants to be fractal. Each stel tries to make everything inside of it a repetition of itself.”
“Yes. Yes, I see. Stel Apostolos shapes itself as a spear, and so it extends downward in echoing cacophony. Its military bases, its schools, its students, its children—all spears.“
“Yeah, something like that. The trouble is, a fractal is really strong. All those shapes, repeated inwards forever. They flex, like a tree’s branches bending in the wind.”
“Yes, but that is it. The Principality is not an abstract fractal, repeating forever. It is a tree. And a tree repeats only for so long.”
“And when a strong enough wind blows...”
“It can be uprooted.”
This week on PALISADE: Honesty and Integrity Pt. 2
I grieve in stereo, the stereo sounds strange / You know that if it hides, it doesn't go away[Note 1]
Dossier[edit | edit source]
People[edit | edit source]
Expand Factions[edit | edit source]
Expand Places[edit | edit source]
Expand Divines[edit | edit source]
Expand Objects[edit | edit source]
Expand
Contents[edit | edit source]
Plot[edit | edit source]
Ekpyrosis[edit | edit source]
Present and Gallica have transported Brnine to the frontlines of the war against the Branched, where they dock with and board the Pact flagship Ekpyrosis. Brnine is led into a structure created by the Divine Commitment, where they meet Dahlia, who is also wielding the Divine Integrity. Dahlia tells Brnine that they admire Brnine's work creating the Kalmeria Particle, and asks what drives them in the work they do. Brnine replies that they were just trying to survive. Dahlia says that conflict breeds innovation, revealing that their own goal is to keep the war against the Branched going for as long as it takes for both the Branched and the peoples of the Principality to evolve beyond their current forms.
Dahlia invites Brnine to join them. Brnine attacks them with a makeshift laser knife put together from random parts and objects they've secretly stolen while they've been a prisoner. Dahlia briefly gets the upper hand in the ensuing fight, but Brnine manages to push them back and then kill them. Brnine drops the knife in shock, and when they bend to pick it up, they see Integrity peeling itself away from Dahlia's spine. They pick Integrity up in one hand and the knife in the other.
Blue Channel[edit | edit source]
Back on the Blue Channel, Figure is listening to tapes of Gur and Valence and thinking about how desperately he wants to be able to tell Brnine that Millennium Break has changed his life. Perennial's magic seizes on that desire and physically transports Brnine (who is still holding Integrity) from the Ekpyrosis to the rec room of the Blue Channel. Brnine immediately passes out. They're taken to the infirmary, where Figure stands guard over their door.
Later, when they're awake, various crew members stop by to see Brnine. Cori brings a portable DVD player and a bunch of DVDs, then peppers Brnine with questions about killing the Princept. Thisbe tries to tell Brnine that she is impressed by what they've done, but Brnine misinterprets. Eclectic brings Brnine up to speed on the issue of the Motion factories. Figure tells Brnine about being haunted by the ghost of Gur Sevraq.
From his own hospital bed elsewhere, Jesset texts Brnine an ambiguously flirty message of support.[Note 2] Not long thereafter, Gucci comes aboard the Blue Channel to talk to Brnine. She confesses that she has feelings for them and tells them that, by killing the Princept, they've shown her possibilities for Millennium Break that she previously hadn't imagined. When Brnine says they're with Millennium Break until the end, Gucci agrees that she is too.
Cast[edit | edit source]
- Austin Walker (GM)
- Ali Acampora (Kalvin Brnine)
- Andrew Lee Swan (Figure)
- Janine Hawkins (Thisbe)
- Sylvia Clare (Coriolis Sunset)
- Keith J. Carberry (Eclectic Opposition)
Other Characters[edit | edit source]
- Gallica
- Present
- Commitment
- Dahlia
- Integrity
- Gur Sevraq
- Valence (mentioned, via audio recording)
- Asepsis
- Saffron Septet
- Midnite Matinee
- Hunting Tomorrow
- Jesset City (via text to Brnine)
- Gucci Garantine
Notes[edit | edit source]
- ↑ Lyrics from the song Little Dark Age by MGMT
- ↑ "I always believed in you 🫡🤕💕"