Episode 5: The Serpent-Bearer

on some mornings fast Banks of fog rolling from the sea, creeping up the rivers, writhing their way through the canyons between the skyscrapers until the entire city has grown indistinct, vague. More an idea than an actual place. A series of abstract shapes, half remembered in a dream. And what could be more appropriate? What is the world to this little man as he wanders the streets in a haze, pretending to investigate the secrets of the city?

Can he ever really grasp why things are as they are? Oh, he can put a name to his enemy and a face to the name, but what does it matter? The city is a machine and the machine cares nothing for names and faces. But even that is an illusion, a human construct, a narrative. What is the truth? The truth is that we can know nothing except those indistinct shapes. Time is out of joint and the world is going badly.

But we cannot even know how or why. We know nothing. As that little man in the fog knows nothing. And like him, we would be better off if we never even thought about it. Come, come, friends, witness the beauty of time captured, the elusive moment forever flitting away from us, finally trapped on celluloid, and not just any moment. But the moment of highest pleasure, when mind and body are transformed, the moment of transcendence, the moment of release, the moment of oblivion.

The Orgasmaticon, only at the pussy can't.

Good morning, Blondie. Good morning, Harry. Where's Ben? Don't tell me he's late. Couch. Shit. Did he work through the night again? He was asleep when I got here. Any sign of Captain Donovan? Nothing. I even called Charlotte. She hasn't heard from him. I don't know if I should be worried or annoyed. I'm worried. Have you managed to dig up anything from the files? That's a whole other nightmare.

Parsendec is definitely in here. In fact, they own at least a hundred subsidiaries and properties all over the city. The frustrating thing is that most of it doesn't make any financial sense. See, that usually means they're trying to hide something. I agree, but I've never seen a case like this. They're using fifteen shell companies where three would be enough. Half their investments undermine the other half.

Some of it's downright surreal. They have a company that does nothing but dig big circular holes in the barrens. I've seen those. They're creepy, but I thought they were like foundations or something. No. They're just big circular holes. They've spent millions digging them and they don't serve any purpose whatsoever. Huh. Probably just some way of milking some subsidies. That's plausible.

But I have to tell you, it's been exhausting. I tried to draw out a diagram of how these subsidiaries work and it it made me physically sick. We're gonna need a bigger notebook. I think Ben was trying to make sense of their real estate situation to see why they want to buy the Sagittarius, but I don't know how much headway he made before he passed out. Okay, I'm tired of sitting around waiting for Donovan to show up, and Reno Larry wants to talk to me, so I'll be heading out.

Can I tag along? Uh sure, but I'm just going to Sutter Avenue to talk to the world's slimmiest man. It's not exactly gonna be fun. I need to clear my head. This parson tech stuff is I don't know, it's not good. I don't want to end up like Quinn. Okay, okay. I don't mind the company. Let's go, Blondie. Just uh don't shake his hand. There's something wrong with the city.

I felt it for a long time, this vague, sick feeling gnawing away at me. We're trying, we're all desperately trying to pretend that everything's okay, but underneath, there's this. This knowledge that nothing is how it should be. Nothing's going to turn out the way we want, and all the stories we tell ourselves to make life bearable are pretty lies that we never really believed in. There's a big black void, and we're all rushing toward.

And all we can do is look away, to work, or sex, or drugs, or God, but the void is still there, and every day we get older and weaker, and it gets closer.

Hey man, so good to see you again. You look sli- Oh, and I like your lady friend too. I love this classy MILF look. Larry, shut up. Eyes on me. Don't talk to her, she's off limits. Sure, man, sure. Sorry. I'm in a good mood. Larry's exuberant, baby. You look a bit pale, actually. Yeah, man. I'm Jack.

I didn't sleep all night. There was a party in Millionaire's Row, and I mean real fucking party, man. You ever see a dozen girls doing Coke on a cock? Coke on a cock? Yeah, come on, you know what I mean. Gobble gobble, sniff, sniff.

You. Yeah. I think I just threw up in my mouth a little. Yeah, that happened too. I didn't think Millionaire's Row was your kind of clientele. It isn't. It isn't. Uh not not the parents, but the kids, right? They're rich, bored, and horny, and they pop Molly like candy. Takes like ten guys to keep them supplied. One of the usual guys is MIA, so guess who got lucky? Congrats, I guess. Thanks, man. I appreciate it. Feels like a real step. You know, I gotta keep climbing that golden ladder.

These rich kids are real good cops. They love getting fucked up, man. You wouldn't believe A and the girls too, man. They got a college education, they got a rich daddy, but what they really wanna do is the dirtiest shit you can fucking imagine. And I can imagine some pretty dirty shit, if you know what I mean. Not even the rich are happy, huh? I don't know, man. They seemed pretty happy to me last night. And I made them happy, which makes me happy. You know what they say. Smiling is

Someone was certainly contagious. So what have you gotten the scorpion guy? Right, right, right, right. Uh so there's this operation, right? Extremely fucking Nobody knows who runs it. Nobody knows where their lab is. They make synthetics. Small batches, high prices. Real cutting-edge stuff. Make an acid trip look like a walk in the supermarket. And the scorpion works for them? He's I don't know. Driver, enforcer. He he shows up when the product

And where does the products show up? How do I find them? Like I said, nobody knows a whole lot about They haven't sold anything in a while. There's a rumor though that something new is coming up soon. A new drug? Yeah, yeah. They say it's gonna blow every other hallucinogen out of the water. Gonna make shrooms an acid obsolete. And it's gonna be cheap, mass market stuff. A real game changer. They say it's called.

Terminus. Terminus? You heard of it? It sounds familiar, but uh I can't quite place it. You planning on getting involved? Selling it? Hmm. Nah man, I don't touch that shit. I'm not stupid. I like to make people happy. I sell coke, weed, molly, bit acid, you know, the good stuff, the classic. This new shit, it's fucked up, man. It's weird. Doesn't make you

Go fast, doesn't make you go slow. If I go on a trip, I want it to be a pleasant trip, man. I want to cruise along the Great River in a boat made of dreams. I wanna dance like a horny goat in the rain. I wanna know I'm alive. But these new synthetics, I don't know, man. They're cold. They take you out of yourself. But if you take the you out of you, What's left?

Uh messing with this shit is how you get stabbed. And I do not like getting stabbed. If you can find anything, a name, a place, I'll make it worth your while. Okay. I'll look into it.

Uh just for you, man. Harry and Larry, bros forever. Yeah. Sure, thanks. All right, man. See you on the flip side. Hold on. Larry, let me read you some names. Tell me if you recognize one of them. Okay, shoot. Victor Lamont.

Lucius Finster. Reinhard Falkenrath? Malachi Bidwell. Whoa, whoa, whoa. How do you know that name? Malachi Bidwell? Fuck! Don't say it so loudly. Who the hell is this guy? He's uh An intermediary, a facilitator, uh Messenger someone who gets shit done for the people at the top the mayor The mayor's a puppet you know that I mean the people who own the mayor

You have business with them, they have business with you. Malachi Bidwell gets involved. And if the people up top don't like you, you die. They say it's worth it. What's worse than dying? I don't know. And I sure as shit don't want to find out. Look, man, I'm happy to help you and your MILF here find that Scorpion guy, but I'm not getting involved with anything Malachi Bidwill. Sorry.

The city was always corrupt. The politicians, the judges, the cops We were always part of the same web, serving the interests of the powers that be. But something's changed. It's impersonal, faceless, shifting, a strange anxiety, a kind of mania, like an anticipation of a barrier that's about to break. Like just before a riot. Or a lynching. It started with Lucius Finster or Victor Lamont or whatever his name is. There was something wrong with that case, something

Off, and I never could let it go. But the more I kept digging, the more it all fell apart, and the more enemies I made. What made me so suspicious? What was it that didn't add up? The recording. Oh my god. How? How could I forget that? I'm so tired. Amen. Hey, um did I do something to piss you off? I know Larry's a bit much to take, but he's a good CI. What? No. Why would you think that? Your face? Oh.

Oh, this isn't my angry face. This is my hungry face. Oh, good to know. Hey, you want to grab lunch? That would help me focus. How do you feel about spicy food? I love it. Okay, so there's this Greek deli on 31st Avenue. They do a spicy pastrami sandwich that is out of this fucking world. With mustard? Oh yeah. But they sprinkle dried chili flakes on the meat and it's served in this Greek flatbread?

What about Ben? We'll get him one. Okay, let's do it. The more I think about it, the hungrier I get. So, um detectives Crane and Danton are in the field, so I'm continuing to sort through these files. On a personal note, I keep thinking about those bodies we found. All those young men curled up like babies. I can't stop thinking about what it must have been like to die alone, afraid, abandoned by everyone who was supposed to love you.

You know, we talk about justice, but what kind of justice can make up for that? Even if we catch the ones who did it, even if through some miracle they actually get punished, it won't change anything about what the victims experience. The injustice doesn't go away. It doesn't get healed. And the next set of victims is just around the corner.

It was the same with the Whitman dossier. I really wanted to believe it would make everyone realize that something has to be done, that the force has to be cleaned up. But it didn't matter. Susan risks so much by testifying, but what did it really change? Harrison's right about that. I don't want to be a cynic. I don't want to lose hope. But denying the facts doesn't help. So what's justice here at the end of the day? Is justice even what I'm looking for? Or is there

Something else. Some other goal. Some other way of looking at this.

Καλησπέρα. Θα ήθελα μια πίτα καλαμάκι. Εδώ πιστεύω, Χάρη. Η πίτα με τα εγκάτια είναι χωρίς κερκίνες. Ευχαριστώ. Έχεις πιστεύει το όνομα «Μαλακάι Πιτουαλ»? Όχι, δεν πιστεύω. Not to be too political, but our clients are mostly working class. And this name i it does not sound very of the people. Fair point. Uh take some napkins. Good idea. Thanks again. Can we eat this here?

I'm really hungry, but I don't want to eat in that car. What? You don't want to catch cholera? I'd rather not, no. I mean, I did eat a burrito in there and I didn't die, but with the shit that goes into my body, I'm probably immune to car bacteria. We're good, thanks. Wow, it really is foggy today, isn't it, Jerry? You know what's great on a foggy day? Curling up with a good book.

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Let's see what's in binder number three. Could it be the lead we've all been looking for? Could it be the true identity of Lamont. Could it be one of Harrison's burritos? Nope. Sorry, it's more corporate bullshit. Better luck next time. I can see why Quinn went crazy.

And then, after one of the greatest needle drops in fucking history, it goes into this berserk fucking finale that I still can't stop thinking about. And what's the reaction? People complain that the show didn't reveal who was really in charge. Way to miss the fucking point. That is why I'm pessimistic about the world. You give people gold and they're like, Where's my shit? I ask for shit. I don't get it.

Oh sorry, I We were talking about Romero and then I guess my mind went to artists that people don't appreciate and No, no. I mean I thought it was incredibly Explicit before that point that it doesn't matter who's in charge, because neither side cares about freedom. Wasn't that the point of episode two? Wait, so you've seen the show? Of course.

When I was studying, I had a little portable TV in my apartment and I would obsessively watch reruns with my face five inches from the screen. I watched it when I was back from the war late at night and I was like, shit, this guy said it all and nobody listened. Man. I can't believe we have so much in common. It's unexpected. At my last precinct, even after several years, everyone was a stranger, but

You feel like someone I've known for a long time. Hey, I can't help being roguishly charming. Don't let it go to your head. You have your moments. Benjamin Wade personal note. What's so maddening about these files, both Quinn's and Donovan's, is how pointless it all is. Like I get the idea that companies want to make money, but that used to mean coming up with a product or a service and then selling it. And what society got out of it was products and services.

That's what justified the bad parts of the system, at least to some degree. But this stuff, like I'm sure someone's making money off of it, but there's nothing to it except money. Nothing gets made, nothing gets done. This isn't industry, it's some sort of Financial fever dream. Something malignant is growing in this city. The can't be able to do it.

spreading from Parson Tech, subverting every normal function of society. These dysfunctions aren't just the price of modernity or whatever garbage the high priests of academia are calling it now. No. This is a war. A war waged on every ordinary human being to strip away our rights, our dignity, our sense of self. We are being actively and deliberately dehumanized. There is a plan behind this a a pattern.

Barrow knows more than he's letting on. I know he does. He was part of it somehow. Something in his past. But where? Hmm now. Uh I d uh I I'm getting this sorry and These cases mess with the mind. Lastupun. I have to find a Sokan.

Did you get Ben's sandwich? Yep. Also got on this delightful little Detectives Danton and Crane? That's us. Who are you? My name is Edward Barrow. We have to talk. Do we? What about? Parson Tech. Okay, you got our attention. Not here. I'm already risking everything by talking to you. Meet me in the library in the Solano building in an hour. Strange. When you could say that again, you think he's planning to stab us? In a library?

Listen to me, I need the estaphatophiles. I don't give two shits whether you lose your job, Schofield. The only question that matters is whether you care about your wife and children. Do you care if they? find out what you get up to when you're taking those late meetings. Don't give me your fucking excuses, Schofield. I honestly don't care. I need those files

And you need to keep your hobby a secret. You can help me or I can fuck up your life. And I swear to God I will, and I don't give a shit what it does to you. Because you're a bad person, that's why. You're a toady, a bootlicker, and the world doesn't need more people like you. So you're gonna be the gutless little shit I know you are? Good boy. Be me in the tunnel.

We've entered the public library in the Solano building where we're supposed to meet a man who identified himself as Edward Barrow. I still think it's crazy that we had to record everything. It's not. You should always keep a record. mister Barrow. Professor, actually. Oh Wait, are you the professor who was assaulted by Lucius Finster? Threatened. I don't think it was Finster or Lamont or Bidwell or whatever who physically attacked me.

I thought he doesn't get his hands dirty like that. They have other people for that. Who's they? Parson Tech. And others, maybe. We keep stumbling across connections to this company, but we still have no grasp of the situation. Can you help us understand? Why are they threatening you? You are aware of their algorithm? Yes, in principle. The details are kept secret. Financial decision making based on the output of a computer. It's so much more than that, but yeah. The algorithm is everything.

And my work threatened that algorithm. How can you threaten an algorithm? You're not ready to understand that. Okay. What is your work about? It's hard to explain to a layman. I've spent a lifetime researching the Noosphere, the dimension of human thought and reason, and the laws that apply to it. Does the abbreviation NCC relate to your work?

What about the name Azetoth? Where did you hear about where did you hear these? They were on the label of a magnetic tape that was part of the evidence in a murder case. A young woman was killed. Samantha Perry? You knew her? She was one of my best students. Poor girl. How did she die? She was slaughtered in a motel room, literally cut to pieces. Oh dear God. The serpent bearer. Who? The serpent bearer, one of the three heralds.

He made her part of his ritual. I don't follow you claim to know who killed her? Yes. You will recognize him by his tattoo of a serpent. He was someone else before, a long time ago, before everything became corrupted. But now he is the serpent bearer. Unfortunately, none of the witnesses saw the killer, so we can't verify that he is the one who killed Samantha Perry. The little girl. What little girl?

The motel owner's daughter, she said she saw someone, a demon in the shape of a man, with a tattoo of a serpent on his arm. During a night terror. But it's exactly what he's describing. I won't deny the similarity, but it it's not evident. But it's good it's good that you're staying sane. Not all the connections are meaningful. That's part of the problem, you see. It's it's a labyrinth, it'll drive you mad. What about Azatoth? W what does it mean? Is it a person?

Ha No, Detective Crane, it's not a person. It's a god. So more cultist crap. More than that, I'm afraid. In the ancient legends, there are only whispers of Acothoth, trace elements of proto-religions for anthropologists to reconstruct. But in my field there is something far more frightening. The possibility of a singularity. But I'm sorry, it's you did you say you have the tape, Samantha's tape? No. It was either taken or destroyed by Victor Lamont. That's bad. That's very bad.

I have to go. Dude, you barely explained anything. Give us something here. Investigate William Stratford Blackstone. That's where it begins. Blackstone. Then the church. Church? I have to go. Tell Donovan to stop pushing. He's making too much noise. Don't let them notice you. You think Samantha Perry was the first?

Dear Diary. Me again. I'm going through the fifth binder now. Properties owned by Parson Tech Subsidiaries. It's It's a huge mess. That's what it is. Gorgias Holdings owns thirteen tenement buildings in the bay, seven of which at least is to Duke. Then rents them out to AzTathMeta Inc.? As Taf Meta Inc.? All of which are the same fucking company. As Tath Meta also owns the old grain terminal, which they were supposed to renovate but didn't.

And a bunch of broken-down buildings in dockside, which for some reason are listed separately. Wait. Wait, wait, wait. Pier one oh eight. No, that's Mother fucker. I'm in the midtown tunnel. I'm tired, but I'm not giving up. It's all tied together. They're doing something, something big. The murders. Lamont it's all window dressing, surface level. There's something deeper. Schofield? Not quite, Mr. Donovan. Who the hell are you? Who am I? I am the first

Herald, the serpent bearer. I have come to end your foolish little quest. You wouldn't be the first to try. Oh, I've heard the stories. I'm sure you could fight me off. But I don't need a weapon to unravel you, Captain Donovan. All I need is a question. A question? No. No. Ben! Ben, i it's okay. It's okay. It's okay. You were dreaming. No, no, I I come on, Benny Boy. Ba back to reality. Hey, we got you a sandwich, huh?

Harrison? What the You were screaming in your sleep. I fell asleep? Wait, here, here. Have a glass of water. Thanks. I, uh... I must have fallen asleep waiting for you. I figured out something important. Sorry we took so long. We ran into that professor that Donovan mentioned. Oh? What did he have to say? Long story. What did you figure out? Right. Um, so Carathas Hall, where we found all those bodies, it's owned by a company called Astathmata Inc., which is owned by Parson Tech.

Bathik Halls, too. They've made it hard to trace, but it's them. It's all them. Shit. So it's really it's all one case. All we've been doing is investigating Parson Tech. Donovan must have known, or or suspected at least. Donovan. Did you hear from him? In my dream. I thought I saw what? A man with black eyes and a serpent tattoo. He was standing there, at the foot of the sofa, staring at me. And then he he spoke to me. His voice sounded like Daniel Eyre's from the tapes. What did he say?

He said Captain Donovan is dead. His life ended by a single question. We should give up because we can't understand. And understanding would be worse than oblivion. That's freaky. He seemed so real and and I couldn't move. But I guess that's what I get for not sleeping enough and listening to those tapes all the time. Guys. This is your recorder. I rewound it before we came in.

You know who I am, don't you? You've been listening to me. To the broken, sad little person I used to be. Before I became the herald. Before I became the serpent. I've come to warn you. A friendly warning for your own sake. Captain Donovan is dead. His life ended by a single question. That's all it takes, Ben. That's how fragile your minds are. कि वाप बैल

Stop trying to make sense of these cases. There's nothing to make sense of. You don't understand. You can't understand. And believe me, understanding would be worse. Worse than oblivion. Let it go. You can't escape what's coming, but if you're lucky, it'll be painless for you. That's the best anyone can hope for, really. Life is a dream, Ben. Pointless. Coherent a regurgitation of events long gone.

A great cosmic farce perpetrated on our minds. But if you stop now, at least, you can prevent it from becoming a nightmare. You can drift out gently into the dark and sink. quietly beneath the waves. The alternative is so much worse. Look into my eyes, Ben. Look into what's there. Do you see him? do you see him Ben? Azutoth Blues was written and directed by Jonas Kiradziz, with music and sound by Chris Christadoulu, or to speak their names in the ancient towns.

Ο Νάσκυρατζή και Χρήστο Χριστοδού Adam Green, Joe Lynch, Casey Camp, Sean Branny, and Peter Wingford. For more information as well as The show notes or the official website at azoflu.com.