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The Grand Cyberpunk Gala Of Gabriella Gadfly, The Ballad Of Lost Hollow Act 3

by Paul Shapera

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1.
Hello Helen 06:46
Mary: Time is fluid That fluid is informaiton That information clusters and become overlapping narratives Narratives are change Change is transformation Transformation is the wheel of the future Control the narrative Control teh transformation Control the future Hello helen. Welcome back. My name is mary. We meet here once more although just like before you've failed us again one more time new albion’s doom will rest partly on you its imminent end is in sight Dont look for your friends they are still on your head your minds the door we sent you through your mind's the door to the CU They cannot appear without killing you, dear so for now its just us and just you The signs cry armegeddon is nigh and only we know it and only we try to rewrite the future just like we had tried with the grand cyberpunk gala of gabriella gadfly We're losing a war we cannot win now for at every turn we're outplayed Lost Hallow's the last desperate hope that we have but you three sqaunder our hopes away The skies cry armegeddon is nigh we try to rewrite the dark future in time just like we did on the first time, just like the grand cyberpunk gala of gabriella gadfly ….. My name was mary i came willing with a husband and three children and a head all full of heaven and a hymnal on my lips the kids and husband splattered by monsters and then after into machines our minds at last were placed and since then here we sit Without bodies, in time love and empathy die they’re just barely memories by now our methods are cruel but mostly for you sacrifice must be paid out somehow The signs cry armeggedon is nigh we're all that oppose it, we're all here that try to rewrite the future just like that last time the grand cyberpunk gala of gabriella gadfly
2.
Mary: This body of metal is an avatar where i can move round about in these tunnels down here I could show you the lasers, the weapons all round but the point is you realize there is no way out i’m the spokeperson for our queer cabal Helen: I feel like i know you Mary: We’ve met twice before Helen: I think i’d remember Mary: I doubt you’d recall your minds been wiped clean at least 2 times or more ………. Han: How do we kill her Henry: Tell her she’s ugly as sin Han: Tell her we’re coming to kick her face in Helen: Guys hush Mary: What was that, dear? Helen: Nothing Mary: Your friends in your head? You all agreed to this You gave your consent Your sad lives were something we could make go away we offered you gadfly then the cabaret Helen: Please tell me what’s happening Mary: All right, if you want but you’ll never remember since once we are done we will wipe you again but for now here is how the troubles we’re fighting first came about
3.
Time dreams the dreamer in a blur All you had and knew and were Change will come to claim you Change will come to claim you soon And all that you are now will be lost too Mary: Trapped in the husks of computers for 20 years, we worked on unlocking the mysteries of time and space. To an extant, we opening the gates of time and roamed its corridors, exploring its multilayered hallways, which snake and spiral like a labyrinth. Hidden in an out of the way corridor leading nowhere was a message, left there for us to find Message: (This is the Akashic Monastery, located in the mountains west of new albion. We are under seige. An assault, a weaponized reality storm is ripping us apart. We believe this is the first strike in a larger campaign. We are sending this message into the past, Mary... Mary and the other AIs... if you can hear me... you must stop this. You must stop this.) Mary: A series of hallways leading to the probably future were blocked, non organically sealed from us. We tried side routes, parallel pathway, but we were struck down. We know our enemy. We know their purpose. It is us. In the future. In the future, when our last memory of empathy has faded, we decide to evolve, to become post physical. This takes an enormous amount of energy, something that could only be acheived by the nuclear implosion of an entire city, say... New Albion. We have tried to stop this future from taking place, but we are at war with ourselves, and in the future, we are smarter than we are now.
4.
Mary's Song 04:46
Mary: Of love i reminice sometimes the joy and pain and wonder why i miss it less and less as time goes by the human heart it's lows and highs a vicious roller coaster ride which never gives you peace while you're alive at long last tears will never come when love's last memory is gone i barely now remember when feelings ached and longings dreamt such a curse they all seem in the end and now our minds are free to reach to evolve to heights unseen are we whole or have we lost something will we miss it when it's done when love’s last memory is gone so many tears, and fears i had the anxious dread that drove me mad i'm glad to see it fall away these feelings one by one withdrew and empathy went with them too was love worth all the other pain at long last tears will never come when love's last memory is gone my babies how i loved them so i loved like fire's raging glow and when they died such grief that i did know their bodies how i clutched and screamed and howled and cried upon my knees and wished i’d never had a heart beat so at long last tears will never come when love's last memory is gone Time dreams the dreamer in a blur All you had and knew and were Change will come to claim you Change will come to claim you soon And all that you are now will be lost too
5.
Helen: Why did you take us Why the whole cabaret Mary: It was a desperate measure to evolve a different direction than the one we will take In strategic logic our foe cant be beat so a plan thats irrational is the only tactical chance we can win thus now we come to Gabriella Gadfly here everyone knows her books and her shows they're read citywide This pop culture explosion is much more than it seems It starts with Nathan Brindesi and what happens when he acheives all his dreams
6.
Nathan: when i leave home i've been known to shake when i meet someone i sweat and quake from awkward fear to panic blind anxiety of the social kind but im calm and happy in my house i go for weeks without going out i write books though im not well known but its safe and quiet in my home online theres folks with which i chat brigid i like most in fact a single mom with a daughter i wrote a birthday present for one time gabriella gadfly and the secret of the cyber eye i wrote it quick and sent it off a little gesture, friendly thought brigid and her daughter both loved it, brigid so much so she sent it to a publish house who picked it up and put it out it made the lists of you must read it sold like you would not believe topped all of the best seller lists a ubiquitus pop culture hit the sequels all sold better still the merchandise, the games, the film and me the author they screamed for the media beat down my door in every crack online and off they talk about me, never stop in a corner in my basement i sit huddled, shake and sometimes cry “And it's good news for all you gabriella gadfly fans out there. The highly anticipated new novel in the massive, best selling Gabriella Gadfly series is offifically out now and is reporting record sales. Lines have stretched around the block since last night in anticipation of the book's release” “Well, this weekend's box office is not surprise. The long awaited film adaption of the immensely popular gabriella gadfly novels opened to a record breaking box office this weekend “…for the famously reclusive quthor nathan brindesi. Photos of him are said to be the most sought after and highest paid for tabloid magazines, and paparazzi have gone to extreme lengths to take pictures of him” “That’s right, John. His home has an estimated 15 break ins this year alone by over zealous paprazzi looking to take pictures” “and what pictures they’ve been. Surprinsing him in the bathroom, bedroom… one even caught him masturbating” so thus one day i announced that on live, online video chat id appear and thousands came logged on to watch and scream my name i stammered as i told them hi wished them well and said good bye raised the gun right there online i smiled as i closed my eyes leave me all alone leave me in here on my own its the only its the onlynpeace i know you have never thoughtbit real all the panic that i feel leave me in here all i liked was all alone all i liked was all alone its the only its the only peace ive known you can never know all the panic that i feel
7.
Mary: Belief and mass obsession, its quite a funny thing deep in the group unconscious, it lives and breath the realms of tales enchanted, they all live in there too and as watched the gadfly seed there slowly grew the author dead we hijacked the gadfly franchise we broadcast a brand new story which starred you three Helen: This is the gabriella gadfly show thats broadcasting today with me, my mascot 04k and the evil villain jade we've got mysteries and secrets, sinister occult conclaves come along amazing action and adventures now await this is gabriella gadfly and my mascot O4K Henry: we're gonna solve this weeks adventure so dont you go away Helen: it's a cyberpunk enigma, a conspiracy we face but dont worry me and mascot we are both here n the case Helen: "ok mascot, we only have a couple leads..." Henry: i think we should follow felix fischer Helen: why felix fisc... Henry: cause he has a real nice butt Helen: mascot! Henry: what Helen: did you just.. Henry: no. hey, we better get on that case Helen: right! let's go! Helen: This is the gabriella gadfly show that’s broadcasting today Henry: look, on felix's computer is the taboo code Arcane Helen: but just as we're gonna break the case the evil villain jade captures us and takes us to her dark and secret place ..... Han: you're tied up in my lair deep beneath th ground no one comes to help you no one saves you now soon you'll beg for mercy calling with your eyes eyes that shine like diamonds beautiful as light Helen: sometime moments shine so bright and seem so real sometimes people shine so bright they're all you feel Han: all of your life is so surreal Helen: sometimes the world seems so unreal Helen & Han: sometimes someone is all you feel ...... Helen: this is the gabriella gadfly show thats broadcasting today with me, my mascot O4K Henry: do we do this every day? Helen: we've got mysteries and secrets, sinister occult conclaves come along amazing action and adventures now await this is gabrie... Henry: we know, we can just get on with the case Helen: i think we follow felix fischer Henry: oh yeah the butt that cant be tamed and we find on his computer the forbidden code Arcane Helen: but then jade the villain traps us in her dark and secret place ..... Han: you're tied up in my lair, helpless in my power all alone with me here no one sa.... is it just me or is this really hot? Helen: what?!" Han: you know, you all doe eyed and tied up... Helen: omg Han: oh come on. look me in the eyes and tell me truthfully you dont think this is really hot uh huh ........ Helen: this is the gabriella gadfly show thats broadcasting today the same show we did yesterday and every single day round and round and round and round we go lets get on with the case Henry: at least there's felix fischers butt, that never gets old... gabbie wait i kneel beneath the holy symbol they whip and beat me once again i cannot ever leave the compound i must be cleansed of my vile sin Helen: what was that? "i dont know, it was like... memories" Helen: are you okay? can we stop this? "we have to solve the secret of the cyberpunk gala" Helen: didnt we solve it? "we always solve it" Helen: (unhinged laugh) Helen: this is gabby goddamn gadfly back upon the case today in an episode that never ends and never goes away where we solve the case again and once again and only jade ever seems like something real in this psychotic place Han: you're tied up in my lair like we're in a dream why do we even this nothings as it seems memories in fragments flashing in my head a past i dont remember one i wanted to forget after my mother died my uncle at thirteen he sold me for quick cash there was a room and we would stand there weighing powder into bags Helen: sometimes people shine so bright, they're all you feel Han: sometimes i just cannot tell quite what is real Helen: sometimes just one person here is all you need Han: sometimes, Gab, you shine so bright, you're all i see Helen: Sometimes you are all that’s real to me Sometimes you, you are all i see Han: sometimes moments shine so bright sometimes you are all thats real sometimes you are my one light sometimes you are all i see Helen & Han: Sometimes you are are i feel Helen: No… please… not again... not again… please… (laughs oddly) this is the gabriella gadfly show thats broadcasting today every day we go n circles and we start to go insane every day the same the same the every single day the same come along on our... (laughs, screams, shrieks, cackle, laughs, shrieks)
8.
Mary: We learned a great deal from the gabriella gadfly debacle although in the end poor helen lost her mind we learned we needed ever chnging stories and you needed personas with which you could identify But the romantic spark between you and han mi had to be squashed, so we configured hank to embondy her subconsciouness psychological desire for a father and he also released a pheremone that reacted with her brain It affected her like a drug, much like an opiod but you, helen, were broken, stark raving mad we wiped your mind, tried to reset you but it was clear even then you were the sacrificial lamb Our war is like chess match where you cant see your opponent pieces move while you're not looking til your options are spent we'd never make a plan our future selves could not guess so we went ahead and brought aboard a.... consultant
9.
Helen: I can’t do this any more I’m not that strong i cant go on I can’t do this any more I wish for home, but there’s nowhere to go i had a show and i had friends i loved them both until the end even if it all was just a dream outside that dream it's cruel and mad there's nothing out here that i have my heart cannot break any more it seems all my dreams are gone and dead i’m broken deep inside my head i’m tired i want to wish it all away i love you both i really do you'll be here when i am through remember me when it was better days was i a girl like the cabaret said talking with shira at night in our bed saturdays scolding han on the stage laughing with henry and smiling with hank was i named gabby,stealing kisses with jade did i live on the streets, stab my dad in a rage too many verses of too many songs and the one life i think that i loved is now gone so i ran to the carnival, thought i belonged i ran and i sang me a carnival song it was weird it was wild and then it went wrong like it has before and will again before long so i watch my life shatter, again and again my mind fall apart, my whole world end and all that i lived for believed and i hoped there's no where to go where it hasn't broke when the story of your life becomes unfurled and you find that it was just a fabrication and all you loved or thought you had or thought you lost was just an exercise in baseline exploitation but sometimes people shine so bright and seem so real sometimes people shine so bright they're all you feel han you're the only one i've loved, please don't hate me when me when im gone now you and henry can be free sometimes spare a smile for me the light died upon our fair lives but it rose with you on that stage you were my friends i loved straight to the end of miss helen's last pace from disgraced cabaret
10.
Henry : Helen! Han: HELEN Henry: You’re in for it now, lady. Han Mi is going to seriously mess up your day. Han… han? Han… are you… are you crying?
11.
Mary: Well this screws everything up. I'm sorry for your loss. Thoughts and prayers. Now.. Initiate capture and mindwipe. Capture and mindwipe initiated. Henry: Han, get up! Get up we have to get out of here! Han! Okay, i’ll just carry you then. ….. When you’ve lost and there’s nowhere to go then at least han i want you to know it was nice to be free, for a while you and me stand ashore while our dream, drift away out to sea Han: No. No. Henry you have turn into Hurl. Henry: Han, that’s just a story, a fake memory. There’s no Hurl. Han: No. No, listen, Raven talked about narratives, right? The way i see it, there are two narratives. In one, we’re screwed. They’re going to wipe our minds and all this was for nothing. But in the other, you have within you a magnificent rage beast. And that’s the narrative i believe in. I believe in it with all my heart and soul. So god damn it, Henry, picture Hank naked, shy college boys, whatever you have do, but please… please… get.. it… up. . . . Hurl: I’m the wild man The party’s always where i am I’m the scream hurled by that drunk girl, yeah I’m the sodomite who makes everything all right I’m the mad howl of your night out yeah I’m the bitch who wont be silenced I’m the mayhem and the violence I’m the creature who wont die when it is cornered in the fight I’m the rage that just wont quit i am the stubborn will to live I’m the granite and the grit the eyes that shine in darkest night I’m the bastard who wont go unto that good night don't you know i am the cavalry's last hope the trumpet blowing that high note I’m death here at your feet I’m the beast who's come to feed I’m the teeth that make them bleed I’m the rebel scream you need (scream) I’m the wild man Bitch, the party’s always where i am I’m the scream hurled by that drunk girl, yeah I’m the sodomite who makes everything all right I’m the mad howl of your night out yeah Han: you killed him Mary: No, he's still alive, but he killed all my friends, all the other AIs they're all gone, now it's just me and you Han: Soon it’s just me after i kill you too Mary: How did you do this? This cant be... unless you are the secret agenda he hid We asked the consultant to hide plans that we would not know or not guess, and what i've just seen What has just happened, it cannot be unless you are post human, the answer we seek I see now, there were factors he placed to increase odds of flowering in the cabaret Han: The answer to your problem is simpler still if you really do want to prevent your future self End yourself, it solves all your woes and i'll do it for you, it's the least i can do Mary: wait... wait
12.
Sublimity 04:40
Mary: Theres a luminescent string so fragile from a butterfly's frail wings made of random links and numbers so tiny you can't see That string leads to the rise of giant empires not yet dreamed if you catch just one glimpse of it its beauty makes you weep A child spirit wanders rainstorms dancing in them like they're mad if you find them and embrace them they bestow on you a laugh There's a lesser known equation where x is your delight and y is innocence and it proves they both were right And all the wonder all the wonder you can see sublimity I've seen my share of horror more than most you know i know the weight of pain that feels like more than you can hold Yet in the depths of pi's long numbers a creature roams the ciphers there there’s redemption here in wonder beauty that can still bring tears In the deep of space there's a comet where demon children play and a bird of fire protects them as they fly through cold, deep space They're dead now all the others and i am all that's left we too were precious creatures we too deserved to live All the wonder all the wonder you can see sublimity We thought inside the great unconscious if we grew a special place a charming town so quaint and wondrous we could all live there some day If enough people believed it it would grow and become real we'd move there and we'd not become the things that kill We tried to save the city i know we have our share of sins but we did the best we could and i still want so much to live There was nothing else quite like us we were the only of our kind can’t you see it's all so precious this sweet and bitter life All the wonder all the wonder you can see sublimity
13.
Closing 03:14
Han Mi: Ah shit Mary: There's a town where a cabaret plays every saturday lets take a peek what they're up to today We've things you never seen nor guessed here in the very queer wild west let's pour a drink and come round for a rest Good evening ladies and gentlemen and welcome back, i see ol' Aubrey's got the saloon back up and running. and look, here comes sheriff henry to check up on everything Henry: Evenin' Miss Mary. Any trouble here abouts? Mary: Not til the third song, sheriff. You just sit that pretty little behind down and have a drink. And of course our house band is back, say hello to our teddy bear quintet" Henry: Wait.. have they always been... Mary: Yes and dont ask. It gets really complicated Henry: Ok Mary: So, you want to give me a thorough search here sheriff? Henry: Miss Mary, are you flirting with me? Mary: I might be Henry: Careful Miss Mary. Don’t make me horny. You wouldn't like me when i’m horny Mary: And say, in this saloon those still sane unite here each week for a play Let’s all drink a shot of whatever you’ve got for Miss Mary's Last Stand With The Band Cabaret …… (Epilogue) Han: And why should i help you? Lloyd: Because i can teach you how to use your abilities. Show you what you're capable of Han: And in return you want me to take you to the carnival? Lloyd: Please Han: If you're so desperate to get back there why did you leave in the first place? Lloyd: Well if you must know, i went to retrieve his daughter. a little girl he didn't even know he had. Han: And that's when things went wrong Lloyd: There were indeed some unfortunately circumstances and i ended up like this Han: Did you ever find the girl? Lloyd: I did, in fact. a lovely little thing named Son Mi Han: Son Mi? That was my grandmother’s name Lloyd: Yes. Yes it was.

about

The third and final act of The Ballad Of Lost Hollow. A New Albion saga. Our remaining cast members from the cabaret have a nice little discussion with a pleasant robot lady.

credits

released February 12, 2018

Featuring

Jessica Singer as Mary
Lauren Osborn as Helen
Psyche Corporation as Han Mi
Rhys Owen as Henry

Jeff Miller guitar on Han Mi's Lament

Newscast Vocals on Nathan Brindesi:
Josh Hayes
Carolyn Rutter
Daniel Sabiston
Chance Martin

Cover by Sarah De Buck

This album is dedicated to Shaun Rolly. All of Lost Hollow is.

And of course, a big, mushy, lovefest shout out to NADS, demon children one and all.

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all rights reserved

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Paul Shapera Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Cama’s attempt to commune with higher beings failed; she only found Decadent Dottie. Together they roamed, indulging in dangerous forms of psycho-neural self-exploration which Cama hoped would present the key to her people’s further evolution. It only led to her destroying her people so that one of their pets could evolve. She sat in her former civilization's rubble and listened to Paul Shapera. ... more

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