0:03

Soulopod, episode 967

0:05

for March 21st, 2025. Two's

0:08

company, Three, might be a

0:10

sign of demonic possession by

0:12

Audrey Zoo. Nurated by Pine

0:15

Gonzales, hosted by

0:17

Cat Day, audio by

0:19

Chelsea Davis. Hey everyone,

0:21

hope you're doing okay. Spring

0:23

is here in the Northern

0:26

Hemisphere and things are waking

0:28

up and pushing their way

0:30

out of the ground. I'm

0:33

Cat, Deputy Editor at Sudapod, your

0:35

host for this week, and I'm

0:37

excited to tell you that we

0:39

have Two's Company, three might be

0:42

a sign of demonic possession. This

0:44

story is a Sudapod original. Audrey

0:46

Zoo is a Chinese-American writer

0:49

from North Carolina, where she

0:51

studies computer science, statistics and

0:53

creative writing at UNC Chapel

0:55

Hill. Her short fiction has

0:58

been published in Strange Horizons

1:00

and Orion's Belt and is

1:02

forthcoming in the Silk and

1:04

Sinew anthology from Bad Hand Books.

1:07

When not writing, she likes to

1:09

draw, watch bad TV with her

1:11

friends and curate oddly specific playlists

1:13

of music. Find her at Audrey

1:15

Sue on Blue Sky. Pine Gonzales

1:17

is a Puerto Rican Chinese-American writer

1:20

and voice actor from the Chicagoland

1:22

area. They are the creator of

1:24

the podcast's Tales from the Fringes

1:27

of Reality and Forged Bonds, both

1:29

of which also feature their voice.

1:31

When not writing or working at

1:34

a bookstore, they can be found

1:36

listening to as many audio dramas

1:38

as they are able to, and

1:40

playing with their dog, Athena. Before

1:43

we continue, this story is told

1:45

in second-person POV, and has a

1:47

content warning for intimate partner death.

1:50

Sort of. Not exactly. this will

1:52

make sense soon but anyway just

1:54

in case if that's tough for

1:57

you maybe skip this one And

2:00

now, and we have a story for

2:02

you. And we promise you, it's true."

2:05

Two's Company, Three might be a sign

2:07

of demonic possession, by Audrey Joe, narrated

2:09

by Pine Gonzales. You didn't take the

2:12

usual precautions when Lynn died. You would

2:14

find out later how it happened. Slippery

2:16

Tyle floor. The trials of installing a

2:18

new shower curtain rod. and the surprisingly

2:21

fragile vertebrae going up Lynn's neck. But

2:23

in the moment, all you knew was

2:25

that there was a crash. When Lynn

2:28

didn't respond after you called her name

2:30

from the kitchen, you had enough wherewithal

2:32

to grab the salt before stumbling to

2:35

the bathroom, but not enough to keep

2:37

from spilling a third of it all

2:39

over yourself when you saw her body.

2:42

There was no pulse. Your face twisted

2:44

at the angle of her neck and

2:46

all the blood, and you knew there

2:49

couldn't be. But you checked anyway. Then

2:51

you took a deep breath and ignored

2:53

every lesson you'd ever learned about how

2:56

to conduct a proper resurrection. You didn't

2:58

report the death because accidental deaths always

3:00

meant the process of obtaining a permit

3:03

would take you months. You weren't sure

3:05

how long Lynn could stay in a

3:07

resurrectable state. You didn't call anyone else

3:10

either. The resurrections were never a solitary

3:12

affair. While all of your necromancer friends

3:14

would have happily double-checked your work, they

3:17

would have insisted you do this the

3:19

legal way. At the moment you weren't

3:21

concerned with safe or legal. Instead you

3:24

got your sword, unsharpened but marked with

3:26

characters to expel evil, a spiritual instrument,

3:28

to help you stay in the land

3:31

of the living, and walk yourself back

3:33

to the kitchen for the chicken you'd

3:35

been marinating. It had been your thanks

3:38

to Lynn for her help with the

3:40

DIY renovations to your apartment, but it

3:42

would be an offering now, for safe

3:45

passage into the land of the dead.

3:47

Your shaking hands made a clumsy circle

3:49

of salt on the ground to contain

3:51

anything that might take advantage of what

3:54

you were about to do and cross

3:56

over to life You tethered your own

3:58

spirit into the sword to ground yourself

4:01

in this world, and then you were

4:03

free to transform your voice so it

4:05

had a liminal quality until it was

4:08

something that transcends borders,

4:10

something that could coax someone

4:12

back to life, and you began the ritual

4:14

that would call Lynn back. It was hard

4:16

to say how much time passed. You were not

4:18

in either place, really, in this state, and

4:20

time was funny in an in-between place

4:23

like that. All you knew was that

4:25

your voice was raspy, and your throat

4:27

was raw from chanting when you finally

4:29

sent Flynn's body stirring. Her breath heaving

4:31

with the force of a storm as

4:34

her spirit stuttered back into her

4:36

body. Then you were crying, and Lynn was

4:38

crying. Her voice was still her own when

4:40

she pulled you into a fierce hug and

4:42

said, Ailing, oh God, thank you, what happened?

4:45

And the gash in her neck pulled itself

4:47

into a white-seemed scar. You

4:49

were grateful that Mr. Yang next

4:51

door hadn't noticed anything. and that

4:53

if he had he decided not

4:55

to report you for an unauthorized

4:58

resurrection. It was allotted once

5:00

is the point, which is why

5:02

it was forgivable that you didn't

5:04

notice that the salt circle had

5:07

perhaps not been completely closed

5:09

when he started summoning,

5:11

that Lynn was maybe only entirely

5:13

herself on the surface level.

5:15

Why it was forgivable that

5:18

you didn't notice me, that I was

5:20

there too. Spirits are sticky. Have

5:22

to be, to stay in a skin. It helps

5:24

in their manipulation. It's easier

5:26

to call something back from the dead

5:28

if it wants to return. The issue is

5:31

that things can get stuck to them. Maybe

5:33

it's more accurate to say that sometimes

5:35

things will latch on and the spirit

5:37

won't know better than to be sticky,

5:39

to let it happen. Say a person comes

5:41

back from the dead with a vision

5:44

of their deceased grandparents. Maybe

5:46

a person comes back with a

5:48

vision of what death turned their

5:50

deceased grandparents into. The other side

5:52

contains a number of things.

5:54

Ghost, memories, demons, hauntings.

5:57

Most of that stuff is

5:59

hard. Fisions and ghosts disappear

6:01

in a few days like a

6:04

dream, have formed and hazy and

6:06

barely remembered. They don't linger, don't

6:08

lurk around the border of life.

6:10

They aren't waiting for something to

6:12

give or keeping watch for a

6:14

way to slip through. A resurrection

6:16

is always an excellent doorway. Sometimes,

6:19

though, a person comes back with

6:21

something like me. We... You, Lynn,

6:23

and I, where I was tucked

6:25

into the scar on her neck,

6:27

the only evidence of the accident

6:29

now that your bathroom had been

6:32

deep cleaned, headed to your doctor

6:34

friend. I'm not an official doctor

6:36

yet. Son, your doctor friend, said

6:38

modestly, as he welcomed us into

6:40

the apartment. Come in, please. What

6:42

am I looking for? He was

6:44

sweet. He explained to Lynn that

6:47

he was specializing in resurrection recovery,

6:49

and he assured her that he

6:51

was only a student. He was

6:53

very good. Son was discreet, too.

6:55

He nodded solemnly as you explained

6:57

the situation with the air of

7:00

someone used to these under-the-table checkups.

7:02

He brought us to the living

7:04

room, where you paste around the

7:06

coffee table as he sat in

7:08

on the couch. He took out

7:10

an instrument case and produced an

7:12

arhoo. I don't work with the

7:15

physical side of things much, he

7:17

said to Lynn, charmingly sheepish. Just

7:19

the spirit side. You said you

7:21

hit your head. He drew the

7:23

bow between the strings and I

7:25

experienced the ingenuity of his skill.

7:28

He was calling to Lynn's spirit,

7:30

though with an instrument rather than

7:32

a voice as you did, and

7:34

identifying any abnormalities through how it

7:36

responded to the sound. Well, it

7:38

was my neck that, you know,

7:40

but I hit my head going

7:43

down. You walked another circle around

7:45

the table. Is it possible something

7:47

latched onto her when she came

7:49

back? Is it possible I didn't

7:51

bring all of her back? There

7:53

wasn't the time to do it

7:56

the usual way. I feel fine,

7:58

Lynn insisted to No avail. his

8:00

son played another strain. I was

8:02

unused to the way I was supposed

8:04

to hide in this realm, where everyone

8:06

was warm and breathing, but I knew

8:08

I needed to do something. Sun was

8:10

eyeing the scar on Lynn's neck, so

8:12

I slipped to the bone of Lynn's

8:14

skull, then dipped deeper. Her blood was

8:17

hot, hotter still when I curled

8:19

myself into a blood cell and

8:21

disguised myself in the flow of

8:23

her cerebral arteries. Sun was good

8:25

at what he did, but he said it

8:27

himself. He didn't work with the

8:29

physical much. I wound myself so deep

8:32

into Lynn's brain that I didn't

8:34

flinch when the next melody came.

8:36

So deep, son wouldn't be able

8:38

to register me as anything but

8:41

another part of her anatomy. Deep

8:43

enough, Lynn couldn't register

8:45

me as what I was either. Maybe

8:47

we should go to a specialist. No

8:49

offense, son, you said. None taken. Lynn

8:51

shook her head. You only just got

8:54

license, Eiling. You know that

8:56

people have lost their licenses

8:58

for less. Reserecting a pet

9:01

without permission is one thing.

9:03

But a person? Sun motioned for

9:05

quiet. You fell silent as he

9:07

finished his checkup. His last notes

9:10

long and quiet. Maybe Eileen could

9:12

stay with you, Lynn. Just for

9:14

a bit, to keep an eye out

9:16

for if anything changes. Sun said finally.

9:19

Everything sounds fine. The scarring

9:21

is a good sign that the

9:23

resurrection went well, at least. But better

9:25

safe than sorry, right? I learned a lot

9:27

about Lynn as we cohabitated. Memory

9:30

informed a lot about a person. Such

9:32

did the spaces they like to occupy.

9:34

I got well acquainted with her

9:36

temporal lobe and found tangible pieces of

9:39

all of that in her room. A

9:41

photograph with her parents and her

9:43

graduation on the desk. An overwhelm

9:45

of plants choking out the sunlight

9:47

trying to stream through the window.

9:49

A dress she'd borrowed from you and

9:51

forgotten to return buried in the depths

9:54

of her closet. I learned that she worked

9:56

in a plant science lab, no spirit

9:58

stuff involved, and hated the snow, and

10:00

that her favorite food was soup

10:02

dumplings. I picked up on things

10:04

she didn't know herself. The blurred

10:06

impressions of a life she'd had

10:08

as a child stored in her

10:11

cortex with sense memories. The dreams

10:13

rumbling around her head that she

10:15

forgot come morning. You were there,

10:17

too. You'd been a frequent feature

10:19

in Lynn's temporal lobe when she

10:21

hit twenty, after meeting in a

10:23

botany class for Lynn's major that

10:25

you took as an elective. And

10:27

now you were taking Sun's advice

10:29

seriously. You were over at the

10:31

apartment three times a week and

10:33

always looking at Lynn as if

10:35

you could peer right through her

10:37

and see me. I'm really fine,

10:39

Lynn said to you, the weekend

10:41

after the accident. It was movie

10:43

night, or at least it was

10:45

supposed to be, but you were

10:47

looking more at her than at

10:49

the romcom. Lynn thought all of

10:51

your sidelong glances were solely from

10:53

worry, but I wasn't so sure.

10:55

I don't think you'd been in

10:57

love with her back in college,

10:59

but... You weren't exactly subtle now.

11:01

You were anxious. You don't feel

11:03

any different, right? You remember, Mr.

11:05

Yang? We all thought his sister

11:07

came back fine, and it turned

11:09

out to be their dead aunt

11:11

masquerading as her. How does that

11:14

even happen? Lynn winced. I wouldn't

11:16

worry about that, she said. I

11:18

really truly think you'd notice if

11:20

that happened to me. You'd think

11:22

Mr. Yang would have noticed, he

11:24

muttered when Lynn laughed at you.

11:26

Endeared. And then I got curious.

11:28

I went back to Lynn's cortex

11:30

and made the line of your

11:32

neck more swooping and elegant when

11:34

she processed it. Twisted my way

11:36

into Lynn's limbic system to hike

11:38

her emotions a little higher, filtered

11:40

something novel and new into the

11:42

situation, stretched down to her heart

11:44

to make it beat faster. Made

11:46

her wonder, as main character and

11:48

love interest kissed on screen, what

11:50

that might be like with the

11:52

two of you. Nothing

11:54

happened that night, at least explicitly.

11:56

As you always did, you left

11:58

once the movie finished. and hugged

12:00

Lynn goodbye. No kisses, no confessions.

12:03

But I knew there was a new

12:05

thing humming between the two of you,

12:08

thrilling and inexplicable.

12:10

Thanks for having me over,

12:12

you said standing by the door.

12:14

Of course, Lynn told you, clearing

12:16

her throat to get it out

12:19

properly before, while in her own

12:21

no input from me. She blushed.

12:23

I think that was when you

12:25

refrained the situation in your

12:27

head. the flushing and the new

12:29

awkwardness. When you noticed how Lynn

12:31

couldn't quite meet your gaze,

12:34

registered how, for once, she might

12:36

have noticed you looking at her. She

12:38

might have even been looking back. At

12:40

the time I watched your own cheeks

12:42

go rosy and your mouth grow slack

12:44

with surprise. I didn't realize until

12:47

later that you'd been suspicious,

12:49

even then. A tab still opened

12:51

on your phone, even now, from

12:53

a famous necromancer's blog of tips

12:56

and tricks. Possessions

12:58

are tricky. Treatment and identification

13:00

always depends on what's doing

13:02

the possessing and who's being

13:04

possessed. In school, we learned about

13:07

the usual signs. Changes in appearance,

13:09

disturb sleep, lapses in memory, but

13:11

textbooks can't teach us everything.

13:13

Over the years, one of the things I've

13:16

learned to look for is changes in

13:18

behavior. I know everyone says it,

13:20

but I don't mean speaking in

13:22

ancient languages or sleepwalking. I mean

13:24

the small stuff, the intimacies. A

13:26

possession might get the big things right,

13:28

but as they say, the devil is

13:30

in the details. Does the host fold

13:33

their shirts in a new way? Have they

13:35

always spiced their food like that?

13:37

Did you know them? Really? Are you sure?

13:39

You and Lynn grew closer. I grew

13:42

more curious. I stopped interfering

13:44

with her feelings for you, but

13:46

experimented with other ways of

13:48

control. I dove back into

13:51

Lynn's memories to learn her

13:53

mannerisms better. I practiced when she

13:55

slept and wouldn't notice. Tugged her mouth

13:57

into a smile, flexed her fingers into a...

14:00

fist, spoke out loud to get a feel

14:02

for how my words sounded in her

14:04

voice. When Lin went back to the lab

14:06

for work, I slipped around her head,

14:08

testing how much force I needed to put

14:10

into a suggestion for it to take.

14:12

It was easier to not turn to decisions

14:14

she wanted to make. She invited her

14:16

favorite co -workers out to brunch over the

14:18

weekend with no hesitation. It took a whole

14:20

afternoon to figure out how to twist

14:23

the neurons in her prefrontal lobe so she'd

14:25

pour pesticides into a soil sample that

14:27

had been prepped for seeds. Maybe

14:29

it went both ways. I was reluctant,

14:31

an emotion that could only have come

14:33

from her when she finally listened to

14:36

me and nothing sprouted. You

14:38

came over more frequently. You still

14:40

worried about Lin's health but said less

14:42

about it outright, though you were

14:44

always giving us searching looks. You did

14:46

subtle tests to double check if

14:49

Lin was really entirely herself. Do you

14:51

remember the name of the building

14:53

they did all the career fairs in?

14:55

So I practiced transitioning the reins

14:57

over to Lin to pass them. Practice

14:59

also getting control back when I

15:01

wanted it. One

15:03

night the two of you went out

15:06

to dinner. I decided it was Lin's turn.

15:08

I was exploring, trying to find where

15:10

in Lin's brain her unconsciousness cradled its thoughts

15:12

when I felt her heart rate pick

15:14

up. There was

15:16

a strange look on your face. The

15:18

kind you wore when conducting one of

15:20

your possession tests, and at first I

15:22

thought that was why. Then I tuned

15:24

in and realized you were saying, you've

15:26

been acting different lately. Bad

15:29

different? Lin asked before I

15:31

could stop her. I

15:34

felt, I don't know. Yeah,

15:37

different is a word for it. She

15:39

was thinking about you, but she was also

15:42

remembering the time she'd woken up in

15:44

the night for seemingly no reason at all.

15:47

Not a bad different, you told her.

15:49

I've just noticed you've been hanging out

15:51

a lot. You're the

15:53

one who insisted on watching over

15:55

me, Lin said, regretting it now?

15:58

Of course not. I just

16:00

think there's a difference in how

16:02

we're hanging out now versus before

16:05

the... accident. Lintensed.

16:07

I tried damage control and took

16:09

over to ask, You think everything

16:11

is because of that? You winced, picking

16:13

up on her annoyance despite my

16:15

efforts to keep her voice even.

16:17

Resurrection is an imperfect

16:20

process. You were careful not to say

16:22

the word possession, but we all heard

16:24

it. I didn't know how to convince

16:26

you that everything was fine. I

16:28

panicked. I coaxed the blood circulating in

16:31

Linzier's up to the surface in the

16:33

flesh that meant she was embarrassed, and

16:35

I guided her further over the table,

16:37

giving you plenty of time to lean

16:39

in when you notice how she was looking

16:41

at your mouth. You respond as if

16:44

choreographed. You reddened and hissed. We're in

16:46

tuglic, and yet you didn't move away. You

16:48

couldn't remain suspicious when face was

16:50

something you wanted so badly. From

16:53

the look on your face, you'd forgotten

16:55

to think at all. You were the one who

16:57

kissed her when I said in her voice, I

16:59

know my own feelings. The two of you

17:01

started dating officially after that,

17:03

and I thought that was the end of

17:06

it. Maybe that was the problem,

17:08

that I grew complacent, sloppy,

17:10

less careful with the choices I

17:12

nudged Lynn into. Maybe it was just

17:14

that even though Lynn knew you,

17:16

that didn't necessarily mean I knew

17:18

you. Just because I couldn't tell

17:20

you were suspicious didn't mean

17:23

your suspicions had actually gone

17:25

away. Three months after

17:27

I'd first inhabited Lin's body,

17:29

you gave up subtlety and

17:31

said, I think you might be possessed.

17:33

I couldn't figure out which course

17:36

of action was least painful. Did

17:38

I deflect? Did I deny? Did

17:41

I let you do whatever

17:43

experiment you wanted to and hoped

17:45

I would remain undetected? In the

17:47

time it took me to decide,

17:49

Lin replied, mouth twisted. Yes,

17:51

I think you might be right. Exorcisms

17:55

were the standard treatment for possessions.

17:57

Purge the intruder from the host.

18:00

fired studying for all aspiring necromancers.

18:02

There were no number of things

18:04

that could slip through the cracks

18:06

when working with the dead. But

18:09

what was a hoist, really? It

18:11

was Lynn's body, sure, but a

18:13

body was just a body. You

18:15

couldn't see me, underneath Lynn's skin,

18:18

but you couldn't see me, underneath

18:20

Lynn's skin, but you could see

18:22

the effects. The time she laughed

18:25

at something uncharacteristically, and her smile

18:27

slanted into something unfamiliar into something

18:29

unfamiliar. Maybe it was

18:31

Lynn's body, but it wasn't really

18:34

her that was driving anymore. An

18:36

exorcism was a lot like a

18:38

resurrection. You had the time to

18:41

prepare this time, and you made

18:43

full use of it. You made

18:45

a giant salt circle around Lynn's

18:48

whole apartment to contain me. I

18:50

tried to Coxlin's body to sleepwalk

18:53

out in the night, and she

18:55

woke up with burns on her

18:57

toes, where she'd broken the line.

19:00

The two of you banded banded

19:02

her feet and made Rose stuck

19:04

together for the offering. You brought

19:07

incense. The day of, you got

19:09

your sword again, and asked Sun

19:11

to be available, in case something

19:14

went wrong. Don't actually come over,

19:16

though, you told him over the

19:18

phone. I don't want to implicate

19:21

you." Unauthorized exorcisms weren't as bad

19:23

as unauthorized resurrections, but you weren't

19:25

taking any chances on Sun. You

19:28

anchored yourself with your sword and

19:30

lind drink tea you made for

19:32

her, especially brute help ease any

19:35

strain the process might put on

19:37

her body. She sat on the

19:39

floor, cross-legged, in a smaller salt

19:42

circle you'd made for extra security.

19:44

You began chanting. I braced myself

19:46

for it, Fritz, Fritz, for it,

19:49

to return home. Death wasn't welcoming,

19:51

but it wasn't unkind, either. I

19:54

could bear it. Your voice got

19:56

louder, and I could feel something

19:58

tugging, a separation. There was screaming.

20:01

I still don't know who it

20:03

was, if it was, or even

20:05

you. I didn't know anything for

20:08

a long time. In the aftermath,

20:10

you crumpled on the floor, exhausted.

20:12

Lynn's body was on the floor

20:15

too. Fingertips brushed up against the

20:17

salt. You were looking at her

20:19

hands, the unburned skin, when you

20:22

said, Did it work? I sat

20:24

up. I was warm all over,

20:26

blood, flesh, bone. And I was

20:29

alone. I was solely myself in

20:31

control of the breaths I was

20:33

taking in the way I met

20:36

your hopeful gaze. Even when Lynn

20:38

had been asleep. I had to

20:40

be careful not to wake her.

20:43

But now, it was just me.

20:45

It was a strange feeling to

20:47

possess a body like this, to

20:50

really, truly possess it, to know

20:52

it. Yes, I told you, wondering,

20:54

understanding how it felt for myself,

20:57

myself alone, to feel wonder. Yes,

20:59

it did. As humans do, we

21:02

move on after the accident, after

21:04

the exorcism, after everything. You might

21:06

get along well, for the most

21:09

part. We move into an apartment

21:11

with no memories of either incident,

21:13

and you make coffee for the

21:16

both of us every morning. I

21:18

make breakfast. We go on dates

21:20

and talk about adopting a dog,

21:23

and sometimes at night you remember

21:25

the screaming. I'm better at being

21:27

Lynn now. Her memories are mine

21:30

now that her brain is, but

21:32

I'm not perfect. I slip up

21:34

and say the wrong thing when

21:37

I should kiss you. Kiss you

21:39

when I should say something comforting."

21:41

You look at Lynn and you

21:44

wonder sometimes who you are looking

21:46

at. Some days you're closer to

21:48

seeing me than others. Today is

21:51

one of those days. You make

21:53

coffee as usual, but you can't

21:55

look me in the eye. You

21:58

can only glance at me side

22:00

long, lost and searching, and you

22:03

tell me you slept weird when

22:05

I ask what's wrong. I put

22:07

my hand on your shoulder and

22:10

you flinch. Then look guilty for

22:12

it. I make bacon and eggs

22:14

with Lynn's muscle memory, but I

22:17

haven't exactly inherited her tasteebudss. Salt

22:19

doesn't hurt me anymore, but I

22:21

still don't like it. I tell

22:24

you it's because I... I'll want

22:26

to eat healthier the first time

22:28

you ask, but your eyes still

22:31

zero in on my plain eggs.

22:33

I'd better get going. You say,

22:35

when your own plate is only

22:38

half finished. New case at work,

22:40

I'll probably have to stay late.

22:42

Daughter wants to see her parents

22:45

again. I'll see you later though,

22:47

all right? You kiss me goodbye

22:49

on the cheek, not the mouth.

22:52

It's fine. Tomorrow I'll still be

22:54

Lynn, and tomorrow I'll do a

22:56

better job. I smile at you,

22:59

the way I learned from her.

23:01

I'll be waiting. Well done. You've

23:03

survived another story. And what did

23:06

you think of Two's Company? Three

23:08

might be a sign of demonic

23:11

possession by Audrey Zoo. If you're

23:13

a patron subscriber, we encourage you

23:15

to pop over to our Discord

23:18

Channel and tell us. One of

23:20

the many nice things about having

23:22

children is that fairly regularly... They'll

23:25

pull you up on some thing

23:27

that you've been taking for granted

23:29

for years, and you'll suddenly see

23:32

it with new eyes. Recently, my

23:34

youngest asked me to explain the

23:36

phrase, six of one, half-dozen of

23:39

the other. And that led to

23:41

a long conversation about how often,

23:43

perhaps even usually, fault is not

23:46

clear-cut. We like to imagine that

23:48

there's a goody and a baddy,

23:50

but real life is never so

23:53

tidy. It's usually a split. It

23:55

might not be half and half.

23:57

It might be eight and four,

24:00

ten to twelve, even one to

24:02

eleven. But there is usually something

24:04

on both sides. A smear of

24:07

grey in the lighter flash of

24:09

silver in the dark. And so

24:12

it is here in this story.

24:14

A demon, for want of a

24:16

better word, sneaks back with Lynn.

24:19

hides in the scar on her

24:21

neck and gradually possesses her. That's

24:23

bad, right? Definitely bady, bad. But

24:26

it's a nice demon. It watches

24:28

the people. It doesn't wish anyone

24:30

any harm. Encourages Lynn to explore

24:33

her feelings for Ailing, who clearly

24:35

already has feelings for Lynn. That's

24:37

sort of sweet, right? And the

24:40

exorcism wasn't the demon's idea, was

24:42

it? It was Aileen who said,

24:44

I think you might be possessed.

24:47

The demon even tried to get

24:49

out of it by encouraging Lynn

24:51

to sleepwalk, and when that failed,

24:54

they braced to be ejected. Accepted

24:56

their fate. They didn't fight it.

24:58

They didn't expect Lynn to go

25:01

while they stayed. That wasn't planned.

25:03

But once it had happened, well,

25:05

what could they do but get

25:08

on with things? They'd stolen a

25:10

body, but it was an accident.

25:12

Just an accident. Just an accident.

25:15

Mostly. Tomorrow I'll still be Lynn

25:17

and tomorrow I'll do a better

25:20

job. So two things. One is

25:22

the greatness of the demon's goodness

25:24

or badness depending on your point

25:27

of view and that's everything here

25:29

isn't it? Point of view. This

25:31

is a story told in second

25:34

person and it's one of those

25:36

cases where that is exactly the

25:38

right choice because it's about the

25:41

demon but it's also about ailing

25:43

wanting something which is the second

25:45

thing ailing wanted Lynn and so

25:48

she got she fulfilled her own

25:50

prophecy she the necromancer or resurrectionist

25:52

or exorcist or whatever you want

25:55

to call it got what she

25:57

wanted all along. Was that Lynn?

25:59

Or wasn't it? Does it matter?

26:02

Hard to be sure, isn't it?

26:04

But the demon is trying to

26:06

be better. Trying to do a

26:09

better job. Aren't we all? Best

26:11

draw a line. Step over it

26:13

and do the best we can

26:16

with what we've got now. We've

26:18

none of us, any other choice,

26:20

have we? Spectacular work from the

26:23

supremely talented Audrey Zoo and a

26:25

marvelous narration from Pine Gonzales. Thank

26:28

you both. Now, onto the subject

26:30

of subscribing and support, Sudapod is

26:32

funded by you, our listeners, and

26:35

we're formerly a non-profit. One-time donations

26:37

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is subscribing. A $5 monthly patron

26:44

donation gives us stability and allows

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us to keep coming back, week

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26:51

us to stop coming back, would

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please go to pseudopod.org and sign

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battling demons on this week. We

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and this episode is distributed under

28:12

the Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial No

28:14

derivatives 4.0 international licence. Download and

28:17

listen to the episode on any

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device you like but don't change

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it or sell it. The music

28:24

is by permission of Anda's Manger.

28:26

Next week we have Tree of

28:29

the Forest, Seven Bells, Turns the

28:31

World Round Midnight, by Sheri Rene

28:33

Thomas, narrated by premium Muhammad and

28:36

hosted by Scott. And finally Sudapod

28:38

and your affectionate uncle Screwtape. No.

28:40

Readers are advised to remember that

28:43

the devil is a liar. See

28:45

you soon folks. Take care. Stay

28:48

safe. An

28:53

arm appeared from nowhere on

28:55

the shape, seemingly projected like

28:57

the pseudopod of a protozoan.

28:59

It's a pseudopod, it's a

29:01

big foot. It's all about

29:03

podcasts these days.