UNSONG Audiobook Version

"It was February 2002, and America tottered above a precipice. The Comet King was dead. The Other King was busy mopping up the shreds of resistance in the American West. Singer riots had several cities aflame. BOOJUM's reign of terror continued unabated. And President Bush had been assassinated by his own teleprompter. Cometh the hour, cometh the man. Rumors swirled around newly-sworn-in president Dick Cheney." This is a serialized story narrated by Matt Arnold with the permission of the author, Scott Alexander. The original text is here: http://unsongbook.com/interlude-%D7%A8-the-shrouded-constitution/ Episode 84 Duration: 4:29

"I've reserved this space as a safety zone for pouring my empty and vain wishes. — kingjamesprogramming.tumblr.com Overtly, the meaning of "king" is "a hereditary monarch". Kabbalistically, the meaning of "king" is "one who fights for freedom". This we derive from Martin Luther King, whose name was "king" in two ways: first in English via his surname, second in Hebrew via his initials. Likewise, he signifies fighting for freedom in two ways. First, through his name: "Martin" comes from Latin "martinus" and shares a root with "martial" meaning "warlike" or "fighting", "Luther" comes from Greek "eleutheria" meaning "freedom", and so "Martin Luther" equals "one who fights for freedom". Second, through the example of his life. And so in accordance with the secret structure of the universe, the Comet King marched forth to fight for freedom." This is a serialized story narrated by Matt Arnold with the permission of the author, Scott Alexander. The original text is here: http://unsongbook.com/chapter-55-none-can-visit-his-regions/ Episode 83 Duration: 19:28

"So passed fifteen years. New factories rose up. New mines sunk beneath the earth. New roads crisscrossed the mountains. Laboratories, barracks, fortresses, granaries, airstrips. All preparation for the final crusade. Over the course of a generation, the Comet King's war on Hell shifted gradually from metaphorical spiritual struggle to "we're going to need a lot of guns"." This is a serialized story narrated by Matt Arnold with the permission of the author, Scott Alexander. The original text is here: http://unsongbook.com/chapter-54-my-course-among-the-stars/ Episode 82 Duration: 4:30

"The clock struck inauguration day; unfortunately, no one had yet figured out whom to inaugurate. Absent a winner to step down in favor of, President Clinton continued to to govern. More and more grievances and countergrievances with the electoral process made their way before a ploddingly slow Supreme Court. The nation waited." This is a serialized story narrated by Matt Arnold with the permission of the author, Scott Alexander. The original text is here: http://unsongbook.com/interlude-%D7%A7-bush/ Episode 81 Duration: 12:12

"Alvarez's apartment was so packed with books, bomb-making supplies, and extra people that somebody had to sleep in the closet. Erica had volunteered. She figured the former Lord High Magician of the Midwest deserved the sofa more than she did. Any sacrifice for the Revolution."

This is a serialized story narrated by Matt Arnold with the permission of the author, Scott Alexander. The original text is here:

http://unsongbook.com/chapter-53-lover-of-wild-rebellion/

Episode 80

Duration: 13:56

Another Uriel and Sohu episode.

"Winter ended. Summer passed. Another and another. Uriel taught Sohu for eight more years after the eclipse, eight years without her aging a day.

In 1993, Sohu used Kefitzat Haderech to join her family in Colorado for Hanukkah. Her father said nothing when she came unannounced, striking the table deep in her father's bunker in the form of a lightning bolt, just smiled, and said she was welcome, and that he hoped this meant she would be visiting more often.

In 1994, when Sohu was twelve years old by the calendar, Uriel suggested she get a Bat Mitzvah. "I'm not Jewish and I never age!" Sohu protested. "WHAT ARE YOU?" asked Uriel. "Half Hopi Indian, a quarter Hindu, and a quarter comet," she said. "WHAT DO HALF-HOPI QUARTER-HINDU QUARTER-COMET PEOPLE DO WHEN THEY TURN TWELVE?" asked Uriel. "Order in pizza," said Sohu. So they did."

This is a serialized story narrated by Matt Arnold with the permission of the author, Scott Alexander. The original text is here:

http://unsongbook.com/chapter-52-the-king-of-light-beheld-her-mourning/

Episode 79

Duration: 21:42

""What can I do for you today?" Robin asked the Comet King. He was in his study, sitting at his big desk of Colorado pine. On the shelves he had gifts given him by various ambassadors and heads of state. A medieval orrery from the European Communion. A Faberge egg from the Cyrillic Union. An exquisite bonsai tree from the Harmonious Jade Dragon Empire. From Israel, a lovely turquoise sculpture with a microscopic listening device planted in it – which he usually covered with a piece of Scotch tape, but into which he spoke clearly and distinctly whenever he wanted to pass false information on to the Mossad." This is a serialized story narrated by Matt Arnold with the permission of the author, Scott Alexander. The original text is here: http://unsongbook.com/chapter-51-he-wondered-that-he-felt-love/ Episode 78 Duration: 9:03

"WASHINGTON DC – President Reagan is expected to make a full recovery after being shot in the head by an assassin while leaving the Washington Hilton."

This is a serialized story narrated by Matt Arnold with the permission of the author, Scott Alexander. The original text is here:

http://unsongbook.com/interlude-%D7%A2%E2%80%8E-eighties-and-nineties/

Episode 77

Duration: 12:58

"Praise the LORD from my hand for my son, to make a faster machine. — kingjamesprogramming.tumblr.com" This is a serialized story narrated by Matt Arnold with the permission of the author, Scott Alexander. The original text is here: http://unsongbook.com/chapter-50-silent-as-despairing-love/ Episode 76 Duration: 10:44

"In 1985, the Hellish Empire stretched from Moscow to Montreal, a sprawling stain over the northern quarter of the world.

After the defeat at Silverthorne a tentative cease-fire had taken hold, backed by nuclear weapons on all sides. Multistan, the Cyrillic Union, the Untied States, and the Harmonious Jade Dragon Empire established their own ideas of borders, sometimes as mutually agreed treaties, other times as pragmatic lines of actual control. Miraculously, the borders held. The demons were waiting, gathering strength. So was the Comet King. So were all the nations of the earth."

This is a serialized story narrated by Matt Arnold with the permission of the author, Scott Alexander. The original text is here:

http://unsongbook.com/interlude-%D7%A4-hell-on-earth/

Episode 75

Duration: 10:44