The Posthuman War

Act 1 Cover by PixelWayve

**The Posthuman War** is a six-act-musical written by Paul Shapera. It follows the exploits of the posthuman crew introduced in the book The Posthuman Playhouse, also told in the podcast Astonishing Tales of the Highly Improbable. Various characters such as Lloyd and Raven have already appeared in previous albums, although at later points in time. The albums are loosely based on the story of *The Ballad of Lloyd Allen* from the Lost Fables From New Albion book, although numerous changes were made, with the rationalization that the original story was a third hand report of the events.

## Release

The musical is divided into six acts, which were released one after the other on livestream, with the previous act being played before a new act is revealed. Initially it was planned that the full album will not be up to purchase before all 6 acts have been released, but acts were available to purchase on Bandcamp after the livestreams.

The first act released on Bandcamp on January 30th, 2022, but there was a stream on January 23rd and had a second live stream the next day and January 30th. Act 2 has been livestreamed on February 13th and 14th 2022.

## Plot

Each act is narrated by Jill.

Act 1 depicts the August Sky Playhouse, with Lloyd Allen, Raven, Jill, Michael, and Asha experimenting with their post-human powers. An indeterminate amount of time has passed since the Gnome War, leading them to suspect that they are beginning to lose their grasp on reality. One day, Asha suffers a breakdown, and Lloyd sets out to find William. He does return with him, and William is able to tell that remaining in Level 5 is too much for the posthumans, and they must leave.

Act 2 picks up later, with Raven and Lloyd putting on performances of Caravan. Kate, selling tickets, gives one to Marjolein, a young woman who seeks more from life. She and Kurt are chosen for the performance of Caravan, and the two are whisked into the subreality. They make their way through the show, and as time passes, Raven and Lloyd grow impressed with Marjolein, becoming sure that she will flower. Marjolein and Kurt continue on their journey through Caravan, largely retracing Kate and Alex's steps, even running into him. Eventually, Marjolein ends up at the mirage and is able to overcome Raven's manipulation, allowing her to sing Soliloquy and flower. She escapes to an exuberant Lloyd and Raven, who praise her and promise to rescue Kurt.

Shortly after, Act 3 depicts Lloyd and Raven showing and explaining to Marjolein what it means to be posthuman. During an excursion, they run into Sarah, a young woman with post-human powers but little understanding of how to use them. The four of them decide to live and grow together as they develop their abilities. One day, Raven decides to host a dinner party, inviting Michael, Jill, and Isabela to their home. Afterwards, Isabela and Michael leave, while Jill decides to stay for a while, beginning a relationship with Marjolein. Sarah wants to create a new show, like Caravan, but disagrees with Raven and Lloyd about how much trauma is necessary to encourage flowering. Marjolein, wanting to make peace, locates Sarah in another narrative, and the two agree that Marjolein will try Sarah's new show, "Blue River", which she promises is gentle.

In Act 4, Marjolein finds herself inside Sarah's show, Red River. She is there with other participants, Leanne, Dominique, April, and Kurt, her friend from Caravan. She and the others find themselves hunted by dogs, in a narrative where they are sent on a journey by a church. They quickly find themselves being truly hunted, with the dogs killing the participants. Marjolein tries to exit, but Sarah does not let her, taunting Marjolein for her foolishness. Sarah reveals she has been flowering post-humans using this show, which leaves them in a mentally deformed state, available for Sarah to use as a battery. Marjolein is able to use various tricks to briefly avoid Sarah's narration, but ultimately, only Marjolein and Kurt escape. As Sarah is about to kill them, Raven, Lloyd, and Jill show up. The two groups fight, but the other post-humans are no match for Sarah. Raven is able to anger her and draw her away in order to let the others prepare to defeat her.

Act 5 depicts the chase between Raven and Sarah, as Raven tries to run and hide in various narratives. As time passes, he loses more and more of his energy, until the David Adams inside of him sacrifices himself to allow Raven to fully embrace the Trickster archetype. Raven then continues the chase for days, until finally he has no energy left and returns to his friends. Meanwhile, Marjolein recruits Michael and Isabela, who are looking after Isabela and Raven's daughter Son Mi, while Lloyd goes to Level 5 to further embody the Strategist archetype and recruits Mucklepuck. Raven returns to embrace Lloyd before fainting, as Sarah appears soon after him, ready to begin the war.

In Act 6, the war begins. Isabela attempts to slit Sarah's throat, but is quickly killed by her. Kate appears to assist, but is quickly stabbed in the stomach as well. Jill and Michael are both attacked by Sarah as well, with Michael losing an arm, as the Lost Ones join the fight. Mucklepuck is killed by Sarah in a warrior's death. Asha soon appears to join the fray, but is quickly dispatched by Sarah, losing an eye in the process. Lloyd and Marjolein realize that the mutants are the source of Sarah's power, so Marjolein goes to distract Sarah as Lloyd, Michael, and Jill trap the mutants in a sub-reality. Sarah begins to trap Marjolein in a hell dimension, when Jill comes to save her, but both get sucked in. Sarah, at this point, goes insane, transforming into a meat monster and is led by hand into the subreality by The Lost Ones.

In the years that follow, Raven and Lloyd grow apart as Raven spends more time at the carnival and Lloyd does not know what to do with himself. Lloyd goes to Michael in order to introduce Son Mi into Raven's life, but as they travel, a Scratch attacks, causing Lloyd to die (and end up inside a doll) and Son Mi to fall into the New Albion narrative. Jill and Marjolein, trapped inside the hell dimension, send out a beacon, hoping to one day be rescued.

## Cast and Characters

### Known Characters

Nora Sonneborn as "Jill"

Lux Mortenson as "Sarah"

Abilene Olson as "Asha"

Bradley Johnson as "Michael"

Paul Shapera as "Lloyd" and "Raven"

### New Characters

Maggie Kozak as "Marjolein"

Daniel Collette as "Kurt"

### Special Guests

Kiera-Marie Somers as "Isabela"

Kayleigh McKnight as "Kate"

## Differences from The Ballad of Lloyd Allen

As mentioned, there are numerous differences between The Ballad of Lloyd Allen and The Posthuman War. In-universe, this is due to The Ballad of Lloyd Allen being a third-hand account, where some details may be mixed up. Out of universe, this is due to narrative changes Paul has made to better tell the story. Below is a list of major changes between the two (not including minor details or plot points which happen in one but not the other, as this is not directly contradictory).

* Marjolein is an entirely new character, not mentioned in The Ballad of Lloyd Allen as participant in the war or preceding events.
* Kate has a greater presence in The Ballad of Lloyd Allen than in The Posthuman War. Originally, she was implied to have been involved in Caravan's full run since her flowering and an active designer of Red River. In The Posthuman War, she only appears (thus far) shortly before Marjolein's performance of Caravan, and has nothing to do with Red River.
* In The Ballad of Lloyd Allen, Sarah only began helping with Red River after Lloyd and Raven began developing it. In The Posthuman War, it is her idea in the first place.
* While The Ballad of Lloyd Allen implies Sarah may have tried to sleep with Raven, The Posthuman War explicitly depicts it.
* The Ballad of Lloyd Allen depicts Jill and Michael as being together at the time of Red River; in The Posthuman War, the two are temporarily separated, with Michael accompanying Isabela.
* The Ballad of Lloyd Allen depicts Raven as discovering Red River, whereas The Posthuman War depicts Raven, Lloyd, and Jill all finding it at the same time.
* In The Ballad of Lloyd Allen, the first confrontation between Sarah and the other posthumans mentions Sarah summoning creatures, such as "Viking Mutant Orcspiders", to fight Raven and Lloyd. In the album, Sarah has a more straightforward power, seemingly using the narrative itself to attack Lloyd and Raven.
* The Ballad of Lloyd Allen depicts the chase between Sarah and Raven almost entirely differently; the specific events which occur in the album are not depicted in the short story, and events such as Sarah trapping Raven in a mind-breaking narrative only for Raven to find it amusing are not depicted in the album. The short story mentions that the chase lasts months; it is unclear how long the chase lasts in the album, but it seems to be shorter.
* The Ballad of Lloyd Allen mentions that Isabela dies getting Sarah into a position for Lloyd to trap her; in The Posthuman War, this does not seem to be the case.
* The Ballad of Lloyd Allen does not mention Asha or Mucklepuck making an appearance in the war.
* The Ballad of Lloyd Allen depicts Kate as only fulfilling a support role, and implies that she was as involved in the preparations of the war as the other posthumans. The Posthuman War features her in just as active of a role as the other participants, and seemingly making a surprise appearance. The short story also mentions her assisting with trapping Sarah in the reality well; this does not happen in the album.

## References

1. ↑ https://paulshapera.com/whats-next-the-6-act-posthuman-war/
2. ↑ https://paulshapera.com/upcoming-projects/
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Cite error: Invalid `<ref>` tag; no text was provided for refs named `act1blog`
4. ↑ https://paulshapera.com/postie-war-update/
5. ↑ https://paulshapera.com/final-cast-list-for-the-posthuman-war/