what is it?
how bad is it?
how long?
halve the rations.
so halve them again!
i want you all to remember how far we've come together. and how far we still can go, if only we believe. when i brought us here to this oasis - this promised land - we knew there would be hardships. knew there would be sacrifices. but we also knew that we were creating for ourselves a world where we could be safe from the horrors of the forsaken lands beyond our borders.
and i want you all to remember above all that it is not the water with which we have been blessed that is the true lifeblood of this town.  but faith.
it is our faith that sustains us, brothers and sisters! hallelujah!
and mark me, the ultimate validation of that faith is coming! the sacred word of our lord that formed the world before and will reform it once again is coming to this town to bring it succor, bring it nourishment, bring it new life! for the almighty himself has spoken unto me and promised it!
in the meantime, he has asked us all to be patient. to walk the hard road of the faithful just a little longer. and to do that, we must give just a little more.
i understand your frustration. the road to salvation is a difficult one - but what lies at the end of that road is a greater glory, beyond anything you can imagine.
i know each and every one of you will understand the necessity of this action. it was faith that built this town - and faith that will sustain it even through the dark times that may lie ahead. but it is always darkest before dawn - and the new dawn is coming.
of course they did, the bar's open. outlanders, always looking for answers at the bottom of a bottle.
get them up here now.
gentlemen! it's truly a delight to see you again! i understand your latest excursion into the outland has been a profitable one?
well, let's see, shall we?
no. no. no. no. no.
it's not here.
when you bring me the book i asked you for, it'll be worth something.
gentlemen, gentlemen. i urge you once again to take the long view here. when we find this book - and believe me, we will find it - we are going to build a new world. a world far greater, far more righteous than this one. and you and i are going to be perched right on top of it, looking down upon it, masters of all creation!
and you know, i think you're absolutely right.
the book i want is out there somewhere, just waiting to be found. once there were millions of copies - you only need to find one! find it and bring it here. and i promise you, you will be rewarded beyond anything you can imagine.
not one of them can read. how would they even know when they found it?
put them with the others.
more books came in from the road today.
and it'll be a while longer. just another pile of useless junk. if we don't find the right one soon - if i can't give these people what they want to hear.
faith? is that what you think we're missing around here?
my old man used to have faith. he had it in spades. my mother, too.
faith is for the weak. it's for them out there, the sheep. this world is what you can see and touch and taste. it's what you make it. all these years with me, you still don't have any grasp of that? what's wrong with you, woman?
no, i'm sorry. i didn't mean to scare you. hey. you okay?
you just get me all riled up with that kind of talk. it's not what i need from you right now.
did you hear that? what was that?
what in the hell is going on?
get your asses out here!
hold it right there.
so, who are you?
i've met walkers before. not a particularly civilized bunch. some have even taken to eating their own kind, did you know that? you wouldn't be one of those savages now, would you?
good. this is a civilized town. under god. do you know what that means?
it means we have laws here. laws set down long before any of us ever walked this earth. and one of them is, you don't eat the flesh of your brother. else you're no better than an animal. and not welcome here.
so what's your business here, friend? walkers don't usually come into town less they want something.
well, you sure as hell found it. do you know who i am?
my name's carnegie. i own this bar. i own the whole town. you've never heard of me?
remarkable likeness, isn't it? you'd never guess half the men who built it were blind. a small tribute from a grateful people. i was deeply touched.
don't call them slaves. that's an old word. i'm not a slaver. i'm trying to help these people.
in the outland the sightless are preyed upon like sick animals. here at least they're protected. they do the essential work others don't want. and in return they eat, they drink, they survive. last year, a couple of them even got married - performed the ceremony myself.
what's your name, walker?
all right, i guess we just call you walker. don't see too many folks your age these days. you lived in the world before? you can read?
that's good. good man. we educated folk, we need to stick together, if we're ever going to rebuild this world. people like you and me, we're the future.
straight to the point. i like that. fact is, you could be in a lot of trouble. this is a peaceful town. you walk in here, armed, and the next thing a dozen of my good citizens are dead. i've hanged men for less. i could hang you.
i never once saw anyone handle themselves the way you did down there in that bar. i don't know where you learned it, but i sure as hell could use it.
people who work for me can live better than any walker ever dreamed. real beds, clean water, hot food. women, even. you could do a lot worse, my friend.
west? there is nothing west. it's all gone, a long time ago.
by who?
all right, look. i'm going to make you an offer of goodwill. stay the night, think it over. try a little local hospitality. we'll talk again in the morning. if you're still not interested, you're free to go. no hard feelings.
let him go.
i knew you'd reconsider.
none of the walkers i've seen come here from the outland were ever what you'd call smart. i mean all those years out there alone on the road, some with their brains half- fried from eating each other - it's understandable why you people aren't the brightest bulbs in the box. but i never met one so dumb that he'd turn down a meal and a bed if it was offered.
engineer? i don't know what you're talking about. if there's something wrong, maybe i can help.
this is redridge. he's kind of my right-hand man around here.
he'll show you to your room.
you took your time in there. how long does it take to deliver a plate of food and some water?
oh? what about?
he tell you anything about him?
yeah, i got that.
what makes you say that?
well, we'll just see about that.
who said anything about me?
you know how often these walkers get laid? never. least not by anything living or willing. girl like her can be very persuasive.
you went in there readily enough.
she's a grown woman now, claudia. sooner or later you're going to have to accept that. she has to earn her keep around here, same as the rest of us.
we've each been given a talent to help us make our way in this world. some people's gift is more evident than others. solara's sure as hell is.
i'm the kind of man who'd pull a helpless blind girl off the road, a girl who'd been beaten and raped, and give her a place where she can live without fear! without me you'd be just another no-eye, lying dead in the outland, picked clean by the buzzards, or shoveling dirt down there with the others. that's the kind of man i am!
where are you going?
you're not going to let me?
so let's not see anybody get hurt. okay?
good morning, solara.
i said good morning, solara.
how was your night? did you sleep well?
you don't speak to your father like that. when i ask you a civil question, i expect a civil answer.
did he say anything?
well, do you think you managed to change his mind about staying?
so he did talk? what else did he say? come on, i want all of it!
we'll see. this is my town, nobody leaves until i say they leave.
solara.
solara! she snaps suddenly out of it, looks at her father.
what the hell are you doing?
god didn't put this food on the table. do you hear me?
i said who put this food on the table?
who taught you that?
and he taught you how to say those words? how did he know them?
what kind of a book?
show me.
he had a bible?
something wrong? something wrong? the walker's gone!
he jumped out the window, you idiot! you didn't think to put a man outside the fucking window? find him. now!
go! go!
that cannon of yours casts a pretty wide net. i don't reckon you can hit me without hitting her.
i believe you. i have to say i'm surprised to hear that language coming from you, though. i mean, you being a holy man and all.
she told me all about it. told me all about the bible, too.
you know, i've been searching for a book like that one for years. all i've ever wanted was to bring the word of god to these poor unfortunates here. to shine its light upon them and give them something in this wretched world that they could believe in. something to live for! it's why i built this town, did you know that? all we've been missing is the word to show us the way. and now, praise the lord, you've brought it to us.
it's not right to keep that book hidden away, all to yourself. the word is meant to be shared with others. it's meant to be spread! isn't that what you want? i could help you do that. you and me, we could do it together.
thank you, darling.
you know, i always thought of myself as a shepherd. bringing together the wayward and the lost. tending to my flock. but all the things i want to do, i can't do them on my own. the one thing i've needed is the one thing that's always been missing. then one day it walks right into town - so close i can almost touch it - and then walks right on out again.
i want you to put a crew together and go out after him.
i'm not interested in him any more. i only want the book he's carrying.
you have no idea. you're too young, you don't remember the world before. but i do. i remember.
when i was a kid my parents used to read that book every goddamn day. my mother, she'd read it along with this smooth-talking preacher on the tv screen. they used to be able to beam these guys right into your house, into every house in the world, through the air. like magic.
don't you see? it's not just any book.
oh, it'll do much more than that. the water in this town may run dry, but faith - that springs eternal! and that faith will help turn this town into a city. and this city into a nation. it will help me build a new world. in my image. people will come from far and wide to hear what's inside of it. they'll follow me anywhere just to get a taste of it. and they'll do whatever i tell them.
oh, it'll say what i want, i can promise you that. because i'm going to rewrite it. i'll keep the parts that work for me and make the rest whatever i need it to be.
what do you think, darling? a whole new world, to do with as we will. won't that be grand?
find that book.
so use the motor pool.
whatever there is, use it.
right. right. of course. bring her back, too, if you can. but-
did you get it?
show me.
the new world begins here.
what the fuck is this?
you told me once that you know how to read this. this blind language.
you're going to read it for me. every word. and i'm going to write it down. start at the beginning.
god fucking dammit!
just go. just get out of my sight.