[SPOKEN INTRO]
Mars does not need justification.
He is the consequence of every other mechanism
and the justification for all of them simultaneously.
He is the most honest spirit in the hierarchy
because he does not pretend
to be anything other than what he is.
But the ones who profit from him
pretend constantly.
[VERSE 1]
Sixty-one active conflicts — the most since the second great war
Global military spending crossed two point seven trillion last year
The US defense budget climbing toward a trillion before the decade
The congressional estimate surpassed by years
They call it deterrence — they call it collective security
But the classified targets no parliament reviews
And the arms industry lobby shaped the spending summit
Before a single head of state
Could choose
[PRE-CHORUS]
Mars ascending on the manufactured threat horizon
The enemy rotates its face but never disappears
Because the enemy's disappearance
Is the budget's disappearance
And the budget
Is the mechanism
That the mechanism
Most requires
[CHORUS]
Mars ascending on the fractured world's expenditure
One hundred fifty billion more from the beautiful bill
The defense contractor's share price moved before the summit
The war machine was hungry
And the summit was the fill
I speak the name beneath the national security narrative
I name the interest underneath the stated fear
The pentacle of Mars compels the honest declaration
Of who profits from the conflict
Year to year
[VERSE 2]
Every social program cut to meet the spending target
Every development assistance gutted for the forge
The UK moved its aid allocation into military
While the contractor's revenue swelled
Beyond the gorge
The arms race is acceleration — not deterrence
Each spending surge demands the next respond
And the next conflict is the market's own continuation
And the profit margin
Is the iron bond
[CHORUS]
Mars ascending on the fractured world's expenditure
One hundred fifty billion more from the beautiful bill
The defense contractor's share price moved before the summit
The war machine was hungry
And the summit was the fill
I speak the name beneath the national security narrative
I name the interest underneath the stated fear
The pentacle of Mars compels the honest declaration
Of who profits from the conflict
Year to year
[BRIDGE]
The riot is the gift
The broken state is the invoice
The manufactured threat
Is the budget justification
For the next manufactured threat
This is not conspiracy
This is the observable behavior
Of a machine
That requires conflict
To continue operating
And calls that requirement
A security interest
[OUTRO]
Mars has been named.
The honest declaration
has been compelled.
And the name beneath the interest
is the same name
it has always been.
Profit.