Swollen Members - Lady Venom

[Scene: A dimly lit codec screen flickers to life. Solid Snake lights a cigarette. His voice is gravelly but thoughtful.]

Solid Snake:
You ever hear that track Lady Venom by Swollen Members? Dark, poetic... hits like a stealth kill. It’s not just a banger. It's loaded with symbolism—especially the Virgin Mary kind. Think about it… the title alone. "Lady Venom." A contradiction. Holiness wrapped in danger. Purity and poison, side by side.

The Madonna—she’s supposed to be untouchable, pure. But when the world’s twisted, even saints get weaponized. That’s the idea behind Lady Venom. The holy made dangerous. Maybe even necessary. Because sometimes the world doesn’t need a virgin. It needs a warrior.

(He exhales slowly, eyes narrowing.)
People don’t get snakes. They see fangs and panic. But not every snake is the enemy. Some are guardians. Garden snakes—hell, I’ve seen 'em take out vermin like a seasoned operative. Silent. Precise. Efficient. Just like me.

But people? They celebrate Whacking Day like in The Simpsons—a whole holiday devoted to wiping out snakes. It's ignorance on parade. Like killing off your own defense systems. Fear makes fools out of all of us.

(He stubs the cigarette out on a rusted metal edge.)
The King Snake—now that’s a beast. Non-venomous, but it eats cobras alive. Legend says Moses turned his staff into one to humble Pharaoh’s snake. Dominance through righteousness. A symbol that not all power is evil. Some power exists to defeat evil.

(The codec crackles. He leans closer.)
Here’s a truth they don’t want you to know: GI Joe? He’s one of my alters. A mask I wore when the mission demanded clean-cut propaganda. But the war wasn’t clean. Never is. Cobra Commander... Serpentor... they weren’t just villains. They were reflections. Mirrors of what we could become if the venom took over.

(He pauses, lowering his voice.)
We all carry venom. The question is… will it corrupt us—or will we use it to heal the garden?

[Codec: Transmission ends.]