Chapter Two

An hour or so goes by. They’ve made the rounds. They’ve said hello to the artists and actors and innovators who are partying at Tetra’s house. They’ve reconnected, very awkwardly, with those they already knew. They’ve complimented the beautiful outfits people are wearing. (Liz’s dress is the most beautiful of all, but it’s garnered few comments. When she stands next to &, people are uninterested.)

This party is not unreasonably huge. It's big, but manageable. And yet they still have not met everyone, because this far into it, Liz is suddenly holding on for dear life to &’s shoulder, directing their attention to someone across the room. “Ramona is here,” she whispers.

“Where?”

“Over there.”

“Oh. Are you gonna talk to her?”

“Should I?”

“Well, do you want to?”

“I don’t know. No, I mean—I do want to, just—does she want to talk to me?”

“Can’t know until you try.” & gives her a side hug, patting her back. “I say go for it.”

“Can you come with me? I don’t want to do it alone.”

If Liz is still bringing herself to request this after two glasses of champagne, she must really need it. So they approach Ramona. She’s sitting alone in a chair near a window, hands folded on her cane. There’s an empty glass on the end table next to him.

Liz practically hides behind her friend. Ramona doesn’t notice either of them until they’re right in front of her. Then he finally looks up and greets them with a relaxed smile. “Hi.”

“Hello,” & says. “Ramona Ofori, right? I didn’t know you were here. I’m a big fan of your work.”

“Well, thanks. I just dropped in for a few minutes,” Ramona says. “I can’t stay until midnight. I’ve got another thing to go to.” Their eyes find Liz. “Hey, Liz.”

“Hi,” she says.

“Nice party,” Ramona says absently. “Tetra really went all out, huh?”

“She always does,” & says.

“Yup.” Ramona grabs her glass and then sets it down again. “Damn. I forgot that was empty.”

“Can I get you some more champagne?” & offers.

“I think I can get my own,” they say.

“It’s no trouble. I was just about to go to the kitchen myself.”

“Then sure. Thanks.”

Liz stares at &, wide-eyed, as they take the glass and walk away, leaving her alone with her ex. They’ve done all they can do.

The kitchen is more crowded than earlier. A small group of guests is engaged in a heated discussion. They’re loud and tipsy and they don’t notice at first when & walks in.

“No, dude, if you saw it, you’d know. If you actually sat down and watched it, no way would we even be having this discussion.”

“None of that stuff proves anything! It’s still possible—”

“Yeah, but like, did you ever think it’s possible for it to be true? Like, stuff out there’s more complicated? There’s forces we don’t understand and shit?”

“You’re making me sound like a close-minded asshole when all I said was I don’t—”

They notice &. One of them shoves another. “Dude.”

Now they’re all staring. Their faces are frozen in expressions of guilt and apprehension.

It hurts. “You can say hello, you know.”

“Hi. Sorry. Did you hear that?”

“I was just looking for the champagne.”

“Oh! Right here. Sorry, we’re in the way.” They move.

As & pours the champagne, one of the guests speaks. He’s the only one & recognizes: an actor named Mark Feathers. “Can we ask you a question?” he says. One of his friends mouths Dude! at him in shock, but he is not dissuaded. “I mean, will you answer?”

“That depends on what it is,” & says. “But go ahead.”

“Right… um…” He looks around at his friends, then back at &. “About your show. Um, the pilot. So, it was real? That guy wasn’t an actor?”

& smiles tensely. “Yep. Actually, I had to write a 212-page statement answering that exact question in detail, so, you can go look it up if you’re curious.” They pour another drink for themself. It’s sorely needed.

Mark blinks a few times. “Oh. Okay. Right. Yeah. Sorry for asking. It’s, uh, cool that you’re here.”

Is it now?

He doesn’t really think so. & stays silent. They just need to get out of this room.

On their way, another of the guests suddenly blurts, “What’s my mother’s name?”

They turn around and lock eyes with him.

“You read that guy’s mind on your show, right? So read mine,” he says.

They inhale and exhale deeply. “It’s not mind reading,” they say. “It’s knowing facts. Please don’t ask me to do something like that. It’s uncomfortable for me.”

“Why?”

“Because I—I don’t like freaking people out.”

The group give each other looks, clearly unconvinced.

“Suit yourself,” says the guy who asked. He’s disappointed and annoyed, they can feel it. He doesn’t think &’s power is real.

& starts to leave, but stops in the doorway. Without turning around, they say, “Fine. Gabriela Sullivan-Palmer.”

They leave before he can react. It’s uncomfortable for them.

They’ve already downed half their champagne by the time they find their way to Liz and Ramona again. They hand Ramona’s glass off. “Here you go.”

“Thanks,” he says. “You know, we were just talking about you.”

“Oh.” Their stomach hurts. “Good things, I hope?”

“Yes,” Liz says pointedly.

“Liz has nothing but kind words,” Ramona says, smiling. “Same as ever.”

Liz doesn’t seem to like this. “Yeah, well, I believe in believing in people.”

“Who said anything about not believing?” Ramona looks at &.

“Not me,” & says.

“Speaking of believing, though,” Ramona goes on, “I want you to know you’ve completely convinced Roy.”

“What?”

“Your interview a few weeks ago. It’s convinced him. He was a total skeptic before.” She looks off in the distance. “It’s funny that he met you before I did. I thought I’d be the one to interview you.”

“I didn’t know you wanted to,” says &.

“Is he here?” Liz asks.

“He wasn’t invited,” Ramona says. “This isn’t his kind of party, anyway. He’s having his own. Gonna have to get to that soon.” They check the time on their noter.

“It’s sweet that you guys have stayed friends all this time,” Liz says.

“I thought you didn’t like him.”

Liz has no comment.

“Anyway,” Ramona continues, “I probably would’ve reached out for an interview if he hadn’t done it first. But it’s good things turned out that way.” She takes a sip of her drink.

“If you ever wanted to do one, I’d accept,” & says honestly. They would really rather not give any more interviews on that subject, but they respect Ramona’s work very much.

“Oh, no, I couldn’t. Roy wouldn’t take it well. And I think he got to the points I was really wondering about.”

Roy is Ramona’s best friend and partner in video-making. The two of them are a duo: Ray and Roy, Questioning Everything, talking about their respective fields of history and philosophy and debunking conspiracy theories together. They each have their own solo work, and Ramona’s is far superior, but Roy’s isn’t bad either. Their interview was strange; he had forgone writing any questions and opted to just wing it. The result was a messy and revealing conversation.

“Really,” & says. “That’s interesting. I was worried he thought it didn’t go well.”

“Actually, he did think that. You didn’t really resolve things for him. He had this big existential crisis.”

“That’s… terrible.”

“No, that happens all the time.” Ramona takes another drink. “Anyway, he came out of it on your side. He’s a believer.”

“That is so him.” Liz’s voice fails to conceal her annoyance at the present conversation.

& wants to change the subject too, but they’re compelled to defend themself. “Well, I didn’t mean to give him a crisis. I wasn’t trying to make him a believer either, whatever that means. I’m not a religion.”

Ramona chuckles. “Not yet. Give it some time.”

“That’s not funny,” Liz cuts in.

“Sorry.” He finishes his champagne. “I was gonna say, you can’t really be shocked at anyone having a crisis over this, can you? Especially a skeptic. We view the world from this lens of logic, science, rationality. Then someone like you comes along, who knows everything and doesn’t know why—it’s like the Collapse all over again. Nothing makes sense anymore.”

Liz raises her voice. “Can we talk about something else? Please?”

Ramona stands up from her chair, taking her cane. “Sorry,” they repeat. “I may have talked myself into an existential crisis.”

Then she walks away, leaving two confused people behind her.

After a long, silent moment, Liz finally speaks: “What the fuck is her problem?”