Narrator X: (Guy) “Hello,” the crew hovering inside the Ship’s control deck hear through the Biological Man’s teletheric. “I’m Guy.”

Narrator S: All eyes turn to Steve, who is hovering upside down beside a punch-disc input. Within his flickering head-satchel, his fluidic brain eyeball spasms and darts, boggling at the teletheric, then darting rapidly between Cleo, Dot, Everett, and the Biological Man. 

Narrator M: (Steve) “Guy? You’re ALIVE?!” 

X: (Guy) “Hello, Steve.” 

S: Everyone starts talking at once.

M: [crosstalk] (Biological Man) “Wait, wait, wait, Ripley, did you say you’re all inside the sun?!”

S: [crosstalk] (Cleo) “Everyone’s okay! Oh my god, I can’t believe it! Rawfield, hi! We had a whole funeral for you! Hambing! Micky! Oh, we’ve missed you so much!”

X: [crosstalk] (Hambing) “Hey guys, guess what? I’m back to my normal size!”

X: [crosstalk] (Everett) “Micky, I really thought you were dead, I… Tzila, I’m so sorry I told you to shoot. I–”

M: [crosstalk] (Biological Man) “What is it like inside of a sun?”

S: [crosstalk] (Rawfield) “Uh, about Steve–”

X: [crosstalk] (Hambing) “It’s like a tearror museum up in here, it’s–”

S: But Merlin cuts everyone off. 

M: (Merlin) “I realize this is all extremely fascinating and exciting, and I understand that you all want to talk to each other very much. However, I am, once again, in a situation where I don’t have access to fresh bocs, and this teletheric is feeling very power-hungry at this range. Permit me to impose our previously agreed-upon methodology and check in again in… an hour or so?” 

X: There is a brief pause while Merlin presumably is giving Felix a politely curious look.

M: (Merlin) “If you would oblige me, Felix?” 

S: (Felix) “I– Fine. Fine! Okay, fine, I’ll give you my best guess.” 

M: (Merlin) “Wonderful! That’s all I’m asking for. And all of you there on the Ship, this goes without saying, but please do not turn on the Foldlight again until we learn more. Talk in an hour. Merlin out.” 

X: And the teletheric cuts out.

S: In Control, everyone looks to Steve again.

X: (Dot) “Guy?”

S: Dot asks. 

X: (Dot) “Perhaps Barbara is there, too?” 

S: Steve is quiet. His brain fluids are sloshing contemplatively.  

M: (Steve) “I can’t– I can’t believe it,” 

S: he says. 

M: (Steve) “Guy is alive?” 

X: (Everett) “They’re all alive! My wife is alive! Come here, you guys!!”

S: And Everett grapples Dot and Cleo into a sudden, cumbersome, spinning, zero-g hug, bursting into relieved semi-hysterical laughter. She looks wrecked, yet elated. 

X: (Everett) “Oh my god I’m so sorry I’ve been such a shit to you all. Ha ha! Oh, it’s gonna be okay, we’re okay, we’re gonna figure it out. Dot, you are one brave little mini-Mother! Cleo, you’re magic! Whoa, is that a sword? Oh my god that’s so cool. Steve, you’re such a trooper! Bioman, you’re more of a genius every day!”

M: (Biological Man) “Thank you. I do feel a continued slowly-improving command of my faculties. And now I am experiencing a dissonant combination of emotions: I am glad to know that the others are alive, but I am frightened to not know how to rescue them.”

X: (Everett) “Oh, we’re gonna figure it out! We’re gonna get the hell out of this place!” 

S: Cleo is hugging her back. (Cleo) “Do you really think so?”

X: (Everett) “Oh I know so, Princess! My wife is in the sun and she can do anything! Fuck, I’m hungry.”

S: Everett shakes herself, wiping happy-sad tears from her eyes. 

X: (Everett) “Oh! You know what, I just remembered – we went through all this trouble to un-door the food storage. I’m gonna go get something to eat, maybe I’m gonna cry hysterically about my wife, maybe I’m gonna take a nap in the Stagecoach. You kids good? Good. Don’t turn on the Foldlight. Okay. Come find me whenever Merlin calls back.”

S: And Everett floats away in the zero gravity.

X: (Everett) “Please let there be a single bottle of beer left.” 

M: (Biological Man) “Everett, I am also hungry for anything that’s not beans. Do you think Merlin will mind if I have a beer as well?”

S: He zooms off after her. 

X: (Everett) “Hey, it’s your liver now, bro.”

S: Steve seems to be literally gathering his wits. His liquid cognition globules have been looking a bit fragmented and scattered, but they now coalesce again into a single congealed mass.

M: (Steve) “Guy,”

X: he murmurs. 

M: (Steve) “Huh.” 

X: Cleo, detecting Steve’s curious mood, opens her mouth to deliver her usual remarks of friendly consolation, but Steve holds up a froggipalp. 

M: (Steve) “Please. A moment. I just need a minute. I need to calm my mental processes before they become a problem.” 

S: And he floats over to the prow windows, where his eyebulb appears to gaze out contemplatively at the dim sun. 

M: Cleo and Dot remain near the inert Foldlight, floating quietly. Cleo has sheathed the dark mica sword in the dark mica sheath that it extruded with, and is now fixing it to her belt so it doesn’t float around and get in the way. 

X: Dot watches her do so, feeling even more shy than usual. (Dot) “Thank you, Cleo… for saving me.”

S: Cleo, flustered, fidgeting with her belt buckle, doesn’t meet Dot’s eyes. (Cleo) “Oh, I didn’t really save you. I don’t know what I was thinking. The Sentinel would’ve got you anyway if the Foldlight hadn’t been turned back off – and it turns out you would’ve been okay even then! Just, inside the sun.”

X: (Dot) “Nevertheless. Thank you.” 

M: Cleo looks up now. 

S: (Cleo) “You’re welcome. You would’ve done the same for me. You did do the same for me. I think about that all the time.” 

M: They look at each other just a beat longer than seems reasonable, spirally air plants drifting between them. Dot clears their throat. 

X: (Dot) “Um. You never mentioned that you knew how to use a sword.”

S: (Cleo) “Oh! Yeah! Well, I’m like, really out of practice. I didn’t bring a sword with me, and I didn’t realize I had the option of extruding one out of the wall. Anyway, I was never that good, it was just a hobby.”

M: If Dot isn’t mistaken, Cleo seems really kind of embarrassed about the whole sword thing. 

S: Not false modesty either: genuine, uncomfortable, cringing embarrassment. 

X: This is kind of baffling to Dot. So baffling, in fact, that they crack the smallest of smiles. (Dot) “Cleo, you pulled a dark mica sword out of the wall and you cut me free from a huge sun creature. It was amazing.”

[A tentative merging of two themes.]

S: Whoa. Dot is smiling? Cleo forgets how to talk for a second. (Cleo) “I… Thanks! Um. I learned it from my Granny.” 

X: (Dot) “I thought she was a gardener?”

S: (Cleo) “She was.”

M: Steve, wits regathered, is drifting back across Control toward them. 

X: Oh, right. They’re not alone in this room. 

S: (Cleo) “Uh, Steve! Um, in all the, everything, I completely forgot to ask: how did you turn off the Foldlight?” 

M: (Steve) “What– what do you mean?”

S: (Cleo) “You… you flipped the switch from across the room. It was you, wasn’t it? Your brain lit up brighter than I’ve ever seen it before, and it was like you… I don’t know. Is this what you meant when you said your people have abilities ‘beyond the mundane?’” 

X: Dot turns to look at Steve with some surprise. (Dot) “What? When did this happen? I wish I’d seen this.”

M: Steve’s pupil quivers. (Steve) “Right! Yes. My people have a bit of extra-kinetic reach, I suppose you could call it, but I haven’t done that in so long because it attracts the Sentinel. But it did seem like the only option under the circumstances, and the Sentinel was already here, so…”

S: (Cleo) “Well, you really saved the day. That was incredible.”

M: (Steve) “Ha ha, you’re very kind. I’m feeling pretty spent now, though. It’s not an easy thing to do, pulling levers with your brain. Really takes it outta you.”

S: (Cleo) “I suppose we can all take a rest now. There’s not much to do until Merlin calls us back with more information. It’s nice to know that the Sentinel isn’t killing us all, but we’re still kind of… stuck. If it ever gets a hold of the Foldlight, we’re toast.” She takes a longing look at the elevator shaft where Everett and the Biological Man disappeared. “Mmm, toast.” 

M: (Steve) “I suppose the next course of action will be to follow your bioluminescent signals to their destination… but must we truly wait for Merlin? Your companions and mine may be alive, but they are still out of our reach. I appreciate everyone’s jubilance about how we will solve everything, but that is emotional thinking, not practicality. I think we should seriously begin to consider our plan should our companions on the sun be trapped there forever.”

X: Dot looks out the windows of Control to the sun in question. (Dot) “What? What do you mean?”

M: (Steve) “Well, if it was possible to leave, wouldn’t those captured have already done so?” 

S: Dot and Cleo exchange worried looks.

M: (Steve) “Guy, and hopefully Barbara, both very resourceful individuals, have been there this entire time, apparently alive, and have not managed to escape.”

S: (Cleo) “I guess they would have left if they knew how. But wait, are you saying we should leave without them?”

X: Steve gives Cleo’s shoulder a mollifying pat. 

M: (Steve) “No, no, no, of course not – merely that we should perhaps prepare for the possibility, should the sun prove impossible to escape. Of course we all want to help those who have been stolen by the Sentinel, but we do not have infinite time. This cosmos is deteriorating. Haven’t you seen it? The way the bedrock crumbles when the sun flares and the fold flows quickly? This is not the behavior of a stable system. If we wait too long, we may lose our chance. We must not lose sight of our ultimate goal: to exit this cosmos, yes? To get back home? In order to accomplish that, we need only to know where to go and the ability to get there. You, Cleophee, are the one who can point the way. Everett is the one who can fly the Stagecoach. The Biological Man increasingly demonstrates possession of all Merlin’s knowledge. And the Granddaughter and I are the ones who can commune with the Foldlight, to attempt safe passage. We still have everyone we really need on this ship right now.”

S: Cleo furrows her brow. Something about all this is giving her a strange feeling. 

X: Dot turns back from the window, back from the sun, re-engaging with Steve and Cleo. (Dot) “Do you really believe we can do it, Steve? Use the Foldlight successfully, I mean?”

M: (Steve) “Alone, perhaps not. You and I together, though, perhaps yes.”

S: Cleo is momentarily lost in thought. It’s kind of like déjà vu. She has felt this feeling before, many times. 

M: (Steve) “I know you lack faith in yourself, Granddaughter. You lost your teacher before you were ready. But I believe in you. I have glimpsed your potential. I can help you.”

X: Cleo sees the look on Dot’s face: relief, desperation.

S: (Cleo) “You’re not Mother Artifice, Steve.”

X: Steve turns slowly. 

M: (Steve) “Excuse me?”

S: (Cleo) “You can’t replace him. And what do you really know about the Foldlight? Dot is the one who spent our entire voyage studying it. They’re the expert here!” 

M: (Steve) “Of course. However–” 

X: Steve gestures demonstratively between the Foldlight and his own dimly flickering fold-filled head.

M: (Steve) “–through some coincidence of convergent evolution, your Foldlight and I share a certain similarity. I believe I can grasp its workings very intuitively, so I– I’m just offering to help.”

X: (Dot) “Cleo. We – I – do need Steve’s help.” 

S: (Cleo) “Not as much as he needs YOUR help.”

X: Cleo is clenching her fists in agitation.  

S: (Cleo) “I– I’m sorry, I just, we can’t seriously be making a plan to leave here without everyone else!”

M: (Steve) “It’s just a contingency, Cleo, not a–”

S: (Cleo) “And as long as we’re on the subject of giving people up for dead while they’re still completely alive, what about this whole ‘cost’ thing? Everyone brushed right past that, but come on, there’s no way we’re going to just let Dot sacrifice themself to get us home, right? Steve, you were talking such a big game about perseverance and sticking together, right up until we learned that everyone’s still alive! I mean, that’s our crew in the sun! Our friends! And your students, too, Steve! I don’t know how you can suddenly be in such a hurry to move on, because I’m not ready for that!”

X: Her cheeks are burning hot with adrenaline. Only non-confrontational people pleasers know that pulse-pounding fear. 

S: (Cleo) “Sure, maybe we technically have what it takes to get out of here with just us, but it’s just kind of feeling like you care more about the ‘getting out of here’ part than about… us.” 

M: (Steve) “The Fold brought us together. I consider you my friends.”

S: (Cleo) “All of us, or just the ones who are useful to you?”

X: Cleo sort of gasps, covering her own mouth like she can’t believe she just said that. 

S: (Cleo) “Dot, I know you’re overwhelmed. I know you miss Artifice. But just don’t let Steve – or anyone – use you. Okay?” 

X: The Granddaughter looks confused, surprised. (Dot) “Use me?”

M: (Steve) “I had no idea you felt this way, Cleophee.” 

X: The hurt and dignity and patience in Steve’s voice makes Cleo squirm, sends her into a backpedal. 

S: (Cleo) “Steve, you’re… listen, you’re great, you’ve been very nice to us, but… we did just meet you recently, after all. I’m not saying that you ARE trying to use Dot, I’m… I guess I’m just sensitive to this kind of thing. I grew up around a lot of people who were really good at… ensuring their own safety by manipulating the emotional states of others.”

M: (Steve) “What? Please speak plainly.”

S: (Cleo) “Okay. I’m worried you want out of here so bad you’ll say anything. Being friends means more than just being nice.”

X: Steve is once again literally gathering his thoughts, carefully. 

M: (Steve) “Even though what you’re saying is very hurtful, I want you to know that I bear you no ill will. I understand that it can be hard to trust a stranger, Cleophee. I DO want to get out of here – desperately! I won’t deny that. It is difficult to have NO ulterior motives in my situation, I’ll grant you that as well. If a friendship helps me achieve my goals, is that friendship invalid? Do not all relationships have an element of utility if you look deep enough? I’ve had my doubts about you as well, Cleophee.” 

S: (Cleo) “Me??”

X: Steve’s pedipalps waggle, the way you might drum your fingers on a surface. 

M: (Steve) “Perhaps you and I are not friends yet, but the Granddaughter and I are, so when I say this, I am truly looking out for my friend.” 

S: (Cleo) “When you say WHAT? What are you getting at?” 

M: (Steve) “Just that you might not be in a position to accuse me of manipulation. Where you come from, you were an outsider, weren’t you? You lacked what your family values most. But not anymore! Turns out you’re just like them after all. You do have a unique ability, so unique you had to travel beyond the limits of your home cosmos to even have a chance to perceive it. If you ever manage to return home, your life will be transformed. You will be a marvel among marvels! Why, the only thing that could be better than that would be to bring an additional prize on your arm – an offering for the family gene pool.” 

S: (Cleo) “Um, WHAT?!” 

M: (Steve) “I may not know everything, but I’ve picked up enough to know that this quiet little creature–” 

X: He places a comforting limb on Dot’s shoulder. 

M: (Steve) “–may be the most powerful among you. Wouldn’t it just solve all your problems if you not only had a gift, but also brought someone valuable into the Guilemoth family?” 

X: Dot goes very, very still. 

S: (Cleo) “That’s not–” 

M: (Steve) “Oh, that’s not it? From everything you told me about your family, Cleophee, I naturally presumed that was your aim. Is that not what your family expects of you?”

S: Cleo swallows hard. Her heart is pounding. She’s finding it strangely difficult to meet Dot’s eyes. (Cleo) “That’s not it. I would never do that. I’ve never even thought about that!”

X: But it is clear in that moment, especially to a student of what is hidden and withheld, that that is simply not true. (Dot) “You’re lying.” 

S: Cleo can hear the surprise and the hurt in their voice. 

X: (Dot) “You’re lying to me.” 

M: They blink as though trying to shake off a dream. 

X: (Dot) “I should have seen this sooner.”

S: (Cleo) “Dot, no, I–”

M: (Steve) “You do know what the Granddaughter is attempting to become, don’t you? Even I know that Motherhood is a path that requires utmost dedication and focus and asceticism, yet you persist with your careless flirtations, Cleophee. If you really cared for the Granddaughter beyond the benefits that they could bring to your own life, why would you make things so needlessly difficult for them?” 

S: Cleo is fighting to control her breath. She finds her hand on her sword hilt, clutching it so hard she’s trembling. (Cleo) “Actually, Steve, maybe you ARE just like Artifice!” 

M: (Steve) “Now, now. This conversation has gotten a bit heated. All I meant to point out, Cleophee, is that you might want to take a look in the mirror before you go projecting your insecurities onto me. If we are going to get out of here, and I do mean WE, the Granddaughter must be allowed to commit to their study of the Fold without distraction, without wishful denial of reality. To have any chance of succeeding, we must each do our part while allowing others to do their part, no matter what our personal feelings may be. There is an art to getting out of others’ way. Right now, I think the Granddaughter and I would both appreciate being left alone with the Foldlight. We have much to prepare for.”

S: (Cleo) “Dot?”

X: (Dot) “Steve’s right, Cleo. Please leave us alone.” 

S: (Cleo) “But–”

X: (Dot) “Leave ME alone.” 

S: Cleo desperately tries to catch Dot’s eye, 

X: but Dot looks away.

S: So Cleo goes.