WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:00.900 align:middle line:90% Thank you. 00:00:00.900 --> 00:00:02.153 align:middle line:90% Thanks, everyone. 00:00:02.153 --> 00:00:03.070 align:middle line:90% So excited to be here. 00:00:03.070 --> 00:00:03.960 align:middle line:90% Thank you, Emilio. 00:00:03.960 --> 00:00:05.580 align:middle line:90% That's a beautiful introduction. 00:00:05.580 --> 00:00:08.700 align:middle line:84% It's like someone played the violin about me 00:00:08.700 --> 00:00:12.570 align:middle line:90% and now I get to play the kazoo. 00:00:12.570 --> 00:00:14.850 align:middle line:84% Don't write the introduction so well. 00:00:14.850 --> 00:00:17.520 align:middle line:90% But thank you for that. 00:00:17.520 --> 00:00:19.560 align:middle line:90% Thanks, Ander, for inviting me. 00:00:19.560 --> 00:00:21.870 align:middle line:84% Like Kristen, I've been a longtime admirer of Ander. 00:00:21.870 --> 00:00:25.210 align:middle line:84% And I feel really lucky to be here, so thank you. 00:00:25.210 --> 00:00:26.610 align:middle line:90% Also hard to follow Kristen. 00:00:26.610 --> 00:00:30.180 align:middle line:84% I don't have any beautiful visuals. 00:00:30.180 --> 00:00:34.740 align:middle line:84% If we can call up some, like, cat GIFs up there, or emojis, 00:00:34.740 --> 00:00:36.220 align:middle line:90% that might help me a little bit. 00:00:36.220 --> 00:00:42.450 align:middle line:84% But unfortunately, I have words, impoverished imagination 00:00:42.450 --> 00:00:44.310 align:middle line:90% that I have. 00:00:44.310 --> 00:00:45.420 align:middle line:90% So I will try this. 00:00:45.420 --> 00:00:48.690 align:middle line:90% 00:00:48.690 --> 00:00:50.400 align:middle line:84% By way of preface, I guess I should 00:00:50.400 --> 00:00:58.740 align:middle line:84% say this is what used to be the first chapter of my novel. 00:00:58.740 --> 00:01:04.065 align:middle line:84% And it's not anymore, so I've never read this out loud. 00:01:04.065 --> 00:01:06.510 align:middle line:84% I've read it to myself many times in preparation for this, 00:01:06.510 --> 00:01:09.580 align:middle line:90% but we'll see how it goes. 00:01:09.580 --> 00:01:11.850 align:middle line:84% And we'll take off this jacket too. 00:01:11.850 --> 00:01:15.280 align:middle line:84% Hopefully, that will lower your expectations a little bit. 00:01:15.280 --> 00:01:15.780 align:middle line:90% Fancy. 00:01:15.780 --> 00:01:21.450 align:middle line:90% 00:01:21.450 --> 00:01:24.870 align:middle line:84% All right, I'm calling this "Origin Story" now. 00:01:24.870 --> 00:01:27.810 align:middle line:90% 00:01:27.810 --> 00:01:33.240 align:middle line:84% First day of summer, this is back when things were good. 00:01:33.240 --> 00:01:37.200 align:middle line:84% They're playing by the pool, the two most powerful beings 00:01:37.200 --> 00:01:40.200 align:middle line:90% in the universe, 9 and 7. 00:01:40.200 --> 00:01:42.030 align:middle line:84% You're over there and we're over here. 00:01:42.030 --> 00:01:43.830 align:middle line:90% We'll save you. 00:01:43.830 --> 00:01:45.150 align:middle line:90% OK. 00:01:45.150 --> 00:01:46.830 align:middle line:90% Thank you. 00:01:46.830 --> 00:01:51.300 align:middle line:84% You're over there and we're over here and in between is lava. 00:01:51.300 --> 00:01:52.500 align:middle line:90% I can walk on lava. 00:01:52.500 --> 00:01:53.490 align:middle line:90% No, you can't. 00:01:53.490 --> 00:01:54.780 align:middle line:90% You can't. 00:01:54.780 --> 00:01:58.200 align:middle line:90% We can, but you can't. 00:01:58.200 --> 00:02:03.570 align:middle line:84% There are rules, a few stated outright, mostly unspoken, 00:02:03.570 --> 00:02:07.140 align:middle line:84% mostly discovered in the moment, with each twist 00:02:07.140 --> 00:02:10.289 align:middle line:90% and turn as the cosmos unfurls. 00:02:10.289 --> 00:02:12.690 align:middle line:84% Which is not to say this is fantasy. 00:02:12.690 --> 00:02:17.040 align:middle line:84% The word is make-believe, as in making something, believing 00:02:17.040 --> 00:02:18.660 align:middle line:90% in it. 00:02:18.660 --> 00:02:19.980 align:middle line:90% It's not a game. 00:02:19.980 --> 00:02:22.620 align:middle line:84% They get angry if you call it a game. 00:02:22.620 --> 00:02:25.350 align:middle line:84% It's more like a story, ongoing, never 00:02:25.350 --> 00:02:28.230 align:middle line:90% stopping, even when they sleep. 00:02:28.230 --> 00:02:31.800 align:middle line:84% Asleep like exhausted lumberjacks deep 00:02:31.800 --> 00:02:35.820 align:middle line:84% in a silent forest, a hundred-year slumber, 00:02:35.820 --> 00:02:36.570 align:middle line:90% they dream. 00:02:36.570 --> 00:02:38.740 align:middle line:90% They sleep-tell their stories. 00:02:38.740 --> 00:02:42.060 align:middle line:90% They wake up and continue. 00:02:42.060 --> 00:02:44.910 align:middle line:84% The story had been going on for some time now, 00:02:44.910 --> 00:02:46.650 align:middle line:90% six months maybe, eight. 00:02:46.650 --> 00:02:48.660 align:middle line:90% Could it be a year? 00:02:48.660 --> 00:02:50.220 align:middle line:90% More? 00:02:50.220 --> 00:02:52.560 align:middle line:90% No one could remember how long. 00:02:52.560 --> 00:02:55.620 align:middle line:84% It seemed like the story had just started or never started, 00:02:55.620 --> 00:02:57.900 align:middle line:90% had always been. 00:02:57.900 --> 00:03:00.270 align:middle line:90% There was once a girl-- 00:03:00.270 --> 00:03:02.010 align:middle line:90% hey!-- and a boy-- 00:03:02.010 --> 00:03:03.630 align:middle line:90% fine-- and a boy. 00:03:03.630 --> 00:03:07.380 align:middle line:84% There was once a girl and a boy, her little brother. 00:03:07.380 --> 00:03:12.102 align:middle line:84% They were little but it was up to them to save the world. 00:03:12.102 --> 00:03:13.560 align:middle line:84% They weren't allowed to tell anyone 00:03:13.560 --> 00:03:16.975 align:middle line:84% their story, which made it harder to save the world. 00:03:16.975 --> 00:03:18.975 align:middle line:84% They had to save the world and keep it a secret. 00:03:18.975 --> 00:03:21.960 align:middle line:90% 00:03:21.960 --> 00:03:25.140 align:middle line:84% Despite the lava, the universe continues its existence 00:03:25.140 --> 00:03:29.460 align:middle line:84% through lunch, sandwiches, crinkled potato chips, glasses 00:03:29.460 --> 00:03:34.380 align:middle line:84% of ice water, then cold cubes of watermelon, geometrically 00:03:34.380 --> 00:03:40.500 align:middle line:84% perfect, surfaces and vertices gem pink, blood red. 00:03:40.500 --> 00:03:42.330 align:middle line:90% The phone rings. 00:03:42.330 --> 00:03:44.340 align:middle line:84% The phone rings and his skin goes cold, 00:03:44.340 --> 00:03:48.270 align:middle line:84% but this is not the call, the capital C call, not the one 00:03:48.270 --> 00:03:51.810 align:middle line:84% that keeps him up at night, the one that starts, 00:03:51.810 --> 00:03:55.290 align:middle line:84% it's about your mother, not that one yet. 00:03:55.290 --> 00:03:58.560 align:middle line:84% It's Karen, their mother, his wife, 00:03:58.560 --> 00:04:03.870 align:middle line:90% soon to be ex, maybe, probably. 00:04:03.870 --> 00:04:04.860 align:middle line:90% Phoebe. 00:04:04.860 --> 00:04:05.970 align:middle line:90% Yeah. 00:04:05.970 --> 00:04:07.500 align:middle line:90% Keep an eye on Billy. 00:04:07.500 --> 00:04:08.610 align:middle line:90% OK. 00:04:08.610 --> 00:04:09.690 align:middle line:90% Why? 00:04:09.690 --> 00:04:11.940 align:middle line:90% I have to go talk to mom. 00:04:11.940 --> 00:04:13.530 align:middle line:90% Mommy's on the phone? 00:04:13.530 --> 00:04:14.850 align:middle line:90% Yeah. 00:04:14.850 --> 00:04:16.290 align:middle line:90% Say hi. 00:04:16.290 --> 00:04:17.579 align:middle line:90% OK. 00:04:17.579 --> 00:04:18.480 align:middle line:90% Tell her I love her. 00:04:18.480 --> 00:04:19.950 align:middle line:90% OK. 00:04:19.950 --> 00:04:21.060 align:middle line:90% Don't drown. 00:04:21.060 --> 00:04:23.250 align:middle line:90% OK, we won't. 00:04:23.250 --> 00:04:25.050 align:middle line:84% He slides the door shut and watches them 00:04:25.050 --> 00:04:29.220 align:middle line:84% through the glass, light and sound filtered, so all 00:04:29.220 --> 00:04:33.420 align:middle line:84% he's getting is a silent play, either a cosmic origin 00:04:33.420 --> 00:04:36.810 align:middle line:84% story or the end of times, it's hard to say. 00:04:36.810 --> 00:04:41.730 align:middle line:84% Skinny legs, chubby cheeks, flush with the 1 o'clock sun, 00:04:41.730 --> 00:04:45.240 align:middle line:84% Karen would never let them swim at this hour. 00:04:45.240 --> 00:04:46.560 align:middle line:90% Hey. 00:04:46.560 --> 00:04:47.430 align:middle line:90% Hey. 00:04:47.430 --> 00:04:49.650 align:middle line:90% Surprised you picked up. 00:04:49.650 --> 00:04:51.000 align:middle line:90% They're fine. 00:04:51.000 --> 00:04:53.220 align:middle line:90% What's going on over there? 00:04:53.220 --> 00:04:56.550 align:middle line:84% Well, the magic in the world is running out. 00:04:56.550 --> 00:04:58.050 align:middle line:90% That's a new one. 00:04:58.050 --> 00:05:01.140 align:middle line:84% Yeah, I'm interested to see where this goes. 00:05:01.140 --> 00:05:02.040 align:middle line:90% Pause. 00:05:02.040 --> 00:05:04.260 align:middle line:90% Unasked question. 00:05:04.260 --> 00:05:05.640 align:middle line:90% Yes, I fed them lunch. 00:05:05.640 --> 00:05:07.065 align:middle line:90% Yes, we're all staying hydrated. 00:05:07.065 --> 00:05:10.110 align:middle line:90% 00:05:10.110 --> 00:05:11.730 align:middle line:90% I-- I didn't even say anything. 00:05:11.730 --> 00:05:14.220 align:middle line:90% Yeah, you did. 00:05:14.220 --> 00:05:15.510 align:middle line:90% Billy's getting tired. 00:05:15.510 --> 00:05:17.430 align:middle line:90% No, he's OK. 00:05:17.430 --> 00:05:21.060 align:middle line:84% Yeah, he's OK, but he's getting tired. 00:05:21.060 --> 00:05:23.760 align:middle line:84% How can she possibly know this through the phone? 00:05:23.760 --> 00:05:26.910 align:middle line:84% But when he takes another look, sees that she's right. 00:05:26.910 --> 00:05:30.825 align:middle line:84% She's like some kind of all-knowing wizard. 00:05:30.825 --> 00:05:32.700 align:middle line:84% They get their omniscience from their mother. 00:05:32.700 --> 00:05:35.280 align:middle line:90% He's never contested that fact. 00:05:35.280 --> 00:05:37.470 align:middle line:84% Her being right wasn't the problem. 00:05:37.470 --> 00:05:40.350 align:middle line:84% He was the beneficiary of having married her. 00:05:40.350 --> 00:05:42.810 align:middle line:84% It was her being so certain about her rightness. 00:05:42.810 --> 00:05:45.780 align:middle line:84% The certainty was what got to him. 00:05:45.780 --> 00:05:47.166 align:middle line:90% What? 00:05:47.166 --> 00:05:48.330 align:middle line:90% What? 00:05:48.330 --> 00:05:50.400 align:middle line:90% You what. 00:05:50.400 --> 00:05:51.300 align:middle line:90% OK, fine. 00:05:51.300 --> 00:05:52.620 align:middle line:90% He looks pooped. 00:05:52.620 --> 00:05:54.810 align:middle line:90% They're both pooped. 00:05:54.810 --> 00:05:56.820 align:middle line:90% Yes, sunscreen. 00:05:56.820 --> 00:06:00.000 align:middle line:84% Trying to keep the irritation out of his voice, 00:06:00.000 --> 00:06:02.400 align:middle line:84% resenting the fact that, again she's right. 00:06:02.400 --> 00:06:04.500 align:middle line:84% It's been close to, oh, shit, four hours 00:06:04.500 --> 00:06:07.200 align:middle line:84% since the last application of sunscreen. 00:06:07.200 --> 00:06:07.920 align:middle line:90% They'll be fine. 00:06:07.920 --> 00:06:09.170 align:middle line:90% They're coming in soon anyway. 00:06:09.170 --> 00:06:12.780 align:middle line:90% The stuff is like SPF 500. 00:06:12.780 --> 00:06:14.640 align:middle line:90% Anything else? 00:06:14.640 --> 00:06:15.900 align:middle line:90% I'm not micromanaging you. 00:06:15.900 --> 00:06:17.910 align:middle line:90% I just wanted to check. 00:06:17.910 --> 00:06:19.710 align:middle line:90% They're fine. 00:06:19.710 --> 00:06:23.190 align:middle line:84% And, for the record, checking is micromanaging. 00:06:23.190 --> 00:06:25.110 align:middle line:84% As if on cue, one of them is yelling. 00:06:25.110 --> 00:06:27.450 align:middle line:90% The other is crying. 00:06:27.450 --> 00:06:28.523 align:middle line:90% I got to go. 00:06:28.523 --> 00:06:29.940 align:middle line:84% One of the masters of the universe 00:06:29.940 --> 00:06:32.490 align:middle line:90% is having hurt feelings. 00:06:32.490 --> 00:06:35.730 align:middle line:84% Yes, we'll call you after dinner. 00:06:35.730 --> 00:06:37.230 align:middle line:90% Spaghetti. 00:06:37.230 --> 00:06:39.120 align:middle line:90% I'm making it. 00:06:39.120 --> 00:06:40.260 align:middle line:90% She laughs softly. 00:06:40.260 --> 00:06:44.160 align:middle line:84% It's nice to hear her laugh, even now. 00:06:44.160 --> 00:06:45.210 align:middle line:90% What? 00:06:45.210 --> 00:06:46.590 align:middle line:90% Me cooking is funny? 00:06:46.590 --> 00:06:48.180 align:middle line:90% No, that's great. 00:06:48.180 --> 00:06:49.980 align:middle line:90% That's great. 00:06:49.980 --> 00:06:52.290 align:middle line:84% I figured I need to learn eventually. 00:06:52.290 --> 00:06:54.840 align:middle line:90% Even I can't mess up spaghetti. 00:06:54.840 --> 00:06:57.792 align:middle line:90% I have confidence that you can. 00:06:57.792 --> 00:07:00.600 align:middle line:84% You always believed in me, Karen. 00:07:00.600 --> 00:07:02.190 align:middle line:90% He hangs up, waits a beat. 00:07:02.190 --> 00:07:04.350 align:middle line:84% Maybe this latest clash of omnipotent beings 00:07:04.350 --> 00:07:08.790 align:middle line:84% will sort itself out if he just stands here a moment longer. 00:07:08.790 --> 00:07:12.660 align:middle line:84% It's cooler inside, in the air-conditioned condo, 00:07:12.660 --> 00:07:16.260 align:middle line:84% and talking to her still takes it out of him. 00:07:16.260 --> 00:07:18.768 align:middle line:90% She laughed, that's something. 00:07:18.768 --> 00:07:19.560 align:middle line:90% That's not nothing. 00:07:19.560 --> 00:07:23.610 align:middle line:90% 00:07:23.610 --> 00:07:26.710 align:middle line:84% They haven't noticed he's off the phone yet. 00:07:26.710 --> 00:07:28.620 align:middle line:84% He might get a few moments before one of them 00:07:28.620 --> 00:07:32.520 align:middle line:84% looks over, a moment of quiet, before they take over the world 00:07:32.520 --> 00:07:35.970 align:middle line:84% again, a temporary, very temporary pocket 00:07:35.970 --> 00:07:40.980 align:middle line:84% outside of their ongoing saga to save the universe. 00:07:40.980 --> 00:07:43.650 align:middle line:84% It used to be he could tell at a glance what the story was, 00:07:43.650 --> 00:07:47.070 align:middle line:84% movement and emotion, rehearsal for later, for real life, 00:07:47.070 --> 00:07:49.680 align:middle line:90% whenever that might start. 00:07:49.680 --> 00:07:51.690 align:middle line:84% The reenactment of something he'd said, 00:07:51.690 --> 00:07:54.390 align:middle line:90% them working through it. 00:07:54.390 --> 00:07:57.240 align:middle line:84% But lately, maybe in the last couple of months, 00:07:57.240 --> 00:07:58.740 align:middle line:84% he'd been finding himself surprised, 00:07:58.740 --> 00:08:01.440 align:middle line:84% baffled, at what they'd come up with, 00:08:01.440 --> 00:08:07.110 align:middle line:84% a word, an idea, some invention added to their cosmology 00:08:07.110 --> 00:08:09.270 align:middle line:84% something that feels too advanced, 00:08:09.270 --> 00:08:13.860 align:middle line:84% conceptual technology he knows had not come from him, probably 00:08:13.860 --> 00:08:15.210 align:middle line:90% from TV. 00:08:15.210 --> 00:08:17.370 align:middle line:84% At the moment, they're explorers, 00:08:17.370 --> 00:08:20.820 align:middle line:84% catching bugs in a cup, dipping a plastic utensil 00:08:20.820 --> 00:08:23.070 align:middle line:84% into the pool, a tablespoon of liquid 00:08:23.070 --> 00:08:26.100 align:middle line:84% filled with millions of life forms not visible 00:08:26.100 --> 00:08:28.590 align:middle line:90% to the human eye. 00:08:28.590 --> 00:08:30.600 align:middle line:84% He has to remember that what he says matters. 00:08:30.600 --> 00:08:32.909 align:middle line:84% How he looks at the world, it all matters. 00:08:32.909 --> 00:08:35.039 align:middle line:90% He forgets that a lot. 00:08:35.039 --> 00:08:38.580 align:middle line:84% Forgets that he knows and they don't, and that knowing 00:08:38.580 --> 00:08:40.799 align:middle line:84% is an immense and terrible power. 00:08:40.799 --> 00:08:43.679 align:middle line:84% And, at the moment of going from not knowing to knowing, 00:08:43.679 --> 00:08:44.400 align:middle line:90% it hurts. 00:08:44.400 --> 00:08:45.210 align:middle line:90% It's scary. 00:08:45.210 --> 00:08:47.070 align:middle line:90% It's all kinds of things. 00:08:47.070 --> 00:08:50.070 align:middle line:84% It has to happen, but how it happens, 00:08:50.070 --> 00:08:54.510 align:middle line:84% that's everything, how he shows them around this planet, 00:08:54.510 --> 00:08:56.580 align:middle line:90% points things out. 00:08:56.580 --> 00:09:00.060 align:middle line:84% They trust him as a guide from the island of not 00:09:00.060 --> 00:09:03.210 align:middle line:90% knowing to the land of knowing. 00:09:03.210 --> 00:09:07.020 align:middle line:84% Two ways of not knowing something, he'd once known it 00:09:07.020 --> 00:09:08.880 align:middle line:84% but had forgotten, which is to say, 00:09:08.880 --> 00:09:11.160 align:middle line:84% he doesn't think about the world that way, 00:09:11.160 --> 00:09:13.710 align:middle line:90% hasn't for who knows how long. 00:09:13.710 --> 00:09:17.370 align:middle line:84% What is equals what is visible, no less and no more. 00:09:17.370 --> 00:09:20.430 align:middle line:84% And even of that set of visible things, not much. 00:09:20.430 --> 00:09:23.760 align:middle line:84% The furniture has become just that, furniture, 00:09:23.760 --> 00:09:27.210 align:middle line:84% faded into the mental background. 00:09:27.210 --> 00:09:29.760 align:middle line:84% They on the other hand, take nothing for granted, 00:09:29.760 --> 00:09:33.630 align:middle line:84% a knife of sun slicing down on top of their hair, 00:09:33.630 --> 00:09:37.020 align:middle line:84% the sharp, cold sweet of a mouthful of vanilla ice cream, 00:09:37.020 --> 00:09:41.100 align:middle line:84% slightly melting, each other, him, 00:09:41.100 --> 00:09:44.310 align:middle line:84% words that come out of his mouth at this point, still 00:09:44.310 --> 00:09:46.050 align:middle line:84% few enough that they've all been stored, 00:09:46.050 --> 00:09:48.360 align:middle line:84% cataloged, a crucial part of the research 00:09:48.360 --> 00:09:51.270 align:middle line:84% file that formed the basis of their project. 00:09:51.270 --> 00:09:55.950 align:middle line:84% The project being, in a nutshell, what is this place? 00:09:55.950 --> 00:09:59.790 align:middle line:84% For now, the backyard, not much, a landscaped rectangle 00:09:59.790 --> 00:10:02.070 align:middle line:90% built to HOA specifications. 00:10:02.070 --> 00:10:04.260 align:middle line:84% In every corner, the requisite drought-resistant 00:10:04.260 --> 00:10:07.020 align:middle line:84% clump of succulents and scrubby plants. 00:10:07.020 --> 00:10:10.980 align:middle line:84% Just that, just their whole world. 00:10:10.980 --> 00:10:13.650 align:middle line:84% Already, he can feel them slipping. 00:10:13.650 --> 00:10:15.450 align:middle line:84% Billy has a couple more years, he figures. 00:10:15.450 --> 00:10:20.190 align:middle line:84% But Phoebe, she's right there at the edge of the great stage. 00:10:20.190 --> 00:10:24.120 align:middle line:84% Billy maybe is dimly aware, maybe, that there's a curtain. 00:10:24.120 --> 00:10:26.040 align:middle line:84% Phoebe has inched up toward the curtain 00:10:26.040 --> 00:10:31.260 align:middle line:84% and soon, any day now, will take a peek behind it. 00:10:31.260 --> 00:10:34.440 align:middle line:84% He alternates between feeling he's wasted their childhood, 00:10:34.440 --> 00:10:37.740 align:middle line:84% hasn't read them enough books or the right books, 00:10:37.740 --> 00:10:39.420 align:middle line:84% hasn't played the right music for them, 00:10:39.420 --> 00:10:41.700 align:middle line:84% their minds have formed, regardless. 00:10:41.700 --> 00:10:43.200 align:middle line:84% And, thanks to their mother, they're 00:10:43.200 --> 00:10:45.600 align:middle line:84% turning out to be good people, smart, perceptive, 00:10:45.600 --> 00:10:47.670 align:middle line:90% conscientious. 00:10:47.670 --> 00:10:50.400 align:middle line:84% Whatever his contribution was supposed to have been, 00:10:50.400 --> 00:10:56.460 align:middle line:84% it turned out smaller, some sprinkling of dad magic, 00:10:56.460 --> 00:10:59.430 align:middle line:84% some ineffable sense of wonder and appreciation of the world, 00:10:59.430 --> 00:11:01.140 align:middle line:90% or so he thought. 00:11:01.140 --> 00:11:02.843 align:middle line:84% He's gotten off easy, he knows, and yet 00:11:02.843 --> 00:11:04.260 align:middle line:84% still thinks that he has something 00:11:04.260 --> 00:11:08.370 align:middle line:84% important to tell them, if only he knew what it was. 00:11:08.370 --> 00:11:09.900 align:middle line:90% He knows this. 00:11:09.900 --> 00:11:13.110 align:middle line:84% He's somehow failed them, is in the process of failing them. 00:11:13.110 --> 00:11:15.060 align:middle line:90% And he'll continue to do it. 00:11:15.060 --> 00:11:17.610 align:middle line:84% He's contributed, all right, but seemingly only the worst 00:11:17.610 --> 00:11:21.870 align:middle line:84% parts of himself, revealing in glimpses, flashes 00:11:21.870 --> 00:11:25.800 align:middle line:84% of anger or pettiness, snatches of language 00:11:25.800 --> 00:11:28.360 align:middle line:84% that he's mortified to hear echoing through their minds 00:11:28.360 --> 00:11:30.900 align:middle line:84% and then, later, out of their mouths. 00:11:30.900 --> 00:11:32.380 align:middle line:90% His children. 00:11:32.380 --> 00:11:39.270 align:middle line:84% "His children," still not quite sounding like it's real. 00:11:39.270 --> 00:11:42.390 align:middle line:84% Billy does a little dance, no audience. 00:11:42.390 --> 00:11:44.460 align:middle line:90% His sister isn't even watching. 00:11:44.460 --> 00:11:46.105 align:middle line:84% She's busy thinking profound thoughts 00:11:46.105 --> 00:11:47.730 align:middle line:84% about how they might get themselves out 00:11:47.730 --> 00:11:52.650 align:middle line:84% of this mess, a quadrillion miles from home with no map. 00:11:52.650 --> 00:11:55.620 align:middle line:84% Billy, in his own little bubble, private. 00:11:55.620 --> 00:11:58.650 align:middle line:84% Now she notices the dance, tells him to stop it. 00:11:58.650 --> 00:12:00.990 align:middle line:84% He does it again and makes her mad. 00:12:00.990 --> 00:12:03.510 align:middle line:90% Now he's dancing with glee. 00:12:03.510 --> 00:12:06.018 align:middle line:84% Phoebe stops her allegory abruptly. 00:12:06.018 --> 00:12:07.560 align:middle line:84% Billy, glad for the opening, takes up 00:12:07.560 --> 00:12:09.690 align:middle line:84% the controls of the spaceship and changes 00:12:09.690 --> 00:12:12.360 align:middle line:84% course, a giggle, a momentary lapse 00:12:12.360 --> 00:12:14.280 align:middle line:90% by his commanding officer. 00:12:14.280 --> 00:12:17.490 align:middle line:84% Phoebe looks at him, watching him watch her. 00:12:17.490 --> 00:12:19.980 align:middle line:84% Through the glass, she may be reading his thoughts. 00:12:19.980 --> 00:12:22.380 align:middle line:84% She may know everything about him. 00:12:22.380 --> 00:12:25.110 align:middle line:90% Someday, she will. 00:12:25.110 --> 00:12:28.350 align:middle line:84% He wants to tell her, mouth something to her, 00:12:28.350 --> 00:12:29.880 align:middle line:90% make a funny face. 00:12:29.880 --> 00:12:32.402 align:middle line:90% It can't be said in words. 00:12:32.402 --> 00:12:34.110 align:middle line:84% If in this moment he could just show her, 00:12:34.110 --> 00:12:38.220 align:middle line:84% do that one perfect, fatherly thing. 00:12:38.220 --> 00:12:40.110 align:middle line:84% He slides the door open, a portal back 00:12:40.110 --> 00:12:44.310 align:middle line:84% out into their world, blast of sunlight and noise. 00:12:44.310 --> 00:12:46.060 align:middle line:90% What's happening now? 00:12:46.060 --> 00:12:47.650 align:middle line:90% We're on a mission. 00:12:47.650 --> 00:12:49.740 align:middle line:84% We're on the surface of a planet. 00:12:49.740 --> 00:12:51.030 align:middle line:90% OK, cool. 00:12:51.030 --> 00:12:52.560 align:middle line:90% Drink a lot of water. 00:12:52.560 --> 00:12:53.490 align:middle line:90% We can't. 00:12:53.490 --> 00:12:54.930 align:middle line:90% Why not? 00:12:54.930 --> 00:12:58.650 align:middle line:84% Our helmets, they don't have holes in them. 00:12:58.650 --> 00:13:01.110 align:middle line:84% She's older by almost two whole years 00:13:01.110 --> 00:13:04.230 align:middle line:84% so she generally sets the agenda. 00:13:04.230 --> 00:13:05.010 align:middle line:90% There are rules. 00:13:05.010 --> 00:13:06.690 align:middle line:84% And if he is to exist in their world, 00:13:06.690 --> 00:13:10.110 align:middle line:84% wants to continue existing here, then he needs to play his part. 00:13:10.110 --> 00:13:12.940 align:middle line:84% You're over there, and we're over here. 00:13:12.940 --> 00:13:15.760 align:middle line:84% Well, how do I get across the lava? 00:13:15.760 --> 00:13:17.520 align:middle line:90% You can't. 00:13:17.520 --> 00:13:18.780 align:middle line:90% The lava is hardening. 00:13:18.780 --> 00:13:21.000 align:middle line:90% It has turned into rock. 00:13:21.000 --> 00:13:22.980 align:middle line:84% Well, then, I can walk across the rock. 00:13:22.980 --> 00:13:25.560 align:middle line:90% No, you can't. 00:13:25.560 --> 00:13:28.350 align:middle line:90% Here, the younger one pipes up. 00:13:28.350 --> 00:13:31.590 align:middle line:90% Why-- why can't he? 00:13:31.590 --> 00:13:33.840 align:middle line:90% I think he can. 00:13:33.840 --> 00:13:35.430 align:middle line:84% At seven, the age of reason, he's 00:13:35.430 --> 00:13:37.380 align:middle line:84% reached a threshold in his own powers, 00:13:37.380 --> 00:13:39.600 align:middle line:84% second to his older sister, still 00:13:39.600 --> 00:13:41.160 align:middle line:84% exploring the range of his abilities 00:13:41.160 --> 00:13:43.590 align:middle line:90% to manipulate space and time. 00:13:43.590 --> 00:13:46.680 align:middle line:84% She's set the agenda, framed the problem. 00:13:46.680 --> 00:13:48.870 align:middle line:84% And he usually goes along with it. 00:13:48.870 --> 00:13:53.820 align:middle line:84% Whatever veto power he has, he exercises selectively. 00:13:53.820 --> 00:13:57.510 align:middle line:84% He can't walk across the lava because there's a crack in it. 00:13:57.510 --> 00:13:59.640 align:middle line:90% Do you not see the crack? 00:13:59.640 --> 00:14:00.180 align:middle line:90% Oh, yeah. 00:14:00.180 --> 00:14:00.690 align:middle line:90% Yeah, there. 00:14:00.690 --> 00:14:02.280 align:middle line:90% I see it now. 00:14:02.280 --> 00:14:04.890 align:middle line:90% Dad, I'm so sorry. 00:14:04.890 --> 00:14:08.970 align:middle line:84% We're going to do what we can to help you. 00:14:08.970 --> 00:14:11.460 align:middle line:84% That's the boy, seven years old and full of suppositions. 00:14:11.460 --> 00:14:15.060 align:middle line:84% Billy, not William, not Will, but willing to go along 00:14:15.060 --> 00:14:18.892 align:middle line:84% with Phoebe's version of their story, for now. 00:14:18.892 --> 00:14:20.350 align:middle line:84% We're on the surface of the planet. 00:14:20.350 --> 00:14:21.540 align:middle line:90% It's scary. 00:14:21.540 --> 00:14:23.250 align:middle line:90% A look crosses Billy's face. 00:14:23.250 --> 00:14:24.990 align:middle line:90% He wants to say it. 00:14:24.990 --> 00:14:28.080 align:middle line:84% He's wanted to say it, wanted to the first time she said it 00:14:28.080 --> 00:14:28.890 align:middle line:90% earlier in the day. 00:14:28.890 --> 00:14:31.410 align:middle line:90% He's like this, secretly smart. 00:14:31.410 --> 00:14:33.960 align:middle line:84% Everyone knows his sister is the A student. 00:14:33.960 --> 00:14:37.380 align:middle line:84% Lost in that is the fact that, so is he. 00:14:37.380 --> 00:14:39.240 align:middle line:90% But no, everyone has their slot. 00:14:39.240 --> 00:14:40.980 align:middle line:90% He's funny guy. 00:14:40.980 --> 00:14:41.850 align:middle line:90% He's the silly guy. 00:14:41.850 --> 00:14:44.190 align:middle line:90% He's not the smart guy. 00:14:44.190 --> 00:14:46.710 align:middle line:84% Catches her in errors but takes great pleasure 00:14:46.710 --> 00:14:49.980 align:middle line:84% in them, something deeply satisfying, important for him 00:14:49.980 --> 00:14:51.870 align:middle line:90% to do so. 00:14:51.870 --> 00:14:53.370 align:middle line:84% In the creation of their reality, 00:14:53.370 --> 00:14:56.418 align:middle line:84% he can help if she'll let him, if she'll listen, 00:14:56.418 --> 00:14:58.710 align:middle line:84% if he can get up the courage to point out to his sister 00:14:58.710 --> 00:15:00.240 align:middle line:84% the weirdness of what she's saying. 00:15:00.240 --> 00:15:02.700 align:middle line:90% The question is, will he? 00:15:02.700 --> 00:15:04.620 align:middle line:90% It's killing him a little. 00:15:04.620 --> 00:15:07.590 align:middle line:84% At risk of life and limb, he ventures. 00:15:07.590 --> 00:15:11.340 align:middle line:84% We're always on the surface of a planet. 00:15:11.340 --> 00:15:12.852 align:middle line:90% What? 00:15:12.852 --> 00:15:14.310 align:middle line:90% Uh-oh. 00:15:14.310 --> 00:15:17.100 align:middle line:84% Sometimes he shrinks from her, but this time he 00:15:17.100 --> 00:15:19.230 align:middle line:90% lets her have it. 00:15:19.230 --> 00:15:20.040 align:middle line:90% Often, she's right. 00:15:20.040 --> 00:15:21.873 align:middle line:84% And even when she's not, she can confuse him 00:15:21.873 --> 00:15:23.970 align:middle line:84% long enough to effectively win the argument 00:15:23.970 --> 00:15:25.590 align:middle line:90% through his silence. 00:15:25.590 --> 00:15:26.760 align:middle line:90% Not this time though. 00:15:26.760 --> 00:15:30.030 align:middle line:90% This time, he stands his ground. 00:15:30.030 --> 00:15:32.430 align:middle line:84% On Earth, we're on the surface of a planet. 00:15:32.430 --> 00:15:34.320 align:middle line:90% I mean, we are. 00:15:34.320 --> 00:15:35.700 align:middle line:90% No we're not. 00:15:35.700 --> 00:15:37.500 align:middle line:90% Yeah, we-- we are. 00:15:37.500 --> 00:15:38.970 align:middle line:90% No, no, but this is different. 00:15:38.970 --> 00:15:41.490 align:middle line:84% Here, we're on the surface of a planet. 00:15:41.490 --> 00:15:43.350 align:middle line:90% We're in space. 00:15:43.350 --> 00:15:45.480 align:middle line:90% Earth is in space too. 00:15:45.480 --> 00:15:46.438 align:middle line:90% What? 00:15:46.438 --> 00:15:46.980 align:middle line:90% No, it's not. 00:15:46.980 --> 00:15:50.160 align:middle line:90% Yes, yes, Earth is in space. 00:15:50.160 --> 00:15:53.340 align:middle line:84% A moment, an infinity, who knows. 00:15:53.340 --> 00:15:54.450 align:middle line:90% He's right. 00:15:54.450 --> 00:15:57.240 align:middle line:84% Little brother has caught her in an error. 00:15:57.240 --> 00:15:59.580 align:middle line:84% She gracefully pivots out, not giving him 00:15:59.580 --> 00:16:03.030 align:middle line:84% the full satisfaction, though he gets some small joy 00:16:03.030 --> 00:16:05.940 align:middle line:90% from the victory nonetheless. 00:16:05.940 --> 00:16:08.730 align:middle line:84% Just her moment of hesitation is enough. 00:16:08.730 --> 00:16:10.950 align:middle line:84% He looks over my way to get the smallest 00:16:10.950 --> 00:16:13.270 align:middle line:90% invisible smile of approval. 00:16:13.270 --> 00:16:15.090 align:middle line:84% And this is the father's dilemma. 00:16:15.090 --> 00:16:18.150 align:middle line:84% I don't want to embarrass her, but I can't deny him 00:16:18.150 --> 00:16:20.160 align:middle line:90% his moment either. 00:16:20.160 --> 00:16:22.170 align:middle line:84% The real confirmation is how she moves on, 00:16:22.170 --> 00:16:24.060 align:middle line:90% incorporating the new truth. 00:16:24.060 --> 00:16:27.460 align:middle line:84% OK, yeah, we're on the surface of a planet. 00:16:27.460 --> 00:16:30.730 align:middle line:84% OK, he says, ratifying this reality. 00:16:30.730 --> 00:16:32.770 align:middle line:84% The rift has healed and they can move on, 00:16:32.770 --> 00:16:36.700 align:middle line:84% secure in the integrity of their shared creation. 00:16:36.700 --> 00:16:39.560 align:middle line:84% Dad is over there, and we are over here. 00:16:39.560 --> 00:16:41.170 align:middle line:84% And in between, there is no more lava, 00:16:41.170 --> 00:16:43.240 align:middle line:90% but there is something worse. 00:16:43.240 --> 00:16:45.580 align:middle line:90% In between is nothing. 00:16:45.580 --> 00:16:48.220 align:middle line:84% In between used to be a tunnel through space, but now 00:16:48.220 --> 00:16:50.110 align:middle line:84% the tunnel is stretching, pulling apart 00:16:50.110 --> 00:16:53.140 align:middle line:84% like two parts of a piece of chewing gum. 00:16:53.140 --> 00:16:55.990 align:middle line:84% The connector piece getting skinny, 00:16:55.990 --> 00:16:57.430 align:middle line:90% skinnier until it's too thin. 00:16:57.430 --> 00:16:59.620 align:middle line:90% And then it breaks. 00:16:59.620 --> 00:17:01.090 align:middle line:90% And then what? 00:17:01.090 --> 00:17:02.980 align:middle line:90% Billy looks worried. 00:17:02.980 --> 00:17:06.250 align:middle line:84% What happens when the gum bridge breaks? 00:17:06.250 --> 00:17:08.740 align:middle line:84% When the bridge breaks, she explains calmly, 00:17:08.740 --> 00:17:11.470 align:middle line:84% with unnerving patience, and here everyone 00:17:11.470 --> 00:17:15.220 align:middle line:84% is listening intently, even the birds have gone silent 00:17:15.220 --> 00:17:17.140 align:middle line:84% and the hum of the pool motor has dimmed down 00:17:17.140 --> 00:17:23.270 align:middle line:84% to a low murmur, then we won't be able to get to Dad anymore. 00:17:23.270 --> 00:17:26.619 align:middle line:84% They used to ask him for stories, and he'd sigh. 00:17:26.619 --> 00:17:28.930 align:middle line:90% Now they don't ask him anymore. 00:17:28.930 --> 00:17:30.910 align:middle line:90% They don't need his stories. 00:17:30.910 --> 00:17:32.230 align:middle line:90% And he sighs. 00:17:32.230 --> 00:17:33.990 align:middle line:90% Thank you. 00:17:33.990 --> 00:17:35.000 align:middle line:90%