"Why don't they make trains like this anymore?" "Our generation's not allowed to have nice things." "Time for another." "Never thought I'd say this, but these make me miss the heroin." " God, I miss..." " ...this." "Me, too." "Life on beta blockers..." "is no life at all." "What?" " We're not alone." " From last night?" "Aye, from last night." "Though what drove me to such recklessness, I can't say." " I'm Riley and this is Will." " Oh, nice try." "But you can just call me..." "the Old Man of Hoy." "What's his name?" "He doesn't trust us." "Of course I don't trust you." "I barely escaped with my frontal lobes from your wee disco." "So did we." "It seems like you took your blockers at the same we took ours." "Aye, maybe it's true that you got out like me by the hair on your chinny-chin." "Or maybe, just maybe, you were supposed to get out." "He thinks the concert was a BPO trap." "I've seen more than my fair share of snares." "You do not remain free for 30 years by being the trusting kind." "Now, whether I'm right or wrong about you," "I suspect we'll be seeing each other again soon enough." "He's gone." "I have to go." "I know." "I prepared this." "Food, some clothes, money." "I do not know how to thank you." "Nothing I have done in my life exceeds the honor to have been your teacher." "Sometimes, I find her staring at the gate." "I know she's waiting for you." "I promise I will come back." "We will be here." " I'm starving, but..." " But what?" "You were out all day, you slept on the couch..." "Are you mad at me?" "No." "Or me?" "I've been mad at many things these days." "Mostly myself." "No, it's my fault." "It's..." "I push too much." " I get too excited about things." " No, no, no." "No, this is on me." "I shouldn't have made an issue out of the letter." "No one needs to apologize." "Please, Dani, sit." "Thank God!" "It smells so freaking good!" "I did it again, didn't I?" "We love how excited you get." "We do." "Family, I have something very important to say." "This is my mother's special omelet." "She would cook this for my father whenever he was missing Spain." "You both know me well enough to know that when I am upset," "I cannot listen to anyone or anything." "Oh, yeah." "But last night, I heard a voice... and that voice was speaking to me as clear as a bell." "What did it say?" "It said, "Pack your bags, family." "Because we're going to São Paulo!"" "Yes!" " You." " What do you mean?" "Hello." " Hello." " I'm..." "looking for some courage." "I heard I had a visitor at the office the other day." " I shouldn't have come." " No." "The guys you met are assholes." "They're sons of the rich who play at journalism because it makes for a good chat-up line." "Believe me, your left thumb has more value" " than the three of them all together." " Thanks." "They told me that when you were at college... you..." "Yes, I loved a woman." "It's true." "I've also loved men." "I fall in love with the person, not their genitals." "Which may sound weird to you." "No." "Not at all." "Look, I'm not someone who usually talks like a greeting card, but... lately, I've come to see that luck is something that reminds you how beautiful the world can be." "Which is the part where I may need some courage." "I've not felt so lucky since I met you." "What are you doing?" "Trying to be brave." "I've never dated anyone who owned so many books." "I've never dated anyone who drove a matatu." "We do live in different worlds." "Not tonight we don't." "When I'm with you... all the rules... and the logic of everyday life... things that were so important to me... all go away." "And all I feel... is how fast my heart beats... whenever I'm with you." "Are you sure?" "Not too bad for a machine, huh?" "What?" "You just push a button and... this?" "This is a miracle." "Good morning." "Thank you." "I love our coffee." "It's one of the few things Kenya does really well." "In England, I missed it." "Yes, but they have really good tea." "You've been to England?" "I've seen many movies." " You hungry?" " Yes." "Good morning, my love." "I have to get to work." "Last night was a dream come true." "See you later." "So they came to my house, they talked to me about it, and they left." "Wait, you're telling me the DRP actually came to your door" " and asked you to run on their ticket?" " Yeah." "Crazy, right?" "And you haven't met with them again?" "I'm sorry, I thought you would find the story funny." "I've interviewed Koman Nyagah." "He's a serious and very intelligent man." "Why wouldn't you meet with him?" "Zakia, I'm a matatu driver." "Which is exactly why you should run and why people would vote for you." "I was at the protest." "I saw the look on their faces." "They trusted you, Capheus." "It's ridiculous." "I pay a fraction of what it costs you or everyone who lives in Kibera for running water or electricity." "We say there's nothing as expensive as being poor." "Why?" "Because our government, like every other government, doesn't care about poor people or places like Kibera." "But you do." " Zakia, I'm..." " At the very least, you can agree to meet with them." "Hear them out." "Lito!" " That's a big welcome." " Hello." "Lito Rodriguez!" " Hello." " Hello." "Oh, my God." "How are you?" "Hello." " Thank you!" " My God!" "I'm one of your biggest fans!" " Thank you very much." " Oh, where..." "Oh, yes." " I love you so much!" " Thank you." "There is a schedule of events in your packet." "Okay." "The parade kicks off after your address." "My address?" "Only if you want." "It is for you to decide." " Okay." " Okay." " Lito!" " Lito Rodriguez!" " Hello." " Hello." "Thank you very much." "Thank you." " Can you take a selfie?" " Yes." " Thank you!" " It's our pleasure." "Hey, Van Damn." "Hey, your son is here." "Hey, I saw you on YouTube." "You are amazing, just amazing." "But be careful, Van Damn, people are noticing." "Well, uh..." "Hello, Mom." "Hello, son." "Hmm..." "I see the dinner I prepared for you is still there." "It would appear neither of us spent the night at home, again." " Should I be worried?" " No." "Should I?" "I'm surprised." "You don't think your mother can turn a head anymore?" " My mother is as beautiful as ever." " Then why?" "Kenyan men... we both know they're not very open-minded." "That's true." "So... a little surprising." "Not as much as you think." "Did you ever wonder why Silas had such easy access to the drugs that I needed?" "We both have the virus." "And what's more, he told me that very soon, they may have a cure." "Now why are you crying?" "Because I sometimes forget that... life's not just full of surprises." "It's also full of gifts." "Yes." "Oh, man." "What?" "It's amazing." "Whole underground world of abandoned places people use like their hotel rooms." "It's more like camping." "The same rules, you try to leave it better than how you found it." "If I had a good show, I'd always try and leave a little gift somewhere." " Like what?" " Mm..." "Money." "Drugs." "Music." "Where did you get those?" "Train station." "Thought we could use them to cover the windows." "Confuse anyone dropping in." "Have I mentioned how in love with you I am?" "It really isn't the same, is it?" "Well... it's not bad." "It could be the way that older couples who've been together a long time feel like when they kiss." "Yeah, I like the idea of a long life spent kissing you." "Mm-hm." "Eh... this is some stomach-churning domesticity." "Seriously." "This is factory-farming shit." "Oh, no." "Another visitor?" "Did the blockers wear off early?" "Take your complaint to the FDA, mate." " It's Puck." " From the lab?" "Oh, sharp as a bowling ball." "I don't understand." "If you're a sensate, why didn't we connect?" " Three guesses." " Must've been on blockers when we met." "Ding." "Bowling ball continues to impress." "Hey, ask him how he avoids BPO." "Oh!" "Ask him if you and I can have just a quick fuck." "What did he say?" " He's not being very helpful." " Why, am I supposed to be?" "At Vincent's, you knew what blockers were and you didn't tell me." " Oh, I told you enough." " Tell him that we need help." "If nothing changes, if no one figures out how to stop BPO, then one day he's gonna need the same kind of help." "Over here, hero." "Free advice:" "if you bump into one of our kind, assume that they are BPO collaborators." "Be particularly suspicious if you hear about their daring escape from The Rock in Iceland, while also appearing live on stage at an underground EDM concert." "He doesn't trust us either." " Can you blame me?" " Why come to the concert?" "What can I say?" "The dick wants what the dick wants." "Sex... can be such a good trust-builder." "I don't think so." "Oh..." "Hard To Get dot com." "That is my domain." "Give me a call when you get bored of you-know-who." "Can you tell me where you get your blockers?" "I make them myself, puttanella." "Listen, the hardest part is getting the samples without a leash around my neck." "But lucky you seem to already have yours, the latest ones with less side effects." "Seems like somebody might have a friend at BPO." "Wait." "Blockers aren't gonna keep you safe forever, Riley Blue." "Not from BPO." "And not from me." "What did he say?" "I think I just picked up the equivalent of a sensate STD." "Whoo!" "Let them gloat." "Hey, Monsieur Gorilla, where's the ball?" "Where did the ball go?" "Oh, it's in your goal!" "Come on, Felix, stop trash-talking." "Let's play!" "Wolfie!" "Here!" "Where are you?" "Here!" "Ah!" " Hey, you all right?" " I'm fine." " That's what I'm talking about!" " You all right?" " You all right?" " Everybody, calm down!" "Come on!" "Stand up!" "That's what I'm talking about!" "That was fucking real!" "Do you have to do everything so intensely?" "No." "Just the things that matter." "Oh..." "These are the last year reports from the controller general." "Yeah, you can just put them there." " Thank you." " You're welcome." "Um..." "About last night..." "I... needed you and you were there for me." "But it was wrong." "Why?" "You know why." "You weren't in my bed any more than I'm sitting on this desk here." "It's in our heads, like a fantasy." "Last night was not a fantasy." "What's true is that married women like to fantasize." " It's what keeps marriages together." " No." "I don't." "I..." "I must not." "Okay, you're in Bombay, I'm in Berlin." "I think you're safe." "Please." "Last night made me realize that" "I can't be trusted with my thoughts." "Come on, Wolfie!" "Let's finish Fuchs' Fucks!" "I need help and you have to help me." "I'm trying to make a life." "Hmm." "Pretending isn't a life." " Wolfie!" " Yeah!" "Coming!" "So... big day tomorrow." "Do you know what you're gonna say?" "What..." "Do you think I should say something?" "You don't have to do it if you don't feel comfortable." "Yes." "Absolutely." "But... you're so good when you speak from your heart." "Baby, the interview you did at the premiere was incredible." "I think it had a lot to do with these people inviting you." "Of course." "I mean, it has over a million views." " Really?" " You haven't watched it?" "I'm banned from social media." "You just love to look at the bad stuff." " Yeah, that is true." " Mm-hmm." "Oh, my God." "Oh, my God." "Oh, my God." "Look!" "Look!" "Now... a man who needs no introduction, but I'll introduce to you anyhow." "I give you the Grand Marshall of this year's Pride Parade..." "Lito Rodriguez!" "Thank you." "Thank you." "Thank you, São Paulo!" "Thank you." "I wanted to say that I am very honored to be here." "That isn't the truth." "To be honest with you, I..." "I have never been as scared as I am right now." "All of my life, I've had to pretend to be something I wasn't." "And to become what I wanted to become..." "I couldn't be what I am." "I am a gay man." "I've never said those words in public before." "I am a gay man!" "I am a gay man!" "I am a gay man!" "Oh." "Why did I have to be so afraid to say that?" "Because I know that people are afraid of people that are different from them." "And admitting that I am different and refusing to pretend to be something I am not, may cost me a career of pretending to be things that I am not, which is kind of crazy when you think about it." "But I did." "I did." "For years, I was living inside the fake world of a movie set, never daring to imagine that one day..." "I might be brave enough to do something like this." "Come with me." "Hi." "This is Hernando." "He is the love of my life." "I am a better and braver person because of him." "And whatever it costs for me to be able to do this..." "I know in my heart that it is worth it." "And now, let's party!" "That was fun." "It was." " Last time we were here..." " ...we both felt trapped." "You were afraid of going to prison." "Now I miss it." "You wanted so badly to see your father." "And you felt like you were making a terrible mistake." "We've switched places." "Which means, in a way, we're in the same place." "Is there a way out of this?" "Or is this just how life always feels?" "So you've had no other issues with that brain syndrome thing?" "Oh, no, not any health issues." "Everything has been fine." "That is such a relief." "I told Tom I am so happy that you're gonna be there after what happened last year." "Me, too." "Even though I know Mom and" "Dad must be giving you hell for this." "No." "They're okay." "Come on, T, don't lie." "What did Dad say?" "He said I would regret it." "But why?" "I can take it." "Because he said that your narcissism is a black hole and that you would do something to make my wedding all about you." "But I told him he was wrong, and more importantly," "I couldn't imagine getting married without my sister being there." "Come here." "Oh, I love you." "Thank you for sticking up for me." "I won't let you down, and if you need anything..." "Actually, there is one thing I could really use some help on..." "Nom!" "It's the cabin!" " What?" " I emailed Abrasax Electronics." "They found an old shipping report and, oh, my God!" " What?" " It's up near Dancing Water." " That's weird." " What's Dancing Water?" "Um, that's the commune where Neets grew up." " Um..." " Mom is gonna freak!" " Okay, we gotta get up there." " I'm sure she'll want to come." " I'm gonna text her." "Bye, sweetie." " Bye." "I'm..." "I love you." "But I gotta..." "I gotta go." "Okay, just call me." "Come on, sleepy." "The world isn't going to save itself." "Daddy, look what I made!" "Now this line describing the flank, that is sublime." "Come, let Daddy get dressed." "Good morning, Milton." "Good morning, Mr. Secretary." "The Chairman is very excited." "It's a very big day for us." " It is." " We are counting on you." "How are you feeling?" "Are you all right?" "Something's about to happen." "Something bad." "Ah!" "What the fuck?" "I was bored." "Don't bother on my account." "Where have you been?" "Did you miss me?" "I know you want to tell her to fuck off, but we need information." "You use blockers." "Everyone does." " Where do you get them from?" " My contact." " Does he have a name?" " Yeah. "My Business."" "I thought you said we could help each other." "Not that." "Ask something else." "Show her the picture." "Do you know who this guy is?" " Walk away, Lila." " Hmm?" "You do know him." "Walk away now." "Love to talk, but my date's arrived." "I wouldn't." " Why?" " Two of the goons were rentals." "They'll go in, sweep the room, then head back out here." "Ah..." "Ms. Facchini." "Mr. Bohm." "I was hoping it'd be you." "Why?" "Fuchs doesn't see what you are." "He doesn't know." "But I do." "You are just like me." "You're in luck..." "Was he right about you?" "If you're trying to find a difference between us, you're wasting your time." "I'm not the one with a leash around my neck." "Lila, why are you still talking to him?" "I know what I'm doing." "You said we needed each other, but as soon as I ask you for something, you walk away." "Be smart." " How long has he been after you?" " A year." " A year?" " That has to be a lie." " Maybe the Cannibal is getting slow." " The Cannibal?" "Clustercide." "Story is he ate his own." " Do you know his real name?" " No one does." "Someone must." "This cluster is dead." "Is this one of yours?" "Yeah." "He thought you were as hot as I do." "But right now, all he thinks is that you're lying." "What do you think?" "We'll see." "You know, you never think about how ubiquitous immigrant food like General Tso's chicken and pepperoni pizza has become..." "Until you realize you're a different human species on the run from an evil organization trying to lobotomize you?" "Exactly." "Did we make a mistake doing the concert?" "No." "It just proved there's a whole bunch more of us out there than we thought, and that there must be some kind of an intelligence network because they all seemed to know who you were." "We just have to try and figure out a way to get them to trust us." "Aye, that's the rub, laddie." "Mr. Hoy is back." "What a charming little empty box you've chosen here." "All the modern amenities of a prison cell." "Where are you visiting from?" "I call it my speakeasy 'cause you can speak easy in here." "Soundproofing." "Eighteen inches thick." "All the modern amenities of a coffin." "Aye." "So, Miss Blue, if you and your laddie are not a pair of headhunters, putting on your show was a terrible risk." "Care to explain what possessed you?" "Well, Mr. Hoy, if you're not a BPO headhunter, then leaving your coffin to come to my show was a terrible risk." " What possessed you?" " Huh..." "Maybe... after 30 years of surviving... not living, mind you, but surviving... maybe after 30 years of blockers, and coffins, and boxes... maybe I realized..." "I'm slowly dying of survival." "I'm sick of this." " I'm done playing by the rules." " What are you doing?" " What's going on?" " Mr. Hoy needs a reason to trust us." "There you are, Mr. Hoy." "Aye, well, you do not need to be Sherlock Holmes." "If you're a headhunter or looking to make a deal with BPO, you know where to find me." "Ach!" "You've gone and done it now, Miss Blue." "You've done it now." "I'm not about to be out-trusted by a DJ from Iceland." "With hair the color of a Smurf!" "Come on now, Miss Blue." "Let's get out of here." "Come on, Miss Blue!" "My library." "And this is my laboratory." "This way." "Welcome to the Highlands of Scotland, Miss Blue." "It's beautiful." "Reminds me of home." "Dinner's ready." "Aye, just a moment." "Has another of your invisible friends dropped by?" "Aye, Kirsty." "This is Miss Blue." "She's from Iceland." "A lady invisible friend, is it?" "Well, now, there's a turn-up for the book." "Invite her in." "There's stovies and mushy peas, and fried Mars bar for dessert." "She's lovely." "She's a sweet old bird, all right." " Is she family?" " More than most." "She was the wife of one of my cluster." "I was with him when he died." "He asked me to take care of her." "But the funny thing is, I think I'm looking after her, and she thinks she's looking after me." "But who's to know who's right, eh?" "This is where the dads said it should be." "I really love your dads." "Just the fact that they all wanted to take care of you and be a part of your life." "People used to give me shit when I used to use all three of their names on my school forms." "But I think I knew I was pretty lucky in the dad department." "Do you think what my dad said about me to Teagan is true?" "That you're a black hole of narcissism?" "Look, most of us either have our heads stuck in the sand or stuck up our own ass." "It's human nature to think our problems are the only problems." "Neets..." "God, I'm sorry." "I've been..." "let's be generous and say not entirely myself and focused on many other things." "You mean besides your amazing girlfriend?" "Who's been beyond amazing." "Like, approaching saint status." "I would look good as a statue." "I'm serious." "I know I could not survive any of this crazy shit without you." "What?" "It's her." "Angelica?" "Spring of '52." "A very, very covert conference was convened at the British airbase on Cyprus." "Authorities from NATO, the Warsaw Pact, China, and the Arab League sat locked in a room debating reality." "After weeks of haggling, walk-outs, and bullying, the Biologic Preservation Organization was born." "How do you know all of this?" "I was there." "I assisted Ruth El-Saadawi in drafting the initial charter and guidelines for research into sensacity." "Signatories guaranteed human rights to sensoriums and agreed not to deploy them for military needs." "That's Ruth there." "Is that you?" "Handsome bugger, eh?" "Where did it all go?" "This is crazy cool." "It's exactly what I read in that book by the woman who started BPO." " Ruth El-Saadawi." " Yes." "She talked about psycellium as a morphogenic field and how it made connections like the synapses in our brain, storing them the way memories are stored." "She's the mother of this claid." " What's a claid?" " A cluster." "Sequoias are like us, polypliotic." " Can you still see her?" " Yeah." "She lived here." "The cabin is beautiful." " She looks so different." " How do you mean?" "She looks happy." "Why didn't the charter just announce to the world that Homo sensoriums exist?" "Look, we all know sapiens." "I mean, some of my best friends are sapiens." "When sapiens feel safe, they're the nicest people you could meet." "However, feed their inner demons, frighten them, find reasons for them to divide themselves from otherness, and then watch those selfsame sapiens drop bombs on whole cities, drive planes into buildings and happily herd millions of their own kind" "into gas chambers." "And that's just what they would do to each other." "What wouldn't they do to a totally different species?" "That's why Ruth herself advocated total secrecy." "Was Ms. El-Saadawi a sensate?" "No, but her twin sister was." "They came from a village in Egypt." "Not long after her sister's cluster birth, she was stoned to death for immorality and witchcraft." "Ruth went from being a doctor one day to a crusader the next, and did everything she could to prevent it from happening to someone else's sister." "If she was alive today... she'd look at what BPO has become and she would weep." "Wait." " What?" " Something's wrong." "The research might be helpful." "That's what the Nazis said!" "You fucking hide out in Walden while they herd the rest of us into cattle cars." "Do you think they might be right?" "I'll go to Iceland." "She's fighting with her cluster." "Be careful." "Can I ask you about one of the BPO hunters?" "Do you know him?" "If he's the one that's after you," "I must say, I underestimated either your recklessness or your courage." "What's his real name?" "I don't know myself." "Not sure I want to know." "When our kind have nightmares about BPO, they're usually about him." " Where do I find him?" " Huh!" "I do not ken where you get your brass goolies from, but maybe I'll be able to give you what you want." "But fair warning, it comes with a price, like as not." "I'll pay it." "There's a network of us, strung out about the world." "The Archipelago, we're called." "Isolated above, but connected below." "I ask someone I know, who asks someone they know, who asks..." "Well, you get the gist." "Sapiens invented Google in the 1990s." "We've had it since the Neolithic." "How long does it take?" "I'm looking for Cannibal." "Get him on the phone now!" "I don't know what he thinks he's doing." "This is my research, this is my project." "Tell him I'm gonna straighten him out!" "I've got the answer, but I don't think you're going to like it." "I was getting nervous." "I'm all right." "I learned a lot." "About BPO and how it changed over the years." "There's someone on the inside who knows Whispers." "Did you get a name?" " Not yet." " Why not?" "Mr. Hoy said I have to go to Chicago." "But I have to go alone." "Nom!" "Dr. Metzger." "I don't know what they taught you in med school, but the word "helping" doesn't mean handcuff people and chop up their brains." "Prep her for surgery." "Nomi, what have you done?" "Is he in there?" "What is he doing?" "I told you, he's trying to destroy my work." "I love you." "You really believe that neurografting is possible?" "God save us from this idiot." "All that work lost." " What will we do now?" " I'll start over." "What happened?" "I don't know." "But everything started to go wrong when Angelica went to Chicago."