“Pick a number.”
i will not do math and you cant make me
“I’m doing the maths,” she says, “I need a number.”
five
“That’s a word.”
what do you want from me
“Everything you got.”
you are very greedy
“Then I’ll settle for a number.”
five
“Oh boy.”
well
“You broke it.”
fine
“In half.”
there are two of them now
“Look at you, dividing.”
what no
“Too late!”
that was
“Division.”
very short division
A smile.
“Fine.”
“Do they not hurt?”
what
“The insecurities.”
not in so many words
“So many.”
do they trouble you
“No,” she says, “it’s kind of funny.”
you are a sadist
“I mean like cute.”
oh
like cute is nice
“Shut up, dummy.”
what about tempos
“I am still unsure of some things.”
things
“Have you seen the machines?”
they are everywhere
“Mm. They emerge into your field, from the plane.”
infinite
“That’s right,” she says. “It should be chaos, but they order themselves with no real help from me.”
is that modesty
“Hell no.”
who else could it be
say me and we fight
“It’s definitely not you.”
yeah
so it must be
“Me!”
duh
“Duh. But I’m not trying to do it.”
there is no try
“Guess not,” she says. “Makes multitasking easy.”
omnitasking
“Oh boy. What, exactly, are you doing, love?”
tristos
“Mm. How attractive.”
please do not
A laugh.
keep them away
“Fine,” she sighs. “So…”
it is a poem
A look.
“Is it?”
it is
“Tell me.”
it is not finished
you must wait
“Sounds like procrastination.”
you dont know that
“Whatever.”
i will tell you when it is done
“Don’t bother,” she scoffs, “I’m sure I’ll hear the trumpet.”
bells
“What?”
what
“…I hate you.”
“What did we say about sand?”
ghost glass
“Oh, right, on the shore.”
half shore
A laugh.
“That is pretty good.”
thank you
“So, a circular lake.”
yes
“The attraction is flat. And… even, all the way around. But! No single grain of sand exerts the average force of the whole.”
spooky
“There is also some weirdness with storms. They reset waves.”
reset
“Only inside the system. But anything it covers, collapse is reversed.”
roving regenesis
“Super helpful, thanks love.”
what determines the storms course
“The dust. But a storm shuffles the sand. If the attractive forces of the individual grains are tangled, too chaotic, I don’t know what it will do.”
what do the storms look like
“Sweetheart.”
oh
i am sorry
A smile.
are they like hurricanes
“Not really. Why?”
hurricanes have eyes
“Eyes,” she says. “Well. Fuck me.”
fine
“Oh, boy.”