David rides on a carousel with Oliver and Lenny, and Oliver says that they need David to create a diversion so they can get in. David wonders if Lenny is really Lenny, or she's just a mask. Oliver says that it doesn't matter because Lenny is who she needs to be at the moment. Finally, David says that he's going to help them find Farouk's body because Syd asked him to, and he'll give them back his friends. He insists that no one gets hurt, and Lenny and Oliver say nothing.
Oliver walks across a field and comes to a fortuneteller's booth. He sits down and tells the fortuneteller--himself--that David agreed and they go tonight The other Oliver assures Oliver that they'll find it.
David, Syd, and Ptonomy ride with three of the Vermillions, and David tells Ptonomy that Fukyama said that the plan was to kill Oliver when they find him. He wonders if the Vermillions are mutants, and Ptonomy says that they're probably androids. The mutant says that he finds them soothing because they have no memories, and admits that no one knows how many there are.
David yells to stop the truck and says that they're there. Everyone gets out and the Vermillions have David lead them and the Division 3 soldiers to a fortuneteller's booth in the middle of a field. There's a box on the counter, and Syd opens it to discover that it's a music box. Syd remembers her childhood looking at a similar music box, and says that Farouk is messing with her head. Daavid figures that it's a trick, and they wonder where Oliver is.
Lenny and Oliver enter Division 3 and Oliver disintegrates and transforms ay soldiers who get in their paths. Three child soldiers move to stop them, and Oliver tells them to run away. They do, and Oliver and Lenny continue.
Cary is studying the sphere and says that he feels that he constructed it. He hears Oliver and lenny outside, singing, and they go by and come to Melanie's room. Continuing on, Oliver finds the room with Farouk's psychic victims chattering their teeth. Cary leaves his lab and sees Oliver, and asks if Oliver can hear him. Oliver speaks telepathically in Cary's head, asking if Cary can hear him. Kerry emerges and prepares to attack Oliver, but a hang grabs Cary and pulls him down into a room below the hallway. Lenny emerges from the shadows and tweaks Cary's spoon.
Kerry suddenly freezes, and Oliver grows above her, peers down at her, and smiles. After a moment, Kerry collapses. David, Syd, and Ptonomy arrive, and Kerry takes them to the room where Cary is. Cary is okay, and David confirms that Lenny and Oliver are gone. Meanwhile, Cary and Kerry discover that they can only partially merge, leaving Cary's arm sticking out of Kerry's chest.
In her room, Mealnie inhales smoke and Oliver asks her if he monk of the Mi-Go order is there.
Melanie tells Fukyama what Oliver is looking for. The Vermillions says that the Mi-Go were wiped out but one of their monks may know of the location of Farouk's body. David and Syd are with Melanie, and the Vermillions tells David that there's a 63% chance that he's been lying about everything. They point out that David led them away from Division 3 while Farouk invaded them. Melanie tells them not to piss off their only hope of killing the monster.
Afterward, David looks at the shes that are all that are left of the soldiers. He moves on, unaware that Fukyama is watching him.
Kerry and Cary adjust with Kerry on the outside. David comes out and asks if she needs help, and Kerry says that she's not the fix-it guy. Despite there, David suggests that they modify the tank so he can see outside of time so that he can get ahead of Farouk. Kerry warns that Cary said it's too dangerous and David might explode. David insists on doing it anyway, and Cary directs Kerry in how to modify the tank. She throws the switch and tells David to hang on.
David finds himself in a dark room with no one there. There's a porthole showing jellyfish in the floor, and the one-armed future Syd enters the room. Syd says that it's impossible for David to be there, and he tells her that he had to understood. He wonders why Syd told him to help Lenny and Oliver when they killed people, and Syd says that she never thought she'd see him again. David wonders if he's dead in the future, and Syd tells him that it's complicated.
When David tries to read Syd's mind, he collapses from the feedback. He says that they trust each other, but he needs know why she wants him to help Farouk. After a moment, Syd says that it started like any other idea: like an egg. The few that were left went into hiding but they don’t have long because it's coming. She says that David killed Farouk in her timeline, in a week in the desert. However, they needed Farouk when things killed. He killed a few but the thing kills everyone. Syd says that David is how he was in the past: sweet. Syd leaves through a door and David asks if she wants to see him again. His lover disappears without a word, and David wakes up in the tank.
The narrator discusses reality, using ticks and bloodhounds as examples. He describes a boy being taught wrong from an early age, meaning humans are the only animals on Earth that go mad.
Clark approaches David and asks for a minute of his time. They go to the cafeteria and Clark asks if the modifications to the tank worked. David says that Farouk hides, and Clark asks if he's useless or colluding. They talk telepathically, and Clark says that he thinks David is lying. David thinks Clark's job is to suspect everyone. Clark wonders why David led them to the desert and how he knew what Farouk looks like. As David walks away, Clark tells him that they see everything.
David goes to his room and telepathically reaches out to Oliver and Farouk, saying that they need to talk. He finds himself in a field, and a bell chimes at the fortuneteller's booth. David goes over and peers at the crystal ball. After a moment David takes a seat and aps on the bell. Farouk appears and introduces himself, and says that maybe he red David's mind. He advises David to work out his brain and decide what is real and what is not. Farouk tells David that he has to get up from the kiddie table and sit with the big boys, because they're both gods. David invites Farouk to read his mind, and Farouk says that David feels mad and they need to figure out if he's mad at Farouk or himself. When David mentally engages Farouk, Farouk smiles in satisfaction.
On the astral plane, David and Farouk fight physically. They grapple and Farouk tells David that he's playing the wrong game. He turns into a samurai and draws a sword, and David transforms himself into a tank. Farouk sheaths his sword and turns into smoke, and the cannon fires harmlessly through him. They revert to their human forms and grapple, and David says that he'll help them but no more violence.
David and Farouk revert to the fortunebooth, and Farouk says that if David finds his body then he'll be in his debt and he honors his debs. When David insists that there's no more killing, Farouk agrees and David tells him that he'll find his monk at Division 3 and that Farouk should wait for his signal.
Once David disappears, Lenny appears and tells Farouk that maybe she could go now that Farouk has revealed himself to David. Farouk points out that Lenny's body is dead, and Lenny suggests that make her a new one. He doesn't respond, and Lenny points out that he got what he wants from her. She says that Farouk can keep Oliver and she'll sneak out the back door. Farouk ignores her, unzips the world to reveal a white void, and asks Lenny what she would do with a new life and a new body. She says that she'd live the shit out of it and then die, and Farouk asks her what would happen after that.
At Division 3, Kerry rests and tries to get Cary to speak louder. She then says that he couldn't have because it's not possible, and wonders what they do. Kerry insists that there has to be a different way, and says that it had better work. she starts singing the theme to The Banana Splits Kerry sings along with her and then stands up in the real world, separate from Kerry. She asks if he can fix it, telling Cary that she doesn't want to be out in the real world living life. Cary warns her that they don't have a choice and for the time being they'll have to adapt to their new reality.
Melanie tells David that Oliver had a dream to build Summerland, and she didn't have a dream so she helped him. David stares off into the mirror and remembers Farouk saying that they're gods. Melanie says that she's older and won't get a second chance, and tells David that his ability isn't a gift: it's an obstacle to happiness and intimacy. She advises him to take Syd and leave, find somewhere to settle down, and live. David wonders about saving the world, and Melanie tells him that the world will be fine eventually.
David finds Syd on the roof, crouched over. The cat nearby calls to David, and he realizes that she's switched bodies. David tells Syd that he knows who took him in the orb: it was Syd. He asks her to switch back to her body and she does so, and David explains that the future Syd put him in the orb and told him to help Farouk find his body. He doesn't know how long it happens in the future, and explains about the plague. David says that he promised future Syd not to tell anyone, but figures that telling her her own secret is fine. Syd says that she didn't like seeing the music box, and David tells her that he doesn't like Farouk. After a moment, Syd tells David to do it if she said to do it and asks how they start. David says that they find the monk.
The Monk is in an underground chamber, monitoring IV lines going into Farouk's body.
Written by Gadfly on Apr 11, 2018