Conversation · Steban, the Student Communist

There, in the middle of the floor, the winding spire quivers with an improbable energy...

"This is impossible, right? There's no way it's really staying up like that..."

But it is! It is!

For a long moment, no one says a word. You're all three transfixed.

"..."

"..."

"... what do we do now?"

"Shhh. This is the most amazing thing I've ever seen..."

"..."

A low pressure system is gathering itself over the bay. It's begun to tug violently at the tarpaulins...

"..."

"... and there it goes..."

"That was miraculous."

"No." He looks up. "It was exactly what's supposed to happen. We should treat it that way."

"We should probably clean up..."

"Well, I think we're probably finished here, detective."

Yes, it's probably time for you to take your leave as well.

Say nothing.

"That was remarkable."

"That was weird."

"..."

"..."

There's no way it should stay up like that. How is the weight being distributed?

"..."

"..."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't apologise. As I was saying, if it were easy, it wouldn't require so much plasm to work."

"Undoubtedly."

"Alternatively, it could be that our own ideological fervour is still insufficient."

"Yes, the problem is almost certainly your lack of commitment, and not, say, gravity."

"Harder to believe, but still possible..."

"Either way, that's enough parlour games for one night. Thanks for humouring us."

Say nothing.

"Well, it may be that we've found the outermost limit of our capabilities under the prevailing regime."

"Shit."

"For a second there I thought we had it. Just goes to show how constrained we are under the limits of the prevailing regime."

"Fuck."

"Ghost of Mazov, give me strength..." (Proceed.)

"Aaagh! Shit!"

"It's alright, Steban. That was still very close. One of our best performances yet."

The lieutenant says nothing, but his expression suggests otherwise.

"It's fine, Uli. That's enough parlour games for one night. We should clean up."

"Easy now..."

"Damn it to hell!"

The lieutenant says nothing, but a bemused grin crosses his face.

"It's my fault, Steban. My hands were shaking... Nerves got the better of me."

"What were you doing with those matchboxes just now?"

The young man frowns at the little pile of boxes on the floor.

"Nothing, just messing around until the meeting started."

They're watching those matchboxes awfully intently for two guys who are just 'messing around.'

It's almost as though they were trying to create the most unstable structure they could...

With predictable results.

"That's enough for tonight. Will you still be here if I have more questions?" [Leave.]

"Sure, we're here most every night." He shrugs. "Maybe we'll catch you again."

"Sleep well, gendarme."

"Well, I guess I'm off." [Leave.]

"Wait a minute, if you don't mind..."

"We wanted to get your opinion on something: a few little changes we we've been thinking about."

"What kind of changes?"

"Nothing too major, I think. We were talking, potentially, about relaxing some parts of our admissions process..."