"You were right," said Dark One. "It worked!"
"Who was right?"
"Y... never mind. Now I have him!"
"Not yet. You have to follow through."
"That's in golf, moron."
"Golf, tennis, and life. What moron?"
Dark One growled.
"He'll cut his losses if you don't keep the pressure up."
"How?"
The scene in the casino froze. "Moon Runner knows you're after him now, right?"
"Presumably."
"What will he do next?"
"Run, I imagine."
"How do you stop him?"
"How?"
"Don't ask me. I'm not here."
"Arrggh!"
Moon runner turned to his friends, to see them looking at all the statues
"It's just like the wax museum, Ed" called Wanderer.
"Something is wrong, kimo sabe."
Ed turned around holding an AK47 and a case of hand grenades. The buzz of the gun sawed down several stationary gamblers
"Ed, what the fuck are you doing?"
"Oh, sorry. Got carried away."
"Do I know you from somewhere, kimo sabe?"
"Nah," Ed said, "I just look like some merc on TV."
"Now what?" asked Dark One.
"What shall be shall be, unless it is erased."
"Say what?"
"Okay, `what?'."
Dark One fumed, but said nothing about his guest's sense of humour. "Erased how?"
"A VCR won't do it."
"Get to the point."
"Which one?"
"You... the one about erasing what shall be."
"Ah. In the distant past, time was created. It flowed forth in an even span, and from it came history. The narrative is permanent and constant, and the stream has already been made. But it is vulnerable to the chaos of sentience. Applied properly, thought alone can rewrite time itself."
"Yeah, right."
"Alright, don't believe me. Catch him on your own."
"Okay, do... are any strategies known?"
"By whom?"
"Anyone."
"Of course."
"And they are?"
"Think."
"Impudent voice."
"That isn't a command, it's the answer."
"The answer to what?!?"
"Thinking is the answer to all. Improper solutions would be greatly reduced if proper thought was used from the beginning. Thinking of a solution to erase this will solve the problem."
"Brilliant deduction, Watson."
"Who's Watson?"
"A friend from elementary school."
"Oh. Nice to hear he's brilliant."
In the casino, Moon Runner clapped his hands, and time reasserted itself. The cut up bodies fell, and the guests panicked. The guards converged on Ed.
Wanderer looked at Ed. "Now look what you've done."
"Sorry."
"Observe, that Moon Runner has already started to escape. Unless you can rewrite history, you had best move quickly."
"I've got a plan in place already."
"Oh?"
"Yes," the Dark One snickered. "That's the Secret Assassin. He works for me."
"Convenient."
"Unlike some people I could mention."
"Oh? Who?"
"Never mind."
"Not a problem, considering."
"Considering what?"
"Were you considering something?"
"NO! forget it! Come on Ed... Kill 'im! What is he waiting for?"
"You talk to the TV during movies and sports, don't you?"
"Of course I... Shut up!"
"Who are you talking to?"
"An annoyance that keeps speaking and doesn't exist."
"Considering your views, that might be a responsible government."
"No it's a friggin' conscience or something."
"Really? Where?"
"You keep speaking and yet claim you don't exist. How is that possible?"
"It isn't, at least the way you put it. Are you hearing voices again?"
"Only yours..."
"Whose?"
"The words that respond to all of my statements."
"Oh. So you are hearing a response, then?"
"Every time I say something, yes."
"Hmmm. And what are these responses like?"
"Exactly what you are saying."
"Who?"
"There is another one."
"Where?"
"And again."
"I detect a note of repetition in your responses. This indicates repression. What are you hiding?"
"Look... If you don't exist, how do you respond to my statements?"
"This argument is going in circles. You're evading the issue."
"I know, it's like watching 60 Minutes. What is the damn issue?"
"What are you hiding?"
Dark One checked his pockets... "I don't know, what am I hiding?"
"But you do know. You're hiding it from yourself - that's the nature of repression."
"How do I find this repression?"
"A concerted campaign of questioning helps. You must dig into your deepest thoughts and fears. Analysts can help direct the questioning, but ultimately, the answer comes from within."
"Hmm.. My deepest thought is a fantasy about whipping Brooke Shields into a fit of ecstasy and my greatest fear is that Dan Quayle will run for President and morons like Chucky Manson will campaign for him."
"Those came out too quickly. This indicates they're actually surface thoughts, not deep at all. Very disappointing..."
"What should I do, hypnotize myself?"
"There's that hostility again. What makes you angry?"
"An empty box of Corn Flakes."
"Flippancy doesn't help."
"I have a lot on my mind. There is this court case coming up with the Queen, and then there's Moon Run... Oh Jeez... They're going into the Smith house - I'll never get him out of there!"
If the Voice had existed - it would have smiled. As it was, it just felt highly amused in a vacuum.
