Will put his arm around Quetzalcoatl and led him across the park.
“I have a feeling,” said Will, “that you know more about the ways of the universe than you let on. That you have a deeper understanding of… society… of even the sky… the stars… everything!”
“I have a feeling,” said Quetzalcoatl, “that is akin to being hungry, but in the back of my brain, and only for certain shades of red and blue. Also my toes.”
“You’re starved for knowledge! Exactly! I could see it from the way you handled yourself during the… incident prior. It permeates your very soul!”
“Kittens are nice.”
“And yet you can still appreciate the more… mundane aspects of life! The… aesthetic pleasures of our reality! Oh, I couldn’t have said it more eloquently myself…” Will paused. “I’m sorry, I didn’t get your name.”
“You can call me Roger.”
“Roger, yes. I’d like you to meet some people…”
“Now you can call me Susan.”
“Susan…”
“Call me Wilhelmina.”
“Oh, man, see,” said Will, pulling his arm away from Quetzalcoatl and clenching his fists excitedly in front of his chest in excitement, “this is what I’m talking about! This is amazing! Why settle on simply one persona? Be anyone! Be everyone! How can anyone honestly ever truly commit… to one life, one persona? Life is constantly in flux… people changing right along with it. You and I, Wilhelmina… we are different now than we were just those moments before.”
Seriously, Will’s eyes were glazed over from the excited excitement he was feeling. It was crazy. Quetzalcoatl may or may not have noticed. Regardless, he replied in the following manner:
“I would like to go by Mr. Sausage King.”
“Look, Mr. Sausage King, come with me. I’m a part of a… convocation, of sorts. A collection of dreamers, like you… fascinated by the world and trying to make sense of it… trying to see beyond, see through… the every day. I am certain that your input would be invaluable to our cause.”
“I once saw the Paris burlesque on ice…” replied Quetzalcoatl earnestly.
“Yes, I understand your doubts,” said Will, equally as earnestly. “It is a bit… abstract. But then, really, how can one ever hope to impose order on a gathering of… philosophers and artists, writers and free-thinkers? Why, there are those among us who aren’t even convinced the world exists, much less that it needs saving.”
Will continued, “Now, I’ll be the first to admit that even before the first of the apocalypses our roles in society were a bit… frivolous. But that’s the beauty of it, really. Governments toppled, corporations and organizations collapsed, but we… we remained unaffected. Our less… defined structure allowed us to… avoid the setbacks that destroyed the more… entrenched paradigms. Pragmatically, the end of the world wasn’t much of a change for us.”
“Roast beef sandwiches.”
“Well, no… We do not have much in the way of a… practical stratagem. Or a mission. Or any sort of… defined goal. We are perpetually in the process of establishing one, really. But, then, that’s why I’m… inviting you. Each new member has the chance to set that goal… each new viewpoint will be weighed fairly and without bias.”
“Hey, like Shakespeare said, it can’t be porn if it’s classy.”
“Oh, yes, absolutely! Our intentions are nothing if not noble! I knew you’d understand! Come on, my van is this way.”