Memory writes to say that his dream is coming alive. They should visit his new home, he says. He sends a check, saying not to cash it yet because he's been raising sheep and needs to sell more wool. A couple weeks later the new star is growing larger and black holes are appearing in the sky with what appear to be ants crawling from them, although no one can be sure without a telescope. They take Nox to see his uncle, but arriving at the address find nothing but a dirt lot on which sits a rusty oil drum. Could this be Memory's new home? A miniature door is cut into the side of the barrel, if something round can be said to have a side, and they knock, which Sussman comments must be deafening inside, assuming Memory is in there.

After a few long minutes, a head pokes out.

"Sorry family members. I didn't hear you at first. Please enter my spirit palace."

"Thanks Memory. We'll certainly try."

They crawl inside and see that the interior is larger than expected, and when they turn to face the hole they entered, Memory appears to be holding open a heavy set of oak doors. A marble foyer flows into a wainscoted room full of potted palms and suits of armor, beyond which a veranda overlooks a tropical garden, a red desert, and snowcapped mountains.

"I stole some expanders," Memory says. "Know what I mean? They do a swell job of opening up the place. The closer you look, the harder it is to see the edges of things. If anyone comes knocking, I can escape into that desert. I can press a button on my remote and place hundreds of additional miles between us. Pretty slick, huh?"

"Slick, but arid," Misery says. "You need a humidifier in here."

When Sussman tries to sit, he falls through the chair.

Says Memory, "I doubt that would work, Sister. This place is both sacred and extremely far from home. The expanders borrow space and time from other dimensions, so whatever happens in here doesn't happen. When you step out, this whole experience will be gone."


Episode 5


"Interesting," Sussman says to his brother-in-law. Memory has been talking about his sacred world in which nothing is solid, and Sussman is on the floor because he fell through a chair. Sussman says, "If you call this a manmade heaven, I'm afraid I can't agree. I mean, what is the point if you can't sit down and take a load off? What if you step outside and the whole universe has moved on, leaving you trapped in here?"

They are inside Memory's barrel and a group of sheared sheep has just entered the room. "You ask too many questions," Memory says. "In my opinion, we're trapped no matter where we go. In the meantime, thanks to these sheep, I can loom in here as long as I like."

On their way home things have changed. Great distances have suddenly been abridged and the sun is green and so is Nox. The highway is flooded and Nox is covering his mouth with his hand to keep the light inside as he wavers out of existence, then comes back.

"Can't he just shut his mouth?" asks Sussman.

"I can't remember his name or his age," Misery replies, her eyes like shiny black pits. "Something is trying to take him away. We have to go back to Memory."

Sussman shrugs as the water rises and a city suddenly grows and then withers. They return to the barrel along a thin stretch of median strip, and when they get back, Memory is loading a flying machine.

"This whole dimension is collapsing, Memory says. "You better run while you can."

"What does that mean?" asks Misery. "Where are we supposed to go?"

"I don't know," Memory replies. "But there is certainly no room here."

"What is going to happen?" she pleads.

But it goes unheard.

As she and Sussman stand around the perimeter of wind created by the flying machine, Nox flashes out of existence and does not come back.

Misery's brother calls, "I guess it's time for Memory to leave."

The helicopter lifts and a group of backlit clouds become static that they know is nowhere near their universe. Will they be pardoned? Sussman picks up a stone and throws it at a patch and it disappears, and then chunks of land vanish around them. He looks at Misery, and she too is holding a stone, squinting as she takes aim. Memory spins above, far too heavy to fly. A rope is dropped, but it's too late.

END