Summary

Buddy sits and waits for the countdown to the Zap but worries when nothing happens, wondering if “he’s stuck in this moment? What if his consciousness, rebelling at last of its pendular existence, has decided to come to rest here, in this second, forever?” (267) He continues flashing back and forward between the details of the Zap and the present day. He adds insecticide to Frankie’s goji berry supplements, feeling that he must continue executing his plans even as he worries that somebody will get hurt.

Buddy flashes back to his night with Cerise in the hotel room. He tells her that his job is stressful because he must focus on predicting the future. She does not understand. Buddy feels “amazed every moment by what it’s like to be with another person” (274).

Back in the present, Buddy is playing cards with...