Marathe in the Ennet House waiting room — "To whomever approached, Marathe carefully recited…"
To whomever approached, Marathe carefully recited the introductory lines he and M. Fortier quickly had developed: ‘Good night, I am addicted and deformed, seeking residential treatment for addiction, desperately.’
Context
The cover story leads with deformity — announced flatly, as a credential. It weaponizes exactly the dynamic Fortier dissected at p. 723: U.S. institutions are trained to receive the damaged body with solicitous non-question, so declaring yourself deformed is the fastest way through an American door.