Summoned to Tavis; the 30-day urine deal — "context of objectivity"

pivotal · 10 Nov YDAU, deal ~10-11 Nov

• When: 10 Nov YDAU (~48 hours post-Eschaton), Tavis's waiting room and office; the deal narrated just after, undated-precise
• What: Axford is summoned with Pemulis, Hal, and Ann Kittenplan to await Eschaton discipline. The strategy is to let Pemulis do all the talking; Axford's been instructed to count the Antron fibers between his shoes the whole time they're in there. He slumps fist-to-chin (a posture meant to look meditative that reads in utero), appraises the taper of Avril's legs with the frankness of adolescence, and needs three tries to work the office door's knob. Inside waits the real threat: the O.N.A.N.T.A. urine toxicologist. Pemulis negotiates thirty days — the Fundraiser, the WhataBurger, Thanksgiving Break — after which Pemulis, Axford, and Hal pee like racehorses into whatever receptacles the man wants, under direct observation. Hal's framing to Mario is the Axford arc in one line: his and Axhandle's urine exist only to establish a context of objectivity for Pemulis's urine — it's Pemulis they want ("the Shoe" likely by term's end). Axford and Pemulis reckon a month clean will be tit. The Eschatonite faction, meanwhile, doesn't want Big Buddies Pemulis, Incandenza, and Axford reprised against.