Episode 27 - Spools and Spoilers

Olivia sat in the breakroom with a cup of tea that tasted like calm, rain, and slightly burnt toast. She didn’t remember making it.

Bernard floated nearby, one eye fixed on the hallway where Ralph and Mariann had vanished hours earlier. The booth had gone back to sleep. The reel was sealed. The badge was gone.

But something still lingered.

She didn’t speak right away.

She didn’t have to.

Bernard eventually broke the silence, swirling around slowly like a contented thundercloud.

“Well,” he said. “You did remarkably well. Only two versions of you tried to escape, and neither succeeded.”

Olivia raised an eyebrow. “You say that like it’s… typical.”

“Oh, it absolutely is. The station attracts identity entanglements like moths to a film projector.”

She sipped her tea.

“What would’ve happened if I’d failed?”

Bernard pulsed. Thoughtful.

“If it had been truly catastrophic?” he said. “If things had broken too many narrative laws or you’d started looping out of sequence?”

He paused.

“LaDonna would’ve called in Geoff.”

Olivia blinked.

“Geoff? But he’s—”

“A Host, yes,” Bernard said, “but also human. Like Ralph and Mariann. Senior Staff. Anchored in ways even I don’t quite understand.”

Olivia frowned. “But… he makes fart jokes.”

“Exactly,” Bernard said, with reverence. “He wields the power of the fool. The sacred idiot. The chaos stabilizer. If Geoff’s called in? It means the timeline’s not just off—it’s rude about it.”

She snorted. “So he’s like our cosmic whoopee cushion.”

“Don’t tell him that,” Bernard said, seriously. “He’ll want a badge.”

They sat in silence a little longer.

Then Olivia asked:

“Was it me in the reel? Or… something else?”

Bernard’s voice softened.

“It was a version of you. One who made a different choice. One who stayed behind the glass instead of sitting at the desk.”

“And what happened to her?”

“She watched too long,” Bernard said. “Until the stories watched back. Until she forgot how to be the main character.”

Olivia traced the rim of her mug.

“And me?”

“You’re still becoming.”

A pause.

Then Bernard added:

“You know… the Vault didn’t speak during all this.”

Olivia looked up. “Is that… bad?”

“No. Just unusual.”

He blinked slowly.

“It’s waiting.”

“For what?”

Bernard floated closer.

“For you to ask the right question.”