1 00:00:11,016 --> 00:00:13,059 [intense music playing] 2 00:00:23,987 --> 00:00:25,280 [plates tapping] 3 00:00:25,363 --> 00:00:26,865 [water running] 4 00:00:26,948 --> 00:00:27,949 [cat meows] 5 00:00:29,117 --> 00:00:31,703 [woman] Come on, darling, come to bed. 6 00:00:32,871 --> 00:00:35,832 [man] Uh, I'll be, I'll be right there, love. 7 00:00:35,915 --> 00:00:37,834 Just putting the kitten in her basket. 8 00:00:38,877 --> 00:00:39,878 [meows] 9 00:00:40,587 --> 00:00:43,423 [woman] Leave the door open so she can get to the litter. 10 00:00:45,175 --> 00:00:46,885 [man] Good night, fluff-ball. 11 00:00:46,968 --> 00:00:48,803 [purring] 12 00:00:51,347 --> 00:00:52,766 [door opens] 13 00:00:54,017 --> 00:00:54,851 [door closes] 14 00:01:02,776 --> 00:01:04,694 [grey cat] It's tonight. Are you coming? 15 00:01:05,487 --> 00:01:07,530 Should be amusin', if nothing else. 16 00:01:07,614 --> 00:01:11,326 [kitten] I can't get out. All the wall openings are closed. 17 00:01:11,951 --> 00:01:13,828 [grey cat] No, not all of them. 18 00:01:13,912 --> 00:01:18,041 Up there. A clear hole is partly open. You can get out through there. 19 00:01:20,710 --> 00:01:21,544 [grunting] 20 00:01:25,632 --> 00:01:26,466 [mews] 21 00:01:35,642 --> 00:01:38,353 [grey cat] Shake your tail, little one. We mustn't miss this. 22 00:01:47,821 --> 00:01:48,738 [grunts] 23 00:01:57,872 --> 00:02:00,291 Good jump. You just have to work on the landing. 24 00:02:01,126 --> 00:02:03,253 Come on. The night won't wait. 25 00:02:07,841 --> 00:02:09,634 [kitten] What will she be like? 26 00:02:09,717 --> 00:02:11,761 [grey cat] Who knows? Not this cat. 27 00:02:16,599 --> 00:02:18,810 [black cat] Well met, fellow night-threaders. 28 00:02:18,893 --> 00:02:21,312 [kitten] Hello. We're going to see her. 29 00:02:21,896 --> 00:02:23,064 [black cat] Me too. 30 00:02:23,148 --> 00:02:25,900 Although, I can't see much point to it. 31 00:02:25,984 --> 00:02:27,986 [grey cat] Then why are you here? 32 00:02:28,862 --> 00:02:30,780 [black cat] Hmm. [trills] 33 00:02:30,864 --> 00:02:32,198 Curiosity, perhaps. 34 00:02:32,282 --> 00:02:34,826 [cats meowing] 35 00:02:34,909 --> 00:02:37,537 [kitten] I want to hear what she has to say. 36 00:02:38,413 --> 00:02:41,708 [black cat] So do we all, child. So do we all. 37 00:02:44,711 --> 00:02:45,712 [cats meowing] 38 00:02:50,592 --> 00:02:52,302 [hisses] 39 00:02:59,184 --> 00:03:00,810 -[chattering] -[hisses] 40 00:03:04,230 --> 00:03:05,356 [kitten] Where is she? 41 00:03:07,650 --> 00:03:09,152 [leaves rustling, branch snaps] 42 00:03:20,413 --> 00:03:24,083 [Siamese] Sisters, brothers, good hunting. 43 00:03:25,084 --> 00:03:28,755 Some of you have traveled far to hear my message today. 44 00:03:28,838 --> 00:03:34,052 Left your warm, comfortable places, and I hope when I have finished, 45 00:03:34,677 --> 00:03:36,554 you will all share my dream. 46 00:03:38,473 --> 00:03:40,767 I was not always as you see me today. 47 00:03:44,354 --> 00:03:48,274 Once, like many of you, I lived in their world. 48 00:03:49,108 --> 00:03:52,946 And, like you, I fooled myself. 49 00:03:54,113 --> 00:03:57,659 Oh, they fed me and gave me comfort. They served me. 50 00:03:58,284 --> 00:04:01,287 All they asked in return was my affection. 51 00:04:01,913 --> 00:04:04,040 No price at all, really. 52 00:04:27,689 --> 00:04:30,441 He was strong, and fast. 53 00:04:31,150 --> 00:04:34,612 His claws and teeth were sharp as winter. 54 00:04:35,989 --> 00:04:37,824 He was my choice of lover. 55 00:04:38,700 --> 00:04:42,453 I never saw him again, but I did not forget him. 56 00:04:43,830 --> 00:04:48,293 I didn't remember my own mother, but I vowed I would be different. 57 00:04:48,376 --> 00:04:52,588 I would teach them how to wash, how to stalk silently, how to hunt. 58 00:04:53,464 --> 00:04:55,174 [man] You knew she was in heat. 59 00:04:56,217 --> 00:04:58,469 Why didn't you keep her inside? 60 00:04:58,553 --> 00:05:00,346 [woman] I think they're kind of cute. 61 00:05:00,430 --> 00:05:03,808 [man] Cute? She's a pure-bred registered blue point. 62 00:05:03,891 --> 00:05:06,728 These are half-breeds. They're not worth anything. 63 00:05:09,314 --> 00:05:10,982 [kittens mewling] 64 00:05:11,065 --> 00:05:13,067 [melancholy music playing] 65 00:05:16,654 --> 00:05:19,198 -[woman] What are you gonna do with them? -[man] Don't worry. 66 00:05:20,033 --> 00:05:21,159 I'll take care of it. 67 00:05:23,870 --> 00:05:25,288 -[woman] Paul! -[tires screech] 68 00:05:33,421 --> 00:05:35,423 [mewling] 69 00:05:50,355 --> 00:05:51,773 [Siamese] I felt them, 70 00:05:51,856 --> 00:05:57,320 from afar, in the dark, as the cold water took them. 71 00:05:57,403 --> 00:06:01,491 Felt them thrash and claw sightlessly. 72 00:06:02,075 --> 00:06:04,786 Felt them call to me in their fear. 73 00:06:05,370 --> 00:06:07,914 And then… they were gone. 74 00:06:14,170 --> 00:06:17,382 [man] For God's sake, it's not as if she understands. 75 00:06:18,424 --> 00:06:21,677 I mean, look at her. She's probably relieved. 76 00:06:22,804 --> 00:06:25,515 Who'd want four screaming brats around? 77 00:06:26,182 --> 00:06:27,767 [woman] You're probably right. 78 00:06:28,810 --> 00:06:30,603 I just feel guilty. 79 00:06:31,396 --> 00:06:34,148 [Siamese] I knew then that I had lied to myself. 80 00:06:34,232 --> 00:06:35,691 That we were subordinate. 81 00:06:36,442 --> 00:06:39,695 While we lived with humanity, we could not call ourselves free. 82 00:06:40,863 --> 00:06:43,574 And so, I prayed. 83 00:06:43,658 --> 00:06:46,327 I prayed to the darkness, to the night. 84 00:06:46,411 --> 00:06:48,329 I prayed to the King of Cats, 85 00:06:48,413 --> 00:06:51,916 he who walks amongst us, and we do not know him. 86 00:06:52,875 --> 00:06:55,711 And… I dreamed. 87 00:06:59,757 --> 00:07:01,384 [bird cawing] 88 00:07:13,938 --> 00:07:17,817 [crow] Why have you come here, little cat? To the heart of The Dreaming? 89 00:07:18,526 --> 00:07:20,903 There is nothing here for you. 90 00:07:20,987 --> 00:07:22,905 [Siamese] I have come for justice. 91 00:07:22,989 --> 00:07:25,658 For revelation. For wisdom. 92 00:07:25,741 --> 00:07:28,119 [crow] Justice is a delusion. 93 00:07:28,661 --> 00:07:30,746 And wisdom has no place here either. 94 00:07:31,497 --> 00:07:35,918 But revelation… that is the province of Dream, 95 00:07:36,002 --> 00:07:39,338 if your heart is strong and you are not afraid. 96 00:07:39,422 --> 00:07:41,299 [Siamese] I am afraid of nothing. 97 00:07:41,883 --> 00:07:45,553 [crow] In the mountain there is a cave. You'll find him there. 98 00:07:46,137 --> 00:07:48,431 But the way is hard. 99 00:07:49,640 --> 00:07:54,896 A little cat could come to much harm, if she strays from the path. 100 00:07:55,480 --> 00:07:57,690 [Siamese] Cats walk their own paths. 101 00:08:08,367 --> 00:08:13,039 I walked through the Wood of Ghosts, where the dead and lost whispered to me. 102 00:08:15,208 --> 00:08:16,083 [kittens mewling] 103 00:08:16,167 --> 00:08:17,752 I heard my children calling me. 104 00:08:17,835 --> 00:08:19,795 [animals calling] 105 00:08:19,879 --> 00:08:22,340 But I walked forward. 106 00:08:28,930 --> 00:08:30,598 I walked through the Cold Places, 107 00:08:30,681 --> 00:08:33,726 where every step was pain, every movement torment. 108 00:08:35,937 --> 00:08:40,191 I walked through the Wetness that numbed my paws, drenched my fur. 109 00:08:42,318 --> 00:08:45,238 But still, I walked forward. 110 00:08:47,698 --> 00:08:50,326 I walked through the Darkness, through the void, 111 00:08:50,910 --> 00:08:52,745 where everything was sucked from me. 112 00:08:52,828 --> 00:08:54,830 Everything that makes me what I am. 113 00:08:56,040 --> 00:09:00,419 And even when I no longer knew why, I walked forward. 114 00:09:02,046 --> 00:09:07,343 After a time, myself returned to me, and I found myself at the mountain. 115 00:09:07,426 --> 00:09:08,302 [yowling] 116 00:09:08,886 --> 00:09:11,597 [Siamese] I have come to see the Cat of Dreams. 117 00:09:11,681 --> 00:09:13,182 [Wyvern] Hmm. 118 00:09:13,266 --> 00:09:15,643 Why should we let you in? 119 00:09:15,726 --> 00:09:20,147 [Pegasus] Why should he be disturbed for one such as you? 120 00:09:20,898 --> 00:09:24,360 [Gryphon] A small mouthful of fur and bone. Barely a cat. 121 00:09:24,443 --> 00:09:26,779 -[hisses] -[roars] 122 00:09:29,240 --> 00:09:31,701 [Siamese] I've come too far to be turned away. 123 00:09:31,784 --> 00:09:35,538 I will state my business to the one I came to see and only to him. 124 00:09:35,621 --> 00:09:38,457 I am a cat. I keep my own counsel. 125 00:09:38,541 --> 00:09:40,167 [whispering indistinctly] 126 00:09:42,128 --> 00:09:45,131 [Wyvern] Enter then, proud cat. 127 00:09:45,214 --> 00:09:46,132 But be warned. 128 00:09:47,008 --> 00:09:49,302 Dreams have a price. 129 00:09:55,141 --> 00:09:56,809 [Siamese] And I walked on. 130 00:10:16,120 --> 00:10:17,288 I am here. 131 00:10:17,955 --> 00:10:20,458 [Dream] And who are you? 132 00:10:21,459 --> 00:10:24,629 A cat. A walker in the night places. 133 00:10:25,212 --> 00:10:28,090 A dead crow sent me here for revelation. 134 00:10:29,008 --> 00:10:33,179 I want to know why could they take my children from me? 135 00:10:33,888 --> 00:10:35,431 Why do we live as we do? 136 00:10:36,474 --> 00:10:37,850 I don't understand. 137 00:10:45,775 --> 00:10:48,486 [Dream] The cat may look at a king. Or so they say. 138 00:10:48,569 --> 00:10:52,239 Look into my eyes then, little sister. Look into my eyes. 139 00:11:02,792 --> 00:11:05,711 [Siamese] And in his eyes, I saw everything. 140 00:11:06,420 --> 00:11:08,631 I saw the truth. Our truth. 141 00:11:09,799 --> 00:11:11,926 And it transcended anything I had imagined. 142 00:11:13,427 --> 00:11:18,849 Many, many seasons ago, cats truly ruled this world. 143 00:11:19,600 --> 00:11:22,853 We were larger then. Everything made for us. 144 00:11:23,896 --> 00:11:28,275 Humans were tiny creatures. No larger than we are now. 145 00:11:28,984 --> 00:11:31,070 They would groom us, feed us. 146 00:11:32,738 --> 00:11:35,574 When the moon shone full, we would hunt them. 147 00:11:37,618 --> 00:11:41,163 For they were more delightful to catch than even birds. 148 00:11:41,247 --> 00:11:42,873 [man grunting] 149 00:11:42,957 --> 00:11:46,293 The joy of those days I saw in his eyes, 150 00:11:46,377 --> 00:11:49,130 the game of cat and man. 151 00:11:50,881 --> 00:11:52,383 [trills] 152 00:11:52,466 --> 00:11:54,009 -And then… -[man speaking indistinctly] 153 00:11:54,093 --> 00:11:56,262 …one of the humans rose amongst them, 154 00:11:57,012 --> 00:11:59,890 inspired by a dream he told them. 155 00:11:59,974 --> 00:12:02,518 Dreams shape the world. 156 00:12:02,601 --> 00:12:05,646 Dreams create the world anew every night. 157 00:12:06,397 --> 00:12:08,482 Do not dream the world the way it is now. 158 00:12:09,316 --> 00:12:11,068 Dream of a new world. 159 00:12:11,152 --> 00:12:15,281 A world where we are no longer hunted, no longer prey. 160 00:12:15,364 --> 00:12:17,074 A world we rule. 161 00:12:17,700 --> 00:12:23,456 If enough of us dream it, it will happen. Dreams shape the world. 162 00:12:27,042 --> 00:12:31,505 [Siamese] Word spread amongst the humans, but for a while nothing happened. 163 00:12:34,258 --> 00:12:38,262 But then one night, enough of them dreamed. 164 00:12:38,345 --> 00:12:41,140 It wasn't many, a thousand perhaps, no more. 165 00:12:41,223 --> 00:12:42,933 They dreamed. 166 00:12:43,017 --> 00:12:46,145 And the next day, things changed. 167 00:12:47,938 --> 00:12:51,776 We were prey to them, to dogs, their metal machines. 168 00:12:51,859 --> 00:12:54,653 We were tiny, and they were huge. 169 00:12:55,362 --> 00:12:59,116 So, they changed the world? Made it like it is now? 170 00:12:59,200 --> 00:13:00,201 [Dream] Not exactly. 171 00:13:00,951 --> 00:13:04,455 They dreamed the world, so it was always the way it is now. 172 00:13:04,538 --> 00:13:06,749 There was never a world where cats reigned. 173 00:13:06,832 --> 00:13:10,377 They changed it from beginning of all things to the end of time. 174 00:13:11,003 --> 00:13:12,713 It was ever thus. 175 00:13:13,798 --> 00:13:15,049 Do you understand now? 176 00:13:15,132 --> 00:13:17,343 [Siamese] Yes. Yes, I do. 177 00:13:17,426 --> 00:13:19,762 [Dream] Then you know what your task must be. 178 00:13:19,845 --> 00:13:21,514 The burden you must bear. 179 00:13:22,515 --> 00:13:23,766 Are you strong enough? 180 00:13:23,849 --> 00:13:25,559 [Siamese] Yes, I… 181 00:13:26,644 --> 00:13:27,478 I hope so. 182 00:13:28,562 --> 00:13:32,274 [Dream] Then wake, child. With my blessing. 183 00:13:41,283 --> 00:13:42,701 [Siamese] You see, 184 00:13:42,785 --> 00:13:46,038 I had seen the soft underbelly of what he had shown me. 185 00:13:47,498 --> 00:13:50,084 I left that night to spread the good news. 186 00:13:50,668 --> 00:13:53,295 And now I travel from place to place. 187 00:13:54,255 --> 00:13:57,424 I have preached to feral cats in empty places, 188 00:13:57,508 --> 00:14:00,177 shouting my message to the stars. 189 00:14:01,011 --> 00:14:03,347 I have whispered it to cats in alleyways. 190 00:14:04,014 --> 00:14:07,852 And wherever I have gone, my message is the same. 191 00:14:08,686 --> 00:14:10,104 Dream it. 192 00:14:10,187 --> 00:14:16,110 If enough of us dream, a bare thousand, we can dream a world where no cat suffers, 193 00:14:16,193 --> 00:14:18,988 where no kittens die, cold and alone. 194 00:14:19,071 --> 00:14:22,199 Where all cats are queens and kings of creation. 195 00:14:22,783 --> 00:14:24,159 That is my message. 196 00:14:27,121 --> 00:14:28,205 [cat purrs] 197 00:14:28,289 --> 00:14:32,501 And I shall keep moving, repeating it until I die 198 00:14:33,377 --> 00:14:37,840 or until a thousand cats hear my words and believe them and dream. 199 00:14:38,799 --> 00:14:39,842 [cat meows] 200 00:14:41,427 --> 00:14:44,722 And we come again… to paradise. 201 00:14:54,773 --> 00:14:55,858 [kitten] Mistress? 202 00:14:58,736 --> 00:14:59,862 I believe. 203 00:15:00,654 --> 00:15:02,990 [Siamese] Then there is hope, child. 204 00:15:15,920 --> 00:15:19,840 [grey cat] Well, she was amusing at least. I'll say that for her. 205 00:15:20,424 --> 00:15:23,427 [kitten] Do you think it will happen like she said? 206 00:15:23,510 --> 00:15:27,139 [grey cat] I'd like to see anyone, prophet, God or king, 207 00:15:27,222 --> 00:15:30,142 persuade a thousand cats to do anything at the same time. 208 00:15:32,686 --> 00:15:34,313 The sun will rise soon. 209 00:15:35,481 --> 00:15:37,274 Let's get you home, little one. 210 00:15:37,983 --> 00:15:39,985 [indistinct chatter on TV] 211 00:15:40,736 --> 00:15:42,821 [woman] Oh, look, she's still asleep. 212 00:15:46,367 --> 00:15:47,993 -I think she's dreaming. -[mewing] 213 00:15:48,619 --> 00:15:50,579 [man] I wonder what cats dream about. 214 00:15:51,205 --> 00:15:54,208 [woman] The way she's twitching, she's probably hunting something. 215 00:15:54,291 --> 00:15:57,336 Oh, look at her. Isn't that cute? 216 00:15:57,419 --> 00:16:00,631 [man chuckling] It is. It's really cute. 217 00:16:01,215 --> 00:16:02,049 [snarls] 218 00:16:02,132 --> 00:16:03,300 [snaps] 219 00:16:03,384 --> 00:16:05,386 [intense music playing] 220 00:16:12,184 --> 00:16:14,311 [man] You can't force a character to do something 221 00:16:14,395 --> 00:16:18,107 just because it's easier for you as a writer. 222 00:16:18,190 --> 00:16:21,110 The character has to come first. 223 00:16:22,736 --> 00:16:24,154 Everything else follows. 224 00:16:24,947 --> 00:16:29,118 Every plot twist, every line of dialogue. 225 00:16:31,328 --> 00:16:35,165 Every… fraught, meaningful silence. 226 00:16:35,249 --> 00:16:36,625 [students chuckle softly] 227 00:16:37,918 --> 00:16:38,794 Any questions? 228 00:16:40,045 --> 00:16:41,046 Yeah. 229 00:16:41,130 --> 00:16:43,632 Could you tell us a bit about your process? 230 00:16:44,174 --> 00:16:47,344 Uh, do you have any advice for those of us who are just starting out 231 00:16:47,428 --> 00:16:52,433 and finding it difficult to not hate every single thing I write? 232 00:16:52,516 --> 00:16:53,934 -[students chuckle] -Uh… 233 00:16:54,893 --> 00:17:00,399 I am sad to report that I've been doing this for a very long time, and… 234 00:17:02,860 --> 00:17:04,278 it doesn't get any easier. 235 00:17:05,320 --> 00:17:08,699 But try not to be discouraged when it is difficult. 236 00:17:09,366 --> 00:17:11,994 My debut novel was rejected by seven publishers 237 00:17:12,077 --> 00:17:13,871 before it became a best-seller, so… 238 00:17:18,333 --> 00:17:20,210 Right. That's it for today. 239 00:17:21,045 --> 00:17:24,339 Oh, don't forget the assignment, the same event 240 00:17:24,423 --> 00:17:27,509 told from two characters' very different points of view. 241 00:17:35,434 --> 00:17:36,310 Did you get it? 242 00:17:36,935 --> 00:17:38,687 Took some doing, but… 243 00:17:40,856 --> 00:17:41,690 yeah. 244 00:17:44,943 --> 00:17:46,070 It's, um… 245 00:17:48,447 --> 00:17:50,157 It's perfect. Thank you. 246 00:17:51,241 --> 00:17:52,576 You're welcome. 247 00:17:52,659 --> 00:17:53,786 I think it's admirable 248 00:17:54,495 --> 00:17:57,289 how far a writer like you will go when it comes to research. 249 00:17:57,372 --> 00:18:01,043 Ah, well, it's handy to know a soon-to-be doctor. 250 00:18:01,126 --> 00:18:01,960 [chuckles] 251 00:18:02,669 --> 00:18:04,338 I actually wanted to be a writer, 252 00:18:04,421 --> 00:18:07,132 but my parents insisted I have something to fall back on. 253 00:18:08,258 --> 00:18:10,719 I still write, uh, when I have time, but-- 254 00:18:10,803 --> 00:18:12,221 Your parents are very wise. 255 00:18:15,599 --> 00:18:18,143 You're better off. I promise. 256 00:18:21,605 --> 00:18:23,607 Uh, so, what do I owe you? 257 00:18:24,316 --> 00:18:26,276 -Nothing. -Stop. Nora-- 258 00:18:26,360 --> 00:18:27,236 Honestly. 259 00:18:27,319 --> 00:18:29,822 It probably would have been incinerated anyway. 260 00:18:29,905 --> 00:18:32,699 Um, just don't tell anyone where you got it. 261 00:18:33,534 --> 00:18:35,494 I won't. I promise. 262 00:18:36,161 --> 00:18:38,455 And, um… if you wouldn't mind. 263 00:18:40,124 --> 00:18:42,042 Would you sign this for me? 264 00:18:45,129 --> 00:18:46,338 -Of course. -[chuckles] 265 00:18:49,842 --> 00:18:52,010 Any idea when the new book is coming out? 266 00:18:54,805 --> 00:18:58,809 Uh, no. But you will definitely be in the acknowledgements. 267 00:18:59,518 --> 00:19:00,769 Is it a sequel? 268 00:19:02,104 --> 00:19:03,230 Or something new? 269 00:19:04,648 --> 00:19:05,899 That would be telling. 270 00:19:07,276 --> 00:19:08,694 [vehicle approaching] 271 00:19:32,176 --> 00:19:33,927 [doorbell rings] 272 00:19:36,138 --> 00:19:37,431 [man over intercom] Who is it? 273 00:19:37,514 --> 00:19:39,850 Richard Madoc to see Erasmus Fry. 274 00:19:41,018 --> 00:19:42,477 I'll be straight down. 275 00:19:51,445 --> 00:19:52,529 Are you alone? 276 00:19:54,114 --> 00:19:56,074 It's just me. I've got it. 277 00:19:56,742 --> 00:19:59,953 Well, then come in, dear boy, come in. 278 00:20:00,454 --> 00:20:01,914 [locks clicking] 279 00:20:08,962 --> 00:20:10,797 [glasses clinking] 280 00:20:16,136 --> 00:20:17,346 How are you, Richard? 281 00:20:18,639 --> 00:20:23,185 Written anything profound and stirring recently? 282 00:20:24,770 --> 00:20:26,230 You know I haven't, Mr. Fry. 283 00:20:27,522 --> 00:20:28,523 No. 284 00:20:30,234 --> 00:20:33,779 I haven't written a single word in a year. Nothing I haven't thrown away. 285 00:20:33,862 --> 00:20:36,990 Then I suggest you sit down, have a drink, 286 00:20:37,074 --> 00:20:40,911 and show me my present, not necessarily in that order. 287 00:20:42,037 --> 00:20:43,163 Yep. 288 00:20:48,085 --> 00:20:49,044 [grunts] 289 00:20:57,344 --> 00:21:00,097 Oh, well done, dear boy. 290 00:21:00,681 --> 00:21:01,807 Oh! 291 00:21:01,890 --> 00:21:06,561 A genuine trichino-bezoar. 292 00:21:07,562 --> 00:21:08,772 Do you know about these? 293 00:21:09,606 --> 00:21:12,734 They're generally removed from the stomachs of young women 294 00:21:13,610 --> 00:21:16,905 who are in the habit of ingesting their own hair. 295 00:21:17,572 --> 00:21:20,284 The Rapunzel syndrome, it's called. 296 00:21:21,326 --> 00:21:25,080 Bezoars were once believed to possess mystic powers. 297 00:21:25,163 --> 00:21:28,083 They can remedy poison, make the sick well. 298 00:21:29,167 --> 00:21:32,337 Edward IV survived the effects of a poison wound 299 00:21:32,421 --> 00:21:36,174 due solely to the possession of a bezoar. 300 00:21:36,717 --> 00:21:37,592 Uh… 301 00:21:38,135 --> 00:21:40,846 Yes, I see, I'm lecturing again. 302 00:21:42,139 --> 00:21:47,311 An old writer with no one to talk to grows fond of the sound of his own voice. 303 00:21:48,937 --> 00:21:52,607 But I suppose you'd like your present now. 304 00:21:56,653 --> 00:21:59,906 I was 27, visiting Mount Helicon. 305 00:22:00,574 --> 00:22:04,244 Researching yet another novel I was sure to abandon. 306 00:22:04,328 --> 00:22:06,496 This one steeped in Greek mythology. 307 00:22:06,580 --> 00:22:10,000 And while I was there, I discovered a trove of ancient texts 308 00:22:11,001 --> 00:22:14,963 about the Muses and how to control them 309 00:22:15,047 --> 00:22:21,553 using moly, sorcerer's garlic, and certain lost rituals. 310 00:22:22,262 --> 00:22:26,350 The hardest part was getting her back to England. 311 00:22:31,980 --> 00:22:33,190 [keys jingling] 312 00:22:51,958 --> 00:22:52,876 Here she is. 313 00:22:55,545 --> 00:22:57,464 What would you with me now, Erasmus? 314 00:22:59,091 --> 00:23:01,134 Am I to perform for your amusement? 315 00:23:02,636 --> 00:23:05,222 Is this man to be our audience? 316 00:23:05,305 --> 00:23:06,139 [chuckles] 317 00:23:06,765 --> 00:23:09,643 This is Richard Madoc. He's a novelist. 318 00:23:09,726 --> 00:23:13,522 Or at least, he's written one extremely successful first novel. 319 00:23:13,605 --> 00:23:18,193 But now he finds himself quite unable to write anything else. 320 00:23:18,276 --> 00:23:22,364 Richard, this is Calliope, the youngest of the nine sisters. 321 00:23:22,447 --> 00:23:26,535 She was Homer's muse. So she ought to be good enough for you. 322 00:23:27,369 --> 00:23:30,330 Calliope, I'm giving you to Richard. 323 00:23:31,248 --> 00:23:32,290 You are his now. 324 00:23:34,251 --> 00:23:36,962 But you said that you would free me before you died. 325 00:23:37,045 --> 00:23:39,673 "Put not your trust in princes," my dear. 326 00:23:40,674 --> 00:23:46,054 Nor in an aging author who has never been what you might call a shining example 327 00:23:46,138 --> 00:23:48,473 when it came to keeping his word. 328 00:23:50,725 --> 00:23:51,977 But you promised. 329 00:23:52,060 --> 00:23:54,563 Writers are liars, my dear. 330 00:23:55,397 --> 00:23:58,942 Surely you've realized that by now. 331 00:24:02,821 --> 00:24:05,740 Do-Don't worry. She can't run away. 332 00:24:06,408 --> 00:24:10,036 She's bound to you now just as she was once bound to me. 333 00:24:11,037 --> 00:24:12,539 Then why keep her locked away? 334 00:24:12,622 --> 00:24:14,875 Because I couldn't bear to look at that 335 00:24:14,958 --> 00:24:18,462 pouty, aggrieved little face of hers all day. 336 00:24:18,545 --> 00:24:21,131 And neither will you. I assure you. 337 00:24:22,549 --> 00:24:24,176 I-I don't know if I can do this. 338 00:24:25,594 --> 00:24:27,846 Of course you can, dear boy. 339 00:24:38,940 --> 00:24:42,360 They say one ought to woo her kind. 340 00:24:43,195 --> 00:24:47,115 But I must say, I found force most efficacious. 341 00:24:48,533 --> 00:24:49,659 [sighs] 342 00:24:52,746 --> 00:24:55,499 Oh, don't be fooled. She's not human. 343 00:24:56,208 --> 00:24:59,586 She's thousands of years old. She was created for this. 344 00:24:59,669 --> 00:25:03,548 This is her purpose, to inspire men like us. 345 00:25:03,632 --> 00:25:07,802 After all, she gave me fame, 346 00:25:07,886 --> 00:25:11,306 glory, novels, poems, plays. 347 00:25:12,766 --> 00:25:14,017 You'll see. 348 00:25:15,185 --> 00:25:16,770 If that's true, why would you-- 349 00:25:16,853 --> 00:25:21,441 My time is passed. All my best work is out of print. 350 00:25:21,525 --> 00:25:24,361 Even Muse-inspired. 351 00:25:24,903 --> 00:25:28,323 Nobody reads Erasmus Fry anymore. 352 00:25:29,616 --> 00:25:33,954 Now take the little cow away, Richard. I never want to see either of you again. 353 00:25:37,374 --> 00:25:41,670 However, if you ever happen to feel a spark of gratitude, 354 00:25:41,753 --> 00:25:47,634 you might persuade your publisher to bring Here Comes a Candle back into print. 355 00:25:48,843 --> 00:25:51,763 I was particularly proud of that one. 356 00:26:33,305 --> 00:26:34,139 I, uh… 357 00:26:36,808 --> 00:26:41,187 I just need time to think about what to do. 358 00:26:41,271 --> 00:26:42,856 What is there to think about? 359 00:26:45,358 --> 00:26:46,484 I'm a goddess. 360 00:26:47,819 --> 00:26:49,154 A daughter of Zeus. 361 00:26:50,530 --> 00:26:52,616 I am not a possession 362 00:26:53,366 --> 00:26:56,244 to be kept and used and traded. 363 00:26:58,538 --> 00:26:59,831 You must set me free. 364 00:27:01,082 --> 00:27:04,169 -You have only to say the words. -I will. I promise. 365 00:27:04,878 --> 00:27:05,795 But, um… 366 00:27:09,924 --> 00:27:14,220 Do you think you could help me first? 367 00:27:15,722 --> 00:27:17,057 Inspire me? 368 00:27:18,350 --> 00:27:21,311 Just for one book, and then I will let you go. 369 00:27:21,394 --> 00:27:22,729 I swear I will. 370 00:27:24,939 --> 00:27:26,149 "Writers are liars." 371 00:27:27,192 --> 00:27:28,109 [chuckles] 372 00:27:29,027 --> 00:27:30,111 Not all of us. 373 00:27:31,946 --> 00:27:32,906 Just one book. 374 00:27:37,619 --> 00:27:38,536 Please. 375 00:27:45,168 --> 00:27:47,045 I choose with whom I share my gifts. 376 00:27:50,924 --> 00:27:53,510 Perhaps we both need time to think. 377 00:27:57,347 --> 00:27:59,599 [lock rattles] 378 00:28:00,183 --> 00:28:01,267 [lock clicks] 379 00:29:04,789 --> 00:29:05,623 [sighs] 380 00:29:05,707 --> 00:29:07,417 [footsteps thudding] 381 00:29:36,946 --> 00:29:40,825 [woman on TV] On the border, right on the line 382 00:29:40,909 --> 00:29:43,787 of being neither in one place or another, 383 00:29:43,870 --> 00:29:47,832 and so I'm in this gray area, where nothing was quite clear. 384 00:29:48,666 --> 00:29:51,544 No one could be clear. 385 00:29:53,213 --> 00:29:56,299 We can't articulate, fuddle our words. 386 00:29:57,258 --> 00:30:01,012 We couldn't pinpoint exactly what it was he did that we felt was so wrong. 387 00:30:01,095 --> 00:30:03,306 -So, yeah, Bob thinks you're crazy. -[sighs] 388 00:30:17,028 --> 00:30:18,738 You seek to woo me with presents? 389 00:30:22,242 --> 00:30:23,868 Is this not how it's done? 390 00:30:25,286 --> 00:30:26,913 I think you know how it is done. 391 00:30:29,916 --> 00:30:33,044 An artist prays to the Muses. 392 00:30:34,504 --> 00:30:38,258 He offers vows of service and devotion to the goddesses 393 00:30:38,341 --> 00:30:40,426 in exchange for divine inspiration. 394 00:30:40,510 --> 00:30:44,389 An artist does not hold a Muse against her will. 395 00:30:45,139 --> 00:30:46,975 You gave Erasmus Fry what he wanted. 396 00:30:47,058 --> 00:30:48,351 I did not. 397 00:30:49,602 --> 00:30:51,145 He took it from me. 398 00:30:57,777 --> 00:30:59,529 I had returned to Mount Helicon. 399 00:31:00,780 --> 00:31:01,990 To the sacred springs. 400 00:31:03,867 --> 00:31:09,581 I laid my scroll upon the shore and I went bathing as I had always done. 401 00:31:11,499 --> 00:31:13,001 He found it there. 402 00:31:13,084 --> 00:31:14,335 He read it 403 00:31:16,045 --> 00:31:17,005 and said… 404 00:31:19,173 --> 00:31:21,593 "Calliope, you may call me master." 405 00:31:22,927 --> 00:31:27,765 And then he burned my scroll, which bound me to him and now to you. 406 00:31:27,849 --> 00:31:32,937 Unless you say the words, that I may be as free as you are. 407 00:31:33,021 --> 00:31:34,063 You think I'm free? 408 00:31:34,772 --> 00:31:35,857 [scoffs] 409 00:31:38,318 --> 00:31:40,820 I got the advance for this book two years ago. 410 00:31:40,904 --> 00:31:42,655 I haven't even started it yet. 411 00:31:42,739 --> 00:31:45,533 I-I don't even know what it's about. 412 00:31:48,620 --> 00:31:50,955 I'm drowning, Calliope. 413 00:31:53,458 --> 00:31:54,667 [sighs] 414 00:31:56,210 --> 00:31:57,420 Please. 415 00:31:59,130 --> 00:32:00,590 I am begging you. 416 00:32:03,426 --> 00:32:07,096 Ask me again… when I am free. 417 00:32:14,228 --> 00:32:15,647 [fingers tapping] 418 00:32:22,737 --> 00:32:23,947 [sighs] 419 00:32:24,864 --> 00:32:26,491 [floorboards creaking] 420 00:32:27,367 --> 00:32:29,160 -[footsteps] -[sighs] 421 00:32:29,911 --> 00:32:31,496 [cell phone ringing] 422 00:32:33,623 --> 00:32:35,124 [sighs] 423 00:32:43,049 --> 00:32:45,176 [man over phone] You better be fucking writing. 424 00:32:45,259 --> 00:32:48,137 I would be if you weren't calling to harass me. 425 00:32:48,221 --> 00:32:50,932 Your publishers just called to harass me. 426 00:32:51,015 --> 00:32:52,725 They want the book now. 427 00:32:54,519 --> 00:32:56,020 I just need a couple of weeks. 428 00:32:56,104 --> 00:32:59,816 Ricky, it's nine months overdue. 429 00:32:59,899 --> 00:33:01,526 You're technically in breach-- 430 00:33:01,609 --> 00:33:04,654 I don't know what they want me to do, Larry. These things take time. 431 00:33:04,737 --> 00:33:06,155 Ricky, you've had time. 432 00:33:06,239 --> 00:33:09,409 You've taken your time. You've also taken their money. 433 00:33:11,202 --> 00:33:12,495 I know. 434 00:33:12,578 --> 00:33:15,498 Now, you have to give them something to… 435 00:33:15,581 --> 00:33:18,835 Anything, a chapter. Or they're going to cancel the deal 436 00:33:18,918 --> 00:33:20,878 -and demand the advance back. -But-- 437 00:33:20,962 --> 00:33:22,922 And there won't be anything I can do, 438 00:33:23,756 --> 00:33:25,508 because you'll no longer be my client. 439 00:33:27,802 --> 00:33:28,928 Do you understand? 440 00:33:32,015 --> 00:33:34,809 [Erasmus] Don't be fooled. She's not human. 441 00:33:34,892 --> 00:33:38,438 She's thousands of years old. She was created for this. 442 00:33:39,230 --> 00:33:42,400 This is her purpose, to inspire men like us. 443 00:33:47,613 --> 00:33:51,659 [Larry] Rick? Say something so I know you understand. 444 00:33:51,743 --> 00:33:52,744 I understand. 445 00:33:55,872 --> 00:33:57,081 I'll send you something. 446 00:34:15,850 --> 00:34:16,768 [knock at door] 447 00:34:17,852 --> 00:34:18,770 Calliope. 448 00:34:21,647 --> 00:34:23,024 [keyboard tapping rapidly] 449 00:34:32,909 --> 00:34:33,910 [sighs] 450 00:34:57,642 --> 00:34:58,893 Gracious ladies, 451 00:34:59,977 --> 00:35:02,980 mother of the Camenae, hear my prayer. 452 00:35:03,064 --> 00:35:06,734 It is I, your daughter, 453 00:35:07,944 --> 00:35:11,656 Calliope that calls you to deliver me from this place. 454 00:35:12,448 --> 00:35:17,870 Ladies of meditation, remembrance and song, 455 00:35:19,247 --> 00:35:20,498 hearken to me. 456 00:35:20,581 --> 00:35:25,128 [The Crone] All right. Enough, beautiful voice. 457 00:35:31,634 --> 00:35:33,761 We feel your pain, daughter, but we cannot help you. 458 00:35:33,845 --> 00:35:36,931 You were snared upon Helicon according to the Mysteries. 459 00:35:37,014 --> 00:35:38,891 You are lawfully bound. 460 00:35:39,559 --> 00:35:42,019 But it is not just, my mothers. 461 00:35:42,103 --> 00:35:44,147 Is there nothing you can do? 462 00:35:45,064 --> 00:35:47,024 No one who can intercede on my behalf? 463 00:35:47,650 --> 00:35:49,861 There are few of the old powers who are willing 464 00:35:49,944 --> 00:35:53,197 or able to meddle in mortal affairs in these days, Calliope. 465 00:35:53,281 --> 00:35:56,450 Many gods have died, my daughter. Only The Endless never fade. 466 00:35:57,451 --> 00:36:00,329 And even they have been having a difficult time of late. 467 00:36:00,413 --> 00:36:01,706 [The Crone laughs] 468 00:36:01,789 --> 00:36:06,419 Still… every little bit helps 469 00:36:06,502 --> 00:36:09,088 as the old woman said when she pissed in the sea. 470 00:36:09,172 --> 00:36:10,131 [The Crone chuckles] 471 00:36:10,214 --> 00:36:12,884 The Endless. There's a thought. 472 00:36:13,509 --> 00:36:17,305 After all, the Dream King and Calliope were close at one point. 473 00:36:17,388 --> 00:36:18,681 [The Maiden] Mm, not for long. 474 00:36:18,764 --> 00:36:23,060 And remember, sister-self, they did not part on the best of terms. 475 00:36:23,144 --> 00:36:24,312 Still. 476 00:36:25,146 --> 00:36:27,064 She did bear his cub. 477 00:36:27,148 --> 00:36:32,737 That boy-child who went to Hades for his lady-love and died in Thrace, 478 00:36:32,820 --> 00:36:35,448 torn apart for his sacrilege. 479 00:36:36,324 --> 00:36:38,451 He had a beautiful voice too. 480 00:36:39,744 --> 00:36:40,870 Orpheus. 481 00:36:40,953 --> 00:36:42,788 The Dream King will never help me. 482 00:36:44,749 --> 00:36:46,083 Not after what I did to him. 483 00:36:46,751 --> 00:36:50,046 He hates me for that and I despise him. 484 00:36:51,339 --> 00:36:52,757 I would not accept his help. 485 00:36:52,840 --> 00:36:53,841 Foolish child. 486 00:36:54,717 --> 00:36:58,638 Oneiros is in no position to help you even if he wished it, 487 00:36:59,222 --> 00:37:00,223 which is unlikely. 488 00:37:00,306 --> 00:37:03,392 Like you, your former husband has been ensnared by mortals. 489 00:37:04,352 --> 00:37:06,145 He's immured beneath the ground. 490 00:37:06,229 --> 00:37:09,190 Leaving this realm gripped by sleeping sickness. 491 00:37:09,273 --> 00:37:12,652 And a plague of Dreams and Nightmares wreaking havoc. 492 00:37:13,236 --> 00:37:14,946 I am sorry, little one. 493 00:37:16,948 --> 00:37:18,074 No. 494 00:37:18,157 --> 00:37:20,243 Your prayers were wasted. 495 00:37:21,035 --> 00:37:22,870 There's nothing we can do for you. 496 00:37:22,954 --> 00:37:24,121 Please. 497 00:37:24,205 --> 00:37:26,290 And nothing you can do but hope. 498 00:37:28,751 --> 00:37:30,336 Please don't leave me here. 499 00:37:33,214 --> 00:37:34,215 I beg of you. 500 00:37:35,841 --> 00:37:38,261 -[rock music playing over speakers] -[indistinct chatter] 501 00:37:40,012 --> 00:37:42,515 [Larry] We've got a nice little bidding war on our hands. 502 00:37:43,266 --> 00:37:45,268 Every major studio wants a piece of him. 503 00:37:45,851 --> 00:37:48,771 Film, broadcast, streaming. 504 00:37:48,854 --> 00:37:50,940 Uh, who's the front-runner? 505 00:37:51,023 --> 00:37:53,067 Whoever lets him write and direct. 506 00:37:53,150 --> 00:37:55,903 They won't even let Jo Rowling write and direct. 507 00:37:55,987 --> 00:37:58,698 Jo Rowling needs a new agent. Tell her to call me. 508 00:38:00,116 --> 00:38:02,827 I will never understand how a work of genre fiction 509 00:38:02,910 --> 00:38:05,204 came to be nominated, let alone shortlisted. 510 00:38:05,288 --> 00:38:08,666 The committee felt Madoc's new book has transcended genre. 511 00:38:09,250 --> 00:38:10,167 Have you read it? 512 00:38:10,251 --> 00:38:12,253 -No, of course not. -Mm. 513 00:38:12,336 --> 00:38:16,424 Well, I have. And it reads like it was written by an entirely different man. 514 00:38:17,508 --> 00:38:18,801 It's a gorgeous book. 515 00:38:20,553 --> 00:38:21,637 Quite remarkable. 516 00:38:22,305 --> 00:38:24,640 I mean, the sheer richness of the material. 517 00:38:24,724 --> 00:38:27,351 Yes. But why has he gone and changed this name? 518 00:38:28,311 --> 00:38:31,314 -How do you mean? -From Richard to Ric without the "K"? 519 00:38:32,523 --> 00:38:35,901 I think it probably speaks to the novel's theme of reinvention. 520 00:38:36,736 --> 00:38:39,405 I think it probably speaks to the author's pretension. 521 00:38:40,031 --> 00:38:40,906 Where were we? 522 00:38:41,574 --> 00:38:44,827 I was saying how much I loved your characterization of Aileen. 523 00:38:44,910 --> 00:38:45,745 Oh. 524 00:38:45,828 --> 00:38:48,914 There aren't enough strong female characters in fiction. 525 00:38:48,998 --> 00:38:50,499 Not even fiction written by women. 526 00:38:50,583 --> 00:38:51,792 I agree. 527 00:38:52,585 --> 00:38:54,295 And I know it's fashionable at the moment 528 00:38:54,378 --> 00:38:57,757 to say that only women can write authentically about the female experience, 529 00:38:57,840 --> 00:39:00,092 but, uh… well… 530 00:39:01,385 --> 00:39:04,555 I do tend to regard myself as a feminist writer. 531 00:39:05,931 --> 00:39:07,058 [Lottie] Hmm. 532 00:39:07,141 --> 00:39:10,353 And where does that voice come from in you? 533 00:39:10,436 --> 00:39:11,687 The female voice? 534 00:39:15,858 --> 00:39:17,234 From the women in my life. 535 00:39:18,152 --> 00:39:20,154 [indistinct chatter] 536 00:39:46,931 --> 00:39:49,392 [Richard] I'm shooting the movie version in Los Angeles. 537 00:39:49,475 --> 00:39:51,268 The studio have hired me a private jet. 538 00:39:51,352 --> 00:39:54,271 So, we shouldn't have any trouble getting you into the country. 539 00:39:54,355 --> 00:39:55,689 And, uh, who knows? 540 00:39:56,524 --> 00:39:59,735 Maybe we'll decide to stay in LA. 541 00:40:02,571 --> 00:40:04,031 Maybe "we" will decide? 542 00:40:04,615 --> 00:40:05,616 [sighs] 543 00:40:06,867 --> 00:40:10,746 Can you not allow yourself to enjoy our success? 544 00:40:11,622 --> 00:40:12,957 Even for a second? 545 00:40:13,916 --> 00:40:20,840 We are telling stories that move and inspire people. 546 00:40:21,590 --> 00:40:23,551 Isn't that what Muses were made for? 547 00:40:24,718 --> 00:40:26,178 My sister goddesses and I were born. 548 00:40:26,262 --> 00:40:27,763 -[cell phone rings] -We were not made. 549 00:40:27,847 --> 00:40:29,223 Sorry. It's Larry. 550 00:40:30,182 --> 00:40:31,475 Did you talk to the studio? 551 00:40:37,940 --> 00:40:40,776 No, I need them to guarantee at the outset 552 00:40:40,860 --> 00:40:44,780 that cast and crew will be made up of at least 50% women 553 00:40:44,864 --> 00:40:46,615 and people of color. 554 00:40:46,699 --> 00:40:48,242 And then we need to publicize it, 555 00:40:48,325 --> 00:40:51,370 so they can't back out of it when it comes to hiring people. 556 00:40:53,164 --> 00:40:54,165 [door opens] 557 00:41:02,631 --> 00:41:04,383 Where are we on the money? 558 00:41:12,433 --> 00:41:14,810 Are you fucking kidding me? 559 00:41:15,394 --> 00:41:17,563 No. No. 560 00:41:19,815 --> 00:41:21,817 [continues indistinctly] 561 00:42:05,319 --> 00:42:08,447 I call to you, Oneiros, that you may hear me 562 00:42:09,990 --> 00:42:13,244 and come to my aid when I say your name out loud. 563 00:42:18,958 --> 00:42:19,875 Morpheus? 564 00:42:21,544 --> 00:42:22,586 What does it mean? 565 00:42:24,880 --> 00:42:26,715 It is the name of the God of Dreams. 566 00:42:32,471 --> 00:42:33,889 You're writing him a letter? 567 00:42:35,516 --> 00:42:36,642 Something like that. 568 00:42:38,394 --> 00:42:39,395 [scoffs] 569 00:42:43,649 --> 00:42:44,650 [sighs] 570 00:42:50,739 --> 00:42:51,824 [scoffs] 571 00:42:56,370 --> 00:42:57,288 [Richard] You're mine. 572 00:43:00,207 --> 00:43:01,500 By law. 573 00:43:02,334 --> 00:43:04,086 The God of Dreams can't save you. 574 00:43:22,813 --> 00:43:25,482 [woman] Thank you for agreeing to do this interview at your home. 575 00:43:25,566 --> 00:43:28,027 Thank you for getting the word out about the new book. 576 00:43:28,110 --> 00:43:32,781 So, I thought I'd start by asking about your formative literary influences. 577 00:43:33,949 --> 00:43:36,952 Well, I wouldn't even be a writer 578 00:43:37,036 --> 00:43:39,705 if it wasn't for having read people like Shirley Jackson 579 00:43:39,788 --> 00:43:42,750 and Margaret Atwood, and Octavia E. Butler. 580 00:43:42,833 --> 00:43:45,711 Having read Eagle Stones, the writer that came to mind 581 00:43:45,794 --> 00:43:47,504 -was the late Erasmus Fry. -Oh. 582 00:43:48,464 --> 00:43:51,884 Sorry, did you say the "late" Erasmus Fry? 583 00:43:51,967 --> 00:43:52,843 He's, um… 584 00:43:55,179 --> 00:43:56,096 He died? 585 00:43:56,180 --> 00:43:58,432 Last summer. Did you know him? 586 00:43:59,016 --> 00:44:01,518 Oh, I didn't know him. I, uh… 587 00:44:02,102 --> 00:44:04,146 We met on a couple of occasions. 588 00:44:04,229 --> 00:44:07,816 He was… very kind about my work. 589 00:44:07,900 --> 00:44:10,694 And he must have been almost 90. Did he, um… 590 00:44:11,654 --> 00:44:12,988 Did he die of old age? 591 00:44:13,906 --> 00:44:14,782 No. 592 00:44:15,783 --> 00:44:17,576 Uh, he actually poisoned himself. 593 00:44:18,786 --> 00:44:22,206 Apparently, the last thing he did was write a letter to his old publisher, 594 00:44:22,289 --> 00:44:25,250 begging them to bring one of his books back in to print. 595 00:44:25,334 --> 00:44:27,461 Here Comes a Candle, I suppose. 596 00:44:27,544 --> 00:44:29,963 I think it was. How did you know? 597 00:44:32,174 --> 00:44:35,552 It was perhaps my favorite book when I was growing up. 598 00:44:36,387 --> 00:44:38,597 It was very moving, honest and… 599 00:44:41,225 --> 00:44:42,267 strange. 600 00:44:46,021 --> 00:44:47,064 Poor old sod. 601 00:44:47,147 --> 00:44:47,981 [chuckles] 602 00:44:48,065 --> 00:44:51,360 It's a shame people stopped reading him. That his work fell out of fashion. 603 00:44:52,861 --> 00:44:55,864 Not that you'll have to worry about that. You're Richard Madoc. 604 00:44:55,948 --> 00:44:57,991 Oh, sorry. Ric Madoc. 605 00:44:59,576 --> 00:45:01,495 Right. Next question. 606 00:45:05,165 --> 00:45:06,417 [whooshing] 607 00:45:10,504 --> 00:45:11,672 You came. 608 00:45:15,676 --> 00:45:16,677 [Dream] You called. 609 00:45:19,263 --> 00:45:23,016 They told me you had been imprisoned, just like me. 610 00:45:23,767 --> 00:45:24,893 Not like you. 611 00:45:26,353 --> 00:45:28,731 My suffering was nothing compared to yours. 612 00:45:28,814 --> 00:45:29,732 Don't say that. 613 00:45:31,358 --> 00:45:33,527 Comparing our suffering only compounds it. 614 00:45:33,610 --> 00:45:35,904 It pained me to hear of your misfortune. 615 00:45:37,281 --> 00:45:38,949 I'm glad that you are free. 616 00:45:39,658 --> 00:45:41,368 You were bound here by the laws. 617 00:45:44,288 --> 00:45:46,248 I know that you cannot free me. 618 00:45:47,666 --> 00:45:49,168 Only he can do that, 619 00:45:50,753 --> 00:45:54,089 but perhaps you might… inspire him? 620 00:45:55,215 --> 00:45:56,300 To let me go? 621 00:45:57,050 --> 00:46:00,637 I will do all that… and more. 622 00:46:01,346 --> 00:46:02,181 Dream-- 623 00:46:02,264 --> 00:46:05,058 He must be punished. 624 00:46:05,142 --> 00:46:09,271 How? What punishment could be enough? 625 00:46:10,105 --> 00:46:13,358 Even his death would not bring back what he has taken from me. 626 00:46:13,442 --> 00:46:14,693 He's nothing. 627 00:46:16,111 --> 00:46:17,070 He's just a man. 628 00:46:17,154 --> 00:46:18,989 I cannot allow him to go free. 629 00:46:19,072 --> 00:46:21,950 Why? Because I was once yours? 630 00:46:23,577 --> 00:46:24,703 Because he hurt you. 631 00:46:28,123 --> 00:46:31,877 The last time I saw you, you said you would never speak to me again. 632 00:46:32,711 --> 00:46:33,921 I'm sorry, I… 633 00:46:36,256 --> 00:46:38,091 I did not know where else to turn. 634 00:46:39,426 --> 00:46:40,677 You misunderstand me. 635 00:46:43,013 --> 00:46:46,725 When I heard you call to me, even after all this time… 636 00:46:54,483 --> 00:46:55,734 Let me help you. 637 00:46:58,070 --> 00:46:59,071 Please. 638 00:47:00,864 --> 00:47:02,115 I owe you that much. 639 00:47:09,790 --> 00:47:11,250 What will you do to him? 640 00:47:27,808 --> 00:47:29,685 What the f… Who the fuck are you? 641 00:47:30,978 --> 00:47:33,063 -Get out of my house. -Be quiet. 642 00:47:34,523 --> 00:47:37,109 You're keeping a woman here against her will. 643 00:47:38,777 --> 00:47:41,280 I've come to request that you set her free. 644 00:47:41,363 --> 00:47:42,197 [scoffs] 645 00:47:42,823 --> 00:47:44,074 Are you out of your mind? 646 00:47:44,950 --> 00:47:47,119 No woman here. I'm calling the police. Know who I am? 647 00:47:47,202 --> 00:47:50,747 I know precisely who and what you are, Richard Madoc. 648 00:47:55,544 --> 00:47:57,087 Are you going to call the police? 649 00:47:57,754 --> 00:48:01,300 No, I will not call any human agency. 650 00:48:01,884 --> 00:48:03,093 Just let her go. 651 00:48:04,052 --> 00:48:05,721 You don't understand, I need her. 652 00:48:05,804 --> 00:48:08,891 If I didn't have her, I wouldn't be able to write, I wouldn't have ideas. 653 00:48:09,683 --> 00:48:12,644 -Look, I-I have money. -Hold your tongue. 654 00:48:18,400 --> 00:48:24,072 She has been held captive for more than 60 years. 655 00:48:24,156 --> 00:48:28,619 Demeaned, abused, defiled. 656 00:48:28,702 --> 00:48:32,205 And you will not set her free because you need ideas? 657 00:48:32,289 --> 00:48:37,294 Well… if it's ideas you want, then you shall have them 658 00:48:38,879 --> 00:48:40,547 in abundance. 659 00:49:09,368 --> 00:49:11,161 What did you do to me? 660 00:49:13,288 --> 00:49:15,540 Are you giving me nightmares now? 661 00:49:18,251 --> 00:49:19,086 Tell me! 662 00:49:19,169 --> 00:49:21,672 I have done nothing to you, Richard Madoc. 663 00:49:24,257 --> 00:49:26,468 You have met Morpheus, 664 00:49:27,594 --> 00:49:30,097 who the Romans called The Shaper of Form. 665 00:49:30,180 --> 00:49:32,015 He was once my husband. 666 00:49:33,433 --> 00:49:35,352 And the father of my son. 667 00:49:36,520 --> 00:49:38,021 I didn't know you had a son. 668 00:49:38,605 --> 00:49:40,482 You know nothing about me. 669 00:49:41,942 --> 00:49:45,278 But it is too late to let any of that concern you now. 670 00:49:53,203 --> 00:49:54,788 [Richard] "And in the darkness, 671 00:49:55,789 --> 00:49:59,668 he thought about the story in every star, 672 00:50:02,546 --> 00:50:04,047 like fireflies." 673 00:50:05,382 --> 00:50:11,513 "Flicking… fading… in the night." 674 00:50:12,764 --> 00:50:14,182 [applause] 675 00:50:24,443 --> 00:50:25,444 Um… 676 00:50:26,486 --> 00:50:27,696 Any questions? 677 00:50:28,822 --> 00:50:29,990 Oh. 678 00:50:32,075 --> 00:50:34,286 Uh, the young woman in the third row. 679 00:50:38,123 --> 00:50:41,126 Your work spans so many genres, 680 00:50:41,209 --> 00:50:44,838 so many worlds, so many different kinds of characters. 681 00:50:44,921 --> 00:50:49,301 Uh, may I just ask, where does all that come from? [chuckles] 682 00:50:49,384 --> 00:50:50,385 [chuckles] 683 00:50:50,469 --> 00:50:57,184 For me… ideas don't come from anywhere. 684 00:50:57,267 --> 00:51:00,562 They're all around us, all the time. 685 00:51:01,146 --> 00:51:07,694 I could write an entire novel set at… a book reading. 686 00:51:07,778 --> 00:51:09,112 [laughter] 687 00:51:09,196 --> 00:51:13,992 Where, uh, something had happened to the world outside, 688 00:51:14,701 --> 00:51:19,790 a holocaust of some kind, but the audience was safe… 689 00:51:22,042 --> 00:51:23,835 as long as the author kept reading. 690 00:51:23,919 --> 00:51:25,045 [all laughing] 691 00:51:25,128 --> 00:51:26,379 Thank you. 692 00:51:26,463 --> 00:51:30,509 Or… a story about the fraternity of critics. 693 00:51:30,592 --> 00:51:37,140 In reality, a dark brethren linked by profane rites and blood vows. 694 00:51:37,224 --> 00:51:38,642 To destroy an author, 695 00:51:38,725 --> 00:51:43,313 they sacrifice a child and perform a critical mass. 696 00:51:48,235 --> 00:51:51,655 Or a city where the streets are paved with time. 697 00:51:51,738 --> 00:51:56,576 A train, full of silent women, driven by a blind man. 698 00:51:56,660 --> 00:51:57,536 [chuckles] 699 00:52:07,754 --> 00:52:09,506 Heads made of light… Sorry. 700 00:52:12,175 --> 00:52:13,426 Excuse me, sorry. 701 00:52:13,510 --> 00:52:18,849 A were-goldfish who transforms into a wolf at full moon. 702 00:52:19,432 --> 00:52:24,229 A man who inherits a library card to the Library of Alexandria. 703 00:52:26,273 --> 00:52:28,483 Two old women taking a weasel on holiday. 704 00:52:36,491 --> 00:52:38,493 A sestina about silence, 705 00:52:38,577 --> 00:52:42,372 using the words… dark, ragged, 706 00:52:43,123 --> 00:52:47,335 never, screaming, fire, kiss… 707 00:52:48,879 --> 00:52:51,548 An old man who owned the universe and kept it in a jam jar. 708 00:52:52,674 --> 00:52:54,593 A man who falls in love with a paper doll. 709 00:52:54,676 --> 00:52:57,512 Mr. Madoc, it's Nora. What's happened to your hands? 710 00:52:57,596 --> 00:52:59,639 Oh, my God, I'm just having so many ideas. 711 00:52:59,723 --> 00:53:04,144 I didn't have a pen or any paper, so I just used my hands. 712 00:53:08,398 --> 00:53:12,360 I said I needed the ideas, but they, they, they're coming too fast. 713 00:53:12,444 --> 00:53:13,778 Need to get him to the hospital. 714 00:53:13,862 --> 00:53:16,072 No. Please, go to my house. 715 00:53:17,365 --> 00:53:20,285 There is a woman in a room upstairs. 716 00:53:21,620 --> 00:53:23,288 She's locked up in there. 717 00:53:24,331 --> 00:53:27,709 Tell her that she can go, that I free her. 718 00:53:27,792 --> 00:53:29,127 I don't understand. 719 00:53:29,211 --> 00:53:34,132 Take my keys. Let her out. Make her leave, make her go away. 720 00:53:36,927 --> 00:53:39,596 I signed a book for you once, didn't I? 721 00:53:41,014 --> 00:53:42,557 Please. 722 00:53:44,809 --> 00:53:47,020 Okay. Okay, I'll go. 723 00:53:47,103 --> 00:53:48,730 Just make it stop. 724 00:53:49,731 --> 00:53:52,442 Tell her I am sorry. 725 00:53:52,525 --> 00:53:56,321 Magical and alchemical relations seen as a cargo cult. 726 00:53:56,404 --> 00:53:57,864 We'll meet you at the hospital. 727 00:53:57,948 --> 00:54:00,367 The sun setting over the Parthenon. Shark's teeth soup. 728 00:54:00,450 --> 00:54:05,830 A nightingale, a rose bush, and a black rubber dog collar. 729 00:54:22,889 --> 00:54:23,723 Hello? 730 00:54:55,797 --> 00:54:57,924 [door opens and closes] 731 00:54:59,509 --> 00:55:00,927 It is over. 732 00:55:09,561 --> 00:55:10,395 Thank you. 733 00:55:10,937 --> 00:55:12,856 I merely answered your call. 734 00:55:16,234 --> 00:55:17,444 What will you do now? 735 00:55:20,947 --> 00:55:23,074 I think what I must do is to 736 00:55:24,868 --> 00:55:29,748 try to make sure that this never happens to anyone else ever again. 737 00:55:30,999 --> 00:55:31,958 How? 738 00:55:32,042 --> 00:55:33,793 I do not know. 739 00:55:36,129 --> 00:55:40,133 By inspiring humanity to want better for themselves and each other. 740 00:55:41,509 --> 00:55:43,636 By rewriting the laws by which I was held. 741 00:55:45,138 --> 00:55:48,475 Laws that were written long ago in which my sisters and I had no say. 742 00:55:49,726 --> 00:55:51,603 I shall do the same in my realm. 743 00:55:53,730 --> 00:55:55,398 You have changed, Oneiros. 744 00:55:56,483 --> 00:55:59,611 In the old days, you would've left me here to rot without turning a hair. 745 00:56:05,075 --> 00:56:09,037 Do you still hate me… for leaving you? 746 00:56:10,372 --> 00:56:12,791 -For blaming you for what happened? -No. 747 00:56:16,920 --> 00:56:21,216 I've learned much in recent times, and… 748 00:56:23,927 --> 00:56:25,011 No matter. 749 00:56:27,138 --> 00:56:28,598 I do not hate you. 750 00:56:35,021 --> 00:56:37,148 I think you should release the mortal now. 751 00:56:39,109 --> 00:56:40,318 He has set me free, 752 00:56:40,402 --> 00:56:42,904 and without forgiveness, wounds will never heal. 753 00:56:42,987 --> 00:56:46,199 You would forgive him for what he's done? 754 00:56:46,282 --> 00:56:48,118 I will not forgive what he has done, 755 00:56:49,327 --> 00:56:51,079 but I must forgive the man. 756 00:56:51,788 --> 00:56:52,747 Not for him. 757 00:56:53,957 --> 00:56:54,833 For me. 758 00:56:57,001 --> 00:56:58,128 Will you free him? 759 00:56:59,796 --> 00:57:01,256 If that is what you wish… 760 00:57:03,466 --> 00:57:04,426 it shall be done. 761 00:57:14,352 --> 00:57:17,522 I'm back, Mr. Madoc. How're you feeling? 762 00:57:17,605 --> 00:57:18,565 I… 763 00:57:20,358 --> 00:57:25,530 I don't know anymore. I… keep trying to think. 764 00:57:26,614 --> 00:57:29,200 I did what you asked. I went to your place. 765 00:57:30,410 --> 00:57:32,829 There was just a book. 766 00:57:32,912 --> 00:57:34,873 There was something she said. 767 00:57:34,956 --> 00:57:38,084 The… Shaper of Forms. 768 00:57:40,044 --> 00:57:42,213 There was a name. She wrote it down. I… 769 00:57:45,550 --> 00:57:47,177 Oh, I wish I could remember! 770 00:57:47,802 --> 00:57:52,432 It's so hard to… think all of a sudden. 771 00:57:53,892 --> 00:57:55,393 Is there anyone I should call? 772 00:57:55,477 --> 00:57:56,603 She's gone. 773 00:58:02,525 --> 00:58:04,027 And it's all gone with her. 774 00:58:05,320 --> 00:58:07,864 The ideas, the stories. 775 00:58:12,035 --> 00:58:13,995 They were all hers. 776 00:58:14,078 --> 00:58:17,123 Whose? Who are you talking about? 777 00:58:24,130 --> 00:58:27,091 I have no idea. 778 00:58:33,139 --> 00:58:34,140 No idea. 779 00:58:39,687 --> 00:58:43,358 May I visit you in the Dream Realm sometime, 780 00:58:44,817 --> 00:58:47,862 so that we may finally talk about our son… 781 00:58:50,198 --> 00:58:54,494 and… grieve him properly? 782 00:58:56,538 --> 00:58:59,374 One day, perhaps, but… 783 00:59:02,502 --> 00:59:03,670 I understand. 784 00:59:19,060 --> 00:59:20,520 Thank you, Oneiros. 785 00:59:22,397 --> 00:59:23,731 I will not forget this. 786 00:59:26,359 --> 00:59:27,569 Fare you well. 787 00:59:32,615 --> 00:59:33,700 Fortune be with you. 788 00:59:37,745 --> 00:59:38,997 Goodbye, Calliope. 789 00:59:50,717 --> 00:59:51,759 [chuckles] 790 01:00:20,913 --> 01:00:22,915 [somber music continues]