A Faustian Bargain

Joe and Nelly sit on a quiet park bench, staring at a phone screen that glows like it holds the secrets of the universe.

Joe sighs.

โ€œLook, Nellyโ€ฆ youโ€™re not alone. I didnโ€™t read the Facebook contract either.โ€

Nelly Furtado looks up slowly. โ€œYou meanโ€ฆ the one where you scroll for ten minutes and click โ€˜Agreeโ€™ just to post a picture of your lunch?โ€

Joe nods gravely. โ€œThatโ€™s the one. Somewhere in paragraph 94, subsection 7โ€ฆ it probably says they own our image in perpetuity. Not just on Earth. Iโ€™m talking the entire universe. Mars colonies, Alpha Centauriโ€ฆ everywhere.โ€

Nellyโ€™s eyes widen. โ€œSo if aliens discover Facebook servers floating through spaceโ€ฆ they technically own my face?โ€

Joe shrugs. โ€œLegally speaking? Probably.โ€

Suddenly a loud cackle echoes through the park.

From behind a tree emerges Dave Chappelle, doubled over in laughter.

โ€œHAHAHAHA!โ€ Chappelle wipes tears from his eyes. โ€œHold upโ€ฆ hold upโ€ฆ yโ€™all just NOW realized that?โ€

Joe squints. โ€œDave, whatโ€™s so funny?โ€

Chappelle points at the phone.

โ€œYou two signed the same contract as everybody else on Earth! Man, they probably got clauses for Jupiter influencers already.โ€

Nelly groans and puts her face in her hands.

โ€œSo my image belongs to Facebookโ€ฆ forever?โ€

Chappelle nods dramatically.

โ€œForever, ever. If humanity colonizes the galaxy, some intern on Saturnโ€™s moon Titan gonna be moderating your 2007 MySpace haircut.โ€

Joe leans back on the bench.

โ€œWellโ€ฆ at least weโ€™re in the same boat.โ€

Chappelle laughs even harder.

โ€œNah manโ€ฆ that ainโ€™t a boat.โ€

He points at the phone again.

โ€œThatโ€™s a spaceshipโ€ฆ and yโ€™all already signed the boarding pass.โ€ ๐Ÿš€

Los Angeles Nudging

Scene: A quiet cafรฉ in Los Angeles. Evening traffic hums outside. Joe and Nelly sit across from each other, coffees half-finished.

Joe:
You ever think about it, Nel? Your songsโ€ฆ Floodgate, Hey LA. The timing. The vibe. Itโ€™s like the whole city was being nudged.

Nelly:
(laughs softly)
Joe, songs donโ€™t โ€œnudgeโ€ cities. They play on the radio. People dance. Thatโ€™s about it.

Joe:
Maybe. Or maybe culture is the soft push before the hard push. LA is the stage. Always has been.

Nelly:
And who exactly is pushing this stage, Joe?

Joe:
Some people call them the Illuminati. Power networks, governments, secret techโ€ฆ whatever name you want. The final weapon in their playbook isnโ€™t a bomb.

Nelly:
Here we goโ€ฆ

Joe:
HAARP. Up in Alaska. Big array of antennas. Everyone thinks itโ€™s just an ionosphere research project.

Nelly:
Because thatโ€™s what scientists say it is.

Joe:
Yeah, but imagine if someone could mess with the energy in the Earthโ€™s systems. Trigger pressure points. Turn a fault line into a weapon. One big quakeโ€ฆ the kind described in Revelation. The one where everything shakes.

Nelly:
Joeโ€ฆ youโ€™re talking about the apocalypse like itโ€™s a remote control.

Joe:
Iโ€™m saying people dream about controlling nature. Thatโ€™s the real temptation.

Nelly:
So what are you going to do about it? Run to Croatia and hide in some mountain village?

Joe:
(shakes his head)
Nah. Thatโ€™d be the coward move.

Nelly:
Then what?

Joe:
Iโ€™m taking my brother and my nephews to Disneyland.

Nelly:
(laughs)
Your master plan against the apocalypse is Space Mountain?

Joe:
Why not? If the worldโ€™s crazy, you spend time with your family. Besidesโ€ฆ imagine if technology could do the opposite of what people fear.

Nelly:
Opposite?

Joe:
Instead of causing earthquakes, it could release pressure. Turn the big one into a thousand tiny tremors. Let the Earth breathe.

Nelly:
That actually sounds like science fiction Iโ€™d prefer.

Joe:
King David had that line in the Psalmsโ€ฆ about the earth not being shaken forever. Maybe the real prophecy isnโ€™t destruction. Maybe itโ€™s learning how to keep things steady.

Nelly:
So your theory is: music, prophecy, earthquakes, Disneylandโ€ฆ all in one story?

Joe:
Hey, LA is the storytelling capital of the world.

Nelly:
(smiling)
Then promise me something.

Joe:
What?

Nelly:
If the apocalypse starts while youโ€™re in line for a churroโ€ฆ youโ€™re not blaming my song.

Joe:
Deal. But if the ground starts rumbling during the fireworksโ€ฆ

Nelly:
Joe.

Joe:
โ€ฆweโ€™ll just call it part of the show. ๐ŸŽ†

Marriage Proposal

Joe takes Nellyโ€™s hands and tries to steady his voice.

โ€œListen,โ€ he says, half-laughing through the nerves, โ€œIโ€™ve got a hernia, and chasing this idea that youโ€™re waiting for some flawless savior nearly broke me. I know Iโ€™m not perfect. Iโ€™m stubborn, I overthink, I limp a little when it hurts. But I can try. I can show up. I can grow. Nothing is impossible if you try.โ€

He softens.

โ€œI donโ€™t want to be your hero from a movie. I want to be your partner in real life. The guy who carries the groceries, who sits with you in the waiting room, who believes in you when you forget how. Soโ€ฆ marry me. Not because Iโ€™m perfect. But because Iโ€™ll keep trying, every single day.โ€

Nelly Fan
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