Page 71 of The Session

“If you don’t mind my asking, why do you care at all?”

“Because everything we’ve worked for is at a very vulnerable point right now, and I can’t figure out whether introducing you into the equation is going to accelerate the fall or help us.”

“I haven’t asked for any of this,” Mark said. “I can leave right now if it suits you. Not here to cause trouble. But what does my dad think?”

“Don’t be coy. You understand what’s going on. Right now Max is trying to decide whether to embrace you or not. While on the surface that may sound like a dream come true, it’s also going to put a target on your back—possibly literally,” she warned. “There’s also the question of who initiated all of this to begin with . . .”

“The grant I received? Tru said she didn’t send it. You didn’t either?”

“No. And I have no idea who did.”

“What outcome do you want out of all of this?” Mark asked.

“I want to see what we’ve built grow. I want to see it reach its full potential. But we don’t need another visionary. We don’t need another figurehead. We need people to make it work. And maybe your lack of ambition is an asset. The last ambitious young man we had here is now our biggest competitor.”

Marnie paused, then changed her posture as if she’d made up her mind about something. “Perhaps you are exactly what we need. A handsome, likable—forgive the term—mascot.”

“You’re assuming that I need any of this,” Mark pointed out.

“I’m sure you could go back to Georgia and the soccer field where you play babysitter to those kids and convince yourself it was the right choice—better to do the noble deed than risk venturing further into a den of wolves. But in the back of your head, you’re going to keep wondering and keep asking. And the next time reality slams you in the face and you find yourself cleaning bedpans and dealing with life’s indignities, you’ll realize you made a terrible mistake. But by then the window of opportunity will have closed, and you know it.”

“I don’t think I’m anybody’s mascot,” Mark said stubbornly.

“Maybe you could be more, but that would require ambition. And we both know you don’t have much of that.”

Mark let that sit, then spoke quietly and matter-of-factly: “You’ve used three Emotional Probes and now presented your second Constitutional Identity Challenge to me.”

For the first time, surprise showed through Marnie Lightman’s heavily Botoxed face.

“Interesting. You’ve been studying the tech—the good parts,” she said.

“I’ve been trying to catch up. There’s a lot of bullshit to sort through.”

“The Reality Equation is the best one, if you ask me. The informal lectures are a good source. That’s where he’s most raw and honest. As a rule of thumb, the longer the book, the less attention you need to pay to it, because the really important things sell themselves. But for you—study all of it, because what matters isn’t as much what works as what people around you think works.” Marnie paused, letting him absorb that. “And pay the most attention to anything Arnold Feingold has published. Poor Arnold is still trying to build up an academic reputation. And although his work tends to be rather long-winded and filled with caveats, the research—at least the solo research, without Max’s involvement—is actually quite good, particularly in areas of persuasion.”

“Do you have any favorites?” Mark asked.

“Definitely not his books on family and marriage. I will say, aside from his informal lectures, some of his more corporate-sounding work in the late ’80s was a lot more revealing than I think even he realized. They’re worth checking out. But The Reality Equation is the most concise,” she confirmed.

“I’ll try to track them down.”

“We can arrange for copies to be sent. But I mean it: Study them. You’re going to be presented with opportunity, but along with it comes the necessity for you to prove yourself. Max can’t just wave his hands and tell everyone to respect you. While your TikTok heroics have certainly captivated people’s attention, it’s going to take more than that. You are surrounded by people who have spent decades here, giving everything and enduring more than you can imagine. Cruelty is just one of the tools we use. You’ll have to go into this ready to put up with all of it, and it will inevitably seem unfair,” Marnie explained. “It certainly was unfair for Kevin.”

Mark wanted to ask more about her son but was afraid to push too far.

She stood and straightened the hem of her jacket, checked her watch, said “Good luck, Mark,” and walked away.

Active Duty

When Mark stepped into the elevator, Tru was waiting for him in it.

“Everything go okay?” she asked.

“I guess so. I met Mrs. Lightman,” Mark replied.

“How did that go?”

“She didn’t shove me out of the window,” said Mark.