Charlie is not bored Charlie is fine. While I was in Iceland Charlie went to see Bruno and she is very excited about ecoterrorism and she would like that we take a few weeks after this job to do some pro bono environmental work. Bruno evidently understands Charlie very well because he took her on a job under the water and they plugged Z-Vat in an illegal outflow together and had sex in the water—not the outflow water some clean clear water upstream—and then had sex on a barge in front of some sort of boat-safe smokeless stove. I do not entirely get how you have sex in a dry suit but if anyone can do it that person is Charlie. Charlie figures we could kill the Japanese whaling industry in a month and move on to illegal logging in the Amazon next year and in this she has Doc’s cautious agreement because it is undeniable that if the earth catches fire and falls over then being rich will be considerably less fun than it is now and Doc feels this is a very real scientific possibility owing to feedback and shit that I do not understand but I trust Doc. If Doc says this is bad it is bad and Doc does so that is fine.

All the same it is not good for Charlie to get too euphoric so I make her come with me to rent bulldozers.

—

“Hello I wish to rent bulldozers. Also other heavy plant. Have you anything in purple I do not like the yellow.”

“We have a very little red and some green that is all.”

“If I was to arrange payment would you permit me to respray? I would of course reverse the process after my show—”

“Show?”

“Ah yes I am an artist—I work at scale which is why—”

“Oh, you are that Banjo Telemark yes of course how FABulous and what are you making—”

“Art of course ahahaha you see—”

—

Charlie hangs out with Frau Anton to discuss bulldozer regulatory blah blah blah and I am at a loose end so I go back to Eiger’s cigar shop and I buy another cigar. The little guy asks if I liked the first cigar and I tell him I haven’t smoked it yet. He asks me why I want another one and I say that I like the process of coming in here and buying cigars I don’t really like to smoke. But the smell of the place and the vibe and so on that just makes me feel comfortable and happy like there’s a good world somewhere under this one that I can find if I stand still.

Which is actually sort of true but I don’t know that when I start saying it only when I finish and then I am embarrassed and I still don’t know why Eiger comes in here because he also does not buy any cigars.