The four young and extremely skinny question writers were crammed together once again on one couch. Others on the staff—Cobb, Carruthers, Wreck, Metzger, the network censors Kligman and Siegel—were seated or standing about the room. The production assistant named Tammy Teesdale was at her usual place, standing beside the producer. As usual, she had her clipboard at the ready. Her new skirt was so short it barely covered her ass. When the PA reached above her head for anything, her panties showed.

Ms. Pickle was seated in her usual place, in front of the producer’s desk, frumpy and repellent as ever, her face wrinkled up in anger. It wasn’t hard to determine the cause of Ms. Pickle’s ire. It was the PA’s postage stamp skirt. Everyone knew that’s what was bothering Pickle, including Tammy the PA.

“Read the list, Tammy,” snapped the producer, exchanging knowing glances with Ms. Pickle. “Who’s first?”

“Vera Bundle,” said the PA cheerfully, completely unaware of anything as subtle as a knowing glance.

“I like her,” said the producer. “I want her to go as far as she can go. She’s a lovable old biddy who people will hate to see executed.” Turning to the quartet of question writers on the couch, he said, “Make her questions easy until you get to the big one, then make that one hard as hell. Make it the China question. As a matter of fact, make the big question the China question, period.”

“The China question is fine for Vera Bundle,” said a writer. “Her subject is geography. But what about all the other contestants who get to the big question? None of their categories are geography. How are we supposed to work the China question in—”

“You having a problem with your hearing? I said, use the China question as the last question. You figure the other shit out. That’s what you get paid to do. Who’s next?”

“No, wait!” said Siegel the censor. “The rules state that the contestant’s final question shall be a question in the same category as the—”

“Just figure it out, goddamn it. I want to move on. Next!”

Ms. Pickle wrote in her notebook: Writers to make the China question the final question for everybody.

“Next is Father Daniel Patrick Brady,” said Tammy.

“Give him tough questions,” the producer told the writers. “Nobody likes priests. Ms. Pickle, tell Metzger to avoid priests and black cats. Next.”

“Black cats?” asked Ms. Pickle.

“Nuns. Next!”

Ms. Pickle wrote in her notebook: Metzger, avoid priests and cats.

“Next is Arthur Durch,” said Tammy the production assistant.

“He repulses me,” said the producer. “Make his questions hard. Get rid of him as quickly as possible. Next.”

“Retta Mae Wagons.”

“She’s the substitute, isn’t she? Get rid of her quickly too. Nobody cares if a black’s executed. No offense, Kyle.” One of the four writers on the long couch, Kyle Wells, was black.

“Next.”

“Rasheed Jamal,” chirped Tammy.