Not that she needed them to do that. She’d given herself the part; her schedule of lethal performances had begun long before any of them knew her name.

There was no point regretting the past – Sellers imagined Lane Baillie would impress this upon him if she were here. The important thing now was to move fast and get some answers. Who was Faith Kendell, and why was she killing people?

When the lift doors opened on the ground floor, Sellers pulled out his phone, took a deep breath and rang Simon.

14 January 2015

Dear Sondra

You haven’t read the books I sent, have you? You’ve had no time. I know this because I’ve been watching your activity on Twitter, and it’s clear that you spend the majority of your time exchanging insults with those you perceive as your enemies. Or if you’re not scrapping on Twitter, you’re writing your articles for Lifeworld, in which you say the same thing over and over again.

Your confusion about the nature of reality is severe. There’s no shame in that. I used to be as deep in the dark as you are. Now I can see the light even if I can’t reach it myself, and, surprisingly, that’s good enough for me. It’s a huge step forward. Perhaps you could make similar progress?

Since you’re probably never going to stop tweeting ‘Fuck you, misogo-splainer’ for long enough to read Beloved or Jude the Obscure, I thought I’d try something quicker and more fun: a quiz. Lane showed me something similar the first time I went to see her. I kept it because it made such an impression on me, and I’ve adapted it below for you, to reflect your interests. Don’t worry if you get all the answers wrong. Read the correct answers I’ve provided underneath each question.

HOW ENLIGHTENED ARE YOU?

1. Which statement is most accurate?

1. a) Men and women are not two separate groups.
2. b) Men and women are socially conditioned to behave differently.
3. c) Men and women are biologically and psychologically different.
4. d) I refuse to pick any option that puts ‘Men’ before ‘women’ in the word order. That’s a syntactical reinforcement of oppressive gender structures.

Answer: a. ‘Men’ and ‘women’ are irrelevant categories the human mind has created. Every man, woman and child on the planet is Awareness, irrespective of his or her bodily configuration or set of opinions. The people you attack on Twitter are you, and you are them, because at the level of the true self, we are all that same Awareness or Consciousness with no limit, beginning or end.

2. You, Sondra Halliday, insult and Twitter-block dozens of people every day because: