Greg is shaking his head ruefully—“But how can you really believe that there’s fairy dust sprinkled onto brain states and that it’s just magic? Is that what you actually believe?”

“Oh! Oh yeah, Greg, yeah, that’s what I believe. That’s the appropriate response when I accuse you of begging the question. That I must believe in fucking magic. Petitio principii, Greg, petitio principii!”

“Kierk, you are so loud right now, just like, tone it down, man,” Mike says, leaning over.

Kierk stares at Mike, but then looks down at his drink. Much more calmly—“Consciousness is a natural phenomenon. It has properties, scope, character. It’s the world in which you live day in and day out. It is unlike, in kind, anything else in nature. It has a greater claim to existence than anything else. Consciousness is not the hypothesis. The outside world is the hypothesis. If you cannot accommodate consciousness in your natural order, then the natural order must expand. Your reality is too small. The sole reason anyone wants to eliminate consciousness is solely to keep materialism, which is a metaphysical position, intact. While some philosophers may warp themselves that much, a true scientist could never throw away the obvious, in-front-of-their-eyes evidence. People who say consciousness does not exist are like Parmenides arguing his way into believing that change does not exist. But change is undeniable. Or Zeno making his argument that there is no motion. Yet motion is undeniable. Consciousness is undeniable. And since it exists as an undeniable natural kind, then not all things are physical, therefore physicalism is false. Ex cathedra.”

Jessica laughs, defusing everything, drawing everyone to her. “Another lecture, Kierk! And you say you don’t want to be an academic. But it doesn’t answer the most important question. What’s the next flavor of hookah we should get?”

The conversation moves on. When no one is looking Carmen winks at Kierk. Atif orders more drinks. Greg tries to bring up the subject again, but both Kierk and Carmen simultaneously (not quite however, Carmen moves first and Kierk copies her so fast as to appear simultaneous) ball up their napkins and throw them at Greg, and in reply Alex throws his at Kierk, to general laughter. Kierk stands up jokingly as if to leap over the table at Alex and Alex makes kissy faces at him. Kierk goes out for a cigarette and most of the other Crick Scholars join him, leaving just Greg and Leon at the table.