Chapter Text
"Five, eight, twenty-six, thirty... aaah..."
Carlos flipped the dial on his machine over to thirty and sighed in relief. So that was why that hadn't been working. All of his machines were calibrated to his favorite numbers, and for some reason or another, this one had been incorrectly calibrated.
"Everything okay, boss?" asked Luisa from the table next to his. Luisa was a member of Carlos's team of scientists, the newest of the bunch. She still called him "boss", even though he'd told her several times that it wasn't necessary.
"Yes, fine, everything's fine, I just forgot to calibrate this correctly this morning. Silly mistake."
"I'm enormously disappointed in you."
"Sorry?"
"Sorry. That was for the invisible corn."
Carlos squinted at Luisa's table as she set up her trifold board. "Are you sure being disappointed at invisible corn is the best experiment? You realize that most people won't be able to see it, and will therefore assume that you're making a joke, don't you?"
"I know," sighed Luisa, poking at the air above her table (presumably rolling over the invisible corn). "I prefer using potatoes. But getting funding for potatoes is much too difficult these days. John Peters - you know, the farmer? - donated three bushels of invisible corn to my studies, so I'm just doing the best I can."
"You're not going to win any awards, though," said Mark, another member of Carlos's science team.
"Winning awards isn't everything," said Nilanjana, the third member of the team.
"Please stop arguing. It is distracting me," said Carlos.
The four Night Vale scientists had left town earlier that week and driven in the science van (a white van with the word "SCIENCE!!!" painted on the side) to reach this convention. Leaving Night Vale was something of a gamble. Most people would set out only to find themselves right back where they started. But for some reason or another, the town had decided to work in their favor, and they'd been able to leave without any problems.
Well, without any problems from the town, Carlos amended in his mind. Although Night Vale had decided to let him leave unhindered, convincing his husband had been a little more difficult.
"I don't understand why I can't come to your science fair," Cecil had complained. "I'm very into science."
"I know, sweetie, but you aren't actually a scientist. And it isn't a science fair, it's a science convention."
"You put experiments on a table with a trifold board. That sounds like a science fair to me."
"Okay, well, I'd like for you to come, but only scientists are allowed, and being married to a scientist doesn't automatically make you a scientist. Just like me being married to a radio host doesn't automatically make me a radio host, right? Correlation does not indicate causation." Which was sort of irrelevant at that moment, but he really liked saying it, so he had said it anyway. "It's just three days. And then I'll be back."
"Fine, I know, I understand. I'll miss you, though. And I always worry when you're gone."
Carlos found that ironic, since statistically, he was safer outside of Night Vale than he was within it.
But in the end both Night Vale and Cecil were understanding, and now here he was, watching Nilanjana and Mark finish setting up their experiments. Nilanjana kept creeping over to the other tables, trying to make their display more symmetrical, and Mark kept having to fix his experiment whenever it fell apart. Carlos checked his watch.
"We have a half hour left before the convention actually starts," he said. "Are you both sure you'll be ready?"
"Yes," snapped Nilanjana defensively.
"No," whimpered Mark helplessly.
"Huh." He glanced back at his own table, which was set up with the machine humming away. "Here, how about I go over to the cafe and get you both coffee. Coffee is a stimulant. It will speed up your work."
"Oh, get me some too," said Luisa. "I'll take an espresso. Tell them to hold the metal shavings, though."
Carlos took Mark and Nilanjana's coffee orders (Nilanjana asked for a latte, and Mark indicated through a rhythmic dance that he'd take whatever), and set off for the cafe in the lobby.
The science convention was a bi-annual event taking place in a large Nevada hotel. Scientists from around the world came to display their inventions, talk in long words that no one outside of the hotel understood, and compete for various awards.
It was a strange system, Carlos thought as he stepped down the patterned carpet of the hallway. Whose idea was it to pit intelligent people against each other for a meaningless scrap of paper that would hang on the wall of a lab most people would never see? To assemble the world's greatest thinkers into rooms of fluorescent lighting and linoleum flooring, pushing caffeine and water into their hands so they could get through what was supposed to be a long-awaited event?
Humans are weird, Carlos concluded. Weird, but neat.
He reached the lobby cafe, where several scientists were milling about chatting and drinking coffee. A few of them waved to him, and he waved back. None of them approached him to chat, and he was fine with that. We are creatures of distance and familiarity. We stay distant from that with which we are not familiar.
The bored cashier took his order and slunk over to the machine. Carlos leaned against the wall and checked his watch again. There were now twenty-five minutes until the convention officially opened. Time outside of Night Vale was normal, or at least as normal as time is capable of being. After the opening, the convention would continue until around five that evening, and then start up again the next morning. With luck, he and his team would be back to Night Vale early the morning after that. Of course, statistically, the town might not want to let them back in, so -
"Excuse me," said a voice suddenly, right in front of him. He lifted his head and was surprised to find himself looking into the equally surprised face of Dr. Sylvia Kayali.
Oh no.
Before coming to Night Vale, Carlos had worked at the University of What It Is, with Dr. Kayali. While there, he had come across rumors of a scientifically fascinating town in the southwest, a town called Night Vale. The town that he now called home. Due to the fascinating nature of the town, and the untrustworthy nature of his employers at the University, Carlos had left and never gone back. And he never planned to. All of the things from that part of his life were best left to the past. He hadn't even told Cecil about it.
""Dr. Kayali," he said eventually, extending a hand even though he didn't really like shaking hands. "How have you been?"
She didn't shake his hand. Her shocked eyes remained on his face. "I have been looking for you," she said.
"Oh... okay?"
Dr. Kayali broke off her gaze suddenly and drew herself up to her full height. "I attempted to contact you several times," she said. "But all of my attempts proved futile. I even visited your new town."
What? he thought. "Oh?" he said.
"Yes. You see..." Dr. Kayali glanced around. "Well, not here," she murmured. Carlos got the sense that she was speaking to herself more than to him. "I can't tell you here. There are too many people here."
She stuck out her hand and put on a bright smile. Carlos lifted his own hand again and accepted an awkward handshake.
"How have you been?" asked Dr. Kayali brightly. "It's been so long. Your last name is different."
"Oh, yes, I... I got married last December," said Carlos, plucking at his lanyard.
"To your boyfriend Cecil?"
Carlos started. "I'm sorry, how do you know about-"
"Your coffee is ready," shouted the cashier.
"I'll leave you be," said Dr. Kayali, with her bright smile that seemed very fake. "But let me give you my card. I always carry these cards. I want to speak to you privately." She pressed a rectangle of paper into his hand. "You'll be hearing from me soon. Enjoy the convention!"
She turned with a flick of her hair and wandered away, high heels clacking on the lobby floor. Carlos took the coffee tray and went back to his scientists, still puzzling in his mind.
"Ooh, just in time," said Luisa as he returned. She plucked her espresso from the tray. "You're the best, boss. You are a failure in every way," she added, glaring down at her invisible corn.
Nilanjana frowned as Carlos handed her the latte. "Is everything okay, Carlos?"
"Huh? Oh, yes. Everything is fine. Why wouldn't it be?" He smiled, hoping to convey the fine-ness that he didn't actually feel. Nilanjana knew him better than the others.
"For a moment you seemed..." Nilanjana shook her head. "Never mind. Thanks for the coffee."
"Any time."
Carlos took his own coffee over to the table with his machine and triple-checked that everything was in order. He twisted his wedding ring with his free hand, a nervous habit. Dr. Kayali had been to Night Vale. Dr. Kayali had met Cecil. What had she told him? What did she want from Carlos? And what in the world had the cashier put into this coffee to make it so spectacularly awful?
No, ignore it, he told himself firmly. Not the coffee. The stuff with Kayali. Ignore all that. You'll ask her when she reaches out to you later. Later. Five. Eight. Twenty-six. Thirty.
It wasn't until she texted him that Carlos realized he hadn't actually given Dr. Kayali his number.