Flow My Tears, the Policeman Said, Chapter 20

The mescaline washes over Jason like a wave at the beach. The ceiling became a skybox, colors shift and overlay, Alys' hair writhes like a nest of snakes. Jason feels fear, Alys completely ignores him, talking about Felix and his various goddamn collections. Jason says he can't get away. Alys says it's just the mes, chill.

She then says her collections are in the next room the library, while this is the study. She then gets on how Felix is also a lawyer and capable of doing good things. Apparently, when he was in charge of 1/4th the forced labor camps on terra (back when there were way more 'blacks' in them so they were more death campish) Felix discovers a series of obscure laws that allow him to shut down the camps. Jason sees a hat. Felix also tried to de-escalate things with pols and students when they would come hunting for food as they didn't have any underground. So by studying reports Felix discovered he could ID what campuses were failing, and which were not. The campuses that were failing he'd collaborate with other pols to drive them to destruction through non-violence. The hat is red, Jason says. With the campuses that were succeeding, Felix would arrange for basic supplies; food, water, soap etc, sent to them. For this he was demoted from Police Marshall to General. Despite the hate from other pols and "hard hats" (another sixties political term) Felix remains a general.

Jason says "but what about your incest?" Alys gives up talking until Jason's got his head back. She takes him back to the living room and he manages the difficult operation of lying down. She also mocks him for not being able to hold his mes; she takes five at once.

"But you're vast," jason said. Alys wanders off, down a long, long hallway, to get some thorazine.

Alone, Jason feels alone, and wants to run away from this strange house. Through a hallucinogenic storm, Jason manages to get outside and walk to the quibble. There, he remembers without keys, that quibble not gonna go. Alys's coat and mailbag-sized purse are in the back seat. But so are two Jason Taverner records. He realizes that the proof he is who he is is on these records. He attempts to return to the house. there is a gate. it does not move. there's a button. no. he puts records down and feels for button, he presses it, he picks up the records, the police man is there. Jason asks "is she insane. the brown police says "I'm not in a position to know. front door left open, down to the sunken living room, Alys is she there? careful examination is narrated. ALys is not in this room. Quadphoto is though, behind glass, it slides out with a terrible noise, turn switch to phono, 33 rpm, switch is a knob he twists. Needle touches down, static, hiss, no music.

Still no music, take needle, drops it in the middle, big THUMP. no music?

He takes the other record. It's the same. No music. The records are blank.