An Absolutely Remarkable Thing

April and Andy leave the agency at 7 pm to meet up with Miranda. As Robin drives, April records herself introducing the Freddie Mercury sequence and the theory they will test. They find Miranda outside the CVS on Hollywood Boulevard. She is taller than April expects and hugs April as though she is a childhood friend. They film a quick intro with Miranda before heading towards Hollywood Carl. The line leading to the Carl on Hollywood Boulevard is infinite, so April makes conversation with a young woman. The young woman exclaims, calling the attention of others in line. Almost everyone in line wants a picture, and they have effectively cut to the front. On camera, April and Miranda discuss the elements they are about to give Carl. Without giving it a second thought, April presses each element to the palm of Carl’s hand, feels heat, and becomes light-headed and nauseated. At first, nothing significant happens. When the disappointed group decides to leave, Carl’s hand soundlessly disconnects from the body, drops to the ground, and starts running.

In shock, Miranda, Andy, and April run after Carl’s hand until it leaps over a wall leading to a castle. The valet refuses to let them in, pointing out that they are not members and are in violation of the dress code. They push past him and head inside Magic Castle, a members-only club for magicians. When they aren’t allowed to look for Carl’s hand, April and Miranda leave. In the car, April tweets about her upcoming video and learns that she isn’t the first to break the story because every Carl lost its hand at the same time. Though April wants to finish filming in the car, Robin tells them to upload it the next day—if they upload it tonight, they will be drowned out. After laughing off the absurdity of planning a press strategy for the announcement of first contact, April falls asleep and has the Dream for the first time. In the Dream, April finds herself in the lobby of a fancy, shiny office. She doesn’t recognize the music, and there is a human-sized robot at a check-in desk. April approaches the robot and asks to see Carl. The robot asks if she has the passcode. When she says no, she immediately wakes up and notices that Miranda and Andy are humming a weird song that she does not recognize.

Back in her room, April continues ignoring Maya’s many texts from the last 24 hours. When she falls asleep and has the Dream again, she recognizes the song Andy and Miranda were humming. She thinks she sang it in the car and got in stuck in their heads. On their flight the next morning, Robin tells April to get a book deal, as it helps sway public opinion and makes more money than YouTube. April asks Robin to find her an apartment near Carl and shares the awkward situation with Maya. Present-day April admits that it is weird she and Andy had not yet discussed the Dream and that the people she interacted with on the airplane would have it soon. Without realizing it, she became patient zero for the first and only known infectious dream. 

Present-day April admits that she became the master of not being in relationships. She sarcastically shares tips on how to isolate yourself from love, which include responding to pet names with weirder ones, disregarding societal rules of conversation when heading towards defining your relationship, and mercilessly distancing yourself from people you care about. April derides all connection because she can’t imagine someone worthwhile wanting to be with her. Her relationship with Maya is the longest she has ever had only because Maya understands that April’s ridicule of their relationship stems from her distaste in her own self. April then tells the reader that they will hate her in a couple of pages.

When April returns to the apartment, Maya is anxious because April didn’t text her after telling her that she had something to discuss. April panics when she realizes that Maya might be expecting a breakup, and that it would be bigger than any breakup she’d ever had. Instead of lessening Maya’s anxiety, April discusses how eventful her trip to LA was. They discuss the Carls’ vanishing hands, and April explains that Carl is probably from outer space. When a shocked Maya wants to hear more, April shares how Miranda helped her solve the Freddie Mercury sequence. Maya is uncomfortable that April has been spending time with another woman. April shows their video to Maya, who points out how cute Miranda ism, and a long silence follows when April fails at making Maya feel less threatened. April excitedly shares that she is the one who both uncovered and solved the sequence, and that no one else has footage of Carl’s moving hand.

When Maya asks April if she knows what will happen, April explains that she now has a platform to communicate a positive message. Unconvinced, Maya asks what this is really about, so April tells her about Putman, Mr. Skampt, Robin, and her possible book deal. Maya is taken aback and asks if April thought it would have been a good idea to tell her about this. Present-day April realizes this is the moment she could have healed the situation by separating their discussions of aliens, her desire for power, and her fear of their relationship. However, April wants the fight to become a breakup because being in a relationship can’t compete with the idea of the April May brand.

Maya is legitimately shocked when April asks Maya what any of these decisions has to do with her. April explains that they are just roommates, then tells Maya about her new apartment. Maya’s emotions shift between anger, pain, and disappointment before dissolving into sadness. Maya says that this is about trying to find an audience who will love April and that Maya isn’t enough. It is the closest Maya has ever gotten to admitting she loves April. April’s only response is to tell Maya to grow a pair, and as Maya leaves, April checks Twitter, feeling relieved.