American Elsewhere (46 page)

MICHAEL DERN
: Alpaca.

: Yes. Fucking alpaca sweaters. Jesus Christ. You want us to lay aside our differences, sit down, create something great. Like they did at Los Alamos. But this isn’t Los Alamos. There isn’t a war going on, or at least not a real one. And we’re not Oppenheimer, or Bohr, or Feynman, or any of the rest of them. Just a bunch of assholes in the desert gnawing their arms off.

MICHAEL DERN
: And do you think they treat you differently? Even from the others?

: What, because I’m
or because I’m a good-looking

[SILENCE]

: That’s very tactful of you, Mike. To answer your question, yes, I think they treat me differently. I think I’m excluded from a lot. But it doesn’t stop there. The town treats us differently.

MICHAEL DERN
: You think the problems extend to Wink?

: Not these exact problems. And they’re not overt problems. It’s a… sense. A way they look at us.

MICHAEL DERN
: Wink was built to support you all.

: And you don’t think that pisses them off? Christ, I’d be disappointed. I mean, have you met us? They don’t even have good television out here. They only broadcast shows from, like, fifteen years ago. The
Ozzie and Harriet
reruns… I’m surprised we don’t have any suicides. But what’s really bad about it is that we all know, somewhere in the back of our heads, that this is all supposed to be perfect. This place is supposed to be…

MICHAEL DERN
: The future.

: Yeah. Yeah, the future. We give a little to the town. The streetlights. Power. Other little innovations. But they know, deep down, that it’s not a real place. It’s… invented. It’s fake. Like Las Vegas, but worse. At least Vegas makes money.

MICHAEL DERN
: What makes you think this facility doesn’t make money?

: I guess that’s a good point. We could be shoveling out patents and they’d never tell us. I guess
could have cooked up a whole lot of patents and they’re just waiting to get out and… well. That would never happen, would it.

MICHAEL DERN
: No. There are a lot of eyes on you all.

: You mean us all.

MICHAEL DERN
: Right.

: For now, yeah. If we don’t make more progress, I’m sure the eyes will look at something else. And the
funding will go there too. Listen, I’ve said what I came to say. Anything more you want to ask me?

MICHAEL DERN
: Relationships.