15892/Interview with a Billy

Interview with a Billy
Date of Scene:	19 September 2023
Location:	Diana's Office: Themysciran Embassy
Synopsis:	Diana meets Billy Kaplan for an interview for his NYU courses. It gets a bit dramatic as Billy starts to open up to her about some of his own internall fears for himself.
Cast of Characters:	Diana Prince, Billy Kaplan

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Diana Prince has posed:
It is a fine afternoon in Manhattan's Upper East Side. The Avengers Mansion notoriously resides just a couple blocks over from this part of the neighborhood, but this part of the neighborhood is particularly known for being heavily affiliated with the Amazons of Themyscira. Their Embassy resides on one side of a small city park, while their Arts Center resides on the other. the two buildings are a beacon of Themysciran culture in New York City, and the United States as a whole. The Arts Center is open to the public, and has become quite a popular place to immerse one's self within the Themysciran ways of life, from pottery making to poetry reading, to even riding Kanga 'battleroos' in the small arena where the arts of combat are taught by the warrior women of the mythical island.

But the Embassy is a quieter affair, an old New York home that once was the home of many Manhattan Mayors, but now has been retrofitted in to the home of the Amazons here within the urban sprawl.

Billy had setup his appointment for today, and he was now in the process of being escorted from the front foyer to the office of Princess Diana herself. He is lead down a long central hall of polished hardwood floors, lined with the art of the women of Paradise Island lining it. He'll pass by the large windows looking out on a central courtyard where Embassy staff tend to the well cultivated gardens that lie within it, and finally to the double doors of Diana's office itself.

Once inside, with the doors opening, Diana stands beside her desk with one arm across her stomach, the other holding her phone up against her ear. She's dressed in a royal blue blouse of soft fabric, a pair of loose fitting charcoal hued slacks, and a simple pair of heeled shoes. Her dark hair is tied back in to a loose ponytail, and the Princess wears a pair of black framed glasses over her eyes. She has on a subtle amount of makeup, red hued lips and just enough to help keep up a professional air about her demeanor.

When her assistant escorts Billy in to the office, Diana disconnects herself from the phone conversation, and offers a smile to the newly arrived. She steps around her desk and toward him, offering her right hand for him.

"Hello, and welcome..." She says in her naturally husky-hued voice, laced with a Themysciran accent.

Billy Kaplan has posed:
Billy was prepared to wait quite some time in the foyer. This is, after all, the very seat of the Themysciran mission in the United States. Important people are about important business within these halls. But the young college student waited just fifteen minutes before a member of the embassy's staff met him and started escorting him deeper within. Surprise number one.

When the interview was set up on his behalf by Dr. Annatella Beriscolli, Billy's International Politics professor, he was not told with which Themysciran official he would be meeting. As the embassy staffer leads Billy farther and higher into the building he grows increasingly nervous. They pretty much pass all of the offices of the low-ranking officials. And then there they are, in front of the door of Princess Diana, aka Wonder Woman, one of those most powerful heroes in the world and likely beyond. There /must/ be some sort of mistake. Surprise number two.

As he is led into the meticulously appointed office, he self-consciously smooths down the button-up dress shirt tucked neatly into khaki pants. Over one shoulder is a backpack, which was thoroughly inspected by security.

"Miss...Ma-Madame...Princess...Your Highness..." The young man is temporarily broken by the sudden shock of all of this, and he hasn't the slightest clue how to address Diana. And to make matters worse, he bows a little at the waist.

Diana Prince has posed:
When you are in Diana's position, you end up getting greetings that come in all manner of forms, fashions and styles. One could say that at this point, she's seen it all. Of course, Diana has only been a 'public' figure since 2017. She'd helped found the Justice League, but she didn't emerge in to the spotlight until the infamous battle against a terrible villainous horde seemingly killed Superman himself. Since then, the Themyscirans have become a entity known worldwide.

Billy's reaction does garner a small grin from the tall Amazon woman, who is standing well over six feet in height, though some of it is the heels of her shoes she currently wears. She simply holds the grin of amusement at the young man, and tilts her head ever-so slightly to the right. "Please, just call me Diana. It is what I am most comfortable with." She notes, as she pauses a second before angling her shoulders back to let him view the office. "Would you like to come in? Have a seat?" She asks next. "At the sofas, or the desk, whichever you feel would be best for what you came here for?" She states with another small smile given to the man.

"And if you would like anything to drink, you need just ask. We have ... just about everything, and maybe a few things you have not heard of too." She states in her smokey voice, it laced with a sincere undertone of kindness.

"Mister Kaplan, was the name I was given, yes?" She asks then.

Billy Kaplan has posed:
Drawing in a long, slow breath to calm himself, Billy enters farther into the room as he is bidden. He takes a seat on the comfortable sofa and sets his backpack on the floor at his feet. "Yes, ma'am, I'm Mister Kaplan." His face reddens. "I mean, my last name is Kaplan, yes. William Kaplan. Or Billy. A lot of people call me...call me Billy for some reason."

From his backpack, Billy produces an iPad and a digital recorder. He flips open the iPad, calls up a blank page, and taps the screen with an Apple Pencil to get things ready. "Diana, may I have your permission to record the interview?" he asks politely, gesturing to the as-of-yet turned off digital recorder. "It's for my International Politics class."

Diana Prince has posed:
Diana follows after him toward the sofa seating arrangement near the bookshelves of her office. When he sits upon the leather sofa, she takes a seat on the edge of the leather sofa chair to the left of it. His question gets another soft smile upon her red hued lips, and she nods two small times. "Of course," she says softly in response. "And William is a very lovely name." She adds before folding her hands upon her lap together over one another.

Just over Diana's shoulder is an alcove in the bookshelves that shines soft yellow lighting down upon the set of gleaming Eagle Armor that Wonder Woman is best known for, providing quite a backdrop for Billy's view of the Princess for his interview. The armor gleams under the light, with sword and shield set upon stands on either sides of it no less.

"I am happy to get the chance to help with this assignment too. Please feel free to ask whatever will help you with it." The Princess notes with another warm expression given to the young man.

Billy Kaplan has posed:
Yeah. That's the Wonder Woman armor. Right there. Maybe there are some people who are capable of blowing that off or minimizing that. But not Billy. He stares at it for several moments. He watches the news and follows the hero bloggers on the Internet. He knows many of the mighty deeds and great sacrifices that have been made while wearing that armor. His gaze finally shifts from the armor to the woman. "Thank you," he says softly, nodding his head, "for everything you do for us."

He reaches down and clicks on the digital recorder. Then he folds one leg over the opposite knee to create a perch for his iPad. "Diana, given the antiquity of and -- some would say -- history of isolation of Themyscira, what would say is the most important goal of the Themysciran Embassy here in New York?"

Diana Prince has posed:
The office itself is quite a museum all together, and the more his eyes might roam around it the more he might take note of other noteworthy items, from a bow signed by Hawkeye, to other trinkets Diana has gathered in her journeys across the globe.

The Princess keeps her eyes upon Billy though, as he upholds his professionalism as he begins the interview. The question has her show a hint of a twitch to the corners of her lips, a grin that she keeps at-bay. "Well," Wonder Woman starts, her eyes flicking away for a moment before bouncing back to his own. "I began this process six years ago. The process being the wish to bring my homeland out of mystery, and further in to the light. I was blessed to be given the life that allowed me to grow up upon our island, and I wish that others could enjoy it as much as I was able to. Of course, that comes with a lot of challenges, both locally on the island itself... and beyond its shores. But, in recent years, I am happy to say that we have had more visitors come to our shores. WE have had the wonderful opportunity to let more people come within our home's borders, and through that... the myths fade, and the reality becomes fact. We have also opened up the Arts Center just across the street from here, to give more people a greater opportunity to dip their toes in to the culture of my people, and that wish really is just to spread the beauty, and love that the Themyscirans have for our world as a whole. We want to help others embrace these same beliefs."

She pauses for a second, before showing another little smile. "Love, beauty, peace and harmony. these are things worth fighting for."

Billy Kaplan has posed:
"Sounds quite idyllic," the college student says as he takes notes with the Apple Pencil on the iPad's equivalent of a sheet of paper, and all the while the digital recorder captures every word for posterity. He speaks each of the four word aloud as he jots them digitally on the tablet: "Love." "Beauty." "Peace." "Harmony."

And yet there is a whisper of disappointment on the young man's face. "It's a great vision for the future. On my way here for this interview, just four blocks away, there was a homeless man sitting on the sidewalk begging for money. Now I don't know if he wants to buy drugs or food or both, but do you have any thoughts on his situation, Diana?" Billy peers up from the screen to the Themyscirian Princess.

Diana Prince has posed:
The question does bring a more sobered expression to Diana's visage. She remains seated there on the edge of the leather sofa chair with her hands folded together on her lap. "There is a lot of suffering in the world. I have witnessed it since my first day away from the island, my first day within Man's world. There are a million and one reasons for it, and to battle one, seemingly gives time for another to further embolden itself to become even more prominent. Obviously I cannot speak for that man that you saw today, on a specific level, but I can say that I do want to find ways to lift the homeless up, and see to it that they help themselves push back against whatever has lead them to being in the situation that they are in now. I have seen a lot of such cases in my century within the politics of the mortal world. I have seen people in such places within their own lives, who did receive some positive influences that helped them pull themselves back up, dust themselves off, and find themselves stepping on to more stable footing. It is a challenge though, to be sure, and sometimes it does feel like a ship with so many holes in its bulkheads, that no volume of patchwork can keep the ocean's waters from pulling the ship under. But you have to keep trying. You have to keep finding ways to plug the holes, and push the water back. Every... little bit helps, and in my one hundred years of exploring our world, I have seen unbelievable positive strides toward improving. But... there is a long way to go still, of course."

As she speaks, the same assistant who showed Billy to Diana's office returns with a tray of glasses and a pitcher of ice tea. She begins to pour a glass for both Diana, and for Billy.

Billy Kaplan has posed:
Diana is, of course, saying too many important things too quickly for Billy to adequately take notes on it. So he sits and gives her his undivided attention. It's not terribly difficult to do so with such a poised and powerful speaker. The digital recorder gets the job of taking in all the words for a review later.

The young college student nods politely to the assistant and says, "Thank you." Billy's parents are wealthy doctors. They have maids and assistants around constantly, and he learned from a young age to treat them with respect. Else he earned the ire of his mother.

"People die homeless every day," Billy says with a melancholy tone. "Not everyone makes it." Then he takes a long, deep drink of the ice tea from a glass that no doubt costs a lot.

"Are you a U.S. citizen, Diana?" Billy inquires.

Diana Prince has posed:
There comes a gentle pair of nods from the Princess regarding the homeless situation, and she could speak on it at length, but such is the case with complicated situations like that one.

His last question is what she focuses on, and with another faint smile, she nods her head again a single time. "Yes, I am. I am recognized as a citizen of the US, and of my homeland. We have been working hard to detail all of the specifics on that, considering my country of origin has fallen under a rather unique banner. One akin to that of Wakanda, for instance, which we have discovered many similarities since Wakanda has also become a more public presence in the world. There are even direct ties between our nations, in fact. I imagine you have seen both of our people..."

Diana raises her hands up, her fists in loose form as she crosses her bare forearms over one another in front of her chest. Her bracers of submission rest on the display shelves behind her, generally always seen on Diana's wrists, but in this case.. she's simply indicating the gesture.

As she lowers her hands again to her lap, she smiles softly. "Wakanda has the same gesture, because our people are linked in history.. so we have discovered."

Billy Kaplan has posed:
In addition to the recorder's activities, Billy takes a few notes on that last bit. Wakanda. Themyscira. Linked common history. Gestures and symbology. NOTE: Research other common rituals.

He drains the rest of the iced tea in his glass. He didn't wake up this morning expecting to be having a conversation with Diana Prince! At best, he assumed he would be farmed out to some intern or low-level official. It's thirsty work going toe-to-toe with Wonder Woman.

"Diana, is it important to you to make a good impression to the citizens of the United States? And if so, why? And if not, why not?"

Yeah. The kid's not here to do a high school social studies report. NYU don't play.

Diana Prince has posed:
Diana had reached out to gather up her own provided glass of tea, having softly thanked the assistant before the young woman had left again. She is setting the glass down upn the table in front of her when the next question is asked of her.

This one garners another little smile before the Princess just gives two small, and quick nods of her head. "I certainly wish the people of the United States to enjoy my presence. I... first visited the States shortly after the end of World War II. I came here to New York City, in fact, as my first stop. I did not actually uproot from Europe and fully move here until the 1980s, when I first lived in Washington DC. It was all the way back then, that I really did begin to fall in love with the American spirit, you could say. I want Americans to have strong role models, as much as I want the world at-large tohave them. I choose to live here, though, due to the influential nature of the US, but also because of this city's status as such a melting-pot of all kinds of people. It is so very diverse, and I wish to be right in the middle of that."

She shows another little smile toward the young man then. "I get asked why I chose to live here, you see. But the truth is, I have lived other places already, I just choose to live here now, for now. That may change again some time in the future."

Billy Kaplan has posed:
"May I?" Billy inquires politely as he picks up the pitcher and refills his glass with iced tea. Then he tops off Diana's glass before setting the pitcher back down. He takes another healthy drink of tea and then tappa-tappa-taps on his tablet, organizing his notes for later retrieval.

"Yeah," Billy responds with a small smile of his own. "Living in New York City is pretty amazing. It's a privilege I was given rather than earned. But I'm grateful for it all the same."

He takes another sip of the tea and looks at Diana directly. "How long have you been alive?" he asks cooly. His tone and expression give the impression that they circumvent the ages-old adage that you never ask a lady her age, but rather suggest that he's asking a question that the public has a right to know.

Diana Prince has posed:
Diana quietly thanks him for refilling her glass, before her eyes return up to him at his posed question for her. The question gets a more obvious grin to spread across her red hued lips. She takes just a second before she levles her gaze upon him. "I am roughly the same age as Master Yoda." She says, actually cracking a joke about it. It has become a favored jokes of hers to make, in fact, since members of her family got her to watch those movies several years ago.

She grins even more openly then before she shakes her head. "A little over nine hundred. By five years now." She says, raising her right hand up to make a little pinching gesture. "Just a smidge past it." She further jokes before her hand drops back to her lap. "My birthday, upon the standard world calendar is March 22nd, 1118. That is the day that... well, I was given life by the Gods, at the behest of my mother's long lived desire for a daughter of her own." She smiles evenly then, warmly, toward him. "I am told I don't look a day over eight hundred though..."

Billy Kaplan has posed:
As Diana, who by all accounts is warm and charming and engenders trust in others, rattles off her legit funny jokes, they seem to deflect off of Billy. There is.../something/ about her telling of her age and how she came to be that seems to touch a nerve in William Kaplan. He peers at her unflinchingly and in that moment the awkward, young college student is no longer in the room.

"What...what did it feel like to get older and older as everyone around you aged?" he asks, not breaking his eye contact. There might not be very many college students who can maintain eye contact with Wonder Woman for very long. But somehow Billy gains an intensity about him. His voice lowers to a near-whisper. "What do you think it will be like for you in a thousand years from now?"

Diana Prince has posed:
The joking aside, his serious question shot back at her does once more sober her up a little. Her shoulders roll very slightly as she considers how to answer it best for this interview. A glance is given to her right where there is a bookshelf a small distance away that holds several photographs of her life throughout the 20th century and on up to a more contemporary selection of pictures. She looks back to him though, and again smiles softly toward the college man.

"Challenging." She answers in short form, taking a moment before elaborating upon that following a little exhale. "Eight hundred years of being on Themyscira with my people who also did not age the same as those in the rest of the mortal world do. I went through the same steps as any child, up in to my mid twenties before the physical aging stopped, and only the mind would continue to grow with the passage of time. It has its benefits, of course, but it comes with a great deal of troublesome factors that many may not consider too. For instance.. my mind does not let go of memories, not like the average person's mind might. I... still remember everything, as if it were just mere minutes ago. I remember my first sparring match with my Aunt. I remember my first horse ride through the flowers of the open Themysciran plains. I remember the first time that my mother told me a bedtime story, and the first time that we fought about my inclusion in the Amazon army. I ... remember the first time I left Themyscira, and the first time I saw the suffering in Man's world. I remember the first friends I made, and the music that played at their funerals. I remember it all, like it just occurred, and it all effects every decision I make."

She trails off there, letting that sum up her feelings on it, before she shows another faint smile toward him. "I hope that in a thousand years that there will be no homeless people forced to find their comfort on the cold streets of a urban landscape."

Billy Kaplan has posed:
If Diana had punched Billy in the gut instead of telling him "my mind does not let go of memories" the effect would have been the same. As Diana speaks, Billy stands up, his iPad and digital recorder forgotten on the table. He wanders toward a window, peering out at the city below. He places his fingertips of one hand on the glass for a moment. The glass beneath his touch become like water somehow, and his fingers and hand pass through.

"Diana, I remember the moment I was born. I remember my mother yelling. I remember the doctor, she had red hair peeking out from her surgical cap and bright green eyes. Her scrub shirt was black with bright floral patterns on it." He turns away from the window, retracting his hand. Did he really put it through the glass? Or was it merely a trick of the light? The window is pristine and unmarred.

He returns back to sit on the couch. "How did the mortals in your life handle you not growing old with them?"

From the cast-off electronic equipment and the haunted expression on Billy's face, it would seem that the traditional interview portion of this visit has concluded.

Diana Prince has posed:
While the young man stands and performs his feat with the window, and shares that inner experience still locked within his mind, Diana simply remains where she is seated. She does tilt her head again as she observes him, and when he returns to settle down on the sofa to her right, she keeps her eyes upon him. "Clearly you know what it is like then." She softly says to the young man. "Clearly you have abilities that set you apart, and thusly side effects that come with it, that many others may not consider because of it."

His question has her glance down toward his tablet computer before she shakes her head and regards him again. "I only allowed a few people to ever know. People that I first met when I was new to... all of this. But that group dwindled over time, and really I was left with just one close friend up until I moved to the United States. Etta Candy." Diana turns her head and nods toward a picture of she and a close friend, sitting on horses together. The picture is in black and white. "Etta passed away shortly before I moved here. But, throughout our time as friends, she would move from place to place with me, always changing locations so that those we knew where we were before would not notice that I was not aging. You could say that it lead to a lonely life, but I would say that it helped spare those around me from having to deal with the burden of knowing who I really was. Some might call it a 'secret identity', but I would likely call it... just keeping my identity mostly to myself."

She levels her stare over at him again then, a calm expression on her face. "What of you? I get the sense you are still figuring out what such path you will take with what it is that you have been blessed with?"

Billy Kaplan has posed:
With a brief, absent flick of his hand the digital recorder turns off as if my magic as Diana begins her tale. One might (correctly) get the sense that Billy is less concerned about powers and abilities, and more concerned with how one with powers can live within the ordinary world.

He doesn't cry -- one might (also correctly) get the sense he is not a lachrymose kind of guy -- but certainly his eyes are moister now, softer, perhaps even more tender. "If you had it to do all over again, would you stay with Etta as she aged and eventually died? Or would you spare her, too, from the burden?" Before, for the interview, he asked his questions by rote, mechanically. Now he inquires with true passion and genuine wonder.

With just the tiniest shakiness to his hand, Billy drains the rest of his glass of tea.

"Me?" he responds rhetorically. He lets out a humorless laugh. "I'm cursed to a fate worse than any death. I will live until the end of time, until all of the universes die their heat deaths and no life remains anywhere." A shrug of a shoulder: a gesture of surrender.

Diana Prince has posed:
In the past 6 years specifically, Diana has had a lot of opportunities to speak to young heroes who are emerging in to this mad world, with powers they don't fully understand. It's been a journey all in itself, trying to help as many of them as she can, to try and find a path to walk on for themselves. She can see what Billy's heart has been dealing with, though she's still in the dark on all the details and what they might truly mean for the young man though.

Her head does tilt slightly to the side as she watches him, studying his facial features as he opens up to her. She takes a minute to hold her bottom lip in between her teeth as she considers it all. Her eyes glance to the recording equipment as she sees he's turned it off too, before her stare returns over to him.

"You have a lot on your mind then, young William." She quietly says to him. "But, do not resolve your fate to the unknowns of what comes tomorrow. Your focus does not belong there, for your own well-being, and for the well-being of those around you. Those that you care about most." She starts, letting a pause linger for a moment before she continues with a warm and sincere tone to her kind voice. "I would not trade my time with Etta for anything, and nor would she even consider letting me leave her behind to help her. She was a rock for me when I needed it most. She guided me in to Man's world, and helped me learn how to blend in within it. She was a positive influence of the likes that you could never truly ask for again. If you have those in your life, you need to embrace every moment with them. Help them. Hold on to them, and be there for them, as they are there for you. The future will come, no matter what. But what that future will be, is heavily dependent on what you are right now..."

Billy Kaplan has posed:
There is a visible effect on Billy when Diana says she would not trade her time with Etta for anything. His lips quirk, almost a smile. Almost. Certainly a lightening of spirit. "For me, it's my parents and kid brothers. They know all about me. I love them so much. Sometimes I get so obsessive about imagining them growing old and dying and becoming dust in the ground. I mean, my parents, sure. That's...that's the normal flow of life. But when I look at my little brothers and imagine them as old men it breaks my heart for some reason."

Billy takes a drink from his glass, but the tea is gone. He drinks the meltwater from the ice cubes instead.

"Did you influence Etta? Protect and guide her? What responsibility did you feel toward her as she aged?"

Diana Prince has posed:
These words from the young man cause Diana to just nod vaguely a couple of times as she understands where he is coming from with his worries. But then he asks of Etta again, and it draws out a quick smile upon the Princess' visage, dimpling the sides of her cheeks beside her lips. She shakes her head slightly as she looks away again. "Etta was a force of nature." Diana replies, her eyes returning to Billy's own, still covered by those vanity glasses that she's wearing, the lenses clearly having no prescription in them. "She was like a hurricane of willpower, determination, and ferocity. But she was well supplied with morality, ethics of the highest caliber, and an understanding of how people should behave. She was not afraid to tell you if you were, in any way, out of line either." Diana states with a little laugh trailing her words. "If I felt anything as she aged, it would be just a greater protectiveness of her well-being as I saw her getting more physically .. frail. I will not sugar coat it for you either, William. It is not easy. But not everything in life should be easy. Challenges make us stronger. We learn from hardships, as much as we learn from failures. You have to embrace them, process them internally. Examine them, and pull the good from them to strengthen your spirit. You will need your spirit, William."

She pauses then again, and smiles softly toward him. "Your siblings need your help. They need you to help them have the best lives they can possibly have, so that when the day comes for them to pass on in to the life beyond this one, they will go with smiles upon their faces for what they had, and the best parts of it all. Help them build those best parts, and it will help you when you need it most."

Billy Kaplan has posed:
Blinking his eyes several times quickly, Billy rises to his feet. It's so obvious that Diana pushed right through to the heart of the matter for him. And maybe the younger, less travelled heroes now needs to process these serious concepts. He digs around in his backpack and finds on of the business cards he uses for tutoring and for contacts in his various internships. He leaves it on the table for Diana. WILLIAM KAPLAN, wkaplan@nyu.edu, Twitter: @NightKap, cell: <<cell phone number>>.

"I don't mean to be presumptuous, but I truly hope we can talk again, Diana. You have /no/ idea how much you've given me to think about, and I know I'll have more questions." He stops and pauses, swallowing. "Thank you so much." He starts packing his things back into his backpack and zips it up snuggly.

Diana Prince has posed:
Diana rises up to her full height again as she sees Billy is preparing to leave. She waits for him to finish tidying his belongings up before she offers him her right hand again. "It has been a great honor to get to speak with you, William. I will happily be here should you need any further help or have any questions you would simply like to ping off of me." She states with a simple and soft smile for him.

She steps over to her desk, retreiving a similar card that she hands to him then before she interlaces her fingers together in front of her lap as she stands in front of her office desk.

"I will happily answer any of the messages that you send too." She adds a moment before her assistant arrives again to stand within the doorway.

"Remember. The better you make your life around you, the better your future will be. Do not put pressure upon yourself though, simply live your best life, and let the next day build itself better then the last."

Billy Kaplan has posed:
Billy gratefully shakes Diana's hand. As his energy starts to mount in preparation for teleporting away, it's possible Diana might be able to feel it in his touch, maybe the hairs on her arms shift a bit.

He tucks the card away in his pocket. "Thank you so, so much. The great honor was mine."

"Take me home," he murmurs once. Words. Just syllables that punctuate the exhalation of sound from his mouth.

"Take me home," he murmurs twice. Now we are are the heart of the matter. The energy in the air is palpable. A few papers shift. An ice cube clinks in a glass.

"Take me home," he murmurs a final time, tapping into the infinite energy field that was gifted (cursed?) to him. One with the power and wisdom and worldliness of Diana Prince may even experience what Billy experiences: a moment between ticks of the clock that stretches off in all directions for ever and ever.

Then he is gone, replaced by a soft, gentle popping sound as the air rushes in to fill the void occupied by his body.