The Future

Martha reflects on her time with Zhen. She believes that her ability to take a risk in getting to know Zhen was made possible by her experience with ArturoMegadog. At the time of their encounter, Martha had been working too much, comforted only by her guinea pigs.

Martha recalls her experience with ArturoMegadog. He is suicidal after the death of his husband, Ted, and in posts on Name The Day forum, he admits to drinking and taking numerous pills. Ted’s company was bought out by Fantail, and after a period of stress and sadness, he died of a heart attack. ArturoMegadog has begun to believe that survivalism is pointless because everyone dies anyway. Meanwhile, another conversation between other members of the online forum is taking place. These members are desperate to find and help ArturoMegadog. OneCorn steps up: They are friends, at least online, and she thinks she may be able to find him.

Martha goes further back in time, recalling when Enoch left her out in the woods to fend for herself at the age of 14. Enoch preaches that the world, made fragmented by the Tower of Babel and the creation of city-states, must be made whole again. Teenage Martha believes that, if she remembers her place in the world as part of the whole, she will be able to find her way home.

After tracking her way by the setting sun, she notices that a bear is following her. As the sun dips lower in the sky, she realizes the bear will gain the advantage; it can see better in darkness. She climbs a tree to wait out the night. Shortly thereafter, a truck pulls over, and a man and a woman get out; they have sex on the hood while Martha watches, fascinated. She has not yet been taught about sex. Afterward, the woman examines her painted nails, each a different, shining color. Martha has an epiphany: Enoch is not entirely correct; the world is also made of fragments, and sometimes those pieces must be enough.

When the couple leaves, she focuses again on the problem of the bear. Enoch has taught her to be observant; he rails against television for making most people unable to see what is really in front of them. She notices that the bear is skinny and desperately hungry; his jaw is infected and rotted, and he is unable to eat. She sees her advantage and breaks off a large branch, swinging it at the bear’s jaw. It shatters, and the bear runs off. Martha takes refuge in a nearby farmhouse for the night, then returns home. She knows she is changed by this experience.

Martha/OneCorn finds ArturoMegadog: He is still alive, though breathing shallowly. She turns him on his side and sticks her fingers in his throat, inducing him to vomit. Most of the pills come up. She now recognizes him, and he recognizes her. ArturoMegadog is Albert Dabrowski, the recently ousted founder of Medlar, and he knows that Martha is assistant to Lenk Sketlish, whose company drove his husband to death. He laments that he ever defended her views on the forum and tells her to leave. She refuses.

Martha recalls meeting Lenk 20 years previously. They are both attending a party for tech start-ups. Martha has been brought by a venture capitalist who knows her worth, though the company she works for is folding. The venture capitalist wants Martha to find a new position.

Martha wanders into the kitchen after hearing raised voices. The catering company has sent the host a box of dead rabbits, but they are not prepared. Martha steps in; the lessons of her youth come in handy sometimes. She decapitates, skins, and guts the rabbits. Lenk is fascinated and asks Martha to teach him how to do this. Martha thinks Lenk is similar to Enoch; she has learned to handle men like this. Lenk believes Martha’s upbringing in a religious fundamentalist cult preparing for the end of days is “cool.” Thus, she becomes his trusted adviser, administrator, counselor, and friend, helping him turn Fantail into a multi-billion-dollar enterprise.

Martha lets the forum members know that ArturoMegadog is okay. When he asks how she found him, Martha admits that, as Lenk’s executive assistant, she has access to personal information on Fantail, even if ostensibly blocked by the user. Albert is disgusted, realizing that his worst suspicions of the company are true. Martha asks if he has any family to care for him during this crisis, and he remarks that he has a sister who does not approve of him. Martha tells him she will stick around to help. It becomes clear that they both like each other, despite their connections to opposing corporations. Albert challenges Martha: She is intelligent and empathetic; she can do better things with her life than serve Lenk Sketlish and Fantail.

Martha remembers that, once upon a time, she believed in Fantail’s mission. In a flashback, she and Lenk work hard to make the company popular and profitable. She sees in Fantail the “beautiful pieces” that Enoch has disavowed. Finally, she decides to use the social media site to look for former Enochites; 15 years have passed since she ran away and the cult imploded.

She connects with a member and they meet for dinner. At first, Jun-seo is pleasant, but he quickly turns angry. He believes that she is looking for the Enochites to re-form the cult. He accuses her of destroying Enoch, who was distraught after she left. Martha knows now that she has cut herself off from her former life completely. She is now fragmented, her life compartmentalized.

As Martha tells Albert the story of working for Lenk, Albert accuses her of serving another version of Enoch. Martha remembers that after the experience with the bear—and seeing the couple copulate on the hood of the truck—her perspective was different. The experiences that Enoch could offer were not as colorful as those of the wider world. Enoch changed his sermons to reflect her growing curiosity about the world (essentially warning her of its dangers) but to no avail. Martha stole some money and a gun and left the compound at 16. The Enochites interpreted her departure as a sign that the end of the world was near. The cult began to unravel, members turning on one another. Martha still blames herself for its dissolution. She does not trust herself to be in relationships as a result. Albert understands her hesitance, given what happened to the Enochites after she left. Still, he urges her to reconsider relationships, take some personal risks, and get close to others.

Martha remembers what happened to the Enochites after she left. Enoch had long experienced paranoia and delusions. He railed against the congregants after Martha left. Then, the compound was set alight, and Enoch, along with some of his followers, died in the fire. Some people claimed the government set the fire, while others thought it was accidental. Some said Enoch set it deliberately, while still others suggested God had done it.

Martha saw the news in a paper while waiting to get into a GED program. She tore out the article but went into her interview with excitement. She moved on and away.

Martha and Albert have been talking all night long. While Martha cannot quite get over blaming herself for the tragedy, Albert suggests that their meeting has meaning. The two of them have worked for many years in an industry that has succeeded in overwhelming the average person with information. Martha agrees, noting that everything has become fragmented.

Albert proposes that they work together to move people beyond this crisis. They have both escaped death, Albert suggests—she escaped the Enochites, while he survived a suicide attempt—so they must make better use of their “extra time.” He implies that they should pursue a solution, however extreme, to this divisive age. He compares it to taking risks in relationships, saying they should be open to the possibilities.

Later that year, Martha meets Selah Nommik, wife of Anvil CEO Zimri Nommik, during a protest. Anvil notoriously disallows bathroom breaks for employees, and women are objecting to such dehumanizing policies by pouring blood and tampons down on them. While Martha and Selah clean up in the corporate bathrooms, Selah asks Martha if Lenk cheats on his wife. She is furious with Zimri for saving his lover from the onslaught but not Selah. Martha lets Selah rant about Zimri’s excesses and failings, thinking she may have another ally.

Martha tells Selah that she wants to make Lenk’s company better, that the gestures toward philanthropy that he and Zimri show are not enough. They both note the biblical nature of recent events: blood raining from the sky, locusts in Europe, plague in the form of the novel coronavirus. Martha convinces Selah that, with her coding skills and connections, she could be a valuable part of potential change. Martha wants to introduce Selah to Albert, while Selah suggests they speak with Badger Bywater. Less than six months later, AUGR is “born.”

Martha, Selah, Albert, and Badger are at the conference in London, witnessing the corporations’ demonstration of weather manipulation. They decide that now is the time to implement their plan.

The plan has been complicated by one factor: Martha’s encounter with Zhen. Selah knows that something serious has happened, but she does not know that Martha gifted Zhen the AUGR program. Martha wants to protect Zhen from what is about to transpire. She knows she will be able to explain everything to Zhen “[a]fter the end of the world” (171).

Inside the artificial mountain, Si Packship gives a presentation to the CEOs of Fantail, Anvil, and Medlar. Zhen waits outside for them to reemerge, but to no avail. Packship is promoting AUGR. If Lenk, Zimri, and Ellen are willing to pay the price for this predictive software, they will have access to information about the impending apocalypse before anyone else, and they can hunker down in their safe bunkers before anyone knows what is happening. AUGR will keep them continuously apprised of events, informing them of when the crisis has resolved itself and it is safe to come out.