Johnny smiled at Danny and said, "Looks like we have our first verdict on Anastasia's claims." Johnny wondered what he was doing. Why was he jumping in to provide cover for Danny, again? Every time the man came on the show, Johnny had to dance around to make Danny appear to the audience at home like the funny, charming guy Johnny knew him to be. And every time, it got a little bit harder. "I guess there's something to be said for getting in on the ground floor, right?"

Danny nodded, never taking his eyes off Anastasia. Johnny gave him a beat to try to join the conversation, then pushed forward, taking the heat for Danny again. "Anastasia," he said, his voice changing from the amused tone he had perfected across hundreds of celebrity interviews, and going to the studied neutrality of his news days. "We've been having a great time so far-" he had to pause briefly as a loud cheer came from the audience, spontaneous as far as he could tell, "but I think it's time we get to the heart of the issue."

Anastasia smirked and asked, "And what is the heart of the issue, dear John? While I am the heart of the issue - this and all others - I don't think that's what you meant." She began fanning herself again, and the movement of the fan-made it seem like the figures were in motion, participating in some sacred rite. The air stirred, currents mostly drawing away from Johnny and toward the audience. "Some clarity is in order, I think," she said, quiet enough that the boom mic didn't pick it up.

Johnny breathed deeply, his head clearing slightly. He could still smell the intoxicating perfume, but it no longer dominated his mind. He saw Anastasia more clearly - beautiful, certainly, and slightly... alien? Not quite right, he thought. Otherworldly.

More importantly, he was able to see the effect she was having on everyone else. Danny was flabbergasted, and Johnny expected some drool to start up soon. Rafe was a Lothario on the hunt, although Johnny was quite sure that he was the prey. And Rita was a ball of conflicting emotions, clearly charmed by Anastasia, but holding currents of anger, suspicion, and confusion at the same time. The audience, meanwhile, was as quiet as he had ever heard one be, hanging on every word. He noticed the crew standing on the edges of the stage, ignoring their jobs and listening as intently as the audience. That, more than anything, finally got through to him how far off the rails the night had become. Alison would have never let anything close to this happen - he needed to get through to a commercial break so he could talk to her.

"Well," Johnny said, "I agree that you are the heart of the issue. As Rita would say, you've made a rather extraordinary claim here tonight. A claim that would at best be laughed off as eccentricity, and at worst could end with a person under a psychiatric hold somewhere." Some in the audience made a bit of noise at that, and Johnny considered the consequences of straying too far from a fluff interview. He also considered the rewards. "You may be surprised to find that you are far from the first person to try to hijack an episode of the show to support some crackpot theory. You aren't even the first this year." He could feel he was on shaky ground with the audience, but he also saw Anastasia continuing to smile at him. "You are, however, the first that succeeded at doing so, unless you want to count the comedian who set Leno's chair on fire. We have very good security here - mostly so Weston can get a minute's peace," he paused there for the canned 'women wooing' sound effect, while Weston nodded along, "but you walked in off the street, made it to the stage and sat down right next to me without a single person even attempting to stop you. Me included, of course." A beat long enough to let that sink in, and he asked, "Why? What happened to all of us?"

Anastasia's smiles were perfect by this point, just the right amount of smile for the question. "Dear John," she said, "you're asking the same question, again. The answer is the same, again. Things are changing, and I am ascending. Were the Deist still in charge, if the world still played by his rules, the rather large man with impressive pecs you have stationed by the front door would have behaved differently. He still would have let me in, of course, because I am who I am, but I'm sure I would have been routed to a VIP area, rather than allowed to walk on stage. It is no longer that world, and asking the same questions repeatedly will not get you any closer to adapting to the new one."

"A new one, then - you've mentioned them before, so who or what is the Deist?"

Rita quietly spoke before Anastasia had the chance, "Herbert, Locke, and Hume."

Johnny looked at her, then back at Anastasia, giving her a chance to weigh in. "Relevant," she said, "but not the whole of it. It would be the closest thing to correct on this go around, however."

Rita and Johnny talked over each other in response, Rita talking about a lack of any kind of evidence, while Johnny latched on to 'this go around'. Johnny held a hand up, and Rita stopped. "Rita, I love your enthusiasm, but let me take this for a bit." Her eyes narrowed, and Johnny continued, "You'll get your shot. Now, Anastasia, you've said we're asking the wrong questions. Any chance you want to cut to the chase and just answer the right ones? No, I guess not," he said as she simply smiled in response. "Let's stick with the Deist question, then. I know about Deism and the Jefferson Bible and all that, but what does that have to do with you?" He saw Rita squirm as he mentioned Jefferson, and he knew he didn't have it quite right, but he also knew that you met the audience where they were.

"Going straight for the most boring parts of this, eh?" Anastasia said with a laugh. "I imagine that there will be plenty of time for the details in the future, so let's hit the quick highlights and move on to fun stuff. The Deist has been the supreme being since the universe began about 2000 years ago, when he took over for the Martyr who had been running it since it began about 4000 years before that, who took over for the Pantheist who had been running the world for about 4000 years. We could keep going in that line until we got back to the Tyrant, but that's enough."

"The Deist kicked things off with what your scientists have called 'the Big Bang'. The fundamental properties of the universe were set at that time, and the world was left to run on its own. The Deist, and the rest of us, have watched the world, some with interest, some with disdain, waiting to see how long the top would keep spinning."

Rita couldn't take it anymore, and ignored Johnny's request. "What? Seriously, what? That is the most ridiculous explanation of the world that I've ever heard, and I've talked with Raël. It's nonsensical - 'what our scientists call the Big Bang' is supported by a large amount of evidence, happened 13.8 billion years ago, and isn't even an explanation for how the universe began!"

Johnny tuned out, moving into the same nodding autopilot he always did when Rita was on. He briefly thought about trying to get the show back under control, before deciding to let it run. Anastasia was firing back, telling Rita that she needed to listen rather than ignore half of what she said if she wanted to understand. She had turned away from Johnny to look at Rita, giving the cameras their first full shot of her face, and he guessed that not many were paying attention to the details anyway. The two could get into the minutia as much as they wanted right now, and Johnny could coast to the next commercial break. Realizing that no one was paying him attention anymore, he slid out his phone and texted Alison a single question mark. Almost immediately, he got a response from her, telling him that she was setting up a table where the five of them could sit and run it as a panel. He sent another question mark, knowing that Alison would fill in all of the reservations he might have about changing the format on the fly. The response was, "The world is changing, and so must we," which sent a jolt down his spine. He checked the time and saw that the two had pushed them through to the next commercial.

He raised his voice just enough to cut through Rita's expounding on stellar nurseries and the time it takes to create one. "That is some weird, wild stuff, Rita." The call back was enough to interrupt her train of thought, and Johnny quickly went on. "From you, too, Anastasia. We've thrown out the rulebook for tonight already, so we might as well keep it going. We've got a table being set up over there, where we can all gather around and really dig into this - I know a solid Irish Catholic like you will want to jump in on this, Danny, so we're going to all take the opportunity. Before that, though, we have to pay some bills, so stick around everyone."