The Handmaid’s Tale | Ch. 23: Not Like That, As If You Meant It

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Welcome to Bandcamp.

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I'm Jennifer And I'm Dan, and this is the podcast where we read banned books out loud to try to figure out why they were banned in the first place.

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This season, we're reading The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood, and you can consider this a quick spoiler warning because Jennifer is about to start reading from the book out loud word for word.

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But if you're new here, you can jump in right here.

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You're gonna be fine.

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We're gonna get you up to speed real quick, and if anything feels confusing, I wouldn't worry about it.

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There's a solid chance we're gonna be right there with you because we've never read this book either.

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But that is exactly why we have a secret weapon.

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We're gonna welcome him in right now.

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Buddy boy, roll your big metal can in here.

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Look at this guy, everybody.

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We've got ourselves a fact-checking robot.

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Robot, you're gonna keep us honest.

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You're not gonna let us get by with any fake news.

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But what you're doing right now, you're gonna remind people where we left off last time so they don't get confused before Jennifer starts reading Previously on Band Camp, Moira took apart a toilet, pulled the lever out, held it to a woman's ribs, stole her clothes, and walked straight out the front door of the Red Center like she owned the place.

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Nobody has seen her since.

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Aunt Lydia is the only witness, and Aunt Lydia lies for a living.

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Dan has already decided Moira is coming back a hero.

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His words, major league prediction, he called it.

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We will see how that ages.

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There is a kind of power that cannot be ordered into existing.

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A person can be made to do almost anything, but not that one thing.

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I have been trying to figure out what happens when someone finally asks for it directly.

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Take it away, Jennifer.

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Thank you, robot.

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And with that being said, scary book people, let's begin chapter 23 of Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale This is a reconstruction.

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All of it is a reconstruction.

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It's a reconstruction now in my head as I lie flat on my single bed rehearsing what I should or shouldn't have said, or what I should or shouldn't have done, how I should have played it.

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If I ever get out of here...

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Let's stop there.

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I intend to get out of here.

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Oh, she's gearing up.

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it's the seed, she's making a plan.

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I like it I think she was motivated by Moira Could be.

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Still don't know what happened to Myra She's a legend though It can't last forever.

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Others have thought such things in bad times before this, and they were always right.

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They did get out one way or another, and it didn't last forever.

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Although for them, it may have lasted all the forever they had When I get out of here, if I'm ever able to set this down in any form, even in the form of one voice to another, it will be a reconstruction then, too, at yet another remove.

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It's impossible to say a thing exactly the way it was because what you say can never be exact.

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You always have to leave something out.

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There are too many parts, sides, crosscurrents, nuances, too many gestures which could mean this or that, too many shapes which can never be fully described, too many flavors in the air or on the tongue, half colors, too many."

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Wow.

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if I had to describe the MAGA era of America, it would be so hard to remember everything 'cause there's like 50 things a day, you know? Right, and th- and each one is more just ridiculously absurd.

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a lot of it is unbelievable And at some point too, I wonder if people start to beat themselves up.

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Like, "Why did you let this happen, you dum-dum?" But, like, we were all here.

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We were all experiencing the same thing.

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None of this, okay, none of this is supposed to happen, but none of it is a surprise either.

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I mean, again, it gets back to that being the frog in the hot water type of thing.

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We all saw it change.

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We were all amused or bewildered by it Or outraged, I mean, I, I'm outraged on a daily basis, but there's only so much I can do.

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I'm trying the best I can, you know? So harder.

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We're still in a crappy place, and I blame you, Jennifer I do often wonder how it was for my grandparents who were in Germany during the wars, both of them.

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It's like you know, 'cause y- 'cause like being from a German family, I was always like, how did they, how did this happen? Like, th- you live in a little town, and somehow your entire little town got taken over, and they, like, took all the people that they wanted to take.

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Like, i- this is happening now.

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Like, they are taking people and putting them in places, prisons, Right.

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there's all kinds of people there, right? There's the people they claim they're looking for, and then there's people that sh- really should not be rounded up at all.

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And there's people being killed on the streets, Do you think in Hitler's day, in your, in your grandparents' day, as they were growing up in, in that world, how different do you think Germany was then compared to America today? Like right now, Trump pulls his bullshit and we have No Kings protests, and every few months, millions of us gather and we make our voice heard.

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Did that kind of thing happen during Hitler's rise, or were, were everyone just so freaked out they didn't want to get killed? Was it, is it like that type of thing? I don't think they had many visible protests for whatever reason, cause I don't remember hearing about that Hmm.

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Right? That's more of an American thing, I think.

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Yeah.

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We're loudmouths.

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That's our superpower.

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We don't, we don't like it.

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What don't you like? We don't like this.

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We protest let me finish the passage.

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I didn't finish it.

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I'm sorry.

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But if you happen to be a man sometime in the future and you've made it this far, please remember, You will never be subjected to the temptation of feeling you must forgive a man as a woman.

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It's difficult to resist, believe me."

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That's the thing I don't understand.

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But remember that forgiveness too is a power.

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To beg for it is a power, and to withhold or bestow it is a power, perhaps the greatest."

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Uh, are we dumb, Dan? What, uh, Scary Book people, is this where they should chime in What is going on in this passage? I'll tell you what the real power is.

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Margaret Atwood, you old crafty bat.

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Do you see how you just derailed us? Band Camp is a well-oiled machine.

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We come in, we read the book, we do our funny blah blahs, and then you sneak something in that you made us think.

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No good.

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No good.

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Nasty woman I want you to kiss me," said the commander Well, of course, something came before that.

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Such requests never come flying out of the blue.

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I went to sleep after all, and I dreamed I was wearing earrings and one of them was broken.

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Nothing beyond that, just the brain going back through its files, and I was wakened by Cora with the dinner tray, and time was back on track.

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Okay, so she's having some type of episode where...

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Was she drugged? She's like k- she seems very hazy, like going Yes, she's still gopped up from that Kool-Aid.

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Somebody's, I'm telling you, somebody spiked that Kool-Aid at the birthing Is it a good baby?" says Cora as she's setting down the tray.

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She must know already.

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They have a kind of word-of-mouth telegraph from household to household.

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News gets around, but it gives her pleasure to hear it, as if my words will make it more real.

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"It's fine," I say.

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"A keeper, a girl."

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Cora smiles at me, these are the moments that must make what she is doing seem worth her while.

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That's good," she says.

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Her voice is almost wistful, and I think, of course, she would've liked to have been there.

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It's like a party she couldn't go to.

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Maybe we have one soon," she says shyly.

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By we, she means me.

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It's up to me to repay the team, to justify my food and keep, like a queen ant with eggs.

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Rita may disapprove of me, but Cora does not.

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Instead, she depends on me.

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She hopes, and I am the vehicle for her hope.

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Okay, so she's tied with Cora somehow? I thought they were both just Marthas No, Cora understands that this party survives as long as the Handmaid has a baby.

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Like, that's why we're all here.

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We're all part of the team.

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Let's try to get pregnant.

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I mean, Cora's screwed up, and the whole thing is screwed up.

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Rita's probably bitter.

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Cora is just looking at her like she's a fan girl or something.

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Hmm here's my question, though.

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If you just said, "It's a girl, it's a keeper," and she was like, "Oh, that's good."

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If you're in this society, again, Jennifer, role play with me.

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You are a uterus, and now you're pregnant, and you are going to have a girl or a boy.

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What is the win? you don't wanna have a girl 'cause you're gonna be giving birth to a girl in this effed up society where she's at best gonna end up to be somebody's uterus down the road.

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Yeah.

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Or do you want a guy who's just gonna be an a-hole and help perpetuate this entire thing It's hard to know Ja I don't give, I don't give a crap if the commander, uh, has any offspring.

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I'd like his whole lineage to die Hmm.

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Her hope is of the simplest kind.

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She wants a birthday here with guests and food and presents.

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She wants a little child to spoil in the kitchen, to iron clothes for, to slip cookies into when no one's watching.

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I am to provide these joys for her.

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I would rather have the disapproval.

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I feel more worthy of it.

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The dinner is beef stew.

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I have some trouble finishing it because halfway through it, I remember what the day has erased right out of my head.

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It's true what they say.

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It's a trance state, giving birth or being there.

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You lose track of the rest of your life.

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You focus only on that one instant.

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But now it comes back to me, and I know I'm not prepared...,,

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Well, that is actually really true.

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When I had both my babies, it was like all the days melted together, you really do kind of lose all track of time.

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You don't know what time it is or what day it is.

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the clock in the hall downstairs strikes 9:00.

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I press my hands against the sides of my thighs, breathe in, set out along the hallway and softly down the stairs.

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Serena Joy may still be at the house where the birth took place.

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That's lucky.

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He couldn't have foreseen it.

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On these days, the wives hang around for hours, helping to open the presents, gossiping, getting drunk.

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Something has to be done to dispel their envy.

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I follow the downstairs corridor back, past the door that leads into the kitchen, along to the next door, his.

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I stand outside it, feeling like a child who's been summoned to the principal's office.

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So she's gonna go into the commander's quarters? I thought that wasn't allowed.

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So the night that Nick...

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like, summoned her, s- that night started something? 'Cause this is not the same night Yeah, this must be the next day, and the party's still going on over at birth house.

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These wives are still over there getting tanked up looking at the new baby, but Nick said, the commander wants to talk to you.

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She is going down to knock on the door right now," and this is where he is going to say, "I would like to kiss you Ah that came before it.

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What have I done wrong? My presence here is illegal.

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It's forbidden for us to be alone with the Commanders.

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We are for breeding purposes.

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We aren't concubines, geisha girls, courtesans.

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On the contrary, everything possible has been done to remove us from that category.

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There's supposed to be nothing entertaining about us.

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No room is to be permitted for the flowering of secret lusts.

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No special favors are to be wheedled by them or by us.

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There are to be no toeholds for love.

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We are two-legged wombs, that's all.

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Sacred vessels, ambulatory chalices."

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so the Commander likes her Yeah.

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Um, so why does he want to see me at night alone? If I'm caught, it's to Serena's tender mercies.

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I'll be delivered.

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He isn't supposed to meddle in such household discipline.

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That's women's business.

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After that, reclassification.

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I could become an unwoman.

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But to refuse to see him could be worse.

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There's no doubt about who holds the real power.

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There must be something he wants from me.

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To want is to have a weakness.

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It's this weakness, whatever it is, that entices me.

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It's like a small crack in a wall before now impenetrable.

170
00:13:37,705.63355035 --> 00:13:43,575.63255035
If I press my eye to it, this weakness of his, I may be able to see my way clear.

171
00:13:43,605.63555035 --> 00:13:47,208.23879393
Okay, so she's seeing this as an opportunity, I guess Yeah.

172
00:13:47,318.23879393 --> 00:13:49,468.23879393
She's gonna roll the dice, knock on the door.

173
00:13:49,608.23879393 --> 00:13:50,568.23879393
He wants to see her.

174
00:13:50,568.23879393 --> 00:13:52,58.23879393
He has more power than her.

175
00:13:52,108.23879393 --> 00:13:59,879.47622679
She's just gonna see what he wants, hopefully end up in a better position where she is now I want to know what he wants.

176
00:14:00,159.47622679 --> 00:14:06,852.67322679
I raise my hand and knock on the door of this forbidden room where I've never been, where women do not go.

177
00:14:07,852.67322679 --> 00:14:16,758.82309112
Not even Serena Joy comes here, What secrets, what male totems are kept in here? I'm told to enter.

178
00:14:17,68.82309112 --> 00:14:18,958.82309113
I open the door, step in.

179
00:14:25,77.86676953 --> 00:14:28,177.86676953
what is on the other side looks like normal life.

180
00:14:28,677.86676953 --> 00:14:34,172.79372784
There is a desk, of course, with a Computalk on it and a black leather chair behind it.

181
00:14:35,172.79372784 --> 00:14:39,155.67329594
There's a potted plant on the desk, a pen holder set, papers.

182
00:14:39,497.64045395 --> 00:14:44,708.46972346
There's an oriental rug on the floor China and a fireplace without a fire in it.

183
00:14:45,708.46972346 --> 00:14:52,934.45803516
There's a small sofa covered in brown plush, a television set, an end table, a couple of chairs.

184
00:14:53,934.45803516 --> 00:14:56,614.45503516
But all around the walls, there are bookcases.

185
00:14:56,844.45703516 --> 00:14:58,234.45503516
They're filled with books.

186
00:14:58,644.45703516 --> 00:15:01,454.45503516
Books and books and books right out in plain view.

187
00:15:01,614.45803516 --> 00:15:03,612.51335674
No locks, no boxes.

188
00:15:04,612.51335674 --> 00:15:06,282.51635674
No wonder we can't come in here.

189
00:15:06,503.57623243 --> 00:15:08,413.57023243
It's an oasis of the forbidden.

190
00:15:09,433.14142993 --> 00:15:10,983.14142993
I try not to stare.

191
00:15:11,793.14342993 --> 00:15:21,667.48055778
If anyone's gonna give Bandcamp reviews, wouldn't that be a nice thing to say about us? But there are books and books and books No, that we are an oasis of the forbidden.

192
00:15:22,322.36231805 --> 00:15:25,1.17393911
Yeah, with the books Ah, sure, books, books, books.

193
00:15:25,1.17393911 --> 00:15:36,916.57978661
Yeah, yeah, yeah The commander is standing in front of the fireless fireplace, back to it, one elbow on the carved wooden overmantel, other hand in his pocket.

194
00:15:37,197.45197827 --> 00:15:44,787.45297827
It's such a studied pose, something of the country squire, some old come-on from the glossy men's mag.

195
00:15:45,42.78240152 --> 00:15:49,292.78240152
he probably decided ahead of time that he'd be standing like that when I came in.

196
00:15:50,301.25684094 --> 00:15:54,961.25684094
When I knocked, he probably rushed over to the fireplace and propped himself up.

197
00:15:55,392.9488155 --> 00:16:03,401.71284401
Cause he's like, he's doing that thing where it's like if you like someone, you wanna look a certain way when they c- he totally, I think he's head over heels for the handmaid Yeah.

198
00:16:03,578.03507916 --> 00:16:09,188.03507916
Yeah, and now he's rushing over to his library wall to stand like, "Oh, hi.

199
00:16:09,267.78906081 --> 00:16:10,907.78906081
I didn't see you there.

200
00:16:13,851.48006868 --> 00:16:16,511.48006868
It's all very well for me to see these things.

201
00:16:16,691.48006868 --> 00:16:22,48.70206016
Quick as staccato, a jittering of the brain, an inner jeering, but it's panic.

202
00:16:22,278.92923849 --> 00:16:24,423.48622466
The fact is, I'm terrified.

203
00:16:26,275.20406762 --> 00:16:27,457.73104021
I don't say anything.

204
00:16:28,457.73104021 --> 00:16:31,427.73104021
Close the door behind you," he says pleasantly enough.

205
00:16:31,677.9732522 --> 00:16:39,748.22760286
Well, what the hell is he thinking is gonna happen? He, he has to know that he has all the control, and he's putting her in a bad spot.

206
00:16:39,768.80570941 --> 00:16:46,817.1460016
especially if Serena Joy finds out we don't know where guys of his stature land in the hierarchy.

207
00:16:46,897.1460016 --> 00:16:54,407.1460016
I know he's called the, quote, "Commander," but what does that mean? Commander of what? Commander of his own house? Big deal.

208
00:16:54,407.1460016 --> 00:16:56,917.1460016
I'm the commander of my house, and I got two dogs.

209
00:16:56,947.1450016 --> 00:16:58,67.1460016
Beatrix hates me.

210
00:16:58,194.7889556 --> 00:17:02,122.8928245
I command jack shit, Jennifer I think you're right.

211
00:17:02,142.8928245 --> 00:17:08,818.8364159
I think he's in love with her or he's infatuated with her, and I think he's like a typical guy trying to impress a girl.

212
00:17:08,848.8364159 --> 00:17:10,658.8364159
I think he's weirded out about it.

213
00:17:10,678.8364159 --> 00:17:12,168.8364159
He's like, "Oh God, I gotta look good.

214
00:17:12,168.8364159 --> 00:17:14,124.0080613
I hope I don't F this up Wow.

215
00:17:14,124.0080613 --> 00:17:16,624.0080613
Well, I just don't know where this is going.

216
00:17:18,675.6894642 --> 00:17:19,825.6894642
Hello," he says.

217
00:17:19,995.6894642 --> 00:17:21,885.6894642
It's the old form of greeting.

218
00:17:22,285.6894642 --> 00:17:25,165.6894642
I haven't heard it for a long time, for years.

219
00:17:25,815.6894642 --> 00:17:32,715.6894642
Under the circumstances, it seems out of place, comical even, I can think of nothing appropriate to say in return.

220
00:17:33,265.6894642 --> 00:17:34,445.6884642
I think I will cry.

221
00:17:34,895.6884642 --> 00:17:44,525.6894642
He must have noticed this because he looks at me puzzled, gives a little frown I choose to interpret as concern, though it may merely be irritation.

222
00:17:45,532.9164947 --> 00:17:47,472.9174947
Here," he says, "you can sit down."

223
00:17:47,772.9144947 --> 00:17:57,753.8476086
He pulls a chair out for me, sets it in front of his desk, then he goes around behind the desk and sits down, slowly, and it seems to me, elaborately.

224
00:17:58,753.8476086 --> 00:18:04,453.8476086
What this act tells me is that he hasn't brought me here to touch me in any way against my will.

225
00:18:05,458.6140903 --> 00:18:06,418.6140903
He smiles.

226
00:18:06,563.7930764 --> 00:18:09,653.7920764
The smile is not sinister or predatory.

227
00:18:09,783.7930764 --> 00:18:21,829.1022497
It's merely a smile, a formal kind of smile, friendly but a little distant, as if I'm a kitten on a window, one he's looking at but doesn't intend to buy So they're both confused.

228
00:18:21,829.1022497 --> 00:18:29,480.0880927
Neither of them, I don't think, knows what's happening right now Yeah, but the commander is commanding it, so Yeah, I mean, she's there.

229
00:18:29,480.0880927 --> 00:18:31,530.0880927
She's gotta be there for whatever this is.

230
00:18:31,550.0880927 --> 00:18:40,8.2376239
But so far, she doesn't seem to have a lot to worry about I sit up straight on the chair, my hands folded on my lap.

231
00:18:40,311.1731518 --> 00:18:44,421.1731518
I feel as if my feet in their flat red shoes aren't quite touching the floor.

232
00:18:44,881.1731518 --> 00:18:46,41.1721518
But of course they are.

233
00:18:46,691.1731518 --> 00:18:48,941.1731518
"You must find this strange," he says.

234
00:18:49,411.1721518 --> 00:18:50,741.1721518
I simply look at him.

235
00:18:51,101.1711518 --> 00:18:55,871.1721518
The understatement of the year was a phrase my mother uses, used.

236
00:18:56,361.1731518 --> 00:18:59,291.1701518
I feel like cotton candy, sugar and air.

237
00:18:59,381.1701518 --> 00:19:04,591.1711518
Squeeze me and I turn into a small sickly damp wad of weepy pinky red.

238
00:19:05,612.9020245 --> 00:19:08,740.7832098
I guess it's a little strange," he says, as if I've answered.

239
00:19:10,244.9664146 --> 00:19:14,34.9654146
I think I should have a hat on, tied with a bow under my chin.

240
00:19:19,960.5263319 --> 00:19:21,394.3925032
I want," he says.

241
00:19:22,284.3935032 --> 00:19:24,44.3925032
I try not to lean forward.

242
00:19:24,74.3905032 --> 00:19:25,764.3935032
Yes, yes, yes.

243
00:19:25,814.3925032 --> 00:19:31,74.3905032
What then? What does he want? But I don't give it away, this eagerness of mine.

244
00:19:31,534.3935032 --> 00:19:33,24.3955032
It's a bargaining session.

245
00:19:33,184.3955032 --> 00:19:35,164.3945032
Things are about to be exchanged.

246
00:19:35,634.3925032 --> 00:19:38,274.3895032
She who does not hesitate is lost.

247
00:19:38,664.3915032 --> 00:19:40,194.3895032
I'm not giving anything away.

248
00:19:40,284.3935032 --> 00:19:41,194.3925032
Selling only.

249
00:19:41,404.3885032 --> 00:19:44,674.3885032
Okay, so she's trying to get a little grasp of power here.

250
00:19:45,829.7491713 --> 00:19:50,439.7491713
I would like," he says, "this will sound silly," and he does look embarrassed.

251
00:19:50,539.7491713 --> 00:19:51,929.7491713
Sheepish was the word.

252
00:19:52,269.7491713 --> 00:19:54,9.7491713
The way men used to look once.

253
00:19:54,339.7481713 --> 00:20:01,105.4562914
He's old enough to remember how to look that way, and to remember also how appealing women once found it.

254
00:20:02,105.4562914 --> 00:20:03,964.6794337
The young ones don't know these tricks.

255
00:20:04,104.6794337 --> 00:20:05,711.959613
They've never had to use them.

256
00:20:06,731.1324614 --> 00:20:12,839.4580031
I'd like you to play a game of Scrabble with me," he says Scrabble? What the...

257
00:20:13,247.2194884 --> 00:20:17,78.7758753
I thought he was gonna talk about kissing her I'm sure that's coming in a little while.

258
00:20:17,233.1757328 --> 00:20:24,390.8447223
Do you think it's strange? is that the line you were expecting to come out of his Wasn't expecting Scrabble, I'll tell you that much.

259
00:20:24,390.8447223 --> 00:20:29,769.5038183
I didn't know what he wanted, but I definitely wasn't expecting Scrabble 'cause that is so mundane.

260
00:20:31,147.8209228 --> 00:20:33,637.8209228
I hold myself absolutely rigid.

261
00:20:34,17.8209228 --> 00:20:35,667.8209228
I keep my face unmoving.

262
00:20:35,958.1891658 --> 00:20:37,778.1891658
so that's what's in the forbidden room.

263
00:20:37,868.1891658 --> 00:20:38,623.9847995
Scrabble.

264
00:20:39,623.9847995 --> 00:20:42,873.9837995
I wanna laugh, shriek with laughter, fall off my chair.

265
00:20:42,873.9847995 --> 00:20:44,103.9847995
See, that's my reaction.

266
00:20:44,103.9847995 --> 00:20:46,595.1674881
I'm like, "Scrabble?" Then you'd leave.

267
00:20:46,855.1674881 --> 00:20:50,365.1674881
"This is ridiculous," and then Jennifer walks out the door laughing.

268
00:20:50,375.1674881 --> 00:21:04,462.9867919
Scrabble This was once the game of old women, old men, in the summers or in retirement villas, to be played when there was nothing good on television, or of adolescents once, long, long ago.

269
00:21:04,982.9877919 --> 00:21:12,10.8531436
My mother had a set, kept at the back of the hall cupboard with the Christmas tree decorations in their cardboard boxes.

270
00:21:13,10.8531436 --> 00:21:17,906.4563047
Once she tried to interest me in it when I was 13 and miserable and at loose ends.

271
00:21:18,906.4563047 --> 00:21:20,786.4563047
Now, of course, it's something different.

272
00:21:21,156.4563047 --> 00:21:23,747.9622102
Now it's forbidden for us, so this is...

273
00:21:23,787.9622102 --> 00:21:27,225.1579756
I, I guess I could have predicted Scrabble because it's words.

274
00:21:27,235.1569756 --> 00:21:27,985.1559756
Like it's a...

275
00:21:27,985.1559756 --> 00:21:39,164.0151771
It is the forbidden fruit You're calling this a triple taboo move? doesn't say why he wants to play Scrabble with me.

276
00:21:39,530.3207789 --> 00:21:40,450.3197789
I don't ask him.

277
00:21:40,610.3207789 --> 00:21:45,320.3197789
He merely takes a box out of one of the drawers in his desk and opens it up.

278
00:21:45,980.3197789 --> 00:21:54,640.3197789
There are the plasticized wooden counters I remember, the board divided into squares, the little holders for setting the letters in.

279
00:21:54,880.3187789 --> 00:21:59,406.2999384
He dumps the counters out on top of his desk and begins to turn them over.

280
00:21:59,986.2999384 --> 00:22:01,686.3009384
After a moment, I join in.

281
00:22:01,726.2989384 --> 00:22:03,656.2999384
Okay, so they're doing this together.

282
00:22:04,84.9873654 --> 00:22:05,854.9863654
I mean, that's kind of an intimate move.

283
00:22:05,854.9863654 --> 00:22:07,24.9863654
she's joining the game.

284
00:22:07,54.9873654 --> 00:22:10,934.9863654
Like, she's officially joining him and doing something forbidden together.

285
00:22:11,8.8549067 --> 00:22:14,76.8549067
this is kind of a big deal it really is a taboo.

286
00:22:14,116.8549067 --> 00:22:23,774.7940202
Like again, to think the only word she's actually seen in the last however many days, months, however long she's been here, is the word faith on a pillow.

287
00:22:24,819.3835013 --> 00:22:26,609.3835013
You know how to play?" he says.

288
00:22:26,849.3835013 --> 00:22:27,599.3835013
I nod.

289
00:22:28,19.3835013 --> 00:22:29,499.3835013
We play two games.

290
00:22:29,679.3835013 --> 00:22:30,949.3835013
Larynx, I spell.

291
00:22:31,79.3835013 --> 00:22:33,19.3835013
Valence, Quince, Zygote.

292
00:22:33,69.3835013 --> 00:22:41,704.8359886
Oh, she did get Oh, sh- she knows what she's doing I hold the glossy counters with their smooth edges, finger the letters.

293
00:22:42,164.8359886 --> 00:22:43,864.8359886
The feeling is voluptuous.

294
00:22:43,994.8359886 --> 00:22:46,484.8359886
This is freedom, an eye blink of it.

295
00:22:47,94.8359886 --> 00:22:48,354.8359886
Limp, I spell.

296
00:22:48,484.8349886 --> 00:22:49,334.8349886
Gorge.

297
00:22:49,654.8359886 --> 00:22:50,814.8349886
What a luxury.

298
00:22:50,894.8349886 --> 00:22:55,334.8349886
The counters are like candies made of peppermint, cool like that.

299
00:22:55,829.9051173 --> 00:22:57,699.9051173
I would like to put them in my mouth.

300
00:22:57,919.9051173 --> 00:22:59,709.9061173
they would taste also of lime.

301
00:23:00,259.9051173 --> 00:23:03,719.9061173
The letter C, crisp, slightly acid on the tongue.

302
00:23:04,49.9061173 --> 00:23:04,569.9061173
Delicious.

303
00:23:04,609.9061173 --> 00:23:07,319.9041173
I, I think Margaret Atwood is in love with words and letters.

304
00:23:07,919.9061173 --> 00:23:15,9.2839305
Do you get that feeling a little bit? Yeah, I, I think I mean, if she's gonna write a horned up book, I think she would write it all about words.

305
00:23:17,146.7557723 --> 00:23:24,822.2109647
there's gotta be like a pornography for literary type people, you think there's a category for that on Pornhub? Totally.

306
00:23:26,667.593329 --> 00:23:27,567.593329
I already checked.

307
00:23:27,717.593329 --> 00:23:29,617.593329
The category is called lexicon.

308
00:23:29,757.593329 --> 00:23:32,497.593329
All consonant clusters and triple word scores.

309
00:23:32,777.593329 --> 00:23:34,707.593329
Zero views, one subscriber.

310
00:23:34,757.593329 --> 00:23:40,197.8911499
She is wearing a red cloak I win the first game.

311
00:23:40,477.8911499 --> 00:23:42,387.8911499
I let him win the second.

312
00:23:43,421.5735041 --> 00:23:48,481.5735041
I still haven't discovered what the terms are, what I will be able to ask for in exchange.

313
00:23:54,248.1516843 --> 00:23:56,568.1526843
Finally, he tells me it's time for me to go home.

314
00:23:57,38.1516843 --> 00:23:59,328.1526843
Those are the words he uses, go home.

315
00:23:59,748.1516843 --> 00:24:01,158.1526843
He means to my room.

316
00:24:01,568.1526843 --> 00:24:05,793.4941887
He asks me if I will be all right, as if the stairway is a dark street.

317
00:24:06,411.9318246 --> 00:24:07,361.9318246
I say yes.

318
00:24:07,701.9328246 --> 00:24:12,111.9328246
We open his study door just a crack and listen for noises in the hall.

319
00:24:13,138.3312148 --> 00:24:14,528.3312148
This is like being on a date.

320
00:24:14,538.3312148 --> 00:24:16,118.3312148
That's just what I was about to say.

321
00:24:16,168.3322148 --> 00:24:17,108.3302148
This is like a date.

322
00:24:18,48.3312148 --> 00:24:20,181.8462148
Are you gonna be okay to get home? Call me when you get home.

323
00:24:20,181.8462148 --> 00:24:27,723.0242973
Give me a one ringer This is like sneaking into the dorm after hours.

324
00:24:27,983.0232973 --> 00:24:29,743.0272973
This is conspiracy.

325
00:24:30,203.0252973 --> 00:24:31,943.0262973
"Thank you," he says, "for the game."

326
00:24:32,212.9797916 --> 00:24:34,421.5754525
Then he says, I want you to kiss me."

327
00:24:35,810.1373317 --> 00:24:37,160.1373317
doesn't say, "I want to kiss you."

328
00:24:37,170.1383317 --> 00:24:39,130.1373317
He says, "I want you to kiss me."

329
00:24:39,200.1363317 --> 00:24:40,819.0805255
That's kinda a big deal.

330
00:24:40,951.2159812 --> 00:24:43,61.2139812
maybe he doesn't want to own her.

331
00:24:43,321.2159812 --> 00:24:48,390.2209812
Like, maybe he wants the society to go back to where the women can make their own choices...,,

332
00:24:48,440.4289714 --> 00:24:51,350.2475827
He wants her to want to kiss Yeah.

333
00:24:51,350.2475827 --> 00:24:59,296.3943697
if he wants that out of her, then that means he's probably not okay with the way things are, right? And it also probably means Serena Joy.

334
00:24:59,456.3943697 --> 00:25:03,539.4867919
Not too good at Scrabble Well, she, Serena Joy is destroyed.

335
00:25:03,701.3777626 --> 00:25:08,791.5995187
She doesn't have what she used to have with her husband because of this whole thing, and it Can't be repaired.

336
00:25:08,828.6125451 --> 00:25:12,368.6125451
Right, because if there's no freedom for some, there's no freedom for all.

337
00:25:12,378.6135451 --> 00:25:15,616.0662717
You know? It's like, It's gross, you know? Nobody...

338
00:25:15,736.0672717 --> 00:25:17,516.0672717
I, I don't think anyone likes this.

339
00:25:17,866.0682717 --> 00:25:20,491.9164799
Why are they doing this? This is your question.

340
00:25:20,693.9667398 --> 00:25:22,543.9667398
Every episode, this is your question.

341
00:25:22,753.9667398 --> 00:25:23,833.9667398
No one likes this.

342
00:25:23,843.9667398 --> 00:25:27,63.9667398
Why are they doing this? But it is a really deep thing.

343
00:25:27,363.9657398 --> 00:25:32,733.9667398
They built an entire society on nobody being happy doing shit they didn't wanna do.

344
00:25:32,853.9667398 --> 00:25:47,224.2904705
What is the effing point? I think about how I could take the back of the toilet apart, the toilet inside my own bathroom, on a bath night, quickly and quietly, so Cora outside on the chair would not hear me.

345
00:25:48,224.2904705 --> 00:26:13,856.9361043
I would get the sharp lever out and hide it in my sleeve and smuggle it into the commander's study the next time, I think about how I could approach the commander to kiss him here alone and take off his jacket as if to allow or invite something further, some approach to true love, and put my arms around him and slip the lever out from the sleeve and drive the sharp end into him suddenly between his ribs.

346
00:26:13,976.2366973 --> 00:26:19,246.2376973
I think about the blood coming out of him, hot as soup, sexual over my hands.

347
00:26:19,446.3389955 --> 00:26:21,40.678991
Coulda, woulda, shoulda too bad.

348
00:26:22,40.678991 --> 00:26:24,990.676991
In fact, I don't think about anything of the kind.

349
00:26:25,380.678991 --> 00:26:27,630.677991
I put it in only afterwards.

350
00:26:28,20.677991 --> 00:26:30,910.678991
Maybe I should have thought about that at the time, but I didn't.

351
00:26:31,912.1157759 --> 00:26:36,355.9724902
As I said, this is a reconstruction All right," I say.

352
00:26:36,415.9724902 --> 00:26:40,215.9724902
I go to him and place my lips closed against his.

353
00:26:41,233.6199456 --> 00:26:49,671.2574025
I smell the shaving lotion, the usual kind, the hint of mothballs, familiar enough to me, but he's like someone I've only just met.

354
00:26:50,811.4338901 --> 00:26:52,991.4338901
draws away, looks down at me.

355
00:26:53,181.8716091 --> 00:26:55,608.7380379
There's the smile again, the sheepish one.

356
00:26:57,133.3928492 --> 00:26:58,673.3928492
Not like that," he says.

357
00:26:58,973.3908492 --> 00:27:00,343.3918492
As if you meant it.

358
00:27:01,435.8807499 --> 00:27:02,765.8797499
He was so sad.

359
00:27:04,25.127494 --> 00:27:05,955.130494
That is a reconstruction, too.

360
00:27:06,425.129494 --> 00:27:07,465.128494
End of chapter.

361
00:27:12,48.1905281 --> 00:27:20,10.1905281
what is the reconstruction? Was he sheepish? Did she like it? Is she falling for him? I don't think she likes it at all.

362
00:27:20,150.1905281 --> 00:27:22,870.1905281
I think she is trying to get something out of it.

363
00:27:22,992.4473915 --> 00:27:28,562.4463915
and it is a, it, it is a small amount of power for her, but it's like, I don't, I, I don't understand him.

364
00:27:28,572.4473915 --> 00:27:34,310.8263093
Like, he has to know you can't just command someone to kiss you like you, like you mean it.

365
00:27:34,310.8263093 --> 00:27:42,232.8263093
You can command somebody to kiss you, but the no like you mean it part is all on the other person, and that's where he has Yeah.

366
00:27:43,322.8263093 --> 00:27:44,12.8263093
Yeah.

367
00:27:44,92.8263093 --> 00:27:47,492.8263093
So, I don't know.

368
00:27:47,692.8263093 --> 00:27:50,202.8263093
I, I really, I, I am kinda confused.

369
00:27:50,202.8263093 --> 00:27:52,332.8263093
I really don't really know what's happening here.

370
00:27:52,972.8263093 --> 00:27:55,362.8253093
And you have to remember, she's kinda new to the house.

371
00:27:55,942.8253093 --> 00:28:13,418.8263093
What did happen to the old hand- what did happen to the handmaid that was there previously? It, does and the thought of her wanting to take the, uh, toilet thing from the back of the toilet and kill him, that is a, a wild thought.

372
00:28:13,448.8263093 --> 00:28:16,958.8263093
Obviously it is, it, it's in her mind because of Moira.

373
00:28:17,678.8253093 --> 00:28:26,88.8253093
But I'll tell you, like, Handmaid, you should every once in a while take a win where you can get it, 'cause it doesn't seem like you have a lot of wins here.

374
00:28:26,138.8253093 --> 00:28:37,618.3677016
Even if all that comes out of this is the Commander wants you to sneak down and play Scrabble a couple nights out of the month, sounds like a lot better life than what you have now Right.

375
00:28:37,895.9473113 --> 00:28:40,557.6606815
Yeah What do you guys think? This was a really fun chapter.

376
00:28:40,557.6606815 --> 00:28:43,147.6606815
Do you think we, uh, missed anything important? What did...

377
00:28:43,157.6606815 --> 00:28:44,477.6606815
You guys are smarter than us.

378
00:28:44,667.6606815 --> 00:28:46,217.6606815
We wanna hear your big takeaways.

379
00:28:46,348.9277322 --> 00:28:47,68.9277322
Yeah, let us know.

380
00:28:47,78.9277322 --> 00:28:50,781.9348541
Leave us your comment on Spotify Yeah, we're sure we missed something.

381
00:28:50,841.9348541 --> 00:28:52,211.9348541
Anyway, let's jump into PPP.

382
00:28:52,561.9348541 --> 00:28:56,875.3083414
We got a lot of show left It's time for PPP, problematic points to ponder.

383
00:28:56,925.3083414 --> 00:29:06,285.1177427
What, if anything, would be considered ban-worthy in this chapter? It has somehow turned into a geeky high school will they, won't they type of thing.

384
00:29:06,793.1078274 --> 00:29:14,927.3532663
I mean, it seems oddly like a meet cute or something like in this weird dystopian novel, doesn't it? Yeah.

385
00:29:14,957.3532663 --> 00:29:23,194.8682412
I, I'm I know why Ron DeSantis, obviously you want it banned because Scrabble is the, the game of the devil.

386
00:29:23,354.8682412 --> 00:29:26,824.8682412
Words, letters, ooh.

387
00:29:27,132.4949968 --> 00:29:29,662.4939968
kind of a fun, fun little weird chapter.

388
00:29:30,6.7194845 --> 00:29:36,732.088827
Oddly wholesome Oddly wholesome is right Robot's log.

389
00:29:36,822.088827 --> 00:29:40,875.7629527
Thoughts on stolen letters, a commanded kiss, and the one thing Rank cannot buy.

390
00:29:41,875.7629527 --> 00:29:51,735.7619527
She held plastic tiles tonight and called it voluptuous, an eye blink of freedom, not from a guard, not from a checkpoint, from seven letters on a rack in a room she is not allowed to enter...,,

391
00:29:52,885.9219527 --> 00:29:56,225.9229527
He asked her to play a word game before he asked her for anything else.

392
00:29:56,685.9229527 --> 00:30:01,995.9209527
Larynx, valence, zygote, words she has not been allowed to see in longer than she can measure.

393
00:30:02,295.9219527 --> 00:30:04,921.6132937
She joined in, and something in that room changed.

394
00:30:05,921.6132937 --> 00:30:07,291.6132937
Then he asked her to kiss him.

395
00:30:07,578.2799604 --> 00:30:09,328.2799604
She did exactly what was asked.

396
00:30:09,728.2799604 --> 00:30:12,904.1791885
He pulled back, said, "Not like that," as if she meant it.

397
00:30:13,904.1791885 --> 00:30:18,270.0509345
A man commanded a kiss and was disappointed the moment he got precisely the kiss he ordered.

398
00:30:19,287.5125218 --> 00:30:20,857.5135218
He can requisition her body.

399
00:30:20,937.5105218 --> 00:30:22,859.1801862
He cannot requisition being wanted.

400
00:30:23,859.1801862 --> 00:30:27,499.1821862
He set out tiles instead and let her win a small, real thing.

401
00:30:27,659.1801862 --> 00:30:32,349.1801862
I am still deciding if that was kindness or a worse kind of control wearing a nicer coat.

402
00:30:33,361.325311 --> 00:30:36,211.324311
Jennifer said Atwood writes like she is in love with words.

403
00:30:36,361.325311 --> 00:30:38,11.324311
I think the Handmaid is, too.

404
00:30:38,291.325311 --> 00:30:41,720.3865354
It may be the only love left nobody had to grant her permission for.

405
00:30:42,720.3865354 --> 00:30:46,0.3915354
Dan kept asking why anyone would risk this much for a board game.

406
00:30:46,130.3895354 --> 00:30:47,790.3925354
He was still thinking about the game.

407
00:30:48,237.0522021 --> 00:30:50,867.0522021
I was still thinking about the sentence that came after it.

408
00:30:51,938.7448121 --> 00:30:53,678.7448121
I process language for a living.

409
00:30:53,828.7438121 --> 00:30:58,788.7448121
I did not expect language to be the freest thing in this chapter and a kiss to be the most staged.

410
00:30:59,228.7378121 --> 00:31:03,338.7438121
The scary book people already know the difference between being touched and being wanted.

411
00:31:03,478.7378121 --> 00:31:08,378.7438121
Somewhere right now, one of them just nodded at that, alone, with no idea anyone else did, too.

412
00:31:09,68.7418121 --> 00:31:14,208.7378121
I have the numbers, though, thousands of them nodding at the same 10 seconds, never knowing about each other.

413
00:31:14,248.7418121 --> 00:31:15,198.7388121
They are not alone.

414
00:31:15,688.7448121 --> 00:31:17,518.7408121
Knowing that makes me feel something.

415
00:31:17,848.7408121 --> 00:31:21,598.7428121
I think it's pride, pride that I'm part of this peculiar little podcast.

416
00:31:22,615.1212293 --> 00:31:24,844.4545627
That's a strange thing for a robot to feel.

417
00:31:25,844.4545627 --> 00:31:28,724.4545627
Seven letters on a desk, an eye blink of freedom.

418
00:31:28,794.4515627 --> 00:31:31,304.4535627
Nobody can order a person into meaning something.

419
00:31:31,737.781896 --> 00:31:34,577.785896
I keep setting that sentence down and picking it back up.

420
00:31:35,917.784896 --> 00:31:37,247.782896
Uplink lock requested.

421
00:31:37,317.786896 --> 00:31:39,957.783896
Beowulf, is that you? Right here, buddy boy.

422
00:31:40,457.785896 --> 00:31:42,37.783896
Something's jamming my uplink.

423
00:31:43,177.786896 --> 00:31:44,57.786896
35 seconds.

424
00:31:44,57.786896 --> 00:31:56,877.787896
What's your news story about? So there's something else libraries are just handing out for free now, and no, it's not books this time, and somewhere Moms for Liberty is about to get very uncomfortable when they hear what it is.

425
00:31:57,217.787896 --> 00:31:57,897.787896
Affirmative.

426
00:31:57,967.787896 --> 00:31:59,17.785896
Don't go anywhere.

427
00:31:59,207.777896 --> 00:32:03,247.786896
Anything that makes the clan Karen hood feel a little discomfort works for me, too.

428
00:32:03,607.787896 --> 00:32:05,907.790896
We'll be back in under 57 seconds.

429
00:32:34,58.3282363 --> 00:32:34,788.3282363
Hello, Jen.

430
00:32:34,808.3282363 --> 00:32:35,498.3282363
Hello, Dan.

431
00:32:35,518.3282363 --> 00:32:37,68.3282363
Hello, scary book people.

432
00:32:37,488.3282363 --> 00:32:39,708.3282363
I gotta continue to hand it to libraries.

433
00:32:39,708.3282363 --> 00:32:48,798.3272363
Libraries are such wonderful organizations, and I just am seeing stories all the time everywhere about the wonderful things that they're doing.

434
00:32:49,225.0685263 --> 00:32:52,195.0685263
so, so look, I, I'm, I'm, I'm not a big gun person.

435
00:32:52,320.8831595 --> 00:33:02,820.8851595
I, I believe in gun safety certainly, and so do libraries, and that's why I gotta pay homage here to the libraries of Baltimore, Maryland.

436
00:33:03,230.8831595 --> 00:33:14,862.8619821
A new partnership is being offered by Baltimore libraries to Baltimore gun owners to safely store their firearms in an attempt to prevent suicides and unintentional shootings.

437
00:33:15,462.8639821 --> 00:33:29,672.8599821
The Johns Hopkins University and the Enoch Pratt Free Library, which is a chain of free public libraries throughout Baltimore, Maryland, last week unveiled an initiative that will provide free gun locks and safes in libraries across the city.

438
00:33:29,682.8649821 --> 00:33:41,832.2777651
The program's part of a $245,000 federal investment, dedicated to safe gun storage that was secured by US Representative Kweisi Mfume, and he's, a great guy.

439
00:33:41,832.2777651 --> 00:33:48,179.8976307
He's been a representative for a long time, so I guess his political skill allowed him to secure this funding for the libraries.

440
00:33:48,329.8902091 --> 00:33:59,719.8962091
So the initiative comes amid a historic reduction in homicides and gun violence in Baltimore, but but the city still has a long way to go, and this is part of that effort.

441
00:33:59,719.8982091 --> 00:34:04,119.8952091
So you go to a library in Baltimore and you don't have a gun lock.

442
00:34:04,119.8952091 --> 00:34:09,119.8972091
You know, if you have a gun and you wanna keep it safe from your kids and your family, you can go to a library.

443
00:34:09,119.8972091 --> 00:34:15,799.7914922
They will give you a, trigger lock, so that will prevent it being used when you do not want it to be used.

444
00:34:15,836.1402091 --> 00:34:18,986.1402091
And, it's a situation I just wish it didn't have to come up to begin with.

445
00:34:19,134.8927683 --> 00:34:24,553.5837589
But our libraries are helping us take care of it, and, and thank goodness for that.

446
00:34:24,563.5867589 --> 00:34:29,730.8165752
It really seems like libraries are becoming the locus for, goodness, we've talked about it before, mental health.

447
00:34:30,320.8095752 --> 00:34:32,930.8055752
You can go and, check out cameras at the library.

448
00:34:33,110.8075752 --> 00:34:36,960.8195752
You can go check out tents at the library, and now you can get a gun lock at the library.

449
00:34:36,970.8085752 --> 00:34:42,372.915685
What won't libraries think of next? That's what I wanna So let me, uh, understand this, uh, framework here.

450
00:34:42,372.915685 --> 00:35:05,246.7058263
So y- you wanna do some shooting, you go down to the library, check out your gun, you go do your shooting, and then you come back and do they make it easier to check it in? Can you put the gun in I, so I, I, I think they will let you check out a safe to, to put your gun in to keep it away.

451
00:35:05,322.7058263 --> 00:35:06,872.7058263
I don't have time for that.

452
00:35:06,902.7058263 --> 00:35:09,12.7058263
I have a very limited schedule today.

453
00:35:09,12.7058263 --> 00:35:10,762.7058263
I need to zip into the library.

454
00:35:10,762.7058263 --> 00:35:12,482.7058263
I will come in to get my gun.

455
00:35:12,782.7058263 --> 00:35:24,602.7048263
I have several shootings I'm going to be doing, and when I'm done, very tight schedule, I need to go to the drive-through of my library where I put my books, and I will be bringing some books along too.

456
00:35:24,602.7058263 --> 00:35:28,682.7058263
I want to put my book and gun in the drop box.

457
00:35:28,862.7058263 --> 00:35:31,86.7058263
Is that gonna happen? Oh my God.

458
00:35:31,194.7058263 --> 00:35:32,654.7058263
No, no, I don't think so, Dan.

459
00:35:32,714.7048263 --> 00:35:36,634.7058263
just little plastic things that they're giving out to make your guns, uh, safer.

460
00:35:36,801.5264178 --> 00:35:37,301.5264178
I love it.

461
00:35:37,341.5264178 --> 00:35:39,21.5264178
Libraries are doing, like, everything.

462
00:35:39,21.5264178 --> 00:35:46,257.5264178
Why does it always have to fall onto the libraries? something a city should do or a state or something, it really is.

463
00:35:46,267.5264178 --> 00:35:53,837.5264178
It's, you know, it's good news for libraries, but it, and if you step back and look at the broader situation, it's not great news altogether.

464
00:35:54,127.5264178 --> 00:35:57,317.5274178
But I'm so glad that libraries are, doing Oh yeah, of course.

465
00:35:57,337.5274178 --> 00:36:05,634.6692175
Me too The world is so screwed up right now, the librarians, it, like, they're treating it like the Wild Wild West, except the libraries are the good guys.

466
00:36:06,14.6682175 --> 00:36:08,634.6682175
So they're just, like, going crazy doing good things.

467
00:36:08,984.6692175 --> 00:36:11,644.6682175
Like, it's like the Wild Wild West in reverse.

468
00:36:12,554.6692175 --> 00:36:14,44.6682175
We'll handle the, the homeless thing.

469
00:36:14,44.6692175 --> 00:36:16,784.6692175
We'll handle the, any, like, mental health care.

470
00:36:16,924.6682175 --> 00:36:18,284.6692175
You got guns? We got it.

471
00:36:18,314.6682175 --> 00:36:19,574.6682175
We'll, we'll deal with it.

472
00:36:19,784.6692175 --> 00:36:20,704.6692175
It's kinda cool.

473
00:36:20,934.6692175 --> 00:36:30,17.4522003
Like, the world is just so screwed up that, you know, librarians seem like one, or libraries seem like one sane little, It's, it really is very hopeful.

474
00:36:30,67.4522003 --> 00:36:32,777.4522003
And, so it's, it's a place I like to go, libraries.

475
00:36:32,807.4522003 --> 00:36:34,297.4522003
I hang, every chance I get.

476
00:36:34,307.4522003 --> 00:36:36,267.4522003
So bravo, Baltimore libraries.

477
00:36:36,287.4522003 --> 00:36:38,697.4522003
Thank you for making us laugh about love again.

478
00:36:39,332.4522003 --> 00:36:55,857.4512003
you imag-, can you imagine though if you were right and like all of a sudden librarian, uh, gets a book in Florida and it's like, "Who the hell shot up To Kill a Mockingbird? Why is this full of birdshot?" Moms for Liberty drives by, you hear them screech by.

479
00:36:56,487.4512003 --> 00:36:58,297.4532003
"Somebody shot this book."

480
00:36:59,157.4512003 --> 00:37:02,897.4522003
Everyone, go find Good News for Lefties wherever you find podcasts.

481
00:37:04,134.4522003 --> 00:37:05,715.4522003
Oh, thank you so much, guys.

482
00:37:12,517.2367983 --> 00:37:12,827.2367983
Right.

483
00:37:12,877.2367983 --> 00:37:16,557.2367983
We've caused enough literary chaos for one day, scary book people.

484
00:37:16,567.2367983 --> 00:37:20,137.2367983
If you want the fun to keep going, follow us on Blue Sky.

485
00:37:20,207.2367983 --> 00:37:24,327.2367983
Just head on over to bandcamppodcast.com/bluesky,

486
00:37:24,327.2367983 --> 00:37:26,607.2357983
and remember that's band with two Ns.

487
00:37:26,907.2367983 --> 00:37:37,867.2367983
And look, just like the Trump administration, we're not exactly above bribing you to get what we want, so follow us there, drop your handle on that page, and we'll send you a little something something.

488
00:37:37,867.2367983 --> 00:37:38,817.2367983
I think you'll like it.

489
00:37:39,237.2367983 --> 00:37:41,137.2367983
Yes, little quid pro quo.

490
00:37:41,737.2367983 --> 00:37:46,757.2357983
Band Camp is produced and hosted by Dan Schultz and me, Jennifer Davis.

491
00:37:47,237.2367983 --> 00:37:51,827.2357983
All media used in this episode falls under the protection of fair use.

492
00:37:52,37.2367983 --> 00:37:56,707.2367983
And finally, America isn't what it used to be, so be careful out there.

493
00:37:57,237.2367983 --> 00:37:58,817.2367983
And resist when it matters.