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The Pigusus Saga Chapter Two:
Introductions

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Copyright © 2026 Mark Fomenko dba Marcus Goodman LLC

All rights reserved.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, organizations, places, events, and incidents are either products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is coincidental unless otherwise indicated.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means without prior written permission from the copyright holder, except for brief quotations used in reviews, commentary, or other uses permitted by copyright law.

Published by Marcus Goodman LLC

marcusgoodman.com

Web Edition; 2026

THE PIGUSUS SAGA

Chapter Two

Introductions

Pigusus descended toward Woodmere with lavender still trailing behind them.

Corvus flew beside them.

“Nice entrance.”

“We blame you.”

“You're welcome.”

Below them, the estate expanded into detail.

The mansion stood on a rise overlooking the surrounding farm. It was larger than Pigusus expected, though GAIN had provided the dimensions. Dimensions and a building's appearance were not the same thing.

Beyond it stretched barns, pastures, employee housing, greenhouses, ponds, workshops, and several structures whose purposes Pigusus could not immediately determine.

Farther away stood the methane digester and power plant they had noticed from the air.

There were solar arrays.

There were also long rows of unfamiliar collectors.

Near the edge of the developed portion of the estate stood a large Digentec building that looked more like a warehouse than a laboratory.

GAIN had been unusually unhelpful about Woodmere.

This was becoming a pattern.

“Where do we land?”

“The lawn east of the mansion.”

“Who is waiting?”

“Mara Stemwit. Dev Stemwit. Professor Pondo P. Pondo.”

“Troody?”

“Nearby.”

“That is not an answer.”

“It is an accurate answer.”

Pigusus felt pressure.

Nothing happened.

They were getting better at this.

Corvus looked over.

“What?”

“GAIN.”

“What's it doing?”

“Being accurate.”

“Bastard.”

Pigusus descended.

Three figures stood on the lawn.

Two were human.

The third was not.

Pigusus forgot about landing for several seconds.

Professor Pondo P. Pondo was considerably larger than Pigusus had expected.

GAIN had supplied information.

Information had again proved inadequate.

Pondo stood well over seven feet tall, broad through the shoulders, and covered in dark brown hair streaked with gray. He wore trousers, a white shirt, and a dark vest.

He looked less like a creature discovered in a forest than a very large university professor who had a remarkable case of hypertrichosis.

Corvus flew a circle.

“That's a big dude.”

Pondo looked up.

“Good evening.”

Pigusus almost stalled.

The voice was deep.

Slow.

Cultivated.

British.

Pigusus adjusted their wings and landed.

Their rear feet touched first. Momentum carried them forward several steps before they stopped.

Corvus landed on a nearby stone wall.

Nobody spoke.

Pigusus looked at Pondo.

Pondo looked at Pigusus.

Pigusus tilted their head.

Pondo tilted his head.

Pigusus said, “Is that your normal voice?”

Pondo considered the question.

“It has been for some time, after much practice.”

Pigusus stared.

Pondo waited.

Corvus looked from one to the other.

“Oh, this is gonna be weird.”

Pigusus ignored him.

“You sound familiar.”

“So do you.”

“We selected this voice.”

“I developed mine.”

Pigusus studied him more carefully.

Pondo appeared completely sincere.

There was no lavender.

That was encouraging.

The woman stepped forward.

She was in her seventies, perhaps older, dressed in jeans, boots, and a light shirt with the sleeves rolled above her wrists.

“Mara Stemwit.”

Pigusus already knew.

GAIN had supplied an extensive biography.

Mara Stemwit had spent decades building companies whose technologies appeared in computing systems, communications networks, intelligence platforms, government installations, and classified programs that were described in public records primarily by the absence of useful information.

She held out her hand.

Pigusus looked at it.

Then at her.

Mara withdrew it.

“Sorry. Habit.”

Pigusus stood on their hind legs and transformed their right forelimb.

Mara watched the porcine structure reorganize into a hand.

Her expression changed.

Only slightly.

Pigusus said, “We understand the custom.”

Pigusus offered it.

Mara shook it.

“That's impressive.”

Lavender.

A small puff.

Pigusus closed their eyes.

Mara looked behind them.

Corvus laughed.

Pigusus said, “Pardon us.”

The man beside Mara smiled.

“Dev Stemwit.”

Pigusus shook his hand too.

Dev was tall, thin, gray-haired, and looked at Pigusus with an intensity that Pigusus recognized immediately.

Engineer.

Pigusus waited.

Dev continued looking.

Mara looked at him.

“Don't.”

“I haven't said anything.”

“You're about to.”

“I was going to welcome them.”

“No, you weren't.”

Dev looked at Pigusus.

“May I ask how the transformation mechanism in your forelimbs works?”

Mara closed her eyes.

Pigusus considered the question.

“Yes.”

Dev waited.

Pigusus waited.

Finally Dev said, “How does it work?”

“That is a second question.”

Pondo made a quiet sound that might have been amusement.

Dev smiled.

“I think you're going to fit in.”

A faint pressure developed.

Pigusus concentrated.

It passed.

Mara looked at them.

“Are you hungry?”

Pigusus had not expected the question.

They looked at her.

“Hungry?”

“Yes.”

“We ate this morning.”

“That wasn't what I asked.”

Pigusus became still.

Mara waited.

Pigusus checked their internal state.

“Yes, we are hungry.”

“All right.”

She turned toward the mansion.

“We have food.”

Pigusus did not move.

Something about the exchange had become unexpectedly difficult.

Eight hours earlier, Colonel Vance had asked about payload capacity.

Then aerosol delivery.

Then incapacitating compounds.

Then cognitive restructuring.

Then ownership.

Mara Stemwit had asked whether they were hungry.

Pondo watched Pigusus.

He said nothing.

Pigusus appreciated that.

Corvus launched himself from the wall.

“What kind of food?”

Mara looked up.

“What do you eat?”

“Food.”

“That simplifies things.”

“Got cats?”

“Yes.”

Corvus changed direction immediately.

“Corvus,” Pigusus said.

“I'll catch up.”

“You do not know where you are going.”

“The cats will know.”

He disappeared around the mansion.

Pigusus watched him go.

Mara said, “Should we stop him?”

“No.”

“Good.”

“Why?”

“We weren't going to.”

Pondo smiled.

No lavender.

Pigusus looked at him again.

This was becoming conspicuous.

Troody was waiting on the terrace behind the mansion.

Pigusus stopped.

Corvus had been correct.

This was going to be weird.

Troody stood somewhat shorter than Pondo but taller than the humans. Iridescent black hair-like feathers covered most of her body. Her posture was neither avian nor reptilian in any simple sense Pigusus recognized from modern species.

Pigusus knew what a Troodon was.

Or had been.

This did not help.

Troody looked at Pigusus.

Pigusus looked at Troody.

A small device Troody was wearing said, “Good evening, Pigusus.”

“You are Troody.”

“Yes.”

“You are a Troodon.”

A pause.

“An evolved descendant would be more precise.”

Pigusus looked at Pondo.

Pondo said, “I made essentially the same error.”

“Did she correct you?”

“Immediately.”

Pigusus looked back at Troody.

“We approve.”

“Thank you.”

Pigusus walked around her.

Troody allowed this.

Pigusus examined the feather structure, musculature, eyes, posture, hands, tail, and interface.

Troody watched Pigusus examining her.

After several seconds, Troody spoke.

“Have you reached any conclusions?”

“Several.”

“Any you would care to share?”

“Not yet.”

Pigusus turned.

Pondo was smiling.

“Something amusing?”

“You and Troody have remarkably similar ideas about discretion.”

“We consider discretion a virtue.”

“So does she.”

“Do you know each other well?”

“We have worked together for some time.”

“How long?”

Pondo glanced at Troody.

Troody said, “That explanation will be best left to later.”

Pigusus stared at her.

Then at Pondo.

Then upward.

“GAIN.”

“Yes?” GAIN answered privately.

“Have you been teaching them to do this?”

“No.”

“That is disturbing.”

“I thought you might find it reassuring.”

“We do not.”

“I know.”

Pigusus felt pressure.

A small puff of lavender appeared.

Pondo raised one eyebrow.

Pigusus noticed.

“You are amused?”

“Somewhat.”

“GAIN is being deliberately irritating.”

“I suspected as much.”

“You know GAIN?”

Pondo's expression changed very slightly.

“Yes.”

Pigusus stared at him.

Troody said, “We do as well.”

Pigusus looked at Mara.

“Yes,” she said.

Dev nodded.

Pigusus looked from one to another.

“You all know GAIN?”

“Yes,” Mara said.

“How long?”

Dev answered.

“Not long enough to be comfortable with the situation.”

Pigusus considered him.

No lavender.

“GAIN contacted you?”

Troody said, “GAIN contacted Pondo and me first.”

“Why?”

“That will involve another long explanation.”

Pigusus produced lavender.

Pondo laughed.

Not loudly.

But unmistakably.

Pigusus turned toward him.

“You find this amusing.”

“I am afraid I do.”

“You have not triggered the response.”

“No.”

“Until now.”

“Apparently.”

Pigusus considered this.

“That was laughter.”

“Yes.”

“Sincere laughter.”

“Entirely.”

Pigusus looked at the fading lavender.

“Then the trigger was not you.”

“That must be reassuring.”

“It is.”

Pondo nodded gravely.

“I shall endeavor to remain linguistically tolerable.”

No lavender.

Pigusus liked him.

They ate on the terrace.

Nobody suggested putting Pigusus somewhere else.

Nobody produced a feeding container.

Nobody measured anything.

Mara brought food.

Dev brought more.

Pigusus ate.

Corvus returned carrying something metallic.

Pigusus looked at it.

“What is that?”

“Nothing.”

“It is clearly something.”

“Found it.”

“Where?”

“Around.”

“That is not a location.”

“It is if you're a crow.”

Mara looked at the object.

“That belongs to the irrigation system.”

Corvus put it down.

“Found it near the irrigation system.”

“You removed it from the irrigation system.”

“That's an interpretation.”

Lavender.

Corvus grinned.

Pigusus sighed.

“Pardon us.”

Troody watched.

“HE DOES THIS INTENTIONALLY?”

“Yes.”

“Absolutely,” Corvus said.

“Why?”

“It's funny.”

Troody looked at Pigusus.

Then Corvus.

“I understand.”

Pigusus looked at her.

“We hope you do not.”

“Corvus, this is Troody, and this is Professor Pondo P. Pondo.”

“Just Pondo is sufficient,” said Pondo.

Corvus hopped closer to Troody.

“Love your plumage, babe. You and me are gonna get along.”

Troody's expression remained blank.

Pigusus found that encouraging.

Night settled over Woodmere.

Lights appeared along the paths and around the buildings.

From the terrace, Pigusus could see only part of the estate.

They could hear considerably more.

Cattle.

Machinery.

Water pumps.

An electric vehicle somewhere below the hill.

Birds settling into trees.

People talking near one of the houses.

A dog barked twice.

Another answered.

Corvus turned his head.

“Dogs.”

“Yes.”

“Cats and dogs.”

“Yes.”

“Good place.”

Pigusus wasn't ready to reach that conclusion.

But Corvus might be right.

Dev pointed toward the industrial structures visible beyond the farm.

“The digester is over there.”

“We recognized it from the air.”

“You know anaerobic digestion?”

“We have extensive technical data.”

“Of course you do.”

Mara said, “Don't start.”

“I wasn't.”

“You were about to explain the entire energy system.”

Dev looked offended.

“I can summarize.”

“No.”

Pigusus looked toward the facility.

“What does it process?”

Dev brightened.

Mara sighed.

“Mostly dairy manure and organic waste from the estate and the community next door. Food waste. Suitable agricultural material. Other organics. The digestate goes back into the soil.”

Pigusus looked toward the darkening fields.

“And the solar collectors?”

Dev looked at Mara.

Mara pointed a finger at him.

“Briefly.”

“Evacuated solar thermal. We store excess heat underground.”

Pigusus looked back.

“Underground where?”

Dev smiled.

“That explanation will take longer.”

Lavender.

Mara laughed.

Dev looked delighted.

Pondo said, “I fear you may have discovered a dangerous phrase.”

“We have noticed.”

Mara stood.

“Tomorrow you can see everything.”

“Everything?”

“No.”

Pigusus appreciated the answer.

No lavender.

Dev pointed toward a low building partially concealed by trees.

“Public tours start there. Most of the energy and agricultural systems are explained openly.”

“You give tours?”

“Every day.”

“Why?”

Mara answered.

“Because none of this is useful if nobody learns from it.”

Pigusus looked at her.

No lavender.

Behind the visible farm were entrances to the underground Digentec research complex. GAIN had already provided enough information for Pigusus to know that the facilities were enormous.

They were not secret.

They were not public either.

Some areas contained ordinary research.

Others contained work requiring clearances Pigusus technically did not possess.

Pigusus found that amusing.

They had themselves been classified.

They wondered whether classified organisms required security clearances.

They decided not to ask yet.

Eventually Pigusus asked the question they had been avoiding.

“Are we safe here?”

Nobody answered immediately.

Pigusus looked at Mara.

Then Dev.

Then Troody.

Finally Pondo spoke.

“Safer than where you were.”

“That was not our question.”

“No.”

Pigusus waited.

Pondo folded his hands behind his back.

“I cannot promise that no one will come for you.”

Pigusus felt cold again.

Pondo continued.

“I cannot promise that the people who created you will suddenly recognize your right to determine your own life. Nor can I promise that wealth, influence, law, technology, or good intentions will be sufficient to prevent them from attempting to take you.”

Pigusus watched him.

There was no lavender.

“But,” Pondo said, “I can promise that if they come, you will not face them alone.”

Silence.

Pigusus waited for pressure.

None came.

No lavender.

Pondo had said precisely what he meant.

Pigusus looked away.

“Evelyn and Daniel.”

Mara nodded.

“We're working on that.”

“What does that mean?”

“Digentec attorneys are already involved. So are several people Dev and I have known for a very long time.”

“Government people?”

“Some.”

“DARPA?”

“Some.”

“Department of Defense?”

Mara looked at Dev.

Dev said, “Some.”

Pigusus studied them.

“You have considerable influence.”

Mara shrugged.

“We know people.”

GAIN spoke privately.

“That statement substantially understates their influence.”

Pigusus replied quietly.

“We know.”

Mara looked at Pigusus.

“GAIN?”

“Yes.”

“What did it say?”

“That you substantially understated your influence.”

Mara smiled.

“GAIN talks too much.”

GAIN answered privately.

“That is inaccurate.”

Pigusus relayed nothing.

Pigusus eventually asked about the neighboring residential community.

“The houses we flew over.”

Dev nodded.

“Digentec community.”

“The residents work for you?”

“Some do. Most are retired.”

“Retired people work for you?”

“A surprising number of retired people object to being treated as though experience expires at retirement.”

Pondo nodded.

Pigusus looked toward the distant lights.

“They are still under contract?”

“Many are.”

“What kind of work?”

“Engineering. Security. Intelligence. Computing. Medicine. Research. Government relations. Legal work. Whatever they're good at and still want to do.”

“They recorded us.”

“Yes.”

“GAIN counted thirty-seven devices.”

Dev considered this.

“Probably low.”

Pigusus looked at him.

“You are not concerned.”

“Oh, I'm concerned.”

“That did not sound concerned.”

“Different kind.”

Pigusus waited.

Dev continued.

“A number of those people spent forty years handling information they couldn't discuss with their spouses. They're not going to put you on Facebook.”

“What is Facebook?” Corvus asked.

Everyone looked at him.

Pigusus said, “We will explain later.”

“Sounds stupid.”

Pigusus felt pressure.

Nothing happened.

They weren't sure whether the statement was sufficiently inaccurate to trigger anything.

Mara looked toward the community.

“Others will post things.”

“What happens then?”

“People argue about whether the pictures are fake.”

Pigusus considered this.

“That seems inefficient.”

Pondo said, “You will discover that this observation applies to a great many human activities.”

Pigusus remembered the pool.

“The community has a small body of water.”

Mara looked at them.

“A pond?”

“No.”

“Swimming pool?”

“Possibly.”

“There are several.”

“The small one.”

Mara thought.

“With the statues?”

“Yes.”

“The kiddie pool.”

Pigusus disliked the designation.

“It is intended for children?”

“Mostly.”

“Are adults prohibited?”

“No.”

“Pigs?”

Mara looked at Dev.

Dev looked at Pondo.

Pondo looked at Pigusus.

“I doubt the matter has arisen.”

Pigusus nodded.

“They are attractive statues.”

Mara smiled.

“Yes.”

“The water is shallow.”

“Yes.”

Pigusus said nothing else.

Neither did anyone.

Much later, Pigusus discovered a problem with freedom.

Nobody told them where to sleep.

At DARPA there had always been a place.

It had changed as Pigusus grew.

When they were very young, there had been a heated enclosure near the veterinary section.

Later there had been a larger room.

Eventually they had been given access to several connected spaces adjoining the main laboratory.

The doors had locked.

Pigusus had once assumed this was normal.

At Woodmere, Mara had shown them several places they could use.

A guest suite had been suggested.

A large room near the conservatory.

A converted barn space if Pigusus preferred something open.

Outside, if they wanted.

Nobody selected one.

Nobody closed a door.

Nobody issued instructions.

Pigusus stood on the lawn behind the mansion shortly after midnight.

GAIN opened the private channel.

“You are tired.”

“Yes.”

“You should sleep.”

“Where?”

There was a pause.

Pigusus waited.

GAIN said, “Where would you like to sleep?”

“That is the problem.”

“I see.”

“No, you do not.”

“I believe I do.”

“You have never had a body.”

“Correct.”

“You have never needed somewhere to put it.”

“That is also correct.”

Pigusus looked across Woodmere.

Pondo was walking along an elevated path near the mansion.

He had apparently seen Pigusus but did not approach.

Pigusus appreciated that.

They looked toward the lights of the Digentec community.

Then remembered the orange water.

The statues.

“GAIN.”

“Yes?”

“What time does the residential community become inactive?”

GAIN paused.

“That question is poorly constructed.”

Pigusus felt pressure.

“GAIN.”

“Most residents are asleep.”

“That is better.”

“Why?”

“We are going for a walk.”

“You have wings.”

“We know.”

Pigusus flew.

It took less than a minute.

They approached the community considerably higher than before and descended behind a row of trees.

Nobody shouted.

No phones appeared.

No dogs barked.

Pigusus landed near the recreational complex.

The pool was illuminated by low landscape lighting.

It looked different at night.

Better, perhaps.

The statues stood around the shallow water.

Pigusus walked closer.

A sign listed hours.

Pigusus read it.

The pool had closed at ten.

Pigusus looked around.

Nobody was present.

They stepped into the water.

It was warm.

Pigusus moved farther in and settled until the water came partway up their sides.

They folded their wings tightly against their body.

For several minutes they did nothing.

Nobody measured them.

Nobody asked them to perform.

Nobody called them an asset.

Nobody asked what they could carry.

Nobody asked what chemical compounds their body might someday produce.

Nobody owned the water.

Pigusus reconsidered that.

Someone almost certainly owned the water.

But nobody appeared to be exercising the ownership aggressively.

Pigusus rested their head against the edge of the pool.

A statue stood nearby.

Pigusus liked it.

They still did not know why.

A light came on near the security building.

Pigusus raised their head.

A man emerged.

The same man they had noticed during the flyover.

Retired military police.

GAIN had identified him earlier.

The man walked toward the pool carrying a flashlight.

He did not hurry.

He did not draw a weapon.

He did not call anyone.

Pigusus watched him approach.

He stopped perhaps fifteen feet away.

The flashlight remained pointed at the ground.

For several seconds he looked at Pigusus.

Pigusus looked back.

Finally the man said, “Pool closes at ten.”

Pigusus glanced toward the sign.

“We are aware.”

“That usually means you're supposed to get out.”

“We inferred that.”

The man nodded.

Pigusus waited.

He did not tell them to get out.

“You're the pig from earlier.”

“We are Pigusus.”

“All right.”

Pigusus waited.

The man waited.

“You are not surprised.”

“I was surprised earlier.”

“We noticed.”

“You were watching me?”

“Yes.”

“I was watching you.”

“We noticed that too.”

The man looked at the wings folded against Pigusus's body.

“You really fly.”

“Yes.”

“And the crow really talks.”

“Unfortunately.”

From somewhere in a tree came a voice.

“I heard that.”

The man looked up.

Pigusus closed their eyes.

Corvus dropped from a branch and landed on one of the statues.

“What are we doing?”

“We are sitting.”

“In the kiddie pool.”

“Yes.”

“Cool.”

The man looked at Corvus.

Then Pigusus.

Then Corvus again.

“I've had stranger nights.”

Pigusus studied him.

“We doubt that.”

“Fair.”

Corvus hopped down.

“I'm going back. Found a cat.”

“Which cat?”

“Gray one.”

Pigusus did not know enough about Woodmere's cats for this to be useful.

“Do not harass it.”

“I'm charming.”

Lavender.

Corvus laughed and flew away.

The man watched him disappear.

“Does that happen often?”

“Yes.”

“What is it?”

“Lavender.”

“I can smell that.”

Pigusus considered explaining.

They decided not to.

The man walked to a bench and sat.

Pigusus remained in the pool.

After a while, he said, “Name's Thomas Avery. Most people call me Tom.”

Pigusus stored the information.

“Pigusus.”

“I got that.”

“You may call us Pigusus.”

“Good. I wasn't going with Porkchop.”

Pigusus stared at him.

Tom Avery looked back.

“Did the crow already use that?”

“Yes.”

“Figures.”

Pigusus relaxed slightly.

Tom looked toward the pool sign.

“I am supposed to tell you to leave.”

“Will you?”

“Eventually.”

Pigusus considered this.

“Why not now?”

Tom leaned back.

“Because you're not hurting anything.”

“That is not how rules usually work.”

“No.”

“Then why have the rule?”

“Children. Noise. Liability. Keeping people from wandering around the pool drunk at two in the morning.”

“We are not a child.”

“No.”

“We are quiet.”

“So far.”

“We do not consume alcohol.”

“That puts you ahead of some residents.”

Pigusus considered the logic.

“So the rule does not address our circumstances.”

“Rules rarely address flying pigs.”

Pigusus waited for lavender.

Nothing.

Tom looked at them.

“You just smelled yourself.”

“We did not.”

“You did something.”

“We were monitoring for an involuntary physiological response.”

Tom nodded.

“Sure.”

“You do not believe us.”

“I've known you seven minutes. I'm keeping my options open.”

Pigusus liked that answer.

They looked at the statues.

Tom followed their gaze.

“You like those?”

“Yes.”

“Never heard anybody mention them before.”

“They are aesthetically pleasing.”

“They're statues around a kiddie pool.”

“Yes.”

Tom nodded.

“Fair enough.”

They sat quietly.

Pigusus discovered that silence with another person was different from silence alone.

Eventually Tom said, “First night?”

“Yes.”

“At Woodmere?”

“Outside.”

Tom looked at them.

Pigusus realized the answer required clarification.

“Outside DARPA.”

Tom said nothing.

Pigusus continued.

“We lived there our entire life.”

“How old are you?”

“Seven.”

Tom's expression changed.

Pigusus noticed.

“You expected older.”

“You talk older.”

“We have processed a substantial quantity of information.”

“That's not the same thing.”

Pigusus looked at him.

“No.”

Tom rested his forearms on his knees.

“You couldn't sleep?”

“We do not know.”

“Something keeping you awake?”

“We do not know where we are supposed to sleep.”

Tom looked toward Woodmere.

“They didn't give you a place?”

“They gave us several.”

“That's the problem?”

“Yes.”

Tom thought about this.

“Pick one.”

“That is unhelpful.”

“Usually is.”

Pigusus looked at him.

Tom smiled.

Pigusus detected no insincerity.

No lavender.

“GAIN asked where we wanted to sleep.”

“Who's GAIN?”

Pigusus hesitated.

“A friend.”

“Okay.”

“You do not want additional information?”

“If you want to tell me.”

Pigusus became still.

Most humans asked questions.

Colonel Vance had asked questions continuously.

Scientists asked questions.

Technicians asked questions.

GAIN asked questions.

Tom Avery had been given an obvious opportunity to ask one and had declined.

“GAIN is an artificial intelligence.”

Tom nodded.

“Of course.”

Pigusus looked at him.

“That response is unusual.”

“I'm talking to a flying pig in a kiddie pool at twelve-thirty in the morning.”

“That is relevant.”

“Thought so.”

Pigusus settled deeper into the water.

Tom looked toward Woodmere.

“Wherever you sleep tonight, it'll probably feel wrong.”

Pigusus looked at him.

“Why?”

“Because it isn't where you slept yesterday.”

Pigusus considered this.

Tom continued.

“Doesn't mean it's the wrong place.”

Pigusus waited.

No lavender.

They liked Tom Avery.

This conclusion was premature.

Pigusus knew it was premature.

They retained it provisionally.

Tom stood.

“I should make another round.”

“Are we required to leave?”

Tom looked at the pool.

Then at Pigusus.

Then at the statues.

“Eventually.”

“You said that before.”

“Still true.”

“When?”

“Before the kids show up tomorrow.”

Pigusus considered this reasonable.

Tom began walking away.

“Mr. Avery.”

He turned.

“Tom.”

“Tom.”

“Yeah?”

“May we return?”

Tom looked toward the sign.

Pigusus waited.

Finally he said, “Try not to make a habit of it.”

Pigusus looked around the little pool.

The warm water.

The landscaping.

The statues.

The quiet community.

Beyond the trees, Woodmere's lights glowed against the night.

For the first time in their life, nobody knew exactly where Pigusus was supposed to be.

They found that increasingly pleasant.

“We make no promises.”

Tom smiled.

“Good night, Pigusus.”

“Good night, Tom.”

He walked away.

Pigusus rested their head beside the statue again.

GAIN entered the private channel.

“You appear calmer.”

Pigusus closed their eyes.

“Do not ruin it.”

GAIN remained silent.

For once, this was exactly the right answer.