RZ   You know what your problem is, Johnny?

RZ   Ambition. You lack it in spades. In multitudes!

You pause your wood carving and give him a look. Despite your hands wielding a very sharp knife and a blunt instrument, he continues.

RZ   You're a gifted hunter and forager.

RZ   I would daresay that the survivalist lifestyle is attenable on a man such as yourself.

RZ   However! You are human, inside and out.

RZ   And human society demands ambition!

AR   get to the point.

RZ   I've gotten to it twice.

AR   no, i mean what you're asking me to do.

AR   since you like to make everything a teaching moment.

And gazing down at people with that pity-filled look in his eyes, if you might add. It makes you wonder why you even humor his company if your presence is such a stain in his prestigious life.

Not that your peers are saints, either.

RZ   Straighten up, for one.

RZ   Your spinal column must look like a stack of toddler's toys.

You grunt and dutifully adjust your posture so that you aren't hunched over your work. A limber man is a long-lived one.

RZ   Isn't that better?

AR   can you not be so damn patronizing about it?

RZ   Me? Patronizing?!

RZ   This is compassion in its purest form!

AR   even that sounds sarcastic.

RZ   That's your dull, feeble mind talking.

RZ   If I meant to insult you, I'd be forthright about it.

RZ   Look - you're slouching again!

He has the audacity to poke you on the back with a stick he was polishing (seeing if he could make a ruler, he had explained), so you grab it and snap it in half.

RZ   Aman yarabbi!

RZ   It was meant as a tribute to you, you know!

You throw two approximately six-inch sticks back at him.

AR   a real tribute would be something practical.

RZ   Ignoramus. Do you not measure your tools? Your weapons?

AR   real skill means eyeballing it.

RZ   Har har.

RZ   Your definition of 'real' is, in itself, shy of reality.

RZ   You, good sir, require calibration more than anyone.

The sticks were caught and are now held in each hand, with arms stretched out and eyes squinting. What on Earth could he even be measuring? A faraway tree? You wonder how many great eccentrics in history are mistaken for great minds.

RZ   Not that this facsimile of a tournament is anything like the reality showing it claims to be.

He sighs and leans backwards on the log. Though his eyes are closed, he moves carefully so as to not get any muck on that fanciful outfit of his. You have half a mind to swipe your cloak back from underneath him, just so he can leave you be. But you'd be fooling yourself if you thought the solitude was any better. At least his incessant dialogue is an effective distraction from...

AR   what are you thoughts so far?

RZ   Hm?

RZ   So, you finally require my insight?

AR   not what i said.

AR   i'm just wondering what made you say that.

AR   about this... show.

AR   you seemed to be enjoying yourself. like the others.

AR   just the other trial you were exclaiming something about, what, the intellectual stimulation?

RZ   Was I?

RZ   Now, why would that be the case?

RZ   You don't suppose I relish leaving my studies to fraternize and gallavant about?

RZ   Parade my virtues to a gaggle of faceless executives, as well as the public at large?

AR   ...

AR   ...

AR   you seemed to be enjoying -

RZ   For all that superlative sight, you can't recognize strategy when it's right in front of you!

RZ   Kuş beyinli.

RZ   To think I had once hypothesized that your lonely behavior was technique and not nature.

Now he's waving one of the sticks around like a baton.

RZ   It's performance! A show for a show!

RZ   Heavens forbid a man utilize his inherent draw for a competitive advantage!

RZ   Pray tell, how would I benefit by spouting critique outright?

RZ   How would it benefit them?

He was gesturing intensely enough for it to get flung off somewhere. Now, he's using the one in his other hand. You wonder if it was better leaving him with just one unwieldy instrument.

RZ   That is precisely why you are on the chopping block, dear Johnny.

RZ   It is the dearth of ambition that keeps you rooted to your ways.

RZ   And it is that which will prove your end.

With a toss of his hair and a pointed glare in your direction, he shuts his mouth at last.

AR   strange.

AR   by that logic, wouldn't it help you if i was eliminated?

AR   why are you telling me this? and about your big scheme, no less?

RZ   Elementary.

RZ   Because you are the only one under The Program's grand delusion.

RZ   You trust that its prize only goes to the good, the hard-working, and the deserving.

RZ   And that is ignorance I cannot leave uncorrected.

Few times have you seen that grave, serious expression. The first was at the finale of the first trial, at the elimination. There was palpable devastation in their form as they were escorted away, assisted by some crew members due to a sprained ankle. The others celebrated their victory. But not him - at least, not for that one moment.

AR   you're not the first to tell me this, you know.

A mixture of relief and disappointment dulls those sharp eyes.

RZ   Really?

RZ   It must be more than ignorance that's hindering you, then.

RZ   Let me guess. Was it #03?

RZ   It befuddles me how familiar you are with each other despite your respective lifestyles.

AR   it was.

AR   apologies for robbing you of the satisfaction.

AR   but i already know that my chances of winning are slim to none.

Marianne was downright offended when you told her the same thing a few trials ago. When it was clear that you wouldn't compromise your character, even with a life-changing prize on the line. The idea was unimaginable to her.

But she still insists on allying with you. Maybe not during heavily filmed segments; rather, you notice her concerned glances and continue the typical back-and-forth when you two happen to be in the same area. She must've known this was who you are and who you'll continue being. It's why you've been her oldest and only friend.

RZ   Yet, you remain.

RZ   What do you hope to gain, exactly?

AR   i don't know.

AR   i went into this hoping for an opportunity.

AR   but i didn't bet everything on it.

AR   when i'm out... i think i'll take a break from the city. from the busy life.

AR   from what this society turned out to be.

RZ   You're running away?

AR   i'm going back to what i know.

You glance down at the piece of wood, still gripped in your hand. It started out as a mindless exercise. Now, with its pointed end, it looks a bit like an arrowhead. You test its heft.

RZ   Well, since you remain for the time being, I wouldn't mind an archery lesson or two.

RZ   There's bound to be a trial fitting your unique skillset.

AR   are you doing flattery on me?

AR   after you told me that it's all fake?

RZ   You wound me! I'm not incapable of authentic adulation!

AR   with the way you talk, that's hard to believe.

RZ   I am articulate.

RZ   That is not a sin.

AR   also, i don't think you could handle being the student for once.

RZ   Logic and calculation are my ever-present teachers.

AR   logic and calculation can't say to your face that you're not paying attention.

RZ   Har har. Will you demonstrate for me or not?

You do, for lack of a better reason not to. He's particularly fascinated by the physics of the arrow flying through air, with the fin stabilizing its motion. How you've managed to master the field without discerning it through functions and formulas is a miracle to him.

Soon, the two of you will get called back to the main area. But for now, you can pretend all that surrounds you is the bounty of land and sky.