The Man Who Ended the World by Jason Gurley

bottle and slams it down on the end table. Who's live right now? 
    The only live shows are Piers Morgan and Stephanie Plain, Steven.
    Piers is a dickhole, Steven says. Do you remember when I was on the show in 2017? 
    I did not exist in 2017, Stacy says. 
    Right. Look it up sometime. Alright, let's do Stephanie. 
    Do you want to sober yourself first? Stacy asks.
    What? No, fuck. I'm not drunk. Let's do this.
    Very well, Stacy says. 
    The room fills with an audible ringing sound. 
    Steven waits.
    Another ring, then another. 
    The call goes to voicemail. 
    Shit, Steven says. 
    Thanks very much, please leave a message, the greeting says.
    Wait, is that her? Steven asks.
    There's a loud beep.
    I can analyze the voice pattern, but I don't have a conclusive source to verify against, Stacy says. 
    Fuck, shit. Shit. Okay, it's probably her, right? It's probably her. You said it was a direct line, right? 
    The number is listed as direct for Stephanie Plain's producer, Gary Hall. 
    Gary Hall? Who the -- never mind. 
    Steven clears his throat. 
    Mr. Hall, he says. My name is Steven --
    There's a loud beep. 
    The fuck, Steven says. Did it just end? Try it again. 
    Stacy dials again. The room fills with the sound of a ringing phone once more. 
    Thanks very much, please leave a message, the greeting repeats. 
    Beep.
    Wait, that sounded like a woman's voice, Steven says. Is Gary a woman? Is Gary also a woman's name? 
    Stacy says, I believe Gary is traditionally a male name. 
    Shit. Okay. Mr. Gary? Mr. Hall, I mean. Mr. Hall, this is Steven Glass. I'd really like to speak with Miss Plain. Would you have her call me at -- 
    Steven stops. Stacy, what the fuck is our number? Do we have a number here? 
    You never established a direct line, sir, Stacy says. 
    Steven stares at nothing, then bursts into laughter. 
    Fuck, he says, laughing. 
    Beep.
    Holy shit, he says. Fuck. Fuck! Should we call back? We should call back. 
    I should advise you that this does not appear to be going well, Stacy says. I recommend pretending that this never happened.
    Another lemonade? Steven says.
    There are enough for you to have one thousand more lemonades, sir.
    Steven dissolves into giggles and falls backward onto the couch.

 
     
     
     
     
     
    The Panic Room
     
    Henry isn't exactly used to having his mind blown twice in a single day. He's only eleven. At eleven, you sort of think you have things figured out. There aren't any surprises left. 
    The panic room rewrites Henry's present.
    The room is the size of several airplane hangars strung together in all four directions. It's probably the largest panic room ever constructed. The light panel walls are backed with more steel, several inches of it. The floor is a beautiful pale hardwood on a layer of steel. The ceiling simulates a peaceful blue sky. It's so convincing that Henry feels like he's just stepped outside. 
    How -- how far down, he manages to ask.
    Stacy says, You're almost half a mile underground, Henry. 
    At the same time that she is demonstrating the panic room to Henry, Stacy is talking to Steven while he swings in his hammock.
    The panic room is a young urbanite's fantasy. 
    There's a full-sized kitchen with chef-rated tools. Steven doesn't really cook, but Stacy is capable of producing a finite number of specialties. 
    Opposite the kitchen is a large gaming zone. A large, gently-curved light wall creates the most enormous screen that Henry has ever seen. Paused on the screen is a vintage moment from a classic game, Halo . 
    God, is that all for playing games? Henry breathes.
    Mr. Glass takes entertainment very seriously, says Stacy.
    It concerns her that there's anything on the screen at all. This means that Steven has been in the panic room more recently than she realizes, which in turn means that she has effectively lost track of his whereabouts at least once.
    That's not good.
     
    •   •   •
    By far the most impressive thing about the panic room is the