As stated, she walked the periphery meticulously comparing items which vendors esteemed most authentic, exotic and durable. She was gullible, despite her age and experience. At parties, her friends criticized her for this weakness, though the criticisms could only be expressed when she displayed little signs of sobriety(she regarded all comments devoid of flattery as a personal attack on her individuality) It was nearing 6 o'clock in the evening and she had not found the right piece to satisfy her manner of neurotic heiress to a non-existent fortune. The gradual retreat of daylight affected her; she lived with the idea that if events failed to induce the feelings she wanted, the night would declare interminable hours of the worst conflicts.
The hope for solving her divisions would rest in the hands of a psychic who strangled a man, plead insanity and named his daughter Neuron when he impregnated his girlfriend- a journalist of suspicious mental health.
"I'll pay you all the money you desire if you tell me where I'll be in the future, with who, and if I'll feel happier than now or recent years; I'd rather be in debt than live with the costs of this uncertainty."
He was notably impressed by her stupidity. A explanation ensued:
"I don't receive illusory things like money without feigning gratitude. I'd like to know my future or your future, which are actually interrelated if you believe in the poly aspects of life, but you probably don't. By the tone of your voice, and the insistent- almost authoritative manner you employ in your demands, I can perceive a despair so great in you that I suddenly feel a responsibility to separate the dishonesty of my selected profession."
Gravely disconcerted but committed to her tendency to emotionally repress herself during times of necessary protest, she said nothing in response. He continued:
"The problem is reason. All your problems are attributed to your patterns of thinking. I've lived the life of an insane man for convenience. I'm not crazy but I am a criminal. I have an aversion for language and social roles too, though I couldn't tell you which I'm inclined to gut first. Now, you're asking me about Happiness and you expect a good answer. I've no answers for Happiness. I can speak to you with approximations to the feeling. For example, if you work for the government and you believe that simplicity deserves primacy over bureaucracy, you'll be unhappy for the years left you have in that position. You have to feel good about where you are. As for the person you'll be with, she will have identical features to you-- everyone knows a person's unconscious motivation is to find who they really are through the exploration of another"
