i ask john, is there an apogee? because he's a scholar of machiavelli. it's crazy, says he. it's a rhetorical question, but i'd really like to know. is there an apogee, or just an unending trajectory? i think everything must have an apogee? apogee means the point in the orbit of earth when an object is furthest from the center. or something akin to acme, but i think the apogee in the sense of highest achievement in terms of the u.s. empire must also be the absolute nadir. anyway, i said kids and dogs, right? things we can control says he. our minds? to a degree. i'm on my way up for lulu. give lulu a hug, john says. when i get there she doesn't come. she's in the back room eating garbage from the garbage can.