Call and Response

PETER

”So... a regress never ends because it’s always making more questions?” Peter thought maybe he understood that, though it still left out a lot of specificity, and gave the definition some wiggle room. ”Is... is this conversation like a regress? I think I could ask questions forever. Or... not ask a terminal question?” He tried using the phrase she had, wondering if it actually made sense.

The answer about math, and numbers, and absolutes, was not one he found he liked though. Numbers had seemed stable, if nothing else, and finding out they might not be as stable as he liked set his mind spinning. ”If it’s a social idea then... wouldn’t...” He trailed off, unable to find a way to make it work without contradicting himself previously. He hummed while he thought, then decided to finish it anyway. ”If numbers are just based on us, then... wouldn’t it still be absolute as long as we’re here?” Maybe he was just repeating himself with different words, but if the only thing that gave numbers meaning was people, wouldn’t that mean they had meaning for as long as it mattered? The longer they spoke, the more it seemed like all his thoughts made sense while he thought them, but as soon as he tried to give them words, they fell apart like a wet piece of paper.

”I... I had more dreams like that before. Before here. I um... I always thought I had them because I wanted things to be different when... when I wasn’t dreaming.” He looked around the cave again, taking it in, then focused back on her. ”Maybe.” He agrees, though he feels more dissatisfied with that the more he thinks on it. ”What happens when... when the dreamer wakes up? Um, to me. Or... you, if this is someone else’s dream?”

Distance, distance keeps you safe
And I don't wanna scare you away

You're laughing cause it's funny
How you're fooling everybody but me