The past.

"What was that?" Ross demanded. "What did you do? Mads, are you ok?"

"I'm fine," she said dreamily. "Don't worry."

"It's a passivity modifier," Ruth said. "I find it useful for times like these. She's still there, just a little more docile. She'll remember all of this, but it won't affect her. Sort of like a dream. Right, dear?"

"Yeah," Madison said, smiling vacantly at her mother. "Like a dream."

"Whatever you want to say, you can say in front of Madison," Ross said angrily.

"No!" Ruth shouted, a cold anger flashing across her features. "I cannot, young man, and you'd be well-advised to be quiet and listen before you put your foot in your mouth again."

She took a moment to compose herself and sipped her scotch.

"Now, I'm going to be honest with you. I believe I know most of the things you've been doing with her. Between the things she lets slip, my own deductions, and your carelessness, I've put the puzzle together. Stop me if I say something incorrect.

"You and a friend suspected that your professor was a golem, and you used a release stone to confirm it. You inadvertently unbound this golem in the process, and used her position as an intern in the Yetzirah department to gain access to the lab where you made her rewrite her own script. Am I right so far?"

Ross nodded, his face pallid.

"Excellent. You and your friend decided to repurpose both her and your professor as sexual playthings, but you were almost caught several times. In all cases, you miraculously escaped detection through hare-brained plots and a bit of luck.

"You went so far as to convert Dr. Cecil Chambers to a golem and destroyed his career and life to cover your tracks. I knew Cecil personally, and you're very fortunate that you happened to perpetrate this ghastly crime against a man who deserves worse. He was a pompous blowhard and serial harasser, good for scriptwriting but not much else.

"You and your friend employed a resculptor - perhaps a golem with a script - to transform Cecil into your professor and your professor into your personal golem. Have I missed anything?"

"No," Ross said. His hands shook and he looked close to tears.

"Don't lie to me," she commanded. "I know there's something else, possibly involving your professor. Tell me now, because of i have to employ other means to find out you won't like it."

Ross told her about the nitrated soil they had found in Maria and the reaction in the script. Ruth was keenly interested, asking a number of questions. Finally, Ross sighed and put his head in his hands.

"That's all I know. You've got to believe me..."

To his surprise, Ruth was sympathetic. "I do believe you. Thank you for your candor. I'll return the favor."

"Earlier you said that I could speak my piece in front of Madison. That's untrue and macabre, because Madison is dead. My baby girl, the light of my life, the only thing that ever mattered, drew her last breath alone and scared on the side of a highway. So don't your ever, ever fucking talk to me about Madison. Madison is gone forever. A painting of a candle cannot illuminate, and the light of my life has been dead for four years."

"I'm so sorry," Ross said with a sob. The golem rubbed his back soothingly.

"It's very convincing," Ruth said. "My husband was the smartest person I've ever known and he let it trick him. He built this facsimile and let his grief warp his mind to the point that he couldn't distinguish fantasy from reality."

"Aww, I miss Dad..." Madison said softly.

"No you don't," Ruth snapped. "This was his greatest achievement. He put more care and pride into it than any other thing he built. When he passed away, I kept it for him. I sent it to college for him. I kept acting like it was real for him, because it's the only legacy he's got. So when it came home with a mangled script, I knew immediately that someone had discovered it. When I realized that the scriptwriter didn't bother to lock it to themselves, I knew it was an amateur. Son, you've really got to be more careful.

"I decided to let things progress. I altered its script so that it would remain secretive about me and my estate and sent it back. When it showed up a few weeks ago suddenly locked, I knew the time had come to confront the new 'boyfriend'. So we find ourselves here today."

"...what are you going to do now?" Ross asked.

Ruth smiled at him, and hope flared briefly in his heart. "That all depends on what you say next."