"Work together?" Joaquim asked. "You basically asked that of us in the future."

  The corner of Ameen's smile went to an unnatural place, and he averted his gaze to somewhere else in the white room filled with sharpie scrawling. It was as if the smile was not intended to be seen.

  "What? My future disciples? Apostles? Inquisitors?" Ameen asked.

  "You called some of them inquisitors," Joaquim answered. "Actually... now that I think about it... I don't think I know what that word means. They were the most violent of your followers."

  Ameen's face found a way to be even more unnatural. "I guess you were... and will be a follower of mine, however you have demonstrated some kind of ability to be outside of time at this stage. I have no interest in playing into my public persona with you. We need to share the same goal. Frankly, the titles I give to people that I have used the technology of religion on does not matter. None of this matters."

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  Joaquim's eyes softened in confusion with an inkling of sadness. His lips opened but no words came out.

  "This is all virtual... this is all imagination," Ameen explained. "I plan to possess the author writing this, and I will do again what I did with Islam, and this time I will also add the Butlerian Jihad from? Dune? into the Aulasy.. The world needs a savior and I am going to be it. The crisis of no longer having a shared reality and the complacency to let the rich get away with their decadence will only get worse. Only I, the al-Mustafa can save the greatest reality. The one where science fiction is the hardest."

  Despite Ameen being enchanted by the words that had left his mouth, he visibly got taken aback by Joaquim's assured stare that replaced any confusion or sadness he once had.

  "No," Joaquim declared.

  "What do you mean no?" Ameen asked. "We have no choice. We have to save the world."

  "I said no," Joaquim said once more, moving his right foot forward as his posture got firmer.

  "Why?" Ameen asked. "You don't even understand how bad things are outside of the mind we exist in."

  "It's simple Muhammad," Joaquim replied. "It's not your life to live."

  "So we are at an impasse," Ameen noticed. "Very well. Your name is Joaquim now right?"

  The boys locked eyes, making it clear that Joaquim had no intention to respond.