"That's a... really strange limitation, actually. You can make a book using a title and author, but not if you make up a title and author, or an ISBN... your magic system would have to have some sort of... underlying search capability, so that you can ask for Moby Dick by Herman Melville and the magic does all the work of figuring out what that is and where to find all the words to put inside of it. Is there... does anyone know what does that, or is it-" there's a brief pause, he makes a face- "-an unsolved mystery?"

"If there's a solution to it, I don't know about it. There's not really a thriving demonic science community - not that demons don't do science, there's just dramatically less collaboration when you don't need to band together for funding in order to have all the sciencey swag you may want."

"And- do fairies and angels run on similar systems? Infinite void, some are people but others just appear, mysterious magic powers... or are they each their own kind of thing?"

"Fairies get Flatland with preexisting air and plants and geography and wildlife, it sounds like it's really pretty there from what I've heard. Angels get infinite glowy cloud-fluff that they tunnel through to make other things. I think both of them work on the mostly spontaneously generated, some dead humans, deal."

"Not everybody turns into a daeva when they die, I know that much, most people wind up in Limbo, but I don't know how the sorting works. Demon is what I would have picked, but I don't remember making a decision. I don't think I was bad by any conventional definition. And I would be a bit worried about getting killed if I were you."

"Limbo sounds - disappointing. It's a flat place with air in it, like Fairyland, but there isn't any of the stuff - I am informed that Limboites get stuff when they die and appear there, and they'll take presents from demons when we get concordances, but otherwise it's just dirt and sky going on forever. It's not like it's a disaster if they don't have water or food or whatever - they're just as indestructible as daeva, we can get thirsty but not really as far as parched, same with hunger etcetera - it's just. Boring."

"Yeah. I can get hurt, just not very much. If you shot me I'd bleed but not break a rib. Kindly don't try it."

"Oh, I'm thoroughly immortal, it's pretty great."

Max opens his car door and retrieves a notepad and pencil from a bag on the floor while Cam makes his call. He peers at the chalk circle and starts copying it down- two halves on separate pages, in case drawing it would actually summon another demon.

"Dude, that is not a good circle, it is not safe, I will teach you to do a safe circle later if you want," says Cam, conjuring water to rinse away the chalk. "It's - Dad! Dad don't hang up it's really not a prank I swear to - oh god this is a long story."

The demon hangs up. "I died five years ago. I was twenty-two. I've been taking summons since then hoping for a chance to get ahold of them." He dials a different number.

While the demon calls- his mom, he assumes- Max checks around the corner where the summoner fled, in case they're still around. There are people in the street, but none in the same outfit- if the summoner is here, they've changed clothes.

"So, now what? You said you were working on getting the word out- did you have a plan to do it without getting killed, that... failed, or did that part come as a surprise?"

"I had, like - some of a plan. It didn't go well, and I'd still rather not be shot even if it's not such a showstopper, so I want to rethink it some, especially since as a daeva myself I can no longer summon anybody myself and would have to enlist a human to do it. Where are we?"

"We're behind Brend- I mean, we're in... New Jersey, edge of Newark. West ward, I think, might be North but they keep redrawing the borders every election season. Gerrymandering, y'know. Any of that relevant?"