"Hello?" Scott's voice echoed in the dark building. "Are we in the wrong place?"
"This is the right address," Jill said.
A light flickered on in the distance. It looked like a doorway to an office.
"See?" Jill said, striding confidently forward. "Come on, they're expecting us."
"They put a film studio in an abandoned warehouse?" Scott said, following in her wake.
"It's a secret studio, duh," Jill said.
"And for the last time, we're filming a commercial, right?" Scott said. "Not a porno?"
"Relax," Jill said. "No surprises today. It's a commercial for vitamin supplements."
"Incest vitamins?"
"Of course," Jill said. "I've seen the script, there's no nudity. Not for me anyway--you'll be shirtless with pajama bottoms, I'll be wearing a nightie, and we'll say our lines in bed together. Two scenes, one pre-coital, one post-coital. Hey, look at you! You barely reacted."
"Yes, the brainwashing is working," Scott said. "So what are we really going to be doing in the commercial?"
"Exactly what I just told you." They had reached the door and Jill peeked inside. "Hello?"
"Hello!" A man wearing a turtleneck and jacket waved them in. "You must be Jill and Scott, welcome. I'm Ben, the director, great to meet you. We'll be starting soon, we'll get you in wardrobe and makeup shortly, but I thought we'd have a chat first and go over some things."
There was a table, three folding chairs, and nothing else in the office. The walls were unfinished drywall and there was a door on the opposite side of the room. They all sat down.
"So," Ben said, crossing his legs. "I understand you're both new to this."
Jill said, "I've done some acting in class but I've never really been on camera before."
Ben said, "No, I mean incest."
"Oh! Yes, we're new to that too."
"How far have you progressed?"
Jill said, "We're only at stage two."
"Are we?" Scott said, surprised. "How many stages are there?"
"Five," Jill said.
"Oh, we're doing better than I thought."
"Well, I'm sure you'll reach the final stage sooner than you think," Ben said. "The Incest Initiative can be very effective, it just takes time. I have to say, you two are making quite a splash in the incest influencer scene, you're easily the hottest new brother-sister team. How many followers do you have?"
"We passed 200k yesterday," Jill said.
"That many!" Ben said. "Very good. I think you two are bringing a different sort of energy, something fresh and appealing, despite what some people are saying."
Scott said, "What are some people saying?"
"Don't pay any attention to the negative comments," Ben said.
Jill said to her brother, "They think you're an idiot."
"Ah man," Scott said dejectedly. "I'm doing the best I can."
"Exactly," Ben said. "You're trying. You're getting the hang of it. You'll be doing incest soon enough, I'm sure. Actually, I suppose this is the time to be honest with you--we won't be shooting a commercial today."
"I knew it," Ben said, glaring at Jill. "This is for a porno."
Jill shook her head and said, "No, we were definitely cast in a commercial. I don't understand."
"It was all a ruse," Ben said. "We're not filming anything today. I'm not a director and this isn't a studio. You were led here so I could talk to you. I'm from the Descendants of Eden."
"Cultist!" Jill said.
"What?" Scott said. "Are we being abducted by cultists?"
"Please," Ben said calmly. "I'm just here to talk. You're free to leave at any time."
Scott and Jill looked at each other, then silently stood up and walked to the door.
"But you might want to hear what I have to say," Ben said.
They stopped. "Why should we listen to you?" Jill said.
"Aren't you at least curious?" Ben said. "There is so much you don't know. Come on--sit down, and I'll tell you a few things. I'll reveal some mysteries, maybe drop a surprise or two, and you can decide for yourself whether it all makes sense or not. What do you say? I promise it'll be worth it."
Scott and Jill looked at each other again, shrugged, and came back.
"Let me guess," Scott said as he sat down. "You're going to say that you're not really in a cult, that the Incest Institute is the real cult here and we've been taken in by their lies."
"Oh no, I'm in a cult," Ben said. "We have rituals and everything. And the Incest Institute has legitimate scientists developing methods to facilitate incestuous relationships between consenting adults. But they are our enemies."
"Why?" Jill said.
Ben said, "Because we, the Descendants of Eden, are the guardians of incest."
"What?" Scott said. "You want to stop people from doing incest?"
"I didn't say that," Ben said.
"You want to get more people to do incest?" Scott said.
"I didn't say that either," Ben said. "We believe only the worthy deserve incest."
"So... elitist incest?" Jill said. "You decide who gets to do incest and who doesn't?"
"We don't decide," Ben said. "Fate decides. Incest is a holy beacon shining upon a chosen few, those with the strength to survive the transgression."
"Okay, now we get to the crazy," Jill muttered. "So you oppose the Incest Initiative because they're popularizing incest..."
Ben said, "Attempting to popularize incest, with little success."
"Little success?" Jill said. "The Incest Network's audience is huge!"
"Yes, the incest industry is profitable," Ben said. "They know how to sell a fantasy. They know how to give followers what they want. But how many of those followers do you think are actually committing incest?"
Jill said, "I mean... some, I'm sure."
"Almost none," Ben said. "It's an audience of masturbators and cowards."
Scott said, "But you don't want them to do incest anyway, right?"
"Correct," Ben said. "They are not worthy."
"So what's the problem then?" Scott said. "If incest influencers aren't influencing anybody..."
"It is the corruption of the idea of incest," Ben said. "Incest is not entertainment to be consumed. Incest is to be done secretly, reverently, behind forever closed doors. Incest is the purest form of love, the highest form of sex, and yet it so fragile, balancing on the edge of impossibility, and needs to be protected at all costs."
