"Sick."
"Immoral."
"Disgusting."
Laura and Karl were waiting outside the office of Senator Clark. As they watched the aides and interns circulate among the desks, they took turns guessing which keywords would show up during the interview. Laura had compiled a quick set of questions that might yield some real answers, possibly, but she really wasn't expecting anything more than a few formulated soundbites from the legislator.
"Decadent," she said.
"Twisted," he said.
"Liberal?"
"Come on."
Soon they were shown into a warm wood-lined office. Senator Clark, fiftyish, handsome, in a sort of plasticky way, stepped around his desk to shake hands and flash a smile. A serious-looking man hovered by his side. Everyone settled into chairs.
"The brother and sister team is here!" Clark said. "I love it. Shows character. How's it going so far? Working well together? I hope not too well, right? Ha!"
Laura exchanged a quick puzzled look with her brother. What did they walk into? "Everything's great," she said. "We're getting along fine. Perfectly professional."
"But I'm still managing to annoy her every chance I get," Karl said.
"Ha ha! Of course you are," Clark said, laughing.
Oh boy. Laura flipped through her notes, hoping to make this short—the jovial politician kind of gave her the creeps. "Thank you for your time, Senator, I'm sure you're busy," Laura said. "I have just a few questions."
"Go ahead. No need to rush, I have plenty of time."
Great, Laura thought. "How would you describe the bill you're sponsoring?"
"This bill addresses the disturbing modern trend of treating incest as a lark, a joke, a plot point designed to shock and titillate. Or a valid lifestyle choice, something to experiment with, something to brag about. I've been hearing some very disturbing stories from my constituents and I believe Dr. Sebastian's unfortunate book represents a tipping point of this dangerous idea. My bill would place the subject of incest squarely under federal obscenity laws."
"Obscenity," Laura said. "I don't know much about the law but I know it's a hard thing to define."
"I intend to make it much easier to define," Clark said. "And this is just a start—I would like to rework and refine the entirety of obscenity laws, draw some cold hard lines, give them some bite."
"That's... a major undertaking, isn't it?" Karl said. "I mean, the debate on obscenity has been going on for, what, centuries?"
"It will be a fight, you bet. I have some excellent lawyers working with me. This incest business will be just the opening salvo."
"If I understand you correctly," Laura said, "this isn't necessarily about those who commit incest, right? You're targeting books about incest."
Senator Clark gestured to the man on his right. He looked like someone who has spent time practicing a well-placed sniff of derision.
"Hello, I'm Henry Adams," he said. "You're correct, obscenity laws regulate the publishing, promotion, distribution and sale of obscene material, like books, movies, or videos. State laws deal with the punishment of acts of incest."
Laura said, "And are we talking about incest involving underage victims, or all incest, even between consenting adults?"
"Incest is incest," Adams said.
"First cousins?" Karl said.
"The 12.5% coefficient of relationship is a point of contention. It could be allowable."
"That's generous of you," Karl said.
Senator Clark said, "Dr. Miller, let me ask you—as a psychologist, what do you think of incest?"
Karl was silent for a moment. "I consider it an abnormal sexual practice. If it involves children, it's abuse. If it doesn't involve mutual consent, it's abuse. If it involves mutual consent, I believe it indicates a damaged relationship."
"Yes, damaged, exactly," Clark said. "It hurts families. Don't you agree?"
"It can disrupt families, yes. It can cause harm."
"So shouldn't families be protected from this dangerous idea?"
"But they're already protected," Karl said. "There are deep psychological barriers that prevent incest from occurring. Incest is a powerful taboo. I don't think it needs help from a federal law. And the taboo is not going to be broken just because some people are talking about it."
"And yet..." Senator Clark said, leaning back in his chair. "And yet, in his book, isn't Dr. Gavin Sebastian saying the exact opposite? That people can be persuaded to try incest?"
I really should finish that book, thought Laura. She was glad that her brother was up to the senator's challenge. She also wondered—if and when Karl met Sebastian, how would he react? Were they on the same page? Would there be a confrontation?
"I think you're reading too much into Sebastian's book," Karl said. "It is research into the phenomena of incest. He has found individuals that have overcome those psychological barriers, but nobody knows exactly how they have done so. He has some ideas, some interesting ideas, but the subject needs more study."
"Well, I completely disagree," Clark said. "This is not a subject that needs to be explored. The American people don't need exposure to Sebastian's twisted research."
Karl gave Laura a discreet thumbs up.
Laura said, "Are you gathering much support for your bill?"
"Absolutely, very much so. I believe I have the votes for it to pass, and I know I have the public support."
"What have people been saying?"
"People are scared. People are worried about their families. And it's a hard thing to talk about, and even harder to understand. It's like a sickness sweeping over this country, and we have to fight it any way we can."
"If you had a chance to speak to Dr. Sebastian, what would you say to him?" Laura said.
"I don't know if I would say anything to him," Clark said. "What kind of person pokes around dark corners and then shouts to the world what he's found? I think he's responsible for a lot of broken families and a lot of pain and confusion."
"So he has to be punished?" Karl said. "Research in unpopular fields is a federal offense?"
