Perception
Cold air sunk, he was told in Science class, and it certainly felt like that today. The icy winter air settled around him like a warm blanket-the difference in the adjectives painfully clear. It induced an air of quite entropy that prevented one from acting and all he could do was wait in the infernal cold for the school bus to cart him off to the gulag. Worst of all, he could hardly voice these thoughts. Hobbes stood beside him, taking a very different view of the situation. It was easy to find the good in things with the thick pelt, Calvin noted peevishly. His breath misted the air, almost crystallizing on the delicate lines of his whiskers. "No comment?" Calvin shook his head. "You know, some guy from the government wanted to talk to me yesterday."
"Is that so? You think they finally found out about the noodle incident?"
"Hey! It wasn't that bad and you know it."
"All right, what did he want to talk about?"
"You, mostly."
"Oh really. Why?"
"He just wanted to know things about you, the kind of food you eat, how big you are, you know. HE also gave me this weird test where he asked me a few questions."
"You think this had anything to do with Tommy?"
"Nah, no one liked him, anyway."
"True…but I've found that the laws of humanity rarely concur with the laws of nature."
"You have a point. But even if he was angry with you, he didn't show it. Also he seemed to really believe you existed, like Uncle Max…although I suspect he was just humoring me."
"Why, some people don't?"
"Well, you heard Tommy. He said you were 'stuffed'."
"Well, sometimes I am…like after meals, you know. Maybe that was it."
"No, he means like those animals you buy in stores-the cloth ones."
"Hmm…"
"I've some people will do anything to deny the truth."
Basement, J. Edgar Hoover Building
"Mulder, you've had some bizarre theories before, but this…"
"You say that every time. Listen, it's really very simple. What we have here is a kid whose imagination is so active he actually brings inanimate objects to life."
"Right."
"Listen I'm sorry you have to handle the Pfastner case by yourself but this is really important. I mean, think of the implications…"
"If you're right."
"I am. I'm certain."
The Monroe Household
"Hello, Mrs. Monroe? Could I speak to your son?" The woman who answered the door looked as though her entire life had been one never-ending calamity and just now it had abated. "Sure." She said cheerfully, and then her expression darkened. "What's he done this time?" Mulder shook his head hastily. "No, nothing like that. I just want to ask him a few questions." She looked slightly relieved and ushered him into the house. "Calvin?" She called. "There's someone here to see you?" A spiky head peered around the corner. "Oh, it's you. What do you want this time?" His voice contained no malice or annoyance, only curiosity. It was something lost with age. The same question voiced by one of his wretched co-workers would have sounded like a threat. "I want to see Hobbes." He said. "Naturally, I felt the need to forward the request through you." Calvin nodded. "This way. Hey HOBBES! Visitor!" At the top of the stairs a battered, stitched plush tiger leaned against the doorframe. There was no way he could have planned this. "Listen, Calvin…" He began awkwardly. "I believe you when you say Hobbes is a real tiger, but…the fact is, when I look at him, I only see a stuffed toy." To his surprise, Calvin nodded. "I suspected as much. Yes, I'm beginning to realize that now. The world sees everything wrong, peace entireties are interpreted as declarations of war, cries of mercy and interpreted as threats, the moans of the oppressed are heard as cries of joy and the frying of the ozone layer is unheard altogether. What a world. Of course, I wouldn't expect them to see Hobbes for what he really is." Stunned by the philosophical outburst, Mulder sat down. "The fact is, you're just not ready to see him. You couldn't if you wanted too." He shrugged. "Listen Calvin…all my life, I've prided myself in seeing truth where others see fiction. I always said t myself, 'I want to believe'. But…" Calvin nodded. "Hmm…so the desire is there. But as much as you tell yourself that, you're still not ready." He pondered the issue. On one hand, he wanted to help him. On the other, here was an opportunity to make him look like a total buffoon. Then he realized he could do both. "Repeat after me-I want to believe."
"I want to believe."
"Louder."
"I want to believe!"
"Once more, with feeling."
"I WANT TO BELIEVE, DAMN IT!"
He opened his eyes, closed a second before in rapt concentration. No matter how much he had expected to see what he now perceived, he was still unprepared. "H-Hobbes? My name is Fox Mulder, FBI." Hobbes extended a paw. "Charmed."
Later
"All right, I was wrong, so sue me."
"I thought so."
"No, you don't understand…there was something there that even I couldn't accept, that I'm still not sure I do?"
"Like what?"
"It's hard to explain. Maybe you should see it yourself."
