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"Alright. Ready? And...go."
Shane glanced at the scientist. He was smiling, and it was easy to believe that the smile was genuine, what with his perfect hair and teeth. But Shane saw his eyes darting every now and then at the cameras, or down at his watch. Carlos was clearly uncomfortable. But Ryan was on a roll.
"How long have you been in Night Vale?"
Carlos thought for a moment. "It's been a few years, I think. I can't really remember exactly."
"And why did you come here?"
"Well, obviously, I'm a scientist." Here Carlos' smile was genuine, and his hands grew increasingly animated as he talked. "I'd heard about Night Vale - nothing that sounded possible, of course, much less plausible - and it was just so fascinating! Even crazier was the fact that I could find no other scientist who'd done any research or studies or anything to address the claims of angels or-"
Carlos stopped abruptly, his excitement instantly gone as he glanced around. "Not...not that any of those things are necessarily true." He finished.
Caught off guard by the sudden change in tone, Ryan didn't say anything. So Shane jumped in.
"So all those weird things people talk about aren't actually true?" He asked.
Carlos fidgeted with the bottom of his lab coat. "I...um, I don't..." He cleared his throat. "I haven't been able to definitively come to any conclusive responses to any of the claims." He looked satisfied with that answer, and relaxed a little.
"Ok...um..." Ryan shook his head and turned to the crew. "You know what? Let's just take a break."
The cameras turned off and Ryan turned back to Carlos. "Are you ok? You seemed pretty nervous there."
"No, I'm...I'm fine. I just...This wasn't a good idea," Carlos said, standing up quickly.
Shane glanced at Ryan. "It's ok, would it help if you just told us, without the cameras?"
"No. No, I think I've said enough already. I'm sorry, I just... can't."

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