PREVIOUSLY: Dagny quit to protest the totalitarian takeover of the American government, but when she got word of a catastrophic train collision that killed hundreds of people on her former railroad, she felt compelled to return to society and keep the trains running on time.
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Dagny arrives home, exhausted but resolute. Francisco knocks at the door and she is not surprised that he followed her back to the city. He is grim now, though, seems betrayed. He insists that she’s making a terrible choice. “Don’t you see Dags? You can’t fix the system from the inside! Join my off-the-grid shadow team and we’ll burn this mother down!”
But Dags demures. As long as the railroad makes opportunities possible for even one person who is destined for greatness, her effort is worthwhile even in a totally corrupt world. Francisco shakes his head in disappointment. “Well, now I’ve told you my plan to hit the self-destruct button on civilization, but you’re still on the side of that civilization, so… technically we’re enemies.”
Dagny & Francisco
It only now occurs to Dags that Francisco is the one she calls The Destroyer, the man who has been convincing all the other elite pillars of society to disappear. Frankie admits that’s part of his plan, but he isn’t in charge of it. She starts to quiz him but they keep getting distracted by the subtext of their haunted, bittersweet love.
Just then Hank walks in, nursing a big rubbery one in anticipation of nailing Dagny all night. Francisco’s presence really throws him off, although his dick only gets harder if anything. I assume. Anyway Francisco realizes what’s going on here and is clearly crushed. Hank is like “What the FUCK are you doing in here?”
Frankie, as is his wont, clams up and just takes another screed impugning his character from the people he most admires. Dagny tries to get Hank to calm down but he’s like “Blah blah blah machismo.” Specifically he calls Francisco a madman and a coward, a nihilist and an anarchist, and mockingly tells him his word means nothing, especially that time he swore to Hank his motives were pure, swore by the only woman he ever loved.
GASP, EPIPHANY! Hank totally realizes that Frank is in love with Dagny, is in fact her only former lover. He calls Frisco out and Dagny is really starting to feel like shit about all of this. In a fit of possessive jealousy, Hank slaps Frisco across the face. Slaps. Like, so much for your macho act, Hank. Francisco stoically takes it and then strides out of the apartment. Dagny realizes the extent of his self-discipline and feels even shittier. Then Francisco comes back in the room, but now he’s a sparkling vampire, and Hank turns into a werewolf, and– sorry, wrong pap.
Dagny & Hank
So now that they’re alone, and Dagny is pissed, she throws it in Hank’s face that she and Francisco used to make crazy animalistic love all day. In a jealous rage, he grabs her violently, and she’s pretty sure he’s about to kill her or beat her to a bloody pulp, but instead he kisses her hard and they start making out and Dagny has never wanted him more. Ayn Rand has a lot of rape fantasies, by the way, in case that wasn’t clear. Frankly it almost makes too much sense.
And there they are some time later, sharing a post-coital cigarette, when the doorbell rings AGAIN. It’s the landlord and he’s giving Dagny a letter that arrived for her while she was off the grid. It’s from Q. He’s quitting. He doesn’t want to fix the ion drive anymore. Even if the drive could save the world from industrial exhaustion and environmental catastrophe, he knows it would just enable the villains who run this corrupted America, and he can’t be party to that.
Dagny dashes to the phone and immediately, desperately tries to reach Q. She finally get him on the line. “Q! Have you, by any chance, been approached by any shadowy charismatic anarchists lately?” “No, what the hell are you talking about?” Q replies. She makes him promise not to go anywhere until she can make it out west and change his mind.
Hank slowly realizes that he won’t be getting his usual nightcap of a sloppy blowjob, so he promises to join Dagny out west in a week and lets himself out. Dagny barely notices because she’s already packing and coordinating her train schedule with Eddie.
Soon Eddie is in the apartment facilitating Dagny’s travel plans. He’s a little flustered by being in her bedroom, presumably because he is meek and a virgin. And, as I always like to point out, the representative Everyman of the novel. Never forget.
Dagny & Eddie
While Dagny throws clothes into a suitcare, Eddie looks up from his Blackberry (or Moleskin, whatever) and happens to see a man’s bathrobe monogrammed “HR” and GASP, EPIPHANY! Eddie realizes Dagny has been getting a good dicking from Hank Rearden. Jesus Eddie, you’re her body man and she and Hank’ve been going at it for literally years at this point. Get a fucking clue.
Anyway he feels his heart sink in his stomach like lead. He’s basically the sweet nerdy kid who’s shocked and crushed when the cheerleader picks the quarterback instead of him. Eddie, I’m generally in your corner, but I will not abide emasculating Nice Guy stereotypes. And yet he keeps going, because he never even realized until this moment the degree to which he was in love with Dagny. Yep, definitely a virgin.
After dropping Dagny at the appropriate Transcon platform, Emo Eddie wanders in a daze down to the cafeteria, and wouldn’t you know his laconic friend The Prole is there, chain-smoking and apparently just waiting for Eddie to show up and vent and whine like a little bitch.
Never one to buck expectations, Eddie spills his guts to the lowly laborer, about how he loves Dagny, how Rearden is sleeping with her, how he’s now completely given up hope of the world ever recovering from this crisis, and how alone he feels now that Dagny has barreled off to save Q and unlock the secrets of the ion drive.
But that’s about all the pity party Eddie gets a chance to throw, because The Prole jumps up and darts off sans explanation. Eddie’s like “Wait, where are you going?”
“I have a costume change before Act Three!” The Prole fails to say.
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Atlas 'Clubbed 