Robert Ford/Chestnut

==="Chestnut"===
Dr. Robert Ford and Bernard Lowe are watching a host being manufactured. Lowe tells Ford that the two hosts have been retired, he also says he found it quite hard to do it. Ford tells Bernard that the photograph was not enough to cause the failure to host Peter Abernathy. They discuss the possibility of sabotage. Ford thinks it's more likely to be something just going wrong, that the task of creating lifelike machines is complex enough to guarantee strange failures.
Ford walks through the desert and meets a Little Boy. Ford says that the boy has strayed from where he's supposed to be, just as Ford has. They chat and walk together. Ford seems unconcerned about leading a boy further away from his parents, and acts as though he has known the boy for quite some time.
After Ford and the boy have walked for a while, Ford tells the boy to look at the "town with the white church" and listen for the church's bell (there's no town or church there, just the frame of an old steeple). The boy says he can hear the bell. Ford shows the boy how he can control a rattle snake with gestures. He tells the boy to head home, and that the boy should not return to this area. The boy stops talking, drops his stick and obediently leaves. It's obvious now from the machinery noises (the same noises that Old Bill makes) that this 'boy' is really a host.
Lee Sizemore is performing, excited as he is outlining his new narrative to everyone, including Dr. Ford. The new narrative is called "Odyssey on Red River" and he speaks about how wonderful it will be. Ford is watching, as are Theresa and Bernard. When Sizemore has finished there's some applause, but Ford simply says "No. No, I don't think so." He says that he doesn't see the point and humiliates Sizemore in front of everyone.
As Ford continues to speak, we see Logan and William in Sweetwater. William crosses the street to pick up Dolores' stray can of food (the same as in every loop). We hear Ford talk about how the guests fall in love with the details they imagine only they have noticed. As Dolores accepts the can her smile fades, as if she recognized him or was expecting someone else. They don't speak but William tips his hat to her and she smiles back at him as Logan calls him away.
Ford says that the narrative says more about Sizemore than it does about the guests. He says that the guests don't want to know who they are, but who they could be.
Later in the park, Ford shows Bernard the remnant (the framework of a church steeple) of the buried church he was looking at while with the boy host. Bernard is concerned that the board are expecting a new story line and won't be pleased that Odyssey on Red River has not been approved. Ford tries to reassure Bernard by telling him that there is a new narrative that Ford has been working on for some time.
Category:Tabview Character Plot