Previously seen interviewee Lulu Lewis is sitting in a chair applying makeup to her face. Her room is lit with purple and red lights, and there’s a sign in the background that has a cartoon of a cow on it that reads, “Farm Girl Gigi’s Dairy Farm.”
Note: The entirety of this interview consists of Lulu looking into a mirror, painting her face with makeup.
Rosita (off camera):How long have you been streaming on Real-Friends?
Lulu:About a year now.
Rosita:Isn’t adult material filtered out for the planet?
Lulu turns and winks at the camera.
Lulu:It is. But if you ask how I do it, I’m not going to answer. Not that anybody is ever going to see this because you never release your movies, Rosita. But if there’s one constant in the galaxy, it’s that if there’s porn, people will find a way. Hell, half of my clients come from planets with filters similar to the one on New Sonora.
There’s a long pause here. We zoom in on Lulu applying mascara.
Rosita:Why do you do it? Streaming, I mean.
Lulu:I like it. It’s fun. I get to meet people from all over. I get to pretend to be someone I’m not for a little bit, and I get to collect money—money I can’t even really spend until the quarantine is lifted, so it just sits there and earns interest.
Rosita:Can’t you get money from people here on New Sonora? Why do it for money you can’t even collect?
Lulu:I’ll be able to touch it once the quarantine is over. It’s an investment. And because I’m keeping over ninety-five percent of my income in an Earth bank, paying Earth taxes, and leaving the funds there for a period of at least five years, I’ve completed half the residency requirement for the Productive Citizen visa program. If I eventually use it to buy property Earthside, then I’ll be able to emigrate. Besides, what would I spend it on here? Some pigs? I don’t want anyone from around here looking at me. Ew. They wouldn’t want to watch videos. They’d want something a little more real, and that’s not what I do.
Rosita:Do you think you’re good at it? At streaming, I mean.
Lulu:My feed usually ranks around sixty-five or so of the top feeds in the galaxy. So, yeah, I’m doing pretty well.
Rosita:Can I ask how much you’ve earned?
Lulu:A lot, but almost half of it goes to taxes. But it’s still not enough. Not yet. I figure if I can maintain this level of popularity for another two or three years, then I’ll be good. Even with a house, the interest alone should be enough to live off of if I’m smart.
Rosita:So that’s your goal, to move to Earth? What do you think your grandpa Lewis would’ve thought of that? Or your brother?
Lulu pauses and turns to look at Rosita. She raises an eyebrow and laughs.
Lulu:What the fuck, Rosita? Just because you’re fucking my brother doesn’t mean you get to pry that deep.
Rosita laughs.
Rosita:I was your babysitter, too. Don’t you remember?
Lulu also laughs.
Lulu:How could I forget? I’m reminded every time Roger talks to you.
Rosita:Roger is right. I was unqualified. We both ended up at the Gonzales farm with Mrs.Gonzales feeding us cochitos. And of course, you don’t have to answer the question if you don’t want to.
Lulu sighs.
Lulu:I think Grandpa Lewis would be sad if he knew I was leaving. But you know what? As much as I love this farm, as much as I loved Grandpa Lewis and everyone else, none of that is any of their damn business. That’s why I do this. I am earning my own way, making my own money, and if I want to buy a house in Aruba and I can afford it, then that’s exactly what I’m going to do. I didn’t ask to be born on this planet. I can’t control where I come from, but I sure as hell can control my future.
Rosita:What if Oliver asks you to stay?
Lulu turns and looks at the camera.
Lulu:Actually, I kinda hope Ollie will come with me. You, too, if you end up married. But if he says he wants me to stay, I’ll say that’s too bad, and I will go anyway. He’ll be okay. He still has Roger to watch over him.
Lulu pauses.
