I wasn’t sure if it was envy that led Hap to break up Prairie & Homer’s romance-of-sorts, or the need to control all aspects of experience in his experiment and world. I think his giving of freedom to Prairie was the lie he told himself: See? I’m not a bad guy. I’m only doing this for greater good.

Speaking of which, I want to know more about Hap’s experience. Where did he get the money for all of this? The lair, the plane, the not working at a real job anymore? It must have taken years to prepare the lair, supplies being delivered and people to work on it to put it together, so how did he keep its build a secret? How did he test it to make sure it would work? I mean – gassing people – very Holocaustian. Very Mengele. What kind of doctor was he that his clearly psychopathic way of thinking still allowed him to practice? Doctors are supposed to be bound by the Hippocratic Oath, so would a sociopath be able to practice medicine by day and not be triggered? And how did he get into Cuba, whose borders were not open then?

And Scott – something of a Lazarus figure, but per Christian theology, Lazarus believed in Jesus, and that prompted Jesus to raise him from the dead – whereas here, Scott died not believe in the OA and presumably had an experience in death that led him to believe, which he expressed upon return to life. So perhaps the metaphor is not apt.

The swallowing of an animal in the death-experience period is odd and I can’t figure it out yet. I noticed that there is a swallowing motion (hand in the mouth) during the movements. You mentioned that they might be spirit guides, but I don’t see how they are doing any guiding. Perhaps it is meant as an action so odd that one would have to believe in order to choose to do it. It is an expression of commitment to your purpose. Hmm…