The Visionary burst into the room carrying a napkin.

“Good news,” he announced. “I’ve had an idea.”

The Steward looked up slowly. “You always do.”

“Yes,” said the Visionary, “but this one is different. This one has momentum.”

He spread the napkin on the table. On it were the words:

Podcast. Tonight. Probably global.

The Steward blinked. “Didn’t we talk about this already?”

“Oh yes,” said the Visionary cheerfully. “We talked about it extensively.”

“And didn’t the Council raise… concerns?”

“They had questions,” the Visionary said, waving a hand. “But nothing major. Not big-deal questions. Just the kind you answer after you get started.”

The Steward leaned back. “Remind me what those questions were.”

“Well,” said the Visionary, counting on his fingers,

“Who owns it, who pays for it, who edits it, who signs things, who’s liable, who replaces whom when they leave, what happens if it fails, whether we’re allowed to do it, whether we should do it, and whether doing it would accidentally summon consequences.”

“Yes,” said the Steward. “Those.”

“But see,” the Visionary continued brightly, “this time it’s different. I’ve solved the problem.”

The Steward waited.

“I found you,” said the Visionary.

“Oh no,” said the Steward softly.

“No, no, this is good!” the Visionary insisted. “You’re careful. You think about these things. If you write it up, all those concerns will… sort of arrange themselves.”

The Steward frowned. “Arrange themselves how?”

“Well,” said the Visionary, “once it’s written down, it becomes more real. And once it’s real, people are more likely to say yes.”

The Steward stared at him. “That’s not how governance works.”

“That’s exactly how governance works,” said the Visionary. “You just have to move fast enough.”

“Didn’t the Council close the door on this?” the Steward asked.

The Visionary paused. “They didn’t slam it.”

“They said no.”

“They said no at the time,” the Visionary replied. “This is a different time.”

“The conditions haven’t changed.”

“Yes they have,” said the Visionary. “Now we have a napkin.”

The Steward stood up. “I’m going to check with the Chair.”

“Oh, you don’t need to do that,” the Visionary said quickly. “We’re just exploring.”

The Steward returned a few minutes later.

“The door is closed,” he said.

The Visionary frowned. “Closed closed?”

“Yes.”

“Like… locked?”

“Yes.”

“Hmm,” said the Visionary. “That’s interesting. Because it felt open.”

“It wasn’t,” said the Steward.

“Well,” the Visionary said thoughtfully, “maybe they just need a better explanation.”

“They already decided.”

“Right,” said the Visionary. “But did they decide after imagining how good it would sound?”

The Steward sighed. “No.”

“That might be the issue,” said the Visionary.

At that moment, the Elder walked by.

“Oh,” said the Visionary, “perfect timing. We’re doing a podcast.”

The Elder stopped. “No, you’re not.”

The Visionary blinked. “Ah,” he said slowly. “I see.”

The Elder raised an eyebrow. “Do you?”

“Yes,” the Visionary said. “The problem is communication.”

“Correct,” said the Elder. “You weren’t listening.”

The Visionary nodded solemnly. “Right. Next time, I’ll explain it better.”

“No,” said the Elder. “Next time, you’ll recognize when a conversation has ended.”

The Visionary looked confused. “Conversations end?”

The Steward quietly folded the napkin and put it in the trash.