Takahashi."
"I'm David, David Washington Smith; I am the President of the United States, the second black man to hold that office." He did not extend his hand. "Sorry if I didn't take your hand, I'm a little bit paranoid about germs."
"It's okay," Amy said as she put her hand down. "I guess you must be the Dave who put up that banner on the Lincoln Memorial. Last I remembered you weren't the president."
"Everyone else in the world is dead, so I figure that I am next in the line of succession. Not that there is much of a country left to rule over. You're the first person I have seen since the creatures appeared. How did you manage to survive all that time?"
"I could well ask you the same question."
"Ladies first."
"I'm an astronaut. I survived on the international space station for two years until just a couple of days ago when my supplies were running low and the station started breaking down and I decided that I had no choice but to take my chances back on the Earth. You're the first living person I have seen who wasn't one of those creatures as well."
David scratched his head before snapping his fingers. "You're the astronaut. I used to follow you on twitter. I knew your name sounded familiar from somewhere."
"It's a small world I guess."
"A very small world, far as I know we are probably the only two people left on earth. But weren't there other astronauts with you on the space station?"
"Yes, that was true. I was with astronauts Anatoly and Maria, but unfortunately they both died in space."
"My condolences, it must have been pretty lonely up there."
"Indeed it was. But I imagine it was just as lonely down here, and probably a lot more dangerous. Which again brings up the question, how did you manage to survive?"
"Have you ever heard the expression only the paranoid survive?" Amy nodded. "Well I was always sort of a paranoid type. Truth is I am a major germophobe, always was and always have been. Ironically enough I was a White House janitor."
"A janitor doesn't seem like a very good job for a germophobe."
"I can see how you would think that way, but it's actually the perfect job for a germophobe. You see as a janitor I am constantly cleaning everything. The entire day I am wearing gloves and spraying disinfectant on everything. I have my hands constantly in soap and cleaning fluid and I go around making sure everything is sparkling clean and uncontaminated. And if you have obsessive-compulsive disorder and can't stop cleaning being a janitor is actually a pretty good job to harness what would otherwise be a bothersome mental disorder."
Amy nodded again. "I understand. But again it doesn't explain how you managed to survive when everyone else in the world didn't. I mean there are millions upon millions of people with a phobia about germs and who are obsessed with order and cleanliness, but they are all dead, you are not. There must be something special that allowed you to survive."
David nodded. "As soon as the bombardment began and I heard of all these contaminants entering into the atmosphere my paranoia went into overdrive. I became paralyzed with fear and I ended up locking myself deep in a sealed off part of the White House with an air filtration system that made sure nothing came in from outside. No one else was really paranoid about it the way I was and thought it was just a rare astronomical event. But I took to hiding, and I guess my extreme cowardice in this case ended up saving my life. When I came out three days later everyone else was dead. I
"I'm David, David Washington Smith; I am the President of the United States, the second black man to hold that office." He did not extend his hand. "Sorry if I didn't take your hand, I'm a little bit paranoid about germs."
"It's okay," Amy said as she put her hand down. "I guess you must be the Dave who put up that banner on the Lincoln Memorial. Last I remembered you weren't the president."
"Everyone else in the world is dead, so I figure that I am next in the line of succession. Not that there is much of a country left to rule over. You're the first person I have seen since the creatures appeared. How did you manage to survive all that time?"
"I could well ask you the same question."
"Ladies first."
"I'm an astronaut. I survived on the international space station for two years until just a couple of days ago when my supplies were running low and the station started breaking down and I decided that I had no choice but to take my chances back on the Earth. You're the first living person I have seen who wasn't one of those creatures as well."
David scratched his head before snapping his fingers. "You're the astronaut. I used to follow you on twitter. I knew your name sounded familiar from somewhere."
"It's a small world I guess."
"A very small world, far as I know we are probably the only two people left on earth. But weren't there other astronauts with you on the space station?"
"Yes, that was true. I was with astronauts Anatoly and Maria, but unfortunately they both died in space."
"My condolences, it must have been pretty lonely up there."
"Indeed it was. But I imagine it was just as lonely down here, and probably a lot more dangerous. Which again brings up the question, how did you manage to survive?"
"Have you ever heard the expression only the paranoid survive?" Amy nodded. "Well I was always sort of a paranoid type. Truth is I am a major germophobe, always was and always have been. Ironically enough I was a White House janitor."
"A janitor doesn't seem like a very good job for a germophobe."
"I can see how you would think that way, but it's actually the perfect job for a germophobe. You see as a janitor I am constantly cleaning everything. The entire day I am wearing gloves and spraying disinfectant on everything. I have my hands constantly in soap and cleaning fluid and I go around making sure everything is sparkling clean and uncontaminated. And if you have obsessive-compulsive disorder and can't stop cleaning being a janitor is actually a pretty good job to harness what would otherwise be a bothersome mental disorder."
Amy nodded again. "I understand. But again it doesn't explain how you managed to survive when everyone else in the world didn't. I mean there are millions upon millions of people with a phobia about germs and who are obsessed with order and cleanliness, but they are all dead, you are not. There must be something special that allowed you to survive."
David nodded. "As soon as the bombardment began and I heard of all these contaminants entering into the atmosphere my paranoia went into overdrive. I became paralyzed with fear and I ended up locking myself deep in a sealed off part of the White House with an air filtration system that made sure nothing came in from outside. No one else was really paranoid about it the way I was and thought it was just a rare astronomical event. But I took to hiding, and I guess my extreme cowardice in this case ended up saving my life. When I came out three days later everyone else was dead. I
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