JANUARY 2020. 7234 miles from Chicago, China reports the first death from a novel coronavirus. There is no evidence it can spread among humans. I'm commuting to school and two women on the train are talking about a coworker. "She never stops talking." "She's always going on about her gym." "She's exactly like my son. The little guy laughs and giggles but deep down I know he's a bad person." There's a brief silence. The car screeches and the fluorescent lights flicker as if the train itself is revolving against the comparison. The general quality that defines the L is, in a word, shamelessness.