Comrade Josh (on the line): I need the greeting code, Bob.
Bob Ferguson (panicking): Oh, fuck. Well, I don’t remember the fucking greeting code, because I got a little bit high.
Comrade Josh: What time is it?
Bob: Ah, fuck. You know, I don’t…I don’t…I don’t remember that part. You know what, let’s not nitpick over the passwords. Look, this is Bob Ferguson, alright? You just called my house—let’s just cut the shit. I need the rendezvous point.
Comrade Josh: What time is it?
Bob: Look, Steve Lockjaw just attacked my home…I lost my daughter. This is Bob Ferguson, do you understand? I don’t remember anymore of this—I don’t remember anymore of this codespeak, all right? Let’s just get on with it. What is the rendezvous point?
Comrade Josh: What time is it is a key question of the underground movement, OK? Studying the text is essential.
Bob (frustrated, escalating): I have abused drugs and alcohol for the past 30 years, man. I’m a drug and alcohol lover. And I cannot remember for the life of me—or the life of my only child—the answer to your question. What time is it?
— calling the revolutionary hot line, in Paul Thomas Anderson’s One Battle After Another
Database Dated : 2/27/2026 3:54:31 PM