Page 33 of Tapeworld Induction

She wasn’t sure she believed him. “Right.” Dylan cocked her head. “How many times?”

He pulled her aside, away from the cat, his voice a whisper, as though he didn’t want Miss Kitty to hear what he was going to say. A nervous smile lit up his face. “Okay, I never did this before.” He scratched the back of his head in that unsure way she was getting used to.

“Why do it now then?” Summoning an innocent creature felt irresponsible somehow.

Isaak looked surprised by her concern. “I thought you’d like it. I was—” His arms fell limp at his side. “I was trying to impress you. Again. I know how it sounds. Look, I just… Goddess, I don’t know what to say.”

“Just say it!”

Miss Kitty looked at them from a distance, then resumed her important work running around in the sand, chasing glowing particles and batting at them with her tiny paws.

“I… I don’t have many friends, and I…”

She winced at the word “friends”. That wasn’t what she wanted at all, she realised. Was all of this a misunderstanding, a mistake?

“I don’t want you to forget about me.” Isaak’s voice was all over the place, riddled with insecurity and doubt.

She looked him dead in the eyes. His honesty was touching. “Isaak, you brought me here! The Tapeworld may be old hat to you now…” She looked at Kitty. “Well, not everything is, clearly. But I’m having the time of my life. Granted, not without questions and concerns. I’m grateful you summoned Kitty. She seems so cute and fun. But it makes me think about how she even works, and what’s powering her, and what’s powering everything else.”

He looked at her blankly. “What do you mean?”

She stared incredulously back at him. “What do you mean, what do I mean? All the power needed for this.” She pointed to the piece of tape on her temple. “Don’t tell me you never even thought about it?”

“I just assumed it was nuclear power.”

It was possible. Nuclear production was illegal in the First Kingdom, but they did import energy from the other Kingdoms. Or perhaps the Tapeworld was hosted in a different Kingdom, and its creators – whoever they were – had somehow found a way to communicate through the blockades between Kingdoms… She shared that theory with him.

“I hadn’t thought of this place like that.” He frowned. “For all my probing, I didn’t even think of the energy costs, or how Kitty could even work. I just assumed it all did. World simulation, the rules of gravity and the wind and the waves, that’s not too difficult to replicate. But if Kitty is as independent as she claims to be, they’d need incredibly powerful machines.”

Miss Kitty made her way towards them and meowed. They looked at each other, then at her. Dylan didn’t want the cat to listen in on this discussion. She’d only just met her – she didn’t want to give her existential angst immediately.

“Say, what’s your name?” Kitty asked, her face almost forming a smile, whiskers spread out evenly. Kitty’s voice carried a melody. She outstretched a paw, claws retracted.

Okay, that’s sweet. It brought that warmth Dylan had felt earlier back into her chest. She knelt down. “I’m Dylan.” She shook Kitty’s paw. Her fur was impossibly soft.

“Hello, Dee-lan,” the cat replied.

Dylan began stroking the cat’s back, on instinct, and the cat started purring. She was still reticent about Kitty, but she felt like she would eventually trust her.

“Are you okay with her?” Isaak asked, his mouth turned with worry.

The cat was an unknown piece of tech inside an unknown piece of tech. It was an added complexity to what was already a mind-blowing piece of technology. And yet, she was beautiful, and she could talk. “I love her,” Dylan said quietly.

He smiled. “I’m glad. Look, I’m sorry, but I have to go. Someone needs me. It can’t really wait.”

“Who?” Dylan stopped stroking the cat, who looked eagerly up at her, wanting more cuddles.

“My boss. I… See ya, Dee.” With a quick motion, he pulled the piece of tape from his head.

As Isaak egressed from the Tapeworld, his body dematerialised into the same kind of particles the sand hills did when she’d whooshed them out of existence. His form didn’t disappear immediately. It left a three-dimensional shadow of him, hanging in place for a few moments. She thought of touching it, but worried it would affect his journey back, or even harm him.

Miss Kitty meowed inquisitively. “Why is he running off, Dee-lan?”

“It’s alright, Miss Kitty. Isaak can be a silly goose sometimes.”

13

The Boss