The room was stark white with paper-thin displays adhered to the wall. A man drifted lazily through the room with a screen. With an umbran complexion and cloaked in ostentatious red and gold robes only befitting a sun god, this man held the thin flexible screen closely, enthusiastically watching the POV of a man running and leaping from rooftop to rooftop. This first-person view twisted, looking back to reveal the man’s pursuers, a legion of orange and black house cats, tails up and floating through the air, leaping in ways that defied physics.

Physics, the floating man chuckled, old feelings about old rules, I guess. He watched as angry, red energy shot past the man’s head causing him to duck away. A quick, panicked glance revealed that the tiny, domesticated cats were lobbing bolts of plasma from the tips of their tails like little slings. The man pivoted and slid down an incline, leaping at the last moment before the roof ran out. He careened towards a balcony, but, moments before he landed, a concentrated volley of energy crashed into the little landing. The plaster popped and fizzed. When the man landed, the balcony bent, moorings suddenly pulled from the wall that it was affixed to and bent by a few degrees. The man turned and tried to jump over the railing, causing the rest of the neoprene spacers to rip from the wall. The man plummeted towards the street.

A hiss interrupted the show pulling the attention of the floating man. A door, seamlessly integrated into the clean white façade of the room, revealed itself. The wall pulled aside framing a strong-looking man with silver hair carrying a data slate. The men both shared a furrowed brow and a frown, but their reasons were entirely different. The man in the air spoke, “What is it, Sam? I was watching something incredible, so this better being important.”

Samuel Sterling nodded. “Yes. This is important. Nkosi, sir, a Timelet user has perished.”

“So soon?” Nkosi, the Lauds Inc. president, smiled. “This is great news! How did it happen?”

Sterling coughed. “Well, um, we aren’t sure yet. Only two of the test subjects have made the pilgrimage to the City. I suspect that one of the three that haven’t arrived yet is responsible.”

Nkosi’s smile faltered for a moment. Sterling saw the disappointment in that news flicker across Nkosi’s eyes. Nkosi leaned back, reclining on the air, and pressed his fingertips together, “I see. Well, you know what to do. Get me the data on that user’s death. At any cost, Sterling! I know when I say that you will still try to scrimp, but I mean it. Any cost! The person that killed one of my Timelet user,” Nkosi whirled and laughed. “deserves any reward, any opportunity, anything their heart desires!”

Samuel nodded. As he started to leave, Nkosi flipped over and said, “Oh yes, and release the update. Things are going to get much more interesting from here on out.”