Transcription

[[A diner. Nick (looking like a mouse) and Ki (looking like a cat) are sitting opposite Lindesfarne (a hedgehog) and Fenton (a bat). Nick has a plate of Swiss cheese in front of him. Ki has what looks like a dish of cat food in front of her.]]
Lindesfarne: I'm sorry, but we didn't even properly introduce ourselves. I'm Lindesfarne Dewclaw, and this is my boyfriend, Fenton Fuscus.
Ki: Ki Oshiro and Nick Wellington.

[[Lindesfarne, Fenton, and Ki are visible. Fenton seems to be examining something in his hands.]]
Lindesfarne: Such odd names... So are you two from this area? We're both from Domain, several hours' drive from here.
Fenton, thinking: Hmm...
Ki: No, we're--

[[Only Nick and Ki are visible. Nick interrupts Ki, speaking quietly, clearly intended just for her ears.]]
Nick: You _do_realize these two are just avatars for the MUTEX's A.I.? Maybe we shouldn't waste time on small talk.
Ki: As long as we're here, we might as well play along...

[[Lindesfarne and Fenton, seen in profile in the foreground, speak quietly to each other. Lindesfarne seems concerned; Fenton smiles as he answers. In the background, Nick appears to be talking to Ki and gesturing with his right hand.]]
Lindesfarne: Fenton, do they strike you as a bit ... odd?
Fenton: A little, but after being around _your_ family, I'm used to just about anything.

[[Fenton, Lindesfarne, Nick, and Ki are sitting around the diner table. In the background, a crescent moon is visible through the plate glass windows.]]
Fenton: How do we know that you're humans who've been transported here?
Nick: Uh... Physically we haven't left home. This is a virtual reality setting.
Lindesfarne: Take it from me, this is real.

[[Lindesfarne, Nick, and Fenton are visible. Nick holds a glass in his hand.]]
Lindesfarne: ...But you say the human world can be accessed _online_?
Nick: ...With some heavy-duty bandwidth! ...Like you'd find at an I.S.P.
Fenton: Good news! Her dad runs one! We can leave when we're done eating!

[[Outside the diner. A green car is parked in front. The crescent moon hangs in the sky. A speech balloon over the diner originates from within.]]
Ki: Um...

[[Back inside the diner. Nick turns toward Ki, who is looking down dubiously at her plate, which is still full.]]
Nick: STILL finicky?
Ki: Maybe at the beach I'd find a rat leaving a sinking ship...