"I can't explain it," Section Supervisor Nine reported, "but a young man is missing." He stood before the blank wall, his head bowed in respect.

            "Missing?" The voice was soft and gentle, neither male nor female, but with a hint of the underlying strength. It came from nowhere in the room and everywhere, as if the owner was the room. "This is my world. People do not simply vanish."

            The Supervisor swallowed nervously. "This one did precisely that, I'm afraid."

            "You have every reason to be afraid," the voice informed him, the hidden steel becoming stronger. "If this is a mistake, you will be punished."

            Paling even further, the Supervisor shook his head quickly. "No, sir, no mistake, I assure you. The subject did simply vanish. It was caught on surveillance."

            "Indeed?" The voice was now almost purring. "This sounds... curious. I must access the playback. What is the reference?"

            The Supervisor reeled off a string of numbers that he had memorized carefully. There was a slight pause, and then the wall in front of him lit up with a three-dimensional view of what appeared to be a normal street. Box-like Houses lined the tidy road, and everything appeared almost as normal as it should be. Except there was a youngster walking down the road. It wasn't exactly forbidden to walk the roads, but nobody ever did it – they had far more interesting things to keep them occupied. As the picture zoomed in on the boy, the Supervisor could see that he was perfectly average – tall, skinny, with pale blue skin and neatly-pointed ears. Identification quickly followed, written in the air beside the image: Shalomar Domain, on-line name: Pixel.

            "Curious," said the voice. "Do you know why he was outside the House?"

            "No, sir," the Supervisor replied, hastily. "I have communicated with two of his friends, and they informed me that Domain was expressing dissatisfaction with Virtual Reality and a desire to see what he called "the real world." They believe it was some form of temporary insanity."

            "Quite," the voice mused. "Everything he could desire is provided for him; why should he be insane enough to wish anything else?" Then, sharply, it added: "There have been no further cases, I trust?"

            "None, sir."

            "Good. Perhaps you had better monitor those two friends of his. They might also be given to odd ideas."

            The Supervisor was relieved. "I have already done so," he reported, glad he'd been able to think of this. "I was worried about contamination."

            "That was well done." The voice seemed somehow to frown. "What is the subject doing now?"

            The Supervisor shook his head. In the image, Pixel had stopped, and seemed to be carrying on a conversation – but there was nobody with him. "He appears to have completely broken down, sir. He is talking with another entity, but one who is not present."

            "Intriguing..." the voice mused. "Yet he does not appear to be deranged." The image showed Pixel moving onward, and the voice said sharply: "He is approaching the Work Zone. That is forbidden."

            "It was monitored," the Supervisor replied. "As soon as it became clear that he was heading there, Canine Patrol Six was assigned." As he watched, the Supervisor saw that Pixel had approached the wall separating the Work Zone from the Houses. Pixel could see over a low portion of the wall, and into the Work Zone. His face paled as he saw the workers moving to their tasks, and the armed guards keeping them in order. He was continuing to talk to nobody, and apparently getting replies. Then his head turned sharply as he heard the sound of the approaching dogs.

            The Supervisor watched impassively as the Patrol approached the boy. They had been assigned to intercept and destroy; no chances could be taken with anyone who went outside their House. It didn't happen frequently – no more than once a month – and he was used to seeing the Patrol rip their victim apart. It caused him no pain now to see the terror, hear the screams and then see the idiot being mauled to death.

            But that was not what happened here.

            Instead, as the dogs closed in to attack, another figure – quite clearly not imaginary this time – came from nowhere to help the trapped youth. And this one was most intriguing. It was not human.

            It was more like a gigantic bird of prey, with a feathered body, long claws and a beak that helped it to keep the attacking canines away.

            The picture paused. "Where did this... creature come from?" asked the voice.

            "Unknown, sir," the Supervisor answered. "The monitor was, naturally, observing the boy. It isn't know where this intruder appeared from. Also, it does not possess a chip, and could not be directly accessed. But it will become slightly clearer as the event unfolds."

            The picture resumed, showing the bird-man extending a hand, and then there was a tear in the air, as if something had clawed open a hole in space. Blackness showed beyond it. After a brief conversation, both the intruder and Pixel dived into this gap, which promptly closed behind them. The Canine Patrol was left howling and whirling at nothing.

            "What was that phenomenon?" the voice demanded.

            "Unknown, sir. The monitoring device was not equipped to do analysis, only recording."

            "That is... unfortunate," the voice decided. "But there was no reason to expect anything this anomalous to occur. No punishment will be meted out for this oversight. I trust you have now installed the correct equipment in case the event should recur?"

            "Absolutely, sir," the Supervisor assured him. "An analysis team is in place even as we speak. But they can find nothing."

            "No, I would not expect them to be able to do so. This is intriguing – and disturbing." The voice considered for a moment. "Monitoring and analysis equipment is to be installed at that point in case of recurrence. Also, the subject's House, the Domain residence, is to be sealed and tagged. Finally, there is to be a permanent watch set up on Pixel's chip. If he reappears anywhere on Calomir, I must be informed immediately."

            The Supervisor nodded; most of this he had already set into motion, anticipating such orders. "Do you know what happened to the boy?" he ventured to ask.

            There was a slight pause. "No. And that in itself is intriguing. There is so little that I do not know or understand. Clearly that intruder has some method of creating a spatial rift. This is of great interest to me. If it can appear once, it can appear again. When it does, whoever or whatever that creature is, it is to be captured intact and brought to me. I must learn the secret of its power. It could be most useful to my plans. And highest priority is to be given to locating Pixel. He is to be brought in as soon as he is found for interrogation and analysis. What he has done is so unthinkably forbidden that I have not even decreed laws against it yet."

            "He will be captured and punished," the Supervisor promised.

            "He will not be punished," the voice snapped. "He will be captured and interrogated. I must know everything that he knows before he is destroyed. His mind will become my plaything. Then and only then can his body be annihilated – as painfully as you desire."

            The Supervisor smiled. Giving pain was what brought him the most pleasure in his life. And he was certain that Pixel would give him a great deal of pleasure indeed...