*Those* things again, he thinks. How can they be this large?
“Well Baker. Let’s go see your father and talk about getting married, hehe. Seriously, he’s probably sleeping off a binge behind some big rock. It’s Karoz all over again.” She shouts into the back. “Right Karoz?!”
Baker waits for a reply.
Karoz is just shaking his head and staring. Spongeberg is totally gone man; Karoz sits in his seat.
“Come back here Baker. You can bring Starbuccaneer with you but come back here. Sit with me.”
“Well Star. Shall we?”
“That’s not Karoz,” she replies, fear suddenly in her eyes. “I can feel it. Karoz is not here.”
“Of course he is,” Baker responds. “That’s Karoz Blogger, my old friend. You were *there* in Noru with us. He was president of Sam Parr State Collage. College I meant there.”
“Did you?” she replied. “Just like the old days, Baker Bloch. Always the jester. Until it’s too late.”
“Latte?”
“Come here Baker Bloch,” repeats Karoz, or who appears to be Karoz, Baker then thinks. Star looks straight ahead. “I can’t stop staring at him, Baker Bloch.”
“Let’s just go over and speak to him, even if he isn’t Karoz — maybe he’s still Spongeberg — and see what he wants to discuss. We can do that?”
“I’m not going over there,” Star says. “You go without me.” She disappears from view. Newton and Jasper move over from the counter to the top of the round display case, looking toward where she once was.
“Jeez, are these things going to follow me around now wherever I go?” He turns to them. “Do you speak? Are. You. Animated?” But they were behind him now, sitting in the last booth.
“Are you going to come back and talk to me or not?” Karoz implores. Baker goes and sits down. He stares toward the booth in question. Nothing there.
“You better find those little rascals and delete them before you forget about it again,” suggests Karoz. “I can wait. I bet you can’t even find it or them.”
“I’ll find them.” It took Baker a minute, however. “Gotcha. Back to the inventory.”
“How did they get on Castle Jack is the question you should be asking. That’s impossible. They couldn’t be there. They’re like expanding salt and pepper shakers. Hold on… I believe that may have been your line.” He rustles some papers underneath the table while examining them.
“Never mind, Karoz. Never mind whose line is whose. Let’s improvise. Let’s go off the script.”
“We can’t do that,” replied Karoz. “We’re always on [the] script. We can’t improvise because we are following a path and can’t stray into the woods, into the wild, to be eaten like moles or voles.”
“Yeah, what *is* the difference between the two? And, to point, why did Starbuccaneer think you weren’t Karoz? You’re acting pretty much like I anticipate Karoz acting.”
Karoz laughs. “Accing,” he says.
Baker Bloch remembers that he’s highlighted Newton and Jasper but hasn’t deleted them yet. They he realizes he’s highlighted 275 more prims behind them as well. He quickly unhighlights everything. “Jesus Karoz, I almost deleted half the town trying to get rid of those two!”
“You *must* be careful. They do that.”
“I’m going to go top down on ’em. Hold on…” Baker Bloch is finally able to isolate and delete the two bad boys.
“So to *my* point. Stay away from [delete name]. Stay away from Nautilus in general. Stay home. World reversed.”
“You know I can’t do that. Baker through me.”
“I know. I just wanted you to know that I told you so.”
“World reversed is okay, though. Perfection. The perfect thing sought. Like the red violin, the golden sphere[ of Carrcass-5].” Baker Bloch then quotes from the synch. “What if the thing you most wanted, just comes.”
“Don’t do that,” requests Karoz. “No, we must talk about TILE. Tonight was okay, but tomorrow is another day[ as they say]. TILE makes us strong at home. Here in Collagesity. Gormthoog and BoB are in the past practically speaking. Honeymoon over. Blinks and I are back and ready to kick town ass.”
“So are you Karoz or not?”
“I just wanted to tell you that I’m not your enemy. I am in the past myself. I am gone man gone too. But here I am. Telling you these things. You must worship TILE. Everything must focus on TILE. TILE. Baker Blinker already knows this and is adjusting.”
“Karoz — whoever you are —”
“You know who I am.”
“I’m not staying away from Nautilus.”
And so it went.
Sunklands 