“Meaning?”
“As you know, the film Pinocchio tells a story about a boy who must prove himself brave, truthful, and unselfish.”
“And his nose.”
“The book is a little more complicated than that. Like the movie, it has the Blue Fairy, but Pinocchio’s journey is more difficult and his fate far darker. It could be said of you—the Keepers—that you are not unlike the wooden boy. You, too, are proving yourselves brave, truthful, and unselfish. You also exist in two worlds—Pinocchio’s wooden world is like your electronic world.”
“But why would Pinocchio’s story matter to the OTs?” Finn asked.
“If they are searching for a way to be rid of you, the early stories could be of great value.”
“You mean like research?”
“Exactly.”
The train continued on its track, circling the Magic Kingdom. Wayne paid the train no attention whatsoever, though Finn continually looked in the direction of the locomotive, feeling ill at ease with no one at the controls.
“When you said Pinocchio had a darker fate, what did you mean?” Finn asked.
“You’re capable of reading, last time I checked,” Wayne said. “So read the story. You’ll see. We don’t need to waste our time with that.”
Finn hated it when Wayne treated him like a kid. He stifled his rising anger. Why should he go to the bother to read an entire book when Wayne could answer a couple of key questions? “Give me the 411,” he felt like saying.
Why’s he lost interest in me? Finn wondered. Because Philby is picking up the enhancements in 2.0 faster than me? Give me a chance!
“So what about Fantasia?”
“As to that—” Wayne said. But he was immediately cut off as two animals leaped onto the moving train. They were just blurs, but Finn reacted instantly by jumping to his feet and putting himself between Wayne and whatever now occupied the car behind them.
“You saw that, yeah?”
“Yes,” Wayne said, also standing. He reached out to stabilize himself against the train’s movements.
A fox poked its head up over a bench. The thing was so cute it was hard to take it as any kind of threat. But Finn had learned to trust nothing.
Next, a cat appeared, bounding from one seat to the next, its fur tousled by the wind as it moved toward them.
The fox’s eyes flashed golden.
“I must warn you,” Wayne said, “as adorable as these creatures may be—”
“I know,” Finn said.
“The fox could do some real harm.”
“To you,” Finn said. “Not to me. With me, he only gets a bite of light.”
“Unless he challenges your fear level.”
“Version 2.0 changes all that,” Finn said confidently.
The fox bared its teeth and hopped up over the bench seat, now a bench closer to the two.
The cat continued toward them along the far edge of the train car.
“How do you want to handle this?” Finn asked.
“You’re the leader.”
“Not with you around.”
“Yes you are, Finn. Now and always.”
“What about Philby?” he blurted out. He caught sight of the older man’s troubled eyes, as if Finn knew something he shouldn’t. That’s what I thought. The moment passed.
“Do you know these animals?” Finn asked.
“Well, no. Not by name. But seeing as how we were discussing Pinocchio…”
“Yeah?”
“It is a fox and a cat that lead the wooden boy astray.”
“Seriously? Oh, perfect. So they’re after me?”
“I would doubt they’ll discriminate.”
“Okay, you take the cat,” Finn said, finally having a plan. He liked cats; he couldn’t see trying to hurt one.
“And the fox?”
“Is all mine,” Finn said.
“He’ll go for me,” Wayne said. “The elderly have many more complications with rabies treatment. The fox can bite as strongly as a dog and is probably twice as quick.”
“This is not cheering me up,” Finn said.
“Nor is it intended to. His instincts will dictate he go for either the throat or the Achilles.”
“Yeah, well, I won’t let him get that close to you.”
“I’m not talking about my throat, Finn.”
Finn swallowed hard; 2.0, he reminded himself, knowing it hadn’t been put to this kind of test. So, he thought, we have a fox, a cat, and a guinea pig.
The cat stretched and looked in the direction of the fox. It seemed just for a moment as if they’d communicated. Wayne was a good five feet from the path of the cat. Finn wanted to remind him about their assignments, but he kept quiet.
The fox launched himself at Finn. Wayne lunged for the cat.