"Yeah, okay, I'd also vote in favor of not getting lost forever." 

"Getting lost forever is an operational risk of living in the City," he shrugs. "It's why most people are terrified of going anywhere. This looks like a mall, maybe we can find an officer and report the Sideways entrance and you."

"Okay," she says, following him if he starts to move. "Anything I should know about this city? The life, the people, the government? … And do people get 'imported' from all over the world, or what?"

"Only the United States, so far." He starts leading her into the mall. "And... there's a lot you should know about the City, and I couldn't hope to fill you in on everything by memory. Um, the government has three main Departments? The Department of Orientation, the Department of Safety, and the Department of Resources. First deals with imports, second deals with Picassos and Sideways stuff, Resources deals with making sure everyone has basic things like food."

"… Picassos? I think you mentioned them before but didn't specify – are they the weird monsters like that enflamed kid?"

"Yeah. They distort space around them and look like they're cubist paintings, with many pieces in many different places that only have a general impression of having a shape. You can get quite the headache trying to understand what you're seeing."

"The art movement?" She nods.

"Yeah, the art movement. It's really—freaky. And here's a security officer, hi Mr. Officer."

"Good afternoon," he replies bemusedly.

"So, my friend here just got imported into the Sideways and I ran into her there and we just left. By the way, there's a Sideways entrance behind this mall."

The officer goes white and his mouth moves a bit, silently, like a fish out of water. Then he snaps his jaw shut and says, "Stay right here, I'm calling the DoO and the DoS."

"Will do."

Rachel turns to Sadde. "… He looked worried, should I be worried or something?"

"Oh, he probably thinks we might be infected with cubism. Plus the Sideways is terrifying and having an entrance right behind a shopping mall is bad for business and kinda scary."

"… Infected with cubism? I don't think you, y'know, mentioned this at any point as a risk, nor do I know what cubism even is?"

"Cubism is the name of the thing Picassos have. If you get too close to one of them you risk going cubist yourself, and buildings can go cubist sometimes and then it's like a piece of the Sideways in the city."

"Ah," she says. "But isn't it pretty obvious that we're not Picassos? Or is it something that stays dormant for a while and you then suddenly come down with symptoms and they have to quarantine a whole section of the city, maybe put practically everywhere on lockdown, because someone might have possibly spread it anywhere?"

"The second thing. Like, the symptoms don't usually take a long time to appear, but they may not be totally obvious all the time, and only the DoS is prepared to deal with them."

"Ah," she says. "So, it's possible that I'm infected with cubism? … Does that mean it's possible you're infected or that he's now infected, too?"

"No one knows enough about it to guess at that," he shrugs. "But I've been around the Sideways enough that I'd know if I were infected. I think."

She nods.

An announcement cuts through the shopping mall: "A potential Picasso threat has been detected. This is an evacuation call. Please proceed to the exit in an orderly fashion according to the drills. A potential Picasso threat has been detected..."

"Ooh, looks like the DoS is here."

"Wonderful," she says, sighing.

A man in a suit approaches them, flanked by two officers holding flamethrowers.

"Are you two the ones who got imported into the Sideways?"

"Uh," says Rachel, eyeing the flamethrowers. "Are those really necessary?"

"Standard procedure," Sadde says. The officers don't react. "Given the unstable nature of Picassos, it's really the only way to get rid of 'em. And she was the one who got imported, I'm a native."

"And what were you doing in the Sideways, young man?"

He opens his mouth, then closes it, and furrows his brows in concentration. What was he doing in the Sideways?

"Hi there," she says, smiling a bit pointedly. "I'm new. I have no idea about any of this, but apparently I just got 'imported', I found him, and then he led me here to be processed by something in the city. Any chance I could get more of an explanation than… well, that?"

"The Department of Orientation will take care of you. Well?" he asks, looking at Sadde, who shrugs helplessly. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"I don't know what I was doing in the Sideways."

"...and you just happened to run into this young lady and find your way out on your own?"

"Yep."

"How old are you?"

"Eighteen."

"Have any family?"

"Dead."

"In the Sideways." It's not a question.

"Yes."

"I believe you two should come with me."

Still new. Still has no idea what's going on. It's hardly like she's going to say, 'no, I'd rather not go into the city to talk to the governmental organization'.

"Okay," she says, looking at them a bit tiredly.