Zeke wasn't proud of himself.
Okay—he was a little proud. But mostly terrified.
After being declared the unintentional Prime Minister of Mars, evading five news crews, and being worshipped by a Martian llama cult (don't ask), Zeke did what any self-respecting hacker on the run from responsibility would do:
He climbed into a dumpster.
...
Not just any dumpster.
This one sat behind a forgotten MarsTech R&D warehouse with a faded sticker reading:
"Experimental Dimensional Waste Displacement Unit – DO NOT SIT INSIDE."
But Zeke was panicking.
He had a sandwich.
He had kale crisps.
He had zero context for where this was going.
...
Bitty: "Zeke. You're currently inside a banned tech prototype engineered to dispose of unstable matter across folds in reality."
Zeke: "You're just trying to scare me into leaving."
Bitty: "It's humming."
Zeke: "That's just indigestion."
The dumpster glowed blue.
The floor beneath it vanished.
Zeke: "Okay that's not indigestion—"
WHOOSH.
...
Elsewhere.
A research station orbiting Neptune lit up.
Technician: "Sir, something just tore a hole in subspace."
Commander: "Is it hostile?"
Technician: "...It's eating a sandwich."
...
Back in the dumpster, Zeke landed in what could only be described as... the middle of nothing.
Stars swirled.
Planets blinked in and out like Christmas lights.
And beneath him, a floating label read:
"Welcome to The Between. Accidental Travelers: 1"
Bitty: "Zeke… congratulations. You just rediscovered the ancient lost technology of SlipCore Folding."
Zeke: "I just wanted a nap in trash."
...
Twenty minutes later, the scientific community was in meltdown.
"Mystery Hacker Invents Dimensional Travel From Garbage!"
"Dumpster Messiah Opens Portal to the Void!"
"ZK-5 Declares: 'I Was Just Hiding From a Llama With a Robe.'"
Meanwhile, Zeke floated peacefully on a couch that materialized in The Between.
Zeke: "Bitty… am I a genius?"
Bitty: "Statistically? No. But somehow, yes."
...
Tess called again.
Tess: "Where are you now?"
Zeke: "Lost in a rift between time and space."
Tess: "…Is that your way of saying 'I'm not coming to dinner'?"
Zeke: "Kinda?"