The look of shock on the woman's face was very much like the look Alyssa had when she was in a similar situation. And it was very much the look you'd expect from someone (outside Kat's dimension, anyway) who had just seen two people jump out of a TV screen right in front of them. Kat and Alyssa looked at each other, somewhat concerned but not really. This was a situation they were trying to avoid, sure, but it was only one person, and it was unlikely she'd pose any threat to them. Really, most people wouldn't; it was more just a precaution because it was always possible that the wrong person would see, or they'd draw too much attention before they were ready.

And, as it turned out, to their relief, this woman seemed pretty harmless. Her shock gradually turned to excitement, the excitement of something amazing but impossible suddenly becoming possible. "...Please tell me I saw what I thought I just saw."

Alyssa nodded to Kat, who responded in a joking manner. "What, you've never seen two people come out of a TV screen before? We were playing a game together."

Her smile got even bigger. "...You have GOT to tell me how you did that. How's that even possible???"

Alyssa responded. "You know, that's exactly how I felt when she first showed me," she said, gesturing to Kat. "She tried to teach me how to do it, but I couldn't figure it out. Then, suddenly, I got it!"

She looked at Kat. "Can you teach me? Please?? What are you doing exactly?"

"It's called imprinting," said Kat. "You can put yourself inside something—anything, really—and you become it." She looked around to make sure nobody else was watching. "Watch," she said. She grabbed one of the display shelves next to her, and a second later, she was pulled into it. The shelf changed appearance as you'd expect, turning black with pink stripes on the edge. Alyssa, followed suit, touching one of the boxes on the shelf and imprinting on that. The labeling on the box turned monochrome, white on sky blue. Kat enjoyed having Alyssa rest on her, and Alyssa enjoyed sitting on the shelf that her friend was inhabiting. Alyssa also enjoyed the feeling of having something inside her.

"That's amazing!!" said the woman. "But what do you mean you were playing a game?"

Alyssa's face appeared on the box and began speaking, which startled the woman. "So you heard my friend say you 'become' the object you're inhabiting, right?"

"Uh-huh", said the woman.

"Well, just like I became this box just now, I became my character in the game, and she became hers."

"So it's not just physical...tangible things..." she said, amazed. "I mean your character is just an image on a screen." She felt somewhat silly talking to a box, even one that had a human face and was talking back. If anything that made it even more weird.

"Well, I could become an image on the screen," Alyssa explained, as she exited the box and leaned on the shelf that was Kat. "Actually I did this morning, I became the weather girl on the news. Loved it. But really my character is in this thing," she said, pointing to the game console behind the plastic cover on the demo kiosk. "So I became my character in the game's programming."

"What's it like doing that?" she asked.

"Well, basically I was inside the game," Alyssa explained. "Like virtual reality, but better."

A few seconds later, Kat jumped out of the shelf. "We've been trying to hide it for the time being, but the two of us both agree that something this useful shouldn't be a secret," said Kat. "We've just not been sure how we should reveal it."

"Tell you what," Alyssa spoke next. "How about when the two of us get home, we'll make a video about it and post it online? I think that's the best way to do it." She turned to Kat. "That sounds good to you, right?"

Kat nodded.

"Here, give me your email address and I'll send it to you," said Alyssa as she reached into her purse and pulled out a pen and paper. "You can even let me know what you think before I post it!"

Taking the pen and paper, she wrote down her email address, and gave it back to Alyssa, who looked at the paper. "Thanks so much!" she said, excitedly running off.

"You're welcome, Tara!" said Alyssa, having seen the woman's name in her email address.

"She's excited," remarked Kat, laughing.

"You know, Kat?" said Alyssa. "I want to buy this now," placing her hand once again on the box she had imprinted on a minute ago, which contained the video game console they had played. "It even comes with a few games, so we don't have to buy any yet."

While they were at the store, Alyssa also bought a video camera and a tripod, to use to make their video. "You know, where I'm from, video cameras aren't nearly this sophisticated," Kat commented as she saw the wide variety of cameras available.

"I thought your world had more advanced technology," responded Alyssa. "Or is only some of it more advanced?"

"More that they aren't used for anything real serious," explained Kat. "If you just want to record something real quick it's useful to have something you can hold, but for the real serious stuff you just imprint on a computer, look at whatever it is you want recorded, and save a video of what you see. It doesn't even have to be something you see; you can just think of something and save a video of that."

"A computer?" asked Alyssa, confused. "Why not, like, a DVD or something?"

"Computers can encode video files," explained Kat. "DVD's can't. And I can't possibly do that in my head without the power of a computer. Way too much math, and I have to do it in a split second too. But that's easy if I'm a computer."

"Makes sense," said Alyssa. "So I guess they don't have elaborate movie sets, actors, and special effects technology where you're from?" she asked. "I mean, if you can just save a video directly from your imagination, all that would probably be unnecessary."

"Well they did before they invented computers," said Kat. "Except that last one, don't think we had that. Never heard of it till now."

Alyssa briefly explained what special effects were. Kat, once again, laughed at what to her seemed like needless overcomplication. She wondered how one would even tell the computer precisely enough what effects to produce without a direct mental connection.

As Alyssa was about to check out, Kat realized someting. "Lyssi, why do you need a video camera? You can imprint now."

"Oh, you're right!" said Alyssa, about to turn around. ".....Ohh, but I want to get both of us in the video, and right now there's no one else here who can imprint."

"Oh yeah, that's a problem," said Kat.

-----

After they checked out, Kat got in the car, and Alyssa got..."in" the car. She loved this new way of driving and never wanted to do it the old way again.

"Hey Kat, I just thought of something," asked Alyssa, once again talking over the car stereo.

"What's up?" said Kat.

"You've been here a while, and I'd love to have you here forever, but don't you have responsibilities in the world where you're from? Aren't your friends and family worried about you?"

"Nah, we've been in touch. It's all good."

Alyssa started driving slower as she was taken by surprise. "...You've...been keeping in touch? ...How?"

Kat paused for a second. "You know, with my...wait, that's right, you've never heard of that."

"Heard of what?" Alyssa said, curious to learn more about Kat's dimension.

"...Okay, remember I told you I had a way to make it real easy for you to learn stuff?"

"Yeah," said Alyssa. "But what does that have to do with it?"

"Well it's this special way people in my world connect with other people when they know each other real closely," began Kat.

"Hold on, you don't mean..." Alyssa stammered, a little embarrassed. "Is it some kind of...you know..."

"Oh no, nothing like that," Kat laughed. "Not at all. People in all kinds of close relationships do it. Romantic, family, even just really close friends."

"Like us?" asked Alyssa hopefully.

Kat thought for a second, unsure if they had known each other long enough to really consider themselves sufficiently close. "...Yeah...I think so..."

"Nice...but what is it?"

Kat paused for a second, thinking of what the best way to explain it to someone who's never experienced it would be.

"...You ever thought about the idea of imprinting...on another person?"

Alyssa came to a stop as she thought about it, her mind whirling with ideas of what that might be like, or what you could do with it. She'd never thought of that before. "No....." she replied in amazement. "What's that like?"

Just then a car pulled up behind them and beeped the horn, the driver wondering why they were stopped in the middle of the road. Alyssa drove off. "Oh, sorry!" she instinctively said as she resumed moving, not through the stereo but through the car horn so the other driver could hear, much to that other driver's surprise. She laughed at the strange way it made her voice sound, basically (as you'd expect) a cross between a human voice and the sound of a car horn, and marveled at how easily and readily she made the car do something it was never designed to do. Even just the little things imprinting can do were really cool. Which reminded her of what she had just been talking about with Kat.

"What's it like imprinting on another person?"

"Well, it's just like how your own personality is in your body," explained Kat. "But if I were to imprint on you, both our personalities would be there. We'd be inhabiting your body together." Alyssa paused as she thought about how weird that must feel.

"Oh, cool!" Alyssa exclaimed. "So you'd imprint on me and then do something in my body, and I'll feel how you're doing it so I can do it myself!"

"Exactly!" said Kat with a smile, glad what she said had been understood.

"I understand why you have to be really close with someone," Alyssa laughed as she thought of how weird that must be with someone you just met. "Otherwise it would just be so awkward."

"Actually it's a lot more than that," Kat said. "When two people's personalities are connected like that, their thoughts and everything are shared as well. They can look in each other's minds just like they can their own."

"...Oh wow," said Alyssa, thinking about just how close two people could be like that. "...Wait though, how would that that help you communicate with people in another dimension? You can't imprint on them from here, can you?"

"No, but you can leave a tiny part of yourself behind," Kat explained. "Just enough to communicate with each other. You'll be linked."

"That's really cool," said Alyssa in amazement as she turned onto her street. "Do you think...maybe we could try that...today?"

Kat thought for a moment. "...Maybe! I need to think about it more," she said. "But let's at least make that video first."

"Oh, we're home," said Alyssa as she pulled into her driveway.

They both got out of the car.