Iliya opened the door to the kitchen where the cat was still sitting on the table near Iliya’s backpack. It was methodically grooming itself, but it looked up when Iliya entered the room. “Can I help you?” The cat asked, clearly uninterested in helping Iliya.

“I hope so.” Iliya held up his phone, and showed the screen to the cat. It read the same thing.

We are receiving conflicting reports about Red’s completion of Feed the Kitten. Please resolve the issue with your Moderator. Thank you for playing World Game Room!

The cat eyed the phone, then its tablet, which told it only an hour had passed since the game began, and that there was a full hour left. “I’ve never seen a tutorial challenger break the game. What did you do?”

“I fed your kitten.”

“Did you, now?” The cat pressed its paw to the tablet. Immediately, the screen played a video of Iliya giving his peanut butter and jelly sandwich to Peaches. Just as it did minutes before, the kitten on screen unhinged its jaw and swallowed the sandwich whole, tin foil wrapping and all. “So you did. I haven’t seen her eat with such zeal in days. Maybe next time I’ll change up the food in the stash.”

“She really liked the peanut butter,” Iliya offered.

The cat hummed, and tapped on the tablet twice. There was a menu that replaced the video, and the cat pressed something before Iliya could digest any of the options. Words appeared on the screen, and Iliya read them with undisguised interest.

Feed the Kitten

Red: To win, you must do as the Moderator asks.

Blake: To win, you must ensure no one steals from the stash of food.

Introductory Monologue

Thank you for playing Feed the Kitten! Oh challengers! How could I possibly thank you enough for coming to my aid? The streets have been vicious, the drought unbearable, food so scarce. Oh, how my kitten and I have hungered! But you challengers. You came at just the right time. I have caught wind of a hidden stash of food, hidden somewhere within this building. I implore you, oh brave challengers! Please feed my kitten!

The cat read over the introductory message once, and then twice. Meanwhile, Iliya looked at the two missions. It seemed the original intention of the game was for the two players to face off against each other. So the professor had indeed raced off to find the stash of food, but it wasn’t just to prevent Iliya from beating him there. Based on the monologue, Iliya had assumed they had the same challenge, but he was clearly wrong. Professor Antoni’s mission was to prevent Iliya from being able to complete his. And it was unfair, too! The professor had completed at least one other game before this one. He had a clear advantage over the blatant newbie that Iliya presented as, even with tutorial mode on.

“I guess it never does specifically say that you need to feed the kitten peaches from the stash,” the cat mused.

“Probably because as the Moderator, you can change whatever is in the stash, right? But you can’t change the monologue.” Iliya said.

The Moderator turned its head to look at Iliya. “How did you know I can’t change the monologue?”

“It just doesn’t sound like you.” Iliya refrained from mentioning what he was really thinking. It was so obvious the cat didn’t want to read it! “So why can you change the stash and not the monologue?”

Without looking away from Iliya, the cat tapped on the monitor, returning it to darkness. “You ask a lot of questions, Red.”

“Got me red-handed?” Iliya attempted, with a smile. The cat was not amused. “Anyway,” he continued, “you did say I could ask questions. You just don’t have to answer.”

The cat sighed. “As Moderator, I can’t answer that question. Understand?”

“Yes.” Iliya nodded, face turning serious again. “Then you don’t have to answer my conjectures, but I can always talk to myself out loud. Right, of course right…”

The Moderator waits, patient.

“As Moderator, what can you do?” Iliya reaches up like he wants to run his hands through his hair. He stops himself, remembering his hair was tied up into a bun that was already messy enough. As a compromise he crossed his hands in front of his face, fingers interlocking. “You’re not in charge of the game, not really. But you have control over smaller aspects, like players, or things that won’t really make a difference if they’re changed. But you can’t change the game itself. That’s why you can’t change the monologue! And that’s why I had to be the one to open the door for the professor. This is my tutorial! I got the chance to accept or reject the person who would challenge me.” Iliya’s eyes turned somber. “I gave you guys power over me.” His hands dropped.

The Moderator tilts its head, eyes bright. “Smart boy.” It gets up and walks down the table until it is just inches away from Iliya. It looks up into his face. “If this were another challenge, I can’t say what I would do. Not punishment, I think, not punishment for being clever. But I don’t know if I would give you a pass or make you grab from the stash.” It checks the tablet, where there is still over an hour left. “You have the time. But I want to see what you would do as an official player. I’ll give you a pass, but with no reward.”

Iliya considered. This was his first game. Taking the pass and leaving could be a good option. But then he remembered the professor’s face from before the game had started. He looked at Iliya like he was an idiot. He looked at Iliya like he was naive for trying to help him. He looked at Iliya like he deserved to die for it.

He turned to look at the Moderator, a steely glint in his eye. “What if I can ensure the other challenger will fail? Can I get my reward then?”

The cat grinned and it was terrible in its cheshire manner. “I’ll even give you a bonus.”