The team assembled at a Caffè in Piazza Vittorio Veneto. There, the Wabbit held court. They waited for the waiter to arrive - with the remote control on the table. "Maybe if I pressed it, the waiter would come." said the Wabbit. "Better not," said Lapinette, "we might end up in a techno thriller." Skratch approached from behind, late as usual. But he liked to make an entrance and exclaimed, "What was that for a sort of adventure?" The Wabbit laughed. "Lapinette suggested it was a techno-thriller." Wabsworth intervened. "Well, I'm an android and I do think it wasn't sci-fi - it was securely in the present." Lapinette smiled. "We need to invite Blake Crouch and he'll settle it for us." Skratch looked amused. "Settle down now, we'll put our heads together and sort it out." The Wabbit looked nonchalant. "OK Skratch I'll begin. The story didn't posit the future but was entirely predicated upon the present." Skratch looked thoughtful. "Are you arguing for a realist text?" The Wabbit was shocked. "No, I thought it was anti realist. It challenged narrative specularity - especially the battle ending." Lapinette was doubtful. "Merely because android animals fought real animals?" Wabsworth was horrified. "This android business is a point in question. We androids should be taken more seriously than that." Lapinette looked grave. "Android lives matter." Wabsworth nodded so hard, the table shook. Skratch looked serious. "Allow me to arbitrate. Can we agree it was part of a hybrid genre that challenges the tenets of narrative?" Everyone agreed to that framework, allowing for differences. The Wabbit chortled and reached for the remote control but Lapinette grabbed it from him. Then she flicked her ears. A waiter appeared immediately ...
