Adrian landed on the ground in front of the stranger, who stuck out his hand in greeting. Reluctantly, Adrian shook it.
“Adrian, you’re anxious.” the man said matter-of-factly. “Why?”
Adrian couldn’t help but shudder at how easily the stranger had read him. “I’m fine!” he said far too enthusiastically. The stranger gave him a look that was stern, but not unkind. “Okay, it’s because you stand out. You feel too… foreign, too present, too…” Adrian trailed off.
“Too real?” the stranger responded.
Adrian snapped his clawed, scaled, fingers, “Yeah, that’s it. I couldn’t even banish you from my reality. Are you from the Consensus Bureau?”
The stranger chuckled, “No, I have nothing to do with them. I’m not even registered.”
Adrian’s eyes widened. “Then how did you… how are you…?”
“My existence is objective.”
“But we disproved that in the Revolution. You can’t really still believe that.”
The stranger sighed, “I thought you would say that. Follow me, maybe I’ll change your mind.” With that, he turned and walked along the street, and Adrian followed close behind.
Carter's Compendium 