Excerpt: Holo-Data Files of MiB HQ: Part One

[k_in_black]

[K strides down a hallway in MiB headquarters, his face set even more than usual. He knows he’s late for the briefing, but Zed will just have to deal. There were special arrangements K needed to make, and he had put them off too long as it was. Even now he isn’t sure they will make the slightest difference, but Zed is too crucial. The normal protocols aren't going to be good enough, and K is the only agent in a position to--.]

MiB HQ: Conference Room Alpha-Prime, 1800 hrs
Mission Briefing: Operation Black Oil (Class Omega), Final Report

[Agent Zed:] K, take a seat. We’re ready. B, let’s get this started.

[Agent B:] Right, Chief.

[Agent B shuffles papers and brings up a full-color holographic display of Earth.]

“What I have today is the result of several months research and field operations. I should point out that none of our findings would have been possible without the regular reports provided by Agent K regarding his ongoing activities at Milliways. In fact, it was Milliways that gave us our breakthrough in understanding the Black Oil and what its intentions might be on our planet.

[Agent B nods at the screen and a holographic projection appears, clearly visible against the white background.]

[Agent B:] Now, we’ve known about the existence of other dimensions for thirty years, and have had contact with MiBs on alternate Earths. Which, of course, made joint operations like Stellar Twilight and Ultimate Sanction possible. The discovery of Milliways, however, has taken our understanding of these phenomena to an entirely higher level.

[Agent Zed:] What the hell does any of this have to do with Black Oil?

[Agent B:] Because we’ve been able to trace the ultimate origin of the Oil. Or at least we’ve been able to determine on which Earth it first manifested as a real phenomenon.

[Agent L:] What do you mean, a ‘real’ phenomenon?

[Agent B:] Because by the time it first manifested as a real phenomenon on that Earth, it had already appeared on several other Earths. As an entirely fictional phenomenon.

[Rest of the room:] ...!

[Agent J:] I don’t know what kicked my ass last week, but it sure wasn’t any ‘fictional phenomenon.’

[Agent B:] With respect, Agent J, we believe it was. Or at least, the Black Oil started out that way. As a fictional phenomenon on several worlds. And, uh, by the way, it looks like we started out that way too.

[Agent B temporarily drowned out by shouts and bellowing]

[To be continued...]