I/Tulpa: the Seven Year Girl

chapter 21

"My dear friends, you are now about to enter the nerve center to the entire Wonka factory. Inside this room, all of my dreams become realities. And some of my realities become dreams. And almost everything you see is eatable. Edible. You can eat almost everything."

Jon and Ali stood there, calmly, like adults, watching a child throw a tantrum, but not interceding, just waiting for the storm to pass so they could have a rational conversation. Mike threw things from his desk to the floor. Lots of interesting props were about the office, from many different shows and genera, from western to space opera. Mike paced, cursing. Behind them, the youtube video was going viral, and the hits jumping exponentially. Adam stood to Jon's left, seriously worried, as if he expected to get hit. Mike came at Jon like a military drill sergeant.

"Who the hell do you think you are?!" Mike yelled, staring down at Jon. "You are not the Doctor! You can't just come in here and change things up. We have a plan for you. We had a plan for all of you."

"Please, don't yell at Jon," Ali said. "I asked him to do it."

"You're fired!" Mike snapped.

"You can't fire her!" Jon snapped back. "I love her and I won't do another episode without her."

"Fuck what you won't! I own your ass," Mike said. "I say who comes and goes around here and if I say she's fired, she's fired! And if I think you're a flight risk, you won't be allowed off the campus! Where's your intern?!"

Allison was behind Jon, trying not to be seen.

"You're lucky I don't fire you, too. No more free wondering the sets," Mike said. "That trek fiasco nearly upset the whole Universe and it took me forever to get them where I could manipulate them the way I wanted."

Mike turned to Adam. "And, you! How could you..."

"I had nothing to do with that," Adam said.

"You liked it!" Mike said.

"Well, I was thinking of flipping the script at the end of second or third season, but I was holding that in case we need a quick ratings increase," Adam said. "Now that's it is kind of a done deal, we have a choice of going with a new companion every season, or making that a hypnotic dream sequence."

"Or a regular dream sequence," Allison said.

"Right?!" Adam said. "He could wake up with you in bed next to him."

"No, I am still mad at her," Mike said. "Bring in Bob Newhart's wife from the original series. That would be funny."

"Not as funny as it was at the end of his second series," Jon said.

"Am I missing something?" Ali asked.

"You're not here!" Mike said.

"It's an American thing," Jon assured Ali. She seemed satisfied.

"Put Betty White in bed with him," Mike said.

"Oh, I would love to wake up next to Betty," Jon said.

"We could parody Harold and Maude," Adam said.

"No, I don't want to kill Betty," Jon said.

"What do you think is going to happen when you have sex with someone that old," Allison asked.

"Die happy," Ali said.