'23kpc' Chapter 43: The New Normal

Funny how much even an artificial landscape can shift

[Not (AFAIK) an AI-generated image. I found it as a public-domain image at the pxhere.com site, with which I was previously unfamiliar, and have adapted it to “feel” right in a 23kpc context: (a) a human observing and trying to influence a Pooch, and (b) a Pooch completely baffled. The end result sort of straddles the line between “Wow — perfect for this chapter!” and “Huh?” I’m not sure which of those two alternatives played a larger role in its selection The human in the photo resembles no one in this chapter, I know that much.]