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by the data-souls from a representative working in the field of the domi nant information media. In fact, Estaban is told (by a heavy gold chain wearing tiger referred to obliquely as "Mister T" [this is, of course, a nod to Mister Tawny of Shazam! fame]), the former Reasonable Man was known in the DifferNet as Kenneth, and he was "de-throned" in a bloodless coup by the Bugs involving a frequency dispute. The DifferNet appears as a featureless expanse, until an aggregation of data appears and gives the "world" form. More than one "animal" meeting another will generate his own "space." While this allows for shifting scenery, it also allows for explanations of "missing" data, discussions on the nature of form, identity, and thought, and even extrapolations about whether or not "normal" folks have accessed the DifferNet at various times in human history. It may be broadly hinted that Twain's "Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court" and Coleridge's "Kubla Khan" were inspired by visits of each to the DifferNet to perform the ministrations required of the office of the Reasonable Man. Estaban has prematurely entered (although "became aware of" might be a better description) the DifferNet, without finishing the philosophical grooming being done in the "real" world by the Happy Panda. Estaban has been designated the next Reasonable Man, but he has arrived much too early. There is some urgency to his ascension to the office, however, because the DifferNet has been without a Reasonable Man for the last five years, and the Bugs have run unchecked, causing systems errors and other disturbances that threaten both the DifferNet and the "real" world. It is here that the arc of the series starts to become overtly stated: Estaban had better go from irresponsible and unreasonable to responsible and Reasonable quickly, with the fate of two worlds in the balance. Issue three showcases the conflict inherent in the situation of the Mathemagicians having stumbled on the DifferNet, and the talking ani mals wanting to have their existence uninterrupted by the probing of the "real" world. In fact, their very identity as a separate "world" is at stake. In the five years that the DifferNet has existed without the tempering hand of The Reasonable Man, the chaotic Bugs have made there way into most areas and are trying to assume control (or force a lack of it, as the case may be) of the DifferNet. Estaban himself is set upon by the agents of entropy, and the seemingly unflappable "palace guards," a religious yet martial sect known as the Birds of Pray (that protect The Reasonable Man), kick ass against the encroaching Bugs. Birds and Bugs are natural ene mies, so the resulting battle is massive and filled with not a small amount of rancor. Estaban is in danger, so Happy Panda "leaves" the DifferNet and seemingly abandons him to his fate. However, Hap realizes that not only is Estaban's data/soul in danger, but his corporeal form in the "real" world is vulnerable to the Bugs' agents on earth as well. Happy Panda decides to return to our level of reality to seek help for his pupil. Hap, uniquely situ-

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