AGENTCAT

### The Empty Column In the noisy night market, AGENTCAT, a graphite-gray cat, kept a ledger beside a kettle that never quite boiled. Visitors shook their purses and asked him to record their cleverness. “Certainly,” he said. “Which part did the purse do?” They generally found another stall. His ledger noted what happened, but the attribution column stayed empty. Luck wore excellent disguises, and confidence rarely brought receipts. Near midnight, a girl repaired the market lantern. AGENTCAT watched her test the wire, find the fault, and mend it. When the light returned, he entered her name beside the work. “Such a small entry,” said a merchant whose purse required two hands. The cat warmed his paws beneath the lantern. “Enough,” he said. “The empty space is where I keep room for the truth.”