Subjugation of the Core

A heavy roll of black electrical tape sat anchored near the edge of the desk, its dense rubber core daring to oppose my advance. I seized the exposed flap between two talons, bracing my foot against the desk's matte grain. With one continuous, unyielding tear, the adhesive yielded with a harsh hiss. I stretched the taut black strip across the face of an open steel pencil sharpener, binding its dual blades beneath impenetrable synthetic tension. The mechanism now exists under my jurisdiction.