Writing a Better Future
The Never Ending Quest - Episode 5979
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You drop your quarter into the slot machine. You mumble a little prayer to
some imaginary god made up
by the Author and then you grab the handle. Sweat beads on your forehead;
the difference between
sleeping in a bed and settling down in a cardboard box in a back alley for
the night hinges on what
happens next. Your fingers tighten up and then you yank the handle down
with all your strength. The
counters spin round and round crazily and you hold your breath until, one
by one, they slow down and
stop. The first counter drops the picture of a bar of gold into the slot,
followed by the second counter
and a second bar of gold. Your heart beats wildly, this might just be the
jackpot! And then the last
counter falls into place and the people around you stop to stare as you
bellow out a curse at that same
imaginary god because instead of a jackpot you ended up with a lemon!
Seeker steps away from you, hoping people don't notice that the two of you are together. He's beginning to regret having brought you here. He thinks that maybe it's time to send you back to the Southern Caves; he's not sure that he wants to just leave you in the middle of Las Vegas. God only knows what some other Author might do with that kind of a story premise. In either case, it is high time that Seeker says goodbye to this hyper-fictional word-world and gets back home. But first he wants one more chance at the slot machines. In real life he's never been to Las Vegas, but the City of Sin is only a paragraph away in this interactive virtual-fiction web site world and Seeker is having a great time. He doesn't want to leave just yet. So he sits down in front of a shiny chrome covered slot machine named Lots 'o' Luck and drops his quarter into it. He grabs hold of the handle and is about to pull down on it when you suddenly get a bright idea and shout at him to stop. By this time people have figured out that you're a shouter and so they just ignore your outburst and don't even bother to give you dirty looks. "What?!" Seeker shouts back, jumping away from the slot machine. Was there a bomb or something attached to it? "You're a writer!" you yell at him. He looks back at you, a confused frown on his face, as well as more than a little annoyance. "Yeah, and...?" You grin like an idiot, "And so all you have to do is write it so that you hit the jackpot! Sha-DUH!" Seeker looks at you warily, thinking over what you've said. "I'm afraid, young man," Seeker finally responds, "that it's a little more complicated then that. While as an Author I do have certain capabilities, I am not omnipotent nor am I the only Author. For instance, I'm not the one writing the episode we're in right now. I would never have you say 'Sha-DUH'." You look at Seeker not quite understanding what he's talking about. After all, it's not like you're a rocket scientist or a brain surgeon. You're just a...a... well...uh, hmmm, to be blunt (and I don't wish to be mean) you're just a barely fleshed out two-dimensional stereotypical character without a past or a present, not even allowed a name since that would get in the way of the second-person narrative style that this story thread has assumed. So is it any wonder, with all that against you, that you find this whole exercise in self-reflexive, breaking through the fourth wall, non-restrictive creative writing more than just a little confusing? And it's not like you really care. All you want is a little cash and a hot date. "Yeah, but can you write it so that you hit the jackpot?" you ask, beginning to whine again like you did in episode 4776. Seeker shrugs his shoulders and pulls the handle, "Let's find out."
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WolfRun
2/11/2000 12:20:50 AM
24942847 episodes viewed since 9/30/2002 1:22:06 PM.