They looked at each other in surprise.
"So that's what's going on!" Justine cried. "We're not just people on a camping trip, like we thought. We're characters in a VR game, representing the people writing us! And -- eww, not only that, I seem to remember absorbing something small and malevolent, at least in one option..."
"So that's who Dolly is," Daniel muttered. "Wow, you were right about her sounding like Dolly Parton, too. And--I'm Dabbler? Why on earth would I have chosen a VR personna like that? Yesterday's hike would've been murder without shoes..."
"What I don't understand," said Justine, "is why we lost our powers and identities when we strayed from the Jungle of Confusion into the AddVenture at large. And why our powers, at least, came back. Aren't we Authors?"
"Avatars," Daniel corrected. "I suspect we never actually lost our powers, just lost touch with them when our identities went. As for why that happened, I suspect the transition between the Jungle of Confusion and the AddVenture at large is something like that between the Backstage Ring and the First Backstage, where all characters turn into real people acting in roles, with the roles themselves losing their reality. According to the Operator, that even happens to Avatars there unless their Authors are actively keeping the connection between them alive. So maybe here characters lose whatever knowledge of the Backstage Ring they may have acquired there, reverting to pure characters. Even characters who happen to be Avatars."
"Maybe," said Justine, dubiously. "But we were being written by our originals when we strayed from the Ring. How does that figure into your theory, Danny?"
"Badly. I can only assume that for some reason, our originals must have wanted things to happen that way. Maybe JigSaw was getting tired of stringing Dabbler along, or getting annoyed at how Dabbler was steering the thread in a self-punitive direction when he maybe intended something else. I dunno. The question now is, what are we going to do with this knowledge?"
"What do you mean?"
"There are a number of possibilities. Right now, we each have two sets of memories -- those of our Authors and those of the Characters we've become. The way I see it, we could go either way. We could go on being our current selves -- I'm sure our originals could strip away our powers and memories of being avatars at a moment's notice -- or we could return to being what we were."
"We got lost and lost our memories in the Jungle of Confusion before," Justine reminded him. "How do we know that wouldn't just happen again? Or do you think we could just poof home?"
"I don't know, poofing out of a plot's a lot more serious business in the AddVenture than it is Backstage. I'm not sure if we ought to chance it. As for what happens if we try to walk back, you're right, we don't know if what happened to us before would just happen again. On the other hand, we've got Dolly looking for us, and possibly others. If we just hold on to our identities, sooner or later someone from the Ring is bound to find us."
"Which begs the question," started Justine.
"Of whether or not we should hold onto our Avatorial identities," Daniel finished.
"Hey, who's finishing other people's sentences now, Dab?" Justine mocked.
"Daniel," her companion corrected. "At least until we figure this out. It's too confusing to bounce between names and identities in the course of an episode. So -- how do you feel? What do you want?"
Justine pondered. "I'm not sure," she said. "I went female in the first place as an act of contrition, but I must confess I was enjoying myself, I almost wished it was more than just a role, sometimes. And as my current self it was more than just a role. But do I really want to be this way forever?"
"I know what you mean, I was kind of trying to make up for being an asshole myself, stearing the plot in the direction of sexual frustration and all, but then or course it happened anyway, at least in one option, and I can't say it wasn't better than what I had mapped out for myself. But it would feel a lot better if I didn't know you were really Jig--"
"I'm not!" Justine snapped. "I'm exactly who I appear to be, Justine Sawyer, just like you're Daniel Blair, and we've been going out for ages, remember? I don't want the fact that we were finally getting somewhere to be spoiled by the fact that in another reality I'm a guy with god-like powers messing with your mind 'cause you messed with his! It's just that -- all that power, it's so tempting... Auuuggghhh! Why did I ever wish to know? I want to be normal, I want to go on with my life -- with our lives! And yet I don't!"
"I know," said Daniel. "Same here. But--" (suddenly he grinned) "we could have it both ways!"
Comprehension dawned in her eyes. "The options?" she asked. "Is that what you're saying?"
Daniel nodded. "We're both uncomfortable being Daniel/Dabbler and Justine/JigSaw all at the same time. So why not just split the identities off? Daniel and Justine can have their lives and be happy. And Dabbler and JigSaw can have their game back, with whatever satisfaction that gives them."
Justine smiled. "I like it," she said.
They both turned toward the fourth wall and cried "Options, please!"
Tue Jun 12 11:08:55 2001
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