White Queen: You know what TK!? I thought you were a nice guy, but I guess not, you're just a fucking jerk!
KillTheKat: Alice, I'm sorry! I couldn't find my phone, I looked for it forever, I'm sorry, I'll call tonight or something!
White Queen: What...?
KillTheKat: Yeah I know... I can't find it, it's weird.
White Queen: You liar, you called me and gave me some weird drone bullshit!
KillTheKat: I...didn't, I didn't even have my phone, how could I call you?
White Queen: But... I spoke to you...
White Queen: And you were going on about the Red Queen, about how I should forget her, and...
KillTheKat: Hel... Alice, I didn't call, I promise you... are you okay? I'm really worried...
White Queen: Honestly TK... I don't know....
KillTheKat: When was the last time you left your room? Or your house for that matter?
White Queen: Days... listen, I have to go I... I should sleep... I haven't been lately...
KillTheKat: Do that... get better okay?
White Queen Has Signed off at 1:11:04 PM
Somehow, she didn't feel like sleep... finding herself wide awake on her bed, looking at the ceiling, counting the little bits of glitter in the chalk like material... why were they there anyway? To simulate stars at night, when you let just the little bit of light from the bathroom nightlight shine into your room and reflect into your line of vision, keeping you awake with fascination? She shook her head, rolling onto her side into a fetal position. Why? Was the Matrix calling her, was she destined to be free? She closed her eyes. So many weird things, and feelings and events and people and places... And the third of the brooks... what if this was all an elaborate game? Someone messing with her head for the good of their own entertainment? someone with the power to do that, having a sick and morbid sense of humor.
Hel wasn't laughing.
What about a third brook? It was the odds and ends shop where nothing could be seen closely or sold... What did she mean, meet her there? This is just like the thing with Marx, someone wanting to meet her out of the blue... but why? What if... what if the Matrix doesn't exist, what then? What could she be getting herself into... Slowly, her eyes opened again, glancing and her computer screen, a media player was softly whispering digital and interesting sound, and somehow, she didn't feel like sleeping anymore... Compelled by this whole situation, she hadn't slept, hadn't left home, kept the windows drawn and her door locked, she'd begun to look like a zombie... A knock, her eyes darted to her door, her mother leaning curiously on the frame.
"Alice... are you okay, I haven't seen you at all in the past three days... I'm really worried..."
She stared blankly, convinced mothers were just another form of control...
"I'm fine, mom..."
"Maybe you should get out, get some sun... you can take my car if you like... go into town to the store for me? I forgot the milk and sugar, and I need it to make dinner..."
Blink. "Okay."
"Good..." Her mother turned and walked off. Hel looked curiously around the corner, as if expecting her mother to morph into an agent any second... No such luck.
'Ireallydon'tlikethiscar...' Hel thought, pulling into a small parking lot next to the grocery store and parking next the the large white marble statue of some unknown Civil War general, the plaque read "In honor of James P. Night patron of this township." How horridly cliché. It was nestled among a couple of interesting and out of the way shops, including a jewlrey store, antiques shop, and a newspaper office. The Chronicle. A b-rate paper with nothing to offer but the "Buy, sell, and Trade" page.
Her foot slipped and hit the accelerator, the car reversing rapidly and hitting a railing with the driver's side mirror. Scowling, she pulled forward and got out, surveying the damage hatefully. Well, her mother would love this... a busted mirror. Noise. They were renovating this part of town, new sidewalks and benches, filling up the potholes in the street, trying to attract tourists with cute 'bed and breakfasts' with names like R&R Inn. She crossed the street, musing at the children vandalising the wet cement with mischevious glances and quick fingers. A street worker caught this out of the corner of his eye and yelled, they scattered. Hel shook her head laughing, and glancing down at what was written, intrigued her, it didn't seem like a normal thing children would write...
"Flat notes? nevaR!"
She cocked an eyebrow, and continuing on down the dry portion of sidewalk in a state of confusion.
She glanced in windows, eyeing a particularly lovely locket in the window of the jewlery store, in the shape of a feather... apparently custom made from the over a thousand dollar price tag... A pout, it was truly lovely. And the sun moon and star ring next to it, didn't cost as much, but more than she had nonetheless. Disheartened, she continued down... she always loved the antiques shop, it always had the most interesting odds and ends and some beautiful victorian jewlrey... She had an odd obsession with it, necklaces and rings mostly, lockets. She had a weakness for them. Scanning the window, she admired a doll, china doll, a vase made of black glass and a lace table cloth. She smiled, eyes trickling down to the bottom, where a black veltvet box caught her attention. It was a platinum colored necklace, with a onyx charm shaped like an anhk. She could have squeaked. She ran through the door, bells announcing her presence in such a lovely and clear way. The place was dimly lit, and unorganized looking at first glance, but appealing. A method to the madness. She glanced at the clerk who was burried behind a book, a dream interrpretation studies piece by Carl Jung. The clerk, a woman in her early thirties glanced up with a weary smile.
"How may I help you?"
Hel tapped her fingers anxiously across the glass top of the counter and spoke, "I want the charm necklace in the window... the egyptian one..."
The woman pulled herself up and leaned over the display, retrieving the box. "I suppose you're Alice, then? I was told you'd be in for this... so I put it away for you. Onyx is a beautiful stone, is it not?"
She cast a curious glance at the woman. "Umm... what?"
"Oh... you're not Alice, I'm sorry I.."
Hel broke in, "No... I'm Alice... I just..." She stopped and looked about, standing in an odd store of things she could not see so clearly... she could have smacked herself... This is... was this the doing of the red queen? How would she know...?
"The lady that reserved this for me, did she say anything...?"
"Well, yes... she left a note, in fact. Here, I'll get it for you." She sat the box on the counter and lifted a sealed UPS envelope from a display case, handing it across the glass. It was addressed to Hel, and not Alice. "And thank you for stopping by, do you want me to wrap this for you?"
"What?"
"The lady's paid for this already, as a gift I suppose. Have a nice day!"
'Nice day indeed...' Hel muttered, feeling the sudden urge to just come out and say something like "Mister Wizard get me the hell out of here," or something... She tore open the envelope, holding the closed jewlrey box between her knees. And she could have predicted it before she saw it, a cellphone and a note, scribbled in red lettering.
"Hit Dial"
"Curiouser and curioser..." She hit the Dial button, putting the phone to her ear.
.... Click. "Alice, you do well for yourself."
"Bite me. I want answers."
"I understand your frustration, the answers will come in time..."
"Time, I'm not convinced I have. I think I'm going crazy, tell me something... does the Matrix exist?"
"..."
"Apas, does the Matrix exist?"
"As much as you believe that you could handle whatever truth I'm willing to give to you, you have no idea how unprepared you really are... Movies and anime and stories are one thing, but... as to the answer of your question... I don't really know myself."
"You know, as comforting and fun as this game is, I don't have the patience to deal with your vague prophet shit..."
"You will soon discover what I mean... Give it time."
"Time is an imaginary concept created to make life difficult. Saying that all you have is time, is silly. Time sucks. Time has neither shape nor form, but can act like a wall, stopping you in your tracks, and when you say to give it time, I laugh. I would love to give time away. But I cannot, now... Stop playing this game. Tell me... am I real?"
"Reality is what you make of it... consciousness and concept. The only way you can exist, is if you can prove you do."
"How can I prove to myself that I exist? I think I exist, but if I don't... then, I'm betraying and confusing myself into a state of disbelief. How can I not exist?"
"Sometimes it's better not to think." Apas sighed.
"And sometimes it's better to contemplate heavily on a solution. What is my solution?"
"Time."
"You're funny."
"Keep this phone with you, I will call. I promise, soon... You will know everything you need to know."
Click.
Hel glanced at the phone, and yelled "YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE SO MYSTERIOUS AND RUDE ABOUT YOUR GOODBYE'S YOU KNOW!" and smashed the "end call" button with her thumb. Well... it wasn't a complete waste... At least now she had a pretty little trinket to match her dark and dismal outlook on life.
KillTheKat: Alice, I'm sorry! I couldn't find my phone, I looked for it forever, I'm sorry, I'll call tonight or something!
White Queen: What...?
KillTheKat: Yeah I know... I can't find it, it's weird.
White Queen: You liar, you called me and gave me some weird drone bullshit!
KillTheKat: I...didn't, I didn't even have my phone, how could I call you?
White Queen: But... I spoke to you...
White Queen: And you were going on about the Red Queen, about how I should forget her, and...
KillTheKat: Hel... Alice, I didn't call, I promise you... are you okay? I'm really worried...
White Queen: Honestly TK... I don't know....
KillTheKat: When was the last time you left your room? Or your house for that matter?
White Queen: Days... listen, I have to go I... I should sleep... I haven't been lately...
KillTheKat: Do that... get better okay?
White Queen Has Signed off at 1:11:04 PM
Somehow, she didn't feel like sleep... finding herself wide awake on her bed, looking at the ceiling, counting the little bits of glitter in the chalk like material... why were they there anyway? To simulate stars at night, when you let just the little bit of light from the bathroom nightlight shine into your room and reflect into your line of vision, keeping you awake with fascination? She shook her head, rolling onto her side into a fetal position. Why? Was the Matrix calling her, was she destined to be free? She closed her eyes. So many weird things, and feelings and events and people and places... And the third of the brooks... what if this was all an elaborate game? Someone messing with her head for the good of their own entertainment? someone with the power to do that, having a sick and morbid sense of humor.
Hel wasn't laughing.
What about a third brook? It was the odds and ends shop where nothing could be seen closely or sold... What did she mean, meet her there? This is just like the thing with Marx, someone wanting to meet her out of the blue... but why? What if... what if the Matrix doesn't exist, what then? What could she be getting herself into... Slowly, her eyes opened again, glancing and her computer screen, a media player was softly whispering digital and interesting sound, and somehow, she didn't feel like sleeping anymore... Compelled by this whole situation, she hadn't slept, hadn't left home, kept the windows drawn and her door locked, she'd begun to look like a zombie... A knock, her eyes darted to her door, her mother leaning curiously on the frame.
"Alice... are you okay, I haven't seen you at all in the past three days... I'm really worried..."
She stared blankly, convinced mothers were just another form of control...
"I'm fine, mom..."
"Maybe you should get out, get some sun... you can take my car if you like... go into town to the store for me? I forgot the milk and sugar, and I need it to make dinner..."
Blink. "Okay."
"Good..." Her mother turned and walked off. Hel looked curiously around the corner, as if expecting her mother to morph into an agent any second... No such luck.
'Ireallydon'tlikethiscar...' Hel thought, pulling into a small parking lot next to the grocery store and parking next the the large white marble statue of some unknown Civil War general, the plaque read "In honor of James P. Night patron of this township." How horridly cliché. It was nestled among a couple of interesting and out of the way shops, including a jewlrey store, antiques shop, and a newspaper office. The Chronicle. A b-rate paper with nothing to offer but the "Buy, sell, and Trade" page.
Her foot slipped and hit the accelerator, the car reversing rapidly and hitting a railing with the driver's side mirror. Scowling, she pulled forward and got out, surveying the damage hatefully. Well, her mother would love this... a busted mirror. Noise. They were renovating this part of town, new sidewalks and benches, filling up the potholes in the street, trying to attract tourists with cute 'bed and breakfasts' with names like R&R Inn. She crossed the street, musing at the children vandalising the wet cement with mischevious glances and quick fingers. A street worker caught this out of the corner of his eye and yelled, they scattered. Hel shook her head laughing, and glancing down at what was written, intrigued her, it didn't seem like a normal thing children would write...
"Flat notes? nevaR!"
She cocked an eyebrow, and continuing on down the dry portion of sidewalk in a state of confusion.
She glanced in windows, eyeing a particularly lovely locket in the window of the jewlery store, in the shape of a feather... apparently custom made from the over a thousand dollar price tag... A pout, it was truly lovely. And the sun moon and star ring next to it, didn't cost as much, but more than she had nonetheless. Disheartened, she continued down... she always loved the antiques shop, it always had the most interesting odds and ends and some beautiful victorian jewlrey... She had an odd obsession with it, necklaces and rings mostly, lockets. She had a weakness for them. Scanning the window, she admired a doll, china doll, a vase made of black glass and a lace table cloth. She smiled, eyes trickling down to the bottom, where a black veltvet box caught her attention. It was a platinum colored necklace, with a onyx charm shaped like an anhk. She could have squeaked. She ran through the door, bells announcing her presence in such a lovely and clear way. The place was dimly lit, and unorganized looking at first glance, but appealing. A method to the madness. She glanced at the clerk who was burried behind a book, a dream interrpretation studies piece by Carl Jung. The clerk, a woman in her early thirties glanced up with a weary smile.
"How may I help you?"
Hel tapped her fingers anxiously across the glass top of the counter and spoke, "I want the charm necklace in the window... the egyptian one..."
The woman pulled herself up and leaned over the display, retrieving the box. "I suppose you're Alice, then? I was told you'd be in for this... so I put it away for you. Onyx is a beautiful stone, is it not?"
She cast a curious glance at the woman. "Umm... what?"
"Oh... you're not Alice, I'm sorry I.."
Hel broke in, "No... I'm Alice... I just..." She stopped and looked about, standing in an odd store of things she could not see so clearly... she could have smacked herself... This is... was this the doing of the red queen? How would she know...?
"The lady that reserved this for me, did she say anything...?"
"Well, yes... she left a note, in fact. Here, I'll get it for you." She sat the box on the counter and lifted a sealed UPS envelope from a display case, handing it across the glass. It was addressed to Hel, and not Alice. "And thank you for stopping by, do you want me to wrap this for you?"
"What?"
"The lady's paid for this already, as a gift I suppose. Have a nice day!"
'Nice day indeed...' Hel muttered, feeling the sudden urge to just come out and say something like "Mister Wizard get me the hell out of here," or something... She tore open the envelope, holding the closed jewlrey box between her knees. And she could have predicted it before she saw it, a cellphone and a note, scribbled in red lettering.
"Hit Dial"
"Curiouser and curioser..." She hit the Dial button, putting the phone to her ear.
.... Click. "Alice, you do well for yourself."
"Bite me. I want answers."
"I understand your frustration, the answers will come in time..."
"Time, I'm not convinced I have. I think I'm going crazy, tell me something... does the Matrix exist?"
"..."
"Apas, does the Matrix exist?"
"As much as you believe that you could handle whatever truth I'm willing to give to you, you have no idea how unprepared you really are... Movies and anime and stories are one thing, but... as to the answer of your question... I don't really know myself."
"You know, as comforting and fun as this game is, I don't have the patience to deal with your vague prophet shit..."
"You will soon discover what I mean... Give it time."
"Time is an imaginary concept created to make life difficult. Saying that all you have is time, is silly. Time sucks. Time has neither shape nor form, but can act like a wall, stopping you in your tracks, and when you say to give it time, I laugh. I would love to give time away. But I cannot, now... Stop playing this game. Tell me... am I real?"
"Reality is what you make of it... consciousness and concept. The only way you can exist, is if you can prove you do."
"How can I prove to myself that I exist? I think I exist, but if I don't... then, I'm betraying and confusing myself into a state of disbelief. How can I not exist?"
"Sometimes it's better not to think." Apas sighed.
"And sometimes it's better to contemplate heavily on a solution. What is my solution?"
"Time."
"You're funny."
"Keep this phone with you, I will call. I promise, soon... You will know everything you need to know."
Click.
Hel glanced at the phone, and yelled "YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE SO MYSTERIOUS AND RUDE ABOUT YOUR GOODBYE'S YOU KNOW!" and smashed the "end call" button with her thumb. Well... it wasn't a complete waste... At least now she had a pretty little trinket to match her dark and dismal outlook on life.
