METAFICTION

Chapter 6. THE REALM BETWEEN REALMS

Eventually, they discovered their target. On entry, they found themselves materialised into a hard-light form and sitting at a heavy wooden table in a well-lighted plain concrete-walled room devoid of any windows or doors.

They were alone.

Immediately, they became aware of their solidity and their five human senses, and the loss of their telepathy. They stood up and immediately hugged each other.

"Just like last time," said Susan with a physical voice, disengaging from the hug.

Charlie grinned as he eyed Susan. "Strange how we get a flood of knowledge that allows us to accept and understand our new dimensions."

"Yes, Charlie. And wasn't it strange how we completely lost this knowledge the last time we left the meeting with Julia and Eddie Sharpe? Our very memories of our last visit to the Realm between Realms had only recently come back to us."

"Very strange. But I suppose anything related to a Novel Realm is bound to be strange, isn't it?"

They sat down and waited...

"Yes! Ah, Charlie! I can sense Julia rapidly approaching!"

"Me too."

Julia Strauss materialised just as Charlie and Susan had done, in a sitting position beside them at the table. Charlie and Susan immediately jumped up, as did Julia, and the two parties hugged each other and exchanged deep welcoming pleasantries.

They eventually got around to reseating themselves.

"Are you happy in your Novel Realm world?" asked Susan of Julia.

"It has its advantages and disadvantages, but knowing Neil Barrington cannot break out of it is a great help. He is restricted into only acting out the scenes of the book's prose, at my command. Thanks to you and Charlie. Your footnotes worked a treat. He can't even talk to me outside any of the book's dialogue. But I can see in his eyes what he's thinking."

"And what's that?" asked Charlie.

"Escape!"

"Is he still intending to escape to the Authors' Realm?" asked Susan.

"Yes," said Julia. "Like many criminal masterminds, he is an ultra-fanatic. He just will not change his obsession."

"He must be insane!" exclaimed Charlie. "He can't seriously believe he can escape to the world of our gods!"

"He doesn't believe they are our gods," said Julia. "He said to me once in our early pre-book world meetings, 'How can Eddie Sharpe be a god? The man's a joke!' Of course, I gasped at his sacrilege. But somehow it did seem true. And let's face it, Eddie Sharpe didn't write a word of his novel, did he? I think as far as his view of Eddie Sharpe is concerned, Neil Barrington is right. Nevertheless, unlike Neil Barrington, at least Eddie Sharpe is honest. I think we should be honest with him and ask him if he believes he is a god."

"Charlie and I always thought Eddie Sharpe was using telepathic powers to write his novel through you."

"He doesn't have any telepathic powers," asserted Julia. "Just as we don't once we become hard-light. I wrote everything, though I had your help at the end of the novel on the technical side so as to ensure the trapping of Neil Barrington."

"Quiet now!" warned Charlie. "I sense Eddie Sharpe arriving!"

Eddie Sharpe materialised, sitting at the table opposite the three characters.

The characters all gasped in shock at Eddie's physical appearance.

"Mr Sharpe!" exclaimed Julia. "You've aged! I thought only we characters could age ourselves for the purposes of our roles in our Novel Realm book scenes."