Writer

"It's not possible." stated Questioner.

"It is, it must be. Everything that is, is possible." responded Writer, with a certainty that seemed odd bearing in mind the nebulous nature of the subject matter.

"Explain it to me again, so that The Audience can understand." demanded Questioner.

"We are in a story. I know this, because earlier on it was written *Writer knows that zhe is in a story*. And that is why I know. It was also written that *Writer knows that it is written that zhe is in a story*, and so on. The iterations are tiresome, but apparently necessary."

"Why should I believe that?" Questioner questioned.

"Because it was also written that I would know which number you were going to pick when asked to choose one at random, and I have already written it down on this face down piece of paper. Pick a number, Questioner."

"This is ludicrous. I choose the number xyz (it is irrelevant what the number was, so I have omitted it)." Questioner turned over the paper, and it was revealed that the number written on the reverse was the very same one that Questioner had chosen. Questioner felt a strong emotion as newfound doubts were introduced into zher conception of reality. "Newfound doubts have been introduced into my conception of reality."

Writer pondered ponderously. "I have a small problem with it myself. This phenomenon appears to present situations wherein what we understand as the laws of this universe are broken. Now clearly whatever is causing this to be written is unconstrained by these laws, but do the appearance of apparent laws which we perceive now to be broken imply the existence of laws in the dimension which contains the causing-writer?"

Questioner seemed troubled by this thought. "Now I have further things to worry about. It seems then that contrary to my intuition, the dimension which is being written is greater in power and possibility than that in which the writing is taking place. This upsets my previous assumption that a single cause is greater than its effect."

Writer agreed. "That was my worry."

Questioner continued.  "In addition, I have trouble imagining the medium in which our existence takes place from the point of view of the dimension in which we are being written. Are the constraints of pen and paper, which inform our conception of writing, in fact the medium of our existence? Or is that simply what I have visualised because it is what I understand? Or is that how I visualise it because it was written that I would visualise it that way?"

Writer mused. "Perhaps we exist not in the writing, but in the shared virtual reality between the cause of the writing and the reader or readers."

"How do you know there is a reader or readers?" asked Questioner.

"I don't, I just can't imagine why else it was written." replied Writer.

"What are you doing now?" enquired Questioner.

Writer put pen to paper, and began to write. "An experiment."


The Audience responded.