"What was that?" asked Tifa.
Jim shrugged. "Most likely some sort of power failure Backstage," he said.
"What's that mean?"
"It means we get a break."
"Okay," said Tifa. "Guess I'll go home and get back to my real life. I've been acting too much lately."
"Will they know you there at eight feet tall?"
"Oh come on, Jim, the light's not that dim! Can't you see everything's returned to normal?"
"Hey, you're right. Okay, bye Tifa. See ya around."
"Only if I can't land a better paying job with a more interesting partner," Tifa mumbled, and walked off.
Jim groped around, looking for the door Backstage. They were always around, if you knew where to look for them. Eventually he found it, and made the transition through the shimmering interface.
When he emerged, he met a surprise -- another version of himself, together with a middle-aged man he'd never seen before. "Who the hell are you," he demanded, "and what do you mean, interupting my time off?"
The stranger grinned. "You may not know me, but I sure know you, nephew!" he said. "I'm your long-lost Uncle Sid."
"What? But he disappeared long before I was born!"
"Well, I'm back. And I sought you out because you're one of the few versions of yourself with awareness of the true nature of the BE AddVenture, even if you don't generally let on about it while onstage."
Jim frowned. "Okay, assuming you're who you say you are, what do you want?"
"Not much. Just to clear up some loose ends. Hey, aren't you going to greet your counterpart?"
The other Jim held out his hand, which Jim took automatically. "Charmed," he said, dryly. Then he felt strangely dizzy, as if he was being pulled towards his other self...
In moments the two Jims had merged together, forming a single Jim with the memories of both. "Wow," Jim said. "That was weird. Pardon the doubt on the behalf of part of me a moment ago, Uncle Sid."
"Think nothing of it. Now, shall we continue our explorations?"
Jim thought about that. "No," he said, "I -- part of me -- has actually been to the place you call 'the hotel' many times -- pretty much every time I'm backstage, actually. Sometimes other characters show up there, but most of the time it's just me. Nice place to kick back and relax, and sometimes meet folks from other threads. I think I can find my way all right."
Sid nodded. "Okay. Just remember, if you need any help of the mad scientist nature, just look me up back at the focal point of Backstage."
"Sure thing."
Sid departed back to his own digs, while Jim continued on to the Hotel, the place he had formerly been accustomed to thinking was the whole of the backstage. He found the common room where he usually liked to hang out okay, went to the always full fridge for a brew, and kicked back, waiting to see who else might come along. Soon enough, someone did.
Tue Mar 6 15:26:03 2001
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