"But who?" pondered this author who had written only a handful of episodes over the years. Looking around his room for inspiration, his eyes fell on his mirror.
"Of course! Who else but myself?" With a quick flick of his keyboard keys, he began to enter Jim's world.
As the feminized Jim sat in his room with Rick and Sharon, a figure appeared in the room with them, looking over his body. "Not bad, not bad," he muttered. "I look a few years younger." Rubbing his chin, he continued, "But I seem to have lost my beard. Ah well."
"Who the heck are you?" Jim asked.
With one finger the new arrival pushed his glasses up and replied, "Jim, Jim, Jim. You wouldn't have heard of me. You rarely stay on one of my paths for very long. Suffice it to say that I am an author who has been forced by your inactivity to take an active role in the story. Your role, to be exact." He paused for a moment, realizing that he hadn't fully answered the question. "You may call me Sean."
"Wait a minute," Jim interjected. "You're taking my place?"
"Indeed, that is correct. I have to admit to a certain hesitancy to place my life in the hands of other authors, throwing my fate to the wind. But it will be worth it. Rick is now my friend, Sharon is now my girlfriend."
"Probably your first," Jim muttered.
"Watch it!"
"Well if you're taking over my life," Jim asked, "what will become of me?"
"Honestly, I have no idea. Perhaps you'll cease to exist, being superfluous. Perhaps you'll continue as a reminder of how things used to be."
"Well, if you're taking over my life now, that means that..."
Thu Aug 2 20:18:16 2001