Facebook Conversation

GARRETT: http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/news/reality-doesnt-exist-until-you-look-at-it-pioneering-quantum-physics-experiment-finds-10305047.html
GARRETT: Thought you might appreciate this. My sister found in in Photoshop on my mom and dad's computer. It's a strange place for her to have found it (it was some kind of barcode?) but, then again, my family is a little strange.

ALEX: Huh. No matter how strange your family might be, that's quite the thing to find in Photoshop of all places! How have you been lately, Garrett?

GARRETT: I'm doing alright. I haven't seen as many strange people around the convenience store lately, but there's still always at least one per day. I keep trying to get their voices recorded via my phone, but I haven't managed it yet.
GARRETT: They keep buying little electronic trinkets (headphones, etc) and don't seem to know how to use them. I actually had a somewhat extended conversation with one of them a few days ago, and it was surreal.

ALEX: How so?

GARRETT: Well, see, he was getting ready to pay for the earbuds and he pointed at the credit card reader and asking, "What's this do?" I explained really slowly and carefully that it read credit cards, and he said, "So, it's like money, but plastic?" I shook my head and tried to explain further, but he just walked off.
GARRETT: At one point one of them was paying for something, and I saw a couple coins fall out - maybe money from another country? It looked like it was actually gold, though.

ALEX: Huh. And none of your coworkers know where these people are from, either?

GARRETT: They barely notice them, to be honest. They'll sometimes say that they're pranksters, or drug addicts or something of that sort. I tried to talk to my boss, Old Gabe, about it, but he just told me to ignore them.

ALEX: Strange. Hey, has anyone told you about the contents of that parcel yet? They shared the contents with me, but I'm having doubts as to whether I should share it with you or not.

GARRETT: No, they haven't been shared with me. I trust all of you to use your discretion regarding whether they should be shared with me. I'm curious, but frightened by the prospect.

ALEX: Well, I guess I'll think on it more. I think the exact contents would be particularly world-breaking for you and I wish I could share without it stressing you out too much.
ALEX: However, it just occurred to me that a website that I found the other day would be right up your alley!

GARRETT: Oh?

ALEX: http://lightattheendoftheworld.com/ I found this website the other day, and though it seemed odd to me at first, I've really started thinking about it in my everyday life. I would highly suggest giving it a read.
ALEX: It reminded me of the post you made a while back about your belief system.
ALEX: Maybe it'll help you find some kind of solace knowing that you're not alone in that.

GARRETT: I'll take a look at it. It appears to be an organization of sorts. Thanks... this looks quite interesting!
GARRETT: I have some asks on Tumblr to answer, though, so it may have to wait a bit (the website), that is. I seems a lot of Tumblr people have the wrong idea about my views, so I'm going to clarify them a bit!.

ALEX: People can get the wrong idea sometimes. Hopefully they'll come to an understanding. If I'm distracting you, please do let me know, but have you talked to Katy lately? It's been really interesting hearing about Garrison and Catherine. I really wish she would revisit writing, but it seems she's been discouraged from doing so.

GARRETT: I've spoken to her a bit via asks on Tumblr - she's been doing a lot of artwork lately, which seems to be her new forte. I wish she would stop pretending to have poor grammar/etc and return to writing, but she does enjoy art just as much.
GARRETT: Right now, she said she was going to draw a picture of what the king from our imaginary world looks like, which should be nice to see.

ALEX: Oh, that sounds exciting. I look forward to seeing it. Maybe she could try a combination of drawing and writing? I hear roleplaying and ask blogs are really big on Tumblr nowadays.

GARRETT: Ask blogs? I'm not familiar with the concept, but I have seen roleplaying blogs.

ALEX: Ask blogs are sort of like roleplaying blogs, but instead of writing a response, you draw one, sort of. http://askampora.tumblr.com/ Here's an example. I tried running one once, but it took a lot of effort and I eventually dropped it.

GARRETT: Ooh, this does look fun! I'm not sure if Katy does regular sketches, but I've been encouraging her and I think she might draw at least one piece a week. She's got me thinking about all the old stories we wrote/talked about now... it's fun reminiscing, though it seems more serious now.

ALEX: I suppose that would make sense. It sounds like the world Catherine and Garrison lived in reflects a lot of your own views, so I can imagine it would be seen in a more serious light now.

GARRETT: Well, Katy and I saw it differently. She saw it as kind of dystopian, but I personally would like to live there, though I do agree a lot of the stuff in the stories was unpleasant. I guess I'd like to live in it, but a different version of it.

ALEX: How different?

GARRETT: Well, Katy never realized this because she was too young, but a lot of our little "world" was based on Plato's Republic (as much as I understood it back then), and I would read passages of it to her, as well as passages from Greek myths, and she would always point out how horribly certain people were treated in those societies - the girls, for example, and I must be honest - she's right about that, and while I would prefer a world without that particular element, and that's why, in our stories, Garrison always overthrows the king. He becomes King himself, and, as Katy put it, "he makes things better for the girls and everything else."
GARRETT: Ultimately, the story was never finished and we never wrote about what kind of new society that world would have after Garrison became King. We would argue about specific details of what Garrison would do, though, but it didn't matter in the long run because, as Katy alluded to, it was like the characters just did what they wanted anyways. But we never found out what he did when he became King.

ALEX: Well, I suppose that's a noble aspiration, then. Maybe if Katy keeps drawing or writing, you'll be able to find out. Even if you don't, it's a neat idea to revisit.

GARRETT: Yeah. It was really odd - we couldn't control our own characters!

ALEX: I can imagine that must have been a little odd.
ALEX: I think I'm going to go take a shower now that I'm up and awake, but I hope you have a wonderful day, Garrett.

GARRETT: You too!