|| -------- -- -----  A E R I E   O B L I V I A N A . singular book of text wandertainment by Frank Edward Nora ------------------- ----------- THE CARBONIZE NEIGHBOR--CUP 11--"JUPPLE SAKE" <-------  ||  Severe Repair  ||  The Carbonize Neighbor  ||  -------> (Cup SRcn011, Created v2 (6/7/99), Copyright 1999) = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = Pepperjinc glanced down at Leon but didn't pay much attention. Then she shot a focused gaze at Sake, and then to The Carbonize Neighbor. "Why does this seem... familiar?" The Carbonize Neighbor responded. "What, uh, what seems, uh, familiar about it?" Sake made a face to express her frustrated displeasure. "Okay, okay, okay." Sake said, accenting the words with her hands. "Could you--whoever you are--be a LITTLE more specific about what the fuck is going on? I mean, 'we work at store'--that much I got. But like, HOW did we get to store and WHY are we at store? Huh?" "Jupple Sake," The Carbonize Neighbor said, "you were... not in a good place... it was, to be blunt, in the masturbatory fantasies of Leon!" He pronounced the name "Sake" like the alcoholic beverage, which rhymes with "jockey". "Okay wait." Sake said. "First of all, what's with the nametag? Jupple Sake? What, why, is it because I'm the OTHER Supple Jake?" "It's your name." The Carbonize Neighbor said. Sake shook her head and said "Fine. Okay. I'm JUPPLE SAKE, okay? Alright? No problemo. Yeah. Forget about that part." Just then Leon screamed out "I WANT TO BE ALIVE!" Sake, looking at Pepperjinc, motioned with her eyes down to Leon and said "Not used to interworld travel, I guess." Pepperjinc gave a little chuckle, in a good-natured and knowing way. Then Pepperjinc's eyes lit up and she addressed The Carbonize Neighbor. "Carbonize Neighbor, I can understand the helping of myself and Jupple Sake. We were not in lives, to speak of. But Leon James Hara was alive. And given time, he could have led a fulfilling life." "Ah, little Pepperjinc," The Carbonize Neighbor responded, "Leon was not quite what he seemed. A very twisted person. Some kind of hyperintelligent one-year-old, from god knows where, hooked into all kinds of computer networks and utterly insane, with multiple levels of delusions like you wouldn't believe. Either that, or I'm full of shit and I just made a mistake." Sake took a deep breath. "Okay. Now for me, this is good. I didn't like Mr. Hara's Small Universe of Trucks, nor the promise of having to avoid his clumsy advances till the Whintillru Glass came around and allowed me to go somewhere else. I mean, I may be wrong, but I think this might be a little better." The Carbonize Neighbor nodded. "It isn't perfect, but it's definitely better." he said. "And me," Pepperjinc said, "I'm all muddled. I know there was a real person who was me, but I don't know what part of that person was tied to the Glass. Anyway, being self-aware, I am a real mind, and I am one-hundred percent happy to be flesh and blood again." The Carbonize Neighbor nodded again. Leon began bellowing "YAYAYAYAYA... YOYOYOYO.... YAYOYAYOYAYO..." The Carbonize Neighbor walked over to Leon and knelt beside him. "Leon, get a hold of yourself, kid." the massive Neighbor said. Leon stared up at The Carbonize Neighbor, wide-eyed, bloodshot. The Carbonize Neighbor looked over his shoulder at the two women, and turned his gaze back to Leon. "Um," The Carbonize Neighbor said, "first I have to say that I am sorry. I made a mistake. You were a little mad, and your imaginary world was so vivid that it registered as a valid, yet highly obscure alternate reality, and that is what attracted the Whintillru Glass to it. You were a little mad, and now you're a lot crazy, kid. I'm sorry. I do what I do, and sometimes people get hurt. I know my words aren't registering too much with you, but if any part of you is at all coherent, please accept my apology." Leon remained wide-eyed, but his gaze was blank, and he was motionless. The Carbonize Neighbor got up and faced the two women, looking a little ashamed. "I made all that up about him being a one-year-old. I was trying to hide the fact that I made a mistake. Were he that sort of a lost soul, then what I did wouldn't have been a mistake. We'll do all we can for him here. But I don't think there's much hope of him regaining any semblence of sanity. Not that either of you knew him, but I know all three of us are good and can feel sympathy." "Where's the Whintillru Glass?" Sake asked. "That Glass was part of the problem. Big problem. Many-dimensional, and parts of it jut into That Which Lies Beyond. Can't say much more. You can't have it back." Sake leaned against the cordless phone display. "So--this store--we work in this store. Is this a whole, big world, or is it just a little tiny store universe unto itself? Help me out a little bit here, Neighbor. Give me a little to work with. Cuz it could have been the other me who wound up in this fucking train wreck, the other me who wound up being named fucking Jupple Sake, goddammit." -------> ------------------- ----------- -------- -- -----