Donnerstag, 28. Juli 2016

Suwa - the first episode



In this blog I am going to publish the first episode of „Suwa“ (pronounced “Tsoua”), a fictional world created by my now eight-year-old nephew Noah. This world, of course, is in German, but I’ll continue my introductions and arguments in English for reasons of continuity. And I have even provided an English translation. following the German text. (Just for the fun of it, I guess …) Of course it is rather absurd that I continue to write in English, but my list of fictional worlds has just brought it to my attention again that ALL my fictional worlds are in English. So it is natural for my blog to be in English as well. In this case the language doesn’t matter that much anyway, apart from the fact that I was totally fascinated how clear and comprehensive the stories were he told me, so that I had to change virtually nothing to put them down in writing. There were a few passages where I asked about things that I didn’t understand as it was, and where some content was added because, of course, I never “was” in that world. But, as he pointed out to me very reasonably, in most cases, clarifications are unnecessary because “Suwa” isn’t a book but a film, respectively a series of filmed episodes. Meaning that it doesn’t exist in his head in the form of words and sentences but in a visual and dramatic form. Therefore what I got is basically some version of a storyboard which would have to be illustrated by the countless drawings he made of what these people and creatures actually look like, and which I have retrieved as well. But, as I cannot add any of the artwork to my blog, what we have here is rather an incomplete sketch of the world we are dealing with.

Suwa, being, as I think, in many respects a “model” fictional world, nonetheless is the exception where my fictional worlds are concerned. Not even mainly because it is not in English but because it isn’t “my” fictional world. I don’t live in this world, I don’t really know it, and probably never will. And, being an “action based” world, mostly derived from “Star Wars”, it is even the kind of world I don’t really care about. Here the fascination lies entirely in the fact that I had the occasion of witnessing a new fictional world “in the making”. An exciting experience that may be compared to the one of the geologist that could actually witness a new volcano emerge from the sea off the south coast of Iceland a few decades ago. And – which is something I don’t like to do – I have to confess that I am kind of jealous as well as fascinated. Because I probably always wanted “my own” fictional world, a world that I created. But this, as so many things, was not to be. And even now I can probably own to this only because I don’t miss it anymore. Probably because I have something else instead which feels just as good. Though I will never know, of course, what having my own fictional world might feel like … Anyway, here it is: 





 Suwa - Episode 1: Brüder können gegeneinander sein



Opres ist noch ein ganz kleines Kind. Er lebt mit seiner Familie Pilo, mit Sama und Mesuri, in einem Schloss. Ein paar Adler sind neidisch auf das Material, aus dem das Schloss besteht, weil es hauptsächlich aus Kristallen, Gold und anderen wertvollen Materialen besteht. Sie greifen das Schloss an. Ulsoro, der von Ulsora stammt, und der Blutprinz, der von Blutlas stammt, schließen sich mit ihnen zusammen. Sie wollen genauso wie die Adler das Schloss haben. Doch zuerst müssen sie Mesuri und Sama besiegen. Mesuri und Sama wehren sich.

Mesuri ist schwach, weil sie Teprif, den Bruder von Opres, auf die Welt bringt. Sie geht in eine Ecke des Schlosses, wo Teprif dann geboren wird. Ulsoro tötet Mesuri. Sama kämpft weiter und vertreibt die Adler.

Ulsoro und der Blutprinz fliehen mit Teprif und Opres. Ein Wächter von dem Schloss, das Sama gehört, greift den Blutprinz und Ulsoro an. Dabei trifft er die Kiste mit Opres. Opres fällt auf den Boden. Dabei schafft es der Blutprinz, den Wächter zu töten. Doch der Felsen bricht zwischen der Kiste und dem Blutprinz ab.

Ein paar Völker kommen und retten Opres. Sie bringen Opres in ein Haus.

Zwanzig Jahre später: Opres ist in seinem Haus. Es klopft an der Tür. Opres sieht aber, dass Blitze aus der Tür kommen. Opres versteckt sich. Ein einundzwanzigjähriger Junge schaut aus der Tür. Hinter ihm kommt ein alter Mann. Der Einundzwanzigjährige versteckt sich genau in der gleichen Ecke wie Opres. Der alte Mann sucht nach ihm. In der Zeit bemerkt der Einundzwanzigjährige Opres.  Er versucht, ihn mit einem roten Energieschwert zu töten. Opres nimmt seinen Degen und kämpft gegen den Jungen. Der Junge schleudert genau die Blitze, die Opres neben der Tür gesehen hat. Diese Blitze kommen aus einem Stein, der in seinem Gürtel steckt. Eine Sekunde später: Opres Degen fliegt in die Luft. Opres holt seinen anderen Degen und versucht, den einundzwanzigjähren Jungen zu töten. Der Einundzwanzigjährige ist aber besser im Kämpfen. Gerade will er den tödlichen Schlag mit seiner Waffe schlagen, da kommt der alte Mann. Der Einundzwanzigjährige drückt auf seinen Stein. Opres wehrt sich. Und da bemerkt er, dass er mit dem Einundzwanzigjährigen und mit dem alten Mann auf einem riesigen Monster steht. Da hört Opres einen Schrei. Der Einundzwanzigjährige ist auf einmal wie vom Boden verschluckt. Da sieht er einen Blitz, und der Einundzwanzigjährige fliegt mit einem komischen Ding mit Feuer hinten weg.

Opres versucht, den alten Mann zu töten. Der alte Mann erklärt ihm, dass er sein Freund sei. Opres fragt den alten Mann, wer er sei und wen er gerade getroffen hat.

Der Alte sagt: „Ich bin Sama, und der, den du gerade getroffen hast, das ist dein Bruder.“

Der Alte holt einen Stein aus seinem Gürtel. Er drückt auf ihn drauf. Eine Sekunde später sind Sama und Opres in einer Landschaft. Zwei Meter weit von ihm entfernt steht Arinn, ein Krieger des alten Manns. Er hat genau den gleichen Stein in der Hand, den Sama vor zwei Minuten in der Hand hatte. Er drückt auf ihn drauf, und es entfaltet sich ein Blatt. Er wirft das Blatt in eine bestimmte Richtung, und aus dem Blatt wird ein riesiges Schloss. Auf dem Schloss drauf steht Geen, der erstbeste Krieger von Sama. Er bewegt eine Kette, und die Brücke geht auf. Opres und Sama gehen in das Schloss. Da sieht Opres zwei Throne und ein Grab. Opres fragt Sama wer in diesem Grab liegt.

Sama antwortet: „Deine Mutter.“

In der Zeit bestellen Ulsoro und der Blutprinz Kopfgeldjäger, um Opres und Sama zu töten. Der erste Kopfgeldjäger ist ein sehr, sehr kleiner, der 0,99 Zentimeter groß ist. Er versucht, sich an Opres heranzuschleichen. Auf einmal holt Sama ein eisernes Schwertteil aus seiner Tasche, aus dem gleich danach eine leuchtende Klinge rauskommt. Mit dieser Klinge schafft es Sama, den Kopfgeldjäger zu töten.

Opres fragt: „Was war dieses kleine Wesen?“

Sama antwortet: „Ein Kopfgeldjäger.“

In der Zeit hört Ulsoro eine Nachricht von dem Blutprinz. Er erzählt ihm, dass der Kopfgeldjäger, den Ulsoro geschickt hat, tot ist. Ulsoro wird gleich danach eine Prüfung für die Kopfgeldjäger stellen, die in seinem Vulkan stattfindet.

Alle Kopfgeldjäger stehen erst mal in einem Raum. Ulsoro erteilt die erste Prüfung. Auf einmal erscheint ein grünes Licht. Aus diesem kommt grüner Rauch. Ein Kopfgeldjäger atmet ein und fällt dann tot um. Ein gewisser Kopfgeldjäger, Pors Walon, findet den Ausgang. Damit ist die erste Prüfung bestanden.

Der Blutprinz erteilt die zweite Prüfung. Es kommen Messer aus der Wand. Dieses Mal schneidet ein Messer einem den Kopf ab. Eine Sekunde später wächst der Kopf nach. Und die anderen Kopfgeldjäger entweichen den Messern. Und dieses Mal findet Voas den Ausgang.

Da kommt ein Messer und schneidet Voas die Antenne auf seinem Helm ab. Voas ist gerade dabei zu explodieren, da lässt Pors Walon alle Messer explodieren. Er schießt einen Pfeil aus seiner Rüstung. Er trifft die Rüstung von Voas. Die Antenne wächst nach. Gerade will ein Messer Pors treffen, da schießt er ein Seil und lässt das Messer wegfliegen. Voas und die anderen Kopfgeldjäger fliehen.

Ulsoro erteilt die dritte Aufgabe. Auf einmal sehen alle Kopfgeldjäger ein riesiges Monster. Es will sich auf sie stürzen, da schießen alle Kopfgeldjäger aus Armen und Beinen Schüsse. Das Monster fliegt gegen die Wand. Ein langer Kampf entsteht, bis das Monster den Arm von einem Kopfgeldjäger trifft. Dieser Arm fängt sofort an zu bluten. Der Körper wird rot. Eine Sekunde später fällt dieser Kopfgeldjäger tot um. Das Monster versucht, die Krallen lang zu machen. Ein Kopfgeldjäger holt ein Messer und schneidet die Krallen ab. Das Monster versucht nun, mit seiner anderen Hand und mit seinem Kiefer zu kämpfen. Irgendwann sieht Pors ein schwarzes Ding auf dem Monster. Er schießt auf es. Das schwarze Ding schnellt nach oben und trifft die Decke. Ein Schuss auf den Kopf des Monsters, und das Monster fällt tot um.

Da kommen Schüsse aus der Wand. Die anderen Kopfgeldjäger sind so gut im Ausweichen, dass sie es schaffen, den Ausgang zu finden und die dritte Prüfung zu bestehen.

Der Blutprinz erteilt die vierte Prüfung. Es kommen fünf Kanonen aus dem Boden. Alle Kopfgeldjäger machen ihren Düsenantrieb an und fliegen damit zu der Wand. Es entsteht ein langer Kampf zwischen ein paar Kopfgeldjägern mit ihren Pistolen und Armschüssen und ein paar Kanonen. Ein paar Kopfgeldjäger schaffen es nicht, die vierte Prüfung zu bestehen. Die anderen Kopfgeldjäger denken, sie haben die vierte Prüfung überstanden. Aber die vierte Prüfung ist eine Doppelprüfung. Es kommt Feuer zu den Kopfgeldjägern. Sie springen nach oben, weil sich dort ein Weg befindet. Sie springen auf eine Plattform. Da sehen die Kopfgeldjäger einen anderen Kopfgeldjäger, der von einem komischen Wesen fünfzig Euro bekommt. Augenblicklich springen der Kopfgeldjäger Voles und das Wesen in zwei verschiedene Richtungen weg. Pors Walon will ihnen folgen.

Da bemerken sie, dass unter ihnen Feuer ist. Sie versuchen, auf ein Ziel zu schießen. Ein Kopfgeldjäger schafft es nicht, das Ziel zu treffen. Ein Loch geht unter ihm auf. Er fällt in die Lava. Pors schießt ein Seil. Es geht auf die Rüstung des Kopfgeldjägers und rettet ihn damit. Danach schießt Pors Walon. Pors Walon ist so ein guter Schütze, dass er zwei Ziele treffen muss. Mit zwei Schüssen aus seinen Pistolen hat er die Prüfung bestanden. Zwei andere Kopfgeldjäger fallen in die Lava, weil sie die letzte Prüfung nicht bestanden haben. Die anderen Kopfgeldjäger, ungefähr zehn, gehen damit auf die Jagd nach Sama und Opres.



 
(Suwa, episode 1: Brothers can be enemies

Opres is still a little boy. He is living in a castle with his family Pilo, Sama and Mesuri. A few eagles get jealous of the castle because it is mostly made of precious materials like gold and jewels. They attack the castle. Ulsoro, from the planet Ulsora, and the Blood Prince, from the planet Blutlas, join with them. They are keen on the castle as well. Mesuri and Sama put up a fight, but Mesuri is weak because she is giving birth to Teprif, Opres’ brother. Teprif is born in a corner of the castle. Ulsoro kills Mesuri. Sama drives off the eagles.

Ulsoro and the Blood Prince escape, taking Opres and Teprif with them. They are attacked by one of the castle’s guardians. The Blood Prince kills him, but a crack opens in the rock beneath their feet, and the crate with Opres in it stays on the other side.

Opres is saved by strangers and carried to a house where he grows up.

Twenty years later: Somebody is knocking at the door when Opres is alone in the house. He sees lightnings coming through the cracks at the door’s frame and hides himself. A twenty-one-year-old youth enters the house, followed by an old man. The twenty-on-year-old hides in the same corner as Opres. The old man is looking for him. Meanwhile the twenty-one-year-old has discovered Opres and is trying to kill him with a red energy sword. Opres draws his épée and defends himself. But the twenty-one-year-old is the better fighter, and he is just about to give him a death-blow when the old man turns up. Opres discovers that they are standing on the back of a huge monster. He hears an outcry, and the twenty-one-year-old has suddenly vanished. Moments later he sees him escape in a strange device, leaving a trail of fire behind.

Opres is trying to kill the old man, but he explains that he is his friend. Opres asks him who he is and whom he just met. The old man introduces himself as Sama and tells him that the youth he just met was his brother.

The old man takes a stone from his pocket and handles it. Seconds later Opres and Sama find themselves in a different landscape. By their side is Arinn, one of Sama’s warriors. He is holding the same stone Opres has seen in Sama’s hand before. He is handling it, and a leaf unfolds which Arinn throws up in the air. The leaf becomes a huge castle. On top of the castle stands Geen, Sama’s foremost warrior. He lowers the drawbridge, and Sama and Opres enter the castle. There Opres beholds two thrones and a monument. He asks Sama who is buried there.

Sama answers: “Your mother.”

At the same time Ulsoro and the Blood Prince are hiring bounty hunters to kill Opres and Sama. The first bounty hunter is a very, very small one who is only 0,7 inches tall. He is trying to surprise Opres. Suddenly Sama takes a chunk of an iron sword from his pocket which instantly displays a luminous blade. With this blade Sama manages to kill the bounty hunter.

Opres asks: “Who was this small fellow?”

Sama answers „A bounty hunter.“

Ulsoro gets a message from the Blood Prince that tells him that the bounty hunter which he sent after Opres is dead. After that he introduces a tournament for the bounty hunters which will take place inside a volcano.

All the bounty hunters gather in one room. Ulsoro gives them the first task. Suddenly a green light appears which is giving off a green smoke. One of the bounty hunters breathes it in and instantly drops dead. A certain bounty hunter, Pors Walon, finds the exit. They have passed the first test.

The Blood Prince gives them the second task. There are suddenly knifes coming out of the wall. This time a knife cuts off the head of one of the bounty hunters. One second later the head has grown back again. The rest of the bounty hunters escapes the knives. This time it is Voas who finds the exit.

Suddenly there is a knife cutting off one of the antennas on Voas’ helmet. He is about to explode when Pors Walon makes all the knives explode instead. He shoots an arrow from a device implemented inside his armour which hits Voas and repairs the antenna on his helmet. One of the knives is about to hit Pors, but he shoots a rope which makes the knife fly away. Voas and the other bounty hunters escape.

Ulsoro gives them the third task. Suddenly the bounty hunters behold a huge monster. It is just about to attack them when all the bounty hunters issue shots from their legs and arms. The monster is flung back against the wall. A long fight ensues until the monster hits the arm of one of the bounty hunters which begins to bleed and soaks his whole body with blood. One second later he drops dead. The monster tries to stretch out its claws. One of the bounty hunters retrieves a knife and cuts off the claws. The monster is reduced to fighting with its hands and teeth. At one point Pors beholds a black thing on top of the monster. He shoots at it. The black thing shoots up into the air and hits the ceiling. Pors kills the monster by shooting it in the head.

Suddenly there are shots coming from the wall. The other bounty hunters are clever enough to find the exit and pass the third test.

The Blood Prince gives them the fourth task. There are five cannons emerging from the floor. All the bounty hunters start their propulsion and fly towards the wall. A long fight ensues. Some of the bounty hunters don’t pass the fourth test and perish. The others believe that they have already passed the test, but the fourth test is a double test. There is a fire coming from the floor, and they jump upwards because there is a path up there. They reach a platform. There they behold another bounty hunter and a strange being which is just giving him fifty euros. Then this bounty hunter, Voles, and the strange being escape in opposite directions. Pors Walon sets out to follow them but is held back by the fire. They are trying to shoot at the mark. One of the bounty hunters doesn’t hit the mark. An opening appears right under him, and he falls down into the lava. Pors shoots a rope into the other’s armour and saves him. After that it is Pors’ turn to shoot. He is such a good marksman that he has to hit two marks. He hits both of them and passes the test. Two of the other bounty hunters fall into the lava because they didn’t pass the last test. The other bounty hunters, about ten of them, are setting out to hunt for Sama and Opres.)







Sonntag, 17. Juli 2016

About my „fictional worlds“



Apparently I have suddenly come to an end with these interminable chapters about my reading experience. At least I think that I have covered everything essential, and it will only become repetitive. (Well, I’ll see if I am right …)

The reason I am here again is that I quite suddenly came up with an idea what to “do” with my fictional worlds. Quite an obvious idea, by the way, but I don’t think I realized until now how much material I have collected over the past years and months. Meaning how many fictional worlds I have “acquired” and lived in, most of them still “active” so that I kind of live in them simultaneously. And what I am going to do is to make an inventory of them, to have them “out on the table” before me so as to be able to compare them. And I am very curious about what will “fall out”.

To do this, the first requirement is to come up with a minimal definition of what I mean by a “fictional world”. Like all of these really important concepts, I was using the idea of fictional worlds for a long time without putting a term on them – probably even before “The Lord of the Rings”, maybe even before the “Sagas of the Icelanders”. But I first became fully aware of their importance, I think, when I returned to Shakespeare – now about two and a half years ago. And I think it was then that the term popped up because I realized that I was IN NEED OF something like a fictional world, and I picked this one deliberately as something that might answer this need. And I realized that I had hit gold by the way I was instantly drawn into it, and by the experience of how much I wanted to stay there. And then, at some point, I came to ask that question:

WHY DO I WANT TO BE IN THIS WORLD?

And it appears to me that this is in fact the question that has brought me where I am now, and which might be perfect for starting on a minimal definition. It will probably be an “interactive” definition, as the question itself is an interactive question which is at the same time about a fictional world and about myself. And I just had the opportunity to repeat that question in an “aggravated” version, watching “Hannibal”. Rediscovering Shakespeare I was just wondering, probably when I read “The Taming of the Shrew”, why I loved to be in a world where I didn’t like a single person, or group of people, or found them remotely “attractive”. That is, where I was so clearly an outsider, and where my favourites were the most horrible of people, like Richard III or Queen Margaret. And, I think, almost at the same time, John Cleese playing Petrucchio showed me a way towards an answer because of the empathy he showed for this character, who might be one of the least pleasant people Shakespeare ever invented. But John Cleese persisted to UNDERSTAND him – which wasn’t so hard, I suspect, because they might have one or two things in common … (In a way, the same thing happened to me with Katherine – when I compared her to myself AFTER having discovered what a true horror she is!) But he showed me the human content at the bottom of the nightmare. And, what I always fall for, played him as somebody determined to “make his way” in the best possible world … I might have realized then that feeling empathy isn’t the same thing as liking somebody – or rather that liking somebody, in a fictional context, is probably overrated. As I have always been aware that the “good guys” usually are the least interesting for me, so often those I like least. Like most of the “bad guys”, by the way, because just playing “bad” is equally boring. What I like are the “shady” characters, basically the ones with an interesting predicament to their lives, those that have a lot going on with them which is challenging for an author to describe or for an actor to play. (So, basically, characters that are NOT BORING and commonplace.) But, even though liking fictional characters can be crucial for how I proceed in a certain fictional world, it is obviously not a requirement for being interested in this world and for connecting with it. And in fact I should have known for a long time that I rather like fictional worlds where I find nothing to “like”. At least since the “Spooks” which I had then watched completely (apart from the tenth series which wasn’t out on dvd yet) probably more than two times. And in this series there is exactly one character I really liked: Malcolm Wynn-Jones. As I said, I don’t usually like the characters that “everybody” likes, like Adam and Fiona Carter, or Ruth Evershed. Which doesn’t mean that I dislike them. Like or dislike just don’t really matter in this kind of “environment”. And my favourite spook is probably Ros Myers – which might be kind of an equivalent of Queen Margaret?

So, my almost universal dislike for the characters of “Hannibal” wouldn’t have inhibited me from enjoying the series. It might “work” differently, maybe even better, if you like the characters you are supposed to like, as Will Graham or Jack Crawford. And, not to forget, there are two “serious” love-stories, and it might work better if you “get off” on one of them. But, knowing what kind of world it was before I discovered them, I was already cautious. “Taking a side” emotionally, by personally preferring some people to others or engaging in a love-story, makes you vulnerable and exposes you to the world of “absolute evil” (courtesy of Claudia!) instead of enabling you to play with it. But of course the question remains why anybody would want to “be” in this world who is not a cannibal, or dangerous psychopath, or otherwise involved with the absolute evil that reigns supreme. Nonetheless, I got into the habit of watching this before I go to sleep because it makes me happy. Whereas, for example, the world of “The Office”, which I have explored just now extensively during a few sick days, worked on me as a mild “depressant” which I could only watch during daytime. It’s supposed to be comedy, and it is genius, but, even though it is often hilarious, it is never REALLY funny.

So, maybe the right question in my case might not be why I wanted to be in this world, but: As I really want to be in this world – WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME? A question I did ask myself but was probably not really interested in. Though I am certain that there is something, that it is no unwarranted question … Even though I am rather convinced that cannibals, psychopaths, or even hardcore horror fans are not a considerable part of the audience of this series. I even doubt that the latter category gets much of a kick out of it. Maybe I am a cynic – which I think I am not because cynicism bores me – or like to see other people suffer? This is harder to disprove, though I have found no evidence as yet for it in real life. But it is probably true that I don’t care much about other people suffering, especially if I don’t know them … And, in this respect, the series is not so “different” because they take great care not to show us people suffering who we don’t loathe anyway, or don’t really know. So, the sadist in me, if she is there, wouldn’t have found much to get off on. Anyway, she didn’t show her face, as I am quite sure that I didn’t enjoy any of these scenes were people are in agony, not even really horrible people. Though I am certainly guilty of not caring that much. Which might reflect badly on me but probably enabled me to follow Hannibal’s instructions on “participating”. If I know myself, and know what I want, I steer the course. Other people must fend for themselves. (Maybe one important instruction for living “successfully” in a fictional world: If you want to be free you have to follow the rules …?) So, answering the key question by finding into which category of pervert I fall hasn’t been successful so far. Though I am sure there is one. Maybe intellectual arrogance. I’d stick to that. But I know that I don’t know what exactly I am doing, or what “Hannibal” does with me, and, in this case, might not really want to, for fear that I might enjoy it less. I just know that I enjoy the way I am READING this. And that it is such a DIFFERENT experience.

But, before getting deeper into the “why”, and after I have already mentioned a few of them – the world of Shakespeare, Tolkien’s “Middle-earth”, the world of the “Spooks”, “The Office”, and “Hannibal” – it is time to ask what I really mean by a “fictional world”. Obviously it is not a work of fiction but something “above” this. Something that may come into being when a reader interacts with a text, respectively a text interacts with a reader. (The latter being the less obvious part of the process which I am desperately interested in but, by definition, will never get close to. Though it can never be forgotten, describing a reading process, as the most “immediate” and striking part of it. But, though I can ask what I get out of a text, I can never ask the text what it wants with me.) And, less obvious but maybe more important, and certainly highly contestable: in my experience, not every work of fiction, not every single book, or film, not even every tv series, contains - or develops into - a fictional world.

To explain the latter I will give two examples. The first is the crime series “Tatort” on German tv - which is one of the better series, with different “branches” neither of which had the potential to develop into a fictional world until now, and I don’t think they would if I watched them regularly. And I don’t think either that "Tatort" does this for other people. I can’t know that, but there is a big different to a “weekly soap” like “Lindenstraße” – or probably “Eastenders” or “Coronation Street” - that certainly contains a whole fictional world for many people which they have inhabited for years, even decades. And although “Tatort” exists even longer and has of course a big audience, it has never “created” a world like this – where people are “inside”. I don’t think this is even intended. As probably in most cases, the pretense of a “real world” is quite enough.

My second example is “Game of Thrones” where the interaction between me and the series failed completely. Whereas concerning “Tatort” not only I but probably ANYBODY who doesn’t dislike crime stories is an adequate reader. In this case no fictional world was created because I didn’t find anything in it that connected with me. Not a single conflict, or personal predicament that appeared interesting and new to me, and the characters felt all flat and artificial though there were good actors, at least for some of them. The world itself appeared equally flat and “ready-made”. I thought: this is just another “gamer’s series” I am not interested in – for want of a better term. “Fantasy” is much too broad a category. But, as I know that there are lots of intelligent people who like the series, I know I must be wrong about this. That there must be a world I CANNOT SEE. (Very likely, like in the case of “Middle-Earth”, the world is in the books, and the screen version makes little sense without them. But, although I always use the word “read”, even as a provocation, I think, I am currently not much of a “reader”. I usually watch the film (series), and then eventually buy the book.) But, of course, the one thing I can never be wrong about are my own feelings watching it. So, that is a fictional world I will never get to see. Not even as a fictional world I don’t like – which is something that can happen, and which is usually an example of a very strong interaction with the text. In my case something which I remember mainly from reading books as a teenager, like “Krabat” (by Ottfried Preussler) – a true horror story which I think I only finished because I needed to know how it would end. To be able to get rid of that world.

And, as I have proved an incurable realist, I am certain that there must be something “in the text” as well as in me which can create a fictional world. I might not be able to see it – respectively “feel” it. Because I have recently found out that I am not the kind of realist that believes in what I can see – or what might be able to knock me on the head and kill me – but that I believe in what I can feel. THE EVIDENCE OF A FICTIONAL WORLD IS THE WAY I FEEL ABOUT IT. The only part of my experience where I can never be wrong. And the strange events about “The Crucible” – where I could remember precisely what I had FELT watching the film twenty years ago, whereas I couldn’t remember but one or two other things about the film – is probably my best proof that I cannot be wrong about this, in case there were strong feelings. And if they were “twisted” then not by recalling them inaccurately, but already at the moment I had them because I didn’t want (or dare) to have them. And if I didn’t have them at the same time I was watching the film, I had them immediately afterwards, becoming aware of what I had seen. So, they were in any case immediate, genuine feelings, the only ones I was able to have at the time.

So, the reason that any fictional world I care about is widely different from any other one, constitutes a different “set” of feelings and experiences, must be that behind this first level lies a second level of structure which creates the first one. And which, in a “realistic” universe, must also be different in every single instance of a fictional world. And this structure is of course created by the individual text, or texts, that constitute the world - AND the act of reading at the other end.

So, that’s probably enough of the boring stuff. To finish, I’ll make an inventory of “my” current - or recent - fictional worlds. I might forget one or two which can be added later, but the most important ones are certainly there. They are my main “corpus” for investigating fictional worlds. And the first thing I want to do with it is to find out WHY - and maybe IF - they are fictional worlds, in order to get  a better, more comprehensive definition of what a fictional world is for me.


My inventory of fictional worlds:

The world of the “Sagas of the Icelanders” (Anonymous, mostly 12th and 13th century prose versions of tales told about real people living in Iceland mainly during the 9th and 10th century)

The world of Shakespeare

Tolkiens “Middle-earth”

“Vanity Fair” (William Makepeace Thackerey)

The “Making of England” series ( = series of historic novels about the time of Alfred the Great of Wessex and the “creation” of England, by Bernard Cornwell)

The “serial” worlds of:
“House of Cards”
“The Spooks”
“The Office”
and “Hannibal”

And the fantasy world of “Suwa”, created by my eight-year-old nephew Noah. As this is the only world which is unpublished I can only refer to it by publishing it. Which I will do by editing one of the six episodes which he has “read” to me until now, and which I have typed on my netbook¸ per month. At least this is the plan so far. I would be very surprised if I’d stick to it …