Contradictory Drafts |
In Stuart Moulthrop's Victory Garden, the conclusion of the dream
sequence that is chronologically closest to the dream itself is a lexia entitled
"Forfeit." The demonstration of the dream processor apparently fails
and Provost Tate demands an explanation
for the whole dream sequence. At the same time, the reader feels the same
lack of understanding, having been plunked down into the sequence with (at best)
a cursory introduction to what is going on (which
goes something like this...). Thankfully an observer, Weinburger, is an
empathic character, saying "I'm hopelessly confused." Upon clicking
the words "hopelessly confused," the Garden takes the reader
back to an epigram to the whole demonstration. (This is a screen that I did
not encounter on my first reading of the dream sequence, though it could possibly
appear the first time it is read.) The epigram, titled "Showtime,"
reads simply:
…an indeterminate heap of contradictory drafts…
-- "The Garden of Forking Paths"
The epigram suggests that this time around when the dream sequence is read, the thread will be contradictory to the one before. New events or symbols will appear, scenarios will resolve themselves in different ways, or Macarthur will wake up earlier. All versions of these dreams can not happen, so the new one will be an alternative that will (hopefully) explain the dream or answer Weinburger's complaint. The text teases the reader that he/she will conquer the confusion of forking paths, will eventually escape these choices if we tire of them, punningly reassuring us at one point that "This two shall pass."