Janus 02.Redemption #Wattys2018

6.01 Inside Mad Hatter's Hat

"So that's what happened I guess" Eden thought to herself as she sat on the black armchair.

"It may have happened, it may not." Janus slowly appeared in a fade in on the other armchair. "Who can really tell? Your own level of perception will define your reality. Each time you make a choice, any different outcome that could have existed vanishes. "

"How can I be certain that you are not a figment of my imagination?" Eden was searching for something on the armchair, the table next to it, behind the teapot but she couldn't find it, till she saw Janus offering her a pack of cigarettes.

"You can't; at least not at your present level of perception. You are trained in using your hardware but you can't surpass its limitations. You built walls to keep you safe. Now that these walls are strong enough, you realize that you are your own prisoner. How many more matches do you have to light up before you realize that it's freezing cold out there?" Janus asked her and a match appeared out of thin air and lighted itself. "Are you going to smoke that cigarette? There are plenty for both of us." She took a cigarette out of the pack and lighted it up. She inhaled the smoke in lust.

"What time is it?" Eden asked Janus inhaling the smoke for her own cigarette.

"It's always tea time." Janus answered with a sigh. "What you were, you are no more. Stop searching for answers where you exist no more."

"What do you want?" Eden asked her.

"The most important question is: what do you want? Do you have the answer to that question, Eden?"

"You are inside my mind. You should know what I want"

"Knowing something is one thing. Acknowledging it is a different one. Furthermore you could just as well be dead right now or hibernating, so it makes no difference any more. Whatever defines you holds you back at the same."

"You want me to kill Jim." Eden noted completely emotionless.

"It makes no difference what I want. The only thing that's important is what you want."