06 - Welcome to Point Parallax

The next thing I know, I'm standing in the courtyard, just outside the L.I.M.B.O. building.

Jessica is right beside me. The bat's gone.

My head is ringing like you wouldn't believe.

A few protagonists brush past the two of us, as they enter the building through the massive, uhh … wooden … double … doors???

Wait.

"You said there wasn't a door!!!" I yell at Jessica, my hands still clutching at my freshly-reconstituted head.

Jessica places a hand on her cheek, smiles innocently. "Ara … Did I? I must have misspoken. I'm afraid I don't remember that conversation."

Argh, this freaking—… You know what, I'd totally give her a piece of my mind right now, and show her what's what, but 1) I'm too distracted by the sight of actual beastmen, dwarves, and centaurs, all scattered among the human protagonist population, to do anything; and 2) perhaps more importantly, I'm honestly terrified of what other sports equipment she might pull out next.

"The fantasy races you see here," Jessica explains, while I watch a foxgirl clad in generic adventurer gear clumsily stumble and trip on the grass nearby, "aren't like you, or the other human protagonists. That fox girl you're looking at? She's a work of fiction. She's part of another story. She's not real. Not like you are."

I scratch my head, puzzled, as I watch the fox adventurer pick herself up, only to end up walking headfirst into a streetlamp pole. The contents of her bag spill everywhere. Magic scrolls, her water gourd, a potion bottle or two. Just how clumsy can one (fox) girl be!?

"They're … fictional," I repeat. "Characters. Not … real."

"That's right," says Jessica. "This place is first and foremost a transmigratory hub. A liminal space between worlds for protagonists in waiting. But as you wait to be reincarnated to another world … Well, who's to say characters from other stories can't accidentally stumble into this place, from their own parallel worlds?"

"So, what?" I ask. "They're like NPCs?"

"No. Quite the opposite, in fact. They're not bots. They don't have scripted lines. You can hold real conversations with them. They have free will. They're aware this place is not their home. They go about their own lives here, according to their own hopes, wants, fears, desires."

"At least, the ones that they're written with. I assume. … Right?"

Jessica shrugs. "… I don't know, Odd-kun." I don't get the feeling she's teasing me, this time. "That's a very good question," she says.

"So … We humans—protagonists—real people—are waiting to be reincarnated into another world. … What are the fictional characters waiting for, then? Why are they here? Do they want to go back to their own stories?"

"U-fu-fu … Why don't you try asking them?"

I turn to her. "Jessica … What is this place, exactly?"

She smiles. (I think for real, this time.) "Most people just call it …" She looks up, to the clear, blue sky above. Sun shining down on us both. "… Point Parallax."

"Point … Parallax …" I repeat, as I turn my gaze to a pair of green-haired twin elves. The one dressed in what looks like a mecha-style skintight pilot suit has her hair tied up in long twintails that go to her knees. The other has hers a bit shorter, to her shoulders, with a side braid, and she's dressed in a much more normal outfit. They look like they're running somewhere. The one with shorter hair cries for the other to wait up for her.

"Yes. Point Parallax comprises the whole island that you see here. The L.I.M.B.O. building, this courtyard. As well as the dormitory building down that way."

Oh, yeah. I hadn't noticed until she mentioned it now, but this is an island. "So, wait …" I say, pointing out to the water, all the way to the horizon. "… What's out there, then? Beyond all this?"

"Ara … Hopes, and dreams, I suppose. All the youthful desires you never got to realize in your old life."

Alright—this time she's actually just fucking with me. I cannot sanction her buffoonery, so I ignore that last line, and instead continue asking more questions. "I mean, is this even real? Any of this? The grass … The air we're breathing … The ground beneath us …. Like, is that—is that real water out there? Can I drown in it?"

Jessica is already tying cement blocks to my feet. "If you really want to know, we can give it a quick try."

"Hey, hey! Come on. Quit that!" I shoo her away from my legs.

"Hu-fu-fu."

For a while, we stand together in silence for a while as I take it all in.

I watch a doll-like girl dressed in an elaborate, bell-shaped dress, walking in deliberate, light steps down the courtyard. No, wait—not doll-like. She is a doll. A mechanical one, come to life. A full-sized automaton, carrying a lace parasol that matches the frills and ruffles of her dress. Visible seams where her joints connect. When she turns away from me, I can see a silver wind-up key on her back.

After enough quiet contemplation, I'm ready to re-assume my previously established defense mechanism of being a walking, talking comedy routine; and so I sigh dramatically, and say, with an 'It can't be helped' sort of energy: "Weeell … I guess with all these fantasy characters walking around, and considering the fantastical nature of Point Parallax"—I turn to face where I imagine a camera would be—"… you might say that this is indeed a fantasy world. Ya got that, person behind the screen!? … Although, I suppose it's not particularly game-like …"

"Ara …"

I look at Jessica flatly. "Come on, dawg. I'm throwing myself at the fourth wall here. You gotta give me something to work with. Don't just 'Ara' all the time …"

Jessica grins.

Oh. Oh, shit. I don't like that look—it's got a very frying-pan/aluminum-bat vibe to it.

"U-fu-fu … If it's a game-like world you want," she says, "I think I can help with that …"

Before I can object, she grabs me by the shoulders.

As she has her way with me, the following appears in the bottom left-hand corner of my vision:

> [ JESSICA ] SLAMS HER KNEE INTO YOUR STOMACH. (-15 HP)

> [ JESSICA ] SLAMS HER KNEE INTO YOUR GROIN. (-35 HP)

> [ JESSICA ] ROUNDHOUSE KICKS YOU INTO A FIRE HYDRANT. (-40 HP)

> [ JESSICA ] REMINDS YOU OF THAT TIME LAST YEAR WHEN YOU WAVED BACK AT A COWORKER BUT SHE WAS ACTUALLY WAVING AT SOMEONE BEHIND YOU. (-9 HP)

With just 1 HP remaining, I cough up blood, and cry, "Alright—alright! Stop it! It's game-like, already! It's so incredibly game-like! Just stop hurting me!"

"Ara … You're so funny, Odd-kun."

(You know, I thought I would've taken more damage from that last one.)

"Anyway, that's probably enough fooling around for now." She flips through her trademark clipboard. "… How about I show you to your room now, Odd-kun?"

"… Room?"

"Yes. Of course. For our longer term residents. Remember that dormitory I pointed out earlier? … Come on, Odd-kun. This way."

She begins walking away, toward the direction of the dormitory building.

After a few steps, she turns around.

"… Unless, you want me to teleport you there? I have more cookware and sports equipment I'm just dying to try out."

I rush to catch up to her. "I'm coming, I'm coming!"

*

That night, I lie in bed.

… It's a bunk bed, actually. Even though I'm the only person here.

I'm in the bottom bunk, my arms crossed behind my head, staring at the wooden slats underneath the mattress above me.

It's not a bad room, honestly. Not much in it for now. The bed, a desk. A bookshelf.

I kinda feel like I'm back in college.

I look at the bare walls, and start to mentally decorate it with the same wall scrolls and waifu tapestries I had during my undergraduate years. (Is there an An*mate in Point Parallax somewhere? I'd even settle for a W*l-M*rt. Even they've got anime merch these days.)

Through the walls I can hear the laughter of other human protagonists. Talking, joking. Sharing stories about their past lives. I can faintly make out conversations about what kind of worlds they hope they make it into.

I scoff to myself, shake my head.

How many times can these guys eat up different permutations of the same recycled tropes, the same re-used setting? (Note the use of the singular. No plural.)

And they're excited for their isekai world?

… Give me a break.

My mission hasn't changed, in case you were wondering. Even after all that Jessica showed me today.

'Isekai-industrial complex.'

I close my eyes, and think of ways to tear it all down.