Glitches seem like a bad analogy, but cheat codes seem like potentially a pretty good one. Perhaps the developer console of the universe speaks bad Latin.
Could be. Especially since the truth of the matter is that Harry is in a simulation, a story in our world. Whether he finds out is another matter. I doubt it from a literary perspective.
Heh. Yes. Harry has thought about sending a signal to himself and can see through the illusions of dementors. What would happen if he found out about the edits?
I doubt it’s going to happen, but it would be awesome.
The kind of simulation that Harry is in (that is, a piece of fiction) is admittedly not one where the initial conditions are established and it is calculated forward from there, such that X2 rather than X1 happening at time T1 necessitates Y2 rather than Y1 happening at time T2.
So, agreed, editing the chapter that describes T1 from X1->X2 doesn’t necessarily cause evidence (e.g., Harry’s memories) of X1 at T2 to change, so in principle he could notice the difference.
Which would in and of itself be a useful piece of information about the nature of the universe, I guess. He’d know that his perceived present is not in fact contingent on his past, but is instead separately created by some sort of external creator, who for whatever reason creates the illusion of such contingency.
As a literary choice, I disagree about its awesomeness… this kind of narrative self-reference is good for a kick-in-the-head, but it’s difficult to maintain any kind of worthwhile narrative thereafter.
Then again, EY has already devoted many many words to the idea that a set of values can be both arbitrary and worthwhile, so perhaps he’d relish the challenge of writing a compelling Harry aware of his own fictional nature and constructing a meta-ethics that can survive that awareness.
Perhaps he’d also become aware of himself as a derivative work from a canon character who is less intelligent, rational, less powerful, and less American.
Anyway, like you, I doubt it’s going to happen. That said, if anyone in that world has that awareness right now, it’s Dumbledore, who is at the very least aware of the power that narrative tropes have in his universe.
I’m reminded of Sophie’s World. The notion of writing SW fanfic in which Sophie, at the end of that book, finds herself in some SW fanfic is itself kind of amusing.
As a literary choice, I disagree about its awesomeness… this kind of narrative self-reference is good for a kick-in-the-head, but it’s difficult to maintain any kind of worthwhile narrative thereafter.
That’s true, and part of why I doubt it will happen. I meant that the idea is awesome and the reactions of the characters would be fun to read, not that it would actually make the book better.
Glitches seem like a bad analogy, but cheat codes seem like potentially a pretty good one. Perhaps the developer console of the universe speaks bad Latin.
Could be. Especially since the truth of the matter is that Harry is in a simulation, a story in our world. Whether he finds out is another matter. I doubt it from a literary perspective.
And, indeed, a story in which past events are occasionally edited.
Heh. Yes. Harry has thought about sending a signal to himself and can see through the illusions of dementors. What would happen if he found out about the edits?
I doubt it’s going to happen, but it would be awesome.
The kind of simulation that Harry is in (that is, a piece of fiction) is admittedly not one where the initial conditions are established and it is calculated forward from there, such that X2 rather than X1 happening at time T1 necessitates Y2 rather than Y1 happening at time T2.
So, agreed, editing the chapter that describes T1 from X1->X2 doesn’t necessarily cause evidence (e.g., Harry’s memories) of X1 at T2 to change, so in principle he could notice the difference.
Which would in and of itself be a useful piece of information about the nature of the universe, I guess. He’d know that his perceived present is not in fact contingent on his past, but is instead separately created by some sort of external creator, who for whatever reason creates the illusion of such contingency.
As a literary choice, I disagree about its awesomeness… this kind of narrative self-reference is good for a kick-in-the-head, but it’s difficult to maintain any kind of worthwhile narrative thereafter.
Then again, EY has already devoted many many words to the idea that a set of values can be both arbitrary and worthwhile, so perhaps he’d relish the challenge of writing a compelling Harry aware of his own fictional nature and constructing a meta-ethics that can survive that awareness.
Perhaps he’d also become aware of himself as a derivative work from a canon character who is less intelligent, rational, less powerful, and less American.
Anyway, like you, I doubt it’s going to happen. That said, if anyone in that world has that awareness right now, it’s Dumbledore, who is at the very least aware of the power that narrative tropes have in his universe.
I’m reminded of Sophie’s World. The notion of writing SW fanfic in which Sophie, at the end of that book, finds herself in some SW fanfic is itself kind of amusing.
That’s true, and part of why I doubt it will happen. I meant that the idea is awesome and the reactions of the characters would be fun to read, not that it would actually make the book better.
Metafiction.