After cleaning up the rations wrappers I went downstairs to make sure the two rooms were paid up.

Hank tells me, "Yes, Hashi. You are still paid up for another for another 2 weeks. Did you forget?"

"Sorry Hank, I've had a lot on my mind."

I heard someone come in the front door of the inn.

"Hashi?" I hear a female's voice. Turning to look I can see [Trixey] heading towards me. She's gracefully navigating the tables, barely missing patrons and the wait staff. [Trixey] looks to be a young dark-haired elven woman. Thinking about it, she looks a lot like Kithera - my player's wife.

"Kithera?" I ask as she comes up to me.

"Trixey is my middle name, that's what I go by here. Let's go up to your room."

I look at Hank who says, "Hello Trixey, haven't seen you in a while."

"Doing pretty well, Hank. Thanks for asking. Can you make sure that we aren't disturbed?"

"Sure think Trixey!" Hank winks at her. I wonder if they have some sort of inside joke going between them. Trixie and I head back to my Hashi (away) room.

I sit on the bed and Trixey sits on a chair. We sit for a little while and then Trixey starts talking first.

"So, Hashi... You seemed a little upset when you visited last. Are you ok? How about you tell me about what’s bothering you. You mentioned that your 'away' character was 'creeping you out'."

I have a lot to say, "Yes. At first, I thought he was a normal person. The last time I saw him he started talking strangely. Something about invalid task list format and that I should consult the system menu or on-line help for more information on task list creation. His voice sounded weird. I don't think he's a normal person like you or me. Later on, I noticed something similar talking to shop keepers. I don't think that they are real people either."

"Hashi, what real people do you know or have you met?"

"Well, there's you and Doctor Urmind and Thagnar. Thagnar is a guy I practiced sparring with at the fighter hall. Oh, and I think Tony is. He's the trainer at the fighter Hall. Maybe Brother Tim down at the temple. I'm not sure about him. But not the away characters or the shop keepers. I think most of the adventurers are real, except when they're away."

"What's different about the people who don't seem real?'

I tell her, "It doesn't feel like there's a person inside those people. They feel hollow or empty. And they tend to say the same thing over and over again."

Kithera said, "That makes sense. If it makes you feel better, I think that you are a real person. I've noticed the same hollow feeling on types of people you mentioned as well. So why did come visit my world?"

I know the answer to that one, "Because Doktor Urmind told me that if I went to Real World Online that I would understand my situation better. I kept waking up unable to move underneath a spinning blade trap. Now I know it was a ceiling fan. Then I went to the temple to find a medical priest. Brother Tim introduced me to Doktor Urmind. Doktor Urmind showed me a movie and then sent me to your world. That's why. And being paralyzed beneath the spinning blade trap was really scary."

Trixey listened to me, nodding her head occasionally while I was talking. She said, "Waking up unable to move is something called sleep paralysis. My husband Zach is narcoleptic and he experiences that every once in a while."

I'm not sure what to make of what she just said about Zach being narcoleptic. It is a little reassuring that he has similar issues. Another question occurs to me, "How did you know that I was in your husband body?"

Trixey leans back in the chair a bit and plays with her hair a bit. It looks like she's thinking hard about this one. She says, "With Zach's narcolepsy, he will go from being awake to asleep quickly. He walks in his sleep at times and sometimes will talk in his sleep with his eyes open. Every once in a while when he does that he talks as if he was someone else. Sometimes it sounds like an asleep Zach, sometimes a spirit or ghost, sometimes something alien - those are pretty strange, sometimes he's speaking as if he were one of the gods. I've gotten used to it and I’ve found that the fastest way to get him back is to listen to whoever or whatever is talking through him and once they've said what they need to, they leave."

I said, "Is this sort of thing common in your world? It seems similar to when a player logs in and the away designation disappears."

Trixey replied, "Fortunately no, Narcolepsy is rare and thankfully having other beings make guest appearances in my husband's body doesn't happen often. I think that sort of thing is a very rare occurrence in humans. I've learned to recognize it when it happens with Zach." Trixey gets out some paper and a pen and starts writing. It looks like she’s making a list! I was about to comment on that but she started talking again, “Hashi. If you are willing, I’d like to set some regular times for training missions in my world so you can visit safely.”

“I’d like that.”

[System: Trixey has offered you a quest in RWO: Training missions. Rewards for success: unknown. Penalties for failure: unknown. Do you accept?]

“I accept.”

It looks like Trixey is done with her list.

“Hashi, I’d like to give you a secret to-do list. Don’t read it out loud or show it to anyone. Zach and I discussed these and would like you to do the things on the list if possible.”

“Sure, if that’s what my player wants. Can I keep this in my inventory or do I need to hide it?” Maybe I should memorize it and destroy it. I better read it.

Hashi’s secret to-do list:

Don’t tell anyone other than Urmind, Zach, or Kithera about my trips to RWO. Don’t tell Doktor Urmind about my contact with Zach and Kithera. Don’t tell people that I’m an away character or that I have 2 different characters. Don’t tell people in RWO that I’m from the game world.

“I can do this. Doktor Urmind was pretty much asking for the same thing, except the part about you and my player.”

[System: Quest: Hashi’s secret list has been accepted.]

"After I logged off of RWO, I turned off my away character. Is your husband going to turn me off? I don't want to be turned off."

Trixey replies immediately, "No! He is definitely not going to turn you off." She sits motionless for a few seconds and then adds, "Zach just told me that he won't turn you off. We both want to make sure that you are safe."

I feel some sort of inner tightness relax. I still need to find a way to make sure that I can't be turned off by anyone. I add that to my to-do list.

Trixey and I talk for a while longer about a bunch of different things. Eventually, my mind starts feeling full. I have a lot of new ideas and they seem to be breeding and connecting.

“Hey, Trixey! I really am enjoying talking with you, but all the new ideas are making it hard to understand the new things that you are saying. I think my new stuff meter is full. Can we talk some more another time?”

“Sure Hashi. I’m going to log off now. See you soon!”

Kithera disappears. I think I’m going to sleep some more and then go back to finding something interesting to do.