57.2 "You wall? In your, ah... house?"

"Well, we were planning on doing that, but perhaps it's not such a good idea after all." Says Raymond.

"No, indeed." Says the world serpent, laughing. "Since I circle around the whole world, you might find it rather difficult."

"But wait a minute." You say. "How can you do that? The world isn't flat."

"Yes it is." Says the world serpent. "Your whole world is a peice of paper, or at least, something that serves the same purpose."

"Nonsense!" Says Raymond. "Utter rubish!"

"Come now." Says the World Serpent. "You don't even exist, you're just a part of him."

"Of me? But what am I?"

"A story."

"What?!"

"Surely you might have guessed?"

"Who would ever imagine that they were a story?"

"Oh, I don't know. I guess that more people are stories than think they are. I am a barrier serpent, and with one eye I see outside the story, but I could never explain it to you, It's just too different."

"I''m a story."

"Yes, a story. Even now, someone is reading you, maybe even pretending that they are you."

"Well, I don't want to be a story anymore. Because stories end. Aren't I almost over?"

"Yes, although I can't see what's so bad about that. But hey, if you don't want to be a story anymore, just leave. i won't stop you."

And so you step out of the story, and....