Chapter 1

I had just about had enough, seriously. That episode of Game of Thrones, the penultimate one before the series finale, really had me steamed. I knew that there was always a chance that Dany could turn bad, given the trend over Seasons 7 and 8 in particular, but I was still a bit pissed about it. Maybe it was just the fact that she had been a liberator of slaves and I had a soft spot for someone like that, but I really hated the idea of her going bad that way. What the fuck were D and D thinking, and was this really what George R.R. Martin intended? It was disgusting!

“You’re telling me, bro! But I’ll tell you something now. There is a way to fix this. A little secret. Interested?” a voice behind me announced.

I turned around and saw a half-naked woman with a laurel wreath on her head. She had a coy smile on her face and I had to admit that I felt a stirring of lust for one moment. Then I shook myself as I realized that she was here on some kind of business and I was curious about what she meant by it. Who was she and what did she want?

“I’m Clio, dude. I’m a Muse, responsible for historical literature. This here is Calliope, and she guides epic verse. She’s my sister and fellow Muse,” my first companion pointed to another half-naked lady, also dressed in classical Greek fashion, “to be honest, television is a newer art form that runs the gamut among us, but we offered to handle this matter. So, here’s the deal. Certain mortals who we like, such as yourself, people with a lot of taste in literature, film, TV, the arts, music, etc., well, we’re going to give a chance to have a little creative fun that wouldn’t be possible otherwise and right some wrongs ... but there is a price.”

“What’s your offer to me, then?” I wondered aloud, truly intrigued by what they proposed.

“Well, listen closely, because once you take this offer, there’s no turning back. You can’t return to this world, though I can’t imagine why you’d want to do so, anyway. This is far more fun, if you ask me. Remember that damn Christian movie series where those people ended up in various Bible events, yeah, or that movie, ‘Stay Tuned,’ for that matter? Similar idea here, if nicer. You’ll be able to insert yourself into any TV show universe of your choice, using this.

“Before leaving, you’ll be given a few survival tools that you’ll need to give you a fighting chance in a world that is so alien to you. Most of all, though, there’s this, the clicker, the remote control device that permits you to move from one TV program to the next, as long as it’s fictional, all entirely of your choosing, if you will. Once you’re in, though, this won’t be fiction anymore. It will be very real and if, for instance, you get burned alive, you’ll be very ... and dare I say, permanently dead. So take care of yourself, okay?” Calliope explained to me for her part, a wink in her eyes.

“Okay ... thank you for that warning. Now ... just what tools do you mean and will what happens to me affect the shows as they’re displayed to others?” I asked, rather curious now.

“That’s not entirely clear. This has never really been done before, so we’ll all find out. For you, however, what will happen is that you’ll be in a universe where the shows ... aren’t shows at all. They’re not actors, not fiction, nothing like that. You’ll ... essentially move through and establish a universe where the shows are real, just as real as you and us. You may or may not even remember us. That’s not exactly settled, either.

“In any case, you’ll know that you’re in a position to affect the events and you’ll be able to rewind to an earlier season, or fast forward to a later one, if there is one. You can essentially cause there to be the equivalent of a Season 9 or 10, if you will. If you tire of that show, you can switch to a new program and then back to the same one. Say that you’re bored with the world of the West Wing, then, you can move out of that into the world of Sliders or MacGyver or even Friends. Hell, you can end up on Seinfeld, if you wish! Imagine that!” Clio took over again.