The latest addition to the Sobel Wiki is up: Part 12 of Jonathan Edelstein's sprawling For All Nails epic, "Victoria's Secret". In today's vignette, the jury reaches a verdict in the Victoria Madoka case.
This vignette was first posted to the soc.history.what-if newsgroup on 2 June 2002.
Friday, May 18, 2012
Thursday, May 17, 2012
FAN #51K: "Victoria's Secret (Part 11)" by Jonathan Edelstein
The Sobel Wiki is now host to Part 11 of Jonathan Edelstein's epic For All Nails vignette, "Victoria's Secret". In today's vignette, Victoria Madoka reveals her secret.
Today's vignette was first posted to the soc.history.what-if newsgroup on 29 May 2002.
Today's vignette was first posted to the soc.history.what-if newsgroup on 29 May 2002.
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
FAN #51J: "Victoria's Secret (Part 10)" by Jonathan Edelstein
In addition to brief articles on the locomobile and inventor Aaron Garfield, the Sobel Wiki now includes Part 10 of Jonathan Edelstein's For All Nails vignette, "Victoria's Secret". In today's vignette, Victoria Madoka takes the stand in her own defense.
This vignette was first posted to the soc.history.what-if newsgroup on 12 May 2002.
This vignette was first posted to the soc.history.what-if newsgroup on 12 May 2002.
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
Dog walk: 5/15/12
Two days of rain ended this morning, so it goes without saying that dogs were being walked. Our course took us over the bridge and then down to the the Ohio River flood plain that the locals call the McKees Rocks Bottoms. The Bottoms are separated from the rest of McKees Rocks by a set of impassably broad railroad tracks, and the only way to get by them are 1) over the McKees Rocks Bridge, and 2) down River Avenue to West Carson Street.
The basenjis made their zigzag way across the Bottoms, frequently raising the ire of other dogs who were chained up in the back yards of the houses we passed. We traveled down the length of Hamilton Street, which is bordered on one side by the Ranger Park basketball court, and on the other side by a stand of tangled, forbidding woods. We turned right onto Schoen Street, and were nearing the intersection of Shingiss Street when I noticed a large dog crouching on the side of the road. He had short tan fur and a black-and-red dog collar with an Allegheny County dog tag.
He was a stray dog, and he came over to investigate the basenjis. Louis can get a little growly when we come across other male dogs, particularly unfixed dogs like the stranger, so I kept the two apart as best I could. The stranger evidently decided that he liked the basenjis, because when we began walking up Shingiss Street, he followed us. I passed a woman and asked her if she knew who the dog belonged to, but she said she didn't. She had never seen him before.
At this point I noticed a pickup truck from the local Department of Public Works turning onto Schoen, so I followed it, and the stranger followed me. The driver said he didn't know what to do about stray dogs. He did, however, have the number for the local Police Department, so I called them. I was connected to a woman who got my information, then told me that she would call the local animal control people, who would get back to me.
While I was waiting to hear back from animal control, the stranger began walking back up to Shingiss, and I followed him. I trailed him up Shingiss, then left onto Catherine Street. There were three teenaged boys on Catherine who expressed alarm at the sight of the stranger. One of the boys said the dog belonged to a neighbor of his, and I persuaded him to lead the dog back to his home. He did so, and soon had the dog restored to his place behind a chain-link fence. Since the gate was closed when we got there, I wondered how the dog had escaped, and the boy said that he had probably jumped over the fence.
With the stranger restored to his home, the basenjis and I made our own way back over the bridge and to our happy home. It's now 4:25 PM, two hours since we called about the stranger, and I still haven't heard back from animal control.
The basenjis made their zigzag way across the Bottoms, frequently raising the ire of other dogs who were chained up in the back yards of the houses we passed. We traveled down the length of Hamilton Street, which is bordered on one side by the Ranger Park basketball court, and on the other side by a stand of tangled, forbidding woods. We turned right onto Schoen Street, and were nearing the intersection of Shingiss Street when I noticed a large dog crouching on the side of the road. He had short tan fur and a black-and-red dog collar with an Allegheny County dog tag.
He was a stray dog, and he came over to investigate the basenjis. Louis can get a little growly when we come across other male dogs, particularly unfixed dogs like the stranger, so I kept the two apart as best I could. The stranger evidently decided that he liked the basenjis, because when we began walking up Shingiss Street, he followed us. I passed a woman and asked her if she knew who the dog belonged to, but she said she didn't. She had never seen him before.
At this point I noticed a pickup truck from the local Department of Public Works turning onto Schoen, so I followed it, and the stranger followed me. The driver said he didn't know what to do about stray dogs. He did, however, have the number for the local Police Department, so I called them. I was connected to a woman who got my information, then told me that she would call the local animal control people, who would get back to me.
While I was waiting to hear back from animal control, the stranger began walking back up to Shingiss, and I followed him. I trailed him up Shingiss, then left onto Catherine Street. There were three teenaged boys on Catherine who expressed alarm at the sight of the stranger. One of the boys said the dog belonged to a neighbor of his, and I persuaded him to lead the dog back to his home. He did so, and soon had the dog restored to his place behind a chain-link fence. Since the gate was closed when we got there, I wondered how the dog had escaped, and the boy said that he had probably jumped over the fence.
With the stranger restored to his home, the basenjis and I made our own way back over the bridge and to our happy home. It's now 4:25 PM, two hours since we called about the stranger, and I still haven't heard back from animal control.
FAN #51I: "Victoria's Secret (Part 9)" by Jonathan Edelstein
Now up at the Sobel Wiki is Part 9 of Jonathan Edelstein's "Victoria's Secret". In today's vignette, Victoria Madoka visits Letitia Ntimana in prison and learns a secret.
Today's vignette was first posted to the soc.history.what-if newsgroup on 6 May 2002.
Today's vignette was first posted to the soc.history.what-if newsgroup on 6 May 2002.
Monday, May 14, 2012
FAN #51H: "Victoria's Secret (Part 8)" by Jonathan Edelstein
Today's addition to the Sobel Wiki is Part 8 of "Victoria's Secret", Jonathan Edelstein's sweeping For All Nails vignette. In today's vignette, Victoria Madoka's trial for sedition begins.
Today's vignette was first posted to the soc.history.what-if newsgroup on 3 May 2002.
Today's vignette was first posted to the soc.history.what-if newsgroup on 3 May 2002.
Sunday, May 13, 2012
FAN #51G: "Victoria's Secret (Part 7)" by Jonathan Edelstein
It's the latest addition to the Sobel Wiki, Part 7 of Jonathan Edelstein's epic For All Nails vignette "Victoria's Secret". In today's vignette, the people of the former British colony of Victoria get ready for the upcoming Parliamentary elections, and for the trial of Victoria Madoka.
This vignette was first posted to the soc.history.what-if newsgroup on 29 April 2002.
This vignette was first posted to the soc.history.what-if newsgroup on 29 April 2002.
Saturday, May 12, 2012
FAN #51F: "Victoria's Secret (Part 6)" by Jonathan Edelstein
Now up on the Sobel Wiki, and available for your reading pleasure, is Part 6 of Jonathan Edelstein's extended For All Nails vignette, "Victoria's Secret". In today's vignette, the fallout from the deadly protest march of 4 April 1973 reverberates through the former British colony of Victoria.
This vignette was first posted to the soc.history.what-if newsgroup on 25 April 2002.
This vignette was first posted to the soc.history.what-if newsgroup on 25 April 2002.
Friday, May 11, 2012
FAN #51E: "Victoria's Secret (Part 5)" by Jonathan Edelstein
Today's addition to the Sobel Wiki is "Victoria's Secret (Part 5)" by Jonathan Edelstein, the continuing story of the sedition trial of Victoria Madoka in the former British colony of Victoria. In today's vignette, the outlawed Victorian National Congress holds a demonstration for Madoka on 4 April 1973.
This vignette was originally posted to the soc.history.what-if newsgroup on 23 April 2002.
This vignette was originally posted to the soc.history.what-if newsgroup on 23 April 2002.
Thursday, May 10, 2012
FAN #51D: "Victoria's Secret (Part 4)" by Jonathan Edelstein
Part 4 of Jonathan Edelstein's "Victoria's Secret" is now up at the For All Nails page of the Sobel Wiki. In today's vignette, Victorian Prime Minister Richard Patten gets a lesson in the realities of coalition politics.
This vignette was first posted to the soc.history.what-if newsgroup on 20 March 2002.
This vignette was first posted to the soc.history.what-if newsgroup on 20 March 2002.
Wednesday, May 9, 2012
FAN #51C: "Victoria's Secret (Part 3) by Jonathan Edelstein
Part 3 of Jonathan Edelstein's "Victoria's Secret" is now up at the For All Nails page of the Sobel Wiki. With the start of Victoria Madoka's trial for sedition less than two months away, reactions continue to spread in the former British colony of Victoria.
This vignette was first posted to the soc.history.what-if newsgroup on 18 March 2002.
This vignette was first posted to the soc.history.what-if newsgroup on 18 March 2002.
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
FAN #51B: "Victoria's Secret (Part 2)" by Jonathan Edelstein
Part 2 of "Victoria's Secret" by Jonathan Edelstein has been posted to the For All Nails page of the Sobel Wiki. "Victoria's Secret Part 2" follows some of the reactions to Victoria Madoka's indictment for sedition, and takes a look at the unstable political situation in the former British colony of Victoria.
This vignette was first posted to the soc.history.what-if newsgroup on 2 February 2002. (Was is just a coincidence that part 2 of "Victoria's Secret" was first posted on 02/02/02? You'll have to ask Jonathan.)
This vignette was first posted to the soc.history.what-if newsgroup on 2 February 2002. (Was is just a coincidence that part 2 of "Victoria's Secret" was first posted on 02/02/02? You'll have to ask Jonathan.)
Monday, May 7, 2012
FAN #51A: "Victoria's Secret (Part 1) by Jonathan Edelstein
The Johnny Pez blog now presents Part 1 of Jonathan Edelstein's sprawling epic For All Nails vignette, "Victoria's Secret", which was posted this morning at the Sobel Wiki.
Some background: in For Want of a Nail, Sobel mentions a British colony called Victoria, but he doesn't say where it is. Jonathan decided that Victoria should be our own worlds's Kenya, even though Sobel refers to Kenya as Kenya on page 189. At any rate, Jonathan's Victoria has much in common with our world's Rhodesia, and "Victoria's Secret Part 1" finds a black Victorian lawyer named Victoria Madoka in court, being charged with sedition in February 1973.
This vignette was first posted to the soc.history.what-if newsgroup on 29 January 2002.
Some background: in For Want of a Nail, Sobel mentions a British colony called Victoria, but he doesn't say where it is. Jonathan decided that Victoria should be our own worlds's Kenya, even though Sobel refers to Kenya as Kenya on page 189. At any rate, Jonathan's Victoria has much in common with our world's Rhodesia, and "Victoria's Secret Part 1" finds a black Victorian lawyer named Victoria Madoka in court, being charged with sedition in February 1973.
This vignette was first posted to the soc.history.what-if newsgroup on 29 January 2002.
Sunday, May 6, 2012
FAN #46: "NUBS Presents 'Insight' " by Dan McDonald
Today's addition to the Sobel Wiki is another vignette from the For All Nails project, FAN #46: "NUBS Presents 'Insight' " by Dan McDonald. The vignette consists of the transcript of a 60 Minutes - like newsmagazine show broadcast on September 17, 1972. The show looks at Kramer Associates, the world's largest corporation, ten years after K.A. scientists detonated the world's first atomic bomb.
This vignette was first posted to the soc.history.what-if newsgroup on 3 January 2002.
This vignette was first posted to the soc.history.what-if newsgroup on 3 January 2002.
Saturday, May 5, 2012
FAN #44D: "Ireland's End" by Randy McDonald
Today, the Johnny Pez blog is honored to highlight the latest addition to the Sobel Wiki: For All Nails vignette #44D, "Ireland's End" by Randy McDonald. The vignette consists of a story filed by a Montreal journalist, André-Philippe Maeterlinck, about his visit to Ireland in October 1972.
This vignette was first posted to the soc.history.what-if newsgroup on 11 June 2003.
This vignette was first posted to the soc.history.what-if newsgroup on 11 June 2003.
Friday, May 4, 2012
FAN #44C: "On Brittany's Shores" by Randy McDonald
As noted before, I have resumed work on the Sobel Wiki, an online encyclopedia of the alternate timeline of Robert Sobel's counterfactual history For Want of a Nail. Every day, for as long as I can manage, I'll be posting at least one new article. Currently, I am concentrating on vignettes from the For All Nails project, and today's vignette is FAN #44C: "On Brittany's Shores" by Randy McDonald. The vignette consists of a story filed by a Montreal journalist, André-Philippe Maeterlinck, about his visit to Brittany in September 1972.
When Randy first sent a rough draft of this vignette to myself and the rest of the FAN Cabal ten years ago, I suggested that he give it the title "Brittany's Spears". Sadly, Randy eventually decided not to go there, but the reader can see in the fifth paragraph just how close he came.
When Randy first sent a rough draft of this vignette to myself and the rest of the FAN Cabal ten years ago, I suggested that he give it the title "Brittany's Spears". Sadly, Randy eventually decided not to go there, but the reader can see in the fifth paragraph just how close he came.
Thursday, May 3, 2012
FAN #44B: "A Québécois on the Scheldt" by Randy McDonald
As promised, we here at the Johnny Pez blog present another link to our other monumental project, the Sobel Wiki. Today's newly-posted article is another vignette from the For All Nails project, "A Québécois on the Scheldt" by Randy McDonald. The vignette consists of a story by a Montreal journalist, André-Philippe Maeterlinck, about his visit to Austrasia (the FAN version of Belgium) in September 1972.
Since the foundation of Belgium in 1830 post-dated Sobel's point-of-departure by 53 years, and there appeared to be no mention of Belgium in For Want of a Nail, Randy decided to give the FAN version a different name. Alas, Randy had failed to note that Sobel did in fact mention Belgium by name exactly once, on page 235. By the time someone in the FAN Cabal noticed this and pointed it out, it was too late -- Austrasia was an established part of FAN canon.
Since the foundation of Belgium in 1830 post-dated Sobel's point-of-departure by 53 years, and there appeared to be no mention of Belgium in For Want of a Nail, Randy decided to give the FAN version a different name. Alas, Randy had failed to note that Sobel did in fact mention Belgium by name exactly once, on page 235. By the time someone in the FAN Cabal noticed this and pointed it out, it was too late -- Austrasia was an established part of FAN canon.
Wednesday, May 2, 2012
FAN #44A: "Un Quebecois Errant" by Randy McDonald
The Sobel Wiki is a project I started 21 months ago. As explained in greater detail here, the Sobel Wiki is an encyclopedia of Robert Sobel's 1973 counterfactual history For Want of a Nail: If Burgoyne Had Won at Saratoga. After about six months work, I grew frustrated by the Wikia platform's unreliable software, and I let the project drop. However, recently Wikia has done an overhaul of their software, and I'm ready to resume work on the Sobel Wiki.
To start things off, I've decided to start posting vignettes from the For All Nails project at the rate of one per day. Today's vignette is #44A, "Un Québécois Errant" by Randy McDonald. The vignette consists of a story by a Montreal journalist, André-Philippe Maeterlinck, about his visit to Lithuania in August 1972.
Next up is #44B, "A Québécois on the Scheldt". Stay tuned!
To start things off, I've decided to start posting vignettes from the For All Nails project at the rate of one per day. Today's vignette is #44A, "Un Québécois Errant" by Randy McDonald. The vignette consists of a story by a Montreal journalist, André-Philippe Maeterlinck, about his visit to Lithuania in August 1972.
Next up is #44B, "A Québécois on the Scheldt". Stay tuned!
Monday, April 9, 2012
Green World: "Oregon"
This is a spoiler review of "Oregon", episode five of Awake, a TV series about a police detective, Michael Britten, who loses a family member in a car crash. Britten responds by creating a dream world in which a different family member died in the crash, a dream world so real that he can't tell it from the real world, and is in fact determined to act as though both worlds are real. As I've noted before, while in reality (the Green World) Detective Britten's wife Hannah died in the crash, Britten has created a dream world (the Red World) where Hannah survived and it was his son Rex who died in the crash.
We open in Britten's dream world, seeing Britten's love-hate relationship with Los Angeles, represented by smoggy skies, bumper-to-bumper traffic, and a homeless guy living under a bridge. While jogging, Britten encounters a woman walking a yappy little dog, who lunges at him. The dog's owner chews Britten out for "scaring" the little monster. A homeless man offers to sell Britten a box of junk for ten dollars; when Britten declines, the man asks for a dollar on general principles. Britten then intervenes in an increasingly violent argument by two drivers whose cars have collided, while muttering, "Stupid city." But in the dream, Britten is alone; Hannah is in Portland, Oregon, and when he's on the phone with her she can't say enough nice things about it.
Los Angeles is just as much trouble in the real world, where Britten finds himself stuck in a traffic jam with Rex. At the station, Freeman drops a set of files on Britten's desk and says the captain wants to know why they don't have any suspects for any of them. When Freeman suggests lunch, Britten opts to jog in Griffith Park instead, remembering his dream-world run. Just like in his dream, Britten encounters a dog. However, this dog is not a subconscious manifestation of Britten's ambivalence about his native city. This is a real dog, and instead of lunging at him, the dog leads Britten to a corpse. "Stupid city," Britten mutters in an echo of his dream.
Britten has stumbled upon the latest victim of the Gemini Killer, a serial killer who drains his victims of their blood, then carves a Roman numeral II in their chest, and always kills two paired victims. For the last twelve years, the Gemini killer has killed two victims every year in a different city. The dead man Britten found is his first in Los Angeles. The problem: the Gemini Killer is dead. So either the Gemini Killer has risen from the dead, or there's a copycat Gemini Killer out there. Either way, within 48 hours another victim will be killed in another park.
After Britten and Freeman explain this to Captain Harper, she tells them that an FBI agent who has been on the Gemini Killer case since its beginning will be flying in to join the investigation. We then meet the FBI agent, Elizabeth Santoro, on the phone with her ex-husband arguing about custody of their daughter. She tells Britten that she has been in Portland writing a book on the case, and that one detail of the murders they didn't make public was that the killer always left a two dollar bill in the victims hand. Since Britten's victim didn't have one, they definitely have a copycat killer. Remembering his dream, Britten asks her what Portland is like, and Santoro tells him it always rains, like London with hippies.
Britten returns to Griffith Park with Freeman, and they find the dog who found the victim. When the dog is examined, half of a two dollar bill is found in its stomach. Santoro denies that this means it's the real Gemini Killer; she says it just means the copycat had access to classified information, and is therefore probably a disgruntled cop or ex-cop. Freeman thinks Santoro is too quick to dismiss the possibility that this is the original Gemini Killer. Santoro says that she shot the GK herself. No, says Freeman, you shot a man named Arthur Mintern who fit your profile. If Santoro is wrong, they'll be going up a series of blind alleys while the real killer finds and kills another victim. Captain Harper decides to let Santoro have her files of disgruntled cops. Britten tries to convince Santoro that she might be wrong, but fails. We cut to the Gemini Killer as he carries out his well-worn ritual in preparation for his next murder: scalpel, hypo, two dollar bill.
That night, Britten dreams of calling Hannah for help finding his cell phone charger. She doesn't pick up, so he leaves a message. He finds the charger, and also finds an estimate from a moving company: Mountain Top Moving & Storage. Britten is disturbed -- he didn't realize Hannah was this serious about moving to Portland. Even more disturbing is the fact that Hannah didn't tell him about this.
In therapy, Dr. Lee asks why Britten didn't think Hannah was serious about moving. Britten says that moving to Oregon isn't a realistic option, but Dr. Lee says Britten has let confirmation bias cloud his judgment: Hannah has been telling him how serious she is, but Britten hasn't been listening. This, Dr. Lee reminds Britten, is how most marriages end: not with screaming fights, but with two people who gradually drift apart from each other. Britten has always drawn strength from his dream-life with his deceased wife. Now, though, Santoro's real-life divorce is bleeding over into Britten's dream. The wife that his subconscious has re-created for him may be slipping away, just as the real one did.
At the station, Vega tells Britten he has a lead on a case. However, when they go to meet Vega's lead, the supposed pawn shop is a vacant storefront. When Vega admits the lead offered to help him for $100, Britten tells him he's been scammed. "If you have to buy it, it may be information. If they try and sell it to you, it's always BS." Britten adds, "Think of it as a rookie tax." But Britten notices an odd bit of graffiti on the vacant storefront: a red exclamation mark over an asterisk.
Back home, Britten gazes at the movers' estimate and calls Hannah again. Again, she doesn't pick up. This time, he doesn't bother leaving a message.
Back in the reality of the Gemini Killer, Britten agrees with Freeman that Santoro shot the wrong man, and they're dealing with the original. They start asking around at cheap motels, near Griffith Park, in hopes of finding him. As he emerges from one, Britten sees an abandoned building with the sign MOUNTAIN TOP MOVING & STORAGE. Remembering the dream of Hannah's estimate, he enters the building, and . . . almost catches the Gemini Killer.
Santoro is very suspicious, though, because Britten can't explain why he picked this particular building to investigate. When the Gemini Killer sneaks back into the abandoned building, he overhears her discussing Britten with Captain Harper.
Driving back from the warehouse to the police station, Britten stops at the vacant storefront he visited with Vega in his dream. It looks much the same -- except that the red exclamation point graffiti is missing. When he reaches the station, he learns that Santoro received a phone call from a man claiming to be the Gemini Killer -- a call that came from Britten's home phone. Britten can't explain that he was checking out a building he had dreamed of the night before, and Santoro decides that Britten is the copycat. Captain Harper asks him to hand in his weapon.
An hour later, Freeman confronts Britten. He doesn't believe Britten is a copycat, but he does point out how wierd Britten has been acting since returning to work. He hands Britten a set of crime scene photos, and says that if Britten is going to pull another rabbit out of his hat, now is the time. Britten does: a napkin at the abandoned warehouse has a green exclamation point logo just like the one from Britten's dream. This was what Britten's subconscious had been warning him about.
It turns out that the green logo is from the Bay Street Coffee Shop chain, which has six locations in Los Angeles, each in proximity to a park. How to pick which one? Britten looks back at the crime scene photos from the Griffith Park murder. Santoro is in the background of one, holding a coffee cup with the Bay Street Coffee logo. She had the cup when Britten met her in Brentwood. The coffee shop in Brentwood is in the lobby of the Meridian Hotel -- where Santoro is staying, and where the killer has been stalking her. Britten realizes that the Gemini Killer has targeted Santoro for his next victim.
When Santoro doesn't answer her cell phone, Britten is convinced that the killer has abducted her, and he's right. Freeman has the park nearest the Meridian, Aliso Canyon Park, sealed off, but the killer, using Santoro's FBI ID, is able to get past the police. Freeman and Britten head for Aliso Canyon Park. The killer is draining Santoro's blood and preparing to carve the Roman numeral into her abdomen, when he is interrupted by Britten. After a gunfight, the killer flees, and Britten saves Santoro. The killer gets away from Freeman.
In the hospital, Britten watches as Santoro's ex-husband and daughter come to visit her.
In Britten's dream that night, Hannah is back from Portland, and he talks to her about the estimate -- and about his fear that she wants to leave him. She says she didn't tell him about it because she was ashamed that she couldn't cope with Rex's death the way he was able to. She doesn't want to forget Rex, though, and being with Britten helps her to remember him.
Britten tells his therapists, both the real Dr. Evans and the imaginary Dr. Lee, that he is willing to move with Hannah to Portland. However, in real life, he'll be remaining in Los Angeles with Rex. Both therapists think that moving to Portland will weaken Britten's ability to maintain the reality of his dream, and that Britten will finally recognize it for the dream it is -- which means acknowledging that one member of his family really is dead. Dr. Evans predicts that Britten will fight against the loss of his dream Hannah, but will eventually give in. Britten assures her that he will not. "This thing works because I make it work."
While sitting in traffic the next day, Britten receives a call from the Gemini Killer. The killer broke into Dr. Evans' office, and now he knows about Britten's double lives. Unlike Dr. Evans, the killer accepts the reality of both worlds -- he sees Britten and himself as two of a kind, experiencing realities that other people can't understand. "Sweet dreams, Detective Britten. And speaking just for myself, I'd be very disappointed if you woke up."
Britten is able to maintain an entire internally consistent imaginary alternate world because there are so many common elements between it and his real life. The fact that it's his imaginary therapist, Dr. Lee, who points this out to him, shows that at least subconsciously, he is well aware of it. However much he might deny it consciously, his subconscious knows that the Red World is just a dream. If he wants to maintain his sanity, Britten will eventually have to give it up. His marital troubles with the dream Hannah, and the upcoming departure of his dream world from the familiar environs of Los Angeles, are a way for his subconscious to prepare Britten for the day when he has to acknowledge that his wife really is dead.
At the same time, there is more at stake for Britten than just the loss of his wife. Dr. Evans has always believed that the Red World was more than just a coping mechanism for Britten's grief. It was also a direct link to Britten's subconscious, allowing him to communicate with a part of his mind that is inaccessible to most other people. The two obvious examples in "Oregon" are the moving company and the red graffiti mark, both of which are methods that Britten's subconscious uses to help guide his hunt for the Gemini Killer. Losing the Red World will mean losing that direct connection to his subconscious.
Finally, there is the chilling call from the Gemini Killer. The killer regards himself as a unique individual with a unique perspective, placing him on a higher level than the rest of the human race, whom he regards as playthings. However, now that he knows of Britten's double life, he no longer sees Britten as a plaything. He thinks of Britten as someone who, like himself, sees the world sideways.
Britten has not seen the last of the Gemini Killer.
On the other hand . . .
We open in Britten's dream world, seeing Britten's love-hate relationship with Los Angeles, represented by smoggy skies, bumper-to-bumper traffic, and a homeless guy living under a bridge. While jogging, Britten encounters a woman walking a yappy little dog, who lunges at him. The dog's owner chews Britten out for "scaring" the little monster. A homeless man offers to sell Britten a box of junk for ten dollars; when Britten declines, the man asks for a dollar on general principles. Britten then intervenes in an increasingly violent argument by two drivers whose cars have collided, while muttering, "Stupid city." But in the dream, Britten is alone; Hannah is in Portland, Oregon, and when he's on the phone with her she can't say enough nice things about it.
Los Angeles is just as much trouble in the real world, where Britten finds himself stuck in a traffic jam with Rex. At the station, Freeman drops a set of files on Britten's desk and says the captain wants to know why they don't have any suspects for any of them. When Freeman suggests lunch, Britten opts to jog in Griffith Park instead, remembering his dream-world run. Just like in his dream, Britten encounters a dog. However, this dog is not a subconscious manifestation of Britten's ambivalence about his native city. This is a real dog, and instead of lunging at him, the dog leads Britten to a corpse. "Stupid city," Britten mutters in an echo of his dream.
Britten has stumbled upon the latest victim of the Gemini Killer, a serial killer who drains his victims of their blood, then carves a Roman numeral II in their chest, and always kills two paired victims. For the last twelve years, the Gemini killer has killed two victims every year in a different city. The dead man Britten found is his first in Los Angeles. The problem: the Gemini Killer is dead. So either the Gemini Killer has risen from the dead, or there's a copycat Gemini Killer out there. Either way, within 48 hours another victim will be killed in another park.
After Britten and Freeman explain this to Captain Harper, she tells them that an FBI agent who has been on the Gemini Killer case since its beginning will be flying in to join the investigation. We then meet the FBI agent, Elizabeth Santoro, on the phone with her ex-husband arguing about custody of their daughter. She tells Britten that she has been in Portland writing a book on the case, and that one detail of the murders they didn't make public was that the killer always left a two dollar bill in the victims hand. Since Britten's victim didn't have one, they definitely have a copycat killer. Remembering his dream, Britten asks her what Portland is like, and Santoro tells him it always rains, like London with hippies.
Britten returns to Griffith Park with Freeman, and they find the dog who found the victim. When the dog is examined, half of a two dollar bill is found in its stomach. Santoro denies that this means it's the real Gemini Killer; she says it just means the copycat had access to classified information, and is therefore probably a disgruntled cop or ex-cop. Freeman thinks Santoro is too quick to dismiss the possibility that this is the original Gemini Killer. Santoro says that she shot the GK herself. No, says Freeman, you shot a man named Arthur Mintern who fit your profile. If Santoro is wrong, they'll be going up a series of blind alleys while the real killer finds and kills another victim. Captain Harper decides to let Santoro have her files of disgruntled cops. Britten tries to convince Santoro that she might be wrong, but fails. We cut to the Gemini Killer as he carries out his well-worn ritual in preparation for his next murder: scalpel, hypo, two dollar bill.
That night, Britten dreams of calling Hannah for help finding his cell phone charger. She doesn't pick up, so he leaves a message. He finds the charger, and also finds an estimate from a moving company: Mountain Top Moving & Storage. Britten is disturbed -- he didn't realize Hannah was this serious about moving to Portland. Even more disturbing is the fact that Hannah didn't tell him about this.
In therapy, Dr. Lee asks why Britten didn't think Hannah was serious about moving. Britten says that moving to Oregon isn't a realistic option, but Dr. Lee says Britten has let confirmation bias cloud his judgment: Hannah has been telling him how serious she is, but Britten hasn't been listening. This, Dr. Lee reminds Britten, is how most marriages end: not with screaming fights, but with two people who gradually drift apart from each other. Britten has always drawn strength from his dream-life with his deceased wife. Now, though, Santoro's real-life divorce is bleeding over into Britten's dream. The wife that his subconscious has re-created for him may be slipping away, just as the real one did.
At the station, Vega tells Britten he has a lead on a case. However, when they go to meet Vega's lead, the supposed pawn shop is a vacant storefront. When Vega admits the lead offered to help him for $100, Britten tells him he's been scammed. "If you have to buy it, it may be information. If they try and sell it to you, it's always BS." Britten adds, "Think of it as a rookie tax." But Britten notices an odd bit of graffiti on the vacant storefront: a red exclamation mark over an asterisk.
Back home, Britten gazes at the movers' estimate and calls Hannah again. Again, she doesn't pick up. This time, he doesn't bother leaving a message.
Back in the reality of the Gemini Killer, Britten agrees with Freeman that Santoro shot the wrong man, and they're dealing with the original. They start asking around at cheap motels, near Griffith Park, in hopes of finding him. As he emerges from one, Britten sees an abandoned building with the sign MOUNTAIN TOP MOVING & STORAGE. Remembering the dream of Hannah's estimate, he enters the building, and . . . almost catches the Gemini Killer.
Santoro is very suspicious, though, because Britten can't explain why he picked this particular building to investigate. When the Gemini Killer sneaks back into the abandoned building, he overhears her discussing Britten with Captain Harper.
Driving back from the warehouse to the police station, Britten stops at the vacant storefront he visited with Vega in his dream. It looks much the same -- except that the red exclamation point graffiti is missing. When he reaches the station, he learns that Santoro received a phone call from a man claiming to be the Gemini Killer -- a call that came from Britten's home phone. Britten can't explain that he was checking out a building he had dreamed of the night before, and Santoro decides that Britten is the copycat. Captain Harper asks him to hand in his weapon.
An hour later, Freeman confronts Britten. He doesn't believe Britten is a copycat, but he does point out how wierd Britten has been acting since returning to work. He hands Britten a set of crime scene photos, and says that if Britten is going to pull another rabbit out of his hat, now is the time. Britten does: a napkin at the abandoned warehouse has a green exclamation point logo just like the one from Britten's dream. This was what Britten's subconscious had been warning him about.
It turns out that the green logo is from the Bay Street Coffee Shop chain, which has six locations in Los Angeles, each in proximity to a park. How to pick which one? Britten looks back at the crime scene photos from the Griffith Park murder. Santoro is in the background of one, holding a coffee cup with the Bay Street Coffee logo. She had the cup when Britten met her in Brentwood. The coffee shop in Brentwood is in the lobby of the Meridian Hotel -- where Santoro is staying, and where the killer has been stalking her. Britten realizes that the Gemini Killer has targeted Santoro for his next victim.
When Santoro doesn't answer her cell phone, Britten is convinced that the killer has abducted her, and he's right. Freeman has the park nearest the Meridian, Aliso Canyon Park, sealed off, but the killer, using Santoro's FBI ID, is able to get past the police. Freeman and Britten head for Aliso Canyon Park. The killer is draining Santoro's blood and preparing to carve the Roman numeral into her abdomen, when he is interrupted by Britten. After a gunfight, the killer flees, and Britten saves Santoro. The killer gets away from Freeman.
In the hospital, Britten watches as Santoro's ex-husband and daughter come to visit her.
In Britten's dream that night, Hannah is back from Portland, and he talks to her about the estimate -- and about his fear that she wants to leave him. She says she didn't tell him about it because she was ashamed that she couldn't cope with Rex's death the way he was able to. She doesn't want to forget Rex, though, and being with Britten helps her to remember him.
Britten tells his therapists, both the real Dr. Evans and the imaginary Dr. Lee, that he is willing to move with Hannah to Portland. However, in real life, he'll be remaining in Los Angeles with Rex. Both therapists think that moving to Portland will weaken Britten's ability to maintain the reality of his dream, and that Britten will finally recognize it for the dream it is -- which means acknowledging that one member of his family really is dead. Dr. Evans predicts that Britten will fight against the loss of his dream Hannah, but will eventually give in. Britten assures her that he will not. "This thing works because I make it work."
While sitting in traffic the next day, Britten receives a call from the Gemini Killer. The killer broke into Dr. Evans' office, and now he knows about Britten's double lives. Unlike Dr. Evans, the killer accepts the reality of both worlds -- he sees Britten and himself as two of a kind, experiencing realities that other people can't understand. "Sweet dreams, Detective Britten. And speaking just for myself, I'd be very disappointed if you woke up."
Britten is able to maintain an entire internally consistent imaginary alternate world because there are so many common elements between it and his real life. The fact that it's his imaginary therapist, Dr. Lee, who points this out to him, shows that at least subconsciously, he is well aware of it. However much he might deny it consciously, his subconscious knows that the Red World is just a dream. If he wants to maintain his sanity, Britten will eventually have to give it up. His marital troubles with the dream Hannah, and the upcoming departure of his dream world from the familiar environs of Los Angeles, are a way for his subconscious to prepare Britten for the day when he has to acknowledge that his wife really is dead.
At the same time, there is more at stake for Britten than just the loss of his wife. Dr. Evans has always believed that the Red World was more than just a coping mechanism for Britten's grief. It was also a direct link to Britten's subconscious, allowing him to communicate with a part of his mind that is inaccessible to most other people. The two obvious examples in "Oregon" are the moving company and the red graffiti mark, both of which are methods that Britten's subconscious uses to help guide his hunt for the Gemini Killer. Losing the Red World will mean losing that direct connection to his subconscious.
Finally, there is the chilling call from the Gemini Killer. The killer regards himself as a unique individual with a unique perspective, placing him on a higher level than the rest of the human race, whom he regards as playthings. However, now that he knows of Britten's double life, he no longer sees Britten as a plaything. He thinks of Britten as someone who, like himself, sees the world sideways.
Britten has not seen the last of the Gemini Killer.
On the other hand . . .
Red World: "Oregon"
This is a spoiler review of "Oregon", episode five of Awake, a TV series about a police detective, Michael Britten, who loses a family member in a car crash. Britten responds by creating a dream world in which a different family member died in the crash, a dream world so real that he can't tell it from the real world, and is in fact determined to act as though both worlds are real. As I've noted before, while in reality (the Red World) Detective Britten's son Rex died in the crash, Britten has created a dream world (the Green World) where Rex survived and it was his wife Hannah who died in the crash.
We open by seeing Britten's love-hate relationship with Los Angeles, which we see represented by smoggy skies, bumper-to-bumper traffic, and a homeless guy living under a bridge. While jogging, Britten encounters a woman walking a yappy little dog, who lunges at him. The dog's owner chews Britten out for "scaring" the little monster. A homeless man offers to sell Britten a box of junk for ten dollars; when Britten declines, the man asks for a dollar on general principles. Britten then intervenes in an increasingly violent argument by two drivers whose cars have collided, while muttering, "Stupid city." We then see Britten on the phone with Hannah, who is walking through a college campus in Portland, Oregon, and can't say enough nice things about it.
Britten's troubles follow him to his dream world, where he finds himself stuck in a traffic jam with Rex. At the station, Freeman drops a set of files on Britten's desk and says the captain wants to know why they don't have any suspects for any of them. When Freeman suggests lunch, Britten opts to jog in Griffith Park instead, no doubt influenced by his real-world run. His real-world experiences intrude themselves into his dream even more obviously when he encounters a dog. Instead of lunging at him, though, this dog leads Britten to a corpse. "Stupid city," Britten mutters.
Britten has stumbled upon the latest victim of the Gemini Killer, a serial killer who drains his victims of their blood, then carves a Roman numeral II in their chest, and always kills two paired victims. For the last twelve years, the Gemini killer has killed two victims every year in a different city. The dead man Britten found is his first in Los Angeles. The problem: the Gemini Killer is dead. So either the Gemini Killer has risen from the dead, or there's a copycat Gemini Killer out there. Either way, within 48 hours another victim will be killed in another park.
After Britten and Freeman explain this to Captain Harper, she tells them that an FBI agent who has been on the Gemini Killer case since its beginning will be flying in to join the investigation. We then meet the FBI agent, Elizabeth Santoro, on the phone with her ex-husband arguing about custody of their daughter. She tells Britten that she has been in Portland writing a book on the case, and that one detail of the murders they didn't make public was that the killer always left a two dollar bill in the victims hand. Since Britten's victim didn't have one, they definitely have a copycat killer. Britten asks her what Portland is like, and Santoro tells him it always rains, like London with hippies.
Britten returns to Griffith Park with Freeman, and they find the dog who found the victim. When the dog is examined, half of a two dollar bill is found in its stomach. Santoro denies that this means it's the real Gemini Killer; she says it just means the copycat had access to classified information, and is therefore probably a disgruntled cop or ex-cop. Freeman thinks Santoro is too quick to dismiss the possibility that this is the original Gemini Killer. Santoro says that she shot the GK herself. No, says Freeman, you shot a man named Arthur Mintern who fit your profile. If Santoro is wrong, they'll be going up a series of blind alleys while the real killer finds and kills another victim. Captain Harper decides to let Santoro have her files of disgruntled cops. Britten tries to convince Santoro that she might be wrong, but fails. We cut to the Gemini Killer as he carries out his well-worn ritual in preparation for his next murder: scalpel, hypo, two dollar bill.
Back in the real world, Britten calls Hannah for help finding his cell phone charger. She doesn't pick up, so he leaves a message. He finds the charger, and also finds an estimate from a moving company: Mountain Top Moving & Storage. Britten is disturbed -- he didn't realize Hannah was this serious about moving to Portland. Even more disturbing is the fact that Hannah didn't tell him about this.
In therapy, Dr. Lee asks why Britten didn't think Hannah was serious about moving. Britten says that moving to Oregon isn't a realistic option, but Dr. Lee thinks Britten has let confirmation bias cloud his judgment: Hannah has been telling him how serious she is, but Britten hasn't been listening. This, Dr. Lee reminds Britten, is how most marriages end: not with screaming fights, but with two people who gradually drift apart from each other.
At the station, Vega tells Britten he has a lead on a case. However, when they go to meet Vega's lead, the supposed pawn shop is a vacant storefront. When Vega admits the lead offered to help him for $100, Britten tells him he's been scammed. "If you have to buy it, it may be information. If they try and sell it to you, it's always BS." Britten adds, "Think of it as a rookie tax."
Back home, Britten gazes at the movers' estimate and calls Hannah again. Again, she doesn't pick up. This time, he doesn't bother leaving a message.
In his dream of the Gemini Killer, Britten agrees with Freeman that Santoro shot the wrong man, and they're dealing with the original. They start asking around at cheap motels, near Griffith Park, in hopes of finding him. As he emerges from one, Britten sees an abandoned building with the sign MOUNTAIN TOP MOVING & STORAGE. With a vision of Hannah's estimate in his mind, he enters the building, and . . . almost catches the Gemini Killer.
Santoro is very suspicious, though, because Britten can't explain why he picked this particular building to investigate. Later, her suspicions deepen when she receives a phone call from a man claiming to be the Gemini Killer -- a call that came from Britten's home phone. Santoro decides that Britten is the copycat, and Captain Harper asks him to hand in his weapon.
An hour later, Freeman confronts Britten. He doesn't believe Britten is a copycat, but he does point out how wierd Britten has been acting since returning to work. He hands Britten a set of crime scene photos, and says that if Britten is going to pull another rabbit out of his hat, now is the time. Britten does: a napkin at the warehouse has a green exclamation point logo that Britten remembers seeing spraypainted, in red, on the vacant storefront he checked out with Vega in the real world. While the killer was making his phone call to Santoro, Britten had been to the vacant storefront in his dream. It was the same, except there was no spraypainted red mark.
It turns out that the green logo is from the Bay Street Coffee Shop chain, which has six locations in Los Angeles, all in proximity to a park. How to pick which one? Britten looks back at the crime scene photos from the Griffith Park murder. Santoro is in the background of one, holding a coffee cup with the Bay Street Coffee logo. She had the cup when Britten met her in Brentwood. The coffee shop in Brentwood is in the lobby of the Meridian Hotel -- where Santoro is staying, and where the killer has been stalking her. The Gemini Killer has targeted Santoro for his next victim.
When Santoro doesn't answer her cell phone, Britten is convinced that the killer has abducted her, and he's right. Freeman has the park nearest the Meridian, Aliso Canyon Park, sealed off, but the killer, using Santoro's FBI ID, is able to get past the police. Freeman and Britten head for Aliso Canyon Park. The killer is draining Santoro's blood and preparing to carve the Roman numeral into her abdomen, when he is interrupted by Britten. After a gunfight, the killer flees, and Britten saves Santoro. The killer gets away from Freeman.
In the hospital, Britten watches as Santoro's ex-husband and daughter come to visit her.
In the real world, Hannah is back from Portland, and Britten talks to her about the estimate -- and about his fear that she wants to leave him. She says she didn't tell him about it because she was ashamed that she couldn't cope with Rex's death the way he was able to. She doesn't want to forget Rex, though, and being with Britten helps her to remember him.
Britten tells his therapists, both the real Dr. Lee and the imaginary Dr. Evans, that he is willing to move with Hannah to Portland. However, in his dream, he'll be remaining in Los Angeles with Rex. Dr. Lee thinks that moving to Portland will weaken Britten's ability to maintain the reality of his dream, and that Britten will finally recognize it for the dream it is -- which means acknowledging that Rex really is dead. Dr. Evans predicts that Britten will fight against the loss of his "dream" of Hannah, but will eventually give in. Britten assures her that he will not. "This thing works because I make it work."
In his dream, Britten receives a call from the Gemini Killer. The killer broke into Dr. Evans' office, and now he knows about Britten's double lives. Unlike Dr. Evans, the killer accepts the reality of both worlds -- he sees Britten and himself as two of a kind, experiencing realities that other people can't understand. "Sweet dreams, Detective Britten. And speaking just for myself, I'd be very disappointed if you woke up."
As Dr. Lee points out, Britten's ability to maintain an entire internally consistent alternate dream world is based on his ability to constantly reinforce it by importing details from the real world. The two most obvious examples from "Oregon" are the Mountain Top moving company and the exclamation mark icon, both of which he imports into his dream to help him deal with the Gemini Killer case. However, this naturally raises the question of just how much reality there is to the Gemini Killer. Did Britten create him out of whole cloth?
I tend to think that there is a real Gemini Killer, and that Britten has been subliminally aware of him for the past twelve years. In his dream, Britten's subconscious brought the Gemini Killer to Los Angeles, and also brought Elizabeth Santoro, the FBI agent who, in the real world, tracked him down and shot him the year before. The Green World has always been a wish-fulfillment fantasy of Britten's and "Oregon" makes that particularly clear. While in the real world Britten is helplessly watching his marriage to Hannah slowly dissolve, in his dream Britten not only tracks the Gemini Killer to his lair, and almost captures him, he saves the life of the FBI agent who mistakenly thought she had killed him. And also, incidentally, Britten uses his dream Santoro to counteract Hannah's adoring descriptions of Portland; Santoro dismisses the city as a dreary place full of rain and hippies.
It is significant that Britten's conversations with his dream therapist, Dr. Evans, do not involve the Gemini Killer case, or indeed anything in the Green World. Instead, they talk about events in the real world: Hannah's desire to move to Portland, and Britten's willingness to accommodate her. Britten's subconscious knows that the events in the Green World aren't real, and don't ultimately matter (except to the extent that they allow Britten to deny the reality of his son's death). What matters is his marriage to Hannah in the real world.
Britten refuses to accept that one of his worlds isn't real, but his subconscious knows better. What's more, he subconsciously knows that his dream world is driving him slowly but surely insane. That's why Britten dreams of a phone call from his imaginary serial killer. "You're just like me," the psychopath tells him, and there can be no more chilling reminder of the danger Britten faces by refusing to accept reality. In the end, if he doesn't wake up and face the truth, he will become just like the Gemini Killer.
On the other hand . . .
We open by seeing Britten's love-hate relationship with Los Angeles, which we see represented by smoggy skies, bumper-to-bumper traffic, and a homeless guy living under a bridge. While jogging, Britten encounters a woman walking a yappy little dog, who lunges at him. The dog's owner chews Britten out for "scaring" the little monster. A homeless man offers to sell Britten a box of junk for ten dollars; when Britten declines, the man asks for a dollar on general principles. Britten then intervenes in an increasingly violent argument by two drivers whose cars have collided, while muttering, "Stupid city." We then see Britten on the phone with Hannah, who is walking through a college campus in Portland, Oregon, and can't say enough nice things about it.
Britten's troubles follow him to his dream world, where he finds himself stuck in a traffic jam with Rex. At the station, Freeman drops a set of files on Britten's desk and says the captain wants to know why they don't have any suspects for any of them. When Freeman suggests lunch, Britten opts to jog in Griffith Park instead, no doubt influenced by his real-world run. His real-world experiences intrude themselves into his dream even more obviously when he encounters a dog. Instead of lunging at him, though, this dog leads Britten to a corpse. "Stupid city," Britten mutters.
Britten has stumbled upon the latest victim of the Gemini Killer, a serial killer who drains his victims of their blood, then carves a Roman numeral II in their chest, and always kills two paired victims. For the last twelve years, the Gemini killer has killed two victims every year in a different city. The dead man Britten found is his first in Los Angeles. The problem: the Gemini Killer is dead. So either the Gemini Killer has risen from the dead, or there's a copycat Gemini Killer out there. Either way, within 48 hours another victim will be killed in another park.
After Britten and Freeman explain this to Captain Harper, she tells them that an FBI agent who has been on the Gemini Killer case since its beginning will be flying in to join the investigation. We then meet the FBI agent, Elizabeth Santoro, on the phone with her ex-husband arguing about custody of their daughter. She tells Britten that she has been in Portland writing a book on the case, and that one detail of the murders they didn't make public was that the killer always left a two dollar bill in the victims hand. Since Britten's victim didn't have one, they definitely have a copycat killer. Britten asks her what Portland is like, and Santoro tells him it always rains, like London with hippies.
Britten returns to Griffith Park with Freeman, and they find the dog who found the victim. When the dog is examined, half of a two dollar bill is found in its stomach. Santoro denies that this means it's the real Gemini Killer; she says it just means the copycat had access to classified information, and is therefore probably a disgruntled cop or ex-cop. Freeman thinks Santoro is too quick to dismiss the possibility that this is the original Gemini Killer. Santoro says that she shot the GK herself. No, says Freeman, you shot a man named Arthur Mintern who fit your profile. If Santoro is wrong, they'll be going up a series of blind alleys while the real killer finds and kills another victim. Captain Harper decides to let Santoro have her files of disgruntled cops. Britten tries to convince Santoro that she might be wrong, but fails. We cut to the Gemini Killer as he carries out his well-worn ritual in preparation for his next murder: scalpel, hypo, two dollar bill.
Back in the real world, Britten calls Hannah for help finding his cell phone charger. She doesn't pick up, so he leaves a message. He finds the charger, and also finds an estimate from a moving company: Mountain Top Moving & Storage. Britten is disturbed -- he didn't realize Hannah was this serious about moving to Portland. Even more disturbing is the fact that Hannah didn't tell him about this.
In therapy, Dr. Lee asks why Britten didn't think Hannah was serious about moving. Britten says that moving to Oregon isn't a realistic option, but Dr. Lee thinks Britten has let confirmation bias cloud his judgment: Hannah has been telling him how serious she is, but Britten hasn't been listening. This, Dr. Lee reminds Britten, is how most marriages end: not with screaming fights, but with two people who gradually drift apart from each other.
At the station, Vega tells Britten he has a lead on a case. However, when they go to meet Vega's lead, the supposed pawn shop is a vacant storefront. When Vega admits the lead offered to help him for $100, Britten tells him he's been scammed. "If you have to buy it, it may be information. If they try and sell it to you, it's always BS." Britten adds, "Think of it as a rookie tax."
Back home, Britten gazes at the movers' estimate and calls Hannah again. Again, she doesn't pick up. This time, he doesn't bother leaving a message.
In his dream of the Gemini Killer, Britten agrees with Freeman that Santoro shot the wrong man, and they're dealing with the original. They start asking around at cheap motels, near Griffith Park, in hopes of finding him. As he emerges from one, Britten sees an abandoned building with the sign MOUNTAIN TOP MOVING & STORAGE. With a vision of Hannah's estimate in his mind, he enters the building, and . . . almost catches the Gemini Killer.
Santoro is very suspicious, though, because Britten can't explain why he picked this particular building to investigate. Later, her suspicions deepen when she receives a phone call from a man claiming to be the Gemini Killer -- a call that came from Britten's home phone. Santoro decides that Britten is the copycat, and Captain Harper asks him to hand in his weapon.
An hour later, Freeman confronts Britten. He doesn't believe Britten is a copycat, but he does point out how wierd Britten has been acting since returning to work. He hands Britten a set of crime scene photos, and says that if Britten is going to pull another rabbit out of his hat, now is the time. Britten does: a napkin at the warehouse has a green exclamation point logo that Britten remembers seeing spraypainted, in red, on the vacant storefront he checked out with Vega in the real world. While the killer was making his phone call to Santoro, Britten had been to the vacant storefront in his dream. It was the same, except there was no spraypainted red mark.
It turns out that the green logo is from the Bay Street Coffee Shop chain, which has six locations in Los Angeles, all in proximity to a park. How to pick which one? Britten looks back at the crime scene photos from the Griffith Park murder. Santoro is in the background of one, holding a coffee cup with the Bay Street Coffee logo. She had the cup when Britten met her in Brentwood. The coffee shop in Brentwood is in the lobby of the Meridian Hotel -- where Santoro is staying, and where the killer has been stalking her. The Gemini Killer has targeted Santoro for his next victim.
When Santoro doesn't answer her cell phone, Britten is convinced that the killer has abducted her, and he's right. Freeman has the park nearest the Meridian, Aliso Canyon Park, sealed off, but the killer, using Santoro's FBI ID, is able to get past the police. Freeman and Britten head for Aliso Canyon Park. The killer is draining Santoro's blood and preparing to carve the Roman numeral into her abdomen, when he is interrupted by Britten. After a gunfight, the killer flees, and Britten saves Santoro. The killer gets away from Freeman.
In the hospital, Britten watches as Santoro's ex-husband and daughter come to visit her.
In the real world, Hannah is back from Portland, and Britten talks to her about the estimate -- and about his fear that she wants to leave him. She says she didn't tell him about it because she was ashamed that she couldn't cope with Rex's death the way he was able to. She doesn't want to forget Rex, though, and being with Britten helps her to remember him.
Britten tells his therapists, both the real Dr. Lee and the imaginary Dr. Evans, that he is willing to move with Hannah to Portland. However, in his dream, he'll be remaining in Los Angeles with Rex. Dr. Lee thinks that moving to Portland will weaken Britten's ability to maintain the reality of his dream, and that Britten will finally recognize it for the dream it is -- which means acknowledging that Rex really is dead. Dr. Evans predicts that Britten will fight against the loss of his "dream" of Hannah, but will eventually give in. Britten assures her that he will not. "This thing works because I make it work."
In his dream, Britten receives a call from the Gemini Killer. The killer broke into Dr. Evans' office, and now he knows about Britten's double lives. Unlike Dr. Evans, the killer accepts the reality of both worlds -- he sees Britten and himself as two of a kind, experiencing realities that other people can't understand. "Sweet dreams, Detective Britten. And speaking just for myself, I'd be very disappointed if you woke up."
As Dr. Lee points out, Britten's ability to maintain an entire internally consistent alternate dream world is based on his ability to constantly reinforce it by importing details from the real world. The two most obvious examples from "Oregon" are the Mountain Top moving company and the exclamation mark icon, both of which he imports into his dream to help him deal with the Gemini Killer case. However, this naturally raises the question of just how much reality there is to the Gemini Killer. Did Britten create him out of whole cloth?
I tend to think that there is a real Gemini Killer, and that Britten has been subliminally aware of him for the past twelve years. In his dream, Britten's subconscious brought the Gemini Killer to Los Angeles, and also brought Elizabeth Santoro, the FBI agent who, in the real world, tracked him down and shot him the year before. The Green World has always been a wish-fulfillment fantasy of Britten's and "Oregon" makes that particularly clear. While in the real world Britten is helplessly watching his marriage to Hannah slowly dissolve, in his dream Britten not only tracks the Gemini Killer to his lair, and almost captures him, he saves the life of the FBI agent who mistakenly thought she had killed him. And also, incidentally, Britten uses his dream Santoro to counteract Hannah's adoring descriptions of Portland; Santoro dismisses the city as a dreary place full of rain and hippies.
It is significant that Britten's conversations with his dream therapist, Dr. Evans, do not involve the Gemini Killer case, or indeed anything in the Green World. Instead, they talk about events in the real world: Hannah's desire to move to Portland, and Britten's willingness to accommodate her. Britten's subconscious knows that the events in the Green World aren't real, and don't ultimately matter (except to the extent that they allow Britten to deny the reality of his son's death). What matters is his marriage to Hannah in the real world.
Britten refuses to accept that one of his worlds isn't real, but his subconscious knows better. What's more, he subconsciously knows that his dream world is driving him slowly but surely insane. That's why Britten dreams of a phone call from his imaginary serial killer. "You're just like me," the psychopath tells him, and there can be no more chilling reminder of the danger Britten faces by refusing to accept reality. In the end, if he doesn't wake up and face the truth, he will become just like the Gemini Killer.
On the other hand . . .
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