Chapter 15 Part 2
"May I come in, Uzine?" Hiro's voice thundered.
Uzine made no response, and Hiro took this as consent.
Uzine noticed Hiro was not in his normal working attire. Instead, he was adorned in mostly white. If Uzine had ever been familiar with more than his limited existence, he would have recognized the garment being worn by Hiro as a toga.
As Hiro entered, Uzine finally found his voice.
"N...NO! You cannot come in, you fraudulent god! LEAVE ME ALONE!"
Hiro stood just in the doorway and faced Uzine.
"You speak harshly, Uzine. I can see that your tattoo is at your waist, which I assume means you have not been to work, and that you have elected to die. I am here to give you another option if you wish. I am aware you have been lied to. In my own life, I too did a fair amount of lying."
Uzine's features darkened, then turned to crimson.
"You are NOT REAL, HIRO! No more REAL than my WIFE! GET THE HELL OUT OF MY HOUSE!"
"Uzine, it is true your wife was was not real. She was a fiction. A fiction generated to keep you satisfied enough to keep you working. It is not true that I am a fiction."
"You are just another part of the holonosphere! GET OUT!"
Hiro smiled widely at these words.
"It is true that I am part of the holonosphere, yes. Yet, I am also part of the hologram you refer to as physical reality. My existence is neither of those things, yet both of them. As evidence, consider that your wife would never have been able to make the holonosphere obey as I am about to suggest. Would you believe my words if I produced to you something which otherwise should be unfathomable?"
"I...", stammered Uzine.
"So be it," spoke Hiro. With a sweep of his hand he turned the entirety of Uzine's ground floor into a raging waterfall. The only shelter was around Uzine and Hiro.
Uzine was absolutely terrified. He knew that the holonosphere could generate convincing illusions, but they lacked a solidity to them--the same solidity that was missing where his wife was concerned. What he saw before him now was more than mere holonospheric trickery. He knew in part because he did not feel the twinge he felt before--there was no emptiness here.
Hiro waved his hand again and Uzine's living room re-materialized.
"Are you satisfied now?" smiled Hiro.
Uzine fell down in prostration. "Forgive my insolence, oh great Hiro!"
"You are forgiven, Uzine, but you need not prostrate yourself before me. I am not a God, though there are some that would have me be one."
