Week Two: Exit Interview

Immediately following the final vote, the chosen HouseAuthor was teleported out of the House and onto the top of Reasonless Tower. Their interview with Julianna is as follows:

Julianna: Well if it isn’t Ms. Woolf. I’m sure this is as much of a surprise for you as it is for me.

Woolf: I must have underestimated Charles’ favoritism with the others. Clearly a morbid, eccentric man is much favorable company than a woman such as myself.

Julianna: Does this involve the plan you mentioned making with Sor Juana during the debate? I’m sure our viewers are curious to learn what you two were plotting.

Woolf: The three of us – Sor Juana, Christina, and I – knew that at the very base level, we were three women competing against seven men. It comes at no surprise that we banded together to further all our chances at staying safe, but we had to devise plans to make sure others would be voted out. I predicted that one of your chosen Ideals would involve women, and so I had pulled Sor Juana aside last week to explain my prediction. Our plan was simple: when this Ideal came into play, it would almost guarantee one of us the position of Head Thinker. Both Sor Juana and Christina have already made adversaries in the likes of Charles and some of the others, whereas I was still on relatively good terms with everyone.

Julianna: Which would explain why you conceded to Sor Juana in the debate?

Woolf: Precisely. With Sor Juana as Head Thinker, she could nominate me against one of the other, more irritating HouseAuthors. In this case, the obvious choice was Charles. We believed that his antics would upset the majority of the House, and so the majority would vote for him.

Julianna: But something must have went wrong, if it’s you that’s standing here instead of him.

Woolf: Something went wrong, indeed. I’m sure that Herman voted for me only because of my actions last week, and Molière seems to get a kick out of Charles’ behavior. Franz may have voted for Charles, and Christina surely did so as we-

Julianna: Oh, I wouldn’t be so sure of that.

Woolf: Why wouldn’t she? She despises the man.

Julianna: Exactly.

Woolf: …Whatever it may be, there is nothing I can do to change the chain of events now. All I can do is wait for you to reveal that little tidbit of information you promised to say only to the losing HouseAuthor this week.

Julianna: You remember that? Clever girl. Ah, yes. Women in our Realm.

Woolf: They’re the “new men,” as you put it?

Julianna: They would have to be, Ms. Woolf. After all, there are no men in this Realm. Not anymore, anyway.

Woolf: You live in a world with no men? How does one even come across a world where that can occur?

Julianna: In an Enlightened Realm, anything is possible. In fact, the concepts of your work helped form the very basis of our decision to remove men from the Realm! We wanted to test how women would fair without serving as man’s mirror in which they can foster their exaggerated sense of self-esteem. And it’s worked perfectly! Women don’t need to subject men to taking blame for their follies. Men are obsolete here.

Woolf: Julianna, that’s absurd. You cannot be serious about this. Can you?

Julianna: Maybe you’d better understand our situation if you remembered who I am, Virginia.

Woolf: Remember? This is the first time I’ve ever met you. How would I remember someone I’ve never even met?

Julianna: I’m not implying that you’ve met me before. Perhaps you knew my brother, then? Not “knew” as in knew personally, but “knew” as in familiar with his work?

Woolf: I’m afraid I’m still drawing a blame here.

Julianna: My brother, Ms. Woolf. Is William Shakespeare.

Woolf: That’s impossible. Simply impossible. Stop this silly game and let me go home.

Julianna: Like I said before, Ms. Woolf. Nothing is impossible in an Enlightened Realm. I am indeed Judith Shakespeare – the “imagined” brother of the great William Shakespeare. Imagined by you, nonetheless. You. Virginia Woolf. Have created me, and birthed me into existence. And for that, I ask you to travel down to the Tower’s basement with a heavy heart. I do not wish to do this to my “creator,” but rules are rules.

Woolf: There is no such person as Judith Shakespeare! There is no such world where men do not exist anymore! This game does not exist!

Julianna: Quiet please, Ms. Woolf.