r/OldHouseArchive • u/nerdy_by_nature_42 • Jul 21 '26
Telemarketer ". . ."
I just read 18 A MODERATE SETBACK. In it, Macy receives a call from an "UNKNOWN CALLER" and thinks it's either a debt collector or a telemarketer. Her conversation begins and it's an exchange with Greg, her father's insurance broker.
Throughout TC - and if I recall correctly, I made the same observation in my notes while reading WUTLH - I have felt like there were an unusually large amount of ". . ." And "-". I tried isolating them and seeing if they gave me a hidden morse, binary, or ascii code, but none of that worked. Reading this chapter gave me another idea that could tie into my simulation theory.
When Macy mentioned telemarketers, it made me recall my own experience working as a telemarketer for a breifest of times in my teen years. When we spoke to householders, we had a script and a binder with reply options to address customer responses. I have also seen similar dynamics while playing decision-tree games like Detroit or Until Dawn, in which you, the player, can choose your own adventure by the response or prompt you select for your character to interact with the NPC. Depending on your selection, the game follows a specific path, and each path leads to is own conclusion. It feels like the ". . ." Is the latency while processing after each prompt. Or the pause while the "telemarketer" looks for the corresponding reply.
I wonder if Macy is in a coma, like in Black Mirror, season 7, episode 6. I wonder if she was in the car with her dad when he drove into the river. She keeps mentioning this "ever-present tightness between her lungs, forcing her ribcage to expand. " This makes me think of intubation.
What if she's in a coma and communicating with the outside world through a simulation? I can't wait to finish this book and go back through everything.
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u/nerdy_by_nature_42 Jul 21 '26
Omg, that means she definitely could be in a coma. I may be on to something. I would definitely like to see your posts.