The Sushi Bar at the Edge of Forever

Calvin Lee McMillin, English

What if your entire life turned out to be a work of fiction? That's the curious problem facing Sanjuro Jones when he comes face-to-face with the man who created him. While attending an academic conference overseas, Sanjuro sparks up a conversation with a fellow customer in a hotel sushi bar. The stranger bears a slight resemblance to our hero, and as their chat progresses, Sanjuro soon learns that not only do they share similar experiences, but that they also grew up in small, rural towns only a few miles apart. Things are going fine until Sanjuro begins lamenting the various tragedies he's endured in recent years, an action which prompts the mysterious stranger to make a startling revelation – he is an author, and Sanjuro is his fictional alter-ago. Although skeptical at first, Sanjuro comes to believe the man's words when he starts flaunting his god-like powers. As he quizzes his creator, the cloak of reality is pulled back, revealing the simple, yet wholly astonishing truth – Sanjuro's entire existence sprang from the imagination of just one man. It seems the author has visited his creation to apologize for the pain he's caused, hoping to make amends with his fictional "son." However, things don't go quite as smoothly as planned, as an irate Sanjuro gives "God" a little lesson about free will! Even as he teeters on the brink of all-out blasphemy, will Sanjuro actually be the one man who is able to meet his maker and live to tell the tale?