Jane Actually

looked directly at Jane and asked, “Are you right handed?”
    It was a question that surprised Jane, it not having been an issue for almost two hundred years, but she answered in the affirmative, which Melody communicated. He then put an armband holding a portable terminal around Ms Prentiss’ left arm and gave her two small wireless earbuds, which Ms Prentiss inserted. With her right hand she then activated the device on her left arm and after a few seconds walked to Jane’s immediate right.
    “Hello, Jane, with your permission, I’m ready to act as your avatar.” Ms Prentiss’s voice almost seemed to sound in Jane’s mind; the AfterNet field of the terminal was so strong and pure that it washed out the field of the less sophisticated terminal Melody wore.
    “Yes please … go ahead,” Jane said.
    “Actually, it’s the other way round. Once you give permission, I act on your behalf. You have only to think what you want to say and I will say it for you. You only have to move and I will follow. At first I’ll have to edit you to prevent my saying what I think are your private thoughts. I would suggest you asking your friend to turn off her terminal, but you’ll have to speak that thought. Are you ready?”
    It was then that Jane realized their conversation was silent. Ms Prentiss did not speak out loud for her terminal to interpret, but instead could project her thoughts directly into the AfterNet field where it was relayed to Jane. This was her first experience of a living person talking directly to her.
    The surprise of it slightly delayed Jane’s answer. She regained her composure, however, and said, “Melody, would you please turn off your terminal?”
    Jane found that the terminal interpreted her thoughts almost as easily as if she were speaking out loud. She hoped her casual thoughts would not be captured by the terminal as well, and then panicked when she thought that thought had just been captured. But a quick glance at the transcript reassured her.
    Ms Prentiss spoke those words aloud a mere fraction of a second after Jane said them. Melody raised an eyebrow at the experience of Ms Prentiss, affecting an English accent, speaking for Jane. The technician, having observed Ms Prentiss closely, nodded to her and left the room.
    “I believe we’re ready to get started,” Ms Parker said after stepping forward. She turned to look at Ms Prentiss but addressed her as Jane: “Miss Austen, we’ll begin with a mock interview to see how you and Ms Prentiss interact. If you’ll follow me onto the stage.”
    To the others, it appeared that Ms Prentiss hesitated, but in reality it was Jane who was momentarily confused by the experience of the saleswoman addressing Ms Prentiss as herself. After a second’s pause, however, Jane rallied and said, “Of course, Sharon,” which her avatar relayed. She then moved to the stage and her avatar dutifully followed. Ms Parker took the seat at stage right, while Ms Prentiss sat in the middle chair. Jane, suddenly understanding, sat in the chair at stage left.
    The man and woman who had been in the shadows came forward. The man went behind the camera and the woman came on stage to put lapel microphones on the two seated women. Jane watched this and marvelled at the efficiency of it all. It was obvious also that Ms Parker and Ms Prentiss were well prepared for this and Jane also noticed that they wore heavier makeup than fashionable, presumably because of the filming.
    After the woman stagehand left and the two women seated themselves comfortably, Ms Parker told the cameraman to begin filming.
    After a slight wait, the cameraman began counting down with his fingers and then pointed at Ms Parker. At the same time, Jane noticed a red light appear on the camera, which Ms Parker addressed.
    “We’re here today with Jane Austen, the author of those classics you remember from high school, like
Pride and Prejudice
and
Emma
, and which have been made countless times as movies here and abroad. After an almost two hundred year absence from the new releases category, she’s back with her latest novel,
Sanditon
.” She then turned to Ms Prentiss and asked. “What’s it like, Miss Austen, to find yourself competing in the modern world of publishing?”
    Jane froze. The novelty of the situation left her bewildered. She realized now that the avatar agency had intentionally given her little instruction to see how she would cope, which raised her ire. She was about to