Jane Actually

complain about her treatment, when she found Ms Prentiss saying: “Thank you very much for asking me on your show, Ms Parker. As I’m sure you understand, this is a novel experience for me.”
    She’s starting without me
, Jane thought, and then realized that thought was probably communicated to her avatar.
    “You’d better think of something to say,” Ms Prentiss silently said to Jane. “I can only stall so long.”
    What was the question?
Jane quickly looked back through the transcript of the conversation, and thought loudly of a reply.
    The others in the studio might have seen Ms Prentiss wince ever so slightly, but she relayed Jane’s reply after only a slight pause.
    “Now as to your question, that’s very interesting because I truthfully had not imagined myself in competition with anyone, other than perhaps myself … my reputation that is.”
    There, that’s a clever response. I have led her to a path I am more comfortable following.
Jane again worried her fleeting thought might have been transmitted to Ms Prentiss but a quick look at the transcript showed that it remained unsaid.
    “You mean that you’re worried whether the critical response to your book will match that of your other six novels? Or that you’re worried that not everyone has embraced the idea that you are in fact the real Jane Austen?”
    Jane was bothered at the impertinence of the latter question and chose to address the first. The thought of the easy solution encouraged her.
    “Why I am worried about the critical response, of course. When I wrote my first six novels, it was obviously a much simpler world. Even the most vitriolic critic had to put pen to paper and take that to a publisher where type would be set and a day or a week or month later that opinion would be printed. Now anyone can voice their opinion instantly, and yes I admit the thought frightens me, but not as much as the two centuries of silence I endured frightened me.”
    And so the interview continued, and in the questions posed by Ms Parker, Jane recognized the hands of her friend Melody and Mr Pembroke. They had obviously prepared questions designed to unnerve her and she felt a rising confidence as she found ways to avoid, deflect or rephrase questions. It was not unlike the etiquette of calming a quarrelsome relative or the deflecting the impertinence of an over ardent admirer. It was a skill to which she had grown unaccustomed, but which she found enjoyable to relearn.
    After the interview, which lasted only about five minutes, Jane was led to another room they called the obstacle course, although it was nothing more than a furnished room. Jane was asked, via instructions pre-recorded on the terminal Ms Prentiss wore, to navigate the room and pick up and handle various objects, such as a brush, a television remote and a cell phone. Ms Prentiss was unaware of the pre-recorded messages and instead responded to Jane’s instructions.
    At first Jane moved too quickly for her avatar, but soon they were moving in unison, almost a dance. She was confused by the television remote and the cell phone but decided she could simply depend on Ms Prentiss to operate those devices.
    During all this Ms Prentiss refrained from any remarks and Jane refrained from posing anything as a question. The cool efficiency of the woman impressed Jane and she recalled that Ms Prentiss had been with the agency three years. Her professionalism was apparent.
    At the end of the training session, Jane finally addressed her avatar directly.
    “That was very impressive, Miranda,” Jane said, successfully remembering to call the woman by her first name.
    “As were you, Miss Austen. Was this truly your first time partnering with an avatar?”
    “Partnering, yes, that’s what it is,” she replied, although truthfully she meant it to be a private thought.
    “I would have edited that,” Ms Prentiss confirmed.
    “Thank you. Yes, it was my first time and it was a very … I don’t know how to describe it … it was very intimate.”
    “It should be. And Miss Austen, may I say how very honoured I am to be a finalist. I have been a fan of your stories since … well since high school. I’ve seen every movie and been to live productions. I truly hope you will pick me.”
    Ms Prentiss’s professionalism fell away and Jane was confronted for the first time with an adoring fan.
    “Yes, well, I’m sure you give me too much credit, but I thank you sincerely.”
    Afterward she reunited with