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Role Playing

by

Harry Buschman

Not too far from the outer fringe of the Milky Way Galaxy, there’s a system of planets circling a star called the “Sun.” The Sun got its name from the inhabitants of the 3rd planet. The rest of the planets of stars in the Milky Way Galaxy have no name for it at all.

The inhabitants of this 3rd planet have a name for everything; in fact each and every one of them has a name all his own to distinguish him from all the other inhabitants. According to them, nothing really exists unless it has a name. There are nine hundred billion species of beetle on this planet, and each one of them has its own name. To put it another way, there is very little difference between a duck-billed platypus and a Harvard Professor of literature until we discover that each of them has a different name.

If an inhabitant of this 3rd planet loses his name, or can’t remember it, he is in big trouble. He can’t vote or collect unemployment insurance - he can’t even be invited to a cocktail party.

On the other hand, if an inhabitant chooses AOL as his internet server he can have six names, and to go with them, he can have six identities also. He can prowl the internet as six separate and distinct animals - none of whom actually exist, or can be held responsible for what they do.

The End

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