It
was on a sunny afternoon in August. I visited my friend James at his city
apartment. James had bought a new computer game, Virtual Reality. We both
were not so sure how to use it but with the instructions in hand we decided
to give it a try. The company had provided us with a free adventure game
in addition to the game James had bought. James asked me nervously to try
it first. I thought, "what could happen?" I placed the nameless adventure
game into the computer, put on the headset and pushed the play button.
At
first I felt quite dizzy. It took a few seconds until my eyes got used
to the picture. I saw myself in the middle of a large, richly decorated
hall with silk curtains on the windows and some chandeliers hanging from
the ceiling. The people were dressed in Old English garments. In one corner
I saw a ten-foot Christmas tree decorated with golden ornaments and candles.
People were sitting at a round table, feasting, singing and laughing.
Suddenly
someone tapped me on my shoulder. I turned around and saw a smiling knight
standing behind me. "Hello," he said, "I'm Gawain." "Hello," was the only
thing I was able to bring out at this moment. In my head, a million questions
sprang up. Was this THE Gawain? Was I faced to face with one of my favorite
literary heroes? Before I could think about what was happening to me, Gawain
took my arm and dragged me to the table. "Come have a beer. You look thirsty,"
he said and handed me a big vessel filled with a golden liquid. I took
a sip, and yes, I was actually able to taste the flavor of?beer.
Gawain continued, " I'm looking for someone to accompany me on a journey."
"What kind of journey?" I asked. "Well, I have promised the Green Knight
that I will meet him next New Year's Day at the Green Chapel. We have to
continue a game we had started this year." "Oh," I said, thinking that
sounded quite exciting, "I like adventures. When are we leaving?"?
"Soon after Christmas," he replied. I realized that the story of Sir Gawain
was about to unfold before my eyes.
As
soon as Christmas was over, we mounted our horses and rode off with the
first morning light. I wondered where we would go, but Gawain seemed to
know the way by heart. Our trip appeared to take a full year. Finally,
it was Christmas again, we reached a castle. Gawain knocked at the door
and said to me, "Let's see if we can stay with these people over Christmas."
A friendly servant opened the door and welcomed us. He said, "My majesty
has a large dinner party and he asks you to join him." We accepted the
friendly invitation. The servant introduced us to the already present guests.
Everybody was very friendly to us. It did not take long when I noticed
the eyes of Gawain and the king's wife crossing over and over again. Both
exchanged smiles, and it became obvious to me that they were flirting with
each other. This made me feel quite uncomfortable. What would happen if
the King found out that his wife was flirting with one of his guests? I
wondered why she would flirt with Gawain? Was she unhappy or was she just
playing a dangerous game? With these thoughts I excused myself and went
to bed.
The next morning I woke up very early.
I decided to go out into the park for a walk to pass some time as long
as everybody else was still asleep. As I opened the door of my room, I
saw the king's wife coming out of Gawain's room. I paused, went back into
my room, and closed the door at once, hoping the king's wife hadn't seen
me. I could not believe what I had seen. Did Gawain spend the night with
the wife of our host? Still thinking about what I had witnessed, I heard
a knock at my door. I jumped at the sound of the knocking;?a cold
shiver ran down my spine, and my muscles tensed up. What should I do now?
Should I pretend I hadn't seen see anything? I took a deep breath, opened
the door and said, "Good morning, my queen." " Good morning", the queen
replied. "Do you have some time? I would like to talk to you." " Sure,"
I answered,?stuttering. "Then let's go to the small breakfast room
where we will be alone at this time, "she suggested. "What is it about?"
I asked with an innocent looking face. She smiled and said, "I'm glad you
asked so directly and informally. All the other guests are so exceedingly
formal with me. It's so difficult to talk about something personal if you
feel distant." She picked up a cup of coffee and took a sip. I waited for
her to continue and tell me, what she had on her mind. I was expecting
that she would give me an excuse for coming out of Gawain's room so early
in the morning. Instead she started, "I noticed that you and Gawain travel
together. Do you know where he is going?" I did not answer. I was waiting
to see if she would tell me. "Gawain is going to meet my husband at the
Green Chapel .He promised my husband last year that he will meet him there,
to continue their sword play. Now I'm afraid that Gawain will get hurt
in this game. I am trying to convince him not to go. I even offered him
a golden ring, trying to bribe him. He did not even look at the ring. No,
not even my smiling and sweet talk can keep him from going. At last I gave
him my magic belt, which will protect him from getting injured. I'm not
sure if he is going to wear it. In Gawain's religious beliefs, the use
of magic is prohibited. What can I do? We spent all night together talking
about why he has to go to the Green Chapel. I could not tell him that the
Green Knight he is going to meet is the King himself. The King forbid me
to tell anybody, and you too have to promise me not to talk to anybody
about this. Now, I come to you in the hope that you are able to convince
Gawain not to go to the chapel. He might listen to you." I listened to
the queen and was surprised about how I had misjudged her so quickly. Why
did she ask me to get involved? If I kept Gawain from going to the Green
Chapel and the king found out that I was the one who stopped Gawain from
going, would he get after me? I thought I shouldn't have gone with Gawain
but now it was too late. If I did not talk with Gawain and something happened,
I would have it on my conscience. What should I do? Here I was thinking
the queen was having an affair with Gawain; instead she was trying to protect
him, putting herself in jeopardy. I finally understood her motivations.
I
did not have the time to talk to Gawain that morning. He was so excited
about going to the Chapel, and he insisted that I go with him. I was not
sure if I should go or find an excuse not to be a witness of the cruel
game, but Gawain did not leave me a choice.
At the chapel we met the Green Knight.
He was really dressed completely in green, I thought. Even his face was
covered so that I was not able to see if it really was the king. When both
man were at arm's length, the Green Knight commanded Gawain to stop and
then drew his sword. Even though I thought I knew what was coming I could
not be sure. Overcome with fear, at the battle I expected, I passed out.
When
I awoke I saw James' fearful face over me. He whispered, "Are you O.K.?"
Now I realized that all I had seen was only the part of the virtual reality
game. I told James about what I had experienced in the adventure game.
He was so excited that he wanted to try the game as well. So he mounted
the helmet on his head and went off into the world of Gawain.
?
Paper written in 1999 by Peter in English World Literature