The screen opens to a  young man in a suit sitting behind a news desk.  On the lower right corner of the screen is the channels icon FFNN in black letters in a gray background.

"Hello I�m Josh Temple and your watching Weekly Fanfic Update, on the FanFiction News Network"

"Today is October 31 1999, on tonight�s episode is an interview with Gregg Sharp about his creation the bet, but first and interview with Rebeka Thomas the person the started last weeks Matrix fic craze."

The screen changes to a two windows next to each other with a gray background between them.  As always the network icon is in the corner. In the left window is an average looking woman with dark blond hair and brown eyes the name under the window identifies her as Rebeka Thomas on the right window is  Josh Temple.

Josh:  What made you think of a Ranma matrix xover?

Rebeka: Two things. For one, the second thing after Jujitsu that Neo trained in was Kempo, To be fair, I -was- watching for this, but I didn�t expect it to be -second.-]And, the idea had been bouncing around in my head for a while, and as I was watching the movie, it finally came into my conscious awareness.

Josh: Interesting,  do you think its odd that this debate has started now almost a year after the movie was released?

Rebeka: Not really. I wasn't on the list when it was first released, so I wouldn�t know if a similar thing happened then. All i can say, is that it was waiting to happen. It was released on video so that ppl who didn�t go to the theaters when they had the chance, or those who didn�t have the chance; could watch it,.. it -does- lend itself to crossovers, you know.

Josh: Very true on, The Matrix has been called a live action anime.  Why didn't people think about this after the move first came out or when Fire (http://www.ozemail.com.au/%7Edzillman/fire/) released
Mercury's World an SM Matrix xover.

Rebeka: Well, I really wouldn�t know about the political climate on the list when it first came out.. I do know that at certain times they tend to reject new ideas, and right now traffic was at an all time low so people were open.

Josh: The climate of the FFML does have a great influence on trends.  Why do you think that Ranma is the xover in almost all of the messages?

Rebeka: What can I say?  It's a popular series.

Josh: How do you feel about starting this whole thing?

Rebeka: Well, I'm somewhat surprised. All I originally did was post an idea I had, using the list as a sort of sounding board, see whether people would read the fic if I wrote it. But, it seems to have lit a wildfire.

Josh: That seems to happen every once in a while. Do you believe that this will become an established type of fanfiction like 'The Bet' or will it pass in a week?

Rebeka: Well, I really couldn't say. I know that WW is writing one, and I know of some others who might try. Also, there were some fics that were going around before I went on vacation from FFML, they might come out of the woodwork...

Josh: We will have to wait and see. Do you think that this will be though of as a "fad fic" like self insertion fics and revenge fics or will the works being written be of high quality?

Rebeka: Well, the ones I've seen have mostly been pretty high quality, but then so was "Sauce." But, although the first Revengefic was good, I certainly can't say the same about "Artemis' Lover," the first recorded SI. Or, it might go the way of the Character-written fics, fade into obscurity. Anyone remember Hiroshi and Daisuke write a Fanfic?

Josh: That is true some things just fade away, and I agree most of what has been posted has been of a pretty high quality.  Are you planing to write your own fic based on this and what fics if any have you written?

Rebeka: I did release a Beta copy of  Chapter on Tuesday.

Josh: Thank you for your time.

The screen switches back to its normal format.

Josh:  Now less than a week after it started the flood of Matrix fics has slowed to a trickle. Only time will tell how these fics will fair. Now we have Gregg Sharp about The Bet.

The screen changes to a two windows next to each other with a gray background between them.  As always the network icon is in the corner. In the left window is Gregg Sharp and in the right is Josh Temple.

Josh: When did The Bet start when was the winner called?

Gregg: actually, I'm not sure of the exact dates. I had my HardDrive (along with the computer it was hooked up to) go bad and the floppy I�d used as back up was unrecoverable even using Norton Utilities.

Josh: That�s a real shame. What were the exact rules of The Bet?

Gregg: The rules were quite simple: using retrograde (or in the process of re-merging with a mainline) timelines, a simple change was to alter the timeline. Points were awarded for both the most sweeping and the most esthetic change in a timeline. A single small change was supposedly the one made, but the timeline it altered could already be quite different from any "canon" version.

Josh: Did you create The Bet?

Gregg: Guilty as charged. I am indeed the culprit for this particular framing mechanism.

Josh: Why did you create the bet and how?

Gregg: I wanted to try my hand at a lengthy series, but there were LOT of ideas I saw as possible- especially within the series Ranma 1/2. I came up with the basic idea of meddling deities with the two mini-fics "Dragon's Destiny" and "Neutral Ground." Toltiir has been around since my RPG days, the concept of a series of archetype Elder deities with a little more class than the Love craftian variety, and particularly a Elder god of Mischief (not Chaos-there's a difference) originated there.

Josh: What�s your opinion about the extent of the Bet and its impact on fanfiction?

Gregg: The Bet had an impact? I don't really see it. Yes, a few people such as VGAP and Skysaber have used ideas from these or the Bet concept, and Jim Robert Bader has used a version of Toltiir in his latest "Reality Squared" story, but I haven't seen anything that indicates it's famous (or infamous).

Josh: Why did you write so many Bet fics?

Gregg: Because I've never been satisfied with the "canon" for a number of reasons, and the chance to go off and write Alterniverses (using Wade Trischler's term) was *too* appealing to ignore.

Josh: True personally I believe that a  dissatisfaction with the cannon  mixed with admiration of the characters is the basis of fanfiction.  What�s your opinion of bet spin-offs like The Private Bet

Gregg: Personally, I enjoy them. The "Private Bet" is Rowan's baby (even though that hacker shut him down for the time being)and he's got some fun with it. "Mirrors Multiplied" has crossovers, and I�ve enjoyed the series for a long time.  Hung Nguyen references "Cat Scratch Fever" and "Source Of Pride" as inspirations in some of his works. All of which I�ve enjoyed. There are a few i haven't enjoyed, but unlike some of my critics- if I don't like I story I just stop reading and go on to the next one. (Like any of us need anymore stress in our lives...)

Josh: Yes I to believe in live and let live.  Will another bet be placed?

Gregg: Almost certainly. Some projects dead-end, particularly based on C&C I�ve gotten. SKJAM (who denies being a True Fianc�e Knight but try to find another pairing in his stories) sent a few pointed bits which pretty much caused me to drop the entire "Spring Forward" story. I�ve currently got two others which I�m looking at, one of which is "Another Rune With A View" -taking up the situation of Grey after spending ten years in a mining colony on a world named Tartarus.

Josh: Are there bets of bet like things going on with other anime or manga?

Gregg: I used to have a list, unfortunately that was one of the "lost files." One story that I had mainly written was an Untitled piece where Keiichi Morisato does something in keeping with Japanese tradition. When the relationship is to turn serious, you ask her Head Of Clan/Household for permission to court the young lady. In Keiichi's case, that would mean having to go before Kami-sama. Still looking to see if anyone has a pre-reader copy of this...Most of the Bet had to do with "Ranma 1/2" - due to dissatisfaction with a number of factors as mentioned earlier.

Josh: How did voting work for the bet?

Gregg: I called for votes on the FFML and then on the end of a Notes & Votes spam sent to the RAAC. By an incredible surprise (to me) one of the ideas I threw out just to annoy few people won: "Featherbrite's Tale."

Josh: Thank you for coming. You are a brilliant and modest author.

The screen switches back to its normal format.

"Gregg Sharp can be contacted at"
metroanime@mindspring.com
"and his web site is"
http://metroanime.home.mindspring.com/

To the left of  Josh�s head a box appears  with the addresses

"And Rebeka Thomas can be reached at"
ranko_1_2@hotmail.com

"That�s it for tonight�s episode. Any commentary or suggestions can be submitted at this address" tarne_of_eat@hotmail.com

______________________________________________________
Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com