"Hypertextual Consciousness"

Leap into Uncertainty

When faced with a decision, the first thing we do is consider our options; what are they and what will be the consequences of each? After weighing our options, we make our decision. Our decision is based on knowing what will likely occur as a result. In a sense, we are taking a leap of certainty. In Mark Amerika’s Hypertextual Consciousness, we are offered a variety of links to choose from without knowing where they will lead. We cannot weigh our options because there are no determinable consequences; we are forced to take a leap into uncertainty. Nevertheless, a choice must be made.
When reading a printed work, the reader generally does not have the option to influence the outcome – the work tells us what it wants to tell us and that is it. However, options are available to the reader. The most obvious choice is to read the work as the author intended: cover-to-cover. As a reader, you can choose what chapters/sections you wish to read and which ones you would rather skip. Michel Chaouli, author of “How Interactive Can Fiction Be?” asserts that “the lack of choices on one level (the topology of the text) creates limitless choices on another (the phenomenology of reading)” (612). In this sense, “a printed book bound HTC to the page” (Amerika).
Hypertext is an alternative to print. It encourages the readers to influence it; to immerse themselves in the work. No longer are readers discouraged by an apparent linearity, as is the case with print. However, readers are now faced with a sense of uncertainty; what will be the consequence of their choice? Where will a link take them? As Amerika states, “HTC as experienced in cyberspace is creating a new form of narrativity to get lost in.” Unfortunately, that is exactly what happened; I got lost. Personally, the fact that I could not simply read the work and understand its meaning frustrated me. Also, I was a little discouraged not being able to determine if I had read Amerika’s work in its entirety. If given the choice between a printed work or a hypertext work, I think I will stick to print – at least for now.

Works Cited
Amerika, Mark. HTC: Hypertextual Consciousness. 1997. 18 Sept. 2009 .

Chaouli, Michel. “How Interactive Can Fiction Be?” Critical Inquiry 31.3 (2005): 599-617. Academic Search Premier. EBSCOhost. UW-L Murphy Library, La Crosse,WI. 18 Sept. 2009 .