INTRODUCTION

Signal Moon is a 2022 short story that tackles time travel from an innovative perspective where language is the only tool to convey inconsistencies of interaction across time. Each character exists in its own time and space, and they both rely only on language to build their unique special blended world of communication. The author manages to create two parallel worlds each with its distinguished features reflecting its era and readers are constantly switching between these two worlds as the two protagonists interact across space and time. This unique blended world reflects a distinguished interaction of historical and social facts where past, present and future are intertwined to provide an extremely enjoyable literary work, highlighting the strength of natural strong human ties in spite of time and space boundaries and anonymous heroism especially in times of conflict.

The present study applies the Text world Theory which is a cognitive model introduced by Werth (1995) and further developed by Gavins (2007). It aims to explain how people construct meaning from language by creating mental representations and departs from the concept that receivers of a text (spoken/written) build in their minds a “world” of this text. There are three different conceptual levels for this world (see section 3 below for details). In addition, the present research makes use of the Blending Theory (Fauconnier &Turner) - another cognitive theory that describes how people integrate many ideas, concepts, and experiences to produce new meanings. It is often referred to as conceptual blending or conceptual integration. This theory suggests that our understanding of language, thought, and creativity involves the mental merging of distinct concepts (mental spaces) into a single coherent idea or image. What signifies the present study is not that it applies the blending theory; rather it attempts to integrate its central concept of blending in the Text World Theory. It suggests the possibility of constructing a blended text world where the spatiotemporal elements of two distinct text worlds each with its place, time, and enactors blend in one world.

Applying Text World Theory with this new perspective intends to reveal how the author creates different text worlds, marking the separate time frames of past and future on the one hand, and a blended time frame of both past and future on the other, unfolding through various world switches not only the development of events, but also the central themes of the short story. The study aims to answer the following research questions:

1. What are the general text worlds constructed in the short story?
2. How are these text worlds integrated to create a blended text world, reflecting the unique experience of time travelling in the short story?
3. How shifts between worlds are linguistically realized?
4. How are world switches constructed to reflect the central themes of the short story?

THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

2.1.  Text World Theory

The Text World Theory is a model that explains how individuals comprehend words. It was first introduced by Werth in a number of essays in the 1990s (1994, 1995a, 1995b, 1997a, 1997b). Following his regrettable passing in 1999, his model was further developed and elaborated by Gavins (2007). The Text World Theory foundation is based on the idea of mental representation, which was initially introduced in the closely related disciplines of cognitive psychology and cognitive linguistics. Mental representation is the concept of envisioned worlds that we construct in our minds when we process any given text. Werth (1995b) uses an interesting analogy to explain the concept of mental representation: the mind is the mental cosmos and, crucially, the universe that we also perceive to be outside of ourselves. This is due to the fact that everything we observe, recall, imagine, and assign meaning to is situated in that mysterious area that we refer to as our mind. The universe extends beyond our own self; however, we can only feel it through mental processing. This is somewhat analogous to the same way that the air is full of radio and television waves, but we can only experience them when they are processed through a radio or television (Werth,1995 b).

According to Gavins (2007), the Text World Theory aims to provide a framework for the study of discourse which is fully sensitive to all the situational, social, historical and psychological factors which play a crucial role in our cognition of language. It is "its comprehensive application of cognitivist principles in analytical practice" that renders it “unique" (Gavins, 2007, p. 8.)

According to Text World Theory, every discourse can be further classified into three conceptual levels (Werth, 1994, 1995a, 1995b, 1997a, 1997b, 1999). The first is the Discourse World, which addresses the current discourse situation. This encompasses everything that is in the immediate vicinity of the participants (writer / speaker and reader / listener) and their contexts, in addition to their knowledge of their own backgrounds and cultures. The second level is Text Worlds that focuses on the conceptual procedures that our minds use to process conversation through mental images. According to Gavins (2007, p.10), these textual worlds "can be as real to us as our experience of the everyday world in which we live."  World Building (WB) components and Function Advancing (FA) propositions comprise text worlds. WB components are objects, enactors (characters), and the spatiotemporal parameters of the world. The events or activities occurring in the text world are referred to as FA elements, and they are reflected in the processes used in the analyzed discourses. The third level refers to Text Sub-Worlds (in Werth's terminology, 1994, 1995a, 1995b, 1997a, 1997b, 1999) / World Switches (in Gavins' terminology, 2005). Gavins (2005, p. 52) in her defense for introducing the term world switch, says that "the prefix 'sub' is misleading here because it suggests that newly created worlds (which are often numerous and extensive in discourse) are always and necessarily subordinate in some way to the first text world".

Whenever the original Text World's temporal or spatial elements change, World Switches are constructed; every time there is a flash forward or flashback, they are established. On the other hand, whenever there is a shift in modality, attitudinal world switches occur. As a result, deontic and boulomaic modal worlds that represent duties and wants, respectively, are created. Any hypotheticality or remoteness conveyed in the text world lead to the construction of epistemic world switches (Gavins, 2000). Notably, direct and indirect speeches are cited by Werth (1991) and Gavins (2001) as common instances of this kind.

Another way to categorize text worlds is by accessibility. Certain text worlds are accessible to participants, while others are accessible to enactors (versions of a character within a work). A world that is available to participants is one that they have created, meaning that they are the ones who can access it (writer/speaker and reader/listener). In this instance, because they are involved in both its creation and immediate reception, participants have access to enough information to evaluate the world for truth. On the other hand, a world that is enactor/character-accessible is one that has been made by enactors, or certain characters in the narrative. Because they are situated at a level removed from the immediate world, participants are unable to access it. Participants in this case are familiarized with enactors’ worlds through a narrator or through monologues or dialogues involving enactors (characters).

Since its introduction in the 1990s – through Werth’s Model- and its development through Gavins’ work (2001 & 2007), the Text World Theory has been mainly adopted as a cognitive stylistic approach for analyzing literary texts, such as Hidalgo-Downing (2000), Lahey (2004,2006,2007,2012, 2014), Semino (2010), and Aly (2017). However, it has also been applied to a variety of different types of texts. For instance, it was applied by Whitely (2010, 2011) to analyze readers’ emotional reactions, by Saad (2015) to conceptualize emotion in “advice columns”, by Canning (2017) on political affiliations, and by Browse (2018) on people’s accounts of their identities in spoken discourse. More recently, Gibbons (2023) proposed a new concept, “world-retrieval”, to account for the way “readers trace the interconnections between text worlds and attempt to resolve processing difficulties” (p.3). Similarly, the present study applies the Text World Theory from a new perspective by integrating in it the central concept of the blending theory.

2.2.          Integrating the Blending Theory

The present study suggests integrating the central concept of The Blending Theory (Fauconnier, 1994 and Fauconnier& Turner (1996, 1998, 2002) in the text world theory. The Blending Theory is a cognitive theory that describes how people integrate many ideas, concepts, and experiences to produce new meanings. It argues that our understanding of language involves the mental merging of distinct concepts (mental spaces) into a single, coherent idea or image (blend space). According to Fauconnier and Turner (1998), mental spaces are tiny conceptual containers that structure the mechanisms behind human reasoning and communication. There are four distinct mental spaces:

1.Input Spaces: These are the separate mental representations that contain the concepts being blended.

2.Generic Space: This provides the conceptual framework that outlines commonalities between the input spaces.

3.Blend Space: This is the new, emergent concept created from the combination of the input spaces, which can take on properties from both.

Diagram of mental spaces

 Adopted from Fauconnier & Turner (2002)

They present the following metaphor TIME IS MONEY as an example where the 1^stInput Space 1 includes concepts related to time (e.g., scheduling events, wasting time). The second Input Space 2, on the other hand, includes concepts related to money (e.g., spending, saving). The Generic Space comprises the shared idea that both time and money can be spent, saved, or wasted. Finally, the Blend represents the space which allows us to draw parallels between managing time and managing finances, leading to deeper insights about how we value both.Just as mental spaces merge together resulting in a blended space, the present study suggests the possibility of constructing a blended text world where the spatiotemporal elements of two distinct text worlds each with its place, time, and enactors blend in one world. It is argued that the World Building components of a blended text world must, therefore, include a blending/merging element to cross the time and space gap and allow for immediate interaction between participants. In Signal Moon, a transmitter/a unique radio frequency is this blending element. Analysis should trace whether or not there has been constant reference to this blending element in the parts of the short story reflecting the direct interaction between the leading characters.

METHODOLOGY

a.      Data: About Signal Moon

Signal Moon is about an impossible interaction across an eighty-year gap between Lily Baines, a Wren (Women’s Royal Naval Service) petty officer in Yorkshire, 1943 and Matt Jackson, an ST1 (Signal Technician officer) in the US Navy, 2023. Trapped in the middle of the World War II, Lily Baines’ job was to intercept enemy naval communications and send them for decryption. Instead, she picks up an uncoded transmission of a cry for help from a US ship under attack in 2023 in the North Atlantic.

While dismissed by her superiors as a punk, the horrific experience of listening to the actual going down of a ship under attack inspired Lily to send a transmitter to the future to ST1 Matt Jackson in 2023 in a desperate attempt to prevent the tragic scenario she has picked. Miraculously, the transmitter makes it to the future allowing for an inexplicable link to open between Petty Officer Lily Baines and ST1 Matt Jackson where they embark on a journey attempting to prevent the tragic end of Matt and his crew fellows and the eruption of a future third world war. Throughout this inexplicable connection, Lily and Matt develop a strong human connection where Lily Baines realizes the value of her generation’s role in World War II, and where they both realize that their heroic mission is to remain anonymous as there’s no telling of their inexplicable link.

b.      Model of Analysis

The present study applies a hybrid model of analysis integrating the concept of blending from the Blending Theory (Fauconnier & Turner, 1996, 1998, 2002) into the Text World Theory (Werth, 1995; Gavins, 2007). It is believed that integrating the concept of blending with the Text World Theory can account for the unique experience presented by the author. Quinn constructs different Text Worlds marking separate time frames of past and future on the one hand, and a blended time frame of both past and future on the other. Analysis is to address the three levels of discourse represented in the text world theory: Discourse level, Text World level, and Text World Switches. World Switches are traced throughout the novella to reveal how language is manipulated to advance the story plot, reflect the inner thoughts and feelings of the leading characters, and imply the story’s predominant themes. It is noted that these inner thoughts and feelings are usually integrated within the narration by the author’s commentary on the characters’ thoughts and feelings. World switches triggered by these comments are marked in the diagrams as “narrator’s comments world switch”. Moreover, in order to reveal how different text worlds with different time and space are constructed thorough out the short story and how the blended text world reflects a constant switch across time and space for the readers, time and space are always identified in the analytical diagrams even if they are not directly present in the selected excerpt; they are often established in earlier parts of the short story – usually in the headings of each section. Also note that not all cited extracts are represented by diagrams, especially if there is more than one quote reflecting the same idea.

ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION

As a short story, the discourse world of Signal Moon has split spatiotemporal elements where the author and readers share neither time nor place. The story is recounted from a third person perspective where the narrator recounts the events through her eyes and inserts direct speech and dialogues between the characters in the story. Although logically speaking the events of the short story are impossible, readers accept all the story events as reliable.

Throughout the story, the author sets the spatiotemporal parameters of the story line mainly by providing the place and date of each section. Analysis revealed that there are three main text worlds that the author alternates between across the development of the story line.

• Lily’s Text World
• Matt’s Text World
• Lily and Matt’s Blended Text-World.

The table below shows how Lily’s and Matt’s text worlds have their general world building elements as reflected in different time, location and enactors.

The following diagram based on the blending theory reveals how a new blended text world is established by blending input spaces (i.e., world building elements) from the two different text-worlds. Although blending networks are always represented in the form of circles as in the mental spaces diagram in section (2.2) above, in this study rectangles are used to make the text clearer.

4.1.                         Lily's Text World WB

The opening lines of the short story sets Lily’s text world which introduces the tense war atmosphere of the story.

‘March 1943

Withernsea, England

When there was a war on, and when your part in it was so deadly serious it sometimes kept you from sleeping at night, there was really nothing to do but make jokes about it all. It was either make jokes or start weeping at your desk, so Lily made jokes. “The wallpaper in this place is going to do me in,” she quipped an hour into her shift that Monday.’

(p.1)

The author starts by introducing general reactions of those involved in war, using the second person pronoun “you” to involve the reader in this tense war atmosphere. The strong personality of the main protagonist, Lily, is introduced through the first world-switch where she is presented as the one that “made jokes”.

The next world switch is achieved by direct speech quoting one of her jokes. This opening provides a real feel of the setting and shows Lily’s strong personality. It demonstrates how she copes with stress by joking to provide relief to her fellow Wrens in difficult work conditions and dreadful war time.

From these opening lines, the short story unfolds with series of world-switches. Analysis has shown that there were major switches between the three main text worlds (i.e., Lily’s world, Matt’s world, their blended world) in addition to more world-switches within each world. These switches are commonly signposted by direct spatiotemporal elements of time and place, direct speech of the characters, direct thought representations, and narrator’s commentary.

4.2.                        Matt’s Text World

Quinn introduces the 2^nd protagonist, Matt Jackson’s Text World through the title and opening lines of the second section:

March 9, 2023

York

ST1 Matt Jackson was looking forward to being back at sea. Three years at a listening station in Yorkshire wasn’t a bad gig, but sitting in a boxy room staring at screens wasn’t the same when the floor wasn’t rocking under you with the swells of long rollers.

(p.13)

As the diagram reveals, these opening lines offer a series of Text World Switches that introduces the 2^nd protagonist’s desires for the near future, his last three years’ experience, his main job, drawing a comparison between working offshore and in the sea. It is noted that world switches are mainly achieved through one form or another of deictic shifts.

The following lines of the scene continue with more Text World Switches providing more information on Matt’s memories when first coming to York, the nature and surroundings of his job; his view that it is more interesting than a James bond adventure, his first entry to the Grand Hotel, till he receives the package sent by Lily.

4.3.                        Lily & Matt’s Blended Text-World

In the initial encounter between Lily and Matt, the author does not fully reveal the blended text world. Readers are initially directed to believe that there is no time change (half an hour to midnight on that Monday in March 1943). The extract below shows how Lily received her first encounter with Matt’s world.

‘The Americans were running tense check-ins every ten minutes; there were references to a ship called the Invincible that had apparently disappeared some days earlier. Wait, when had that happened? Lily circled the date unbelievingly on her message pad.’

(p.9)

This was followed by further reference to the date which was actually ambiguous to the readers. The last World Switch in the above extract is only character accessible. Only Lily knew the date; readers don’t know the date and consequently could not understand why she acted unbelievingly. The date becomes accessible to the readers in the closing scene of the first section below:

‘Am I really doing this? Do I really believe this is real? She exhaled a long breath. “The ninth of March, the year two thousand twenty-three.”’

                                                                                                                        (p. 13)

The first actual direct interaction between Lily and Matt takes place in the second section of the short story after Matt receives Lily’s package sent eighty years ago. In this scene, the two enactors have split spatiotemporal elements. Still, they can interact as indicated by the World Switches achieved through direct speech.

‘Noon. He glanced at the handwritten list and tuned the receiver to the first scribbled frequency. “Jackson here,” he found himself saying, leaving off his rank. “That’s Juliet Alpha Charlie Kilo Sierra Oscar November, any station this net, QSL QSB K.” Pause. “OK, guys, what’s the joke? Over.”

A crackle of static, and then a woman’s voice came blaring out, so loudly that he jumped. “Oh my God. My God, it’s you. I didn’t think—oh my God.”’

(p.17)

4.4.                        Text Worlds Reliability 

For readers, on the discourse world level, the story events are accepted as reliable even though they are practically impossible. However, on the Text World level, the reliability of the blended text world events is doubted by the enactors in the story at the beginning. World Switches are created, marking how different enactors rejected the possibility of the blended-world events. It is noted that the enactors’ assessment of the blended text world reliability is mostly marked by direct speech, direct thought or indirect thought representation through the narrator’s commentary.

For Fiddian, Lily’s boss, what lily heard in the transmission was completely unreliable. Consider the following examples of direct speech of Fiddian:

• ‘“Baines, it was a silly hoax. Some lads messing about with an illicit broadcast.”’ (p.10)
• ‘“I have looked. ST1 is not a real rank, even among the Americans.”’                                                           (p.10)
• ‘“Baines, it doesn’t matter what he was saying. You said you heard them give this date in the transmission?” Jabbing a finger at the date Lily had scrawled. “This alone proves it’s all bunk.”’

(pp. 10-11)

For Lily, she was wavering between believing her senses or believing in common sense. Creating world switches signposted by direct speech and direct though reflected how Lily wavered between accepting what she has heard as true events and judging them by her common sense. Consider the following extract:

‘“I know how it looks” Do I? Lily thought. The date was bunk; every drop of common sense said so . . . but those forty-two minutes of broadband agony kept swirling in her head. ‘                            

(p.11)

For Matt, prior to the encounter in the blended world, Matt was already skeptical. He assumed since receiving the transmitter and the letter that it is a prank.

• ‘What the hell. Probably a prank anyway. Matt went for the key.’
                                                                                                       (p. 16)
• ‘He was already composing a reply once he figured out who was on the other end: Thought you got me, you assholes; think again.’

(p. 17)

During and after the conversation, Matt kept his doubting views to the whole issue. Consider the following extract that comes immediately after Matt hears Lily’s voice over the transmitter.

‘Upper-crust voice, very British, definitely female. He’d guess early twenties. Matt's buddy Dailey from C-School had a Brit girlfriend; had he enlisted her for the prank? Matt grinned, leaning back on one elbow in the fluffy stack of pillows. "OK, joke's up. Where'd you get a forties-era set? Over."’

(p.18)

The extract reflects Matt’s doubtful thoughts about the whole incident moving to the final direct speech where he refers to it as a “joke”. Direct speech world switches have been used in the remainder of this scene further confirming Matt’s disbelief. Consider the following extracts.

• ‘“You’ve got thirty seconds before I file this whole joke under ‘Life’s Too Short’ and head to the nearest bar. Who are you?”’

 (p.19)

• ‘“Lily James plays you in the movie, right. Look, whoever set this prank up, did you really think no US sailor has seen Downton Abbey?”’

(p.19)

• ‘“OK, Lady Rose, it’s been fun. Nice try, but I’ve got beer to drink and dinner to eat. Talk to you later.”’

(p.19)

It was only after the disappearance of the USNS Invincible that Matt started negotiating the reliability of this blended world, but he still does not accept it. Consider the following extract.

‘“Look, I really need to know this, and for the love of God, please tell me the truth. How did you know about the Invincible?”

“Heard it on watch through the headphones.” Lily picked her words carefully. None of this was fit for open transmission; it made her skin crawl, thinking about how many protocols she was breaking. “It’s—it’s 1943 here.”

She waited for him to scoff—he’d had a lot less time to absorb this than she had—but there was only a crackle of static. “Look,” he said at last. “Rationally, I can’t believe any of what you’re telling me….”’

(p.21)

The story unfolds showing how Matt embarks on reasoning the reliability of interacting with a 1943 petty officer. Wavering between accepting and rejecting this reality is conveyed through a series of World Switches utilizing both direct speech where he enquires, and Lily provides more information and direct and indirect thought world switches where he rationalizes and responds to Lily’s speech. Consider the extract below

‘“What’s the answer to the riddle?” Lily Baines asked. “You never said, on the transmission. That was when everything started going to hell in a bally basket.”

I am unbreakable. Even when you break me, I remain unbroken. What am I? “Wind,” Matt heard himself say. “Kinda gross, also kinda profound. It’s the kind of riddle sailors like. My dad was navy too.”

Slowly, he sat back down. His ship was going to go down with all hands in the next week. Maybe World War III was about to kick off.’

(p.25)

These inner thoughts mark Matt’s acceptance that he is actually talking with someone across 80 years gap and that he is about to die. From this point in the plot, Matt and Lily embark into a 6-hour journey of transmissions to figure out how they will “head this thing off?”.

4.5.                        Text Worlds Accessibility

As a result of Quinn’s innovative plot of time travel, readers have been introduced to split text worlds where Lily & Matt’s realities/epistemic worlds are presented separately through the author’s third person narration. On the discourse level, all established text worlds and world switches are participant accessible as they are shared between the narrator and the readers.

For enactors, only direct speech world switches are mutually accessible allowing them to gain some access into each other’s world. The two protagonists’ epistemic realities remain separated. For Matt, Lily’s world (Matt’s past) is more accessible than his world is to her. Lily’s world is background knowledge for Matt; World War II is common historical information in 2023; Lily’s whole generation’s tasks and techniques of deciphering messages is known for him as a communication officer. Moreover, Matt was able to investigate Lily Baines and learn some information about her, get her photos, and know about her life, her marriage, and her death. For Lily, Matt’s world remained inaccessible; she only learned what Matt told her.

Analysis reveals that in the blended text world, for each protagonist, world switches of direct and indirect thought representation are not accessible to the other enactor. That is, Lily’s and Matt’s inner thoughts and physical actions each in his own world remain unrevealed to the other. Being revealed only to the readers on the discourse level, the narrator’s / author’s commentary helps in shaping a really unique reading experience. Readers are sharing with the protagonists their shared epistemic world and are given a chance to build in their minds two separate worlds for each character. The following extract demonstrates how the authorial voice makes the two worlds accessible to readers while being inaccessible to one of the enactors.

‘She snatched up the transmitter, eyes watering with relief. “Petty Officer Lily Baines here. I don’t know where you got this Lady Rose business.”

“It’s on a TV show, it’s—never mind.” His voice was flat, taut, very different from the voice with the audible smile in it that she’d heard yesterday. She heard him key back on before she could ask what in blazes a TV was.’ (underlining added)

(p.21)

Note that in the diagram above, Matt does not have access to the first, fourth, and fifth world switches; he does not know about her tearful eyes; her interpretation of his voice; and her thought of asking about what a TV is. Similarly, the last world switch marks Lily’s inaccessibility to Matt’s world objects; she remains ignorant of what a TV is; there is no time to ask about “these bizarre references” as she notes later.

In addition, only readers know that Lily remains ignorant on other things that Matt chooses not to mention to her. Since Matt’s thoughts are accessible to the readers through direct and indirect thought world switches, they know that Matt decides to keep Lily ignorant of ‘Covid-19’and &‘the lockdown’:

‘JFC, he was not going to try to explain the COVID-19 lockdown to a girl from 1943. She was probably still hearing horror stories about the 1918 pandemic.’

(p.24)

However, direct speech world switches have been used in other parts of the short story to grant Lily some access to Matt’s future world, as in the following example:

‘“Was it—I can’t believe I’m saying this. Was it vampires? Because you yelled Vampire, vampire inbound—”

Matt squeezed his eyes shut, then open again. His hand was flexing rapidly on his knee, he realized. “It’s—it means missiles inbound. Missiles in the air, gunning for you”’

(p.23)

4.6.                        World Switches reflecting Cultural Clashes

Although ‘Signal Moon’ is set in time of war and international conflicts, Quinn entertains her readers with some cultural clashes that reflect the interesting interactions between two communication officers with an 80-year time gap. Note that some of the examples listed earlier (“tv shows”, “lady Rose” and “missiles”) also reflect such instances of cultural gaps.

With each of them living a reality far removed from the other’s reality, Quinn presents her characters directly negotiating some cultural issues that convey to readers some cultural effects of the time laps. As the following examples show, only direct speech world switches are used to reflect this direct negotiation of cultural significance, leading to humorous interactions.

Lilly: ‘“Pin it all on the spooky stuff from the Soviets.”

Matt : “Russians, actually. Soviets haven’t been around for over thirty years now…”’

(p.28)

‘“I’m sorry if I shock you. I’m a sailor; we use the word fuck as a comma.”

“Typical Yanks.”

“Hey, your sailors talk like this too, in the twenty-first century.”

“I see the Empire’s standards have slipped shockingly”’.

(p.28)

Interestingly enough Quinn makes her characters switch their cursing language use as a sign of growing closeness and familiarity throughout their communication. In the following extract, Lily and Matt talk to each other again after three months of not being able to transmit.

‘“By—Lady Rose, do you copy? Over.”

And the Honorable Lily Baines snatched up the transmitter, and yelped, “Holy fucking shit!”

“I must say, Baines,” he said, his voice crackling through the static, that warm baritone putting on an atrocious English accent, “I am utterly fizzed to hear your dulcet tones.”       ‘

(Pp. 37-38)

4.7.                        World Switches reflecting Natural Human Ties

Analysis has revealed that the blended text world includes linguistic features marking the universality of natural human ties even with time and space gaps. Both enactors reflect different feelings for one another, highlighting the concept that regardless of space and time gaps, human feelings still exist and develop.

Initially, the two enactors reflect sympathy for one another. The following extracts exemplify how both characters express compassion towards one another:

‘“Matt.” Her voice was uneven, rising from its petty officer flatness. “I don’t want you to die like that. Please let me help you. Please believe I am who I say I am.”’

(Pp. 24-25)

As shown, the first WS triggered by the narrator’s commentary reflects the inner emotional state of Lily. Her uneven voice conveys her sorrowful reaction to Matt’s destined death. The following Boulomaic WS reinforces this emotional state, where Lily wishes Matt to avoid such a horrible way of death.

Similarly, Matt sympathizes with Lily’s anxiety about how WWII ended:

‘“Just, tell me . . . Do we win?”

“Lily,” he said slowly. He hadn’t said her name before, just Baines or Lady Rose. “Why do you think I’m not talking to you in German right now? Yeah, honey. You win. We all do.”’

(p.29)

These extracts do not only reveal how world switches are manipulated to reflect human sympathy between the characters, but they also reflect how the author manipulates terms of address to reflect these emotional states. In the two extracts, the two enactors address each other with their first names for the first time.  The author employs the narrator’s commentary world switches to highlight this fact to her readers. In addition, Matt calls Lily “honey” and uses the pronoun “we”, highlighting that they both belong to the same team.

Moreover, the key factor that leads to the development of the plot is Lily’s sense of commitment towards a human soul, another petty officer that she would wish to save.

‘“…but she knew the man named Jackson was a navy petty officer, and so was she, and that meant she owed him a measure of belief.”’

(p.10)

Though the two protagonists are 80 years apart, they do not only develop emotions of human sympathy; they also develop a deeper human affection. The author manipulated direct speech world switch to transfer the development of their emotions to the readers. For example, in the following extracts, the two protagonists repeat the same words to one another.

Using direct speech of almost the same words makes the readers create a kind of analogy between the two enactors, revealing their shared human feelings.

This analogy between the protagonists has also been achieved by an interesting technique that Quinn employs throughout the short story; we call it the ‘split screen’ style. With Quinn’s 3^rd person narration, she provides commentary on the physical movements of the characters and their inner thoughts. In some parts, she recounts similar reactions for each protagonist to indirectly stress their shared human personal connections.

‘…she was pacing up and down the room, or at least the few steps and back, which was all the cord would permit. She somehow knew that he was pacing too: she could hear the scrape of shoes, and periodically he stubbed his toes on something and muttered Goddamn tiny Brit furniture.’  (underlining added)                                                   

(p.26)

Similarly, the following excerpts support this idea of ‘split screen’ style. This technique is achieved through indirect speech world switches and sometimes by indirect thought representation, expressed through the narrator’s commentary.

‘Finally, she was able to transmit. Lily pressed the button, sitting on the edge of her bed ‘ (underlining added)

(p. 22)

            Her words fell into Matt’s ears like drops of ice. Dimly he realized he was sitting down on the edge of the bed,… (underlining added)

(p. 22)

Not eighty years in the past, now. In some way, in somewhere, she was doing this now, thinking of him just as he was thinking of her. Both of them thinking, to themselves and to each other, You can do this.’

(p.36)

The emotional connection between Lily and Matt is also transferred through some boulomaic WS where they both express their wishes of seeing one another.

‘“I wish you could see the moonlight shining into this room, Lady Rose.”

Lily wished that too. She wished she could shimmy into her best violet crepe frock and pearls, and run into the Grand to see him come pelting down the stairs in uniform”’

(p.41)

CONCLUDING REMARKS:

By applying the Text World Theory to Signal Moon, we managed to answer the initial research questions. It has revealed that the author used spatiotemporal elements to construct different text worlds, marking different spaces and times in the story. In addition, extending the concept of blending to the Text World Theory has demonstrated the possibility of creating a blended text world where double world building elements are joined together with a blending element creating a unique incident of human communication. As for Text World Switches across the novel, they are generally achieved through deictic shifts; mainly through direct reference to time and location, and switching between the enactors’ direct speech and the narrator’s commentary on their actions and thoughts.

Analysis has also shown some distinguishing linguistic features of the Blended Text World. Despite its impossibility, readers enjoy the enactors’ communication because Quinn makes it very real. She does not deny the time gap; she rather exploits it brilliantly. Though enactors are involved in direct communication, their text worlds are not equally accessible to one another. Lily’s Text World is accessible to a great extent to Matt through his historical knowledge; Matt’s Text World, on the other hand, is not always accessible to her. However, on the discourse-world level, this was amusing to the readers who unlike the enactors have full accessibility to the two worlds and keep switching in time and space between the two distinct Text Worlds. Among the instances of the time gap exploitation, we have enactors occasionally discussing language use marking cultural and historical differences.

Moreover, the blended text world reflects the power of human ties; Lily embarks an impossible mission to save someone she does not even know. Similarly, both Lily and Matt attempt to save the world from a third world war even though their heroism is not to be recognized. Matt is keen to commemorate Lily’s anonymous heroism by adding a new brick for her in the memorial wall in York.

Quinn, by combining features of both historical and speculative fiction, creates a unique literary work that is enjoyable, humorous and profound.