Earlier this year I was interviewed for Kill Me If You Can, a TV documentary to be shown on Channel 4 on Tuesday 23rd August 2005. At first I was reluctant to appear since I wasn't sure how the producers intended to portray the story, but after long discussions with them I decided to go ahead. The evidence of whether this decision was the correct one will be seen next week.
The production company's website summarises the subject of the programme as follows:
The story of a 14-year-old Manchester boy who tried to arrange his own death by manipulating his 16-year-old friend into murder.
Known only as “John” when he appeared in court in 2004, the boy created eight fictitious characters from his bedroom using a laptop and an over-active imagination.
With these characters, including an MI6 spy-mistress, he snared “Mark” into an attempt on his own life.
Here is some of the press coverage of what took place:
http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2004/05/29/1085641761298.html?oneclick=true
*http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/manchester/3758209.stm
http://www.manchesteronline.co.uk/news/s/118/118226_internet_murder_boys_told_never_see_each_other_again.html
I find the story interesting because in many senses the behaviour of the boys was very typical of the kind of thing that happens online all the time. What made it different was that the overspill into the physical became dangerous. I was especially drawn to the comments of the judge as reported in the Manchester News:
When the case came to Manchester Crown Court yesterday, Judge David Maddison said: "Skilled writers of fiction would struggle to conjure up a plot such as this. What is staggering is that this has arisen out of the activities of a 14-year-old boy."
It seemed to me that the 'writers of fiction' reference was spot on. This boy was (is) a consummate fiction writer. I know novelists who will type furiously all day to produce perfect first drafts, needing little revision, of complicated page-turners that readers consume as fast as the works themselves were written. This is a special skill, and I believe this boy probably has it.
The difference between him and a novelist however is that this boy was able to actually make his fiction come alive, something I am sure many print novelists would dearly love to happen.
And as for his 'reader' - he was fortunate to have an author writing and creating solely for him. No wonder he believed it all - it was tailored for his personal consumption, like children's books where you can have the names and preferences printed in. Although at first sight it might appear that he was an innocent victim, I find I rather doubt that, because the story of these two boys seems to me a good example of interactive fiction at its most effective. It was, you might say, real interactive fiction. The perfect author-reader relationship, perhaps....?
I don't know whether the programme will portray the situation sympathetically. Fingers crossed that it will. I'll report back in a week.
*thanks to Peter Harrison for correcting my link (see comments)
