hackmeister called a very intriguing story idea. After someone had mentioned the notion of summoning demons, I mentioned the trick is to recognize the demon when it appears.
I may, someday, attempt a story or three based on that notion, but on reflection it occurs to me it's not all that new an idea. For example, in the Twilight Zone episode, "Pip", a mobster dies and winds up in the afterlife. There, he has everything he could want.
Entertainment abounts – night clubs and casinos abound. Not only are all his needs met, he can't lose. Any time he tosses the dies, pulls the slot-machine lever, or picks up a random hand of cards, it's a winner. Anything he can think of is his for the asking. He even has a hot-line to his personal servant, in case he wants to put in a special request.
But there's something missing.
If he can't lose, there's no point in playing any of the games. And the show girls – indeed, everyone he runs into – are robots in human form. There is no human interaction.
Finally, dissatisfied, he asks Pip if there hasn't been some mistake? Shouldn't he have wound up in "the other place?"
Pip then tells him "This is the 'other place'!"
