Empress Theresa

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Theresa is told she will meet with a Saudi Arabian representative, where she worries she won’t be able to negotiate with this expert alone, but Blair assures her it will happen in multiple sessions and with no danger to her. They discuss particulars, with the main point being that, if Theresa agrees to give up her ownership of the island and to distribute it among a consortium of nations, OPEC will drop their demand of the poor fund and of the reoccupation of Israel, though they still demand the ungrounding of terrorists. This is because the Arabs are, “amused to see the terrorists slap us in the face once in a while. The Saudi representative cannot ignore this popular support.” The other problem is some Israelis will refuse to leave, which will be tested once push comes to shove. Theresa doesn’t care for these things, and once she moves the Israelis to the new island, she won’t have to worry about OPEC any longer. While Blair talks about how they all thought Theresa was dead and how they were planning her funeral, he relates that they were to play a soulful instrumental version of Danny Boy "for the girl descended from the Irish" and that "Great Britain was proud to bring one of its own home for a final visit." Ireland is not a part of Great Britain or the United Kingdom. While Northern Ireland is a part of the UK, it isn't specified what part of Ireland Theresa's ancestry comes from. Not to mention that Theresa is an American-born and raised citizen and therefore has nothing to do with either country in the first place. Norman also admitted to not doing any research in writing the story, save for "the amount of gold in Fort Knox, the tectonic source of Antarctica, and the density of xenon." [11] Many of these traits are seen in Norman Boutin's handling of critics, as well as his statements towards people elsewhere. Possibly a unique case of this being in literature but despite needing to start the wind and rain again, Theresa takes time to go for estate walks with Steve, read books, eat nice lunches, and watch TV, since the work she's supposed to do is apparently very intense. And then later takes a trip to Paris. This goes on for months but there are no repercussions from this.

In the other thread, [14] it was more of the same. A member named amsawtell posted a blunt but honest reaction to Norman's writing and antics: Loved by All: Theresa is universally adored the entire planet, who throng about her wherever she goes. People are captivated by her the moment she walks in a room simply because she radiates goodness. Professionals in their fields are in awe of her wisdom. The only people who dislike her are the press because she's just so gosh-darn perfect that they can't dig up any dirt on her. Norman Boutin has also used this to try to defend mistakes in his book. For example, when people pointed out the (hundreds of) typos, he replied that he came across copies of Pride and Prejudice and JP Morgan's biography which contained typos. [44] The "You haven't read the whole book" Card [ ] http://www.writingforums.com/threads/133885-Empress-Theresa-is-here?p=1571442&viewfull=1#post1571442

Norman responded as he had throughout the entire forum: he quoted a small section and played the "You haven't read the whole book" card (see below), and completely dismissed everything said. [16] Three helicopter flights later, she arrives in a southern airbase, and taken to a cafeteria where she is allowed to eat. She takes twelve bottles of Coca-Cola and put eleven of the bottles in a garbage bag. The guards permit her to keep it, dismissing it "as the irrational behavior of someone who knew she'd die in hours." She is then taken to her room, where she is permitted to sleep. You're full of hot air and other stuff, Tom. [36] He's arrested at the spoiled, rotten 12 year old kid level. No matter how old he gets, he'll always behave at the 12 year old level. [37] I keep getting brief, poorly thought out remarks from three disgruntled people, probably kids from the sound of them... [38] New Powers as the Plot Demands: Theresa is able to do basically anything to move the plot along. From super strength, to stopping the wind, to rotating the axis of the Earth, to launching giant columns of water into space, to mining elements from the Sun, to putting the whole world into an ageless 600-year stasis, Theresa can do anything short of actually warping reality. How she's capable of doing any of this when HAL's powers are defined as simply him acting upon learned reflexes is never really explained. Many professional authors find it hard to read their finished works because, in their mind, there is still much to change. In Norman Boutin's mind, however, he has surpassed any need for changes. In one instance, when a critic was reviewing the dialogue in one scene from the book, Norman replied: "I wrote that scene exactly as it should have been written, as always." [5] Another critic said to him, "You think you know it all and no matter what you believe you know everything and everyone else is wrong." Norman replied, "All of which is true. What's your point?" [6]

Theresa wakes up in a British hospital bed with Peter Blair watching over her. Blair makes mention of how much has been spent on her recovery and the like, with Theresa wondering what all the fuss is about. She then goes to the window to see half a million people cheering her on. She is then told that, because the wind has stopped everywhere, the only livable places will be near the coasts, where the only rain will happen. Theresa doesn’t know what to do, but agrees to a BBC interview discussing HAL. She is transported to a hotel with all the greatest accommodations, being served with only the greatest care and admiration. Right before the BBC interview, she denies a phone call from her husband, insisting they need to talk in person first. Whenever questions of definitions or technicalities come up, Norman almost always defers to himself as the expert, and his self-imposed standards as the be-all-end-all. This ties in very closely to his loose grip on reality.

Eventually, Norman Boutin was banned from the forum, most likely for his attitude towards...well, everyone. Boutin then changed the terms he had set from "creating something" to "creating something of which Norman Boutin would approve": Forced Sleep: Theresa puts the whole planet to sleep for 600 years after some people accidentally acquired their own versions of HAL after the atom bomb incident which caused him to make multiple copies of himself. The reasoning behind this to stop people from figuring out how to use HAL for evil and going mad with power (the irony of this, given her own actions, is lost on her). As he usually does in the face of honest criticism, Norman Boutin simply ignored this, and offered no response. The thread fell into a series of self-advertisements from him. Angelic Abomination: HAL is a ball of pure white light that is for all intents a stand in for the Holy Spirit... that also happens to be an alien and "not made of matter or energy".