In some senses these scenes represented an exquisite (and all the more so for being both utterly unexpected and immensely well-judged) ‘opening up’ of Wang Shu, and The Author sincerely considered them to be among some of the finest work she has ever produced.

(The Subject would not agree with this particular ‘value-judgement’.)

The character of Morpheus was added to I Am Sovereign in the final draft. In the earlier version a kitten called Sindy featured, but this kitten was a tortoiseshell longhair and The Subject became irritated by the way her fur kept marking his white jeans and compromising his ‘look’ (even though Charles kindly supplied him with a selection of lint rollers throughout the writing of I Am Sovereign’s first draft).

(The Subject would like it to be known that The Author insisted on his wearing white jeans when in fact he had preferred to wear grey, moleskin jodhpurs.)

Finally, it should be noted that in the original version of I Am Sovereign the character of Avigail at no point vacates the property on Ty Isa Road. Due to her high levels of professionalism, the character, Avigail, would never willingly leave clients in the lurch while showing a vendor’s home. To do so would run counter to her very nature.

(The Subject finds it ‘frankly laughable’ that Avigail’s professionalism should be mentioned in this context. He has no idea what relevance Avigail’s professionalism – or want of professionalism – has to do with the issue at hand.)

In some senses The Author considers it ‘little short of a tragedy’ that The Subject’s decisions have impacted so heavily on I Am Sovereign as a whole, but strenuously maintains that she respects his choices and – ultimately – bears The Subject no lasting ill will.

(The Subject calls this final statement by The Author ‘sentimental, sententious poppycock’.)

7.

IF YOU BELIEVE IN TELEKINESIS, PLEASE RAISE MY HAND

While Gyasi ‘Chance’ Ebo is extremely intelligent, he has no way of knowing that Charles is running scared of the bailiffs. Lucky for Gyasi, though, Charles announces this fact as soon as he discovers Gyasi (up to his knees in kapok and rifling through large piles of teddy-related detritus) in his sewing room.

Charles all but bellows: ‘This is forced entry! Which creditor are you here for? What have you taken control of? I demand to see documentation!’

‘The door was open, my friend,’ Gyasi responds coolly, with a shrug.

The sewing room is very small – it’s really just a large cupboard which an optimist trying to sell Charles’s house might call ‘an office’. Charles is a tall man but he is extremely good at compressing himself into small spaces when needs must. And Charles is very sensitive to the idea of work/life balance and therefore refuses, on principle, to allow his work to take up too much space (either literally or metaphorically).

Charles has no intention of becoming a workaholic.

He’s way too complacent and savvy for that.

Bear making is ‘just a job’. It’s not ‘a calling’. It’s not ‘a drive’. It’s not ‘a passion’.