and my brain is bouncing around a bit. This story works in a lot of ways but I'm particularly honed in on relating it to capitalism! In the game and in reality, a work of art acts on the world, and it more easily reinforces the current social order than changes it--especially when those in positions of power shape the art that exists to their liking, even if they aren't creators. (In the game, this is what the darkness and Hartman do; in reality this is what the capitalist class does.)

Basically one of those melancholy predestination moods. Alan himself is kind of a tricky character to interpret--I tend to hope he's learning to be less grouchy and self-centered even as he's trapped in reality-warping problems of his own creation, though sometimes works that engage in this meta-layer end with "And that's why writers are the best most important people in the world".