E-mail: Zssp@compusmart.ab.ca
By the way, here's the time scale:
Nanosecond: second Microsecond: minute Cycle: hour Second: day Minute: month Hour: year
* * *
"There's one guy I can't shake Over my shoulder is a big mistake Sitting on the bed Or lying wide awake There's demons in my head And it's more than I can take."
Offspring, lyrics for "Gotta Get Away"
* * *
Pain 2
* * *
Dot moaned groggily. The sound of a vid-window opening up had awoken her. Sitting up, she blearily stared at a viral binome.
"Please report to engineering." He said in a monotone. "On floor 4, sub level 2, down corridor..."
"I KNOW where that is!" Dot snapped. "I DID used to live here."
The binome shrugged and closed the window. Dot sighed and walked out, a dull ache still in her stomach. As she traveled through the draughty corridors, she saw that Megabyte did indeed need her help. There were large holes everywhere. She had no idea why repairs hadn't been made earlier...
Reaching engineering, she stepped inside. Viral binomes milled around several large pieces of equipment. Dot looked around. There were a few binomes clustered around a desk and table in one corner. One of them was that creepy doctor binome that always hung around Megabyte. Dot walked over to him and tapped him on the shoulder. He jumped about a meter into the air.
"Ach! Don't DO that!" he said, panting.
"Uh, sorry." Replied Dot, taken aback. It flickered across her mind that insanity must not be a valued trait here, as long as you did your job.
"At least you're here." He said. Herr Doctor pushed a button and a vid window snapped up. On it was-
"Oh, you've decided to join us, Dot." Megabyte said on the window. She tried to keep her revulsion down as that mental flow became stronger again. Slightly tilting her head, she asked coldly, "What's my job?"
"For now I'm putting you in charge of organizing the building crews and making sure they finish on schedule. Ever since Hex's little- escape- we haven't had time to organize yet."
He pressed a button, and a list came up. "These are all the repairs that need to be made in six or seven seconds."
Dot's expert eye swept over the list. "Okay...well, first of all I'll need to see your organizational charts."
"You just did."
"Oh. Well then I- WHAT?"
Megabyte sighed. "Along with erasing quite a bit of my army, Hex also melted all the computers in the Tor. Most records were wiped out."
Dot stood there open mouthed. "Do you mean to tell me," she said slowly, "that not only do I have to organize this whole department, AND quite possibly some others if you need those done too, AND help with the repairs BUT..." she took a deep breath. "You've been operating without any sort of organization for a whole MINUTE?"
"Yes." Megabyte replied calmly. "Most of what we're doing right now is on a temporary basis. I DID mention you'd be quite busy for a while."
Dot mentally groaned.
* * *
It was late that second. Dot was finishing up the last of the new organization chart. She took off her glasses. During the day, she had been so busy she didn't have any TIME to think, but now, she sniffed once. Glancing around to make sure all the binomes had gone home, Dot sat back and put her head in her hands.
After a while, tears started to leak out from under them.
She stayed like that for a moment, then wiped her face. Looking into the shiny surface of a mirror-window, she made sure no traces of her crying were left. Dot punched a button on the desk. Megabyte turned around in his chair and addressed her through the vid-window.
"Ah Dot. I was expecting this. Done already?"
"Yes." She said stiffly. "Here they are." She punched the chart into the console, and a vid-window by Megabyte popped up, with the chart displayed on it. He studied it, looking approvingly.
"I MUST say, I AM impressed." He said, eyebrow arched. "Very well. You'll have full control over implementing this tomorrow."
"Fine. Can I go?" Dot asked.
"Yes, fine." Megabyte replied. "Oh, and Dot-" he added, making her pause in mid-stride. "Do try to stop crying so frequently. I can understand once in your room, but right here?"
The virus couldn't see her face, but from the feelings he sensed, he didn't need to. She felt a sort of creeping horror at what he said, the full implications running through her mind.
Dot slowly turned around. She had gone pale.
"How- how- did you KNOW?" she asked.
"Through this." Megabyte replied non-chalantly, closing his eyes for a nano-second, and making himself know in her mind. Dot clutched her head and almost fell to the floor.
She had felt a surge in the dark spot of her mind where Megabyte's influence had settled in- it had been no worse than usual, when suddenly he was THERE, inside her head, feeling exactly what she did...
"You can't- know what I'm THINKING can you?" she managed to get out.
"No, but as I said it IS a bit- strong." For a moment, he looked a bit disturbed, then shook his head. "Anyhow, I believe you wished to return to your quarters?" his mind retreated from hers back to normal, and then he shut off the vid-window. Dot managed to stagger to her room, then collapsed for a second time onto her bed, in shock.
His part of her mind had gone back to normal now, but Dot took little joy in that. It had been HORRIBLE. The virus could feel her feelings... thank God she hadn't seen HIS, although she supposed he COULD do that... Dot shuddered and feverently hoped not. She had no desire to sense what a virus felt. This gross invasion of privacy- she didn't know if she could take it again.
On an impulse, Dot stood up, breathing heavily, and looked for something sharp. Dear God, if this happened again, she might just take a sharp object to her wrists and... and...
And what?
Dot found her sudden urge to commit suicide blocked by her viral side.
*No.* It said. *Your body is not yours anymore. You cannot take your life, because it's not yours anymore to take.*
The sprite sank down to the floor slowly. She had certainly not WANTED to REALLY die. It was just a wild, spur of the moment idea, but it had shown her the extent of Megabyte's control.
Dot put her head in her hands again.
* * *
Megabyte went back into his mind's eye. He made sure Dot didn't sense him spying on her like this.
Dot's pain was there again, and so was the strangest sort of pleasure. It was almost euphoric, and unconsciously he clenched a hand, a twisted smile on his face. He felt a quick flash of his own emotion for a second. One he couldn't identify, something he hadn't before felt- almost painful in its own way- but then it was gone.
For a nano second, he wondered if this might perhaps get out of hand...
* * *
A typically cold, overcast day. The sky was so grey it was almost black. Dot worked on an outer section of the Principal Office wall. She had FINALLY implemented all the changes. Half the work had been done, ahead of schedule.
She looked up and shouted "A LITTLE TO THE LEFT!"
"HUH?"
"A LITTLE TO THE LEFT!"
"WHAT?"
Dot shook her head. For a moment, the viral working there at the huge machinery had sounded like Al.
"OH, THE LEFT?" he shouted down. Dot nodded. He pushed a lever, and the huge wall-plate scraped a bit, then settled in. The welders moved in and started to seal the cracks. Dot stepped back a bit and surveyed the job. Not bad. She sighed. Now for the worst part...
Dot grimaced and pressed a button on her new organizer. Megabyte's face appeared.
"Yes?" he said, raising an eyebrow. "Ah, Dot. Don't tell me there's something wrong."
"No. We're done the outside."
Megabyte blinked. "You're-"
"Done. We're just finishing up the welding of the outer walls."
The vid-window moved so Megabyte could see. She WAS done. Turning back, he looked at her thoughtfully.
"Hmm...you know, I just might consider giving you quite a bit of control over the whole army." He said, half to himself. Shrugging, he nodded. "Excellent job. Do continue."
Dot sighed as he quit. Well, talking with him was over with. Now she could start on the internal repairs.
She stared out into the city. Even this close to the source, she didn't know if those rumors of Megabyte desperately trying to break out of Mainframe were true. The rumors said that Mainframe was on its way to crashing any minute now, and the virus was about ready to do anything to escape and prolong his life. Hopefully, the repairs she was making would stop the crash. For a while...
A cold wind picked up and made her shiver. She turned towards Hexadecimal's island, which was where it came from. Her hands clenched. If there was anyone else she hated more than Megabyte, it was Hexadecimal. No, she didn't hate Hex exactly, it was more like - a combination of fear and disgust. Hexadecimal was INSANE. Insane enough not to realize that what she had done to the system would break it. And insane enough not to think twice about doing it again.
Megabyte, at least, cared enough, wanted the system enough not to damage it or any more of its occupants more than necessary. He really DID want control of everything, and was loath to destroy something he could own.
In most cases.
She went into the Principal Office, but paused when she realized her route would take her past the throne room doors. Dot decided to try to brave it anyway.
Quickly marching past the throne room, Dot almost made it past when a binome threw the doors open and declared "Lord Megabyte wants to speak with you."
"Augh!" thought Dot, the connection pulsing through her mind stronger again. It was perfect timing, of course.
* * *
Megabyte smirked as Dot was led up to the throne room.
"What would you like?" asked Dot as civilly as she could.
"Why, I only thought I might allow you to say good-bye to someone you've know for a very long time, Dot." Megabyte said in false hurt. "Tsk. It's rather a pity but I'm afraid I'm going to have to erase them."
Tapping a button, he turned his throne slightly as a jar came up.
"Phong- NO." Dot breathed. She desperately tried to think of a reason for Megabyte to spare the old sprite. "But he's command.com! You can't delete him!"
"Actually, I can." He replied calmly. "I've found a backup of an old automatic one. We've upgraded it considerably, and it will allow me access to parts of the Principal Office that have previously been banned because of a, shall we say, lack of co-operation on Phong's part."
Dot stood there mouth open, her horror of Phong's impending deletion forgotten at this statement. She finally managed to get out, "Are you out of your MIND?!"
Several of the pure virals looked at her askance.
"We USED to have automatic command.coms, but they didn't work! We'll all be erased!"
"I am fully aware of the former problems with them, Ms. Matrix. Do you remember WHY they failed?"
"Of course! It was because some parts were too inflexible in dealing...with...viruses..."
"Precisely."
Dot stopped and stared in horrified admiration as she realized what Megabyte was up to. The virus sat back and preened slightly at the admiration he felt.
Of course...HE was a virus- the automatic command com's main weakness was viruses... therefore, he could easily gain even more power than he already had through several loopholes. It might be tricky, but possible.
And the cold reality of what that would mean to Phong swept back in.
"No... he CAN'T... oh no..." she thought.
Megabyte felt something building up in Dot's mind... dread, horror... he had a small smile on his face as he pushed the electrocution lever to "maximum". This would be brief...
"G-goodbye... child..." whispered Phong sadly.
"No!" Dot said. She tried to move, but Megabyte waved a hand and she stopped. Dot breathed in in horror, at the scene and at the ease with which Megabyte had stopped her.
"No..." she whispered.
The doctor threw the switch.
Dot's eyes widened as her brain took in the scene.
"No..." she thought. "No... no... no no NO..."
She said "No." outloud. A strangled sound escaped her lips.
"Oh, Phong..." she though as numbness spread through her body. "Goodbye..."
* * *
It was four seconds later, but Dot felt as if it had been four minutes. She expected Phong's death for some time, in the back of her head, but the reality had crashed down on her. Dot's sadness constantly teased the edges of Megabyte's mind. It hovered there as he addressed a few vid-windows, with Dot, his highest army officials, and Herr Doctor on them.
"As you all know, we're finishing up the re-construction of the Principal Office. I'll be able to access the citywide PID's any second now. Yet we still have a rather large problem..." his face grimaced slightly. "Hexadecimal."
A collective shudder went through them all.
"She's a menace. My Lord, I strongly advise that ve delete her if she ever comes under our control again!" said Herr Doctor emphatically.
"That wacko took out half the army!" said one of the army commanders.
"She took out half of the SYSTEM." Added Dot bitterly.
"Well..." said Megabyte. Dot sensed a thin trickle of emotion for him for a moment. She twisted up her mouth. In the past second it had happened, three or four times. She would be working on a project, and HIS feelings would flash in for a moment. The first time it had happened she had nearly dropped her organizer.
It had been- frightening. Not only because of the intrusion, but also because of the alien nature of his feelings... arrogance, self-satisfaction and lust for power- those had been the chief emotions in the front of his mind. Dot didn't think Megabyte knew what he had done, and she hadn't tried to go any further into the deeper layers of his thoughts. Shaking her head, she went back to the conversation.
"...quite frankly, I'm open to any suggestions on how to dispose of her." Megabyte looked at Dot specifically.
"Don't look at me. *I* didn't take any guardian programming. Bob might have known..." Dot's voice trailed off at the mention of Bob.
"Yes, but Bob's dead." Said Megabyte, dismissing that with a wave of his hand. Dot felt a pang of hurt, then anger.
"She might be attracted by the rebuilding of the Principal Office." ventured someone.
"We can't just hang around hoping that a Game cube will wipe her out." Dot sighed.
"Too true." Megabyte said. He paused and a thoughtful look spread across his face. "Or maybe not..."