The Worlds Beyond - Part 4

* * *

The door to Jake’s room opened. A voice floated up from the stairs.

"I think Jake is over at Gil’s house, but since he said you were coming over later I’m sure it’s fine if you use his computer."

"Sure. Thanks for letting me in."

"Oh, no problem. I’m afraid that I’ve got to do some errands, so when Jake comes back could you tell him where I’ve gone? And I’m meeting his dad for dinner after that so I’ll be back pretty late."

"Sure, I’ll tell him," the figure replied, then shut the door.It walked over to the computer and noticed that the screen was screwed up. It frowned and closed down the current running program then riffled through the pile of games on the table.

"Hmmm. Some of these might be fun. Good thing I brought my own games, though." Lisa leaned back in the chair and smirked. She took off her jacket and tossed it carelessly on the floor. Lisa knew for a fact that Jake wasn’t at Gil’s house. (She had gone over there earlier. Strangely, Jill wasn’t home either...)

When Jay’s computer had been temporarily down, she had let him use hers for a while, in exchange for a few days on HIS computer, which was faster and had a better net connection. Gil’s had also been in the shop, so Jay reluctantly agreed.

"This sucker isn’t going to get any rest tonight." She said, humming a tune while waiting.

* * *

Kevin came to on the pavement.

"Argh..." he muttered, clutching his head. "Knocked out AGAIN...what did that damn thing do to me anywa-" Kevin stopped.

He felt...wrong.

Standing up, he looked down and saw that his clothes were different. They'd gone from jeansand a t-shirt to a black outfit with a few purple stripes, and from sneakers to a pair of boots.

"Hey." He whistled appreciatively. "I look like something out of... well, I can’t think of anything right now, but SOMETHING futuristic." He managed to a step forward before it hit him.

*KILL THEM.*

He collapsed. His head-there were words in there, commands, things he had to obey...

*KILL THEM.*

"No..." he whispered, eyes wide, thoughts rebounding in his head. He had been given programming? The knowledge was sitting there inside his mind. And his programming was to destroy things...the urge to do so vibrated through his skull.

"No... what happened?"

A vid-window popped up again, this time with a reflective surface like a mirror.

Kevin could only stare.

He was taller by about a foot. His hair, which had been cropped short before now hung in long, drooping spikes. Whenever light reflected off it, it shone purple. His skin was now pure white. Kevin reached up a hand and ran a hair through his new hair...deep purple eyes with light purple flecks looked back at him.

"Holy SHIT." whispered Kevin. As he did, he noticed his mouth looked odd.

Opening it up, he was startled to see sharp, pointed teeth.

"Format detected and used: Virus." Continued the voice relentlessly. "Please close down the window."

Numbly, Kevin pushed the close window button at the top right hand of the screen. He slouched against the wall with his hands over his ears, trying to block out the words in his skull.

* * *

"You want to stick me in THERE?" Jill backed away from the PID chamber. "Um, I really don’t want to sound ungrateful, but I don’t like medical rooms much, thanks. I believe I’ll be going now."

"It’s just a...routine procedure." Megabyte said smoothly to Jill. "Every binome HERE has been through it, and they’re fine."

"More or less." he added in his head.

"Uh, well, gee that’s very nice of you but I-"

The guards raised their weapons slightly.

She looked at the weapons. "Really wouldn’t want to impose on your hospitality but since you’re so insistent I might as well go. Ha." Jill finished quickly.

"Indeed." Megabyte said.

"Will this hurt?" she asked as the guards led her into the chamber.

"Oh, I think you’ll find out soon enough." Megabyte replied airily.

Herr Doctor threw another switch.

* * *

Pain!

Burning, hot searing pain! It flashed over her for a second, then vanished, leaving her shivering and her body cold.

"Gyahh." Jill looked around. Although she was standing in darkness, she could still see herself clearly. "Where am I NOW?"

"Your subconscious." A voice answered her. A tall figure stepped out of the darkness. Megabyte grinned unpleasantly.

"Could you please tell me what I’m DOING here?" asked Jill, confused.

"It’s simple." He walked over and held her shoulders.

"Whoa! Hands off!" Jill tried to break free.

"Now, now," he purred, "It’ll go SO much more easily for both of us if you don’t put up a fight."

"What?!" She replied, bewildered. Jill noticed a glow creeping up Megabyte’s arm onto hers.

The she felt it. Not physical pain, but a force traveling through her skin, changing her, changing her will. It forced its way into her mind. Jill screamed, feeling her mind cave in and change under the assault. She then flopped forward, managing to raise her eyes to the virus.

"You-you-" She croaked, almost unable to finish her sentence. "What did you just-," she stopped.

He let go of her abruptly, and disappeared into the shadows.

* * *

Jill woke up. The chamber opened up and the clamps released. She stepped out unsteadily, surprised.

"You're letting me go?" she said skeptically, bewildered by what had just happened.

"Not exactly."

"Pardon?"

Megabyte turned. "The User’s real identity does NOT go beyond this room," he announced. "Her format is sprite. Got that?"

"Yes, Lord Megabyte." The binomes chorused in near unison. Jill blinked, then shivered.

Megabyte turned back to Jill and waved a hand. A vid-window mirror popped up.

Jill stared into the shiny surface. After a while she said, "I look like...YOU."

"It's an improvment." The virus replied.

Her hair was bright red, which contrasted her metallic blue skin. But the strangest change was her eyes. Her pupils were red, her iris green. Looking down, she saw she was also wearing what appeared to be a soldier's uniform with an unhappy face insignia on the front.

"What HAPPENED?" Jill thought. Then it flooded into her mind. All the information that came with being a sprite. Reading binary and data processing wasn’t something you learned, it was something you *knew*. Including some rather relevant information on viruses that Jill’s subconscious was trying to bring to mind.

"Yes, that IS a side effect of infection," Megabyte replied. He nodded to one of the guard. "See our newest member to her quarters, would you?"

"Yes, sir!" said the binome, ripping off a salute.

"What...do you mean by newest member?"

"Simply that you’re going to be working for me for a while. Say, the rest of your life."

"What? You think I’M going to work for yo-" Jill paused in mid rant. She felt funny. There was a sort of- presence in the back of her head that she could sense faintly. When she concentrated on it, it slipped away.

"Why would I do that?" she continued on.

"Because," Megabyte said, "I *own* you."

Jill opened her mouth to protest, but stopped when she looked into Megabyte’s eyes, which, for a moment, drilled into hers. Her confusion and anger drained away, leaving her with the absolute certainty that, whatever happened, he did indeed own her and was responsible for part of her destiny from nowon. Infection...now she remembered what it was.

"Isn’t there anyway for me to just go back home?" she asked hoarsely.

"Not that I know of."

"I’m STUCK here?" Jill stood there for a nano-second and thought. "Do I get paid?"

"A *bit*." Megabyte said, faintly surprised.

"Better than working at McDonalds I guess." She looked up at him questioningly. "So what do I do now?"

Megabyte blinked and looked at Jill askance. She seemed to be adjusting rapidly to her new situation. This wasn’t the usual response. Come to think of it, the infection itself had felt slightly different. Megabyte had never infected a sprite before, and didn’t know if it was supposed to feel like that or not. Perhaps because she was formerly a User.

"Follow that guard. I’ll call for you in about a cycle."

Jill felt a wrenching in her gut. She HAD to do what he had just ordered her, like it or not. Her will totally useless, she followed the binome who had already started walking away.

* * *

"Perfect," thought a figure watching Jill walk down the corridors. "She has the right type of body. Perhaps a bit young, but that can’t be helped."

The figure chuckled evilly. "Take care of your body, sprite. I wouldn’t want anything to happen to it before I can use it."

The stranger vanished.

* * *

"That was weird." Jill commented to the binome she was following.

"Uh-what was?" he asked.

"He just ordered me to follow you and-I HAD to do it. Like that. Freaky, you know?"

"We all have to do what Lord Megabyte commands. It is our duty," replied the binome primly.

"Lord?" thought Jill. "Whoo boy."

"What’s your name?" she asked the binome friendly.

"Why?"

"Because I’d like to know your name. Mine’s Jill."

"I’m Ric."

"Okay. So Ric, where we going?"

Ric was confused. She acted no differently from when she WASN’T infected. Usually a binome’s personality changed, mostly for the worse. It must be different for Users, he decided. Either that or it hadn't had time to sink in. He was betting on the last one.

"We are in level 3, where our rooms are located. You should have a mental map of all infected sectors in your head."

There WAS a map. She knew where, approximately, everything was. For example, the armory was two floors down and fifteen corridors away. The level they had just been on was on the fifth sub-basement. The cafeteria was... Jill almost walked into the wall and shook her head. She’d mentally explore the rest later when she could concentrate.

"I do. Neat!"

"Um, yes. Normally we share rooms, but since you’ll need more space, you can have one to yourself. Your PID will let you access it. Also, you can use it to draw your pay. Clothes and food are already supplied, so it isn’t much." Even Megabyte admitted that his army needed SOME other things to do so besides work all day so they wouldn’t go insane. They got paid a small amount.

"How much do I get?"

Ric named a figure. Jill tried to figure out what it was worth with her new knowledge. It wasn’t much. More than her allowance though, thank God.

"We there yet?"

"Right here, actually," Ric replied. He waved a hand to indicate a panel.

"Just put your PID on it, and it’ll let you in. I have to go." He started to leave.

"Sure. Thanks."

He paused at a door. "Can I ask you a question?" he said hesitantly.

"Sure."

"You seem so-adjusted to this already. How come?"

"Uhm. I’m adaptable?"

"Are all Users like this?"

"What? Oh no. We’re all different. It’s just the way *I* am." She laughed. "I have this friend, Jake, he’d probably be freaking out by now if HE were here."

"Another User? Two others came out of the game, but they landed on the other side of the Firewall." He commented. "Well, goodbye." Ric left.

"They what?" Jill blinked. "Jake and Kevin? I wonder if Jake really IS freaking out."

* * *

Not knowing what to do with him, Dot and Phong had left Jake sitting on the table. They were holding a furious half-whispered conversation in one side of the room.

"I can’t believe that HE’S the User. He looks so innocent!"

"It’s what the scanners picked up. They do not lie, my child."

"They could be damaged."

"We repaired them only a minute ago."

Dot stood up. It had been a long second, she had about a fifty things to do and a new defense plan to build. She didn’t need this. She walked over to Jake, and simply asked him, "Are you a User?"

"Wha?"

Dot gritted her teeth. He just sat there, starring at the floor.

"Are-you-a-User?"

"If you mean, do I use a computer, yes."

Dot stepped back surprised. "What? You admit it?"

"Well, I am."

"Then YOU’RE the one who keeps on sending games cubes?! You’re the one who erased all those sectors? YOU’RE the one who nullified my little brother?"

"Erased? Huh? What do you mean erased? And what’s nullified mean? I can’t believe I’m in a COMPUTER..."

Dot stood there, mouth open. He didn’t know?

All those games, all those lost people, and he didn’t even KNOW what was happening. He didn’t know they even existed. Unlike quite a few people who thought of the Users as semi-benevolent, she had vaguely thought of the User as some malicious being, playing games for the fun of beating sprites. And now, it seemed to be turning out that it had all been a mistake, that the Users didn’t know their games became real, that all the sprite’s struggles had been a misunderstanding.

Somehow, the thought of the User not knowing they existed was worse than the User being evil.

She turned to Phong.

"YOU tell him." She said, sounding weary beyond measure.

* * *

Jill looked around her room. It had a bunk bed, a desk, and a small lamp on the desk. It was a bit smaller than her room at home.

"The first," she announced to the whole world in general, "The FIRST thing I’m doing when I get paid is buying some posters."

Jill played around with the map in her head some more a bit. Then, curious, she poked her head out the corridor. It was deserted. She went back into her room and closed the door. Time to stop putting off the inevitable.

Sitting down on bottom bunk, she lay back and stared at the upper one. Jill frowned, then climbed the ladder to the top one. Settling down again, this time she stared at the ceiling. There. That was better. The ceiling was just as close, but at lest she didn’t feel like it was about to fall on her. She started to REALLY think about what just happened.

* * *

Jake listened, his mouth open in shock, then horror, then something Dot would never had expected to see on a User- grief.

He listened to Phong tell him about the games and nulls. He listened about the viruses and Guardians, the Net and the Web. He listened to Phong explain the extreme improbability about getting home.

"There were three Users who entered our system. One of them was ours, but we don’t know which is which. Could you tell me... which of you is... our User?" Phong concluded.

"I think... from the games you told me... I am. Oh God. I’m sorry... I didn’t KNOW..."

There was a sudden screeching. Phong jerked his head around. One of the test nulls they had been working on what seemed hours ago had broken free. Its container had a large crack from here it had hit the wall during an attack on the Principal Office. The null zoomed out and then stopped in front of Jake, burbling curiously. It froze and, Jake could have sworn, it stared at him even without any eyes.

The null tried to bolt. Dot, in a rare display of agility for one so tired, grabbed it. Jake turned to her and looked at the null curiously.

"It’s smarter than us," she said tightly. Even though he seemed sad and shocked at what he had learned, Dot wasn’t sure she liked Jake. She still blamed him for what happened to her brother. "It knows you’re the one who turned it into this."

Jake winced.

"Can I-can I see it please?" he asked.

Dot shrugged and handed it to him. Jake took the squirming, screeching null. It stilled, looking up at him with the same expression as before.

Jake stared back at it. The room seemed to fade, and he heard a rushing in his ears. He looked at the null once more. It was the only clear thing in a rapidly fading world...

Phong had told him that they thought nulls could be brought back by the game information held in the cube that nullified him. He was their User, right? Technically, he should be able to access that information.

The rushing became louder, and the null seemed to become made up of numbers. Bits of code remained locked away there. It determined who and what the null had been. You could bring it back. All you needed was the key...

It was suddenly so *simple*. Jake laughed and reached into the place where games were stored in computer memory and selected the right information...

He was vaguely aware that Dot was saying something to him.

He then took the codes, fit them back in, and...

* * *

Jake took the null and examined it curiously.

"This is what happens to us when we lose," Dot told him, noting his surprised expression. She blinked. Something in his face said he wasn’t listening.

"Are you paying attention?" she asked suspiciously.

His expression changed from one of surprise to calm. Dreamily, he said, "Don’t worry, I know what I’m doing." He clutched the null tighter.

"User?"

A low whine filled the room.

"Uh, Phong? I don’t know what he’s doing but-" Dot got no further as a loud crack filled the room and a purple-white light erupted from the User’s hands. He fell back onto the table. Where there had been a null was now a-

"Erm, hello." Said a confused looking binome sitting on the floor.

"Phong! Are you okay?" Dot rushed over to Phong.

"I am fine, my child. He said, glasses askew. Propping them into place, he breathed heavily. "You?"

"I’m fine."

The binome continued to sit on the floor and rub his head. "Ow. What hit me?"

"He did." Dot said hollowly, stepping back from Jake. Before she had still been skeptical, but NOW, NOW she could believe...

"What did I just do?" Jake moaned.

"You don’t know?"

"No. It was all so clear for a moment..." Jake got a dreamy look on his face. "Everything went blurry and I saw how to do it."

"You just un-nullified someone! That’s never happened before in the history of the Net!"

"Excuse me, but why did you hit me for?"

"It hasn’t?"

"No! Can you do it again?"

"I’m not sure...I wasn’t thinking before when I did."

"I mean, maybe I did something to offend you, but you didn’t have to HIT me."

"Are you sure?"

"No..."

"We’ll get some more nulls and test it then. Phong, do we have any more in here?"

"It really stings now too."

"There. Try to do it again."

"I- can’t. I’m sorry. My head really hurts. Can I just sit down for a while?"

"I think it’s starting to bruise."

Finally, everyone looked at the binome.

"What are you TALKING about?" Dot asked. She had forgotten about him in the rush.

"You said he hit me." he rubbed his head.

"Uh-I didn’t mean it literally," Dot said, unsure of how to break the news to him. "You were-nullified."

"I was? I...was, wasn’t I?" the binome stopped rubbing his head and a note of horror crept into his voice. "I forgot for a nano-second. The User was supposed to find this lost treasure of someone or other. I was there on the final level. It jumped up onto the platform and grabbed it and-"

"Yes, well, you’re back now." Dot said soothingly. "We got an... expert to help us. In fact, you’re the first person in the entire net to have been un-nullified."

"I really am, aren’t I?" the binome muttered. He looked up at Jake, an expression of wonder and gratitude starting to spread on his face. "And you-saved me? Thanks. Thank you!"

Jake hastily said, "Oh, it wasn’t any trouble...actually, Dot and Phong did most of the work. It’s experimental, and we need some time before it can work again if ever." Jake lied his heart out. He didn’t want news of someone who could un-nullify the whole population of Mainframe being spread around, only to disappoint and anger people who would find out it was a fluke on his part.

"So, what’s your name?" he asked, trying to get away from talking about himself.The binome seemed to snap to attention. Dot took in the guard uniform she had missed before.

"Pixel. I’m a private underneath Sergeant Rom."

She vid-windowed someone. A binome whose uniform declared him sergeant was on the screen.

"Yes, Ms. Matrix?" he asked.

"Sergeant, could you please be prepared to explain some recent events to private Pixel here?" She asked, stepping aside so the Sergeant could see Pixel.

"Pixel?! But you lost the game!"

Dot knew she shouldn’t be glad that someone else besides her was confused, but she couldn’t help it. "I’ve got tons of work Phong. Could you take care of this for a while?" he nodded. "Great. Thanks Phong. Pixel, come with me." Dot left.

"I need a nap." Jake muttered. He whipped up his head, sensing something. "Wait!"

Dot turned. "Yes?"

"What’s an incoming game?"

"Why?"

"Someone’s just accessing one right now."

Jake could feel it- a ringing in the circuits above his head that meant someone was about to drop a gamecube. But who could be using his computer? Oh no-He stood bolt upright.

"Lisa!" he groaned. "I let her use my computer for a favor-not HER!"

"What do you MEAN? You let some other User let your computer?"

"Yes." Jake said miserably. "I owed her. Damn! My mom’s leaving too! She’s not going to be getting off soon."

"We’re in trouble." He said, looking up, as if he could see through the ceiling and into the circuits in the sky.

"At least this way no one will suspect you’re the User," Dot commented dryly, Pixel being safely out of earshot.

Jake just sat on the table. "It’s going to come down on...someplace called...G-prime?"

"I don’t think Megabyte had time to set up another tear... thank the Use-I mean, thankfully, so the Firewall’s safe for now." Dot turned to leave once more.

"Um, excuse me? Jake said, trepidation in his voice.

"Yes?" Dot said again, patience starting to wear thin.

Jake licked lips nervously and went on before he lost his nerve. "I-I’d just like to say-for all the times I sent those games-and for your brother and everyone else..." his voice cracked. "I’m sorry."

Dot blinked. The guilt in his voice... he was genuinely sorry. She suddenly liked him a lot better.

"I know," Dot said softly, seeing him in a slightly new light. He wasn’t THAT old. What would it be like at that age finding out you were responsible for the loss of so many? At ANY age. She felt somewhat sorry for him. Dot sighed, sounding incredibly tired. The nap hadn’t helped *that* much.

"I know", she repeated, and shut the door.

* * *

Kevin stood up in the alley. He had managed to repress the rush of feelings for now. There was a glowing sign at the end of the alley. Maybe someone in there could give him some information...

He walked to the end of the alley and looked up at a sign that said "Al’s."

* * *

Some of the conclusions Jill came to was:
this was real and really happening in a computer,
she wasn’t exactly sure what Megabyte was like but good was probably not an option and
she needed to know what was going on.

Jumping off the bunk, she decided the cafeteria would be a good place to ask someone. She could just give them a "I was transported from another system by the games" story. Jill took the elevator down to the caf. While on there, she marveled again at the smooth graphics and spectrum of colors. With a hiss, the elevator stopped and opened its doors. She stepped out and walked down a few corridors, pushing open the doors of the cafeteria when she came to them.

It was just like a typical cafeteria anywhere. People (or binomes in this case) standing in line, looking over the menu, shoving people who took too long...a few of the binomes looked up at her when she entered. Jill became aware of quite a few stares as she picked up a tray and stood in line. She was relived to see that there were a few sprite-sized stools by a counter on a far corner. All the other chairs were binome-sized. She would still have to crouch down slightly to get her meal though.

Jill waited in the line as it slowly progressed forwards. She felt a bit awkward, but luckily for her the counter where the cafeteria workers gave out food was pretty high.

"Uh," said Jill when it was her turn. She vaguely held out her tray. A bored looking binome dumped a plate and shake on it. "Thanks," Jill said. The binome slightly raised his eyebrow, then shrugged. Jill guessed he didn’t really get that many thanks anymore from people working here.

"You must be new." He said.

Jill went over to the stools. There was a free one by the wall. She seated herself next to two binomes who were having a discussion about ABC’s and a possible armor upgrade. They looked at her when she sat down. Unsure of how to start, she gave them a small smile and said, "Uh, excuse me?"

"Yeah?" One of them asked.

"Um. I’m kind of...new here-"

"It shows." The other snickered.

"No, I mean, new to this whole system. Um. I came in with that multi-player game. I was wondering if you could tell me...what the heck is going on exactly." She prodded her meal. It was basically a burger and fries, and the obligatory tomato slice to the side. She took a bite cautiously. Hmm. It wasn’t good, but it wasn’t bad either. Okay-ish. Typical cafeteria food. Some things never changed, she guessed.

"We’re just taking over the system." The first binome said patiently.

"Yeah. And now that you-know-who’s gone, we’ll probably win."

"Who?" asked Jill. She looked suspiciously at her drink which was glowing. She almost tried some, but stopped before the liquid reached the top of her straw. Some things took more adjusting to than others.

"The-" the binome looked around. "This guy who always used to be in the way. His name was-" he lowered his voice even more. "Bob."

"Shh! Don’t SAY it!" the other hissed.

"Why?" asked Jill.

Looking around, the binomes started to tell her about Bob, his defeat, and Enzo’s quick rise and fall as the system’s hero. Basically all of Mainframe’s recent history. Afterwards, they seemed to feel a bit better for getting it off their chests.

"That poor kid," Jill commented. "And his friend."

"Yeah. The whole system’s pretty depressed about it."

Jill thought of her own system. She had won a lot of times, but she hadn’t accessed a game in ages. Jill felt a pang of guilt. Well, at least she hadn’t played in a while. That must count for something.

Deciding to live for the moment, she took a sip of the shake. It felt funny-sort of like static down your throat. It was good though.

"So, what’s your function?" The binome who had first ventured to say Bob’s name asked.

"I’m Jill. Uh-I think I’m being assigned my function soon. In about..." she looked at the clock on the wall. "twenty micro-seconds."

"You’ll probably get a high post since you’re a sprite."

"Oh. Well, that’s good. I guess."

She idly kicked the panel under the counter. "What’re YOUR functions?"

"I’m Vector." Said the one she first talked to.

"I’m Lag." Said the other. "We fly ABC’s."

"ABC’s? You mean those big cruiser things? Cool," commented Jill. Finishing her fries, she stood up.

"I’ve got to go. See you guys."

They nodded. Jill dumped her tray in the drop-off place and walked out.

"She’s a nice sprite." Commented Vector.

"Yeah. Too bad she has to work HERE." Replied Lag.

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