SatoDraygonFist2 2009-10-17 01:28:24

SYSTEM CORRUPTED. SYSTEM CORRUPTED. ADVISE?

"Come on!" I choked, "Come ON!"

Alarms blared, lights whirled. The mainframe had been compromised, and the Virus was swiftly dismantling all presently operative consoles. Before my very eyes crisp clear screens dissolved into sizzling patches of static. Things wouldn't be long in ending now.

Rex and I were the only ones left.

"Shut it down, Agent." He ordered sharply over the wail of sirens. I had to admire his poise and collective manner even as billions of dollars in high-tech equipment fell to junk around him, "We don't have much time!"

WOULD YOU LIKE TO ABORT PROG--

My pale hands flew over the control keys. I jiggled each lever, punched every button. My expression was drawn tight to the fullest, "Dammit, Rex! Lost that one too!"

The Virus did fast work. In fact, if it wasn't busy destroying New Earth, I'm sure Rex might have hired it. Its daily planner must have been very full today: Cripple the World Network, tear data packages so raw voids float free, hack into Empire City's HQ Tower--all before lunch. Rex doesn't see NEAR that productivity in even HALF of his agents.

SYSTEM CORRUPTED. SYSTEM CORRUPTED. ADVISE?

"We can't beat it here, Director." I fell back from the consoles, taking in the sparking modems, "There's only one thing to do..."

The Virtualization Hub rested in the corner of the room. It was damaged, therefore the chance of the jump ripping me apart was fairly high. Still...

Rex followed my gaze and he filled his lungs with reason and common sense.

"No. I will not allow--"

But I was already up and running towards it. The sequence was keyed in. I could hear the reactors whining from their strain, but it didn't fill me with fear. Would it kill me? Probably. Did I want to live in a New Corrupted Earth? Not especially. This was it. All or nothing.

"AGENT REN!"

His words were whisked away by charged neurons and the peculiar sound made by rearranging molecules...

NETWORK VIRTUALIZATION COMP-comLECOMPLETE.

There had been one hitch in the process. I felt it as I fell through, but I was still in one piece. Agent Ren was now logged in to her final session.

Now being digital I could tangibly sense the Virus. I didn't need to turn around. It had swollen grossly and taken up the entire finance and communications sector of the HQ Tower.

Rex joined me within a matter of minutes. The second he touched down after Virtualization, we both felt the Hub crack and give up completely. This was it. This was the final push.

At least it prevented me from getting a verbal smack-down.

Just as Rex and I could so easily feel the Virus, it noticed us in turn. As an act of kindness and greeting, it lashed out withering tentacles. I had an agility bonus advantage over Rex, but we were both glad for Moderator privileges at this point.

Once I evaded, Rex fought back with such ferocity that the Virus retracted its feeler. As though mollifying itself, the black greedy thing ate up more data and shut down some more HQ Tower platforms. With a collective understanding we felt the last modem spark, shudder, shriek, and then give up.

Trapped. No way out. We traded glances.

The slip happened as we sprinted parallel down the plane lines towards the Virus in a mad dash for critical hits. Rex drew back a fist in a devastating blow. It connected viciously with the Virus and for a second it was knocked back, away from its firm hold on communications.

As though changing its mind, the Virus shifted and latched onto Rex's arm and pulled him in.

"DIRECTOR!" I cried.

There was a moment when it looked like he was about to pull free. It was a moment where all endings were happy and when New Earth would be saved by two panting heroes. Then it passed and Rex flickered.

The Director was part of the Virus now, dripping black and shuddering with power. It stretched out its new body in an experimental fashion. I watched, horrified.

SYSTEM CORRUPTED. SYSTEM CORRUPTED. ADVISE?

"What?" The Virus tainted Rex's voice, perverting it and making it gnash at my ears. It shrugged his shoulders, "Is there something on my face?"

sfzacheriah 2009-10-18 04:40:15

I sent mine in through PM, man, though seeing Sato's work...wow, man....just wow

SatoDraygonFist2 2009-10-18 18:13:16

:o

I'm all nervous. When does Nub decide?

TheFreedMan 2009-11-12 15:53:48

well, it seems I'm a bit late for this "contest of sorts" I could only hope to form a decent story, but It could take quite a bit to form anything worth considering. If you're still open to suggestions I'd attempt to come up with a story for you.

SatoDraygonFist2 2009-11-14 09:43:57

Nuuu! Do it! Make Nub's job all the more harder, differentiating between the literate!

Ha. Actually, I don't know. He might have already made a decision, or might have just given up completely. There's no harm in trying, is there?

sfzacheriah 2009-11-16 16:20:50

*Crosses his fingers* Dude, I hope I am a good contender here

NitroX72 2009-11-30 10:33:30

the song, along with the title, certainly sounds like a more psychological battle than a physical one. The song brings about an atmosphere of hopelessness or despair, and along with the title can be interpreted as a loss of self-confidence so deep it's almost depressing. Best interpretation I can come up with is an adolescent much too worried about outward appearances that he falls into depression or maybe a mental/emotional breakdown. of course, this is just a symbolic interpretation of the song, i've got a story ready too. (It is equally symbolic, it is up to you to see how it corresponds to my interpretation.)

---------

(0:00) I looked at all the dead bodies on the floor. Their faces didn't seem to look too happy. I touched my face. It looks like I'm still alive, although I don't know if being alive is a better situation to be in right now.

He doesn't seem to be around anymore. I think that damned bastard was right after all. He didn't need a body. Death had no meaning; reality didn't exist. The collective subconscious... the Schumann resonance... that bastard.

(0:19) I looked around. Everything was breaking down. The laws of thermodynamics don't seem to be valid. Pi probably has a value of 5.3. I think that cube over there has 11 sides. Is this really happening or is this just an illusion my brain is feeding me? It must be him. He's just playing god. He thinks he can control everything. He thinks he can just delete me.

"I'll be sure to keep your consciousness intact when I recreate the universe. I really do have to thank you for killing me earlier."

"Shut up! Just stop this right now! You killed everyone and now you're extending your warmest heartfelt thanks to me?"

(0:47) "Don't worry. You'll be free of them soon enough. Your limitations as a human being are too vast. A consciousness has no need of companions, it is just it."

(0:57) "You don't have the right to say anything about companions! You don't even know the true meaning of friendship! The warmth of a human body, the comfort of a hug-"

"All that happens when you get close to other people is merely hurt! Don't you see? Your friends are dead; wouldn't you feel much better now if you never knew them at all; if you didn't have feelings?"

(1:16) "Then I'll be a god with feelings. I'll fight you and take your place at the master controls of reality. I'll make a world that is truly right!"

(1:19) I ran away from the decay that was catching up to me. It was eating away at the earth, turning it into nothing. It almost looked like jpeg compression, things breaking away in pixels. Maybe this is all just a computer simulation. Maybe the Man is just running a program on a computer, uploading it to the Schumann resonance, reaching everybody's brains and giving us these false visions. False sound, false smells, false touch, false taste. Could a computer do that?

I tried to find the nearest computer I could. All I would have to do is just log in, the VR helmet would probably be useless now. There could be a high chance my consciousness would be destroyed during upload, seeing as everything is so messed up right now. I wonder if the inventors of the VR helmet had realised it would lead to this. Brain signals being diverted to a central server instead of the body. Such a dangerous concept, done only for the sake of humanity as a sentient species.

I broke into a nearby house and found a working computer. There was nobody around. What a coincidence. I turned it on and put my hand on the scanner. I didn't even bother putting on the helmet, the server would probably be able to retrieve my mental signals from just the air.

I suddenly felt a violent jolt. My body hurt. Then it stopped. My vision still shook, but my body didn't move. My consciousness had been completely separated from my body now. It looks like I'm dead. I don't...

(1:57) I don't feel anything. I can't feel a single thing. Wind blowing in my hair. My clothes on my body. I don't feel them. This is strange. No. This is horrible. I feel horrible. This is the worst thing I have ever felt. Not that I can feel anything.

I can't think. I don't have a brain anymore. What did I need to do? The Man. Him. I need to stop him. I need to kill him. He'd destroying everything and I need to restore it all. But he's already dead. I'm already dead. How do I get around to killing a dead man?

"I see you've invited yourself in to the collective subconscious. Soon enough you will be completely happy. Soon enough humanity will be in a place where there will be no suffering. There will be no anguish. Humanity will be one, all consciousness will exist simply as itself."

"What will being conscious mean if I don't have anything to be conscious of? I don't want this to happen, I want everything back to how it was!"

All of a sudden, I saw the line of decay getting pushed back a bit. I realised my abilities as a master hacker were reality. I didn't need to type it out anymore. I just needed to think it. If I wanted to right now I could hack every bank account and divert everything to mine. But that's not what I want to do.

I have to recreate the parts of the world the Man has already destroyed. I need to get rid of the Man. I need to do this before I forget how to do this. I need to do this before I forget who I am. Before I forget how to think.

"Why are you doing this? Do you not want humanity to coexist peacefully?"

"Coexistence doesn't mean anything if there are no separate existences!"

"STOP THIS AT ON-"

There. He was gone. But I don't know if I can finish this job. I don't know if I can recreate the whole universe now. I feel increasingly... happy.

(2:36) I think having no body feels kind of good. I don't have to worry about anything now. Isn't it about time school starts? Hey. Guys. School is starting. It's time to go.

Go without me. I like this better. This feels wonderful. I'm nothing. I'm everything. I feel like... What do feelings feel like?

I

i need to think

let me try it

i should do

i touched

my face

don't

feel

--------

NitroX72 2009-11-30 10:35:27

Also I wonder if I am too late on this...? I just realised my submission in the above comment is one and a half months after the news post was made O_O