Nano |
Minute/Second (I'm not particular) |
Micro |
Hour |
Microsecond |
Day |
Second |
Week |
Minute |
Month |
Cycle |
Year |
Hour |
Ten years |
Dot smiled to herself in her work, happy with the thought of being productive and organized. She was nearly encapsulated in VidWindows of various sizes, containing business leader's worried faces, charts and graphs, and many of the projects that were among her top priorities of the time. Somehow, the woman managed take everything in swing, never missing a beat when things would have crumpled for a lesser sprite.
Another VidWindow popped open, somewhat behind the
others due to there being no room anywhere else. A blue face
peered out of it, seeing nothing but the backs of other files.
Bob sighed and shook his head; it would be a while before Dot got
to him, and he wanted to speak to her now! An idea popped
into his head, and he decided to play it out, though he knew Dot
would berate him for doing so.
He closed the VidWindow, opened another and marked it with a High Priority Mail code. This sent it whizzing to the top of Dot's other work, popping open angstroms away from the tip of her nose as she leaned in and peered at the file which was now behind it. She jumped backwards, letting out a little gasp in her surprise. Her shocked face turned resentful, however, as she recognized the face on it.
"Hi." Bob said, grinning sheepishly. Dot pursed her lips.
"What do you think you're doing?" She asked, folding her arms over her chest.
"Sorry, but I wanted to talk to you!" Bob explained, giving her his best puppy-dog eyes. She frowned deeper, but a hint of smile crept into her eyes despite herself.
"You have less sense of importance than Enzo." She said scornfully, shaking her head and looking down in an attempt to hide her smile. An unsuccessful attempt; Bob grinned as he saw her. He might just survive the incident. "Bob, if you want to talk, talk!" Dot cried, lifting her head again. Bob cleared his throat.
"Could I just come over?" He asked hopefully.
"I suppose," Dot said, sighing resignedly. "If you really have to."
Bob smiled even larger. "All right, be over in a nano!" He said, and closed the VidWindow quickly.
Dot leaned back and laughed softly to herself. Poor fellow, she thought, he really was cute sometimes. She mentally shook her head and got back to work. She had to get it done quickly, for Bob would never give her peace once he got there.
Bob zipped over towards the Diner in a bouncy mood. He felt playful, and was hopeful that he could get Dot out of her office and about the town. It would be nice to have some time with her, although he was always around her, he never really visited. He looked forward to seeing her.
He arrived at the Diner, minimized his zip board, and walked towards the door. Frisket stood watch, proof that Enzo was somewhere inside. Bob crept slowly to the dog, and tried to step over him. Frisket growled, showing no outward intentions but his voice, which was plenty to convince Bob that the window would be safer.
Dot walked out of her office in the back, massaging her temples and just in time to see Bob tumble ungracefully through one of the windows. She stood still for a moment, but smiled and even laughed as Cecil flew over and began to waggle his finger in Bob's face and berate him.
Bob tried to calm Cecil down, spotted Dot, and made a quick getaway. He rushed to her side (trying to look like he wasn't) and grinned at her. She smiled. "What's processing?"
"Oh, nothing much." He replied, his eyes dancing over her features. He grinned even larger and added, "Hey, you wanna go do something tonight? Go for a drive, see an .mov?"
Dot smiled. So, that's what he had in mind. Predictable. "I suppose I could work it in. You pick me up or should I get you?" Knowing the way his old car acted, she figured she'd give him the choice. Which reminded her
"Why drive when you could portal?"
"I figured I'd see if it was like old times. Driving can be so calming, andwell, anyway. I'll come and get you at seven. If that's all right"
"Fine. See you then."
She turned to get back to work, and Bob watched her head back to her office. At the last nano, he ran forward, swept her up, and backed into a closet next to them. Dot yelped, but recognized the arms that held her and did not call for serious help.
Once inside the closet, Dot struggled to get away from Bob, both of them giggling childishly. "Bob," she started, trying to sound angry but failing miserably. "Bob, I've got to get back to work, you silly null! Let me go!"
"But I can't wait until seven!" He insisted, pulling her back to him. She resisted, but tripped on a bucket and mop, falling lightly on to his lap. He leaned over her and kissed her cheek, laughing a bit in her ear. She reached down and felt around with one hand, and found what she wanted. When Bob sat up again, quick as a flash she stuck the bucket that had previously contained the mop over his head.
"Hey!" Bob cried, releasing his grip on Dot and trying to pull the bucket off his head, where apon the handle caught under his chin and fell back down. Dot stood quickly and skittered to the door, let herself out, and closed the closet again, holding the door handle to prevent his escape. Bob managed to get the bucket off and ran straight into the door, blind in the darkness. Dot cringed as she heard him hit and fall, but he was up again quickly and yelled through the door again. "Hey! No fair!"
"I have got to get back to work, Bob! I'll see you at seven!" She let go of the handle and fled to her office, closing and locking the door behind her. Bob fell out of the closet at it's sudden release, and stood quickly. He walked out of the Diner with his shoulders unusually straight, trying to regain his dignity but still amused at the previous situation.
As arranged, at seven Bob showed up at the darkened Diner, and knocked on the door. When no one answered, he peered in through the glass, then knocked harder. Dot's head poked out from behind a wall, and she hurried to the door.
"Sorry," She said, letting him in. "Have you been here long?"
"No, only a few nanos." Bob replied, stepping through. "You ready?"
"Hang on, I've got toI'll be right back." She said, and hurried to the back again. Bob stood by the door patiently, but barely. He wanted to grab her up and kiss her, to take her away somewhere and never bring her back. But there, it wouldn't do to be thinking like that, they were going to see an .mov, that was all. Unfortunately, he added.
Momentarily, Dot reemerged, looking nothing short of wonderful, at least in Bob's eyes. She was only wearing her regular clothes, as it wasn't a formal event, but she still look great. He offered her his arm in an exaggeratedly formal way, however, and she took it and let him lead her to the car.
They never made it to his old, red pile of gears. The sky let out a loud crash of thunder, and the darkness intensified under the boiling purple clouds. They looked simultaneously up, and Bob frowned. He looked back at Dot. "They always find a way to ruin my evening." he commented. Dot smiled ruefully.
Presently, the game cube appeared and fell slowly downward. Dot shook her head. I knew it was going too well, she thought, and waited impatiently for the cube to land.
The code sheeted through them. Dot glanced about at her surroundings and saw that she was standing in an open field, bordered on three sides by light forest and with a view of rolling hills over the fourth. She turned and spied a stone castle rising up majestically.
She glanced back to Bob. "What game is this?" she asked, and watched him concentrate on the newfound powers from Glitch. He reopened his eyes a moment later.
"It's called The Golden Age. We're the royalty and the goal is to manage the country and get rid of your enemies. And," a worried look spread over his face. "It's multi-player."
Dot frowned, slightly confused. "But I thought all games were multi-player. There's usually more than just one of us, isn't there?"
Bob shook his head. "No, I mean there's more than one User."
Dot sighed. "I suppose we should reboot, then, and see what happens."
Bob nodded, and they both placed their hands over their icons.
"ReBoot!"
Dot looked down at herself. A long dress scraped the ground lightly, a deep sort of aqua green. A dusty rose colored sash was tied in a large bow over one shoulder. Her icon was suspended on a short length of chain round her neck, and her fingers were heavy with rings. She turned to Bob, and involuntarily looked him up and down.
His shirt was loose and mostly open, ruffled a bit around the neckline and at the ends of the sleeves. His pants were comical; shorts that ballooned outward and skintight pants that went the rest of the way down. He smiled lopsidedly and she noticed a slightly unshaven look to his chin. He smiled.
"Dot, you look fantastic." he said softly. She laughed a little.
"I'm sorry if I can't say exactly the same for you!" she said, and they both laughed.
There was a rustle behind them, and Dot turned. Bob refocused his attention to the group of girls standing behind them. He noticed a single binome standing among them. She smiled at him.
"Hello. May I help you?" Dot asked politely. The girls exchanged confused glances.
"No, m'Lady." the foremost girl answered, and they all curtseyed again. Dot, feeling uncomfortable, hitched up the front of her skirt enough to walk and climbed up the slight slope to the castle. Bob jogged to catch up and followed next to her, and the girls followed at a respectful distance.
"What do you know about the game so far?" Dot asked him in a whisper as they neared the door.
"I was wrong when I said we were the royalty-"
"Well then, what are we?!" Dot hissed, but Bob held up a hand.
"Let me finish! We aren't royalty, you are. I'm a member of the court. You're Elizabeth Tudor, a princess. Your sister is queen right now. The main problem is that your different religions and she wants you either dead or locked up."
"What kind of a sister is that?!" Dot exclaimed, and opened the door. She went through, and Bob followed, closing the door behind himself and right in the faces of some very surprised ladies.
"A User kind of sister, evidently. Queen Mary's User 1."
"And who are you?" she asked, taking a seat at last at a small table in one of the stone rooms. Light from a window reflected from the wood's highly polished surface and lit up the whole of the small room. Bob took the chair across from her.
"I am Sir Robert Dudley. I'm one of the court members. My father wasa traitor," here he frowned. "And"
Dot waited for him to finish. "And? And what?"
"Nothing. It's not important."
Dot wondered what the not important detail was, but decided not to press the point. "Well, what do we do now?"
Bob opened his mouth to respond, but was interrupted by a sudden commotion at the door. Someone pounded on the wooden door with all their might, and the first lady's voice could be heard again.
"M'Lady? M'Lady, please! There are men on the way, officials!"
Another voice cut across the woman's. "Princess Elizabeth!"
Dot glanced worriedly at Bob, who looked back.
"Well, I guess we know what to do now." he said simply, and Dot licked her lips.
"Princess Elizabeth!" said the man's voice again, more imposing than ever. Dot walked out the door, followed closely by Bob. The voice was owned by a man on a horse in front of the door, with several others at his back.
"You are accused of conspiring with nameless others against her sovereign majesty and are arrested for treason. I must take you hence from this place to the tower."
Dot gaped. So early in the game, and she was already lost. Her hand gripped Bob's of its own accord, and he squeezed it back.
"And if she won't?" he asked defiantly. The man on the horse looked down at him angrily.
"I have no time for your interference, Lord Robert!" he snapped, and Dot swallowed.
"Just let me go." she whispered. "Whatever happens, you have to win the game!"
"But-"
"Just do it! I'll be fine!" she hissed, and stepped forward.
She was carried to the castle on the back of another man's horse. She watched the scenery fly by, and her stomach twisted and knotted itself around countless other organs. Maybe, if I talked to the User...er, User 1, I could convince them to let me go!
She tapped the man whose horse she was using on the shoulder. He turned to look at her.
"You must let me see the queen!" she said, but he shook his head. She looked from one man to the next and cried out, "You must let me see the queen!" They laughed at her pleas, and she tugged at the man's shoulders. "Please! Let me visit the queen!"
He did not answer, only swatted her face with his hand as he tried to control his stallion. Dot felt her face get hot. How dare he hit me?!
She shoved him hard, and he fell forward. The horse whinnied and reared up. Dot grasped wildly and found the reigns, and shoved the man with her shoulders. He cried out and fell off, and she slid forward on the horse until she could control it better. The uproar from behind her reached her ears, and she squeezed the horse with her heals. It whinnied again and took off at a gallop, Dot leaned forward to avoid being bumped too easily off. Her captors followed, but her horse was fast and carried her slight weight easily, and she outran them soon.
She rode on until she felt she had succsessfully evaded the men, then stopped to think. She had to either find the queen or find Bob, and either way she was unsure of her direction. The horse tossed its head impatiently.
"I know, I know!" she said to the horse, who whickered in reply. A sudden thought struck her. "Or do you know?"
She squeezed it's stomach with her legs again, and it set off at a trot, jostling her with each step. The gallop had been surprisingly smooth, but at this pace she bounced on the horse's back.
She wondered if her theory was too far fetched, but after only a half-hour's ride or so she came within site of a castle. Wow...This castle was nothing like the one she had come from, with only wooden doors to guard it. This one was a gigantic stone mountain with windows and steel barred gates at every entrance. She gasped.
As she neared the great castle, two men rode out to meet her. When they drew close enough to see her face, they gasped, and glanced at each other with puzzled and shocked expressions. Dot smiled at them, hoping to portray an air of friendliness, but their horses galloped towards her and the men had faces set with duty.
The faster of the two pulled close to her and grasped her arm roughly. "What of your escorts?!" he demanded, shaking her roughly. The second man arived and snatched the reins of her horse away from her in a swift movement. Dot felt her heart sink slightly, but her determination flared.
"I must see the queen, if you would be so kind as to take me there." she explained as composedly as she could. The men glanced at each other again, then at Dot.
"Very well." said the first man uncertainly, and the bit of hope was kindled again.