A brisk autumn wind stirred up the fallen leaves and whisked them past the window. The young man sitting at the desk inside the sixth floor flat in central London glanced at them briefly before returning his attention to the computer screen. He was working with dual monitors and a tattered old book laying open before him, pages held flat by the latest music playing device, a sleek black Hornbow 5. Maybe a paperweight wasn't its intended use but it did the job nicely.
The man sat with his fingers dancing deftly over the keys as he typed up the words written in his journal centuries ago. Then his fingers paused and he poked at the screen on the right. The screen reloaded while he resumed typing. He was meant to be working on typing these journals, but there are just so many good educational videos to watch on YouTube. This meant typing was only accomplished during the end credits and the preroll ad for the next video.
"... made entirely of crystals!" The fingers paused mid-word. His eyes flicked up to the right screen. "No living being has ever set foot on this planet, it has remained constant for all time. Now here's your chance to witness this marvel for yourselves. A chance for you and your family to take an all expenses paid trip to the planet Midnight! Simply complete a simple survey and you could be picked to win!"
The man then did what no one does on purpose: he clicked the ad.
It looked like a hoax but with a little poking around it was still holding firm. This was a real contest. Given that he was trying to avoid being known to the government, he thought it best not to apply for himself.
He closed out of the webpage and started the actual video. But his mind kept wandering.
"Stop it Merlin," he muttered to himself. "Not every crystal is connected to the crystal cave. You are overreacting. Just stay here." But really, he wasn't doing much right now. A few years prior he was working as a consultant for gaming company. He had started as a young programmer and had enjoyed working his way up through the company and making friends along the way. As an old man once more he had served as a consultant until he announced his retirement and disappeared, regaining his younger appearance. He loved the virtual reality games best. He thought it was brilliant to immerse yourself in a separate reality and have it feel so real. He had quickly realised the potential of having a virtual world to practice big magic and other fighting arts so over the years he had designed a custom one at home.
It was to there that he presently retreated. He downloaded what available info there was about the planet Midnight and started sorting. He sat down in a wicker chair on the front porch of a large country estate. Looking out all he could see were the rolling hills and a few sheep.
"Display all info concerning Midnight." A wall of glowing text floated before him. "Eliminate conspiracy theories but keep legends, myths, and folklore." Almost half of the text disappeared. "Highlight geographical info. Construct flyover."
"Insufficient data."
"Shoot. Erm. Extrapolate from available data."
"Insufficient data."
"Darn. Old fashioned way then. Compile available data into book." A book appeared in his lap and he settled down to read.