-The Girl in the Computer-
Chapter 1:
Jeremie Belpois stood in the middle of his dorm room at Kadic Academy, with a satisfied smirk on his face.
He couldn't help it.
His eyes swept over the dark silhouette of machine again and again.
It was two in the morning and the fifteen-year-old blonde curled his hands into fists to try and suppress the urge of touching such a beautiful piece of equipment.
"No," he told himself. "No, I'll turn it on tomorrow."
With great hesitation and still more of the greatest amount of self-control, he forced himself to return to his bed. He climbed in the covers and laid his head back on his pillow. Concentrating hard on his task, it hadn't even occurred to him to remove his glasses.
He saw his temptation, calling him from an unreachable distance at his bed.
"Tomorrow," he repeated firmly.
Firmly or not, his eyes were only closed a moment when, before he knew it, he was out of the covers, three steps across the room, swinging around in his computer chair, and pushing the button to bring the 'beautiful' technology purring to life.
Tomorrow just wouldn't do.
They hadn't been kidding when they said this model was fast. It was only a matter of seconds before the startup procedures were bypassed and the computer was fully functional and ready for Jeremie to take the controls.
He paused for a moment, relishing the feeling. Idly he reached a hand up to stoke his fingers across the silver letting on the side. It was barely caught in the glow of the screen and Jeremie whispered the illuminated name out loud:
"Lyoko." He smiled and cracked his knuckles. "Well let's see what you've got under the hood, my friend."
It took him less than a half-hour to become fully adapted to all the new software, not to mention organizing it to his satisfaction. Though he was impressed with some of the major functions the computer was capable of -he had never seen such power in any computer before- it was nothing new to the young boy who had spent hours upon hour researching it all.
He was glad to have what he called the "getting acquainted" stage, over and done with. Now with the reins fully in his power, Jeremie could move on to what he was really after.
There was so much they didn't tell you in manuals.
As with any new piece of technology, Jeremie couldn't wait to dive right in and pull it apart. There is no euphoria in the world like dissecting the inner workings of a computer. Not just acquainting yourself with its processes and functions, but separating and analyzing how each process and function is, exists, runs. Every component that makes them what they are. It wasn't enough to know his computer was capable of great power; Jeremie had to know where and how such power was derived; how every element of his computer made it possible.
By the end of the week Jeremie would be more than capable of rebuilding this computer if he wanted to.
Fingers flying over the keys, it wasn't long before Jeremie was neck-deep in data.
And that was when it happened. When stumbled across something that caught his eye. A file to be exact.
It was an obscure file. Placed so far back Jeremie had almost missed it. But it was in front of him now, and sticking out like a sore thumb.
"Carthridge Towers?" Jeremie murmured, a small frown creasing his face. He had never heard of it.
Curious, Jeremie clicked to open the file.
"That's. . . weird." Jeremie felt a slight shiver go down his spine.
What was an unknown, deleted file doing on his brand new computer?
It was like living alone and finding a muddy footprint in your house you know you didn't make. Who in the world had been in his computer?
Had the company really sent him a used model? Or developed some function for the computer, only to take it away?
Jeremie pursed his lips. The very thought of it made him incensed. How dare they send him a machine that still had traces of superfluous data on it!
"Well," he though "it's not going to be just traces for long."
Whatever the circumstances, there the file was. And if they thought deleting it was going to stop him from finding out what was inside, they had another thing coming.
Easing back into a more comfortable position in his chair, Jeremie immediately started the process of restoring the lost file. A few minutes in was when the little flags started going up in the back of his mind.
Since when did deleted files have such complex encryption codes attached? It was like someone had gone in and set up walls of jumbled data to prevent anyone else from breaking through.
Jeremie wasn't just anyone though. In the span of hours, he had it down in two.
Jeremie had never felt this kind of challenge and excitement in a deciphering code before.
"Well," he amended with some embarrassment, not since the time he had hacked into airport control to bump his parents flight up that one time.
In his defense, he really had missed them. That being his first time left behind for vacation and all.
He had only been an amateur hacker then. Not only did he set off the alarms of the airport's built-in security system, he had also left a messy trail leading straight to his CPU at home. Needless to say he had got in some hot water over that one.
The authorities of course didn't even think a ten-year-old was capable of something like that.
The poor babysitter.
She never sat for his parents again after that.
Naturally his parents, knowing full well the capabilities of their son, had had a long talk with him on the subject latter; explaining that what he had been attempting to do was illegal and so forth. They said when people put up security measures, there was generally a good reason behind them.
The memory made him wonder about the file he was breaking into right now. The file someone had put such obviously great effort into protecting.
Jeremie dismissed the notion. Despite how much he was enjoying himself, it couldn't be illegal. It was after all on his computer, right?
A message box appeared:
File Name: Carthridge Towers, has been restored.
Jeremie smiled.
With an amused chuckle he clicked on the file again. This time a window popped up:
The Project: Carthridge Towers, has been disconnected. Do you wish to connect?
And that was the moment when the flags in Jeremie's mind turned red and really started flying. All pleasure was lost and instantly replaced with anxious suspicion.
Project? Connect? Connect to what? What was this?
He swallowed nervously just thinking of the possibilities. But he couldn't chicken out now. Despite the danger to his computer in connecting to. . Well, whatever it was. He had to continue. He had to find out. Pushing his glasses up further on his nose, he gripped the mouse and slowly moved the cursor over the option "yes" and made himself click.
Another window appeared.
Please Enter the Code:_
Jeremie let out a sigh and leaned back in his chair.
Code? What could the code be?
The possibilities of any code were innumerable. Maybe in another month he come up with something. . or other.
He really didn't want to wait a month.
Jeremie removed his glasses and wiped the moisture from around his eyes and forehead. In replacing them, he found his eyes again scanning across the silver lettering on the side of the CPU. It shimmered down at him like a beacon.
"No," he scoffed. "That's far too simple."
Too simple or not, likely or not. . He found his fingers itched, just to try it. Call it a hunch or even intuition if you will. It just seemed right.
Code: _
The bar after the word still blinked back at him.
Lyoko_
-Jeremie entered, and held his breath as he hit the ENTER key. The widow he had been on disappeared for a moment processing, then reappeared.
Code Confirmed. Please wait while the connection is being established.
Jeremie jaw dropped in utter disbelief.
No way. . .
His success was short lived however. The bar, showing his time until completion, abruptly stopped and a screen popped up with a large red error sign on it.
Before Jeremie could react, another screen came up -a much larger one this time- and held astonishingly the face of a girl looking back at him.
Jeremie was so startled he nearly fell out of his chair.
"Wha-. ."
He was, for lack of a better expression, completely star struck. As unexpected as having a window pop up with a girl in it was. . . He really couldn't spare much thought over it. Despite being perceptibly digital, the girl had the most beautiful face Jeremie had ever seen. So beautiful in fact, Jeremie swore for a moment he must be looking into the eyes of an angel.
An angel, apparently, with a very cold and calculating manner.
"THE PROJECT YOU ARE TRYING TO ACCSESS IS RESTRICTED."
"W-what," Jeremie stuttered. The harshness of her voice seemed such a stark disparity to her features.
"THE PROJECT YOU ARE TRYING TO ACCESS IS RESTRICTED," she repeated, her tone just as frigid and biting as before.
"Who-What are you?"
Her expression softened somewhat at this query. But not much.
"I AM YOUR SELF-HELP ADVISOR. I WILL BE SEEING TO ALL YOUR CONCERNS, NEEDS, ETCETERA CONCERNING THIS MACHINE."
There had been nothing about a self-help advisor in the manual. . .
"Well I don't need any help. But, uh. . thank you."
A digital computer program probably didn't need his thanks, but for some reason it slipped foolishly from his lips anyway.
"VERY WELL, I SHALL CLOSE DOWN NOW. CALL AGAIN IF YOU ARE IN NEED OF ASSISTANCE."
"Ok." replied the still some what incredulous Jeremie. Then he thought of something. "No wait! Maybe you can help me."
The girl stopped and turned back to look him.
"YES?"
"About that project I was trying to-"
Her vibrant green eyes suddenly flashed. They made quite a stunning contrast to the soft pink hair framing her face.
"THE PROJECT YOU ARE TRYING TO ACCESS IS RESTRICTED."
"The Carth-"
"IS RESTRICTED."
"What do you mean it's re-"
"THE PROJECT YOU ARE TRYING TO ACCESS IS RESTRICTED."
"But-"
"IS RESTRICTED."
Ok, that was getting a little annoying. . .
Fast. Especially around five in the morning with no sleep.
"I know it's restricted," said Jeremie, slowly annunciating. "I want to know why?"
"THE PROJECT YOU ARE TRYING TO ACCESS IS-"
"I know, restricted, but-"
"ALLOW ME TO DIRECT YOU TO THE MAIN SCREEN."
"What? I don't want to go to the main screen, I want in the-"
"IF YOU PRESS THE KEY BELOW, IT WILL DIRECT YOU TO THE MAIN SCREEN."
"I'm not going to the main screen!"
The digital girl seemed taken aback by the elevated level of his voice and Jeremie quickly attempted to calm himself. He shouldn't of lost his temper like that. This was only a computer program he was dealing with after all.
"YOU ARE NOT FOLLOWING THE STEPS TO THE MAIN SCREEN."
"Right," he confirmed.
"I AM CURRENTLY RUNNING IN BASIS MODE. IF YOU ARE UNABLE TO FOLLOW INSTRUCTION IN BASUC MODE, PERHAPS IT IS UNWISE FOR YOU TO BE HANDLING THIS MACHINE ENTIRELY."
Instead of being incensed by this comment, as many who understood it's implications might have been, something about it just stuck him in an off kind of way. A computer program that was insulting? Not only insulting, but insulting him directly."
"Excuse me?"
"PERHAPS IT IS UNWISE FOR YOU TO BE HANDLING THIS MACHINE."
Jeremie dropped his head for a moment thinking. It just didn't sound right. He raised his eyes again and jumped slightly to find her head bent directly to his level, looking straight at him.
"SHALL I ASSIST IN SHUTTING THE MACHINE DOWN?"
As sort of an experiment, Jeremie moved his head slowly to the right of the screen and then to the left; her eyes following the movement exactly.
She could SEE him!
"What are you?" He asked for the second time, not at all sure if he really wanted to know.
"I AM YOUR SELF-HEL-"
"No you not," Jeremie spoke in absolute conviction. "There is no self-help advisor. My manual lists no such function. You're just trying to stop me from accessing that program aren't you?"
"THAT PROGRAM IS RESTRICTED."
"Well I own this computer now and I say it's not restricted. And I'm going to access it, with or without you trying to stop me."
Jeremie managed to minimized her on the screen and started up the connection to the program again. He found it continuing from where it left off before the error sign. The one her coming had probably activated in the first place.
She was back in a flash. "YOU MUST STOP. I WILL NOT LET YOU CONNECT."
Her hand came into the view of the monitor and as it rose webs of code came with it shooting out across the entire screen blocking his view.
Jeremie shook his head to avoid becoming overwhelmed by what he was seeing. Was this girl a computer program after all? How was she doing this?
"Stop, that's not important right now. Just concentrate on the code," he reminded himself. "She's only building walls. You only have to break through them. . Yah, and probably freezing the connection to the Carthridge Program in the process."
He let his eyes dance across the data, trying to discern a pattern. It actually wasn't as hard as he expected. A couple of minutes and he was through. The webs of figures disappeared revealing a very surprised face with a slightly singed pride behind it he imagined.
"Ready to move up from 'basic mode' now?"
He had to open his mouth.
Closing her eyes in concentration, her hand rose again. And this time Jeremie notice the glowing ball of energy pulsing in the middle of her palm before she was again swept away from his sight.
The second string of codes was much more complicated and so cleverly crafted that Jeremie couldn't help but grudgingly admire her for it. It was a good half-hour before the data started clearing and he knew he couldn't let her do that to him again. He had to get back to the connection window.
It was going to be a long shot, but Jeremie had a plan.
As soon as she came back into view Jeremie quickly minimized her again and, though it was a little tricky, managed to lock the action in place, trapping her there.
Not for long of course. Just enough for him to get the connection widow for Carthridge towers open and running. As he had assumed, it was frozen in place.
Then he lost no time turning his full attention on the minimized part of his screen, throwing code as complexly and as quickly as he had ever done in his life in that direction. Anything to enforce the lock holding her.
It was to be a race against the clock. He didn't have to distract the digital being for long. Not, that with the limits of a human brain, he could of distracted her for long. He just hoped, prayed it would be long enough to establish the connection.
And against all odds, that's how it happened. She broke through with three seconds to spare and just barely had lifted her hand for the third time, only to have the connection bar make a touchdown behind her.
Connection Established. Opening program now. . .
She seemed to sense when it happened, for she lowered her hand and turned on Jeremie. Her once heavenly face twisted into something inhuman, suddenly screeching at him:
"YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU'VE DONE. YOU'LL PAY FOR THIS WHEN-"
And with that she was gone.
Everything was for that matter. Jeremie's entire screen flickered and then went black.
Would he pay for what he had done by having his new computer broken?
But no, just as the though crossed his mind a small glow started to appear in the middle of the screen. It grew larger, glowing brighter with color, until a face was revealed.
He was shocked to see it was the same face he had just left. For there, eyes closed, almost as if she were sleeping, was the pink haired, digital girl of before.
But somehow, the discovery didn't make him cringe. Somehow, the creature in front of him was different.
Call it a hunch or even intuition if you will. Somehow that thought just seemed right.
And, every so gradually, the lids of her eyes were opening. Her green orbs shone, wide and frightened, falling on him, piercing right through Jeremie's core.
Her trembling, delicate voice that cracked then, touched to the deepest part of his soul.
"Wh-where am I?"