Maxine grumbled as she pushed the mop back and forth. Chunky bits of energy and half digested food littered the deck of her small ship. Usually some other sprite would have the job of cleanup duty after trips. It was the one part of being a search engine that Maxine hated. She couldn't get out of it, though. Her boss wasn't thrilled she had quit to begin with and gave her all the worst jobs since she had returned home. Maxine felt a mix of emotions, but mostly embarrassment. Everyone in the Desert Port System must have known by then that her other job didn't work out. She would always just be a search engine and nothing more.
Her adventures with Matrix had made that pretty clear; she wasn't cut out for an exciting life. So she ran back home to what she knew. She didn't remember her life being quite that boring though. Since returning she found herself daydreaming of Mainframe. Part of her missed it.
"When will this ship be ready?" A sprite said.
Maxine turned to see that a crowd had gathered waiting to board her ship. They all had bags and suitcases in hand. She sighed.
"I'm sorry Sir, but this ship isn't making any more trips today. It has to be serviced."
"It looks perfectly fine to me."
"Looks can be deceiving. We want to ensure every ship is in top condition before travelling the net."
"How much longer?" A woman demanded.
"If you go to the information booth they can provide you with schedules."
All the sprites started speaking at once.
"Please, calm down." Maxine shouted above the crowd, but they continued their bickering.
She looked over at the game cube flickering off in the distance. Since it landed every sprite had been on edge. In a nano every boarding pass had been bought. The crowd must have known that passage for the next week was completely booked up.
The old her would have been terrified that game cubes were suddenly dropping again, but after everything she'd been through it barely phased her. As long as she didn't have one land on her she didn't see any reason to worry. That was a problem for the guardians to deal with.
"So you're not going to help us?" A binome demanded.
"Until this vessel has been serviced and deemed fit for travel I can't leave the dock. It will be looked at tomorrow around 13:00."
"13:00?"
"And inspection will take until at least 15:30, assuming no issues are found."
The crowd grumbled.
"Any more questions can be answered by a representative at the information booth." She said as pleasantly as she could muster. The crowd moved on to harass someone else, and she continued mopping.
# #
Bob waited in front of the lobby doors. A million things were on his mind. He had tried to vidwindow Turbo, but the signal wasn't very clear. He hoped Turbo had gotten the message. Alerting the guardians about Megabyte's machine should have been the number one priority. Making sure his grieving friend was okay seemed more important though. He knew what a mess he'd be if anything ever happened to Dot. Bob could only imagine how upset Matrix was. On top of that he knew more game cubes were likely to come.
Bob may have had medals and awards from all the games he won during his youth, but he knew his accomplishments paled in comparison to Matrix. If the User was going to keep loading games into Mainframe he would need Matrix's help. Until Turbo and the other guardians got back to him, Matrix was his only hope. Otherwise, he'd be on his own against the User.
"Morning," Dixon said as she walked over with a tray full of coffees. She still wore her guardian uniform, which gave him a bit of hope. Maybe he wasn't completely alone.
Bob eagerly took one of the drinks, gulping down the bitter liquid.
"Sorry I'm late, traffic down by the port was insane." She said.
"That doesn't surprise me."
Mainframers were scared. Bob knew that if games were in one system then they were likely in every system. There was nowhere on the net you could hide. Sprites were scared and not thinking rationally.
Through the glass door they could see Dot approaching. Just from a glance any sprite could tell that she was exhausted. She had barely gotten any sleep after cleaning up Matrix's apartment, and since she'd been awake Dot tried desperately to get him to eat. Matrix refused, of course. He wouldn't even have a glass of water. She couldn't tell if he was just too upset to eat or if he was doing it to spite her.
Dot pushed on the door, holding it open for them. Both Dixon and Bob filed in.
"How is he?" Bob asked as they went over to the elevator.
"I don't know… Sad? He's been quieter than usual. He's barely said two words to me."
Dot tapped a card to the reader and the doors slid open.
As they stepped inside an awkward silence fell. Dot smiled politely at Dixon and she did the same. Seeing Bob and Dot standing next to each other they just seemed so… Right. Dixon may have been a great guardian, but she knew she was no competition for a command..com. She couldn't help but be a little jealous of Dot. Dixon knew that her and Bob were over, but it still stung seeing him so happy with someone else.
"Matrix can be impulsive."
"Reckless might be a better word." Dot sighed.
Dixon listened to their choice of words, figuring out quickly what sort of sprite Matrix was. She looked over at Bob, but he didn't meet her gaze.
"He'll move past this, it'll just take him some time."
"... I hope you're right." Dot said as the doors opened.
Dot led them to where the apartment was.
"Matrix," Dot said as they entered, "Bob and Dixon are here."
Frisket started barking the moment they were through the door. He glared at Bob.
"Uh, I don't think he likes me." Bob said nervously.
"Come on," Dot urged, "Frisket is a sweetheart, he won't bite."
"Are you sure about that?"
Dot rolled her eyes, taking a hold of the dog's caller. With her holding him down Bob was able to get by.
Matrix sat at the table in his pajamas. He looked over at them weakly as they came closer. He glanced at Dixon and then over at Bob, who was too busy watching Frisket to notice. Matrix understood why Dixon was with them at Silicon Tor, why she was still tagging along was beyond him.
"I brought coffee." Dixon offered.
Matrix paused before answering. Dot didn't seem to be bothered by Dixon's presence, but she likely didn't know the full story. He had no intention of being the sprite who told her; that was her husband's job.
"Thanks." Matrix said softly. To everyone's surprise he took one of the cups and started drinking. Dot smiled, relieved he was at least having something. She looked over at Bob, who took her hand in his.
"You know, we're here for you- if you need it." Bob said.
Matrix nodded.
"We have an extra bedroom at our place if you want some company. Frisket's welcome to stay with us too." Dot offered.
Bob looked over at Frisket nervously. Frisket stared back with a fiery intensity.
"Thanks sis, but I'll pass. Enough with the pity party." Matrix said, "I'm fine."
"... Really?"
"You all saw that thing Megabyte built," Matrix spoke while looking down, "You saw what it could do. And now it's deleted along with that virus… That's what AndrAIa would have wanted. But there are bigger problems to deal with right now."
"... Game cubes." Bob said solemnly.
"And the User."
Matrix looked up at them. Beating the User is exactly the kind of therapy he needed. Playing games was the one thing he was good at. And he planned on playing a lot, and winning them all; for AndrAIa.
# #
"Game over."
The words echoed through the Desert Port System as the game cube receded into the sky. AndrAIa lay in the dirt where the game had been, panting. She sat up, instantly feeling nauseous. It had been a long time since she game hopped and her body was not used to it. She lay back down until her stomach settled. After a moment she sat up again, this time much slower.
AndrAIa looked around, not recognizing her surroundings. She sat in the middle of a sandy wasteland. There were a few concrete buildings off in the distance, all parched on a slope in jagged rows. The sun was high in the sky and beat down on the system mercilessly. The air was dry and humid. AndrAIa stood. With any luck she'd be in a system with ports to the net. If not then she'd be stuck there until another game was loaded in by the User. Either way she was thankful to still be processing.
She started walking towards the buildings, dusting the sand off her clothes as she went. Fatigue was starting to set in, but she kept moving. She wondered what Matrix was doing right at that moment. He was probably upset. Being able to game hop was something not every game sprite even knew about. Most thought that once they registered a PID they couldn't also use their game sprite icon. Matrix definitely wouldn't know, which meant he must have thought that she was nullified.
As she approached the buildings she heard the sound of cars and sprites talking; the general commotion of civilization. She sped up her pace, trading the desert for a lively town. AndrAIa looked around in wonder. Shopkeepers sat behind wooden stalls, peddling their wares to the sprites walking by. As she ventured deeper into the shopping district she admired the trinkets and obviously bootleg upgrades being offered.
Music played, and the smell of exotic foods filled the air. AndrAIa smiled, enjoying every second of it. It was a welcomed change from to the game she had just been in, and the company she had with her. Megabyte was gone, but his words still haunted her. She hoped all of his wild ambitions were deleted along with the virus.
"Excuse me," AndrAIa stopped at a stall selling what looked like antique rugs.
"Yes, dear." The binome answered cheerily. He smiled back at her.
"What system is this?"
"The Desert Port System, of course." He raised a brow.
"Really?" AndrAIa beamed, "And where's the port station?"
"Just follow the path, turn left on 8 Bit road and follow it down to the water. You can't miss it."
"Thank you!" She said as she sped off.
AndrAIa could hardly contain her excitement as she ran through the crowd. Getting home was going to be a lot easier than she anticipated.
She followed the binome's instructions and before long she could see several docking stations, but no ships. AndrAIa walked along the wood planks of the boardwalk, pushing through the crowd. There were even more sprites there than at the shopping district. They were all fighting to get a word in at the information booth. A sprite sat behind plexiglass attempting to calm the crowd down.
Another booth a few feet away had 'tickets' and 'boarding passes'written above it. There were no sprites over there except for the worker sitting idly at her station. AndrAIa walked over. The sprite looked over at her through large false lashes. She had been leaning back filing her long nails. She sat up straight, putting the nail file down.
"How can I help you?" She asked half heartedly.
"I'm trying to get to a system called Mainframe." AndrAIa raised her voice so she could be heard through the glass barrier. The sprite started typing on her computer. After a moment she spoke.
"We don't have any ships that go that far, but if you're all right with a few connections we can get you there."
"All right, how many connections?"
"The fastest route would be…Three." She continued typing for a moment, "It would take about four days."
"I see…"
"There won't be any free vessels for at least a fortnight. Did you still want to book it?"
AndrAIa sighed. That was a while to wait, but it was better than nothing.
"Yeah, what do I owe you?"
"...That's weird." She furrowed her brow as she attempted to book the ticket. "It's not letting me. There must be something wrong with the system. I'll have to get the IT guy to look at this. He's already gone for the day. Can you come back tomorrow?"
"Sure." AndrAIa said. She didn't have much of a choice.
"I just need a valid PID and I can put you on the waitlist. If I'm not here when you come back you wont lose your spot in line."
AndrAIa reluctantly took off her icon, handing it over. She quickly scanned it and handed it back to her.
"All right AndrAIa, you're all set."
"Thanks again." AndrAIa said before walking away. Usually once a sprite saw she was a game sprite their attitude changed for the worst. Maybe she hadn't looked at her format. She seemed to be in a rush to get back to doing nothing. AndrAIa sighed. Either way she was stuck there. She had to decide what she was going to do until she could get on a ship.
"AndrAIa?"
AndrAIa turned. A sprite with bright metallic skin looked back at her. Her short blond hair was slicked back, accentuating high cheekbones. She was tall and slender. AndrAIa looked her up and down, trying to place her, but she couldn't. The sprite in front of her was a complete stranger. Why would someone on the other side of the net know who she was?
"What are you doing here?"
"Do I know you?" AndrAIa asked nervously.
"Of course you wouldn't remember me," The sprite said with a laugh, "I'm Maxine, a friend of-"
Before she could finish AndrAIa encased her in a hug. Maxine stood stunned for a moment and then hugged her back. Matrix must have spoken fondly of her for AndrAIa to react that way.
"I take it you know who I am?"
"Yes." AndrAIa smiled as she pulled away. "I don't think I can thank you enough for everything."
"No thanks necessary. This isn't exactly a sought after destination for a honeymoon." She joked, "Where's Matrix?"
AndrAIa's smile fell and Maxine knew something must have been wrong.
# #
Deletion wasn't an easy thing to deal with. When death came nothing was left behind. A sprite would be reduced to fragments of code; leaving no sign that they were ever there to begin with. Sometimes if deletion was unexpected, your loved ones wouldn't even know that you were gone. Ages could pass before the truth was realized. And in the back of their mind they would always wonder if maybe you were out there somewhere still processing.
That thought crossed Hex's mind every second since the destruction of Silicon Tor. She had left long before the game cube fell. How could she know for certain that Megabyte was nullified?
Hexadecimal sat in her lair, feeling defeated. This should have been a time of celebration for her. Viruses were on their way to becoming the sole inhabitants of the net. The net would forever be changed and she played a part in it. She had hoped to stand alongside Megabyte, finally an equal in his eyes. She couldn't help but wonder if he appreciated anything she did, or if he still saw her as a nuisance. Now she would never know.
She looked down from her throne, giving no expression. Hundreds of nulls chattered softly, gathering around her. The swarm stayed a cautious distance from her feet and looked up intently. Each and every null used to be a sprite, binome… virus. They were the victims of the games, the war; the User.
It was foolish of her to think that she could find him. There were too many nulls to count, any one of them could have been Megabyte.
"Brother, don't be shy." She screeched. "Come to me!"
The sudden noise sent them all scattering into the shadows. As they fled she threw her head back in an exaggerated laugh. She continued to cackle in false joy, with tear filled eyes.
# #
AndrAIa did her best to explain what had been going on since Maxine left Mainframe. She listened to every word, soaking up information like a sponge. As ridiculous as the whole thing must have sounded Maxine believed every word.
"You Mainframers are something else…" Maxine said.
"Right now I'm just trying to get back."
Maxine nodded in understanding. She thought it was strange that the ticket couldn't be booked. Usually they could reserve a ticket months in advance if need be.
"Follow me."
Maxine led AndrAIa down the dock and back to shore. Before long they were in a concrete building. There were a few sprites sitting at desks doing work, but they didn't seem to find AndrAIa's presence odd as they walked through the hallway. They continued past all the office cubicles to a room in the back. Maxine shut the door behind them. Inside the room was a large circular table surrounded by chairs. A projector was set up in the center, pointing at a blank screen.
At the back of the room a large organizer sat on top of a desk. Maxine took a seat, picking up the organizer. AndrAIa stood over her shoulder, watching what she was doing. Maxine brought up an application AndrAIa had never heard of before. She watched as the search engine typed in Mainframe and some coordinates. A file came up. It was written in code, one that AndrAIa wasn't familiar with.
"... I've got some bad news." Maxine said.
"What?"
"Mainframe is offline."
"Offline?"
"It's no longer accessible from the net."
"The system is completely closed off… How is that possible?"
"Good question." Maxine started rifling through the code, searching for answers, "Only the system administrator or command..com would be able to do something like this. It's rare, but it does happen. During the war some systems thought they could prevent games by going offline."
"And?"
"It decreases the frequency by 16% - 20%. Not really worth everything you give up though."
AndrAIa wondered for a moment if Dot would willingly do something like that. It didn't seem like her at all. Maybe Mainframe was in a state of panic from the game cube falling.
"Or."
"Or?" AndrAIa asked.
Maxine spun around in her chair, looking up at her.
"It was taken offline by an external force."
"Like?"
"Just off the top of my head…" She paused, thinking, "A shield of some sort- an inverted firewall even. Both are possible in theory. The amount of energy required would be astronomical, but it's not impossible."
"Assuming you're right; who would want to keep Mainframe off the net?"
"... Someone dangerously powerful."
# #
Daemon levitated in the center of the dark room. Various parts floated around her. Bolts, metal panels, wires and everything else Mouse could gather swirled around. Mouse stood in the corner, out of the way, watching Daemon work. Faint green and purple sparks surrounded the virus as the parts began to come together like pieces of a puzzle. Seamlessly they began to create a machine of her design.
Mouse didn't know what to think. She couldn't help but be a little worried. Daemon was extremely powerful, but everyone had their limits. Mouse didn't want her to push herself too hard. Still, she was mesmerized by the sight of the virus. The way she floated, the sparks around her, the sway of her hair. Daemon truly was incredible.
Piece by piece the machine grew in size. Before long a large metallic chamber gleamed. Unlike Magabyte's prototype there was no glass window. The sprite inside would be submerged into complete darkness once the door was closed. A single wire attached to a helmet sat just outside the contraption. It looked like it was for the power source, or so Mouse assumed.
Daemon slowly began to float back down to the ground. She looked over at Mouse and smiled. The virus spoke with a twinge of excitement.
"It is complete."
End Log
