Cyrus's fist stuck out from the broken glass of the cell. "It's time
for the third barrier." He rose from his restraints. The straps slid off or
ripped. The glass crumbled. The robots sparked and died. He glanced around
the dark room, nothing of use. He attempted to open the single door in the
room but it was locked. "Simple enough." He punched through the glass and
unlocked the door from the outside. No one was in the offices.
He went to the elevator shaft. He remembered seeing the guards operate it. It was easy. Numbers? Cyrus pushed the one.
SIXTEENTH FLOOR
IN-WORLD ROGUE PADDLE
CONTAINMENT CENTER
He had entered a prison. Far worse than Pong. When he learned about Earth he saw it as good. Now he saw the evil. The Paddles were hung frozen in larger cells, two times larger than Cyrus's, standing upright. Rows and rows of cells. The ceiling was extremely high and the cells stretched from end to end. Each end contained a mechanical device. The lower section contained a computer. They were not dead. These Paddles were living. Cords strung from the computer to the motionless bodies. Cyrus walked through all the rows to the end of the room. Two large doors sealed the beyond. Dr. Gordon stormed in.
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?!" Yelled the shocked Dr. Gordon.
"You weren't going to return me to Pong. You were going to put me here. With these…prisoners."
"They are not prisoners. They are perfectly fine we are just running…"
"THEY ARE SCIENCE EXPERIMENTS SO YOU CAN KEEP YOUR BUSINESS RUNNING."
"Calm down there is a perfect explanation for all of this! Let me take you back to the lab and we'll be fine!"
"NO! WHAT ARE YOU STUPID? YOU ARE INVITING ME TO HELL!"
"Come on! I'll tell security to hold off, we'll get you some clothes, and I'll…"
"YOU DON'T GET IT! I'M NOT GOING BACK TO YOUR FREAKISH…"
"THIS IS SECURITY HOLD BACK" A group of armed soldiers stormed in, armor-clad.
"NO! DON'T YOU SEE? MY LIFE IS A WHEEL I MUST NEVER GET OFF OF! I WILL CHANGE THIS! MY LIFE WILL NOT REMAIN A MIRROR. I WILL CHANGE THIS WORLD. I WILL CHANGE PONG. THESE THINGS WILL NEVER BE THE SAME."
"CYRUS, COME WITH ME! I CAN HELP YOU!"
"YOU ARE JUST TRYING TO CONTROL ME TO SATISFY YOUR CURIOSITY! OBVIOUSLY YOU CANNOT TELL THE DIFFERENCE IN PRIORITY FROM YOUR CURIOSITY AND YOUR RIGHT WILL! I HAVE SEEN BEAUTY. I HAVE A CHANCE AND I WILL TAKE IT. I HAVE HAD THREE CHANCES. THREE BARRIERS. THREE WALLS OF PAIN AND THREE PAINFUL FALLS. THREE STRIKES. I HAVE SEEN TWO WORLDS AND I AM SLAVES IN BOTH. THIS IS MY LAST CHANCE OUT OF THIS WORLD, OUT OF EVERY WORLD AND OUT OF PONG. I WILL. I WILL TAKE THIS CHANCE." Cyrus swung open the two huge doors. They lead to the roof. Security opened fire. Bullets shot through the glass in the cells. Blue fluid poured everywhere. The bodies fell and came to life struggling for air. Bullets tore into Cyrus's chest.
"I WILL TAKE THIS CHANCE! THIS IS MY THIRD CHANCE. THE THIRD BARRIER. I AM NOT SURE WHERE IT GOES BUT IT CANNOT BE WORSE THAN THIS. THREE TIMES I WILL FALL, EACH TIME UNSURE OF WHAT WILL COME. NOW I WILL FALL AND KNOW THERE IS NO REASON TO FEAR WHAT MAY COME." Cyrus walked to the edge of the roof.
"GO, GO, GO!" "HE'S NOT DOWN YET!" "HOLD FIRE!" "DON'T LET HIM JUMP" Radios buzzed.
"HERE IS MY THIRD WALL. MY FINAL FALL." Cyrus dived. He saw the white. He saw the black. The gray in between. He had only witnessed the monstrosity of all three. He fell knowing this was the only right thing he could do. He had no other choice. This was it. This was the time things would change.
He went to the elevator shaft. He remembered seeing the guards operate it. It was easy. Numbers? Cyrus pushed the one.
SIXTEENTH FLOOR
IN-WORLD ROGUE PADDLE
CONTAINMENT CENTER
He had entered a prison. Far worse than Pong. When he learned about Earth he saw it as good. Now he saw the evil. The Paddles were hung frozen in larger cells, two times larger than Cyrus's, standing upright. Rows and rows of cells. The ceiling was extremely high and the cells stretched from end to end. Each end contained a mechanical device. The lower section contained a computer. They were not dead. These Paddles were living. Cords strung from the computer to the motionless bodies. Cyrus walked through all the rows to the end of the room. Two large doors sealed the beyond. Dr. Gordon stormed in.
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?!" Yelled the shocked Dr. Gordon.
"You weren't going to return me to Pong. You were going to put me here. With these…prisoners."
"They are not prisoners. They are perfectly fine we are just running…"
"THEY ARE SCIENCE EXPERIMENTS SO YOU CAN KEEP YOUR BUSINESS RUNNING."
"Calm down there is a perfect explanation for all of this! Let me take you back to the lab and we'll be fine!"
"NO! WHAT ARE YOU STUPID? YOU ARE INVITING ME TO HELL!"
"Come on! I'll tell security to hold off, we'll get you some clothes, and I'll…"
"YOU DON'T GET IT! I'M NOT GOING BACK TO YOUR FREAKISH…"
"THIS IS SECURITY HOLD BACK" A group of armed soldiers stormed in, armor-clad.
"NO! DON'T YOU SEE? MY LIFE IS A WHEEL I MUST NEVER GET OFF OF! I WILL CHANGE THIS! MY LIFE WILL NOT REMAIN A MIRROR. I WILL CHANGE THIS WORLD. I WILL CHANGE PONG. THESE THINGS WILL NEVER BE THE SAME."
"CYRUS, COME WITH ME! I CAN HELP YOU!"
"YOU ARE JUST TRYING TO CONTROL ME TO SATISFY YOUR CURIOSITY! OBVIOUSLY YOU CANNOT TELL THE DIFFERENCE IN PRIORITY FROM YOUR CURIOSITY AND YOUR RIGHT WILL! I HAVE SEEN BEAUTY. I HAVE A CHANCE AND I WILL TAKE IT. I HAVE HAD THREE CHANCES. THREE BARRIERS. THREE WALLS OF PAIN AND THREE PAINFUL FALLS. THREE STRIKES. I HAVE SEEN TWO WORLDS AND I AM SLAVES IN BOTH. THIS IS MY LAST CHANCE OUT OF THIS WORLD, OUT OF EVERY WORLD AND OUT OF PONG. I WILL. I WILL TAKE THIS CHANCE." Cyrus swung open the two huge doors. They lead to the roof. Security opened fire. Bullets shot through the glass in the cells. Blue fluid poured everywhere. The bodies fell and came to life struggling for air. Bullets tore into Cyrus's chest.
"I WILL TAKE THIS CHANCE! THIS IS MY THIRD CHANCE. THE THIRD BARRIER. I AM NOT SURE WHERE IT GOES BUT IT CANNOT BE WORSE THAN THIS. THREE TIMES I WILL FALL, EACH TIME UNSURE OF WHAT WILL COME. NOW I WILL FALL AND KNOW THERE IS NO REASON TO FEAR WHAT MAY COME." Cyrus walked to the edge of the roof.
"GO, GO, GO!" "HE'S NOT DOWN YET!" "HOLD FIRE!" "DON'T LET HIM JUMP" Radios buzzed.
"HERE IS MY THIRD WALL. MY FINAL FALL." Cyrus dived. He saw the white. He saw the black. The gray in between. He had only witnessed the monstrosity of all three. He fell knowing this was the only right thing he could do. He had no other choice. This was it. This was the time things would change.