CHAPTER 4
I regained conciousness several hours later. My parents stayed home from work to make sure I got better. They allowed me to stay home from school as I still wasn't feeling well. The sickness I felt in the vision had not gone away. My parents sent me to the doctor in the afternoon, but he couldn't find anything wrong. When I told him that I was playing a game, he told me that playing games for too long can cause nausea and other illnesses. The doctor told me to stay away from screens for a while and to rest my eyes. My parents strictly enforced this. Also, I remembered that I had forgotten to contact Robert. I had been so caught up with seeing the kite and making sure no one saw me when I went outside that I didn't call him or go to his house. It didn't matter too much, though.
I looked at the clock which read 1:38 PM. I remember seeing my clock before I blacked out and it had read 11:24 PM. I had been out for over 12 hours. My head hurt and I couldn't remember what had happened between the vision and now. I don't even remember hearing voices as my parents told me they spent most of the night in my room trying to wake me up. They were really worried. They thought I was dead. I went back to sleep and tried my best to surpress the images of the machine outside the pod of purple goo.
**********
I awoke again to find that I had been asleep for two hours. My clock read 3:38 PM. My parents brought chicken noodle soup to my room for an early supper as I had missed breakfast and lunch. I picked up the bowl and was about to take a mouthful when Robert stepped into my room.
"Hey. How ya doin'?"
"Alright. Could be better."
"You weren't in school today and I wanted to see what happened."
"I.......I.......blacked out....last night."
"Oh. How'd that happen? You really sick?"
"No, I was playing "Matrix Warrior" and my game staring screwing up. The doctor says I was playing too much and it made me nauseus. It showed me a weird screen that said "Prepare to go down the rabbit hole."
"You mean like that one?" Robert pointed at my computer which was still flashing the same error screen from last night. He went to the computer and turned it off.
"Yeah that one."
"Strange. That never happened to me."
"My parents called the game help-line a little while ago, but no one knows what's going on."
"I wish I could help, but I don't use computers much."
"It's alright. I might play tonight to see if 'DataAngel' is online."
"DataAngel? Never heard of that username."
"He's the best player in the game. I'm second best."
"Cool. I brought a book you might be interested in reading. It's called "Matrix Warrior" by Jake Horsley. It's really good. It's a book on how to unplug yourself with little effort."
"Wow, thanks!"
"No problem, well I got to go. If I find out anything about that game error, I'll let you know."
"Okay, bye"
Robert left the house and left his book with me. I sat on my bed staring at it. I opened it to the first page and began reading. I wondered if this is what 'DataAngel' read to learn so much about unplugging. I read for hours and absorbed as much information as I could. My clock now read 8:21 PM. I finished variable 4 and put the book away. Suddenly my mom came in my room.
"How you feeling?"
"Good now."
"Good. I'm going to let you play your game now for no more than 15 minutes, alright. Your eyes need a rest, so if you stay on it too long than I may have to bring it back to the store or throw it away."
"Ok."
My mom left and I slowly walked to the computer and setup "Matrix Warrior". I decided to only have a chat with "DataAngel". I logged-in and started a private chat. Something was different about him tonight. He had very little to say and what he did say was a surprise to me. Our chat consisted of this:
// Begin Transmission //
// Loading Server 4290.49.392 //
// Server Loaded //
DataAngel (12:40:36AM): Hey, DivineVirus. Like the real world? Sure, it's kind of bleak and primative, but that's what happens with years of war between machines and humans. I noticed that you took the red pill. Do you want to go back? Do you want to get out of the Matrix. I'll save you from the machines.
DivineVirus (12:41:21AM): How did you know?
DataAngel (12:42:14AM): My game did the same thing to me. It's a sign. The Matrix Sorcerors want us in the real world to help, and the agents want us to stay. Who's side are you on?
// DataAngel has left the conversation //
// End Transmission //
Danger! Overload! Computer will shutdown in 30 seconds.....
I sat there for the 30 seconds awestruck at the conversation I just had. How had he known about MY dream? His game did the same thing to him? Why were the times on the conversation different. I was sure that I properly setup my time settings. This was too weird for me. I pinched myself to make sure I wasn't dreaming and I got into bed. I pinched myself a few more times and lay in bed thinking about the conversation for the whole night.
I regained conciousness several hours later. My parents stayed home from work to make sure I got better. They allowed me to stay home from school as I still wasn't feeling well. The sickness I felt in the vision had not gone away. My parents sent me to the doctor in the afternoon, but he couldn't find anything wrong. When I told him that I was playing a game, he told me that playing games for too long can cause nausea and other illnesses. The doctor told me to stay away from screens for a while and to rest my eyes. My parents strictly enforced this. Also, I remembered that I had forgotten to contact Robert. I had been so caught up with seeing the kite and making sure no one saw me when I went outside that I didn't call him or go to his house. It didn't matter too much, though.
I looked at the clock which read 1:38 PM. I remember seeing my clock before I blacked out and it had read 11:24 PM. I had been out for over 12 hours. My head hurt and I couldn't remember what had happened between the vision and now. I don't even remember hearing voices as my parents told me they spent most of the night in my room trying to wake me up. They were really worried. They thought I was dead. I went back to sleep and tried my best to surpress the images of the machine outside the pod of purple goo.
**********
I awoke again to find that I had been asleep for two hours. My clock read 3:38 PM. My parents brought chicken noodle soup to my room for an early supper as I had missed breakfast and lunch. I picked up the bowl and was about to take a mouthful when Robert stepped into my room.
"Hey. How ya doin'?"
"Alright. Could be better."
"You weren't in school today and I wanted to see what happened."
"I.......I.......blacked out....last night."
"Oh. How'd that happen? You really sick?"
"No, I was playing "Matrix Warrior" and my game staring screwing up. The doctor says I was playing too much and it made me nauseus. It showed me a weird screen that said "Prepare to go down the rabbit hole."
"You mean like that one?" Robert pointed at my computer which was still flashing the same error screen from last night. He went to the computer and turned it off.
"Yeah that one."
"Strange. That never happened to me."
"My parents called the game help-line a little while ago, but no one knows what's going on."
"I wish I could help, but I don't use computers much."
"It's alright. I might play tonight to see if 'DataAngel' is online."
"DataAngel? Never heard of that username."
"He's the best player in the game. I'm second best."
"Cool. I brought a book you might be interested in reading. It's called "Matrix Warrior" by Jake Horsley. It's really good. It's a book on how to unplug yourself with little effort."
"Wow, thanks!"
"No problem, well I got to go. If I find out anything about that game error, I'll let you know."
"Okay, bye"
Robert left the house and left his book with me. I sat on my bed staring at it. I opened it to the first page and began reading. I wondered if this is what 'DataAngel' read to learn so much about unplugging. I read for hours and absorbed as much information as I could. My clock now read 8:21 PM. I finished variable 4 and put the book away. Suddenly my mom came in my room.
"How you feeling?"
"Good now."
"Good. I'm going to let you play your game now for no more than 15 minutes, alright. Your eyes need a rest, so if you stay on it too long than I may have to bring it back to the store or throw it away."
"Ok."
My mom left and I slowly walked to the computer and setup "Matrix Warrior". I decided to only have a chat with "DataAngel". I logged-in and started a private chat. Something was different about him tonight. He had very little to say and what he did say was a surprise to me. Our chat consisted of this:
// Begin Transmission //
// Loading Server 4290.49.392 //
// Server Loaded //
DataAngel (12:40:36AM): Hey, DivineVirus. Like the real world? Sure, it's kind of bleak and primative, but that's what happens with years of war between machines and humans. I noticed that you took the red pill. Do you want to go back? Do you want to get out of the Matrix. I'll save you from the machines.
DivineVirus (12:41:21AM): How did you know?
DataAngel (12:42:14AM): My game did the same thing to me. It's a sign. The Matrix Sorcerors want us in the real world to help, and the agents want us to stay. Who's side are you on?
// DataAngel has left the conversation //
// End Transmission //
Danger! Overload! Computer will shutdown in 30 seconds.....
I sat there for the 30 seconds awestruck at the conversation I just had. How had he known about MY dream? His game did the same thing to him? Why were the times on the conversation different. I was sure that I properly setup my time settings. This was too weird for me. I pinched myself to make sure I wasn't dreaming and I got into bed. I pinched myself a few more times and lay in bed thinking about the conversation for the whole night.