Disclaimer: The Matrix belongs to the Wachowski brothers and WB Studios;
MSN belongs to some big corporation, I don't know or care which.
Seriously. Why would I be writing fanfiction if I owned the Matrix?
Chapter One of Project Athena: Popups
Note: When Lina's computer talks, it talks like this.
"Awww, dammit!" Lina Birkison snarled, glowering at her computer monitor in fury. "Goddammit! So many damn viruses! Her computer, despite a firewall and multiple antivirus programs, some of them her own creations, was a mess. Out of the blue, all open windows, including the scant handful of popups which had evaded her anti-popup program had suddenly begun to shut, all by themselves. As she watched, the last popup closed, and her screen went black. "Dammit!" she continued to rant. "You install the best firewall money can buy, improve it, install virus scanners, and you think you're safe, and then-" she suddenly shut up as green letters spread haltingly across the black screen:
Shut up, Silvertree.or should I say Lina? Whichever you prefer.
Lina froze. Her mind babbled 'I'mscrewedI'mscrewedI'mscrewed! Must not panic, must not panic.' If this person knew who she was, who she really was, they knew that she, Lina, was guilty of enough online theft to lock her up forever. Or did they? No, everyone had heard of Silvertree. Silvertree, who had stolen millions via the Internet, (and donated all of it to organizations like ACLU and Amnesty International, but they didn't know that). Silvertree, who had gotten away with it. Her computer was typing again:
The Matrix has you, Silvertree.
What the hell? That term, 'The Matrix' seemed to ring a bell somewhere deep in her brain.whatever. She pressed the escape key. Nothing happened. She reached for the power switch on her computer, then froze as the letters on the screen commanded
Don't you dare, Silvertree.
She pushed the switch anyway, or tried to. It wouldn't move, and the letters, infuriatingly, remarked
I told you so.
Lina collapsed into her swivel chair, muttering unsavory things about "Damned psycho computer-hacking cyberstalkers who know far too much," conveniently forgetting that much of this description applied to her. "Goddamn freak!" she growled. "Damn them, I bet their mother was a-" Once again the letters cut her off:
You leave my mother out of this, coppertop! Follow the butterfly.
Lina sneezed, and when she opened her eyes again, her computer was back to normal, popups and all. As she watched, a new popup flickered into being over the browser window. Lina automatically moved to close the ad, but stopped, the cursor hovering over the close button. The popup was advertising MSN, and it sported the slogan "It's Better with the Butterfly!® and a jaunty rainbow butterfly logo in the corner. The butterfly. The letters had said to follow the butterfly, or else. She had never clicked a link on a popup before- she was sure that many of them were riddled with viruses. But now was no time to worry about something like that. "Follow the butterfly." she whispered, and clicked.
***
Me: Yay! My first chapter! More coming soon!
Lyrrik: Define soon.
Me: Shuttup, Lyrrik. Just because you can give me ideas doesn't mean you can be a jerk.or does it? Who cares? Soon is in a day or so.
Author's Note: Lyrrik is the Incarnation of my Creativity. She gives me ideas to write about and can (when she's feeling nice, i.e.: not often) magic away writer's block.
Chapter One of Project Athena: Popups
Note: When Lina's computer talks, it talks like this.
"Awww, dammit!" Lina Birkison snarled, glowering at her computer monitor in fury. "Goddammit! So many damn viruses! Her computer, despite a firewall and multiple antivirus programs, some of them her own creations, was a mess. Out of the blue, all open windows, including the scant handful of popups which had evaded her anti-popup program had suddenly begun to shut, all by themselves. As she watched, the last popup closed, and her screen went black. "Dammit!" she continued to rant. "You install the best firewall money can buy, improve it, install virus scanners, and you think you're safe, and then-" she suddenly shut up as green letters spread haltingly across the black screen:
Shut up, Silvertree.or should I say Lina? Whichever you prefer.
Lina froze. Her mind babbled 'I'mscrewedI'mscrewedI'mscrewed! Must not panic, must not panic.' If this person knew who she was, who she really was, they knew that she, Lina, was guilty of enough online theft to lock her up forever. Or did they? No, everyone had heard of Silvertree. Silvertree, who had stolen millions via the Internet, (and donated all of it to organizations like ACLU and Amnesty International, but they didn't know that). Silvertree, who had gotten away with it. Her computer was typing again:
The Matrix has you, Silvertree.
What the hell? That term, 'The Matrix' seemed to ring a bell somewhere deep in her brain.whatever. She pressed the escape key. Nothing happened. She reached for the power switch on her computer, then froze as the letters on the screen commanded
Don't you dare, Silvertree.
She pushed the switch anyway, or tried to. It wouldn't move, and the letters, infuriatingly, remarked
I told you so.
Lina collapsed into her swivel chair, muttering unsavory things about "Damned psycho computer-hacking cyberstalkers who know far too much," conveniently forgetting that much of this description applied to her. "Goddamn freak!" she growled. "Damn them, I bet their mother was a-" Once again the letters cut her off:
You leave my mother out of this, coppertop! Follow the butterfly.
Lina sneezed, and when she opened her eyes again, her computer was back to normal, popups and all. As she watched, a new popup flickered into being over the browser window. Lina automatically moved to close the ad, but stopped, the cursor hovering over the close button. The popup was advertising MSN, and it sported the slogan "It's Better with the Butterfly!® and a jaunty rainbow butterfly logo in the corner. The butterfly. The letters had said to follow the butterfly, or else. She had never clicked a link on a popup before- she was sure that many of them were riddled with viruses. But now was no time to worry about something like that. "Follow the butterfly." she whispered, and clicked.
***
Me: Yay! My first chapter! More coming soon!
Lyrrik: Define soon.
Me: Shuttup, Lyrrik. Just because you can give me ideas doesn't mean you can be a jerk.or does it? Who cares? Soon is in a day or so.
Author's Note: Lyrrik is the Incarnation of my Creativity. She gives me ideas to write about and can (when she's feeling nice, i.e.: not often) magic away writer's block.