Chapter Fourteen – 'Thats random'
"I wonder what everyone is doing." Smithers thought out loud, but no one was left at the starting area. "This just seems weird to be standing here by myself. Any second the MyPad will light up and I can move on and not be the last to start playing."
He started to make himself nervous the more he said. "I could be losing by now. I could be in last place." He glanced at the MyPad again. It still had a dark screen. "Any second now." He repeated as he started to pace back and forth.
The longer he waited, the longer it seemed to take. His pacing started to get faster when he lifted the MyPad to see it displayed a roll icon. "Alright. Time for me to start. I'll show Burns what I can do." He said triumphantly.
Smithers was about to press the icon when a thought crossed his mind. "What happens if I don't press the button? Does the game just stop or does something else happen?" It seemed like a good idea at the moment, however he was eager to get started. He took a deep breath and pressed the roll icon. The familiar booms echoed across the sky.
He hesitated before looking at the screen. "I hope it's a large number. I need to play to catch up since I am last, but at least I am playing." He finished his thought as he looked at the screen. "Seven. That's a lucky number. Maybe it is a good sign."
The thimble appeared beside him and he climbed onboard. "I thought I could ride in it instead of on it, but I will just take what I can get." He smiled as he was happy to play. It seemed unfair that after years of being Burns' assistant, that the power plant wasn't given to him. Playing for it against six other people was just a consolation prize.
The thimble started to pull away and he turned to sit backwards, as he took one last look at the landscape that appeared with the seven people transported into this unknown world.
He waited on top of the thimble as it drove through empty space. He checked the MyPad periodically to see if the display changed to show him if he was getting close, but the dice labeling seven were still displayed.
"How do I know when I'm there? This thing doesn't change for having moved any spaces." He asked curiously as if he thought he would receive an answer.
The ride lasted a few minutes as Smithers started to get impatient. "This may take a while." He said as he could see the sun getting lower in the sky. "One day, one turn. I hope no one had anything planned for the next six months." He chuckled to himself.
He sat and waited, as the horizon changed from a flat line of light blue sky to a scene of multiple colors and several different heights of lines. "I see something getting closer. I must be there." He glanced at the MyPad again expecting to see that he was at least halfway there, but the same dice were displayed again.
The closer he got, the more he could start to see. A long street appeared in the center, and then another, and another. They all ran parallel to the first one. Even closer revealed buildings along the streets. Different height buildings and different color buildings.
"It looks like downtown Springfield." Smithers said to himself. "Almost exactly like Springfield. If Burns made this game by himself, he may have modeled this based on what he has seen around town."
He started looking at the buildings on all sides of him as he arrived between the buildings on the main street he had seen in the distance. "Some of this seems vaguely familiar, but it's also like it is new."
The thimble started to slow down and the buildings became more detailed. "I guess it is time to go shopping." Smithers said to himself as all the buildings had large display windows along the street.
"There is a clothes shop, and a bakery and..." He stopped as the thimble coasted to a stop in front of a wide building with glass the stretched for the rest of the block. He looked inside and noticed it was full of flashing lights and young people. "This isn't where I wanted to stop. Maybe I can check out that clothing store."
He dismounted the thimble as he heard a computerized voice. "You have arrived on a Special space." The MyPad announced to him. He glanced down at it as it showed him moving the seven spaces. "I still think this is the start of my lucky streak."
He stood next to the front window and sighed as this is not the building he wanted to visit. There were a few kids hanging out around the front door and looked towards Smithers. They pointed at him and he turned around to walk further down the sidewalk.
"If I have a choice, I'll go down here." He walked a few steps down the street as he was looking ahead and looking also to his right into the large window at the flashing lights.
Many kids were standing in front of boxes with screens, and seats with steering wheels. "It looks fun for kids." He thought. A few more feet further down revealed a huge wall of stuffed animals and other toys. "This place looks like it is meant for people about half my age or younger, and that clothing store with the well-dressed manikin looks more age appropriate for me.
He continued down the street and took another glance to his right to see what else he could recognize when a surprise caught him off guard.
A loud thud was heard as Smithers fell to the ground. He looked around dazed as the youth turned to see what had happened. They snickered and pointed, but tried not to be noticed as Smithers looked their direction and saw their reactions.
"Ouch." Smithers muttered to himself. "Do you kids know how to..." He stopped as he saw the kids had opened the door and walked in. "I guess they aren't going to be any help. I wonder if I hit something." He stood up from the ground and put his arms in front of him. He leaned forward and ran into an invisible barrier. "So close to the feel of a new suit." He turned around and walked toward the entrance he had access to. "Yet so far from a store that is near my age." He frowned as he realized the invisible barrier meant he had to walk into the flashing lights.
The sign above the door also had hundred of tiny flashing lights and Smithers looked up and saw that it said: 'Arcade'. "What's so special about an arcade? Maybe the kids can tell me since I don't see any adults working."
He walked inside and took another look around. Each wall had something different in front of it. The windows on the front looked out and he could see more shops across the street. The wall to his left contained an entire toy store of stuffed animals, bicycles, train sets, games, and trinkets. "That's a lot to win as prizes. I wonder how someone takes those things home."
The right wall was lined with consoles with steering wheels. Many with kids sitting in them and cheering as each race declared a winner. The back wall was partially hidden because other consoles were set up on rows that stretched from the front windows all the way to the back.
"I wonder what I need to do." Smithers questioned as he decided to head over to the racing consoles and ask the kids about the arcade. He tried to get their attention, but could not since a race was in progress with the results displayed on a screen high up on the wall.
Sounds of cheering were heard until the race ended and a yell of triumph came from a console further down the line. "That kid is good." One boy said as he noticed Smithers behind him.
"Which kid?" Smithers asked.
"That one down there. The one wearing sunglasses." The boy replied. Smithers shrugged as he couldn't figure out why he needed to wear sunglasses indoors.
"Thanks. I'll try talking to him." Smithers said as he walked down behind the row of driver's seats. "Excuse me." He waved and called to the kid with sunglasses.
"Aren't you a little old to be playing games?" The kid asked him and focused on getting ready for the next race.
"I don't think so. In fact I am playing a game right now. Do you know anything about it?" Smithers asked as he saw his reflection in the kid's sunglasses.
"What game are you playing? Because I play this one. Its called: 'Freeway!' and I am the best at it. So if you want any information about your game then you need to play my game." The boy explained as Smithers thought to himself.
"If it's a driving game, I should be good at it. I drive Burns everywhere, even on the freeway." It sounded easy to Smithers as he figured he had driven for forty years more than the kids. "And how do I know that you can actually help me."
"I promise you that if you can play my game, I'll explain some things of your game. The only proof I need to tell you is the fact that seven is your lucky number to arrive here." The boy said to Smithers and he face lit up.
"How do you know that?" Smithers questioned.
"I'm Howard, and I'm the best game player here. Have a seat and let's see how you drive." Howard motioned to Smithers to sit in the console next to him.
Smithers sat down and pressed the start button on his console. His entered his name and chose the purple race car. The screen transitioned to a starting line with a countdown of three, two, one, Go! Smithers stomped on the gas pedal and steered the race car through the tight turns. He stomped the brake pedal at the same time that Howard did.
"You are pretty good." Howard said as he stared at the screen.
"Years of real life practice." Smithers said as he jerked the wheel quickly to the left and straightened it again.
Soon Smithers had a slight lead on Howard, then Howard regained the lead as they approached the last few turns. Howard made it through the series of slaloms perfectly as Smithers scraped a wall or two. The race was very close with Howard barely edging out Smithers for the win. The other kids cheered as Howard stood up and looked up at the scoreboard.
"Less than two seconds difference." Howard said as he congratulated Smithers. "No one has ever finished that close behind me for their first try. Well actually, no one has ever finished that close behind me."
Smithers felt a small sense of accomplishment, but it was short-lived as Howard started to tell him the things he wanted to know about the game.
"Like I said earlier, I can explain your game to you, and thanks for playing my game. Most people don't want to compete against me because I've learned these tracks like the back of my hand." Howard chuckled at this as Smithers held up his MyPad.
"What do you know about this?" Smithers tried asking, but Howard suggested another option.
"It might be easier to go back by the pinball machines and show you what I mean." Howard suggested and started walking towards the back wall.
"I guess I'll just follow you." Smithers seemed confused that a kid knew more about Burns' game than he did.
Smithers followed Howard to the back wall where all but one pinball machine was lit up. Howard climbed under it and plugged it in. The machine sprang to life with many colorful flashing lights.
"I like pinball games. These machines have evolved over the years and I remember..." Smithers reminisced before Howard interrupted.
"This is the only one that isn't playable. Give it a try." Howard encouraged as Smithers hit the Start button. A ball appeared on the right side and Smithers hit it with the plunger and it flew into action. As it fell toward the flippers, Smithers pressed the side button to control the flippers but nothing happened. The ball was lost. Smithers played the second ball with the same result, and then the third.
"What kind of pinball machine is this?" He asked with a confused look.
"It's just meant for your game. You just need the random number from it. Instead of a match number for a replay, it will give you a match number for a prize." Howard explained. "It was the best way I thought of for a truly random number generator inside this arcade, but I had to do a bit of reprogramming first."
Smithers watched the display as it flashed random numbers before stopping on one hundred eight. "So now what?"
"Now we collect your prize." Howard said with some enthusiasm. "I'm excited about this. It could be very good or very bad."
"You seem to know a lot about what is going on." Smithers questioned.
"Yeah. I was taken to a secret meeting this morning because I was selected by being the best racing game driver here. But I was told to only give information to anyone that looked out-of-place. You looked out-of-place by running into that invisible wall and you definitely look out-of-place inside a kid's arcade." Howard laughed as Smithers looked around again.
"Where are all your parents?" He asked as they proceeded to the prize counter.
"There aren't any. They just drop us off here with a roll of quarters." Howard said as he jumped behind the prize counter and stood next to a stone statue of Burns.
"You know your way around." Smithers said.
"They made me the mayor of the arcade because I was the best." Howard declared.
"Who do you mean by 'they'? Was it the same man who you are standing beside?" Smithers started with more questions, as he felt at a disadvantage in the game.
"Random businessmen in suits walked in here this morning and watched a race, then invited me to be mayor. So I took it. It sounded important, and it's another title to add after video game master." Howard showed the power that was bestowed upon him by random people. "Now we get to find out your prize. Just place your tablet in his hands."
"The statue's hands?" Smithers was surprised. "I'll just listen as you know more than me. Years of assistance and a kid knows more." He said under his breath.
Smithers placed the MyPad into the statue's hands and an orange holographic Burns appeared behind the prize counter. "Greetings and welcome to the first Chance space. Your reward could be very great or you may wish that you never came here. What number did the pinball machine give you."
"Wouldn't it have been easier to get a number from here instead of the pinball machine?" Smithers asked.
Before Howard could answer the holographic Burns answered. "The random number needed to come from somewhere else. The holograms are trying not to affect the game at this point."
Smithers seemed slightly disturbed by that answer, but shrugged it off. "One hundred eight." He told the holographic Burns.
"Very well. That is a good number." The orange hologram replied. "Now take your card and return to your token."
The orange hologram disappeared as a piece of paper printed below the statue's hands. "What does it say?" Howard curiously asked.
Smithers grabbed the paper and read it. 'Advance to Illinois Avenue'. "This may be my lucky day. I'll catch up to everyone depending how far that is.
"Awesome. I'm not sure the distance. I didn't pay attention to the board layout part of the meeting. I just remember being number seven, but I know I am number one here." Howard said as they walked to the front door. Howard held the door opened and wished Smithers more good luck. "Stop by and race me again."
"I will try. It's up to the dice, or the pinball machine." Smithers laughed as he jumped on his thimble. The display showed an acknowledgment button that read: 'Advance to Illinois Avenue'. He pressed it and waved to Howard as the thimble started down the street. He flinched slightly as he approached the invisible barrier, but it wasn't there.
"That's odd, but so is receiving a random number from a broken pinball machine." The thimble glided down the street and passed the clothes store. "One day I'll visit that shop. I wonder how far Illinois Avenue is. I guess it's time to relax a few minutes."
