Disclaimer: I don't own Minesweeper. Microsoft does. They also own Windows Vista, which is buggy and occasionally refuses to let me open up multiple Internet windows.
I do, however, own this interpretation of the Minesweeper universe, and so please do not plagiarise any aspect of it. Thank you.
It's been... over three years since I last updated this; I'm very sorry for the long, long wait, and I hope to get the next chapter up soon after a shorter period of time. Like, uh, in a year or two...
Whoa. I just realised that I started this fic about a month after my thirteenth birthday. I'm almost eighteen now. Talk about procrastination...
Sunglasses - Chapter Five
It was the hardest decision #936 had ever had to make in his life. That wasn't particularly surprising, considering that he'd never had to make many decisions in his life, but even if he had, this was still a difficult decision.
On one hand, here was the chance for him to spend the rest of his life in the paradise that he and every other Smiley had always dreamed of. He and #1121 could be guaranteed a coveted place in the Upper Realms if he just spoke the word, while the rest of the Smileys continued their lives as usual, content but oblivious to the truth of the system.
Or he could refuse the once in a lifetime offer and take his chance at a revolutoin. Let the Smileys know the truth and then... and then try to find a way to end this once and for all, somehow. But as #172 had said, that would put them all at risk of a total wipeout.
It all came down to Life or Trtuh; what was better, after all? To die - for the wipeout's corresponding memory erasure would be akin to death - knowing the truth, or to live a life of ignorance?
#936 knew, of course, what the morally correct choice would be. It would be pure selfishness to live in luxury while the rest of the Smileys suffered... but then again, that was the life they had alwyays known and had been more than content to live. The Smileys were fine with that way of life; why else would they be so angered at his escape?
Slowly but surely, #936 felt his thoughts sliding towards the less morally correct choice. What was the point of a revolution, anyway, if nobody wanted it, and if it was likely to end in death? He had tried to save the Smileys and they evidently didn't want to be saved; why keep on trying to get them to see sense and imagine how much better life could be? They didn't want it; it served them right to continue with the pathetic life they loved so much.
"All right," #936 found himself saying, trying to ignore the sudden pang of conscience that hit him at his words.
#172 smiled. "I'm glad you made the right choice," she said. "The Smiley Kingdom awaits your return for now, and we await your eventual arrival back here in the Upper Realms."
The Elite glided away silently around the corner and disappeared around the corner there, leaving Smiley #936 to make his way back, feeling alone and curiously empty.
xxx
He was nearly bowled over as he rounded a corner and met #1031 and #1121 moving in the opposite direction.
"#936!" #1121 said. "We've been lookin' all over for you! Are we gonna run away? Are we-"
The young Smiley broke off as the King shook his head - or his whole body, rather.
"No," #936 said softly. "We're going back."
A look of incredulity formed on #1031's face. "But if we go back, he'll have to play the Game, and he could die!" she protested.
#936 shook himself again. "It'll be all right," he said, then rolled on ahead past them, leading the way back to the rest of the Smileys.
"But I thought-" #1031 started, only to stop when she realised that he wasn't listening. She looked down the corridor that #936 had emerged from, and hesitated. "Follow him back," she finally said to #1121. "I want to see where he went."
xxx
#1031's eyes opened big in wonder as she entered the vast front room of the Upper Realms.
"What is this place?" she whispered, feeling the impossibly smooth floor slide under her as she moved.
"Welcome to the Upper Realms," came a voice, and #172 soon appeared out a corridor. "I thought you would come. You're a curious one, aren't you, #1031? In more ways than one, of course" - the Elite's eyes looked briefly over #1031's deformity - "but that can be fixed easily."
"Who are you?" #1031 interrupted.
#172 chuckled"I see that you're not to be distracted. Don't want to change the subject, huh? Friends call me Jiby. I used to be known as #172."
"Was #936 here?"
"Oh yes. Charming fellow. Very sensible, too." Jiby smiled.
#1031 narrowed her eyes. "What did you tell him?"
"Why does that concern you?"
"He's the King!"
"The King's business is not yours to question."
#1031 still looked suspicious. "He said that everything was going to be all right when I asked him about another Smiley playing the Game. What did that mean?"
Jiby did the Smiley equivalent of a shrug, which was a quick bob up into the air.
"Is the Game rigged?" #1031 asked, eyes fixed on the Elite.
Jiby laughed. "You're a smart one."
"Why would anyone do that? How could anyone do that?"
"Questions, questions..."
#1031 shook. "It's not fair," she said. "I... I have to tell the others."
"I don't think so," Jiby said, as the way out closed into solid wall. She smiled. "I think you're going to stay here for a very long time."
"You can't-"
"Yes I can."
A sudden flash, and suddenly the surroundings changed. The white room was gone. In its place, a bedroom, dimly lit, richly furnished, thick red curtains across the window. A bed. A desk, with an ornate gold-framed mirror above it that #1031 found herself looking into even as she overwhelmed all over with new sensations that she had never before imagined possible.
In the mirror, her reflection was human, and perfect.
"Welcome to the real Upper Realms, Aocea," the Elite whispered through human lips, into a left ear that moments ago had not been there.
to be continued.