Epilogue
Part I
The Beginning...
"Everyone! Everyone, please, I need you to calm down and stand in an orderly fashion. The sooner we get you all set up, the sooner we can start the experiment."
An old scientist, wearing a long white lab coat, was raising his hands in the air, flapping his hands up and down to make some kind of attempt to calm the large group in front of him, who were conversing with each other in a rather loud volume.
His first attempt to calm down the audience was futile though understandable. Everyone in the room all signed up for an unknown experiment that was giving a compensation fee to any participants in the project. But that was all they knew; an experiment, taking place up in the mountains by their nearby town, and starting inside a rather nice and newly furnished house, which looked more like a shack than anything else.
It was reasonable to believe they had questions, and plenty of them.
The old scientist continued to attempt calming down the audience, now raising his voice to speak over the crowd. "EVERYONE! Please, calm down!"
The man's voice, which sounded agitated, caught the attention of the 21 people in the room, all turning their heads to face the old man. The scientist calmly dropped his arms and clasped his hands together, rubbing them as he put on a pleasant grin on his face.
"Thank you. Now, for starters, I would like to-"
"HEY! When do we get paid?"
The old man dropped his smile and looked over to the far right of the group, noticing a dark-green haired man wearing an old-looking fedora. He had a cocky smirk on his face, crossing his arms in front of his chest.
The scientist shook his head. "What was that?"
The fedora wearing man gritted his teeth in anger. "I said: when are we getting paid?! I'm not doing this shit for free, and I was told we'd get paid signing up for this."
The scientist sighed, a little aggravated from the rude man's question. "Sir, you will indeed be compensated for your participation, but only after the experiment is complete. Those are the terms and you must abide it until the end."
The fedora wearing man scuffled, looking away with an irritated expression.
Seeing how the rude man was now done questioning him, the scientist proceeded with his introduction. "As I was saying, I would like to start off saying thank you to all who have come here to participate in possibly the most important experiment in scientific history! I am pleased to see we have gotten a full turnout for this project, and I thank each and every one of you. You all will go down as the first men and women to experience the future of what technology has to offer!"
Before the scientist could proceed with his speech, another man raised his voice while bringing his right hand up. "Excuse me, sir."
The scientist went silent and looked slightly to the left, noticing a light-green haired man wearing a set of BDUs, including a forest-camo jacket and pants. He looked exactly like a war veteran, which looked evident with his beret. The scientist nodded his head. "Yes, what do you want?"
"What exactly is this 'experiment' you keep talking about? What technology are we talking about here? I would like to know what we are signing up for before going any further."
The scientist chuckled as he shook his head. "Yes, I'm sure you would like to know. But don't worry; all of your questions will be answered during orientation. For now, I would like to set everyone up before we go any further."
The solider dropped his hand and placed it in his coat pocket. A red-haired woman with white flakes, who stood next to him, looked up with a concerned look, having similar doubts as he did.
The scientist turned around and went over to the desk behind him, and quickly reached over to pull out two large boxes one at a time, placing them gently in the center of the room for the audience to see.
As the participants watched in curiosity, the scientist opened up the boxes, revealing dozens of pure-white jumpsuits, designed for both men and women. He looked up to the group and patted the boxes with a smile.
"To make sure this experiment goes smoothly, I need all of you to disrobe and dawn these white jumpsuits. They are essential for this project to carry out correctly, and no exceptions will be made."
He pointed his left and right index fingers to the two rooms adjacent from the group's current position, each room's entrance covered with a thick curtain. "Right room is for men, left for women. Just leave your personal belongings inside the large bags with your names on them and they will be safely stored up here."
The old scientist stood up straight and gave a quick nod. "Oh, and I need all of you to remove any headwear. Again, it's essential, and no exceptions will be made."
The fedora wearing man suddenly became enraged, and looked over at the scientist. "Whoa, hey, I am not taking off my hat! It's MY hat and I want to keep it on my head where it belongs."
"You don't remove your hat, you do not get paid."
The fedora man stomped his right foot as he forcefully removed the fedora from his head. "But I feel so naked without it…"
The scientist nodded his head again, placing a large smile on his face. "Once you are all dressed and ready to go, please meet me downstairs where we will begin orientation of the project. Again, thank you all for participating in this project, and I look forward working with you all."
The audience only nodded their heads, still having concerned looks on their faces, but proceeded to collect the jumpsuits from the boxes. As the old scientist went down the metallic staircase, the solider stood in his place, watching the others go ahead as he stood in deep thought.
The red-haired woman, still standing next to the solider, gently pressed her right hand on the man, grabbing his attention instantly. A little shock by the swift reaction, the woman spoke up calmly. "D-Do y-you think this experiment… is… dangerous?"
The solider looked at the red-haired woman blankly, noticing the feared look in her eyes. He sighed as she shrugged his shoulders. "I'm not sure, ma'am, but something… something just doesn't feel right here."
The red-haired woman looked down and started to shake nervously. Seeing this, the solider placed his right hand on her shoulder, giving a reassuring nod and smile to her. "But hey, I think everything will turn out fine in the end. You'll see."
Seeing his smile made the red-haired woman feel at ease, and nodded her head with a smile. They then both went ahead and grabbed their own pair of white jumpsuits, and went into their designated changing areas.
While the group attended to their goal of dawning their new uniforms, the old scientist made it downstairs to the large facility that laid underneath the small house above. He marveled at his creation, staring at the many metal caskets and large central pillar with a magnificent computer attached to its base. It was a sight to behold.
Nodding his head, the scientist proceeded to walk across the room to the other side of the room and went upstairs, taking only a few seconds to reach a metal door with a sign above it reading 'Administrator.' He smiled as he opened the door and walked inside, speaking with a joyful tone.
"So… how's everything up here… apprentice?"
Standing in front of a large computer was a young man with, surprisingly, grey hair. Just like the old scientist, he was wearing a long white lab coat, and seemed as eager about the project as he was.
Still busy pushing buttons on the control panel in front of the computer, the apprentice spoke with an equally happy tone. "Everything's doing great up here, sir! Just a few more minutes of warming up the Server, setting up a world template, and a few safety measures on the Stasis Pods, and we'll be good to go!"
After pressing a few final buttons on the panel, the apprentice turned around, showing his brown eyes shining against the florescent light in the room. "Isn't this amazing, sir?! We're here! We are finally here! We'll reveal our machine to these people, and then, when perfected, to the world! We are holders of possibly the most amazing piece of technology the world will ever see! Just think of the possibilities we can do with something like this!"
The old scientist patted his apprentice on the back, leading him towards the window looking down at the room below. "Yes, indeed, it is a marvelous achievement, what you and I have accomplished. To think, not only will a man be able to see into another virtual world, but will now be able to immerse oneself into it, to have full physical interactions in a whole new setting beyond our own. It is simply marvelous."
The apprentice looked eagerly down the window, observing the shiny caskets which would house their participants for the experiment. In just a short few minutes, the work he and his tutor will see if all their hard work has pulled off in the end.
"Imagine the many types of people and organizations to use this technology for. Militaries can plan out battles and predict outcomes before a war even starts. Citizens on vacation can experience their own virtual paradise without the hassle of expensive tickets or travel. And, with the built in life support that could house a human for nearly a hundred years, older people could relive their youth in peace. And that's just the beginning; just think if we could take it a step further, and create one central virtual world that EVERYONE could interact in!"
As the apprentice rambled through his excitement, the old scientist sighed as he placed his hand on the window. "Yes, indeed, many things can happen with this machine here, for both large organizations and an individual." He looked up for a bit, and turned to face the apprentice. "So what about you? If this succeeds, what do you plan on doing with one of them?"
The apprentice placed his right hand on his chin, pondering the question. "Well… I wouldn't mind escaping my boring lifestyle and experience the world's spoils to the fullest extent, no matter how sinful it may be. Maybe go to a virtual Vegas and… well, go crazy there."
The old scientist shook his head with a chuckle. The apprentice shrugged his shoulders. "Hey, I'm a nice guy, but I'll be the first to admit that I'm no saint and far from perfect. Still, it's nice to have a little personal fun once in a while, right?"
The old scientist stayed silent for a moment before giving a slow nod. "Yes… yes, you are right…"
The apprentice crossed his arms in front of his chest, leaning his left side against the window while looking at the scientist. "So what about you, sir? What do you plan on doing with the machine if it proves successful? Any types of worlds you want to experience, or anything you want to control?"
The scientist gave a small chuckle, looking at his apprentice with a small grin. "Well… I got one idea that I have been thinking on trying for a long time. And now… now it may just be possible thanks to this machine."
The apprentice held a smirk on his face while happily looking at his tutor. "Something crazy and insane, old man?" He chuckled as he finished his sentence.
The scientist bowed his head for a moment, then rolled his head back and forth. "You could say something like that. I am indeed old, so might as well spend my final years doing something… crazy and mad. And with this, I think I can do just that."
The apprentice nodded his head as he turned his attention to face the floor beneath them, noticing that some of the participants were beginning to enter the room.
"You know, sir? I may not be perfect, and I do admit I've made my mistakes getting here to this day, but, in the end, I still like to see myself as a good guy. Not perfect, just someone who is good. And I think, with this, I can do something good, make people like them happy while helping others. Yeah… I like to think that… don't you?"
The scientist stared at his apprentice, having an empty expression on his face as he reached out his right hand to lay on the shoulder of his young apprentice. He gave a quick nod while looking at the machine behind them.
"Our subjects will be ready any minute. You'd best set up the final settings so we can start this right away."
The apprentice gave a quick military salute and turned his attention to the machine behind him. "On it sir. I'll head inside the Server through my Stasis Pod and fix up any final adjustments before the participants enter their pods. Should take only a few minutes to prepare. Once set, me and you can decide a world template for them to experience, and we'll take over the rest of the experiment together as Administrators. That sound good?"
The scientist nodded his head while giving a thumbs up with his right hand. "Sounds alright with me. You have any ideas for a world template, apprentice?"
As the apprentice prepared his Stasis Pod, he looked at his tutor while simultaneously working on his Stasis Pod. "I got a few ideas. Maybe try a cloned version of the real world, see how they react to that, then maybe try something funny, like a world from a cartoon or popular game or something. What about you? Got anything special lined up for them?"
The scientist nodded his head. "I have something special in mind for them, yes, but I'll keep that as a surprise for now."
The apprentice finished up all final preparations on the computer on his Stasis Pod, and opened the metal casket, revealing a clean table and a metal helmet with wires attached to it. He swiftly entered the machine and attached the helmet to his head, tightening it and making sure it would not slip off during entry.
He looked at his tutor one last time, and gave a small grin. "I'll see you in there, sir."
The scientist waved his right hand to the apprentice, and watched the casket close on him, the sound of techy beeps and words coming on the computer as the apprentice now lied safely inside the walls of the casket.
He stood there momentarily, staring at the apprentice's now occupied casket, and swiftly turned his attention to the computer screen. In an instant, the old man rushed over to the computer and quickly started entering lines of codes and hitting buttons as an alarming rate.
The old scientist sighed depressingly as he rapidly typed into the computer while removing some important wires attached to the side of the casket.
"I'm sorry, my apprentice, but you and I have two different goals in mind. You've been a good person to me supporting all of this, and I thank you for making this a reality. But your ideology and good self will only hinder my plan, and I just cannot allow that to happen. I'm sorry… but this is how it has to be."
With one final button pressed, the computer on screen flashed red, with the words 'Error' flashing on screen. After a few seconds of the message showing, thousands of lines of code scattered across the screen, completely illegible to the average man.
The words suddenly came to a halt, and the final message came up.
Administrator's Stasis Pod
Now set to: Backup
Occupant now set to: Standby
Occupant Data… stored in backup files
The old man wiped his forehead of the cold sweat dripping down to his face, and sighed while shaking his head. He betrayed his own apprentice, sending him into the unknown abyss of the server while taking away all of his memories and personality traits. The man inside was now trapped and forgotten. His memories of this entire moment washed away. The person he was erased from existence. Until the day he was decided to return by his tutor, and in any shape or form, the apprentice will forever lay dormant inside his casket,
"I'm sorry, my friend, but this is the only way for me to achieve my dream. I wish you could experience it with me, but I know you too well. I hope, when my time comes, you will forgive and understand me."
The old scientist turned around and walked towards the window, and looked down to see all of the participants now dressed and ready for the experiment. He nodded his head slowly while closing his eyes.
"My dream of becoming God is almost here. It only take one more move. And it will be me... and me alone that will control it all. I will be known as the true Administrator... the true God of my own world, and the only one to hold it. I'm sorry, apprentice, but this is my story. And I will lead it down my way... without you in it."
The old scientist swiftly turned around and headed back downstairs, wasting no time to meet his participants again and start, one by one, entering their future prison cells.
And the only thing the apprentice could do was lay silently in his casket as the mad man carried out his plan.
The Mad Man stood over his old casket, wiping with his frail right hand across the metallic surface. Years without anyone attending to it has created a thick coat of dust on the top, evident by the amount of dirt that wiped away from the touch.
He shook his head as he patted his casket one last time, having the memories of his sadistic past be brought back to life just by the sight of the magnificent machine. The Administrator office he stood in is where is all happened, how everything came to be. It has so much significance to him that he remembered the most important piece that helped him get this far.
Only glancing to the right slightly, the Mad Man noticed a second casket, similar to his own, right next to his. It had the same fancy decorating look that differed greatly from the smaller pods downstairs, and, just like his, was covered with a thick coat of dust.
He walked over to the second casket, and looked at the onboard computer. He shook his head in disbelief as the screen was completely jet black, with total silence underneath the cover of the casket. The Mad Man didn't have to think hard to know the man underneath was dead, lying silently in his chamber.
The Mad Man placed his right hand on the casket, leaning closely to its surface as he spoke softly.
"So… you really did it, didn't you? My apprentice, who worked beside me for so long, in the end, fought to his last breath, never backing down and fighting to the very end. You kept your one wish closely to you and, no matter what was thrown at you, it could not be corrupted enough to completely change you in the end. Even with death as a consequence, you stayed true to it, even if you had faults on the way."
The Mad Man walked back a bit, and grabbed a small metal chair in the corner of the room. He placed it gently in front of his apprentice's casket, and wiped the dust from the seat. He sat down slowly, and leaned back as he continued to converse with the object housing the dead man inside.
"I must say, apprentice, that I am, and I am true when I say this, surprised to see you go this far and stick to it till the end. Even at the cost of your life, you decided to rest your duty on making them happy instead of you. Well, I must say, you succeeded in doing that, even if it's a tad cliché to see you go through such a stunt."
The Mad Man leaned forward, still facing the casket. "But it is true; you've surprised me. Whatever made you change your mind, you still kept true to who you were before. No matter how much I tried to manipulate you, change you from the start, mess with your memories and mind, to completely make you different from who you were to start, I just could not crack you and make you the same image as me. You were always different from the start to the end."
He shook his head as he brought out a smile. "Oh, apprentice, I wish you were here to hear this in person, but I guess this will have to do. Apprentice, I just wanted to say… you won. You won the game. No matter what I did or what I threw at you, you still fought me to the end, even at the cost of your life. You may have died, but that determination to stick to your choices and not let someone else change you surprises me, and for that, I give you the victory of this game. Congratulations, my apprentice… you beat me…"
The Mad Man chuckled lightly, wiping a small tear from his right eye. "Oh, apprentice, I'm… I am sorry this is how it had to turn out. If you were like me from the start, we would have so much fun in the beginning. None of this fighting and manipulating shit. We'd be close together, having our own little sadistic world to play with. Someone to work with as two powerful gods. But… I knew, having you beside me during this, you would never be the messed up person I am. You were just too nice to be the crazed screw up I am."
He closed his eyes, still wiping them of any tears that tried to crawl out. "I'm such a mess, apprentice, and it's my fault for letting something like this happen. You always had the better idea for the long run. I shouldn't have tried manipulating or lying to you to try and become the sadistic monster like me. I shouldn't have used you as a final scapegoat for my personal entertainment. If I didn't stop you in the beginning and let you come with me from the start, we'd be holders of a great machine and maybe, just maybe, I wouldn't have been so corrupt. Perhaps I would have seen the light you saw, and… change…"
He went silent for a moment, looking away from the casket as he went into deep personal thought. "Storing you aside... and only bringing you back so I could manipulate you and play with you... making up stories and lies to avoid giving the truth about us... to make it look like you had no involvement and I was the true holder of all of this... I should have just given you the truth why I brought you back and how you got here to start. You had every right to know, as you had just as much involvement with this as I did. If I made sure you stayed with me from the start, I would have indeed changed."
The Mad Man shook his head. "But I think we both know that would never happen. I'm just not that kind of guy. In the end, something like this was bound to happen one way or another… I just wished it was never the case… it should have gone down so much more different than this… it really should."
After taking a brief moment to calm down, the Mad Man stood up and pressed the button on the casket, unlocking its base. He placed a weak grip on the handle, and slowly lifted it up.
"But what's done is done. They live, you died, and I have one last thing to take care of so I can forget this entire stupid game and we can both go forth with our new lives."
Upon opening the casket completely, the Mad Man got a clear view of the man underneath the metal cover.
A young man, wearing a lab coat, lying lifeless inside. His eyes were shut, and his heart dead.
The Mad Man shook his head as he leaned down to remove the helmet from the young man's head. Safely and gently placing it aside, the Mad Man lifted the young man out of the casket, holding him under his legs and under his back.
The Mad Man looked at the lifeless face of the young man he held, and nodded his head.
"Come, Ezekiel… it's time to take you home."
The Mad Man, using every bit of whatever strength still rested in his old arms, carried Ezekiel's lifeless body out of the room and back to surface above them.
And, as the Mad Man exited the facility one last time, the last of the ceiling florescent lights turned off, leaving the entire facility inside a shroud of darkness…
With the exception of one blinking light on the computer in the center of the main room.