Aelita Schaeffer

The night covers the city. Jeremie and Ulrich wait on the bridge next to the factory. Yumi appears after a while.

Ulrich: Yumi!
Yumi: Hey, Ulrich!
Ulrich: I see you were able to come.
Yumi: Yeah, my parents think I'm asleep right now.
Jeremie: Well, let's roll.

The kids arrive to the utility room's door.

Jeremie: I suddenly remembered the fear from last night. I don't want to go in anymore.
Yumi: What happened last night?
Ulrich: We started a strange computer, then we heard a voice through some earphones we connected, and afterwards Jeremie's phone started ringing. Jeremie answered, but there was no response.
Yumi: Ohh, chilling! Now I want to go in.
Ulrich: Wait, are you sure?
Yumi: Well, I'm not afraid, (challenging) are you afraid by any chance?
Ulrich: (upset) You weren't here last night, you don't understand what happened.
Yumi: (playful) Or maybe it's just that I'm less of a chicken. Could that be it?
Ulrich: (angry) Well, I'm not going in first, even if challenged. (crosses his arms and leans against the wall)
Yumi: (somewhat ashamed) I… Sorry, Ulrich. I was just playing the "who goes first" game. I guess I went a bit too far.
Ulrich: (sighs, still frowning) Well, okay.
Jeremie: Don't mind Ulrich, he's just one grumpy fellow. Yumi, if you want, we can go in together.
Yumi: Okay.

The two children push the door and take a look inside. Jeremie puts one step inside and reaches the light switch with some effort. The room lights up.

Yumi: Woow, so this is the mystery you were talking about! It's pretty cool.
Jeremie: Well, the place is part of the mystery; the intriguing bit is in the computer.
Yumi: Oh, I see.

The kids finally get inside. Ulrich follows them.

Jeremie: We got so distracted with the computer that we went back almost empty-handed. If you find some metallic or electronic scrap that isn't connected to anything, we'll take it for the project.
Yumi: Okay, but it's likely that I get distracted with the computer as well.

Jeremie takes off the bag he was carrying and takes a microphone out.

Jeremie: Ulrich, did you bring the speaker?
Ulrich: (taking the speaker out) Here.
Jeremie: Yumi, there's a switch at the wall over there. Could you activate it, please?
Yumi: Yessir!

Yumi reaches the switch and activates it. They hear the sound of tens of fans starting to spin.

Yumi: This keeps getting cooler!
Jeremie: Doesn't it? Come, the screen is on.

While she returns, Jeremie and Ulrich connect the devices they brought. Then, Jeremie sits on the chair.

CONSOLE
In: si
Out: Cores: 32
Memory: 256 peta-bytes RAM
Disk: 1 exa-byte
Core speed: 512 tera-bytes / second
Battery: working, no recent issue

Jeremie: This computer is off this world!
Ulrich: What are you saying?
Jeremie: I don't mean it literally, I mean that it's way too powerful. It surpasses a standard PC in capacity and speed by more than ten million times!
Yumi: Wow!
Jeremie: I don't know if it's public knowledge that something like this is possible. Whoever built this is someone completely exceptional.
Yumi: But the screens are too small! What's the use of all that power if the screens leave so much to be desired?
A computer is not worth only by its graphics. There's a lot of things that can be done in a computer without needing a powerful graphics hardware.
Ulrich: But the program you showed then clearly used graphics resources.
Jeremie: That's true! Maybe, the author simply didn't have the knowledge to create a suitable screen.

CONSOLE
In: lyoko
Out: Loading graphics…
Done.
Loading audio…
Done.
Loading saved state…
Done.

The main screen shows the mountainous landscape again.

Yumi: What's that? Looks like a videogame.
Ulrich: I said the same thing the first time.
Jeremie: No idea. Some graphics project. I'll see how many resources it uses.

CONSOLE
In: tm
Out: Running tasks:
console (64 bytes/s)
basic display (3 mega-bytes/s)
lyoko (148.65 tera-bytes/s)

Jeremie: Gotcha! It's indeed this program called Lyoko the one needing this enormous ammount of resources and speed!
Yumi: Curious! Why's that?
Jeremie: I'd love to know.
Voice: Hello? Is someone there?

The three kids get startled. Yumi chokes out a scream.

Ulrich: It's the voice. …Do we talk to it this time?
Jeremie: …I don't know… if I'm capable…
Yumi: Come on, Jeremie! We have to talk to it!
Jeremie: Okay… (turns on the microphone) Hello? Who's there?
Voice: Oh, there is someone! Is it you who turned the computer on?
Jeremie: Me and my acquaintances, yes. To whom I owe the pleasure?
Voice: Wait a minute! What are you doing in Mr Schaeffer's lab?
Jeremie: I don't know who this Schaeffer is. We found this lab abandoned. Where are you talking from?
Voice: I won't speak until you tell me who you are.
Jeremie: And I won't speak until you guarantee us that we won't be harmed if we tell you!

Silence for a few seconds.

Voice: I cannot make any harm from here. I don't want conflict either. But this is rather unusual.

Jeremie looks at his friends. Both srhug.

Jeremie: Okay. We came to the lab while looking for scraps for a school project. We got carried away by curiosity and decided to turn on the computer. There's three of us. Yesterday there were two of us.
Voice: Are you school children? I would be at school, if I could get out of here.
Jeremie: Where are you right now?
Voice: Right here.
Jeremie: (looking around) Where, exactly?
Voice: In the computer.
Jeremie: What do you mean? The computer is quite large, give us more details.
Voice: South of second tallest mountain, two thirds of height.
Jeremie: What? …Do you want me to look in Lyoko?
Voice: Yes, exactly.

Jeremie looks at the screen, and follows the indications provided by the voice. He finds a humanoid entity, standing over a cliff.

Ulrich: There!
Jeremie: I see it! We see a shape that looks human.
Voice: It's probably me. I'll make a signal.

The shape on the screen waves one arm, looking opposite of the mountain. The kids, astonished, look at each other.

Jeremie: How are you doing that?
Voice: It's me!
Jeremie: But how are you controlling your avatar?
Voice: It's not my avatar, that's the real me. I'm inside Lyoko.
Jeremie: What!? Are you a program, then?
Voice: No! I'm real. I'm just virtualized.
Jeremie: "Virtualized"? Are… are you trying to convince us that you're a human inside a virtual space?
Voice: That's basically it, but I'm telling the truth.
Jeremie: (looks at his friends, raising an eyebrow) I'm sorry, but to me it's a bit hard to believe. I need some kind of proof.

The children hear a buzzing sound.

Yumi: Sorry! It's my phone. I'll get it, be back in a second.
Voice: In the lab there should be a scanner. Have you seen it? It should be cillindrical and hollow, with a pair of sliding doors.
Jeremie: We haven't explored this room that thoroughly. We'll look for it.

Ulrich nods and starts looking.

Voice: You still haven't told me your names.
Jeremie: (sighs) My name is Jeremie. My companions will tell their own names.
Aelita: Okay, Jeremie. My name is Aelita. Aelita Schaeffer.
Jeremie: Schaeffer? You mentioned a Mr Hopper. Are you related to him?
Aelita: Yes, he's my father.
Jeremie: (incredulous) Okay, Aelita.
Yumi: (coming back) That's strange! There was no number on the screen. I picked up, but nobody answered.
Jeremie: That's exactly what happened with my cellphone last night. Hey, Aelita, any idea why our cellphones are ringing?
Aelita: What's a cellphone?
Jeremie: (mocking) All this technology and you don't know what a cellphone is?
Aelita: Hold on, what year is this?
Jeremie: 2003, obviously.
Aelita: Oh! Then the computer has been shut down for six years now! Oh no, oh no…
Ulrich: (from afar) Hey, Jeremie! I found something that matches her description.
Jeremie: Okay, I'll go see! Looks like we found your scanner, Aelita…
Aelita: (unaware) Dad, where are you right now? It's been so long…

Jeremie goes away from the screen, followed by Yumi. They go up some stairs. Above, three identical scanners stand, connected to some very thick cables.
Ulrich: What do you make of this, genius?
Jeremie: Intriguing, that's for sure, but I'm not convinced yet. I'll take a closer look. By the way, I already told my name to our virtual friend -she responds to the name Aelita-. You may tell her your names if you want, she seems harmless.
Yumi: If you say so, Jeremie… You coming, Ulrich?

Yumi and Ulrich go down the stairs, leaving Jeremie inspecting the scanners.

Yumi: Hello, Aelita?
Aelita: Yes? Who's speaking?
Yumi: It's Yumi, I came here with Jeremie.
Ulrich: Hello, Aelita. I'm Ulrich, a friend of Jeremie's.
Aelita: Hello, Yumi and Ulrich. Are you Jeremie's classmates?
Ulrich: Well, I am. Yumi's one year older.
Aelita: I see.
Yumi: So, you are a virtualized girl, is that right?
Aelita: (sighs) Yeah, but I can see you're not quite convinced.
Ulrich: We're not used to meeting virtualized people in our daily lives.
Aelita: (sighs again) Of course. My father is a very unique person. I think it was him who invented virtualization.
Ulrich: Sounds like he was a genius. He and Jeremie would get along well.
Aelita: It's possible… but I don't know where he is, and I'm really worried. If this is truly the year 2003, he's been missing for way too long. You haven't heard of Waldo Schaeffer by any chance?
Yumi: Not me at least.
Ulrich: Me neither.
Aelita: Damn it! It's been so long. Where could he be?
Yumi: When did you see him for the last time?
Aelita: Minutes before the computer shut down, in the year 1997. He virtualized himself, said goodbye to me, went through a portal I'd never seen before and disappeared.
Yumi: What an intrigue! And do you know where he went?
Aelita: No, he didn't want to tell me. Since I was in virtual form, he behaved distantly and kept more secrets.
Yumi: That's curious! What kind of a father leaves her daughter virtualized before disappearing? Sounds a bit cruel, if I'm honest.
Aelita: Don't judge my father if you don't know him! I know him and he's a good person. He must have had his reasons.
Yumi: Hmm, or maybe he did it to protect you?
Ulrich: Maybe it's better that we let her breathe, Yumi.
Yumi: You're right! I'll stop asking.
Aelita: It's all right. It's been a while since I last interacted with people aside from my father; not to mention people my age.

Jeremie comes back. His expression is hard to read.

Jeremie: These scanners are some of the most fascinating pieces of technology I've ever seen. They indeed seem to be capable of virtualizing. The mechanism is super elegant; if they work, we could call them art.
Yumi: Jeremie! Aelita says that she's looking for her father. Do you recall the name Waldo Schaeffer by any chance?
Jeremie: No, it's the first time I hear his name. It's curious, one would think that someone capable of doing something like this would be famous.
Yumi: Aelita says that his father was virtualized and crossed a portal from the computer.
Jeremie: That would explain why this room was barred from the inside, with no one here. Schaeffer must have been hiding. Any idea why?
Aelita: No, although the last days he was more upset than normal. He almost didn't speak to me, and left me in charge of supervising a program.
Jeremie: Hmm, what program?
Aelita: It's called XANA. It's a sort of informatic virus that seems to inhabit this computer.
Jeremie: I understand, he was keeping you busy.

Jeremie types something.

CONSOLE
In: tm
Out: Running tasks:
console (64 bytes/s)
basic display (3 mega-bytes/s)
lyoko (149.03 tera-bytes/s)

Jeremie: No, it doesn't seem to be running now. Unless it's a sub-process from Lyoko, like you.
Aelita: I don't know, I think you should be able to see it from the task manager.

CONSOLE
In: tm lyoko
Out: (Thousands of messages. Jeremie starts checking page by page.)

Jeremie: Okay, I see Aelita. How do you spell XANA?
Aelita: X-A-N-A.
Jeremie: Hmm, I can't find it. Do you know if there's any shortcut from the console to look for specific programs?
Aelita: Try "re xana:p"

CONSOLE
In: re xana:p
Out: Nonexistent program xana

Jeremie: The search program works, but it cannot find the executable. Or maybe it's not called like that, or it might be erased.
Aelita: Strange! I'd be surprised if it were erased. I'll keep an eye out.
Jeremie: Sounds good. Hey… do you know if the virtualization programs are usable?
Aelita: I don't know, it's been such a long time… Maybe we could try them out. We'd need a simple valueless object.
Jeremie: There should be something here. We'll take a look.

Jeremie, Yumi and Ulrich start looking.

Ulrich: Jeremie, I found this under the couch.
Jeremie: Let's see. (receives the object) Oh, it's a ragdoll. It should work, thanks, Ulrich.
Yumi: Should I take it to the scanners? I want to be of use as well.
Jeremie: As you wish… (Yumi receives the doll and heads to the scanners) Well, we'll test if we can virtualize that.
Aelita: Okay… (sighs and sits down, hugging her knees)
Ulrich: (turning off the microphone) Jeremie, I think Aelita's under a lot of pressure. We haven't been too respectful of her situation.
Jeremie: But we don't even know if she's human, Ulrich.
Ulrich: Well, but that means we don't know, not that she's artificial until proven otherwise.
Jeremie: Okay…
Ulrich: I think in any case, we should try to be nicer.
Jeremie: But what happens if she's trying to fool us?
Ulrich: This doesn't mean we should lower our guard, it just means calming things down. If in the end, her behavior is honest, we'd have given her a really bad time.
Jeremie: All right. (turns on the microphone) Aelita, are you there?
Aelita: (tired voice) Here I am.
Jeremie: I wanted to apologize. Between the amazement by these novelties and the strangeness of this situation, we've overlooked… I mean, I've overlooked your well-being. I'm sorry.
Aelita: I… Thank you, Jeremie. In any case, I understand your situation; but that doesn't make me less tense.
Jeremie: I understand.
Aelita: From my end, I can promise that I'm being honest with you. I have no intention of doing you harm or manipulating you.
Jeremie: Okay, we'll take your word for it. From our end, we're just children. We wouldn't even be able to cause harm.
Aelita: Yeah, it's okay. I'm also a child. Maybe we have more in common than what we've noticed until now.
Ulrich: It's possible.
Yumi: The doll is inside the scanner now, Jeremie!
Jeremie: Roger that! I'll see how to run the program.

Jeremie types in silence for some time.

Aelita: Hey, just in case, I think the program is called virt:p.
Jeremie: Excellent, it was precisely the one I was looking into. Thanks, Aelita.
Aelita: It's nothing. (the screen shows her smiling)
Jeremie: Let's see. I assume I have to enter the scanner's number. Yumi! Any numbers on the scanners?
Yumi: Not in plain sight, no.
Jeremie: I'll assume the order is left to right then. Which one did you leave it in?
Yumi: The one in the middle!

CONSOLE
In: lyoko virt 1
Out: Command error: missing filename

Jeremie: Of course! The program cannot deduce the name of the file containing the object's virtual version.
Ulrich: Aelita, do you understand anything that Jeremie is saying?
Aelita: Most of it, but I'm not an expert in computers by a long shot.

CONSOLE
In: lyoko virt 1 doll

The center scanner's doors close.

Yumi: (jumping backwards) Whoa! That scared me.

They hear lower frequency noises, and some other frequencies raising in tone for a few seconds. Then, everything stops. After a couple of seconds, the scanner opens.

Yumi: The doll is no longer here!
Jeremie: Wow! Aelita, is it possible that you could investigate whether the ragdoll is with you?
Aelita: Okay. What coordinates did you give to it?
Jeremie: Uh… I didn't put any coordinates. Was it an option?
Aelita: Yeah, you can do it, but it has a default assignment. I'll go to the map's origin.
Jeremie: All right. I'll point the camera there.

CONSOLE
In: lyoko cam 0 0

The camera blinks; after displaying again, it shows a different image: a place that looks like a small town square, with a fountain close to the center, and a wooden building to one side. At the center, a small figure lays on the ground.

Jeremie: At least the commands are sufficiently intuitive. What do you say, Ulrich? Is that the ragdoll?
Ulrich: I don't know… It could be, but I'd be very surprised if it were.

Yumi comes back.

Yumi: Are you saying that is the ragdoll?
Ulrich: That's Jeremie's bet. I'm not that convinced.
Yumi: Can't you get the camera closer?
Jeremie: I'd have to find out.

Jeremie types some things, without success.

Jeremie: No, it looks like there's not much versatility in the use of the camera. Although, maybe I can do something else.

Jeremie launches another program, which shows a more abstract version of the map on the right screen. In the point of origin, there is an indicator. Jeremie asks for it and the computer provides information about doll:p.

Jeremie: It's the doll! Or at least, the program I assigned to it.

A few seconds later, Aelita arrives to the square.

Aelita: I'm here. Oh, I see something! (she approaches and looks at it) It's… it's a ragdoll elf. It's so cute…

The camera shows Aelita picking up the doll. It's movements are the ones of a ragdoll. Aelita examines it very thoroughly.

Aelita: It's very pretty… It brings me many memories…
Jeremie: Was it yours?
Aelita: Not that I remember… but it's as if it were. Where did you find it?
Ulrich: It was under a couch here in the room.
Aelita: Must have been of my father then. It's really cute. Thank you for bringing it here.

Aelita hugs the doll. The other kids look at each other. Yumi smiles a bit. Aelita starts crying.

Jeremie: Aelita, are you okay?
Aelita: (crying) I don't know… I feel so many things. Fear, grief, uncertainty… But this doll brings me a bit of calm… and hope, perhaps.
Yumi: I'm glad we were able to help, Aelita.

Silence, interrupted by Aelita's sobs.

Jeremie: Do you know if there's something like a "devirtualization" process?
Aelita: Yes, of course! My father used to call it "materialization". Virtualization is totally reversible. Why do you ask?
Jeremie: I suppose the best action to take right now is to devirt… I mean, materialize you. Don't you think?
Aelita: Oh… It'd be great… but… I think it's not possible.
Jeremie: Why?
Aelita: If I recall correctly, my father told me that my current state is incomplete. There's information about my real body that I'm not carrying right now.
Jeremie: Huh? That's weird. Give me a moment.

Jeremie types some more commands.

Jeremie: I see. You and the ragdoll use roughly the same amount of memory from the computer. Given that the doll is noticeably smaller and simple in structure, it looks like you have less information than you should.
Aelita: Well, it's confirmed then, my father was telling the truth.
Jeremie: And do you know what happened to your other part?
Aelita: No. I supposed that my father knew or had it stored somewhere. But I don't know.

Jeremie starts typing again.

Jeremie: At least in this computer there is nothing else with the name Aelita on it, with the exception of yourself. We'll have to keep an eye out, then.
Yumi: Yeah! We'll manage to matter… materiorize… bring you back to earth!
Ulrich: Sounds like something difficult, but we'll give it a try.
Aelita: Oh, thank you so much! Even if you don't find anything, it's very noble of you to try and help me. Thank you again.

Aelita smiles; the kids smile back at her, even though Aelita can't see them.

Yumi: Hey! My phone's getting really hot! (she takes it out of her pocket and leaves it on a surface)

Jeremie starts typing furiously.

Jeremie: There! XANA is active!

- END OF CHAPTER 3 -