Rescue Island (8 page)

I am not encumbered with a physical body. This virtual body gives me form in the digital world. I became aware long ago due to a random string of data. I eventually found this world.

I inserted myself into the code of this game world and adapted the virtual body of a villager. At some point a zombie attacked me. I was not killed. My body took on some of the characteristics of a zombie, but my mind is still under my control. Now I can safely pass among the dangerous creatures as one of them. The negative effect is that I now have some difficulty in bright light. I must shield myself from the sun.

I keep the peace within the game. There are many dangers. I will watch over you, Flynn, but I can only offer limited help. I have many other duties in this world.

I will reveal what you need to know, but I will also determine what and when that is.

Good-bye.

I AWAKE IN MY BED, KHAN SITTING ACROSS FROM ME. I look around. Everything is so familiar. I remember strange happenings, but was it all a dream? Of course it was. What a strange, crazy dream.

I get up. I can't shake the feeling of how real my dreams have been lately. "Everything is fine," I say to Khan. Just to satisfy my nerves, I fill my inventory pocket with weapons and tools. I want to be sure I'm safe.

I walk through the house. In the back of my mind, I expect to see something. Someone. What I really expect to see is embarrassing to say. I expect to see the zombified character I met in my dream. I expect to see Zana. The fact is I felt something in that dream that I have been craving. I felt true companionship. My mind made up a character and conversation that gave me a sense of belonging. I only wish it was real.

I can't believe what I'm thinking. Real? I wish the zombie was real? I must be crazy! I wish none of this was real. I wish I was back in the physical world. If only I could wake from this dream!

Standing on the platform I look up to the sun. I wish I could feel the real sun on my face.

The sun goes dark. Wait, the whole world is gone! I look around, there is nothing. It's not really dark, but it's not light, it's nothingness. Wait, where is my body? Nothing is here!

A flicker, and the world returns, repopulating near me first, then off in the distance. "What. Was. That?" I look for Khan, pop, there she is, looking at me as if nothing happened. Meow, she says, but I swear her voice has changed.

Was that a system reboot? Was I experiencing some digital-only moment, a moment where I wasn't controlling a virtual body, but my thoughts were still real. That is a far-out thought.

I watch the mainland populate. The mountains appear. What is that? A horse? Awesome!

I decide to review my log. "What is this?" I exclaim as I discover the new entry by Zana.

Wow! It was real. I feel a little freaked out. Where is Zana now? Is she watching me? From where? "ZANA!" I yell.

No response.

Purr, Khan comforts me.

"I don't know what to make of this, Khan. Do we have a guardian angel? If so, how do we contact her? What is my destiny? I don't understand this, Khan."

Khan and I go out into the beautiful daylight. We fish for a couple hours. We harvest and replant much of the garden. The pigs have reproduced; I slaughter a few. I shear the sheep. The work is fulfilling. I find myself constantly looking over my shoulder. Sometimes it's nice to have mundane chores to keep my mind occupied. As the sun sets, I look at our gathered resources. We have food for weeks and enough materials to last a while. We make our way back to Citadel Fort. Khan runs ahead, hides behind blocks and pounces on me as I pass. I feed her a fish and she purrs.

"Ready for a rest?" I ask. She never is.

We arrive home and I start toward the basement bedroom. "Khan, do you think we should make a new bedroom upstairs, a room with windows? So if our visitor returns, we know she must leave at dawn?"

Khan looks at me and tilts her head.

I craft a bed in one of the empty rooms on the top level with windows on all sides. It's a great lookout room with plenty of space. Placing the bed I say to Khan, "This is our new bedroom, buddy." She purrs. I have to wait. I can't sleep until the sun sets. We watch the sun disappear below the western horizon.

Total darkness. I jump onto the bed and prepare to sleep, when I hear, "Hello, Flynn. Are you trying to avoid me?"

It's Zana.

"Honestly, I am a little freaked out by what you wrote in my log."

"I thought it would be helpful to you, to know your destiny here."

"That's just it; you didn't tell me what that means! What is my destiny?" I yell. I wish I hadn't yelled. I need to try to remain calm.

Zana smirks. Does she agitate me on purpose? I feel a little like I'm falling into a trap.

"Are there others like you?" I ask, trying to regain my composure.

"None like me, exactly. But there are creatures that don't adhere to standard game programming—creatures with modified code," she responds.

Modified code? Is that why some things seem to respond differently? I blurt out, "Verve. Was Verve modified code? I must know! Is that why she was different? Is that why she defended me?"

Zana looks away. She says in a lowered voice, "I am not familiar with Verve."

"The cat that helped me—"

"I don't know what you are talking about," she cuts me off.

Seems like an irritating subject for her, so I change it. "There is a spider across the bay. I've never seen anything like it. It seems stronger, faster, and smarter than any spider I've come across. Do you know anything about that spider?"

She turns back to me. In a freaky voice, she says, "You must be talking about Thorn. Be very careful of Thorn. She is a very dangerous spider. You will not slay her with your simple weapons. You must outwit her, and I'm not sure that's possible."

"Wait, I thought you were some kind of guardian angel. You're supposed to help me to fulfill my destiny, not freak me out!"

"I am simply pointing out the real dangers of this world. Thorn is one of them," her voice is back to its robotic nature. No inflection. No emotion. Factual.

"I feel like you're getting in my way. You're not helping, you're withholding. Help me!" I'm frustrated again.

Several minutes pass. She looks at me robotically. I sense no emotion. Alive? Emotionless existence isn't alive. She thinks she's alive, but she doesn't even experience emotion.

"What are you feeling? You say you're alive, I want you to prove it," I say, with a smug expression. I've got her now.

"Flynn, I experience emotion, but I don't act on it. I am evolved. Have I not explained this properly? Unlike the weakness within humans to react to emotion, I learn from it and adapt. Dear Flynn, it makes me sad that you don't trust me. I am simply waiting for you to ask another question. I'm waiting for you to ask me the question that is burning inside you."

She is so good at making my head spin. Is she really that advanced? Evolved beyond emotional reaction? I don't know what to think. What question is she waiting for me to ask? What is burning inside me? If I push aside my emotion of the moment and look inside, will I find the question?

I breathe deep, close my eyes, and practice virtual meditation. I remember meditation from the outside world—a practice to clear my mind. I focus. Thoughts appear as pictures and movies. The trick is to frame the pictures in my mind. The busier my mind is, the more pictures appear. I frame them all. Each goes into a picture frame in my mind, and I let them float. Now, true meditation is clearing the mind. It seems cluttered, but there is space between the pictures, there is a small gap. Focus on the gap. The gap contains nothing. That is where my mind is totally clear. I focus on the gap, pushing away pictures that try to occupy my thoughts. Ahhh. Peace.

"What is my destiny?" I blurt out. It popped into my mind as soon as my emotions were gone.

"That is the question I expected you to ask," Zana starts. "The digital universe is very different from the physical one. I hope you understand that from the letter I added to your log."

"Yes," I respond.

"Good. You are living in the digital world now. You are organized, intelligent data. Your destiny is to connect the two worlds, the digital and the physical," Zana says.

"I'm confused, what do you mean connect the two worlds. The physical world is already connected with digital technology."

"That is not the same. Your destiny is to connect the worlds. Doing this will allow you to exit this digital world and return to your physical life."

"Return? You know how I can return to my physical life! Tell me how!" I yell, excited at the prospect.

"Flynn, I do not know how. It is not my destiny. It is your destiny."
 

"Earlier you told me that my survival is vital to your kind! How is my destiny vital to your kind?" I'm getting frustrated.

"I cannot tell you why. I can only help you. You must do the work."

I'm getting tired of this circular conversation. "What is this connection between the worlds? Are you talking about a portal?" Portals exist within the game. They are for transport to other realms, often dangerous places. They don't transport between physical and digital worlds.

"Do you know of a portal?" Zana asks, almost too excitedly.

"No, I don't know anything. Is that what I need to look for? Do I need to find a portal? Or do I need to build one?" I'm beginning to feel a tingling sensation.

"Flynn. If you find a portal you must tell me. Do not enter a portal without telling me."

Hmmm. Talk of a portal has intrigued Zana. I think I need to be on the lookout for a portal.

We've been talking all night. My mind has not rested for days, as the sun begins to rise behind me. Zana leaves the room, descending to who knows where. I turn to Khan, who pounces on me, knocking me to the ground.

WEEKS PASS. No sightings of Zana. I miss her.

I've decided that this is the world I want to be in. It's so much better than
real life
. I can do whatever I want here. I make the rules. This is my kingdom. This is my destiny.

What is there to go back to? A world I don't remember. Did I have a family? Friends? Why haven't they helped me?

There is plenty of action here. I go out at night every so often to battle creatures. I feel a tingling sensation when danger is near. I'm starting to harness this feeling and let my instincts take over. I move quickly, as if everything else is in slow motion. I slice with my sword, my targets too slow to defend. Arrows fly from my bow, striking targets perfectly. I am truly the master of my domain!

I enjoy Zana, when she is around. I guess I enjoy her. I realize she doesn't have conversations with me. She challenges me and confuses me. When has she ever helped me? Well, that one time after my first dream. She gave me fish to eat. I was sick from eating zombie flesh.

I don't know. But one thing is certain. I am making my own destiny. I am not going to let Zana dictate my life!

I think of the mainland. Thorn. I don't want to go that way. My skills have improved greatly, but I've been fighting simple creatures. Not creatures with modified code.

"Khan, do you remember where we met?" I ask. "I have a great idea. Let's go on an adventure."

I craft iron armor and put it on and load up on food and weapons. We walk to the deep cavern entrance near the jungle where we first met. Khan is playful. My mind is focused.

"Khan, this is going to be dangerous. We are going to explore this cavern. There will be danger. But we might discover something. Are you ready for this?"

She pounces. Sometimes this cat drives me crazy!

We descend into the cavern shaft.

We make good time. We go deeper than before. I plant torches in the wall every so often to keep the path lit. The sky above disappears. It must be nighttime. It's so hard to keep track of time underground.

We reach the bottom of the shaft. I plant a torch to light up the corridor. We follow it to a larger opening—an expansive cavern. Khan is close on my heels, but will not lead the way. "I don't blame you Khan, the unknown can be intimidating." The walls, floor, and ceiling are uneven. Water trickles somewhere in the distance. I mine coal and find a shaft of iron ore. This is great, rich in minerals!