10-19-2013, 04:25 PM
For close to ten minutes, Proto Man struggled to keep up with J’hath, who seemed to know the jungle as if it were the back of his hand. The wiry youth knew just where to duck under a low-hanging branch and where to leap over detritus or ditches. At the end of their scamper, J’hath and Proto Man emerged into a tiny clearing. At the center, someone—undoubtedly the spritely youth—hand constructed a tent in the shadow of a massive, tropical tree.
“Nice tent…” Proto Man muttered as the grining kid slipped through the flap and began to brush away the dirt. After an inch or so, his efforts revealed a big, red button, wholly out of place in the colonial setting. “What’s that?”
“The Librarian AI gave me narrator rights. I think he doesn’t want me to get too bored or something. I’m not sure why, but I’m not about to complain. Creative Mode is just too cool.” J’hath made a fist and punched the button, which made a very distinct metal click as it locked into place.
Behind Proto Man, the tall tree shuddered, releasing a small cloud of leaves down onto the pair. As the leaves fluttered down around them, a wooden rope ladder unfurled from somewhere above the canopy.
“Just up the ladder.” Without waiting, J’hath hopped onto the swaying ladder. A beat later and he was already out of sight. With a grin, Proto Man hurried up after him. When the android crested above the bottom of the canopy, he found himself inside the entrance of a tree house in a wooden room.
“J’hath?”
“Through the door in front of you, Blues.”
Following the instructions, Proto Man pulled himself up into the perfectly concealed chamber and pass through the door across from the exit/entrance hatch. On the other side of the nondescript wood plank door was a somewhat lavish lounge that contained a bunch of rather non-period furniture.
“Did you hack this stuff in here?” Proto Man asked as he sat down on his leather sofa. His new acquaintance dropped into a reclining chair a few feet away.
“Creative Mode,” the boy replied with a grin. “I figure the AI’s probably trying to keep me occupied while the others are busy.”
“The Copper Eye?” Proto Man asked, prompting a nod from the other youth. “So you’re a terrorist as well?”
J’hath let out a soft laugh as he reached into a bucket for a glass bottle. He took one for himself and threw another at Proto Man. “It’s just some boiled sea water. I didn’t want to stretch the parameters too much.”
The android, despite knowing he didn’t need the sustenance, popped the cork and took a long sip. He wasn’t certain how water was supposed to taste, but the liquid in the bottle had zero taste. “You didn’t answer my question.”
“We’re not terrorists… do I look like a terrorist?” Proto Man shook his head. “We’re an activist organization that’s well-aware of the injustice executed by the state. I know you’re new to the Omniverse, but I’ve been here for about two years now. Coruscant is a bunch of glitz and glamour that serves as a pretty façade over a rotten core.”
“Are you from the fountain?”
J’hath shook his head. “No, my teacher brought me here. He arrived here through the Nexus. He’s been here for almost four or fives years, and he’s been struggling to expose the injustices committed by the Empire.
Proto Man frowned as he took another gulp of the fluid. “Is this related to all the soldiers everywhere?”
“Yes. And at the rotten core is that Judge. His title is a lie…he’s little more than a state-sponsored executioner. He’s deluded himself into believing that he is maintaining the peace when really he’s just a glorified murderer for a fascist regime.”
The robot scowled. “Hasn’t your group killed people? What makes you any different?”
“Because we have the people’s interests at heart! We want to free them, not make them slaves who have to live in terror.”
“So you’re taking over the Dataverse and creating an army of robots? Where is the people’s interest when you send that army rampaging through the streets of Coruscant?”
“You’re new here…you haven’t seen the ghettos below that grand, picturesque façade. There are seven levels, yet the Empire stops carring after three. By the time you hit six, the people are more tribal than civilized. There are just a bunch of roaming gangs of thugs preying on people too poor to escape or forced down there by the Imperial soldiers that police access to the top tier.
Proto Man frowned as he mulled over the boy’s remark. His research had revealed that the lower tiers were increasingly poor, but who was to say it was deliberate? It couldn’t be easy to manage seven tiers, each the size of a city in their own right, along with waging a war with a foreign power on a few fronts.
“I can tell from your expression that you don’t believe me. Trust me, you can spend enough time in Coruscant, and you’ll learn soon enough that I’m telling the bonafide truth.
The android shrugged his shoulders. He didn’t know who to believe. Sure, he’d seen the excessive police presence and surveillance throughout the city, but his only experience with the Copper Eye had been a herd of robots trying to blow him to little bits.
“So you want to do something fun?” J’hath asked. “I don’t think the Librarian wanted us to wax philosophical the entire time.”
“Yes, definitely.” Proto Man replied as he sat down the nearly full container on the table. “What’s there to do around here?”
“Story mode.”
“Story mode?” The android asked, furrowing his brow as he smoothed out the fabric of his clothes. He hadn’t worn clothes since the end of his self-imposed exile from Monsteropolis, so it was strange to perss his chest and feel cloth rather than the skintight, armor-weave body suit.
“We’re in a book, remember? A few of the larger novels here have sandbox worlds where you can explore and do a bunch of other stuff—that’s where we are right now. Most novels and movies and whatnot just have Story Mode, which inserts you into the role of a character, any character. Most people are like, background figures, who just observe the action, and the people who love themselves a little too much tend to play major roles. It’s a lot of fun!”
“What do you portray?” Proto Man asked, intrigued by the concept of the interactive simulation.
“I like to play minor roles. You can swap parts, so I usually do that so I can always be in on the action. Especially for this story in particular.” With a grin, J’hath extended a hand toward Proto Man. “You already got the costume, so you ready for Scene 27?”
“What’s scene 27?”
“Just take my hand,” J’hath said with a grin as Proto Man reached out and clasped the other boy’s hand.
Everywhere flashed black for a moment, and when his senses returned, the android found himself below deck on a wooden ship. As he opened his mouth to speak, a cannonball tore through the hull a few inches away from him with enough force to throw him to his feet. Before he could properly react, he was being pulled to his feet by a grinning, grimy J’hath.
“Come on, man, we have a battle to fight! We can’t let those filthy privateers defeat the crew of the dreaded pirates of the Blight Runner!”
“Nice tent…” Proto Man muttered as the grining kid slipped through the flap and began to brush away the dirt. After an inch or so, his efforts revealed a big, red button, wholly out of place in the colonial setting. “What’s that?”
“The Librarian AI gave me narrator rights. I think he doesn’t want me to get too bored or something. I’m not sure why, but I’m not about to complain. Creative Mode is just too cool.” J’hath made a fist and punched the button, which made a very distinct metal click as it locked into place.
Behind Proto Man, the tall tree shuddered, releasing a small cloud of leaves down onto the pair. As the leaves fluttered down around them, a wooden rope ladder unfurled from somewhere above the canopy.
“Just up the ladder.” Without waiting, J’hath hopped onto the swaying ladder. A beat later and he was already out of sight. With a grin, Proto Man hurried up after him. When the android crested above the bottom of the canopy, he found himself inside the entrance of a tree house in a wooden room.
“J’hath?”
“Through the door in front of you, Blues.”
Following the instructions, Proto Man pulled himself up into the perfectly concealed chamber and pass through the door across from the exit/entrance hatch. On the other side of the nondescript wood plank door was a somewhat lavish lounge that contained a bunch of rather non-period furniture.
“Did you hack this stuff in here?” Proto Man asked as he sat down on his leather sofa. His new acquaintance dropped into a reclining chair a few feet away.
“Creative Mode,” the boy replied with a grin. “I figure the AI’s probably trying to keep me occupied while the others are busy.”
“The Copper Eye?” Proto Man asked, prompting a nod from the other youth. “So you’re a terrorist as well?”
J’hath let out a soft laugh as he reached into a bucket for a glass bottle. He took one for himself and threw another at Proto Man. “It’s just some boiled sea water. I didn’t want to stretch the parameters too much.”
The android, despite knowing he didn’t need the sustenance, popped the cork and took a long sip. He wasn’t certain how water was supposed to taste, but the liquid in the bottle had zero taste. “You didn’t answer my question.”
“We’re not terrorists… do I look like a terrorist?” Proto Man shook his head. “We’re an activist organization that’s well-aware of the injustice executed by the state. I know you’re new to the Omniverse, but I’ve been here for about two years now. Coruscant is a bunch of glitz and glamour that serves as a pretty façade over a rotten core.”
“Are you from the fountain?”
J’hath shook his head. “No, my teacher brought me here. He arrived here through the Nexus. He’s been here for almost four or fives years, and he’s been struggling to expose the injustices committed by the Empire.
Proto Man frowned as he took another gulp of the fluid. “Is this related to all the soldiers everywhere?”
“Yes. And at the rotten core is that Judge. His title is a lie…he’s little more than a state-sponsored executioner. He’s deluded himself into believing that he is maintaining the peace when really he’s just a glorified murderer for a fascist regime.”
The robot scowled. “Hasn’t your group killed people? What makes you any different?”
“Because we have the people’s interests at heart! We want to free them, not make them slaves who have to live in terror.”
“So you’re taking over the Dataverse and creating an army of robots? Where is the people’s interest when you send that army rampaging through the streets of Coruscant?”
“You’re new here…you haven’t seen the ghettos below that grand, picturesque façade. There are seven levels, yet the Empire stops carring after three. By the time you hit six, the people are more tribal than civilized. There are just a bunch of roaming gangs of thugs preying on people too poor to escape or forced down there by the Imperial soldiers that police access to the top tier.
Proto Man frowned as he mulled over the boy’s remark. His research had revealed that the lower tiers were increasingly poor, but who was to say it was deliberate? It couldn’t be easy to manage seven tiers, each the size of a city in their own right, along with waging a war with a foreign power on a few fronts.
“I can tell from your expression that you don’t believe me. Trust me, you can spend enough time in Coruscant, and you’ll learn soon enough that I’m telling the bonafide truth.
The android shrugged his shoulders. He didn’t know who to believe. Sure, he’d seen the excessive police presence and surveillance throughout the city, but his only experience with the Copper Eye had been a herd of robots trying to blow him to little bits.
“So you want to do something fun?” J’hath asked. “I don’t think the Librarian wanted us to wax philosophical the entire time.”
“Yes, definitely.” Proto Man replied as he sat down the nearly full container on the table. “What’s there to do around here?”
“Story mode.”
“Story mode?” The android asked, furrowing his brow as he smoothed out the fabric of his clothes. He hadn’t worn clothes since the end of his self-imposed exile from Monsteropolis, so it was strange to perss his chest and feel cloth rather than the skintight, armor-weave body suit.
“We’re in a book, remember? A few of the larger novels here have sandbox worlds where you can explore and do a bunch of other stuff—that’s where we are right now. Most novels and movies and whatnot just have Story Mode, which inserts you into the role of a character, any character. Most people are like, background figures, who just observe the action, and the people who love themselves a little too much tend to play major roles. It’s a lot of fun!”
“What do you portray?” Proto Man asked, intrigued by the concept of the interactive simulation.
“I like to play minor roles. You can swap parts, so I usually do that so I can always be in on the action. Especially for this story in particular.” With a grin, J’hath extended a hand toward Proto Man. “You already got the costume, so you ready for Scene 27?”
“What’s scene 27?”
“Just take my hand,” J’hath said with a grin as Proto Man reached out and clasped the other boy’s hand.
Everywhere flashed black for a moment, and when his senses returned, the android found himself below deck on a wooden ship. As he opened his mouth to speak, a cannonball tore through the hull a few inches away from him with enough force to throw him to his feet. Before he could properly react, he was being pulled to his feet by a grinning, grimy J’hath.
“Come on, man, we have a battle to fight! We can’t let those filthy privateers defeat the crew of the dreaded pirates of the Blight Runner!”
![[Image: proto.jpg]](http://epiqz.com/omni/proto.jpg)
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Dante's Abyss 2015
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