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The Power Surge
by Al's Waiter
Disclaimer: Ian Pearson, Gavin Blair, and Phil Mitchell are all
real people with real lives, working at Mainframe Ent. I do not
know them. I'm only
using their names in my story. If you are one of these people
that I have just named, I hope I haven't offended you and that I
have portrayed
you properly.
Bob, Dot Matrix, Enzo Matrix, AndrAIa, Matrix, Mouse, Ray Tracer,
Frisket, and Phong are all property of Mainframe Ent. They are
not real
people with real lives. They do anything that the writers and the
animators have them do.
Ryan Quinn and Yvonne LeBlanc are people that I have created.
They came out of my imagination and do not really exist.
Scene: MAINFRAME ENT.
Ian Pearson walked quickly down the corridor towards the
conference room. He was carrying a folder filled with new story
ideas for the Shadow Raiders TV show. Ian had spent all night
thinking up new plots for the new CGI program produced by
Mainframe Ent. Mainframe Productions was doing excellently with
its two new seasons of Beast Wars and Shadow Raiders.
The first CGI program had been ReBoot, a story that takes place
in a small town within a PC computer. The first two seasons of
ReBoot had been very successful and the third season had been fun
to create, but the funding had dropped, so a fourth season was
almost out of the question. Ian wasn't worried. They had two
shows with strong ratings, so, they had lots to work with.
As Ian walked through the double doors of the meeting room, Gavin
Blair greeted him warmly. "Hey Ian!" Then Gavin saw the
exhausted look on Ian's face. "Whoa! You look really
beat!"
Ian let out a small 'heh...' with a hint of a smile and sat down
next to his companion. "I hate those all nighters. I swear,
I'll never do it again!"
"Oh, I'm sure you'll have plenty of them in the
future." Gavin grinned evilly
Ian smiled wearily, "That's what I'm afraid of."
One by one, more people began to file into the conference room
and sit in their usual spots. The meeting was going to be
starting very soon, so Ian got up from where he was sitting and
went to his place near the head of the long rectangular table.
After several minutes, everyone who had to be there had arrived,
taken their seats, and prepared to present their ideas for the
Shadow Raiders and how the production of the episodes were coming
along. Soon the meeting was in full swing.
~*~*~
Ryan Quinn looked inside the PC monitor at the jungle of wires
and switches. Wow! I can't believe that I actually got this job
with Mainframe. This is incredible. Ryan had loved CGI ever since
he had seen the movie 'Tron' when he was 6. It had seemed so
real, so life like. Since then, he had watched computer graphics
greatly improve and when ReBoot, the first CGI program came out a
few years ago, he'd been hooked on Mainframe Entertainment
Productions.
Ryan reached inside the monitor to find the problem in the
wiring.
He missed his family back home in Halifax, Nova Scotia but he had
traveled across Canada for this job. He wasn't going to quit
because of homesickness. Mainframe had asked for a computer
programmer to program and repair broken machines; Ryan could do
that! Here's my chance! he thought when he had first read the
advertisement in an 'Animation' magazine and applied for the
valuable position. "Well, here I am" he said so quietly
that only he could hear. "Now let's try and fix this hunk of
wire and plastic."
~*~*~
Scene: SYSTEM OF MAINFRAME
"So what's wrong Phong? Why is the system
all shut down?" Glitch-Bob asked the old sprite.
"There is something wrong with the core..."
"WHAT?!" everyone exclaimed.
"A core malfunction?!" Matrix shouted over the sudden
commotion. "This is bad..."
Phong raised his hands to quiet the startled sprites. "Do
not worry, my children. It is not serious. It is being repaired
as we speak. Binomes are working around the clock to get the city
back on-line. All we can do is sit and wait."
Matrix, who hated waiting, let out a deep breath and quickly
strode out of the room. Little Enzo hopped off a stool and ran
after him.
~*~*~
Matrix sat outside of the Principle Office, looking at the sky.
What does the User look like? This question had been going
through his mind ever since he was a young sprite. Younger than
little Enzo. The thought had popped up in his mind more
frequently when he, AndrAIa, and Frisket had been game hopping.
He didn't want to know what the User looked like in the Games, he
already knew that. He wanted to see the one that was said to live
outside the Net and input games for pleasure. No one was
completely sure of this, but it seem extremely possible. Why else
would the User keep doing it?
Matrix was so deep in his thoughts, that he didn't hear young
Enzo quietly walk up beside him. "Um... Matrix?"
Slightly startled, Matrix quickly twisted around to see who it
was. Seeing the younger, smaller version of himself made him
smile. "Hey" he said softly.
"Hey" Enzo repeated just as quietly. He smiled
nervously and scratched the back of his head. "Um... you
busy...you know...doin' anything, well...important?"
Matrix's smile grew a little and gently shook his head. "No.
Have a seat." he said as he patted the spot beside him.
Little Enzo sat down and began swinging his legs. There was an
awkward silence for several nanos, then Enzo broke it
with..."What are the Games like, Matrix? I mean...Game
Hopping, what's it like?"
Matrix looked at the young sprite in surprise. He hadn't expected
that question. "What's Game Hopping like?" Matrix
repeated the question while trying to think of a reply.
"Well, it's like being in a strange place, (say it's a Game)
you defeat the User, then you're in another strange and different
place."
"No," Enzo shook his head quickly. "I mean, what's
it like LIVING in the Games? Not living in a system."
"Oh..." Matrix looked at his back-up with a little more
understanding. "It's hard to describe. When the Game leaves,
it seems like the whole world disappears and you disappear with
it." Then Matrix grinned. "It kinda tickles too."
Little Enzo smiled back at his answer.
Matrix continued. "Like when your foot falls asleep, but
it's only for a nano." Then he stared off into the sky
again. "It feels like
you're floating, half consciously." Matrix's gaze went back
to Enzo. "Another thing is...you don't really have to eat,
but you get
really hungry and thirsty in the systems really fast! Then the
Game starts again. Whether it's in the same system or not.
Usually
not, but there are some Users that would play the same game
repeatedly." Matrix scowled and looked over the silent city.
"That would get my back-up every time!" A nano-second
passed before Matrix realized what he had just said and he looked
apologetically at his back-up. "Sorry. That just slipped
out."
Enzo let out a small laugh. "It's okay. I have to get used
to the idea that there's two of me too, and," a little
quieter, "that I'm not the original."
"Don't worry Enzo. Actually, you are more of an Enzo Matrix
than I am. I changed a lot after I lost that Game. I wish I could
go back and change the things that I did. You still have your
life ahead of you..." Matrix lowered his head as he let his
voice trail off.
Silently, Enzo placed his little hand on Matrix's muscular
shoulder and there they sat, side by side, sharing a comfortable
but sad silence between them.
~*~*~
Scene: MAINFRAME ENT.
Ryan scratched his head and looked down at the tangled mess he
had made with the circuits, wires, and plastic pieces that had
been, a few minutes ago, a computer. "The new ones are so
different to the ones I'm used to fixing, but there's nothing I
can't do" he thought to himself. "All right you
dipswitches!" he said quietly, quoting his favourite of
Bob's sayings, on ReBoot. "Prepare to meet your
programmer...ME!!" With that he began to reassemble the
computer monitor.
~*~*~
Ryan sat back, and drank the last of his third mug of coffee.
"Finally!" he shouted happily, inside his head,
"Now you can take a nap." he thought jokingly to
himself. He sat forward, and flicked the computer on.
~*~*~
Scene: SYSTEM OF MAINFRAME
A deep low boom sounded as the system came back online. The sky
brightened to the cyan blue from the mix of purple and
orange. The information started flowing, cars and zip-boards
started working again, and the city became alive once more.
In Dot's Diner, seven sprites enjoyed their free energy shakes.
AndrAIa, Matrix, and Little Enzo sat in a booth together. Little
Enzo, feeling slightly more comfortable with the older, larger
version of himself, was rattling off question after question to
Matrix. "How many games have you been in? What did the user
look like? In each game? Can I go with you next time... if there
is a next time?" Matrix could only smile and shake his head,
Was I really like this? he thought.
Bob, Dot, Mouse, and Ray sat in another booth. They were telling
stories, catching up on news, and listening to Ray tell of the
different places and systems he had visited. The tales he told
made the group roar with laughter.
After only a few stories, Dot's sides ached. "Ray," she
sighed. "Please no more. I can't take it."
"You 'aven't heard anythin' yet, Love. I've got lots more
where they came frum." he grinned.
Bob took a sip of his shake, just as Ray told one his funniest
anecdotes yet. Bob had to stop himself from spitting out energy
shake and spreading it all over the table.
"Ray, sugah, save some for later." Mouse giggled while
holding her sides. They felt like they were going to burst if one
more tale slipped from the surfer's mouth.
Bob agreed. "We have to think of a more pressing
matter," he said, suddenly turning serious. "Like the
Super Virus infecting the entire Guardian collective and, in
doing so, taking over the Net." The smiles disappeared from
all of the faces of those who were sitting at the table and they
nodded grimly. "We have to think of a battle plan."
Matrix's ears perked up at 'battle plan', but not wanting to
worry Enzo, he pretended he didn't hear it.
Dot was about to speak her mind on subject when a thundering
crash interrupted her. It echoed around the system until it died
down.
Dot stood up. "What in the Net...?!"
A vid-window appeared in front of her. "Dot!"
"What is it, Phong?" she inquired quickly. "What's
wrong?"
"The core!" Phong managed to choke out in his panic.
"Power fluctuations. It is highly unstable! It is going to
crash!"
All of the sprites stood straight up. "We're on our way,
Phong!" Bob said, peering sideways into the vid-window. The
vid-window closed and all the sprites were outside.
Dot took out her zip-board. "Enzo," she said sternly.
Matrix and Enzo both turned and looked at her. Remembering then
that she had two brothers with the same name, she turned to the
younger one. "I want you to stay at the Diner. We will
contact you.."
Feeling left out again, Enzo let out a disappointed
"Awww..", threw up his hands in exasperation and began
walking obediently
towards the Diner.
Matrix's eye followed him, sympathetically. "Enzo,
wait," he called after him. Enzo stopped and slowly turned.
Matrix turned back to his sister. "Let me look after him. He
won't get in the way. I promise." A smile appeared on his
face as he looked again at little Enzo.
Dot's gaze ping-ponged between her bothers and she made a face.
Enzo, seeing that he might actually be able to go, folded his
hands and walked toward Dot.
"Please Dot. I'll be on my best behaviour. You won't know
that I'm there."
"All right," she said slowly but finally and quickly
turned to the others. "We've wasted enough time. Let's move
it people!"
Enzo looked at Matrix who smiled and winked.
Everyone hopped onto their zip boards and headed towards the
Principle Office.
~*~*~
Dot , Bob, and Matrix stood bent over the system map of
Mainframe, looking for any disturbances and further trouble.
AndrAIa, Mouse, and Phong scanned the core, searching for
solutions that just seemed out of reach at that moment. Enzo
quietly stood out of the way, gathering what information he could
get without saying a word.
"This is NOT good." Bob was worried. Nothing like this
had ever happened before. Then again, before the system crash,
there was no record of any Sprite, Binome or other wise surviving
after a system crash. There had to be a way to survive this. He
looked at Dot. Her face was filled with concern, for the system
and the ones she cared about - that meant everyone in Mainframe.
Bob smiled. She made a terrific Command.com.
All of a sudden, the room was filled with a shrill siren, warning
that something else had just gone wrong.
"Phong..." was all that Dot could say.
"I am checking, my child!" Phong replied frantically as
he typed with speed he had never accessed before. "Oh
dear..." His voice was a frightened whisper. "The core
is over-heating. There is nothing we can do." He sadly hung
his head and rolled away.
Fear appeared on everyone's face. NOTHING? The siren was
deafening amongst the sprites' silence. There was no time to
evacuate the system. Everyone was doomed to deletion.
Dot walked towards Bob and they held each other close. Matrix had
his arm around AndrAIa's waist and squeezed. It wasn't
exactly the end he had pictured, but the end comes when it comes.
Mouse and Ray held each others hands tightly. They had only known
each other for a few seconds, but they had many things in common,
so it almost felt as if they had known each other forever. Ray
looked at the pink sprite. She glanced at him, then got a certain
look in her eye. This look had come into her eyes once before;
when the system was crashing. She and Ray had kissed for six
nanos. It was the first time they had kissed, but not their last.
Ray smiled, he knew what was coming. He was ready for it. Mouse
took him by the shoulders and held him in a long embrace.
Enzo looked down at his shoes and began to shake with fear. He
had nobody to comfort him. He was alone again. This is what
Matrix must have felt, he thought. Enzo let out a sigh and
waited.
Matrix kissed the top of AndrAIa's head, heard Enzo's sigh and
looked up. Seeing him on the control board by himself made Matrix
sigh. At least he had AndrAIa now. Enzo didn't have anyone his
age. "Enzo" he called quietly.
Enzo sadly looked up and saw Matrix making a motion to come
beside him and AndrAIa. He got down off the control panel,
hurried over to Matrix, grabbed his hand and squeezed.
Matrix smiled. This was like having a younger brother; something
he had always wanted. Matrix looked down at Enzo, and
squeezed back. Frisket ran into the room and bounded up to Enzo.
He tilted his head and whimpered.
"Warning! Core temperature reaching critical levels,"
the system voice announced the oncoming doom.
Mouse finally let go of Ray and both of them walked out of the
Core Control Centre to look over the system one last time.
Bob watched the group of three sprites and a dog left across from
him and Dot. Matrix had come so far; looking for Mainframe from
across the Net, finding him in the Web and now this. And poor
young Enzo; he was scared. In fact, Bob himself was scared. What
was after this. He didn't have much time to think about it,
because a blinding flash of light filled the room, consuming
everyone in it.
Scene: MAINFRAME ENT.
Ryan sat in front of the computer screen, testing the former
faulty program, when Yvonne LeBlanc walked up to him. She was a
SGI animator for Mainframe from Ottawa, Ontario. Her computer had
crashed early that morning and needed to get back on it to
continue working on the Shadow Raiders series. "Can I use my
computer yet?" she smiled. "Or is it still out of
commish?"
"I'm just checking it right now." He said without
looking up. "Everything looks pretty good so far," he
said more to himself then to Yvonne. "I think it's ready to
continue animating," he said as he stood up and let Yvonne
sit down in her chair.
"Thank you very much Ryan. Now I have to stay in a few extra
hours to get caught up, but that's okay. I love it here!"
She smiled warmly and started up Softimage to begin working
again. Suddenly, her computer started smoking, sparking and all
around noise making. "Aw, cripes! What's wrong now?"
Ryan's eyes widened. He grabbed Yvonne and moved quickly away
from the giant fire hazard. Just then, Phil Mitchell rounded the
corner with Gavin Blair. The meeting had gone well and they were
just continuing the discussion on their way back to their offices
to finish up the work for the day.
Gavin saw the smoking terror first. "What in the world?
What's going on?" He coughed from the ever accumulating
smoke.
"I don't know, Gavin." Ryan replied through his shirt.
He was using it as a smoke screen but it wasn't a very good one.
"I thought I fixed that thing and then it just went
haywire!"
"Well, someone get that computer to stop!" Phil shouted
over the noise. Suddenly, a huge white light exploded out of the
top, sides and screen of the computer monitor. The group covered
their eyes and prepared for the explosion. Then, just as quickly
as it had started, the light was gone. The computer ceased to
spew smoke and sparks.
The four humans opened their eyes and looked at the burnt mess.
To their shock, six figures were standing beside the computer
surrounded by smoke and they were coughing.
Ryan tried to peer through the smoke to see who had gotten to the
computer. Two of the figures were really tall and seemed to be
male, two others looked female and there appeared to be a small
child and a ...dog??!
The figures began speaking. "Where are we? Are we
dead?" choked the tallest one.
Ryan paused. He KNEW that voice! But from where?
"I don't think so." said a female beside the tall one.
"I think we'd know if we were completely deleted."
All four Mainframe employees looked at each other.
"Deleted??" They said in unison.
The smoke cleared and standing in the room was ...Bob, Dot
Matrix, AndrAIa, Matrix, Enzo and Frisket.
"Oh my..." was all Gavin could muster.
"What in the world??!" Phil exclaimed.
"This can't be...." Yvonne was stunned.
Then the five sprites saw the humans standing across the room,
staring at them. Their eyes widened as well.
"What in the Net...??!" Bob gasped.
Ryan stepped forward. "No... not in the Net. You're outside
of the Net. And I have an idea that I'm to blame...."
Finish of Chapter one.