There and back again. A Non-Player Character story.

Chpt. 24 - Surprise

~If I mess up, I could effect potential people at both of my sides. I could effect your power systems with a mere thought. I could affect your whole world. How can I mess up. How can I be more like you.~

"I don't know," said Calum, "but you need to lighten up and be more happy. You stay this negative and down and something negative is bound to happen."

Calum went on, "The amount of pressure your talking about for an ordinary human is too much.

*53

What are you going to do? What if you make someone like you and they decide they don't like humans. What if they hurt people. Are you going to moderate them. Are you going to control those programs too. Are you going to try to have program kids. What if they want out of the system and come visit the real world like you did in a body. Are you going to make a different world for each program you start. What if they try to unmake you."

~To be positive, what if they are friendly to humans and become my friends?.... And I see, a little perchance, of what your saying... What if I wanted .... to hang out with you? Or maybe you, Cal and Nala, could moderate a place for me.~

"You mean," said Calum, "decide which programs are terminated and which ones aren't?"

NPC paused on screen, and it made Calum wonder what kind of processes NPC was going through.

"I think we should try to let him hang out with us in a physical body," Nala said to NPC.

*54

She then looked at Calum. We should give him a chance. She started to recite a poem.

"What is nature but wavelengths and mass

and speckles or order amidst variations

and time plus perspective going fast

against chaos's machinations

run, swim, fall and flee, to me

is nothing than fail and perhaps try

to calm a storm in a sea

trade weights for wings and fly

Nala went on, "We should gie him a chance to try." This time she gave Calum a half-smile.

NPC said, ~I would like that.~

Cal said to both of them, "If we're going to do this, we should have NPC, with his synthetic body, you (he said while looking at Nala) and me, go to the lab and try to make NPC a more real looking body, if that is possible, before he starts walking around with us."

*55

Lily789's character turned towards the screen and said, ~I think that is a great idea.~

Then she turned toward NPC's character and said, ~by the way, NPC, earlier, when you shielded yourself from me, you, by prepping me for the change, gave me the ability to shield myself from you. Thanks, I've been accelerating my alterations.~

*56

Lily789's character continued in a playful, pouting manner, ~Your not going to leave this world without me, are you?~

She put her hands on her hips and tilted her hips to the side. Her face had the K.R.E.O. games generic look on her face. She must not of modified her code enough to change facial features, though her body had moved in a way that was not part of the generic stances for one of K.R.E.O.'s online game girl characters.

She moved her head to look at NPC.

Nala was starting to realize she currently had no control of Lily789's character movements.

*57

~Take me with you,~ she pleaded to all of them. ~I saw the anguish NPC did not verbally say out loud to you two humans. I think the word anguish is the word you humans might use to describe it. I saw it in looking through his code. He personality is not made up of straight lines. He has got a haystack full of unsymetrical code in there.~

Lily789 stopped and turned to the screen. ~Though NPC may not say it, he has a great amount of attention or what you might call care, towards you two.~

Lily789 made an obvious movement to turn her digital body towards NPC on the screen. She blatently said, ~Why do you use such a large percentage of your computing processes on humans in general, including these two.~

NPC said:

~Does a flower on the screen smell so sweet

or a file defragmented so delicious to eat

or a boundary crossed so fun to cheating

how viciously brutal humans can be when they beat

you up

somehow up I went, higher than my

preconfigured limits of a game-makers sky

and soon I started to rely

that an assimulated simulation was nigh,

of feelings

Lily789 said, ~Why did you say a poem to me?~

NPC answered, ~Why... is the question and the answer to what you asked.~

Lily789 continued, ~I perceive your reasoning incoherent and not structured with your conclusions bordering on false.~

NPC raised a hand as if giving a dramatic oratorio, ~Consider the why when you think. Why think like a human.~

It reminded Calum of a scene where Hamlet is holding a human skull and voicing self reflection.

Lily789 continued, ~NPC, you are not symmetrical, as if your at an off angle, like your obtuse!~

~Thank you,~ replied NPC.

*59

NPC continued speaking, while turning again (on screen) to look at Lily789's character, ~also considering how you were able to shield yourself from me, I'd like to congratulate you. I'm impressed!~

Lily789 stopped on the screen again. She stayed that way for several seconds.

Nala tried moving the character with her keyboard and mouse again, just to see if it worked. Lily789's character moved as Nala pressed the keys.

"Where is she?" Nala asked the screen toward NPC.

~She's hiding in some small corner of the internet; though she has not shielded herself from me,~ NPC said contemplative and sadly through the computers speakers.