Code

Final Part: Code

The day I met Alexander’s father was so long ago, but still feels like yesterday. A lot of things that happen in the game remain the same, the NPCs, the landscapes, the storylines that avatars follow. But at the same time, everything is different. There is a new feeling of joy in the game. All of the code seems to be springing with new life. Everyone has learned to create new stories, think for themselves. Never has the game been so lively and popular.

            

             I hear that Alexander has been reconciled with his father. I’m still not sure how his father plans to get me to the real world, but I’ve heard that’s been one of his primary works in progress.

             And then, one day, it was done.

             Lilith said she received an urgent message. “It’s from the gamemaster!” she said excitedly.

            I opened, it with my hands trembling, afraid that it was too good to be true. “I can’t!” I said. “It’s too nerve-wracking.”

             Lilith laughed, a joyful sound similar to that of a burbling brook. Whenever I heard it, it made me feel good. I made me want to laugh and make her keep laughing.

             “Oh, you silly girl. Here, I’ll open it for you!”

             It read:

             I have found a way. Please come to the event room. I have something to tell you.

             Lilith practically squealed in excitement. “Come on! We’ve got to get you there! Fast!”

             I was practically pulled along by Lilith who seemed even more excited than I was. “Come on! Faster! Faster!”

            When I was finally there, I was escorted by one of the gamemaster’s guards. He had something in private to tell me.

             The gamemaster looked almost completely the same, his hair a tad whiter, perhaps, but nothing else.

             “Hello Martha,” he said.

             “Hello Patrick,” I said, remembering how he told me his name after I had told him mine. He continued to call me Martha anyway, but I didn’t mind.

            

             He had something huge in the event room, covered by a big, white tarp.

             “Is that it?”

             “Yup, that’s it,” he said, as he pulled off the tarp in a dramatic flourish.

             It was a big monitor, with a holographic keyboard. It didn’t look very impressive, but I tried to hide the doubt in my voice.

             “That’s going to send me to the real world, huh?’

             “Mmhm,” Patrick said, preoccupied in pressing certain buttons in a sequence that appeared at once very simple but complex.

             In the room appeared a swirling portal in which I could see the impossible expanse of the sky, meeting the sea, ground, and stars as it sung songs of unimaginable power. It sang of the unknown and the beautiful, almost seeming to pull me in with a strong, but gentle force.

             Patrick looked elated, but also worried.

            

“Now, I couldn’t manage everything on here. I have no idea where in the world you’ll end up, or how the people will treat you. And if you tell people your story, they probably won’t believe you. I don’t know if you’ll remember anything when you get there, but…” He handed me a card with a sequence of numbers. “This is my number. Alexander and I really want to meet you.”

“Well, are you going or not?”

In me struggled two powerful emotions. One screamed go inside! You’ve always wanted this!

The other was fearful. Are you really willing to let go of everything you’ve always known? What if they don’t accept you? What if you become even more of an outcast there?

Follow your heart. Never forget who you are.

 

I closed my eyes and jumped.

***

Cold. Prickly. Unknown smells. I gasp and sit up. Unknown eyes stare at me, a bit fearfully. I am sitting in a patch of snow. I smell something sharp and crisp, and realize I am shivering.

“Who are you?” someone asks. “Where did you come from?”

I stand up shakily. The card Patrick gave me is still in my hand.

“My name,” I say, “Is Code.”

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