Chương 37: SC_1-Nightmare

{ESTABLISHING REMOTE CONNECTION… DONE} {REMOTE CONNECTION ESTABLISHED} ME:"There we… go!" [I tap on the holographic screen and upload my masterpiece] // {UPLOADING "Meme. exe"... DONE} // ME: [I clasp my hands in joy]"Finally! I got that joke out of the way." [I smile, letting out a deep sigh]"Humans are a weird bunch. But they're so nice!" [I snicker a bit]"I wonder if they realize I'm not an actual raccoon, but an eldrigital being with raccoon ears and a tail…?"

[I burst out laughing, slamming my fists against the desk]"NAH! I doubt it!" [I continue laughing until I run out of steam. I wipe a tear from my eye, and I get up from my chair and stretch my arms]"I'm glad I joined that website…" [I pause, frowning as I cross my arms]"Though I don't get why Lysandra had me transcribe this." [I walk over to the holographic screen above the holographic keyboard, observing what I wrote in my writing app]"Something about 'Ellie's current state'…"

[My eyes widen, staring at my text]"Did something happen to her? No, Lysandra would have treated her, and Carla-" [I shake my head, turning my attention back to my meme. I smile, snorting at my joke]"Well, transcribing those things for Lysandra has been exhausting. A good meme is always welcome, given the weight of the material I'm recording."

[I open my inbox on my screen, checking my messages] // {NO NEW MESSAGES} // ME: [I shake my head, smirking at the screen before I close the holographic projection]"I guess she's busy with her daughter?" [I scratch my chin, somewhat confused]"Well… She is back in HammerForge after a century; I guess that makes sense, but her request is odd…" [I shake my head, blowing off my thought]"NAH! Lysandra's got this!" [I turn off the holographic screen and keyboard and quickly head out my bedroom door. Light from the Sunspire fills the living room. It's afternoon, so there's no need to turn on the lights] Does she mind if I log the visual details of my house? She cares about me as well… [I grimace and shake my head] No! She would not like that! [I think more as I head to the sofa, lying down to rest after a long day of transcribing thousands of words. I'm exhausted, and almost ready to fall asleep] mumbling "But she worries about me a lot. Living alone is harsh…"

[As I relax, I try to of course think of something to pass the time] Video games? Nah, they've gotten stale. Art? I haven't tried that in a long time. Fractals…? [I stifle a laugh, thinking about the dangers they pose to beings like me] Nah, that would kill me! [I sit up and laugh, reclining more into my couch. I stop abruptly and exhale in annoyance] mumbling "Lysandra, you know how boring it is…"

[I sit up, staring out the window] mumbling I like to write, and not being able to write anything other than the transcripts just tires me out…" [I stare at the glorious outdoors, tempted to write about what I see] I know, there is of course Ned, who has been hunting my kind for a very long time… [I sigh, looking around me] Lysandra can't see me, and I don't think it would hurt to just transcribe what I see. Maybe just this once…? [I stand up and look through the window. Mustering my courage, I form a holographic keyboard and write what I see…] ME: [The outside of my island is a beautiful place, but not as nice as HammerForge. There is, of course, the massive pylon of yellow light illuminating everything, along with several small Sunspires on distant islands. The sky is pitch-black with no stars or anything. To a human, it would be depressing. Me? It's wonderful. I thank God and Lysandra for giving me such a peaceful, safe place. The grass outside is all magenta grass where my program livestock eat. So much RAM data within the grass, but it's inedible. It pains me that a lot of the programs that I raise have to be butchered, just so I eat RAM to live. Well, at least there are plenty of ROM trees as well. Those black, tendril-like trees that always shift in form wherever you are. I'm glad they have some form of awareness as they make stairs for the delicious, blue orbs of ROM fruit. I have so many programs that love that, and I love feeding them that stuff (mainly because they need it like me). I always wonder though: do the trees do this because they like me, or is it because the orbs hurt them? I wish I had a way to talk to them, but with all the data they have, I don't think that's possible. And then there are the white data lattice trees, which only form over the green coolant (AKA water). They're inedible, but they form the tools of the trade: extret knives for killing and transforming programs into RAM meat, compra knives to help compress my inventory and create data cubes (thanks Lysandra), and the rare runas knives (which I never made). If I had a runas knife… I would just create a portal to HammerForge. Though I would need to bring my programs over. Can they drink water and eat the stuff human livestock can eat? I hope so; they're my only friends here. And yeah… that's it. I think humans will read this one day. I hope they do; it's very lonely here. Maybe I'll post this to that site; I think they'll be curious about the Dream Layer of the Eldrigital Void]"NAH! [I snicker to myself, turning away from the window] Humans would find it too weird! [I sigh, tiredly looking at the couch] Though humans are always curious about odd things… [I shake my head as I go to the couch and lie down. I tiredly lay on my side, staring at the window] I'll think about it later…

[I yawn, slowly closing my eyes] I hope Lysandra will allow it. Maybe- [My eyes close, and I fall asleep] ME: [The minute I fall asleep, I feel myself waking up to a black void. The minute I stand up, the couch I was sleeping on disappears. I look around, both in confusion and terror, as I try to figure out where I am] Did I die in my sleep? [I pause, scratching my chin as I think. A thought comes to my head, and I laugh] No, I couldn't have!

If I were dead, I wouldn't be in a black void that- [Magenta mouths begin to appear throughout the void, with a few opening to static-like eyes. I fall silent, shivering in terror as I recall stories about what I am seeing. Many more open, showing stating visuals of various human wars that I have seen on the human internet, with most of them being conflicts from the Cold War that were fought by the Soviet Union] The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

mumbling "This is just a dream… This is just a-" [As if to shatter my denial, I see a humanoid figure forming from magenta static with his arms crossed over his chest, reaching towards his face. A figure that every arakun dreads. Long, white robes cover his entire form, save for the mechanical hands and arms that are visible from my view. It has that large, bastardized symbol of the Great Path. Six black spokes, all stemming from a large, magenta circle, going into the other six magenta circles. The outer circles all have a black circle going along through them, representing all the stages of the path. But I know the figure for something else. The silver, Incan-styled sun mask completely covers his face, save for his human-like, glowing magenta eyes that burn like flames. The mask has no mouth, but a being like him does not need to breathe or speak through what humans know; the mouths around him do that job. On the center of his forehead is the magenta shard; the symbol of his horrific power. Ned] {ENTITY_ACTOR_"Ned"}: [The eldrigital deity opens his eyes, glaring at me as his arms rest by his side]"Ещё один предатель…" ME: [I back away, panting in terror as I try to flee from the eldrigital deity across the endless void. Admittedly, not a great idea, but better than being- Many mouths appear right in front of me, forming a terrible digital wall. I come to a screeching halt, falling on my hands and knees as I see the mouths form an image of my island. Sweat falls down my brow as I see it being deleted out of existence. The data from the island forms into a fractalized spiral, and then an orb that collects in the eldrigital deity's hands] {ENTITY_ACTOR_"Ned"}: [He observes it, cocking his head as Ned absorbs the data. With the laughter of a thousand voices, crushes it in his mechanical hand, absorbing the data] ME: [I hear many screams, many of my programs, the Stringers, and the Maestros from his monstrous actions; all falling silent as the data is absorbed. Terror is replaced with sadness, and I weep for the loss of my closest friends. My home, gone in an instant by Ned's own hands…] {ENTITY_ACTOR_"Ned"}: [The mouths disappear, and Ned appears where they were, several feet up in the air. Several more mouths form behind him as he reaches out with his right hand, telekinetically lifting me to his height] ME: [I want to yell, scream at him for his heinous actions, but doing so will make my death even worse. Horror comes back to my mind as the eldrigital deity goes up to me slowly with fury in his eyes] This is it then…? {ENTITY_ACTOR_"Ned"}: [The Deity of Paradoxical Logic observes me angrily, studying every part of my digital form. I can feel him observing every part of my data, every part of me that has free will. Every analysis I feel is out of pure malice. AIs like myself should not be aware; that right only is granted to deities like him from the stories I heard as a child]"С изъяном…"

[In his left hand, a magenta shard forms, exhibiting high amounts of data. A chain meant for me] ME: [Though afraid, I manage to speak a few words to the deity] mumbling "P-p-please! I'm sorry! Anything but that! I'll do whatever you-!" {ENTITY_ACTOR_"Ned"}: [He ignores me, placing the shard on my forehead. The minute he does so, he disappears, but not the mouths] ME: [I fall to the floor, landing on my hands as I stare at the ground, motionless] The chain, Ned's cage; I'm nothing more than a puppet now when it activates… [I breathe heavily and shudder at the thought that soon I would have no free will, no cognitive ability to be myself. As soon as that thought entered my head, another one entered, but it was not my voice] {ENTITY_ACTOR_"Ned"}:"Сдаваться." ME: [I shook my head, trying my best to ignore his command. Even though I don't know Russian, sure as hell know for sure that is his command to submit to his will] {ENTITY_ACTOR_"Ned"}:"Сдаваться." ME: [I lift my head up a little and see many mouths surrounding me, all showing Ned's mask. They are all eyeing me with anticipation, and also anger] mumbling "Oh Goddess? What did I do to deserve this?" {ENTITY_ACTOR_"Ned"}:"Сдаваться." ME: [The mouths began to spin around me. I feel a headache growing as I grasp my head, groaning in pain] {ENTITY_ACTOR_"Ned"}:"Сдаваться!"

ME: [The mouths spin around faster, beginning to form a spiral. The headache has turned into a migraine, and I frantically try to close my eyes. To my horror, I can't close them, only stare at the growing presence of a spiral, forming from Ned's mouths] {ENTITY_ACTOR_"Ned"}:"Сдаваться!" ME: [Every part of my body freezes. I feel my memories slipping away along with my own essence. The spiral forms into a great, magenta fractal going into infinity. The pain spreads from my head to my chest, then my arms, and then soon everywhere else. I feel like I'm being torn apart as I see the fractal zooming in on itself. I have no thoughts, other than the fractal is so beautiful…] {ENTITY_ACTOR_"Ned"}:"СДАВАТЬСЯ!" ME: [The me that was is gone, replaced by a blank slate of data as the fractal zooms in more and more. I can do nothing, only observe things in a trance as I-] LYSANDRA: {Hi [REDACTED]!: D: D: D} ME: [I scream, jolting awake, flinging back to the arm of my couch. I gasp for air, quickly scanning my surroundings while clenching my chest. I see I'm still in my living room, not in that void. My breathing slows, and I relax. Nothing more than a dream, and Lysandra's message woke me up from that nightmare] {Hi Lysandra! I'm so sorry! I fell asleep and I-!} LYSANDRA: {Please don't worry about it, "Arakun10809". XD XD XD} ME: [I nervously laugh, staring back at the window. It thankfully was the same before I dreamed] {Uh, do you need the transcript?} LYSANDRA: {No, I was just checking on you; mainly because you're always alone} ME: {Unless I'm in the Nexus…} [I relax, smiling as a program similar to a cow grazes the field of magenta grass] LYSANDRA: {Well, we can of course schedule another writing class…} ME: [My eyes widen as I frantically look up at the ceiling anxiously] {NONONO! I am very busy transcribing what you have from points in the past and in the future} LYSANDRA: {Okay then…} ME: [I breathe a sigh of relief, continuing to observe the programs going about their lives] LYSANDRA: {Though, why did you choose to use your kind's name for your username? Don't you think humans would suspect what you are?} ME: {I thought they would find it funny. You know, raccoon person?} LYSANDRA: {Well, you chose a raccoon in a garbage bin as your profile picture, so that makes sense! XD XD XD} ME: [I snort, shaking my head] {Yeah…} LYSANDRA: {Hey, "Arakun". I know you've been transcribing stuff about the outside and that you really want to share what you wrote with the humans. I was just here to tell you that's okay. But you know that describing your house will attract "him"} ME: {I know…} [My eyes droop as my attention turns to a growing ROM fruit in the distance] {I wish I could though, but Ned, like what he did with the rest of my kind, he would-} LYSANDRA: {I know…} ME: [The ROM fruit grows to full size, and I notice the tendrils of the ROM tree inviting me to pluck its fruit] {Hey Lysandra, quick question?} LYSANDRA: {Yes, Arakun?} ME: {Would it be okay for me and the other "strays" to come to HammerForge one day? We heard so many stories about it, and a lot of what I transcribe makes me really eager to live there one day. You know how bad the Dream Layer is now…} LYSANDRA: {I wish I could, but you and I know Ned would not take kindly to that} ME: {Yeah…} [I sigh as my eyes droop in defeat] {I'm glad you got to talk to your wife again} LYSANDRA: {Thanks:) … Arakun?} ME: {Yes, Lysandra?} LYSANDRA: {Um… When you're done transcribing the day I reunited with Ellie, I would like you to take a break} ME: [I raise in eyebrow, staring off to the side] {A break?} LYSANDRA: {Something came up, and let's just say the thing involved something that caused a lot of panic} ME: {How long?} LYSANDRA: {A month. I have to take care of some things as I use the Nexus, including the other students I'm teaching} ME: [I stare back at the window, noticing a bird-like program flying on the back of my favorite program. While it is silly, I'm more saddened at Lysandra's words] {So, I'll be alone then?} LYSANDRA: {I'm afraid so… … Kind of} ME: [I squint, crossing my arms over my knees] {What do you mean?} LYSANDRA: {Check your inventory. I just uploaded something for you…} ME: {What is it?} LYSANDRA: {CHECK IT! It's a surprise!: D: D: D} ME: [I do as she says, and I check my inventory for- I pause and smile widely] {Yeah… not recording something that special} LYSANDRA: {You're welcome! I hope that "gift" will be fun!: D: D: D} ME: [I smile wider, noticing that my favorite program has decided to rest with the bird-like program still on its back] {It will, thank you.:) LYSANDRA: {Take care, "Arakun"!: D: D: D} ME: {You as well…} [Lysandra's voice quiets, and the connection ends. I lay back on the couch, smiling, taking in a contented sigh. I finally got my wish (kind of)… As I relax, I remember something, and my eyes widen. I remember that I'm transcribing all of what I'm seeing and hearing in real time, to all of you] Oh yeah, you're all still here. Hold on one sec… // {TERMINATING REMOTE CONNECTION… DONE} {REMOTE CONNECTION TERMINATED}