Chapter 1. Prototype
"Uh, where am I?"
Archie woke up in what looks like a throne room of a palace court.
It is really look like a throne room. But there's no throne in here. It's also looks abandoned for a long time based on the state of it's structure.
Light cascading though the broken window glass.
The walls, ceiling, or even the floor that he currently sitting are all marble white. Even though all looks old and chipped that even some that has a chunk missing. It still gives off a comforting feeling that you know you are in a safe place.
'Oh, maybe this is a church.' Archie mused himself.
He tried to stand up and he realized that someone is also here.
He's just right beside him. It's a man in his teens. He's still asleep.
From what he sees, he just looks like him.
No, he looks exactly like him. His face, his body, everything on what made himself him is also what he seeing in this man.
'Wait,' he thought.
"August?" He suddenly ask.
***
"uh.." August was not happy when Archie always wakes him up.
"It's... Saturday Archie... Let me be" August grumbled.
"Look around you."
"I know it's morning but just let me sleep more." 'Uh,' August thought. his neck, it sore. Did Archie took his pillow again?
"Cmon bro, give me my pillow back." He tried to reach it from him but Archie is still not giving it to him.
"I didn't take it bro, and there's no pillow in here. We're not even in our room."
"What nonsense–" August reluctantly force his eyes open and notice that they're are not really in their room.
"Where are we? Are we kidnapped?" August force himself to stand up and look at his twin brother.
"You know we try the prototype console that dad send us from his work." Archie said after he remembered what is really happening.
"Oh" August said like he didn't mind what his brother just said and continue to inspect himself. He's also fascinated at the technology to recreate it all. It's realistic.
"Wow..." He said.
"I know."
"Where are you going?" Archie saw August walking farther from him after he inspect around the place.
"I'm gonna look outside. It's supposed to be a new game so I wanna see what other miracle our dad made other than us." He said while he continue to walk to the only door that we saw.
"Wait! I'm coming with you!"
Archie chase August outside.
The rock debris are scattered everywhere and that hurts his feet. He don't have a slipper or any clothing and wearing only a pair of boxers. well, and so is August.
"Where do you think are we?" He ask August.
"I don't know, but I'm pretty sure that this game is corrupted. Why is this place all black?" Archie look on what August is looking after he catches up.
"...Yeah. I know that dad was still developing this game, but to think that it is still in this progress was highly unlikely. He won't send us a blank program." Archie said. He don't know why, but except on here, everywhere around the establishment is a black void.
"Maybe dad really struggled to make it super realistic that's why this is the only place that he only made yet."
"Maybe. We should go back inside bro. Maybe there's something there that can help us." August said then he turns back in.
"Yeah." They both walk back from where they've first been.
"I just notice that there's something drawn on the floor here. Is this a ritual circle?" Archie said while looking carefully on the drawings. It glows white that is so subtle that you won't notice unless you really stare on the white marble floor to see the difference. He can't read the inscription around and inside it. Maybe because it's not supposed to be read in the first place.
"Hey, look at this." August said while standing on what looks like an altar.
"What's that?" Archie ask while he looks on the glowing orb. It is golden in color with bluish hue as big as a basketball and is floating on the pillar like altar at the center of the innermost part of the chamber where the throne is supposed to be. If this is a throne room.
Before Archie got near to August, August suddenly touch the glowing orb. Then August suddenly hear a voice.
Ting!*
[System Control acquired.]
'It sound like both me and Archie that are reading it in monotone' August thought without Archie's knowledge.
[Accessing database...]
Then Archie saw August getting disintegrated into a glowing particles and it mix in the glowing orb, he got nervous on what is happening.
[Assimilating...]
August sure that it clearly sounds like himself now. He cannot feel his body anymore but he's not disturbed by it. As the orb is now getting bigger. Five times it's size with the light pulsating from dim to bright like it's alive.
Then the light brightens up more that Archie's eyes were now getting sore as he still observing the orb's outline being molded into becoming of a human shape. Being molded into August.
[100% complete.]
The light dies down until Archie saw August again in his nude form with it's eyes and hair glowing bluish gold and that also died down right after.
"So it really is nothing."
"What nothing?" Archie ask.
"This," then August, point both of his hands upwards.
"This game." Then, August look around the place for the second time but now it's like his eyes is seeing something else.
"You know this system that makes up everything is still operational and running." August said.
"Well, I know that because we're not gonna be standing here conversing and instead, we are still waiting inside of our own room like a clown if the system didn't work at all."
"No!, what I'm saying is that why did dad gave us this if he did not even started making anything and just leaves us with the admin control?"
"admin control?" Archie asked.
"Yeah, wait." Then his eyes emits a very subtle light and then he lift his hand upwards then suddenly, something materializes around on both of us. Both of us are now wearing our usual clothes.
"Oh, thanks for that. I really feel cold ever since we arrived here. And I'm sure you feel much colder when you are practically naked right after that shining phenomenon." Archie said talking about the orb situation. They both didn't even realized that they are getting cold inside the simulation.
"You can also do this too. Don't you have an access? Why don't you try?" August suggested.
"Um, how?" Archie asked, confused.
"You just need to think of it." August said also getting confused.
"...Not working bro." After Archie thinks hard with squinting face.
"Wait, you really don't have access? No way! Try to swipe down the air using your left pointing finger." August suggest the manual way of access.
"Nothing bro." Archie tried many times, almost swinging his whole arm but to no avail.
"Try the right." August suggested the [Guest user] access function where the players will be using. And with his first try. He succeeded.
"It works!" There's now a floating translucent panel menu in front of Archie. He first look at his status.
Ting!*
[Status:
Unnamed Guest User
Data Type: Sentient Entity
Age: 43 minutes
Rank: Guest
Permission Access: Guest Provided control
Data type Status: Excessive simultaneous data equation to properly comprehend data algorithms.]
"What....?" Archie was confused. "I am an unidentified species?"
"Let me see." Then August inspect Archie's status after he got near him.
"Why is this like this? What about you?" Archie asked. Then August got curious too so he open his own panel. His menu was different from Archie when he saw his [System Administration Command Panel]. So he command it to show his status using the command deck.
[Admin:
Administrator
Data Type: Sentient Entity
Age: 45 minutes
Class: Sole System Possessor
Full Access: System Control Administration
Status: Analyzed Administrative Data... 58%]
"Okay, that's more... complicated. But hey! Your the admin!" Archie said.
"Maybe we should log out first." August said and Archie Agreed too.
August commands the system to log him out but...
Ting!*
[Log out command has been initiated.]
Ting!*
[Disconnection to the system has been initiated.]
Ting!*
[System failed the [Admin] to disconnect from the system.]
Ting!*
[Log out command has been denied.]
"I can't log out." August said to Archie.
"What? Try it again."
August tried to log out again but it is still the same.
"Why?, why can't you log out?" Archie asked.
"I don't know....wait." 'I want to analyze the cause of the error.' August commanded.
Ting!*
[Analyzing the problem....]
[Initiating command simulation to further analyze....]
Ting!*
[Analyzation complete.]
[Result: system did not found a connected External Bio-Drive.] Then notification starts to pop up one by one.
[Problem: [Admin] can not seize full authority of the system without disconnecting to the External Bio-Drive.]
[Reason:
- System do not have access to terminate the process of transferring authority to [Admin].
- System is in the process of transferring authority to [Admin] thus system still does not recognize the [Admin] thus can not have an authority to ask permission to [Admin].
- System does not have other [Admin] recognized to ask permission.
- System only option is to copy the External Bio-Drive functionality to data algorithm and insert it to system database for later [Admin] access without permission.]
"External bio-drive?" August don't understand, what is External Bio-drive.
"What external bio-drive?"
"I don't know, but it sound like my External Bio-drive cannot be detected and is gone that's why I can't log out."
"Bio? Like biology? Is there a bio substance included in the headgears? Can even a bio substance be functionable inside this small compact headgear? But from what I know there's no bio substance in there except to our body. That's the only biological here. Heh, It's not like your body is gone now right?"
"..."
"..."
"I–I wanna log out! Damn! There's no logout in my option!!" Archie shouted while frantically looking at his menu.
"Wait! I'll create one for you!" Then a message pops out in front of Archie.
Ting!*
[Do you wish to log out?]
"Yes!!"
Then he's turning into a light particles. Disintegrating into nothingness. He looks at August and said. "I'll log in again after I inspect the problem outside. Okay?"
"I'll be waiting."
[Logging out... Success.]