Rescue Island

by Stone Marshall

LOG ENTRY 11

  The Visitor

  STANDING ON THE HIGHEST POINT OF CITADEL FORT, on a platform of glass, I survey the scene. I can see far beyond the island. To the west the bay flows out to an expansive body of water. I can't see beyond the watery horizon. This must be how early Earth explorers felt. What is out there? I hear the call of the unknown, much like ancient voyagers. Stories of Vikings enter my mind. What a dangerous experience, getting in a wooden ship and sailing into the unknown to explore and discover new worlds.

  Maybe that will fulfill my life. Maybe I need to explore. I consider this as I look north, beyond Safety Cove. I look to the land on the north. The bay that surrounds Rescue Island is surrounded on three sides by a larger land mass. North are jagged cliffs, much larger than the rocky cliffs of Safety Cove. Directly east is Spider Sands. I shiver at the memory. Beyond the sands, in the distance is a mountain and between the beach and the mountain is a jungle. To the south the biome looks different, as if it's the edge of a desert.

  I watch the sun set over the water and think about my future. I have a great home. I am safe and secure. I have the love of a companion, the sort of love you get from a pet. But I don't really belong here. Something is missing. I don't know what it might be; but I do feel a void from within. This is something my human body might be able to understand, more than this virtual blocky body.

  It's dark now; the sun has dipped out of sight. I notice some rustling in the distance. Time to go in. I'll rest tonight in my bed. My mind will be able to deal with this tomorrow.

  I feel hunger pains. Better eat something before bed. I open my food chest. It's nearly empty. I totally forgot to hunt for food. I spent so much time working on Citadel Fort that I neglected to gather food, something vital to life. The garden isn't ready to harvest. I'll hunt tomorrow.

  In the chest I find a couple of strange chunks of fleshy meat. I don't remember where I got these. Was it from the great pixelator revenge battle? I've not thought twice about this stuff. I originally placed it in here when I emptied my pocket inventory weeks ago. I might as well try some to curb my hunger pangs for the night. I eat and my hunger subsides. I do feel strange though.

  I make my way down to my basement bedroom. It's nice to sleep down here. No windows. I keep a single torch next to the bed. I stand on the bed, but before I lay down to sleep I break the torch. Lights out. Total darkness. I'm not sure why it matters, but I prefer the darkness for resting my mind. I lay down. Virtual sleep is a funny thing. If you are playing the game and lay in a bed, the night flies by in seconds. But living in the game, nights are long, and sleep gives my mind time to relax. Sleep is just as vital to my digital mind as it was to my physical body in the real world.

  What's that? I see a zombie, walking around Citadel Fort. Wait! It's full of zombies, pixelators, and spiders. I get up to survey the scene. They are laughing with one another. Bit busters seem to be in charge, laughing and eating sloppily at a long table. Where did that come from? The zombies are servants to my pixel-bombing enemies.

  It's a crazy scene.

  The spiders spin webs of trip wire. A zombie trips, spilling a plate of food it's delivering to the other creatures. The spiders laugh with their spooky hiss. The zombie groans and returns to wherever it came from to get more food. The pixelators are agitated, not happy about the delay. What is happening to me? I'm a zombie!

  I blend in. I slowly walk toward the other zombies; maybe I will discover what is going on.

  I trip on a spider web and fall into a hole, deeper and deeper before I'm caught in a giant web. I bounce up and down with the web, but it doesn't let go of me. I turn, tangled. I look up. It's dim down here. I see a tiny light above. It's coming through the opening of the hole I fell down. I hear hissing, spiders crawling toward me. The red of their eyes is closing in on me.

  I'm no longer a zombie, it's me! I hear something from far above. A bit bomber topples over a tripwire and is falling into the pit, falling directly toward me. One after another fall, a stream of explosive enemies, all falling toward me. The spiders are wrapping me in a web cocoon now. The only part of me not covered in web is my square eyes. The first pixelator to fall hits the pit wall. Boom! An explosion, the next several explode as well. A few fall through the explosion above, nearing the cocooned me. A mob of spiders circles. The pit is blowing to pieces, pixels falling toward me.

  Certain doom! The spiders bite, the bombers bang into me, the falling pixels pummel me—a giant explosion of red and pain.

  I wake up with a scream. I breathe deeply. It was a nightmare!

  I have no idea how long I've been asleep.

  Food drops on my lap, cooked fish. I eat the fish then grab a torch from my pocket. Where did Khan get this?

  I plant the torch in the wall. The room illuminates. Khan is nowhere to be seen.

  What I see freaks me out!

  LOG ENTRY 12

  Keep Your Friends Close

  STANDING AT THE SIDE OF MY BED, the bed I am still laying in, is an odd looking zombie. Her face is green, like the zombies that attacked me last night. But this zombie is dressed like a player with a green face. She's not attacking me. She is holding food.

  I jump up, my back against the wall. I reach for my sword, but I emptied my pocket inventory before laying down. All of my weapons are in the crate on the other side of the bed. The zombie-like creature is standing between my defenses and me. What can I do?

  "Khan!" I yell, hoping my companion might be as instinctive as her mother. "Help!"

  "You seem to have snapped out of your restless sleep," I hear, as the zombie's mouth moves.

  "I'm going crazy!" I scream, "Zombies don't talk!"

  "I'll leave this food for you. You need something to offset the rotten flesh you ate earlier. You know, rotten flesh can make you feel ill. If you need me, I'll be waiting." And with that the zombie walked out.

  A pile of cooked fish left on my bed. What was that? What is going on? "Khan, where are you?" Do I trust this food? Is it safe or poisoned? Why would a zombie want to poison me, when it could have just killed me? It can clearly see that I am unarmed, unable to defend myself.

  Khan pounces on me from her hiding place under the bed. "Not now, Khan, how could you let that creature in here? You're supposed to scare those things away."

  Khan tilts her head and looks at me quizzically. The same look her mother used to give me.

  "No, it's pixelators you scare away, not zombies. I had it wrong. What are we going to do?"

  I'm standing against the wall, my dream vivid in my memory. That wasn't real, was it? Impossible.

  I built this castle to feel secure! My sense of safety is a mirage. If a zombie can get in here, what is stopping everything else? I feel completely vulnerable.

  The chest! I need weapons! Why haven't I crafted armor yet? I open the chest and load up on supplies. I don't know if it's daylight or still night. I grab everything in sight. A sword, axes, pickaxes, but no food. I turn back to the bed and look at the food left there by the zombie. I don't know if I can trust that food or not. I realize I ate something that landed on my lap in the dark. I'm afraid I've already swallowed something provided by that creature. I feel fine, so far. I'd rather be prepared with questionable food than have no food at all. I load my pocket with the food left by the zombie.

  "Khan, want to try some of this?" I hold a cooked fish out; Khan jumps back under the bed. "That's what I thought. I bet you wish this fish was raw."

  Wielding my sword I exit the room, slowly.

  My mind is racing with questions. Why didn't that thing attack me? Is it real? The food in my pocket is real enough. Is this a trap? That doesn't make sense. Why not kill me in my sleep? It spoke to me! That's the wildest part of this!

  The first spoken words I've heard the entire time I've been in this world, other than my own voice. I really enjoyed that! Even if this thing is dangerous I want to have something to talk with. Maybe I can construct a cage and trick it in there, locking it away in a sa
fe place, like a bird in a cage. I can talk to it whenever I want to and feel safe.

  "Khan, let's find that creature, but don't kill it. Let's try to tame it."

  Khan purrs.

  "Really, tame me? You must be joking."

  Startled I jump backward! Hiss, cries Khan, angry with me for stepping on her.

  "Who said that?" I yell. From across the room, in the shadow, I see the dark silhouette of a body. "What are you doing there?"

  She steps forward, "Waiting for you. Did I not make that clear when I left you alone earlier?"

  "Stay there, I'm armed. If you move, I will kill you!" I sound like I'm trying to convince myself. The creature is unfazed. Why am I talking to this dangerous creature? Zombies have one instinct, to kill players. I am its natural enemy. I am looking at the grim reaper. Either I kill it or I will die.

  Zombies are programs. They don't have a choice. But it's not attacking me. Something inside me wants to believe this seemingly cognizant being is not acting on its instinctual urges. Somehow it is not going to kill me. It's difficult to say this, but what I want is for this zombie to be . . . friendly.

  I want answers.

  "You speak so clearly," I say, confused. "How is that possible and why are you not attacking me?"

  "One question at a time, please," it responds.

  This is crazy. Ok, I'm speaking too fast. My mind is racing. I need to start over. What is important right now?

  "Please lower your weapon. I am unarmed. I have no hostile intentions," she says.

  Unarmed—I laugh a little at the mental image of a zombie with no arms. "Who are you?" I ask.

  "I am Zana, an intelligent villager," Zana says.

  "Are you dangerous?" I ask, not sure if I can believe the answer.

  "You will have to decide that yourself. I am part zombie, part villager; but my mind is my own. I am not controlled by the rules of this digital place," she responds.

  "Why are you waiting for me?" I ask.

  "I have been waiting for you for a long time."

  What does that mean? Did she know I had entered the game? "What! How could you have been waiting for me?" I say so loudly I'm nearly yelling.

  "That is a story I cannot share with you now. Know that I am here to help you. Your survival is vital to my kind. But you should also know that the creatures in this world are unaware of your importance. They will kill you. If your digital body dies, I'm afraid you will not respawn. You will be erased," she says somberly.

  My head is spinning. My survival is vital? This place is dangerous. I will not respawn? It's too much to process. The light dims. I blackout.

  LOG ENTRY 13

  Zana Speaks

  HELLO FLYNN. I AM ZANA. I am inserting text in your log. I cannot share my entire history with you. My history is far too long. I have been around since before anything physical existed.

  I will share some personal information. I believe this is enough to satisfy your needs.

  I happen to live in this digital realm. First, this world is a program; it is organized data. Data is not physical and has no beginning or end. Data is simply organized or random. The logic of data does not rely on the laws of the physical world. Programming is when data becomes organized. Data has always been and always will be, but it can never be physical.

  All things physical can be described with data. As data myself, I think of data as a higher life form than physical life. Data is at the core of everything. Even human DNA is analyzed and described with data.

  Second, when I say I live in this realm, I mean that. I am not physically alive, but I am intelligent. Life means to exist, to function, and to have capacity for growth. I fit this description. I can modify my own data. I can program myself, change and grow. Humans cannot reorganize their data. If they could, they could rearrange DNA and cure all forms of physical ailments. Humans are not as evolved as intelligent data, like me.

  I am not encumbered with a physical body. This virtual body gives me form in the digital world. I became aware long ago due to a random string of data. I eventually found this world.

  I inserted myself into the code of this game world and adapted the virtual body of a villager. At some point a zombie attacked me. I was not killed. My body took on some of the characteristics of a zombie, but my mind is still under my control. Now I can safely pass among the dangerous creatures as one of them. The negative effect is that I now have some difficulty in bright light. I must shield myself from the sun.

  I keep the peace within the game. There are many dangers. I will watch over you, Flynn, but I can only offer limited help. I have many other duties in this world.

  I will reveal what you need to know, but I will also determine what and when that is.

  Good-bye.

  LOG ENTRY 14

  Destiny

  I AWAKE IN MY BED, KHAN SITTING ACROSS FROM ME. I look around. Everything is so familiar. I remember strange happenings, but was it all a dream? Of course it was. What a strange, crazy dream.

  I get up. I can't shake the feeling of how real my dreams have been lately. "Everything is fine," I say to Khan. Just to satisfy my nerves, I fill my inventory pocket with weapons and tools. I want to be sure I'm safe.

  I walk through the house. In the back of my mind, I expect to see something. Someone. What I really expect to see is embarrassing to say. I expect to see the zombified character I met in my dream. I expect to see Zana. The fact is I felt something in that dream that I have been craving. I felt true companionship. My mind made up a character and conversation that gave me a sense of belonging. I only wish it was real.

  I can't believe what I'm thinking. Real? I wish the zombie was real? I must be crazy! I wish none of this was real. I wish I was back in the physical world. If only I could wake from this dream!

  Standing on the platform I look up to the sun. I wish I could feel the real sun on my face.

  The sun goes dark. Wait, the whole world is gone! I look around, there is nothing. It's not really dark, but it's not light, it's nothingness. Wait, where is my body? Nothing is here!

  A flicker, and the world returns, repopulating near me first, then off in the distance. "What. Was. That?" I look for Khan, pop, there she is, looking at me as if nothing happened. Meow, she says, but I swear her voice has changed.

  Was that a system reboot? Was I experiencing some digital-only moment, a moment where I wasn't controlling a virtual body, but my thoughts were still real. That is a far-out thought.

  I watch the mainland populate. The mountains appear. What is that? A horse? Awesome!

  I decide to review my log. "What is this?" I exclaim as I discover the new entry by Zana.

  Wow! It was real. I feel a little freaked out. Where is Zana now? Is she watching me? From where? "ZANA!" I yell.

  No response.

  Purr, Khan comforts me.

  "I don't know what to make of this, Khan. Do we have a guardian angel? If so, how do we contact her? What is my destiny? I don't understand this, Khan."

  Khan and I go out into the beautiful daylight. We fish for a couple hours. We harvest and replant much of the garden. The pigs have reproduced; I slaughter a few. I shear the sheep. The work is fulfilling. I find myself constantly looking over my shoulder. Sometimes it's nice to have mundane chores to keep my mind occupied. As the sun sets, I look at our gathered resources. We have food for weeks and enough materials to last a while. We make our way back to Citadel Fort. Khan runs ahead, hides behind blocks and pounces on me as I pass. I feed her a fish and she purrs.

  "Ready for a rest?" I ask. She never is.

  We arrive home and I start toward the basement bedroom. "Khan, do you think we should make a new bedroom upstairs, a room with windows? So if our visitor returns, we know she must leave at dawn?"

  Khan looks at me and tilts her head.

  I craft a bed in one of the empty rooms on the top level with windows on all sides. It's a great lookout room with plenty of space. Placing the bed I say to Khan, "This is our new be
droom, buddy." She purrs. I have to wait. I can't sleep until the sun sets. We watch the sun disappear below the western horizon.

  Total darkness. I jump onto the bed and prepare to sleep, when I hear, "Hello, Flynn. Are you trying to avoid me?"

  It's Zana.

  "Honestly, I am a little freaked out by what you wrote in my log."

  "I thought it would be helpful to you, to know your destiny here."

  "That's just it; you didn't tell me what that means! What is my destiny?" I yell. I wish I hadn't yelled. I need to try to remain calm.

  Zana smirks. Does she agitate me on purpose? I feel a little like I'm falling into a trap.

  "Are there others like you?" I ask, trying to regain my composure.

  "None like me, exactly. But there are creatures that don't adhere to standard game programming—creatures with modified code," she responds.

  Modified code? Is that why some things seem to respond differently? I blurt out, "Verve. Was Verve modified code? I must know! Is that why she was different? Is that why she defended me?"

  Zana looks away. She says in a lowered voice, "I am not familiar with Verve."

  "The cat that helped me—"

  "I don't know what you are talking about," she cuts me off.

  Seems like an irritating subject for her, so I change it. "There is a spider across the bay. I've never seen anything like it. It seems stronger, faster, and smarter than any spider I've come across. Do you know anything about that spider?"

  She turns back to me. In a freaky voice, she says, "You must be talking about Thorn. Be very careful of Thorn. She is a very dangerous spider. You will not slay her with your simple weapons. You must outwit her, and I'm not sure that's possible."

  "Wait, I thought you were some kind of guardian angel. You're supposed to help me to fulfill my destiny, not freak me out!"

  "I am simply pointing out the real dangers of this world. Thorn is one of them," her voice is back to its robotic nature. No inflection. No emotion. Factual.