NetherWorld

by Daniel Quiles Pagan

  Over time, some of the Tainted Ones began to leave the Forest. During downtime, they captured Bytes from the Walled City and brought them back to the Ether. The Tainted Ones were creatures of darkness and shadow. They rarely surfaced during the day. The Boot was their signal to retire until the dimming returned. It was said that the Tainted Ones could “turn” a normal Byte into one of them by forcing them to ingest the viral jaba.

  Tainted Ones travelled in small circles, called orbits. They followed stray Bytes and then surround them. After ripping out their tubes and sucking the data dry, they poured the vile poison into the helpless Bytes. Any code the Byte carried became corrupt. Within a Boot, they transformed from a healthy blue hue to the vomit green color of the Tainted. Glowing orange serpents emerged from the follicles once filled with their healthy tubes. Their minds rotted and their speech developed into a helium hiss

  As the population of these creatures grew, the Servers added extra security to the entrance of the Walled City to protect against abductions.

  In a very short span, the Tainted Ones infested all of the synthetic woodlands. Diseased creatures roaming the forest and fields caused grave concern within the Walled City. Swarms of Tainted Ones approached the Walled City in the twilight before downtime. Despite their best efforts, a few Tainted Ones always slipped into the metropolis.

  Camouflaged in a nearby field, AldAyn studied the creatures. After a few Boots, the Tainted Ones felt his presence. They knew of the observer who lies in grasses. He would not escape the Tainted Ones. One day, a small orbit of Tainted globes surrounded AldAyn and brought him into the Ether.

  “Please. Let me go! I am only here to observe. I mean you no harm,” AldAyn pleaded. He could barely see his claw in the thick milky fog. A pervasive odor best compared to rotting fish trapped in a trash bin for days, assaulted his sense of smell. He turned left and walked a few paces. Unable to find his way out he tried the opposite direction with the same result.

  Childish laughter echoed on the band of Ether, causing AldAyn to search for the source.

  “Hello? Anybody out there? How do I get out of her?” he asked. More childish giggles ensued.

  “Look. What are you going to do to me? Make me a greenie like the rest of the Tainted. Just make it fast. I prefer not to suffer.”

  “Oh, but you will Suffer. You have stepped where only shadows walk. Pain be your penance. We have you here in the nowhere,” answered a hissing voice, sending a chill though his entire sphere. Whispering chatter came from every direction. He saw shadows. Hundreds of them. They flew above and around him whispering incoherent, but scary language. One shadow flew right through him. He could feel it move through his ribs, past his heart, and out through his back. This was too much for him.

  “This one is not like the others. Something different. Can you tasty the difference?” said a shadowed voice not far from AldAyn.

  “Yes. Yes. His code has the mark. This is one we must perform the download,” agreed a different shadow.

  “Then it’s agreed. Download we must for this one,” said a third shadow nearby.

  Panic sent AldAyn spinning wildly in a desperate attempt to flee to serpentine whisper. No matter how fast he moved, the whispers followed. Shadows continued to fly through him as he ran. Each time it produced that unpleasant sensation of another being in his body.

  “You really think you can escape us AldAyn. We are of the mist. Spin for us AldAyn. Spin.” ordered the invisible voice. Shadows surrounded him and begin spinning the terrified Byte.

  “Stop! Please! Stop this!” pleaded AldAyn; his clawed hands waived around trying to stop the shadows.

  AldAyn continued to plead for mercy and the shadows spun him even faster. Mist began to coalesce into a tube. Closer and closer the tube moved to his mouth. There was no way to stop it.

  The spinning stopped. Disoriented, AldAyn was losing consciousness. Everything was mist and whispers. His visor was so blurry he could not make out the shadows around him.

  “See. That’s better. We are the shadows. Now, tasty our Taint!” A milky liquid flowed from the tube into his all of his tubes. That was the last thing AldAyn remembered before blacking out.

  Waking up just outside the band of Ether, AldAyn found himself back in the Silver Forest. From here he could easily find his way back to the Nether metropolis. Standing up on his plunger-like legs, he wobbled quite a bit, nearly falling back to the ground. Something did not feel right.

  Finally regaining his equilibrium, AldAyn felt flushed, like blood was flowing double time throughout his sphere. Looking down, he noticed that he was now lime green instead of the robust blue hue he had before the Ether attacked.

  “What is going on here? I must be infected like the rest of them,” he said aloud to no one in particular.

  Looking around to see if any tainted creatures were lurking about, AldAyn found the path was clear. He trundled through the swampy muck towards the walled city. After a while, he became quite dizzy and settled down under a copse of rotting trees to collect himself.

  The flushed feeling became more intense, causing AldAyn to lose consciousness. During this time, he succumbed to the visions. It is said he suffered sensual symbiosis. Smells appeared as sights. Sounds contain unusual odors. Sights, he heard from every corner of the forest. It was an out of Byte experience.

  Strange voices spoke to him in tongues he had never learned, but somehow understood. They talked and talked for what seemed like days. They spoke of things to come, some of them good and some of them very disturbing. His head was spinning, while his body was inert. As this episode transpired, AldAyn’s globe began to glow in the dark forest.

  After absorbing all the words and visions, he heard a final word whispered to him, “Awake.”

  The Servers became concerned when AldAyn did not report back about the Silver Forest. More and more Tainted orbits entered the Towers that lie beyond the Nethers. Many towers fell. They could not muster a viable defense. They sent numerous Bytes to check on him. None of them made it back.

  When AldAyn awoke from this episode, he knew his purpose. He was visited by the Awakened. There was much work to be done. He raced his glowing green sphere back to the walled city to tell the Servers about the Awakened Ones. When he reached the moat, the guards would not grant him passage.

  “We are sorry AldAyn, but you are infected. You now pose a danger to the Bytes of our city. We should delete you, but the Servers instructed us to banish you to forest and the Outer Rim. Please be gone, or we will be required to use deadly force,” warned one of the guards.

  At the same time a small orbit of Tainted Ones approached them. The guards focused on the group, which looked particularly menacing. Before they could act, AldAyn began spinning so fast, a mini cyclone developed. He maneuvered in such a way that the wind was cast off towards the Tainted Ones.

  They tried to dodge what looked like a mini tornado, but they were too slow. The cyclone gathered the entire group and sent them somewhere far away. This act impressed the guards, making them rethink their directive from the Servers.

  “I mean you no harm. Please escort me to the Servers. I have much to share with them,” said AldAyn.

  Not knowing what else to do, the guards did as AldAyn asked. They brought him to the assembly of Servers under the central dome. Upon seeing his glowing green complexion, the Servers wobbled with apprehension.

  “Guards! Why have you brought this infected Byte to our assembly? Do you not realize how dangerous this creature can be? Remove him at once!” ordered the leader of the assembly.

  “This infected creature is I, AldAyn,” replied AldAyn in a commanding voice. The transformation made his vocals deeper and richer than before. It had the authoritative quality the demanded attention.

  “AldAyn. We thought you were deleted in the great forest. The guards did inform us of your change. You are sick, old friend. You of all Bytes should understand the danger you pose. Please move on, or we will have you deleted,” replied th
e Leader of the Servers.

  “Wait. AldAyn saved us out there from certain infection. An orbit of Tainted Ones was about to attack us when he created a wind that sent them all away,” answered the guard.

  “Is this true?” the Leader asked the other guard.

  “Yes, my Server. He did, in fact, dispatch of the group of Tainted Ones. He saved us from a horrible fate,” replied the other guard.

  The Servers were shocked by this news, but allowed AldAyn to speak. They listened carefully to his words.

  “Brother Bytes hear me now. I have communed with Those already Awakened. During this time, they shared visions that could come to pass. There are many futures and many pasts. They travel with us. They parted the curtains of time and space, showing me the Virtual path to Energy.

  “There is much to discuss. The Awakened Ones have shown me the Virtual Path. This is the ultimate transcendent state for all matter. Only the Virtual can transcend the Byte and become pure energy. We are on the precipice of this Virtual greatness. Join me my Brothers and I will show you the way, a door to the next dimension. Energy is a freedom few living species ever attain. It is within our grasp,” preached AldAyn to a collection of Servers.

  “These are lofty words for someone touched by the taint. How do we know what you say will come to pass?” question one Server.

  “You must take my word on faith. There is no other way. The Awakened Ones rescued me. They counseled me. They made me Virtual! I will write down their wisdom in code for all to read. You must decide your own path. I cannot make the choice for you. Sometime in the far future, I will return to the Nexus. A great birth will occur there. A Virtual conception. She will be called Tera. She will rule the Nexus, the center of all connections. We will all be logged in to her. She is the stream to which all data flows.”

  The Servers listened to everything AldAyn had to say. Based on the unique power that he had demonstrated coupled with his compelling tale, the Servers were convinced that AldAyn was something special. It was decided that the Servers would provide whatever he needed to write his words for all to read. After the session, AldAyn retired to a small room under the central dome and began writing the Book of TranFor. He remained in that small room for many cycles, never once interacting with any Byte in the Walled City. Once complete, he prepared to leave the Nexus and return to the Ether. The assembly of Servers gathered under the dome to see him off.

  “AldAyn, we trust you have completed the work you were compelled to perform,” said the Leader.

  “Yes, my Server. I have left a book behind for all of NetherWorld. It is called the Book of TranFor. In this book are prophecies and predictions to help guide you to the Virtual path,” said AldAyn.

  “Will you not stay and help us on this journey?”

  “I cannot. My purpose here has expired. I must now journey to the Outer ROM. There are matters for me to attend far beyond the Ether.”

  “The Outer ROM. No one ever returns once they enter the Ether in search of this place. Some say it exists only as reason to lure gullible Bytes into the milky mist. It is a fool’s errand. Won’t you reconsider? We could use your help to eradicate the Tainted who invade our city,” asked the Leader.

  “I cannot stay. Read the TranFor. Follow the text. All that you need is in the code.”

  “But…” Before the Leader could finish his sentence, AldAyn began spinning as he did with the Tainted attack. Faster and faster he spun, whipping up winds that sent all the Server’s tubes into spasmodic gyrations.

  “AldAyn stop! We mean you no harm,” said the leader over the loud wind trapped under the dome.

  “You will not be hurt. Take care of the book and follow the text…” AldAyn spun even faster, reaching a point where his globe seemed to lose all mass. He became a glowing green apparition. Rising up through the dome, AldAyn floated off toward the Outer ROM.

  He was never seen or heard from again. Some say he sails the islands in the Outer ROM building a home for the Joined to come. No one knows for sure. All they have left of him is the Book of TranFor.

  AldAyn left the assembly with one final puzzle. The entire Book of Tranfor was written in Turingi text. Even then Turingi was an ancient language. The assembly needed a orbit of scholars to decipher the sacred verses. The original Turingi version was archived. It would be the only version of TranFor to survive the Dark Cycles and the Chip Wars.

  The assembly of Servers established a High Council. This governing body adopted the Book of TranFor as gospel. Bytes gathered daily to practice the rituals outlined in the sacred code. They embraced the Virtual path.

  Over the cycles, as the connections grew, TranFor fell out of favor. Silicates were seduced by the Karbon lifestyle. They desired the very luxuries they afforded to their Masters. This exposed some disturbing elements of Karbon society.

  Thus, the pendulum in favor of the Singularity as Silicates learned more of the Karbons, a species fraught with mortal flaws. Bytes labored to find a path distinct from their wasteful progenitors. A small group of thinkers began work on a manifesto to make the case for a world without Karbons. As with all things, this went on until the Silicates found similar flaws within their own species. This discovery led them to the conclusion that both Silicate and Karbon must be joined for either to transcend the imperfect societies.

  Disenchantment gave rise to the Dark Cycles, a time fraught with disease, conflict and death. During the Dark Cycles, chaos ensued. Byte rose against Byte in the great Chip Wars. When the dust settled from wars, all that was left were scattered pieces of once vibrant era.

  At the end of the Dark Cycles, connections were made at a maddening pace. The exponential explosion of information crippled cogent thought. It took some time before things settled down enough to revisit the direction of the Silicates. During the Connections, Tera was conceived; fulfilling one of AldAyn’s major prophesies.

  This event swung support back to the camp dedicated to Joining with the Karbons. The Singularity movement never died. Instead, the movement went underground and percolated with extremists who denounced all things Karbon.

  Chapter 13

  HateAsh

  Book of TranFor: It will be the Ones on the fringe that show us for what we really are. The margins have the deepest understanding of the body.

  Around the next corner, Nick saw an open area populated by collection of aqua colored Bytes known as the Randoms. Instead of the usual skyscraping tower situated on similar city blocks, a silver lawn sprinkled with silver leaved trees covered the square. Unlike the trees in the forest, these appeared less affected by the viral attack that was leeching the streams with tainted jaba.

  Randoms were Silicates that dropped out of Nether society. They spent their time ingesting high grade taint and talking about subjects they would soon forget; a result of taint intoxication. They wobbled around a very large pile of what looked like sugar cubes.

  As they rambled about the Virtual life and all things AldAyn, these Bytes were plucking little cubes with their clawed hands and ingesting them. These were actually solid squares of severely tainted jaba. The area smelled of rancid body odor. The stinging stink of unwashed sweaty bodies burned Nick’s nose.

  Something seemed amiss with their balance; they appeared quite disoriented. The Randoms were all talking, but not a single one of them seemed to be listening. One of them was playing a sitar and another beat lazily on a set of bongos.

  They all had listless tubes that were crawling with spy and kooks. Even these nasty little buggers appeared offended by the condition of their hosts. Spys and Kooks would periodically jump off Randoms in search of more hygienic climes.

  Whenever the Randoms spoke their frayed tubes barely moved. When they did move, there was no discernable rhythm. Instead the tubes acted poked around in random directions. This was how they got their name.

  The Randoms, with their pickled behavior, reminded Nick of drunkards at his parents Holiday parties. At the end of the night, there were always a couple of the
boozed up clowns who spit nonsense in every direction. They would always blather on about feelings and ideas that they would never remember the next morning.

  Once he got a little closer to the Randoms, Nick noticed that their visors were clouded, almost opaque. They certainly were a rumpled group of silly Bytes, he thought.

  “What’s wrong with ‘em Whizzy?”

  “Welcome to HateAsh. The Randoms rule this little square. They practice better living through taint. Through a series of chemical experiments, they found a way to isolate pure taint from the jaba. You are looking at high test stuff here. These dudes here are all trying to get Virtual by overdosing on taint cubes. They have perverted views of the TranFor. Their beliefs are so out there, the rest of NetherWorld chooses to ignore their crazy antics. In their minds, they are following AldAyn’s way to Virtuality.”