Gamers' Challenge

by George Ivanoff

  8: Sanctuary

  Zyra hastily led the way into the Temple of Paths. Tark brought up the rear, shutting the door to the vestry behind them and letting the drape fall into place. The monks were doing their usual thing - kneeling, chanting and occasionally prostrating themselves.

  ‘What if this doesn’t work?’ demanded Hope.

  ‘Well, if they start to break into here, I’m banking on the monks noticing it,’ said Tee. ‘They’re programmed to protect the Oracle at any cost.’

  Tark stepped up to Tee, standing right in front of him, where he couldn’t be ignored. ‘Wot dids ya mean about Zyra and Hope bein’ togetha?’

  ‘I had hoped to explain this properly under better circumstances,’ Tee said. ‘But I suppose I’ll have to tell you, now.’ He indicated the step leading up to the altar behind which the red-robed monk silently kneeled. ‘You had better sit down.’

  ‘More secrets,’ Zyra whispered to Tark, as he joined her. ‘Why can’ts he just gives us the whole story?’

  Tark and Zyra sat down together, Hope a little to the side of Zyra. Tee stood before them, addressing them as if he were making a speech.

  ‘There is a cheat code,’ began Tee.

  ‘Actually, there’s more than one,’ corrected Hope.

  ‘Yes, thank you, there is more than one,’ said Tee, a hint of irritation in his voice. ‘But let me deal with one thing at a time. There is a cheat code, handed down -’

  ‘Wot’s a cheat code?’ asked Zyra.

  ‘It’s a code that lets you cheat,’ stated Hope, flatly.

  ‘Oh yeah, great.’ Zyra glared at Hope. ‘Thanks. That explains everythin’.’

  ‘It is a code,’ Tee quickly cut in, ‘that contains instructions on how to circumvent the will of the Designers.’

  ‘Instructions?’ Hope’s voice rose in pitch and she snorted in a half laugh.

  ‘Yes, well,’ Tee corrected. ‘It’s more like a series of hints. Or a prophecy. It has been passed on from Outer to Outer over many series of repeating characters. In fact, the previous Tark gave me it. And the Tark before gave him it. And so on, all the way back to the original Tark and Zyra.’

  ‘The original us?’ asked Tark.

  ‘That’s right,’ said Tee. ‘It seems that they may have been the first Outers. Or so we think. It was a very long time ago. No one knows how they came upon the cheat code, only that they -’

  ‘Cuts ta the chase,’ Zyra interjected. ‘Wot does it says?’

  ‘It says a lot of different things.’ Tee paced about in front of the others. ‘Most importantly, it says that two generations together, parent and child, a father and son or a mother and daughter, will have the ability to travel between the game worlds.’

  ‘Anyones with a key and enough money ta getsinta Designers Paradise can gets inta other worlds,’ said Tark.

  ‘Yes, but Zyra and Hope, together, in theory, don’t need a key or money,’ said Tee.

  The monks’ chanting echoed around them, as Tee paused to let his words sink in.

  ‘Wow!’ Tark looked at Zyra with wonder in his eyes. ‘Who woulds have thunk ya’d be so special.’

  Zyra punched him on the shoulder, and then looked at Hope. ‘How?’

  ‘No idea,’ said Hope.

  ‘That’s the problem,’ Tee admitted. ‘The cheat code is not very specific.’

  ‘Well, wot does it says?’ Zyra rolled her eyes and huffed. ‘Exactly?’

  ‘Exactly?’ Hope mimicked. ‘Zero. One. Zero. One. Zero. Zero. Zero. Zero -’

  ‘Shuts up!’ yelled Zyra. ‘Wot’s with ya?’

  Hope produced a handheld screen from a pocket and tossed it to Zyra. Tark leaned over and the two of them saw a stream of green numbers scrolling across the screen.

  01010000 01100001 01110010 01100101

  01101110 01110100 00100000 01100001 01101110

  01100100 00100000 01101111 01100110 01100110

  01110011 01110000 01110010 01101001 01101110

  01100111 00101100 00100000 01110011 01100101

  01110000 01100001 01110010 01100001 01110100

  01100101 01100100 00100000 01100010 01111001

  00100000 01100111 01100101 01101110 01100101

  01110010 01100001 01110100 01101001 01101111

  01101110 00100000 01100010 01110101 01110100

  00100000 01100011 01101111 01101110 01101110

  01100101 01100011 01110100 01100101 01100100

  00100000 01100010 01111001 00100000 01100111

  01100101 01101110 01100100 01100101 01110010

  00101100 00100000 01100001 00100000 01100111

  01100001 01101101 01100101 01110010 00100000

  01101110 01101111 00100000 01101100 01101111

  01101110 01100111 01100101 01110010 00100000

  01100001 01101110 01100100 00100000 01101111

  01101110 01100101 00100000 01110111 01101000

  01101111 00100000 01110111 01100001 01110011

  00100000 01101110 01100101 01110110 01100101

  01110010 00101100 00100000 01110100 01101111

  01100111 01100101 01110100 01101000 01100101

  01110010 00100000 01100011 01100001 01101110

  00100000 01110100 01110010 01100001 01110110

  01100101 01110010 01110011 01100101 00100000

  01110100 01101000 01100101 00100000 01110111

  01101111 01110010 01101100 01100100 01110011

  00100000 01101111 01100110 00100000 01110100

  01101000 01100101 00100000 01000100 01100101

  01110011 01101001 01100111 01101110 01100101

  01110010 01110011 11100010 10000000 10011001

  00100000 01101101 01110101 01101100 01110100

  01101001 01110110 01100101 01110010 01110011

  01100101 00101110 00100000 01010100 01101000

  01100101 00100000 01110000 01100001 01110010

  01100101 01101110 01110100 00100000 01100100

  01100101 01100011 01101001 01100100 01100101

  01110011 00101100 00100000 01110100 01101000

  01100101 00100000 01101111 01100110 01100110

  01110011 01110000 01110010 01101001 01101110

  01100111 00100000 01101001 01101110 01101001

  01110100 01101001 01100001 01110100 01100101

  01110011 00101110

  ‘Ya thinks ya is so clever,’ said Tark, glaring at

  Hope. ‘Ya is nuthin’ but -’

  ‘Would everyone please calm down?’ Tee did not shout, but he injected his voice with authority. ‘We don’t have time for bickering.’ He stepped forward and snatched the screen from Zyra.

  ‘It’s binary language,’ he explained, tucking it away into his pouch. ‘Translated, it says: “Parent and offspring, separated by generation but connected by gender, a gamer no longer and one who was never, together can traverse the worlds of the Designers’ multiverse. The parent decides, the offspring initiates”. I think this is why the VIs have gone on the attack. They are trying to keep Hope and Zyra from using the cheat code. Zyra is the parent, the one who is no longer a gamer, the one who can decide on a destination. Hope is the offspring, the one who never was a gamer, the one who initiates the jump from one environment to another.’

  ‘So wots do we do?’ asked Zyra.

  ‘You and Hope need to figure that out.’

  Zyra looked over at Hope, who glared back at her.

  ‘Hangs on a tick,’ Tark interjected. ‘I still don’t gets wot’s so special about these two. Couldn’t some others motha/ daughta team do this jumpin’?’

  ‘There are no other children.’ Tee’s voice was quiet and low. ‘No Outer has ever had children before. And Zyra - my Zyra - died during childbirth.’ He turned
away. ‘There is no other parent and offspring that can be teamed. We’ve waited a long time for a new Zyra to join us.’

  ‘Oh,’ Tark whispered.

  ‘I was assuming we’d have plenty of time to work it all out.’ Tee rubbed a hand across his tired face as he turned back to the others. ‘But it seems that the VIs are determined to stop you.’

  At that moment, the monks stopped chanting andraised their hooded heads.

  ‘Look!’ Tarkjumped up and pointed towards the vestry door.

  A pinprick of light emanated from the centre of the drape that hung in front of the door.

  ‘Looks like we’re not safe in here, either,’ said

  Hope.

  ‘So we better figure out how to get the two of you to jump,’ said Tee.

  The light from the drape intensified. Slowly, thefabric was being eaten away. The red-robed monk behind the altar rose to his feet.

  ‘The safety of the Oracle is threatened.’ His voiceboomed through the Temple. He nodded to his monks and two of them got to their feet, approaching the door. The first of the monks drew a sword from beneath his robes, the second a loaded crossbow.

  ‘They know what’s going on?’ said Hope to her father.

  ‘The VIs are absorbing the door,’ explained Tee.

  ‘I was hoping the monks would perceive the threat.’ The first of the monks flung aside the drapeto reveal the VI, larger than it had been before, practically filling the doorway. The second monk shot two bolts from his crossbow in quick succession. Both bolts were wiped from existence within seconds. The mass of static moved forward a few centimetres, but stopped just inside the doorway, unable to move further. It pushed forward, something forming deep within the undulating greyness - something with claws and teeth. The first monk stepped forward and lunged with his sword, plunging the blade into the heart of the writhing ball of static. Monk and static both froze. The sword was deconstructed and absorbed, the monk following suit - robes, skin, innards.

  The air was torn asunder as the horrible shrieking sound echoed through the Temple.

  Hope looked to her father. ‘The monk was an essential character?’

  ‘The monks are the guardians of the Temple of Paths and the Designers’ Oracle.’ Tee smiled at his daughter. ‘They are all essential.’

  ‘Ya knew thats would ‘appen?’ asked Tark.

  ‘I suspected and hoped.’

  They watched with relief as the VI was sucked into the Interface and the monk replaced. But their smiles quickly faded. With the doorway cleared, they could see that there was litde left of the vestry, and that three more oversized, amalgamated VIs waited, roiling and writhing, something dark moving within each. And beyond them, blazing through the sky, dozens more were racing to join them.

  9:Jump

  ‘Protect the Oracle,’ boomed the red-robed monk’s voice.

  The first row of monks threw their robes off. Beneath, they were dressed in black, with a multitude of armaments attached to their belts. They drew their weapons and headed through the door. Seconds later the screeching sound of the tearing environment ripped through the Temple.

  They all stared silently out through the door - Teescratching thoughtfully at his beard; Hope nervously taking her pistol in and out of its holster; Tark and Zyra quietly holding hands.

  ‘Wot does we do now?’ Tark let go of Zyra and clutched his crossbow with both hands, his knuckles white.

  ‘We stay put,’ said Tee. ‘We’re safe in here for the time being. The monks will keep the VIs busy.’

  ‘For how long?’ asked Hope.

  ‘Indefinitely, I suppose,’ said Tee. ‘The monks will just keep getting replaced. And I assume there’s a finite number of VIs.’

  ‘Ya assumes,’ whispered Tark.

  ‘And if there’s an endless supply of VIs,’ said

  Hope. ‘We’re trapped!’

  ‘Well, then,’ said Zyra, desperately trying to keep her voice steady. ‘I guess we needs ta works out how tajump.’

  ‘Sure,’ replied Hope, throwing her arms out.

  ‘Because it’s that easy.’

  There was another round of screeching from outside.

  ‘We has gotta do sumthin’,’ yelled Zyra, her fac;ade crumbling. ‘Maybe all we’ve gotta do is thinks it. Or touch hands. Or sum thin’.’

  ‘Oh, yeah. That would be it,’ Hope yelled back,pacing in front of Zyra. ‘Let’s just shake hands and

  J.Ump.’

  ‘You never know,’ said Tee, calming himself and looking at Hope. ‘It may work. And we’ve got nothing to lose.’

  Another row of monks threw back their robes and strode towards the door. As they passed Zyra, she thought that one of them looked at her, the corners of his mouth curving up in a slight smirk, his dark eyes twinkling. Zyra shook her head, wondering if the stress was finally getting to her. The monks resolutely headed out through the vestry door, as more screeching blared in from outside.

  ‘If more monks is needed out there-’ Tark pointed out.

  ‘- there musts be even more of ‘em VIs,’ finished

  Zyra.

  ‘Whats if more and more of ‘em keeps coming?’ asked Tark. ‘Enough ta swarms over this place?’

  Tee looked intently at his daughter, his eyes silently begging her cooperation.

  ‘Fine.’ Hope walked up to Zyra and stuck out herhand. ‘Shake.’

  Zyra reached out a hand and took Hope’s. Nothing happened.

  ‘See.’ Hope snatched her hand back and folded her arms.

  ‘Ya ain’t even tryin’,’ said Zyra, coming to stand face to face with Hope. ‘Concentrate, will ya?’

  ‘Don’t you try telling me what to do.’ Hope raised her voice. ‘It’s not like you’re actually my mother.’

  ‘Well, I is the closest thingya’ve gots,’ Zyra shouted back at her, pushing her face up to Hope’s so that they were almost nose to nose. Then Zyra took a step back and turned to Tee. ‘Is I enough?’ she asked in an almost whisper.

  Tee didn’t hear. He was too busy watching the monks. Another row had just exited and the red robed monk was now disrobing and drawing his scimitar o’light.

  Zyra tapped Tee on the shoulder. ‘Is I close enough ta her motha for this ta works?’

  ‘Yes,’ said Tee, his voice determined. ‘I’m sure of it. Otherwise, why would the VIs be trying to keep the two of you apart?’

  ‘Rights then,’ said Zyra, making up her mind.

  She strode over to Tark, pulled him to her and kissed him hard. It was all over before he even had time to respond. Tark stared after her, as Zyra strode back to Hope and placed her hands on the girl’s face.

  ‘Whetha we likes it or not, and I don’ts, I is ya motha.’

  Hope opened her mouth to speak.

  ‘Shuts up and thinks,’ Zyra demanded. ‘Thinks of getting outta here.’

  Zyra closed her eyes, concentration creasing her brow. Hope sighed in resignation, closing her own. She reached up and took hold of Zyra’s face. Then, simultaneously, the two of them leaned forward and touched foreheads.

  To Tark and Tee’s utter astonishment, they weregone.

  Tark put a finger to his mouth. He felt a pang of sadness as he stared at the spot where Zyra had been. That was the first time their lips had met since their rule-breaking kiss. And now she was gone.

  ‘I was right.’ Tee mouthed the words silently.

  The red-robed monk stalked past Tark and Tee, and out the vestry door.

  ‘Wots about us?’ Tark asked.

  ‘Us?’ Tee said. ‘We fend for ourselves.’

  10: Legend of the Ultimate Gamer

  The words Bobby’s Cafe glowed in soft blue neon above window signage that proclaimed the best ice cream in all of Suburbia.


  ‘What’s ice-cream?’ asked Hope.

  ‘The best thing ever,’ assured Zyra, as she led the way towards the cafe.

  ‘What do you do with it?’

  ‘You eat it, of course.’ Zyra pushed the door open and went in.

  Wide-eyed, Hope followed.

  The cafe was decorated in a rainbow of pastel colours - blue chairs with green vinyl cushions, yellow tables and pink walls. A large counter curved its way in front of the far wall, its orange top and blue sides standing out against the pink wall. Small round tables, each with four chairs, dotted the main area of the cafe. The place was deserted except for a lone man in a shabby suit sitting on a stool at the counter. He sipped at a coffee while staring down at the counter top.

  Zyra led Hope to a window seat. ‘You sit down and I’ll go get us some ice-cream.’

  Zyra headed behind the counter and disappeared through the red swinging door.

  Hope stared out of the window at the impossibly perfect streetscape. It was neat and clean and like something out of a dream. The shops looked freshly painted, the street like it had just been paved, and all the passersby were dressed in their neatest best.

  ‘Weird,’ Hope murmured.

  ‘Here you go.’ Zyra planked a white bowl onto the table in front of Hope.

  Hope looked down at the contents. There were three scoops of ... something. White, brown and pink.

  ‘Vanilla, chocolate and strawberry,’ explained

  Zyra as she handed her a spoon. ‘Try some.’ She started eating her own.

  Hope tentatively used the spoon to scoop up a tiny bit of the white stuff. Slowly, she brought it up to her mouth.

  ‘It’s cold,’ she exclaimed, surprised.

  ‘Of course it is. It’s frozen.’ Zyra laughed. ‘What do you think?’

  ‘It’s odd. But sort of okay.’ Hope tried a larger spoonful, slowly rolling it around in her mouth. Then she tried the strawberry. ‘This one’s better.’ Then she tried the chocolate. ‘This one is good.’ She finished the mouthful and looked up at Zyra. ‘What is this place?’

  ‘Suburbia.’ Zyra gazed wistfully through the window. ‘Tark and I came here whenever we had the money and keys to get into Designers Paradise.’