System Overload

by Mark Cheverton

  Good. I don’t want you taking any more chances in there, his father said.

  Of course not, Gameknight lied. You know me.

  That’s the problem: I DO know you. Now say goodbye. It’s time to go.

  OK, Gameknight replied.

  He turned and gazed at his friends.

  “I have to go,” he said in a sad voice.

  “When will you come back?” Hunter asked.

  “I don’t know. Maybe tonight,” Gameknight replied. “We have a thunder storm coming our way in the evening, so I don’t know if I’ll be able to use the computer or not. But if I can, I’ll be back online later.”

  “You know where we will be,” Crafter said. “Hurry back. You will be missed.”

  Gameknight gave his young friend a smile, then turned and glanced at Cobbler.

  “I’m sad that I have to go, but I’m more excited at the thought of coming back,” the User-that-is-not-a-user said. “That’s what I’m focusing on: not the leaving, but the returning.”

  “I get it,” Cobbler said, “I really do.”

  “Good,” Gameknight replied.

  Just then, a sphere of light started to form around him. It grew brighter and brighter until all he could see was white. He felt hot and cold at the same time as tiny jolts of electricity seemed to dance all over his body. And then Gameknight999 was gone from Minecraft.

  MINECRAFT SEEDS

  All of the different biomes and structures mentioned in the book can be seen on Gameknight999’s server. Just go to the book warp room on the survival server and you’ll see the buttons for each chapter. We are in the process of adding a new survival server, and it will take time to move all the book warps to the new server, but you can go to the old survival server and see the book warps there. You can use the command /warp bookwarps. I’ll be building the creeper hives somewhere on the server so that all of you can see what I was imagining while I was writing. Maybe I’ll try to make one of the burned-out forests as well, if that’s possible…. Come to the server and find out.

  For those without access to the server, I’ve listed Minecraft seeds for version 1.87. I don’t know if they will work with Minecraft PE or if they’ll work for version 1.9; you’ll just have to try them out and see.

  Chapter 1 - Desert Village: 3049493360113604773

  Chapter 5 – Crafter’s Village: on server

  Chapter 6 – Savannah Village:

  2958776707072848190

  X= 112 Y= 73 Z= 132

  Chapter 16 – Waterfall: 1628270989

  NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR

  I can’t believe this is my twelfth novel…. Who would have ever thought this crazy ride would have lasted this long? All of you out there who are reading my books and sending me such kind messages through my website, www.markcheverton.com, I appreciate all your emails and try to answer every one. Be sure you type your email address correctly on my website so that I can send you a reply.

  Since I began to Skype with schools all over the country (check my website for Skype information on how I can speak with you and your classmates about creative writing and all things Gameknight999), the number of stories that kids are sending to me has increased significantly. The creativity that I’m seeing is fantastic. Kids of all ages have such wonderful imaginations, and I’m glad to see that many of you are putting aside any fear of writing you might have and are putting quill to parchment. Please keep sending in those stories. I love reading them and I post every one to my website.

  For those who want to say hello to myself, Monkeypants_271, or my son, Gameknight999, come onto the Gameknight999 Network. It is a Minecraft server open to all with a PC license. Quadbamber (LBE Gaming on YouTube) has done some spectacular work on this server. With his experience of Minecraft servers and plugins, new features have been added to the server that make it a great place to meet, talk about my books, and play Minecraft in a lot of different ways. You can challenge me to a game of paintball, or survival games, or maybe try some of the custom games we have created just for this server. If you log on, you will notice a positive attitude amongst most of the players, which I believe has been caused by Crafter, Digger, Hunter, Stitcher, and Herder: a willingness to help each other. People build cities together rather than going far out into the wilderness alone to build their own home. People share resources and trade goods and in general play together, instead of against each other. I hope this trend will continue.

  If you see me on the server, come say hello. You can find information about the server at www.gameknight999.com. We’ll be adding some new game features like Elytra racing and new paintball arenas, so check the website for server news and updates. The book warps can be found on the survival server just by typing /warp bookwarps.

  Keep reading, and watch out for creepers.

  Mark

  AVAILABLE NOW FROM MARK CHEVERTON AND SKY PONY PRESS

  THE GAMEKNIGHT999 SERIES

  The world of Minecraft comes to life in this thrilling adventure!

  Gameknight999 loved Minecraft, and above all else, he loved to grief—to intentionally ruin the gaming experience for other users.

  But when one of his father’s inventions teleports him into the game, Gameknight is forced to live out a real-life adventure inside a digital world. What will happen if he’s killed? Will he respawn? Die in real life? Stuck in the game, Gameknight discovers Minecraft’s best-kept secret, something not even the game’s programmers realize: the creatures within the game are alive! He will have to stay one step ahead of the sharp claws of zombies and pointed fangs of spiders, but he’ll also have to learn to make friends and work as a team if he has any chance of surviving the Minecraft war his arrival has started.

  With deadly endermen, ghasts, and dragons, this action-packed trilogy introduces the heroic Gameknight999 and has proven to be a runaway publishing smash, showing that the Gameknight999 series is the perfect companion for Minecraft fans of all ages.

  Invasion of the Overworld (Book One):

  $9.99 paperback • 978-1-63220-711-1

  Battle for the Nether (Book Two):

  $9.99 paperback • 978-1-63220-712-8

  Confronting the Dragon (Book Three):

  $9.99 paperback • 978-1-63450-046-3

  THE MYSTERY OF HEROBRINE SERIES

  Gameknight999 must save his friends from an evil virus intent on destroying all of Minecraft!

  Gameknight999 was sucked into the world of Minecraft when one of his father’s inventions went haywire. Trapped inside the game, the former griefer learned the error of his ways, transforming into a heroic warrior and defeating powerful endermen, ghasts, and dragons to save the world of Minecraft and his NPC friends who live in it.

  Gameknight swore he’d never go inside Minecraft again. But that was before Herobrine, a malicious virus infecting the very fabric of the game, threatened to destroy the entire Overworld and escape into the real world. To outsmart an enemy much more powerful than any he’s ever faced, the User-that-is-not-a-user will need to go back into the game, where real danger lies around every corner. From zombie villages and jungle temples to a secret hidden at the bottom of a deep ocean, the action-packed adventures of Gameknight999 and his friends (and, now, family) continue in this thrilling follow-up series for Minecraft fans of all ages.

  Trouble in Zombie-town (Book One):

  $9.99 paperback • 978-1-63450-094-4

  The Jungle Temple Oracle (Book Two):

  $9.99 paperback • 978-1-63450-096-8

  Last Stand on the Ocean Shore (Book Three):

  $9.99 paperback • 978-1-63450-098-2

  HEROBRINE REBORN SERIES

  Gameknight999 and his friends and family face

  Herobrine in the biggest showdown the Overworld has ever seen!

  Gameknight999, a former Minecraft griefer, got a big dose of virtual reality when his father’s invention teleported him into the game. Living out a dangerous adventure inside a digital world, he discovered that the Minecraft villagers were alive, and
needed his help to defeat the infamous virus, Herobrine, a diabolical enemy determined to escape into the real world

  Gameknight thought Herobrine had finally been stopped once and for all. But the virus proves to be even craftier than anyone could image, and his XP begins inhabiting new bodies in an effort to escape. The User-that-is-not-a-user will need the help of not only his Minecraft friends, but his own father, Monkeypants271, as well, if he has any hope of destroying the evil Herobrine once and for all.

  Saving Crafter (Book One):

  $9.99 paperback • 978-1-5107-0014-7

  Destruction of the Overworld (Book Two):

  $9.99 paperback • 978-1-5107-0015-4

  Gameknight999 vs. Herobrine (Book Three):

  $9.99 paperback • 978-1-5107-0010-9

  THE PHANTOM VIRUS

  Herobrine’s Revenge Book One: A Gameknight999 Adventure

  Herobrine has crafted an evil game for Gameknight999 to play.

  Herobrine, the artificially intelligent virus, was deleted, and without their leader, the few survivors of its evil army were cast away into the shadows. It looked as if there would finally be peace and happiness throughout the servers of Minecraft.

  But suddenly, and mysteriously, software began misbehaving. What seemed at first like harmless glitches has quickly become dangerous. Pigs begin walking backwards, it starts to snow in the middle of the desert, and sheep are falling from the sky.

  Gameknight999, the User-that-is-not-a-user, has no choice but to investigate. Examining the arrogant clues, Gameknight is no longer so sure that Herobrine was destroyed after all. Is it possible he escaped? Everything points towards a deadly trap far worse than anything that Minecraft has seen before. Will Gameknight solve the puzzle before the Overworld is destroyed?

  $9.99 paperback • 978-1-51070-683-5

  OVERWORLD IN FLAMES

  Herobrine’s Revenge Book Two: A Gameknight999 Adventure

  Mysterious fires are burning the Overworld to the ground!

  The NPCs of Minecraft barely had time to celebrate their victory over the spider queen and the king of the skeletons before terrible new crimes broke the hard-earned peace. Inexplicable fires are breaking out under mysterious circumstances, the flames destroying more and more land with every tick of the CPU. Gameknight999 knows something is terribly wrong, but has no idea who is responsible or how to stop them.

  With danger looming, entire biomes and villages are under threat of complete annihilation. But unlike last time, there are no mocking signs or arrogant clues for Gameknight and his friends to follow. How could Herobrine be controlling fire from beyond the digital grave? The answer lies in a dark and smoky underworld filled with fiery rivers of lava, where a terrible monster army awaits.

  $9.99 paperback • 978-1-51070-681-1

  EXCERPT FROM THE GREAT ZOMBIE INVASION

  A BRAND NEW GAMEKNIGHT999 ADVENTURE

  Gameknight admired the amount of work the diggers had been able to do in such a short time. The crafting chamber looked as it had the first time he’d met Crafter, minus the minecart tracks; that was the next project to tackle. Weaver and some of the other young NPCs stood near him, all of them gobbling up his praise like candy.

  “The circular room above looks fantastic,” Gameknight said. “And these steps down to the floor of the crafting chamber are spectacular.”

  Weaver and the others beamed.

  The kids had put in a wide set of steps at the opening to the cavern. They sloped downward, following the wall of the massive cave, then curved so that they spilled down to the center of the floor. Crafting benches dotted the chamber with chests placed along the walls. Each chest had a sign on it, signifying what was within: arrows for one, iron swords for another, leather armor and bows in another. Gameknight had convinced Smithy that they should begin crafting the tools of war, and everyone not on guard duty was either in the chamber, crafting, or in the mines looking for iron and coal and diamonds.

  Closing his eyes for a moment, Gameknight listened to all the activity. It sounded just like Crafter’s chamber, with the constant clatter of tools creating a blur of noise that was, for some reason, comforting. For the first time, Gameknight999 felt as if he were home.

  “What do we do next?” Weaver asked. “The tunnels for the minecarts?”

  “Exactly,” the User-that-is-not-a-user replied. “We need a tunnel that heads straight to the closest village. Use all the iron left over from making swords for the minecart tracks. In no time, you’ll have a minecart network that will connect all the villages together. After that we can—”

  “Everyone, come to the surface … quick!” an NPC shouted from the top of the curving stairs.

  Gameknight glanced up at the villager, but he’d already turned and left, the iron door slowly closing.

  “Come on,” Gameknight said to the kids.

  He dashed up the steps, then burst through the iron doors. In seconds, he had shot through the round meeting chamber and was heading through the long tunnel. At the end of the dark passage, Gameknight could see a single torch illuminating a ladder that disappeared upward into a vertical shaft.

  When he reached the ladder, he began to climb. He could hear the sounds of villagers below him, all of them climbing as fast as they could. As he moved, rung after rung, Gameknight thought about all the times he’d followed this path in the old Minecraft … or the future Minecraft, he wasn’t sure. He missed those days. Gameknight had felt like a member of a community back then, but here, in this time, he felt like an outsider that was never fully trusted. Would they ever accept him?

  He snapped out of his self-pity when he reached the top of the ladder. The vertical passage opened into the cobblestone watchtower, emerging from the far corner in the floor. Gameknight streaked across the floor and burst through the door. He sprinted across the courtyard and climbed the steps that led to the top of the fortified wall.

  Surveying their surroundings, Gameknight found the sun rising over the eastern horizon. A rich orange glow stretched across the skyline as the sun rose higher and higher, the sparkling night sky slowly dissolving into a deep blue.

  “Nice of you to finally make it,” Fencer said, a tone of accusation in his voice.

  “I was down in the crafting chamber, helping to—”

  “Whatever,” Fencer replied. “Just be quiet and look.”

  Out in the dark forest, a strange flickering glow seemed to move between the trees. It looked like the light of a fire, but no flames were visibly climbing up any of the trees. Instead, it seemed like the fire was walking through the forest as if it were out for an evening stroll.

  “How can fire move through the forest like that?” Smithy asked aloud. “Is this another of Herobrine’s tricks?”

  Villagers blurted out many different theories, but none of them made much sense. As they argued, Gameknight sighed. He knew exactly what it was.

  “I know what this is,” the User-that-is-not-a-user said.

  “Of course you do,” Fencer said suspiciously.

  “What is it?” Smithy asked. “Are they setting fire to our forest?”

  “No, these are monsters approaching.”

  “Monsters? What kind of monsters can survive fire?” Fencer exclaimed.

  “Blazes,” Gameknight replied.

  “What’s a blaze?” Fencer cried. “I’ve never heard of those before. He’s making this stuff up.”

  “I wish I were,” he replied. “They’re from the Nether, and they can throw balls of fire.”

  The forest was now brightening as the sun climbed higher into the sky. The timer on the digitizer in his basement was probably ready to go off. Once it did, his father’s invention would bring him back to the physical world whether he was ready or not.

  I hope I can at least finish this battle and help these NPCs, Gameknight thought. He knew he didn’t have much time left.

  “What’s the Nether?” Smithy asked as he moved to Gameknight’s side.

  “A terrible pl
ace of smoke and fire and lava and nothing good,” he replied. “We need to be ready. Everyone, keep moving around. If a blaze sees you standing still, they will shoot three fireballs at you. They always shoot a trio of balls, and they always flare bright just before firing. When you see them do that … move!”

  “You seem to know a lot about them,” Fencer said. “Why is that?” His accusatory tone hurt Gameknight.

  “I’ve fought them many times. I know what I’m talking about. Now, everyone get to your battle stations.”

  No one moved. They just stood there, staring up at Gameknight999 with scowls on their faces.

  “You heard him!” Smithy shouted. “Get to your stations and listen for instructions.”

  Archers climbed the ladders to the archer towers while other NPCs moved to the top of the walls. Everyone had a bow in their hands, with an arrow notched and ready. A silence spread across the village. Gameknight could feel the tension in the air; it was like a thread that had been stretched to its limit and was just waiting to snap.

  Any minute I’ll disappear.

  And then the monsters came out of the forest and crossed the grassy plain that surrounded the village. They were all shocked when they saw at least thirty creepers scurrying towards them, with at least two dozen blazes floating behind. Each blaze burned bright with internal yellow and orange flames that seemed to make up the creature’s bodies. Blaze rods spun furiously around within their fiery bodies, reminding Gameknight of some kind of evil helicopter.

  “Remember, don’t stand still. If you see a fireball coming toward you, duck behind a block of stone,” Gameknight yelled. “The blazes will try to distract us while the creepers get up close and try to destroy the walls. We cannot let them do that.”

  The User-that-is-not-a-user turned and looked down into the courtyard. He saw Weaver and the other kids milling about, each of them wanting to get into the fight.