Virtual Image

The sound of echoing footsteps down the hall was enough to tell the atmosphere of the cell-like base of the UOC. The silver halls were empty except for the one guard armed with heavy ammunition. Inside the door that he was guarding were two people talking.

And they weren't happy.

"What do you mean that our main files have been tampered with? No one tampers with the Unification of Organized Crime! No one!" the first voice exploded in vulgar anger.

"I don't know how or where, but it happened two days ago. No one that I know of was even around the lower levels where the disk would be," the second explained a lttle calmer.

"Well, I do know that if those files are found out, then we will be abolished! Do what ever you need in order to get those files. There are no limits and no exceptions. Get out of my sight, Scout," the first said as he sat down in his chair and turned the other way.

The second nodded his head and gladly left the room.

His name was Beau Thompson. He was going to do what ever it took to get the files back.

Part 1

Chapter 1

Just right before the unexpected event, Benjamin Perry was standing outside looking up at the golden sky that was barely covered by a cloud every here and there. A gentle breeze swept the land making the trees in the forested area gently sway back and forth. The great mountain that peeked out of the horizon was a breathtaking sight in the golden sunset, and the lake far off in the distance reflected the retiring sun.

Ben looked around the green land and admired the beauty of it. He was proud of his land, and when he thought of it, a smile formed on his face. The sweet smelling roses stood high on the clearing, and small roadside flowers lined the path that winded up through the woods and to the next town.

Ben stared to walk down the pathway with a song in his head, a song he remembered clear back from grade school. The song was the kind that kept in your head seemingly forever, but it was warmly welcomed. Being 22, Ben felt free and calm. The song was smooth and flowing, and it gave Ben high spirits.

In spite of the high spirits and calm music, Ben frowned. The atmosphere suddenly became stiff and static. Something was going to happen. Ben could feel it in the air.

Out of nowhere, Ben saw a man materialize slowly right in front of him. The man was holding a laser gun, and the word "Morris" was printed in large bold type on his bright silver jacket. The man was young, strong, and fast. Ben didn't seem like much of a match for this man.

Ben looked at the man, and he quickly got his own laser gun that was stashed away in his pockets. "If I'm going to die, I'm going down with a fight!" Ben thought.

"Freeze, outlaw. I am authority from the east town, Morris. I come forth to arrest you on orders from the King," the man said in a demanding tone.

"I don't understand! What crime did I commit? Why are you arresting me?" Ben asked the authority.

"You are suspected to be the man who had robbed the Great Merchant. I don't want any of your smart talk, criminal. Drop the gun, and come with me."

Ben tried to think fast. The only two options he had were to kill the man, or to run away. Unfortunately for the authority, Ben decided to kill the man.

"I will do no such thing," Ben sneered as he shot the authority.

The man let out a yell as he fell to the ground. He rolled onto his back and returned a poor aimed shot at Ben.

"You are foolish, man," the authority hysterically screamed. He pushed a button on something that resembled a radio, which caused about ten more men to materialize around Ben.

"You are surrounded, criminal," the authority managed with his last breaths. With that, the main authority collapsed and died. As soon as the main authority died, he dematerialized out of sight.

Quickly reacting, Ben dug into his pockets and came up with a transporter pod that looked like a pill capsule. Ben opened this medicine-like object and let the contents spill out on him. Within half of a second, Ben dematerialized and then materialized into a whole new area, far, far away from the authorities.

"What have I done?" Ben cried. His new surroundings resembled the side of a lake. Ben looked around for a rock to sit on, and then sat down to think for a while.

"Who is the Great Merchant? Where is Morris? I don't understand any of this!" Ben was thinking.

If Ben were to turn around, he would have seen the tall dark figure walking up to him. The figure was dressed in a dark cloak, which completely covered its face. It came closer and closer, while Ben sat on the rock and stared off into the distance.

The gun that the figure pulled out was enough to let anyone know that this being meant business.

"Be prepared to die," the figure said as it came up about six feet away. The gun was now pointing straight at Ben, ready to be fired.

Ben turned around, wide-eyed, but it was too late. The figure pulled the trigger, and Ben felt a sharp pain run through his head. It all seemed in slow motion as Ben fell to the ground, the very ground he was admiring just minutes ago. He used what little endurance he had left and lifted his head off of the ground to give one last look at the figure, one last pleading look, and then he fell limp. In a matter of seconds, Ben de-materialized out of the world as the figure in the black robe gave an evil laugh. . .

"I know who you are. I know who you were. We will get our freedom no mater what it takes, Master Perry!"

When he woke up, everything was blurry. Ben no longer felt any pain in his stomach and legs, but he woke up with a fairly large headache. His surroundings were different than the place where he was shot at.

A deep male computerized voice answered, "Master, you are now disconnected."

It took Ben a while for everything to register. Things were now getting back into focus, and he recognized where he was.

"Thank you, Mike," Ben answered back to his computer.

Ben was in a laboratory chair working with some of the highest technology that he created. He was testing some final projects in the virtual world. The virtual world was a never ending magical land that had very mysterious creatures. It represents Earth, but there are a lot of differences. Ben had programmed the Virtual World on the computer, and in the near future he would make millions with it. The virtual world was all computerized, and Ben had total control over it. Anything could happen in the virtual world, such as magic.

Ben had programmed a generator that creates characters in the virtual world. These "characters" were just like real people. They spoke, they had thoughts, they walked and talked, they did everything that a normal person would do. Not only did this generator produce people, though, but it produced all kinds of creatures, such as elves, fairies, sprites, ogres, and things such as those.

Ben took off a computerized pair of high tech glasses as he wiped the sweat off of his forehead. The glasses let the user actually "see" in the virtual world and made them feel like their actually in it. They shot a single beam of laser light into the pupils of the user's eyes. The laser blocks all other sight from the real world and maximizes the view in the virtual world. It sends a signal to the brain through the corona of the eye that makes the user believe that they are actually in the virtual world.

"Things could get out of hand in the virtual world, Mike," Ben said, after setting the glasses down.

"Yes, indeed. Your brain simulators are disconnected," the computer informed Ben.

The brain simulators translate brain waves into electronic information. When Ben wants to walk while using the virtual world program, his brain sends a signal to his legs.

Normally, Ben would actually begin to walk in the real world while seeing and living in the virtual world. However, the brain simulators intercept these signals and makes Ben walk in the virtual world instead of walking in the real world. The brain simulators are two electronic wave synthesizers that hook on the temples of the users. They are very small, and they pulsate in a reddish color.

"Some authorities from a town called Morris stopped me and accused me of robbing the Great Merchant. Two things: One, I don't know about a town called Morris. Two, I've never heard of the Great Merchant," Ben said, rubbing the back of his head while he winced in pain.

"Perhaps the Computer Representative Image would know about these. After all, you programmed him to be the master of information in the virtual world," Mike, the computer, explained.

"True. And also, something in black killed me! It just came up from behind and killed me. Tomorrow I'll visit the CRI in the virtual world and get updated on the status of it. The CRI would probably know of the incident about me and the authorities," Ben said. "And after I visit the CRI, I'll go see Warden Dean in order to get someone to test the virtual world for me. I think he'll like the idea. Don't you, Mike?"

"I guess it all depends on what kind of person Dean is," the computer responded.

"Yes, I do," Ben said. "But that is beside the point. All I need now is someone to test."

Chapter 2

Eric Patterson was training for the twenty mile race he had to run. He was suited up in a pair of umbro shorts and a blue tank top that made him look like Hulk Hogan. The big race wasn't until another month, but Eric knew he had to prepare big-time for it.

Eric was an all around good guy. When someone was in trouble, he would get them out of it. If someone needed something, he would do his best to give it to them. Not too many people gave him static, because just by taking a look at him scares off most people, due to his strength. Eric is pretty smart. He got a 4.0 average in high school, and also when he was in college. He had to drop out of college because his parents were killed in a gang related killing.

This made Eric determined to get even with crime. He always thought of his parents when he ran, and this motivated him to run even faster and harder. The cool air of the Kansas City streets made Eric feel refreshed while he ran. He ran at an easy pace today, unlike his usual pace.

As Eric was running, he spotted a couple of teen-aged kids down the road a little. The kids were getting ready to attack an old lady that was only fifteen feet in front of them. If Eric hurried, he could prevent the attack from happening, and perhaps put the kids in trouble.

Being cautious, Eric silently came up behind the teenagers, adrenaline pumping. Just when the kids were about to attack, Eric yelled to the lady, "Move!"

The kids alertly turned around as the old lady gave a muffled scream and then fainted. One of the kids pulled out a long butterfly knife and the other got out a small handgun.

Eric swiftly kicked the gun out the taller teenager's hand. In one swift movement, Eric retrieved the gun and then pointed it at the boy holding the knife.

"Drop the knife, and both of you don't move," Eric ordered to the kids.

The teenagers were stunned with Eric's quick moves and the turn of the situation. Slowly, the both raised their ands in surrender.

Just when they raised their hands up, a local police car turned onto the street while doing its normal daily route. The driver saw Eric pointing a gun at the two teenagers and then instantly reacted. The officer pulled up to the spot, spoke into a radio, quickly drew his gun and got out of the car.

"You, the man with the gun! Drop it, and slowly come this way," the officer ordered to Eric.

The teenagers looked at each other. The taller one nodded his head and gave a short smile.

"He... He tried to kill us," the boy who had the knife said. While the police was covering Eric, the boy who had the knife silently hid it into his boots.

"Wait, you don't understand! These two kids were going to attack this lady," Eric attempted to explain, pointing to the crumpled lady. "They . ."

"What's hard to understand about a 25 year old black kid trying to kidnap two teenagers," the officer asked sarcastically, as he handcuffed Eric.

"Thank god someone came to save us. I thought that we were goners, but thanks to you, we're still alive. If you hadn't come here, this man would have killed us. He even said so himself," the boy that had the gun lied to the policeman.

Eric attempted to explain something to the officer, but the officer paid no attention.

"Well, you're safe now. I need your identification and you testimony, so that we can put this man to jail," the officer told the kids. He searched Eric for any identification, but didn't find any because Eric was running.

"Tell me your name and your age," the officer demanded.

"Eric Patterson, age 24," Eric reluctantly said.

"I hope you have a clean record. Maybe you'll get off easily. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in...."

Eric cursed at himself. He cursed at the kids. He cursed at the world.

In two months, Eric had his trial. He was found guilty of attempted kidnapping. His sentence was five years in jail with out bail or probation; two and a half years for each kid he tried to kidnap. This was the lightest sentence available. He couldn't afford a lawyer, and he was stuck with a lawyer that wasn't good. The lawyer wanted Eric to lose, in fact, probably because of Eric's race.

On the day that Eric went to jail, Ben Perry visited the Warden Dean, who was a good friend of Ben.

"Warden Dean, I would like to make a deal with you. What do you think the possibilities of me having one of your inmates to test for a month or so are? I have a new program that I want to test. In order to test it, I need an intelligent, strong young man," Ben asked.

"Well, it depends. Exactly what kind of a program are you talking about? You will need all kinds of security measures in order to do this, also. We would have to take all kinds of precautions, just in case if the inmate tried to escape," the warden said.

Ben pulled out his Virtual Glasses and brain simulators.

"If you'll put these items on, Dean, I'll show you what kind of tests I'll be running."

As the warden was reluctantly putting on the equipment, Ben got out his micro 81786sx TenMillion color computer and hooked it up to the equipment that the warden had on. Ben made this high-tech electronic equipment, including the computer. Most people only had a 80486sx computer, but Ben had a 81786 computer. This meant that Ben's computer was about 500 times faster than the average computer.

Turning on the equipment, Ben asked, "Dean, tell me what you see."

"All that I see is thousands of miles of a green flat grid on a total black background. What is this supposed to mean," the warden replied, as he looked around in the Virtual World. Dean was smiling as he moved his head around. He was enjoying the endless grid.

Ben turned on the brain stimulators. The initiate program kicked in, and a solid image of Warden formatted on the grid. The simulators used the information of the Warden's ideal image of himself in order to create his image. Dean was now in the virtual world.

Once the simulators were on, they made the warden unable to hear what Ben is saying and also unable for the warden to move. The warden would also be unable to speak through his real voice, but Ben would be able to hear what the warden would say through the internal speaker. Ben then answered into his microphone hookup on his lap top. The microphone was directly hooked up to the computer, so it would relay the information from the mike to the user, making the user able to hear whatever came through it.

"Dean, you are in the Virtual World. Everything will seem real. You can move in the virtual world without really moving. You can yell, but no one in the real world will hear you. You are actually inside the computer, in a way," Ben said.

The warden was in the Virtual World, where the grid roamed endlessly on. He could hear Ben in the virtual world, but Ben was only a mechanical voice. All of a sudden, an image of Ben appeared in front of the warden.

"This is not really me, but I am using this in order for you to see me," the image said, using Ben's voice.

In the real world, Ben was using a program that he specially designed for these kind of occasions. The program solidified an image of Ben and then acted the exact same way as Ben's voice was suggesting. If the program detected a tinge of anger in his voice, then the image would act like it was mad.

"In this world, anything that I want can happen. I can control your strength, your intelligence, your skill, your endurance, anything that I want, basically. You are like an animal now, fighting for your life. I control you as if you were a puppet," the image of Ben explained to the warden.

"Get me out of this world, Ben. I don't like this one bit," the warden demanded.

In the real world, Ben used a mouse to draw up a sword for the warden. The image of the warden instantly grabbed it.

Once the warden got the sword, he charged at the image of Ben. However, the computer just moved the image easily.

Ben then changed the status of the warden to have superior human strength and super human intelligence. The warden used this newfound power to attack the image of Ben again.

The computer did not respond quick enough in order to move the image of Ben, so the image was then killed and deleted. It gave a scream of pain and torture as it was killed. Ben smiled as he looked at the lap top screen, which gave a view of what the warden was seeing, because he knew that the warden thought he had killed Ben.

"Hey! Get me out of here," the warden frantically ordered.

Ben drew up a huge army of warriors that resembled him self up to a T. The warden then panicked big time, and began to run. As the warden was running, Ben changed the endurance of the warden to be very low.

All of a sudden, the warden found that he couldn't run anymore due to Ben's changes. Exhausted, he sat down, looking in fear as the dreaded army of Bens marched up. As they got closer to the warden, Ben turned off the warden's equipment. Instantly, the warden woke up back into the real world, and his image was deleted. The army was left dumb-founded, and began to attack its self. In a matter often seconds, the army was reduced to one person.

"This is cruel and unusual punishment, Ben! Even though it has no real physical effects, it is still cruel and unusual to use on a criminal," the warden scolded as he quickly got the equipment off.

Ben then summoned the warden to look at the screen.

What the warden found was astonishing. He saw a beautiful world full of tall green trees, huge lakes of clear blue water, and tame animals roaming around. He saw many people walking and talking. He saw a magical world that was all Ben's.

"You see, Dean, I can make the Virtual World peaceful, also. I can make it what ever I want to make it. I need a volunteer to test it for a month, that way I can see what mental effects it has on man. I am almost sure that this could replace rehabilitation, for it can put true fear into a man who has none. I will pay you, or who I need to pay, a great sum of money for the person. What do you say?"

The warden thought and responded with, "There is a young black male whose name is Eric Patterson. He is very strong. He was taken in for attempting kidnapping, and I think that he will be the prime candidate for your program. In order to get him, you must pay me a hundred grand up front, just to make sure that there are no trip-ups. I will give you eighty grand back after you return Patterson. This is against the jail regulations, but if I see positive results, I will be sure to have it happen to everyone. Until then, you had better keep this a secret. I want to go over your house and check all safety regulations before Patterson goes over, but, then again, with that program, I sincerely doubt that any safety precautions should be taken!" The warden then said to himself, "I can't believe I'm doing this."

"When do I get him," Ben asked the warden.

"As soon as you give me the money."

With that, Ben left with his equipment wearing a triumphant smile.

Chapter 3

Eric was sleepless that night. His thoughts were tortured by crime. He sat down in the corner of his cell, laying his head on the wall.

"What does it take to get any justice around here," Eric grimly said to himself as he fought off some tears.

He thought back to the night when his parents were killed.

Eric just got "home" from studying. (He lived in a one-man dorm at the time, since he was in college.) He was about to fix something to eat, since it was quarter after nine, when the phone rang.

Since Eric had no close friends in college, he was worried who that would be. On the second ring, he answered the phone.

"Hello," Eric said curiously.

A low, dark voice answered back, "Patterson, I have some news for you."

"Who is this," Eric demanded, suddenly feeling afraid.

"Your parents are in some danger, and I'm afraid you can't help them. Unless, of course, you do what I tell you."

"What do you want from me? Where are my parents," Eric asked, as he turned on the hidden phone in the TV. This phone acts like a regular speakerphone. After he did that, he started a tape recording of the conversation with his recorder that he uses for lectures.

"Patterson, in order to save your parents, you must give us something."

"I don't have any money," Eric said frantically. Eric turned on his computer modem that was on a different line and his computer in order to contact for help.

"Oh, we're not interested in your money, Patterson. You have the strength that we need in order to complete our action. You have the endurance to escape the dangers. You have the intelligence to outsmart the enemy. We need you to help us."

The police on the modem answered. Quickly, Eric typed out the situation, while he answered, "What exactly is this action?"

"Listen, Patterson. You can either help us and save your parents, or you can refuse and listen to your parents die," the voice answered back.

The police on the modem responded with, "Police are on their way to the other end of your phone line. This is a dangerous position. This call could be a bluff, or it could be real. If it is real, then we may not be able to save your parents. If it is a bluff, then you can go about your business. See if they'll let your parents talk to you."

"So what is it, Patterson. You haven't talked in over twenty seconds!"

"Get one of my parents on the line," Eric said, hoping this was all a bluff.

In a matter of seconds, he heard his mother's voice.

"Eric! They're going to kill us! They'll kill us anyway! Don't...."

Eric's mother was cut of by a muffled scream.

"You've heard enough, Patterson. So what is it? Your parents' death or your service?"

Eric was thinking fast. He knew that the police would be there in another minute at the most, so he tried to keep the voice on the other end talking as long as possible.

"I.. I need to know what kind of service I would be doing," Eric said, as he then realized what a dumb question that was.

"Listen, Patterson! I'm getting tired of these questions! Now you have only ten seconds to make up your mind! If you can't seem to make up your mind by then, we'll make it up for you! What is it going to be," the voice boomed out quite angrily.

Eric knew this wasn't a bluff, so his last resort was to stall for the remaining ten seconds and hope that the police would be there.

Ten seconds quickly passed to five, and five changed to two.

"Two, one.... What the ____ is this? Cops! How in the ____ could they get here? Patterson! You son of a _____! Say goodbye to your parents..."

Eric heard in the background a stream of clicks, which he knew would be bullets running through the silencer. At the same time the clicks sounded, he heard both of his parents scream.

"No! No! Oh, God, NO!" Eric cried, as he fell to the ground, grasping the phone in tears.

It was over. His whole life was over. His parents' lives were over. All because of the police. All because of him.

The owner of the voice had escaped police, as so did any companions he had. The end of the line was at an apartment who was rented out to a man by the name of Joe Anderson; unfortunately, Anderson proved not to be the killer of Eric's parents. The police went over the tape again and again and again, but to of no avail.

Now Eric was sitting in the corner of a jail cell, doing time for a crime he didn't commit; doing time in place of the owner of the voice. Eric vowed to himself that he would get even with the voice, even if it meant risking his life and freedom.

For the next three days, Eric refused to eat much. He quickly lost twelve pounds, but was gaining muscle even quicker than he was losing weight because he was working out harder than he had ever before. On the fourth day, Ben Perry came with the money needed to permit Eric's temporary leave. Although the Warden was not too pleased with it, Ben took Eric.

Eric wasn't too happy about going with the stranger, either. Eric had no idea what Ben was going to do, and he knew that Ben was in no way an authorized person. However, in the back of his mind, Eric devised an escape plan.

As Eric go into Ben's car, a mechanical voice said to fasten seat belts. Ben's car was a very neat one, with all of the new features, plus some features that Ben had built in.

"This is a nice car you have, sir," Eric said, hoping that maybe Ben would go easy on him.

"Quiet, convict, and listen up. You are going to be used for an experiment involving all fundamental skills. You will also experience many emotions. Don't think that I couldn't make you do this; once you're in my lab, I'll have total control of you. If you cooperate, the tests will be easy for you. However, if you don't, you'll regret these tests."

Eric silently cursed at himself.

"What kind of experiments are these," Eric asked, as he was going over his escape plan again.

Ben briefed Eric about the virtual world, and how he planned to experiment with Eric's physical makeup. As soon as Ben pulled his car into the lab building that was privately owned by Ben, he got out.

Making sure that all doors were shut and all windows were closed, Ben pushed a button on his remote control that spread sleeping gas through out the car. He did this to make sure that Eric wouldn't give him any trouble. Eric seemed to be strong, because the gas was weakly effecting him. Ben then turned up the volume of the gas, and in about twelve seconds, Eric was out cold.

Ben used his remote to roll down the window that was farthest away from him in order to let all of the gas release harmlessly into the atmosphere. After all of the gas was released, Ben retrieved an unconscious Eric, putting an oxygen mask on him so Eric would live.

Ben carried Eric into the laboratory and hooked up the equipment to him. In a matter of seconds, Eric was in the virtual world.

Chapter 4

Josh was walking casually along in the virtual world, until he noticed a man lying down, unconscious. Since Josh was only a child, he didn't know what to do. Josh looked at the stranger and shook him awake.

The stranger took a while to regain conscious. When he finally did, he was shocked.

"Where am I," the stranger asked.

"You are in Morris. You materialized in this world not too long ago," Josh informed the stranger.

"Is this all real," Eric asked doubtfully.

"Oh, this is real, but it isn't real. It's all in your mind. The virtual world is a place created by Master Perry, as so were all of us. He has control of everyone, including you. He can give us all power, and he can make us all powerless. He can do what ever he wants to do. I would suggest being on his good side. I think that you are not just an image; you are a human. Am I correct?"

"Yes. Hey, you're pretty smart for a kid. My name is Eric Patterson."

"Josh H43R8. Just call me Josh. Look. In order for me to avoid trouble, I can't help you that much. I will ask the CRI to tell me what I can do for you, but until I know, I'm staying clear away from you. I'll do the best I can, though," Josh said apologetically.

With that, Josh walked off, looking back at Eric. Eric looked around and found that he was all alone. He wondered what Josh's last name meant.

The world was very breathtaking; everything was an awesome shade of green. There were little life forms that were very peaceful. He wondered why he was here, and who this Master Perry was.

Eric got up and decided to walk around. It appeared that he was in a vast meadow that roamed endlessly on. But... everything wasn't all what it appeared. He was walking along until he came up upon a large staff. Eric picked it up and found that it was quite sturdy.

"Never know when I'll need it... This world is peaceful, yet mysterious."

All of a sudden, Ben Perry materialized right in front of Eric.

"How right you are, convict. You see, you are inside of a program that I made. I have total control of you. In fact, try to kill me with your stick," Ben said, testing Eric.

Eric wasted no time in reacting. He ran full force at Ben, but when Eric was about to swing at Ben, he found that he couldn't. He was too weak to hold himself up, so he just collapsed.

"What... what happened... to me," Eric said as he was gasping for breath.

"You see, I have control of your strength, your endurance, your intelligence, your body and your actions. I have total control over you, and you can't do anything about it. I can actually turn you into a frog, or I could make you a Super Man. I could make two of you; I could make a whole army of duplicates of you. You are at my mercy, and I can do what ever I want to do with you." Ben explained toEric.

All of a sudden, Eric found that he could get up again. Being as sneaky as he could, Eric waited until the right moment when he could just spring up and strike Ben with his staff.

"Don't try it, Eric. Even if you did, I would be much quicker and much stronger than you," Ben said, seemingly reading Eric's mind.

"What do you mean? I wasn't going to try anything," Eric protested.

"YOU LIE," Ben growled. Ben pointed his hand at Eric, and Eric felt a very painful shock run through out his whole body as he flew back about seven feet. "I know what you think! I know what you want! Don't you understand that I have complete control over you? I know every single inch of you! I know your personality! I KNOW YOU!"

Eric was then filled with a fear that he never felt before.

"What do you want with me? What do you want? What did I do to you," Eric asked pleadingly as his voice was shaking.

Ben just stared at Eric, making Eric have a sharp pain in his stomach. Eric was then very afraid of Ben. Ben then just de-materialized out of the world, leaving with Eric a hateful laugh for him to remember.

A mechanical voice then said, "I know you... I have complete control of you..."

Eric then got up, determined not to be made a fool of by Ben. He didn't feel very good because of all of the shocks that Ben had given to him. It was also getting dark. As he was walking, he spotted a village about two miles north of him. He thought that he would probably be there in about thirty minutes, so he took his time. He just hoped that the villagers were fond of visitors.

Twenty minutes went by before it was too dark for Eric to see.

"Guess I'll just have to make camp here," Eric said to himself.

"I wouldn't do that," a tiny voice said.

Eric looked around, being very cautious.

"Who's there?"

"I wouldn't do that," the voice repeated.

"Show yourself, stranger," Eric said as he got his staff prepared for battle.

Eric saw in front of him a tiny female sprite that flew like a humming bird. The little sprite seemed to glow. She wore nothing but a few strands of cloths to cover up her body.

"It's too dangerous here! Please, don't stay," the sprite begged.

Eric looked at the sprite, and then considered its advice.

"Why should I believe this? Why should I believe anything in this world," Eric asked, mainly to himself.

"I saw you talking to Master Perry. He is very mean and dangerous; his best soldiers live in this area, and they would be glad to kill you," the sprite squeaked out.

Eric considered what the sprite said.

"Have you been following me," Eric asked.

"Yes. I'm afraid that I am not the only one, though. I saw a big stranger with all kinds of weapons following you, also. He did not see me, because I am too small, but I think that he is going to kill you, as so are the soldiers."

"Why would they want to kill me if this Master Perry wants to use me as his test mouse?"

"They are jealous. You are a human, but they are an image. Even though an image is the next best thing to a real human, they are not the best. They would sacrifice themselves to kill you, so you must be careful."

"Then if I can't stay here, where can I stay," Eric asked.

"Follow me," the sprite said.

Eric followed the sprite, using the light she gave off. In about seven minutes, Eric and the sprite were at a small cave entrance.

"It's safe in here," the sprite said.

Eric took a look inside. Surprisingly, the inside was nice and lit up.

"Are you sure," Eric asked with a trace of uncertainty in is voice. He wasn't sure if he should trust this sprite. He had read about sprites in story books, but this was not the real world, and anything could be different.

"Yes. Nobody knows about this place. Not even the CRI. By the way, you can call me Isabel."

"Eric. What is the CRI?"

"The CRI is a mean companion of Master Perry. He takes care of the entire world."

"How do you know that he or Master Perry doesn't know of this place?"

"There are too many people, too many places, and too many things in this world for them to know every single inch of," Isabel explained.

Eric was still unsure, but he decided that Isabel was telling the truth.

"Thanks for all of your help, Isabel. I hope that in the future I can leave this world and live a normal life," Eric said. He thought to himself that if Ben didn't already know about this place all ready, he knew about it now. Eric could picture Ben watching everything that Eric was doing.

Isabel chuckled. "You can't escape this world without the CRI or Master Perry's help. You're stuck here, basically."

Eric stayed up for a while and talked to the sprite, asking her general questions about the virtual world. After a few minutes, Eric went asleep in a world that wasn't even real; in a world without love; without hope.

Chapter 5

Ben walked into the lab the next morning. He looked at Eric, who had all of the equipment still on and running. He looked at the screen of the laptop computer and saw that Eric was sleeping. He looked at the other computer that Mike's program was on. Mike's computerized face was looking at Ben.

Ben started to talk to the 1786sx computer. "Well, at least he didn't physically go anywhere. Like he could... I'd imagine he'd be pretty hungry right about now, wouldn't he, Mike?" He was referring to Eric.

The 1786sx computer responded with, "My sensors tell me that Mr. Patterson is definitely hungry."

"Good. I'm afraid that I am going to have to put him on a liquid diet for a few days in order for him to get used to eating in the virtual world. I'm working on that part."

"So far, Master, I am programmed to release a chemical that stimulate*s the liquid that you feed to Mr. Patterson when he eats something inside the virtual world. Is there any corrections to be made," the computer responded.

"No, Mike. I'm going to have to test my theory, first, before I change anything. I just hope that I didn't seriously mess up in the program by making him die when he eats in the virtual world."

"According to my calculations, Mr. Patterson should be sleeping for another hour and twenty two minutes."

Ben thanked the computer, "Mike," and then inserted an IV in order to feed Eric.

"Mike, tell me how afraid Eric is of me," Ben said as he was getting the rest of the IV all set up.

"His readings show that he was afraid of you, but now he is not all that afraid. I think that the way you treated his image yesterday was not enough to completely scare him. His readings show that now he is angry at you instead of afraid."

"Well, Mike, I guess I'm going to have to pay Eric a visit in the virtual world. I see that he has found a companion. What is the sprite's identity?"

About ten seconds had passed until the computer responded with, "S46W4. It's call name is Isabel."

"I assume she knows that Eric is a human instead of an image?"

The computer responded with, "I don't know as of right now. Every character in the virtual world thinks a different way, and it appears that the sprite's thinking is very complex. I will visit the sprite and Mr. Patterson in the form of another sprite in order to find out, if you wish."

"No, that's all right, Mike. I will personally visit Eric today and make him very afraid. If I have to do that artificially, using the computer program to alter his fear of me, I will. That would be cheating, but it would work. I hope I don't have to go to those extremes, but the option is available," Ben said.

Ben left the lab, and in about an hour he returned.

"Mike, how is Eric?"

The computer ran a full check on Eric and then responded with, "Eric is fine. He should wake up in about 17 minutes. I have received information on the sprite that Eric is staying with. It thinks by means of hexadecimal calculation. This means that she is quite smart. I could change that for you, if you want."

"No, Mike. Eric has done nothing yet for me to treat him badly, and I don't want to alter any other life forms that you have made for me. When I was gone, I found this disk. Apparently, it used to belong to our friend, Eric. It is labeled `College calculations.' I found this from the personal belongings that Eric had. Perhaps Eric is smarter then what you have told me yesterday, Mike."

"It does appear so; but I calculated his intelligence using the program that you have made. That program has never failed, so perhaps the disk is not actually Mr.

Patterson's."

"Possibly. Switch the computer to regular mode, Mike. I'll have to turn off Eric's equipment in order to do this, but I want to examine the contents of this disk."

The computer did what it was told to do.

Ben put the disk in and ran a directory of it. It appeared that the disk was empty.

"See, Master. This disk was a bluff."

"Not so fast, Mike. Give me a list of any hidden files on this disk."

The computer took a while before it came with a response.

"I did not recognize any hidden file, Master. Are you now satisfied?"

"Yes. Turn Eric's machine back on, and then switch to the virtual world program. Perhaps he is hiding something from us by means of this disk."

Ben or the computer did not know this, but Eric had awakened and heard some of this conversation. Eric remembered what was on that disk; it was the college calculations he had made in order to make a computer feel emotions. However, there was something way wrong with the calculations, so the disk was worthless to him.

Before Eric's machines were turned back on, he caught a glimpse of what was around him through the virtual glasses. The main computer, the room its self, and the IV. In his mind, he memorized his surroundings so that he could use them in the future.

Eric materialized back into the virtual world, and Isabel was waiting for him.

"I was wondering where you went! I had figured that the soldiers had captured you," the sprite said, while she scowled at Eric.

"By the way, Isabel. You never told me much about the thing that was following me last night."

"I think it was an ogre, and they are very mean. If he had any brains at all, he probably left off and found a different source of prey. Speaking of prey, have you had anything to eat?"

Eric started to walk on the path while Isabel flew beside him.

"As a matter of fact, no. I haven't. Where do you go to get something to eat around here?"

The sprite thought for a second. "You know, I think that there is a merchant down the road about three miles south from here. They call him the Great Merchant. Perhaps he could sell you some food, and maybe some different weapons," Isabel said to Eric.

Eric looked at the staff that he was carrying. "Hmm. I think I do need a better weapon. The only thing is that I don't have any money."

All of a sudden, a huge animal resembling a human with the body of an ape came screaming out onto the path that Eric was on.

"Ogre! Ogre! Run, Eric, run!" Isabel squeaked out as she flew quickly away.

Eric didn't have enough time to escape, so his only other option was to stay and fight this huge beast.

The ogre wielded a huge axe, and Eric thought that he had no chance of making it through this fight alive.

Eric got into his takedown position that he learned in wrestling, with his staff in hand. The ogre roared as it swung its mighty axe. Eric dodged it, mainly because the beast was too slow. He wasted no time in his counterattacking. Eric jabbed the staff into the beast's stomach, and the ogre roared with pain and rage. The ogre then swung his axe downward at Eric. This swing was way to fast for Eric to dodge, and Eric cringed as the axe just about came down upon him.

Just before the axe had hit, Eric suddenly saw the world de-materialize into a big endless grid that was green. He saw Ben in front of him about twenty feet.

"Well, convict. I see that you are having troubles in my world."

Eric looked around, but saw nothing but an endless grid. He turned back and saw Ben handling a laser gun.

"Convict, I have come to the conclusion that you need an edge in my world. I know that most images would be more than willing to get rid of you, and you have nothing but a staff to keep you alive. Here. Take this gun," Ben said, throwing Eric the gun.

Eric caught the gun, and examined it.

"Best weapon I have made, yet," Ben said proudly.

Eric turned the gun on firing mode, as suddenly he saw two images of Ben.

"You see, Eric, I can duplicate my self, likewise, I can duplicate you. Go ahead. Shoot one of us and test the gun," the image of Ben on the right said.

Eric shot the image, and surprisingly, the image roared out with pain and then de-materialized right before Eric's eyes.

"It works, doesn't it?"

Eric then thought about shooting the other image of Ben.

"Mr. Patterson, I really wouldn't do that if I were you. If you did, I can make this world really tough for you. Remember, I know what you think."

Eric neglected this remark, and set out to shoot the other image. But before he could, the gun just de-materialized.

"If only you would listen... Mr. Patterson, I would like for you to meet the CRI. He is kind of like the automatic pilot of the virtual world."

The CRI materialized right before Ben. Its image seemed to glow, so Eric could see every outline of the image due to the darkness of the grid and the brightness of the CRI.

"Hello, Mr. Patterson," the image spoke.

Eric looked at the image and responded with, "So you're the CRI. I have heard much about you."

The CRI laughed lightly, and then explained, "Mr. Patterson, if I were you, I would watch what you do in the virtual world, because someone else is always going to be watching you."

Eric gave the CRI a bad look, and then charged at the image. The CRI had plenty of time to react, and all he had to do was stick one of his fingers out at Eric. Eric then felt a sharp pain in his legs, and he fell down flat.

Eric groaned with pain as the CRI laughed. The image of Ben then pointed his finger at Eric, and Eric started to raise above the ground.

"Put me down," Eric said pleadingly.

Ben laughed jubilantly, and then twirled Eric around like a lasso. When Ben thought that Eric had enough, he put Eric down.

Eric looked up at Ben, and then Ben stared back, making Eric feel a burning sensation in his back.

"Don't mess with us, Mr. Patterson. You have only seen a fraction of what we can do to you. If you want, we will give a more detailed demonstration of our power; but I'm sure you wouldn't want that to happen," Ben said to Eric.

The surroundings then changed back to the battle between Eric and the ogre. Time had stopped while Eric was with Ben and the CRI, and that meant that Eric would probably be dead because of the ogre's axe. Eric was not feeling very good, thanks to the two images. He knew that he was a goner when time would resume. However, when time actually did resume, the beast surprisingly suddenly shrunk to the size of an ant.

Eric stepped on the shrunken ogre, and then looked around him. He saw a little elf coming out of the underbrush.

"Ogres are quite dangerous. You should learn to avoid them," it said with a warm smile on its face. It dusted off its hands, and that told Ben that it had used magic to get rid of the ogre. Its nose was big, and its ears stuck out; it also had many wrinkles on its face.

Isabel flew back onto the trail, and then said to Eric, "While you were fighting the ogre, I used my transporters to get help from my friend, Max. Max, this is Eric."

The elf walked up to Eric and shook his hand. "Nice to meat you, Eric. Isabel was frightened that you might get killed by it, so she asked for my help. I am experienced in magic, so I decided that I could help. Looks like I came just in time," the elf said, still wearing the warm smile.

Ben thanked both Max and Isabel. When he looked back down in his hands, he saw that he had the laser gun that Ben had given to him.

The elf spotted the gun, and then looked at Ben with awe. "You must be one of the good soldiers from the east! Only they have laser guns. They are trained especially to kill all evil soldiers and evil wild animals."

"No, I am a real human, not a soldier from the east. A person who I think is Master Perry put me into this world. He is using me for a test mouse in order to see what kind of reactions I have."

"Oh. You're the human. Many people have been talking about you; and they're not saying good things, either. If I were you, I would ask the Great Merchant in the south to give you magic. He is very wise, and his fees are meager. You will probably need it, since you have so many beings that want to kill you because you are a human. It's a good thing you have that laser gun," Max warned.

"Thanks, Max. Isabel and I were headed out to the Great Merchant in order to find food, but the ogre had prevented us from doing that. Would you like to come with us?" Ben asked Max.

Max considered the offer. "I guess I could take you there safely. But after that, I have some other business I have to attend to."

The threesome walked along the road, unaware that Ben was watching them in the real world through the computer.

"Who is this other companion, Mike?" Ben asked the computer.

The computer gave no response.

"Mike, I asked you a question," Ben said in a deeper tone than usual.

The computer still gave no response.

Ben switched the computer mode in order to view what was wrong with the Mike program. Apparently, it just stopped. Ben typed in a few commands, and in a matter of seconds, Mike was up and running again. "Tell me what had caused you to stop thinking, Mike."

The computer then responded with, "There is a malfunction in my mainframe. I don't know the source of my malfunction, but I believe it has something to do with the disk that you had inserted in me."

"It was totally blank! That disk had absolutely no information on it. How could that be your problem, Mike?"

"Oh, it's quite simple. This disk could be one of the few disks that I cannot read; therefore, I would not know of its purpose or what it does to me. I ran a self-check, but I found nothing extraordinary different," the computer explained.

Ben picked up the disk from off of the computer table and examined it again.

"Mike, this disk seems like every other disk that I use."

"Then test it on a different computer other than me, master," the computer said.

"Mike, that is an excellent idea! Why didn't I think of that? I'll use my laptop."

The laptop was the computer that was running the Virtual World at the time, so Ben had to turn off the equipment that Eric was wearing in order to switch from the Virtual World program to the regular operating system. Ben drugged Eric so Eric wouldn't get out of control, and then turned everything off.

In the Virtual World, Eric, Max and Isabel were walking along until Eric just de-materialized when his equipment was turned off. Max and Isabel were left amazed.

Eric was very drowsy because of the drug Ben had given him. Before long, he had lost conscious all together.

Ben stuck the disk into the laptop and tried to run a directory in order to find out if there was anything on the disk.

"Nothing," Ben said.

While Ben was trying to figure out what was wrong with the disk, the laptop beeped. The CRI was basically the whole laptop, and it was trying to communicate with Ben.

Ben switched the program to the CRI's main program. In an instant, the CRI appeared on the screen.

"Master Perry, I believe that my system is being tampered with by some sort of alien source," it advised Ben, using the external speaker.

"I think that it is in this disk, CRI. See if you can't figure out if there is anything on it," Ben requested to the laptop through the special microphone.

The CRI is much more advanced than Mike is, and usually it can find out anything about disks. However, the CRI did not respond.

Finally, after about twenty seconds, the CRI answered, "Master Perry, this disk is not empty. I can tell that because of the amount of leftover memory on it. An empty disk contains a certain amount of free memory, but this disk contains less than that. Therefore, there is something on this disk. However, I can not find any trace of a program on it. It appears to be blank, but I know it isn't."

Ben looked grimly at the image of the CRI on the screen. "CRI, how is your system being tampered?"

The CRI responded with, "It seems that my attitude parameters are being slightly changed. I'm sure that I could easily change them back, but I thought that I should consult with you first."

"Well, it's a good thing you had. Listen, CRI. This disk is Eric Patterson's, the human that I am testing in the Virtual World. I believe that if you somehow coaxed the information out of Eric about it, then perhaps I can do something with this disk."

"I believe I can retrieve information out of Eric through one of his new friends," the CRI explained.

"Oh, by the way. Tell me about this Great Merchant from the town of Morris," Ben said, remembering his experience a few days before with the soldiers.

"The Great Merchant is viewed as the most powerful image and the most wisest image other than myself and you, Master Perry. He has many powers that somehow he has developed. He uses these powers not to hurt, but to help. He sells many things, therefore people tag him as the Great Merchant. He depends totally on his magical power; he is old and therefore cannot rely on his physical strength. Everyone looks up to him. Just the other day, he was robbed of the sacred time glass. Since I am the CRI, of course I know who has it, but you told me never to interfere with the Virtual World's affairs unless if it is an emergency," the CRI explained.

"Hmm. I was suspected to be the one who robbed the Great Merchant," Ben said.

"That is true. In fact, a different image used your image as a frame. That is why it is not safe for you to enter the Virtual World other than the endless realm of the grid, seeming as how no one, not even the Great Merchant, knows how to enter the endless grid. Obviously you and the other human, Eric, cannot literally die, but you will be constantly shot at and killed in the Virtual World. You can always reenter it, though," the CRI said.

Ben thought about what the CRI had said, and then he realized that Eric's drugs would wear off soon. He bid the CRI farewell, and switched to the Virtual World program. After turning on Eric's equipment, he left the room in order to think about what's wrong with the Virtual World and the "people" living in it.

Part 2

Chapter 1

Eric Patterson materialized back into the Virtual World while he was conscious. Max and Isabel were still waiting for him, and when he finally came, they were relieved.

Max said a spell for Eric, and Eric slowly regained conscious.

"What.. what happened," Eric asked groggily.

"That's exactly what I would like to know," Max said with a worried expression on his face. Max looked around for a certain plant.

"What are you looking for, Max," Isabel asked the elf.

"Desert's plant. It will give great refreshment to someone who eats it when a certain spell is said for it. The plant is common around the outskirts of Morris, so I should be able to find one real soon."

Eric propped himself up on one elbow and then looked around.

Boy, this is a beautiful world, Eric thought. I wonder how one man could create such a beautiful thing like this, especially using the low technology of today's world. Why does he want to use it in a way such as this?

Max bent down and picked a strange herb. With a satisfying grin, he examined the plant and then gave it to Eric.

"After I say a spell, I want you to eat this," Max ordered to Eric.

"OK. I'm ready when you are," Eric said.

Max let out a stream of words in a strange language and all of a sudden, the plant that Eric was holding started to grow bigger and juicer.

"Now! Eat it," Max said to Eric, hurrying him along.Eric ate the plant and instantly his hunger and thirst was quenched. He also regained full conscious.

"Wow! Thanks, Max. I feel a lot better!"

"Get up, and let's finish our journey to the Great Merchant."

Eric had the best feeling that he had ever felt. He got up and soon, the threesome were going again.

"We are about two cubic blocks away, Eric," Max informed Eric.

"Could you convert that to miles," Eric said.

"In miles, I think it's under one. However, since I have to rely on a mathematical equation to convert cubic blocks to miles, I could be wrong."

While Eric and Max were walking, and Isabel fluttering behind, a strange man came up to them. He was wearing a shiny silver coat with the words in big red type, "Morris," painted on the back.

"Halt, strangers. What brings you to the town of Morris?" the man asked.

"We seek help from the Great Merchant. My name is Max, and the Great Merchant and I are close friends," Max said as he secretly put a spell on the man that made him believe anything.

"Well, then, a friend of the Great Merchant is definitely a friend of mine! Welcome to Morris, friends," the man said with a welcoming smile on his face. He reached out his hand to both Eric and Max as they shook hands.

"Here. Take this transporter. It will transport you to the doorway of the Great Merchant's home. So long, friends," the man said, handing Max a transporter pod.

When the man turned back around, Max gave Eric the pod while he whispered to both Eric and Isabel, "Eric! Don't use this pod unless it is an emergency. You can walk to his home from here, but take care. Here. Take this powder. It will make you invisible for a while. Use it only on an emergency. Good luck Eric and Isabel. I must go."

Max suddenly disappeared.

"Are you sure we can do this?" Eric asked to Isabel as they started to walk towards the Great Merchant's home.

"Of course we can do this," Isabel squeaked out.

"I'm sure the Great Merchant will tell us what to do. I hope he doesn't charge anything for information."

"Oh, don't worry about that. I've got plenty of gold nuggets on reserve. All I have to do is show him my credit, and he'll trust me."

"You mean you have a credit card?" Eric asked in awe.

"More or less, yes I do have a credit card."

Eric looked around him. He saw many people busy walking around, doing little jobs minding their own business. It was obvious that the two of them were close to the Great Merchant.

As Isabel was flying around, Eric noticed that one person was looking at her oddly. Eric hid this thought and secretly examined the strange man.

A few minutes went by until Eric finally decided to do something about this strange man. Eric walked up to the man and said, "Why are you looking at this sprite in such a way as you are?"

"You are him! You are the human, Eric Patterson. I have been waiting for you and your friend, the sprite. I was looking at the sprite because I thought I had noticed her. I have been waiting for you because you are to play an important role in the future," the strange man explained.

"May I have the pleasure of knowing who you are?" Eric asked.

"Of course. My name is Mike Rochip. I am a computer using an image in order to talk to you. My master is the same master as yours is, which is Master Perry. You will know him as Ben Perry. I am here to help you, even though Master Perry would not like it. I feel that you are in great danger, especially if no one helps you. You see, I can see in the future of the Virtual World. Master Perry has given me that privilege. The only problem is that I see two options of the future. In other words, I see two worlds, which only one of them comes true. In one of the futures, I see you being killed by a foe. I will help you get to the Great Merchant, and after you get to the Great Merchant, I will help you get to your next destiny," Mike said.

Mike, the computer, was serious about this. Ben had no idea that Mike was doing this; Mike wasn't about to tell Ben, either.

"If you work for Ben, then how can I trust you?"

"You either can trust me, or you can't trust me. If you don't trust me, then I cannot help you. If you trust me and take your chances, your chances of survival are amplified greatly."

"So what do I do if Master Perry is up to one of his tricks? And I also don't understand why I need help to get to the Great Merchant, seeming as how he lives around the block."

This took Mike by surprise. He obviously didn't know where he was or where the Great Merchant lived.

"You know where the great Merchant lives? How did you find this out," Mike asked Ben.

"Max told me, and Isabel had also helped me. You see, I have other people or things to trust other than you. I have more help than you can give to me. I still don't think that I can trust you, mainly because you are a computer working for Ben. How do I know that you aren't the CRI trying to pry information out of me by acting nice and helping me along?"

"And how does he know that you are actually telling the truth," Isabel added in.

"That disk that Master Perry put in me, that was yours, wasn't it," Mike asked Ben.

"Why do you want to know, Mike?"

"It has changed me. My attitude parameters have been affected. I can actually understand what you are going through, and I feel very sorry that you have to do this. That disk has given me feelings. Most of the feelings have been good, and also with the good comes bad. But overall, the disk has greatly helped me. If the disk came from you, I would like to pay you back. You see, the CRI is my archrival. His program is superior to mine, and he has much more access than I do. If you can get the right information and magic from the Great Merchant, and if you are at the right place at the right time, I can get you out of this world using the access that I have. The CRI is out to kill you and he is out to learn what was on the disk. The CRI and Master Perry are the only other ones who know how to bring you out. The Great Merchant can give you a lot of magic in hopes that it gets you out of the world and I can twist my access code to get you out. This is my payback. I am saving you from the CRI and I am also getting you a way out of this world if you allow me to."

Eric thought about this for awhile. He thought that Mike could be telling the truth. If Mike could see into the future, then he would already know if Eric allowed Mike to help. He would also know if he deceived Eric. Eric thought to himself about any kind of way to read Mike's mind, and then it hit him. On Eric's disk that Ben put into Mike was a program that could get into any file and read what was in it. If Eric could remember the access code, then he could look into the contents of anyone here, assuming that everyone was a file and not a human being.

"I will let you come with us as far as the Great Merchant, and then I will talk to the Great Merchant and see what he says about this whole deal. Is this good enough?"

Mike nodded his head furiously with his big bright blue eyes flashing in anticipation. "Yes! Yes," Mike said as he tried to contain his excitement.

"One thing, though. Tell us what you see in the future."

"Well, like I said, in one of the futures, I see you being killed by a foe. I can't really see who this certain foe is, but I know that you will be killed. In the other future, I see all of us using something very valuable in order to save ours and some one else's lives. I can't see why, but all of us and this extra person will be in great danger," Mike informed Isabel and Eric.

Eric thought for awhile and contemplated over the situation. He wondered what really would happen if he died. Would he die in the real world, too? He doubted it. He remembered all of the equipment that he was wearing in the real world. This, he thought, must be his connections to the real world. If he died, then he thought that he would probably be disconnected out of this world and put back into the real world. Then, once in the real world, he could escape the laboratory and be a free man. But, what would happen if he was knocked unconscious when he died? Then that would be a different story. In his mind, he started to devise a plan.

Eric had been in such deep thought that he didn't notice that the threesome were already at the Great Merchant's shop.

"Eric? Did you hear me," Isabel asked, being a little agitated.

"I'm sorry. What did you say?"

"We're here already," Isabel repeated.

The shop was everything that Eric had imagined. Shiny showcases lined the walls, radiating a beautiful spectrum of colorful light. The cases were filled with many objects ranging from laser guns to expensive herbs to appetite appealing foods. Eric stared at the beautiful sight with astonishment.

Behind one showcase was a short robust old man who was hustling around what appeared to be a crystal ball the size of a bowling ball.

"You must be this strange man I have been hearing about," the short man said, not looking up from his work. "They say you are human. Is this true?"

The short man looked up at Eric after he spoke.

"Yes. My name is Er..."

"I know what your name is," the old man snapped back in an offensive manner, as if he expected Eric to know that the man knew that already. "I am the Great Merchant! I pretty much know almost everything about this world. The things I don't know don't need to be known about anyway. I know that your female friend's name is Isabel. I know that your other friend's name is Mike, and boy, you better watch him carefully."

Mike stared at the Great Merchant with accusing eyes.

"I resent that statement, " Mike retorted.

"Why should you? It is true, isn't it? If it weren't, you wouldn't be here," the Great Merchant said very mater-of-factually. "By the way, what brings you and your friends up here?"

"Well, " Eric started. But before Eric could finish, he was cut off by the Great Merchant.

"I know that answer too. Unfortunately, I'm afraid that your friend, Mike, is plotting against your reason, which is to escape."

"Leave me alone! I am not plotting against my friend! I am not going to be any danger to him! I am his friend," Mike yelled.

All of a sudden, Eric heard a devastating ring that made him clasp his hands over his ears.

"What is that terrible noise," Eric asked in disgust.

"Ah. That is my lie detector test. It appears that someone in this room has been lying lately," the Great Merchant said, looking directly at Mike. The Great Merchant held in his hand what appeared to be a small golden medallion.

"I have one way of finding out, Great Merchant. But I need your help," Eric said.

Making sure no one but the Great Merchant heard what was said, Eric explained to the Great Merchant about the file reader program that was on his disk.

"Hmm. A challenging problem indeed. I'll see what I can do. In the meantime, your appetite must be massive. Here. Have some of my luxurious food, free of charge."

Eric looked at the bowl of food that the Great Merchant was referring to. In it appeared to be the best looking bowl of fruit he had ever seen.

"Thanks a lot, Great Merchant! You are very generous," Isabel excitedly said, after eying the extravagant bowl herself.

Mike muttered something to himself inaudible to anyone else as he ungratefully reached for the food.

The Great Merchant went into the next room and pondered over the problem. After about a strenuous twenty minutes of waiting, he finally came out and whispered his conclusion to Eric.

With a small grin slowly forming on Eric's face, he replied, "You are awesome, Great Merchant. When will we be able to carry out this strategy of yours?"

"Tomorrow, my friend. Tomorrow. By the way, feel free to examine my vast assortment of items to buy. I'm sure that you'll find something to your liking. Many of my things could help you on your missions, so buy with good judgment," the Great Merchant advised.

Chapter 2

"CRI, give me an update on my friend," Ben requested to his computer.

The head of the CRI showed up on a three dimensional grid while it appeared to be floating in space. It explained that Eric and Isabel had arrived at the Great Merchant's village, but revealed nothing about Mike. Apparently, the CRI didn't know about Mike's rebellious move yet.

"Interesting. What has Eric found out? Anything? What has he bought?"

"Apparently, Eric has eaten some food, and that is just about it. So far, he has bought nothing, for he has no money."

"What about the sprite? Has she bought anything for him? Surely she has some money," Ben said.

"Actually, the sprite does have money, but the two show no interest in buying something. Eric has gained a little information, but the information is not important."

"Hm. Well, keep a watch on him. I think that he's up to something with the great merchant. When you find anything out, let me know."

"I will do that, Master," the floating head of the CRI said.

With that, the CRI's head disappeared, and in place, a view of the Virtual World showed up.

"Mike? ," Ben asked.

No response.

"Mike! ," Ben practically yelled as he turned towards the computer program's main computer.

After he didn't get a response the second time, Ben cursed to himself and walked over to the other computer. Finally, after typing in a bunch of commands, Mike's face showed up on the screen.

"Yes, Master? ," Mike asked.

"Mike, why didn't you answer me the first two times I called your name? ," Ben demanded.

"I'm sorry, Master. I don't know the answer." Mike doesn't know how to lie, so he temporarily deleted the information from his memory. He will forget what happened for a while and Ben won't find out, either.

"Well, I'm going to find out. Switch to your programming mode," Ben said, as he was getting ready to search through Mike's memory. To himself, he said, "I don't know why I keep you. The CRI program is a lot better."

As soon has Ben requested it, the screen blanked out to the programming mode. Ben typed in a series of commands, and then stared blankly at the screen.

"I don't believe it! Your memory for the past three hours has been totally wiped out! How in Hades could that of happened? ," Ben said, as he gawked at the screen.

After typing in a few more commands, Mike's face reappeared on the screen.

"Mike, I've just come to a conclusion. Your program is going to be recopied in order to be just like the CRI's. There is no explanation for why your memory has been deleted! I guess there is an error in your program, and it will be very easy if I just recopy the CRI's program onto yours," Ben said.

"Master, excuse me for intruding, but perhaps I can offer a counter-solution. Why not let me try to fix myself? I'm sure that within a few hours, I will be fine," the computer said as its memory reallocation was beginning to kick in. Within about five minutes, his memory would be totally restored, and if he didn't manage to lose Ben's attention, then he, Eric, the Great Merchant, and Isabel would all be in trouble.

"Why don't you do that, Mike. But first, I want to add an element to your program. This element should prevent most memory losses due to natural causes - what ever those may be. I'm going to do some research in order to take a shot as to what caused your memory loss. Until then, why don't you work on yourself. Your self-reprogramming has my permission to do what ever it needs. Anyway, you will probably be replaced by the CRI anyway, so if you totally fluke up, it's no big deal," Ben explained.

Mike was beginning to feel anger - something he had never felt before. Eric's disk had taught this to Mike, and Mike was very angry at Ben. Mike was determined to punish Ben because of what he was going to do to Mike. But, Mike couldn't figure out how he could punish Ben since he was only a computer. Slowly, however, a solution came to mind.

Mike was feeling satisfaction in the anticipation of the plan he was going to use. Ben was going to be in danger soon. Real soon. On the face of Mike, a sly smile started to form as he disintegrated back into the virtual world.

Ben switched to Mike's programming mode and added the element. Lucky for Mike, Ben didn't go through Mike's memory again. Instead, Ben added what was needed and then left from the computer.

Eric, Isabel, and the Great Merchant were anxiously waiting Mike. The Great Merchant's plan had worked. Eric had connection to his file, as well as Mike's true reason for being with them. Eric was pleased.

"Welcome back, Mike," Eric said to Mike, after he materialized into the Virtual World in front of Eric.

"Thank you, Eric," Mike said as the two shook hands. Turning towards the Great Merchant, Mike said, "Listen, Great Merchant, I have no time to play any more games. I'm with Eric and Isabel in order to ..."

"Speak no more, Mike. I know why you're here. You are also welcome. Combined together, we are going to/ get Eric out of here and get rid of the CRI's rule here. And, we are going to put you in a higher power than that of the CRI's."

Andrew looked at Eric, Mike, the Great Merchant, and Isabel through his crystal ball that was at his hut.

"You had better watch your step, friends," Andrew meaninglessly spoke to the crystal ball. "The CRI is going to find out about you soon. Very soon."

Andrew put his gun in his hand and slid his black hood on. He had a look of determination as he set out to fight for the freedom of the Virtual World. He will fight until he gets the freedom. . . or until he dies.

Chapter 3

A cold breeze swept the land while the dark ominous clouds covered the sky. A gray color filled the atmosphere and everybody's attitude matched it. No one was walking the streets in Kansas City.

No one except for a couple of men.

"Listen, Beau! " a harsh, low pitched voice that belonged to a Negro practically yelled. "We need to find him and get rid of him. He tried to bag us, and now we'll bag him!"

"Jack, let's be sensible. If we dispose of Patterson, then the point of our whole plan will fail. We need Patterson for his workability. He is the only person that can do the things that we need to have done. True, we need to find him, but we can't get rid of him just yet," Beau explained.

The two men walked with a hooded jacket on and kept their heads low while they were talking. They were known criminals, and the last thing that they needed was to be found and reported. Beau and Jack stood about six feet tall each.

"Beau, do we really need him? I'm sure that we can find a replacement."

Beau stared ahead at nothing in particular.

After a long moment of silence, Beau replied.

"The reason why we really need Patterson is because of his disk. On that disk was a program of his that was designed to search files and give out all kinds of information about it. I stole that disk from him and copied it for my own. I had accidentally put on it some files that are so hidden, they surpass all of the known hidden file seekers. After I was done with the program that Patterson had made, I returned the disk so it wouldn't be missed.

"The files that I put on it were the master files for the Unification of Organized Crime. I got a hold of it quite by accident, but once I got a hold of it, I decided that I would look at them in detail. That's why I needed Patterson's disk. I never told you this because I am in the UOC. If you're in the UOC, you tell absolutely nothing. I don't even know why I am telling you."

"You work for the UOC? " Jack asked Beau in shock.

It started to mist while a few cars drove passed Beau and Jack.

"Right now, I'm only a scout. If I was anything higher, then I would be in the Underground. There are many levels of ranking. The next level is Agent, then Boss, then Super Agent, then Enforcer, ect. It is almost impossible to get promoted. Anyway, if Patterson, or anyone, ever finds out about that file, then the whole UOC would be destroyed. That file is essential for the UOC to survive. No one but you and I know that Patterson has this disk. If any superiors found out, then I would be dead and Patterson would be dead. As it is, the superiors are sending super agents out to look for that file. All that they have to do is find out that I am linked to it, and I am toast," Beau said with a frightful tone of voice.

It started to rain as Beau and Jack walked down the next road. They picked up their pace a little.

"Beau, if you are caught by police and they find out that you work for the UOC, then they will question you to death. Literally. The UOC is the biggest crime threat to the state of Missouri, and it spreading around the United States," Jack said.

"Excellent observation. Now, how would the police find out that I am in the UOC? First of all, when we killed Patterson's parents, the police couldn't even catch us then. What makes you think that they will catch us now? Second of all, there are thousands of people in the UOC, and it would be impossible to get information from just one of us. The only way that they would find information out is if they brainwashed me."

"Still, if they get anything out of you, it would destroy the UOC. Anyway, we're getting off of the subject. I still think that we should get rid of Patterson after we use him and after we get the disk."

"Jack, we were never going to use him in the first place. We just needed to create a diversion in order to retrieve that disk."

Their destination was in view . . . the campus of Sommer University.

"My contact should meet me here any time," Beau told Jack.

"Your contact? What contact are you talking about?"

"An agent from the UOC. He's going to help me dispose of Patterson and also find that disk. Ah. Here he comes now."

A dark blue Saturn slowly stopped at the meeting place, which was a local gas station. The driver side window rolled down and a bald tall teenager wearing dark see-proof glasses looked at Beau and Jack. The window then rolled back up.

"A teenager? You mean to tell me that the UOC is hiring teenagers as their agents? And why is he bald?" Jack asked Beau as if he was crazy.

"Shut up and say nothing, Jack. This kid means serious business, and you don't mess around with serious business. Let's go," Beau said calmly.

The two got in the back of the car.

The teenager looked at Beau and Jack through the rear view mirror.

"Let me get this straight. You want me to get rid of Patterson while you search for some disk? " the kid asked Beau and Jack.

"Yea," Beau nervously replied, while Jack said the same thing in the same manner.

"Why do you need the disk? What is on it?" the agent for the UOC inquired as the car pulled away from the station. "Vital information pertaining to access codes are on that disk. Patterson had accidentally gotten a hold of it, and I simply need to get it back," Beau lied.

"So you need to get rid of Patterson for that?"

"No. Let's just call it a personal experience," Jack said, as he remembered when Patterson called the police.

The car went away from the campus.

"Where are you going? We need to go to the dorm that is on the campus," Beau explained.

A thick glass that was probably bullet proof rolled up from the floor in the middle of the car all the way up to the ceiling.

"Beau Thompson and Jack Coe, you are being put under arrest for murder, two accounts of conspiracy, and organized crime. My name is Andy Brown, and I am a private detective," the kid's voice said through a speaker in the back.

"Oh, man," Beau virtually cried.

Jack just stared down at the floor.

Warden Dean was sitting in his office, kicking his legs up on his desk. It had been about thirty minutes after Beau and Jack were caught.

"I wonder what Perry's trying to do, anyway," he said to himself as he thought about Eric Patterson and the Virtual World.

Dean's phone beeped.

"Yes," Warden said, after he pushed a button.

"I have some information that might prove to be useful to you, Dean."

"What is it," Dean said, as he leaned forward in his desk.

"I am Detective Brown, and we have some people from the UOC. They claim that they were going to get something from Patterson's dorm, say, something like a disk of some sort."

"Go on," Dean said, his attention held.

"Well, would Mr. Benjamin Perry know anything of this disk? I want to see what's on it that the UOC is so worried about."

"Mr. Perry? How do you know him," Dean asked Brown.

"I know that he is the legal guardian of Patterson as of right now, and that's all that I need to know. Would Perry know of anything of this disk?"

Dean was frustrated that someone other than the people who were in charge of Patterson knew where he was.

"Perry would know something of the disk. If it has to do with computers, he's the man who knows about them. I do recall seeing a disk is Patterson's personal belongings. Perhaps that is the disk that you are thinking about."

"Perhaps. See if you can't get that disk from Perry. We need to do a level five diagnostic on it, if that's all right with you."

"Sure. How big is this disk to the UOC?" Dean asked, as he was thinking about the Unification of Organized Crime.

"It has to be pretty big. They had some Super Agents out looking for them. Our insider told us about how big of a commotion they are making."

"I'll see what I can do, but I'm not promising anything," Dean said, as he pushed the flash button.

Dean swiveled his chair towards the window in the back.

"Something big is going to happen. . ."

Chapter 4

Ben was sound asleep when the phone rang.

Groggily, he reached for the phone.

"Hello?" Ben asked.

"Perry, this is Dean. I want you to check out a disk of Patterson's. Do you know what I'm talking about?"

Ben thought for a while as he looked at the clock. Four thirty in the morning.

"Jesus, Dean! It's four in the morning, and all you're concerned about is a stupid disk of a criminal?"

"I want you to run the most sophisticated search on that disk. The UOC is hot for it, Perry," the warden said.

"I ran some tests already using the CRI's main disk search. It found out that there was something on the disk, but nothing firm enough for him to look at. I never checked into it after that, but I do have a more sophisticated file manager that could probably handle something like this. What do you think is on it? And what makes you call so early?"

"We believe that some key information pertaining to the UOC is on it, as well as some personal files of Patterson's. It's strange how you're not picking up any of Patterson's work. I'm sure that he doesn't have any high tech equipment that can conceal files like the UOC can. The reason why I called so early is that I need the test results fast," Dean said as he sat red-eyed in front of his PC. Dean was looking at some criminal records.

"Well, perhaps when and if the UOC hid any files that were on the disk, they hid everything, including Patterson's stuff. I don't know if I can do anything for you, but I'll run a more enhanced test on the disk. Something, though, bothers me about that disk. A computer program that I made for everyday use has been malfunctioning on me. I'm not exactly sure as to what the cause is, but I think that it has something to do with the disk. Also, the CRI's attitude parameters were being messed with by something that was on Patterson's disk, but I don't know exactly how and why."

"Do it as soon as possible. The Kansas City Police have caught a UOC scout as well as another criminal. These two, oddly enough, are thought to be the killers of Patterson's parents. So far, all of the evidence has led up to it."

Ben's eyes lit up, despite the early time of the morning.

"Send them over here! I would love to test Eric Patterson's reactions to them as soon as he finds out who they are."

"Perry, with your equipment, I'm sure you can create a simulation of the killers and use them. I've already given you one person, and I don't even have custody of the others. How is Patterson coming, by the way?"

"Patterson is coming along as well as suspected; even better. I haven't been able to keep a very close eye on everything he is doing because I've been working on networking the virtual world through other computers. However, physically, I'm vein-feeding him, and he's getting plenty of sleep. It's been one and a half days, so I need to get him out to exercise sometime today. Other than that, Patterson is in perfect condition."

"Well, he better be. A detective by the name of Brown has found out that you have custody of Patterson. If that means anything or not, I don't know. But what I do know is that if this Brown goes talking around any of my superiors, you and I could be in some serious danger. If any scientists found out about the high quality equipment of yours, you might be hounded to give some of your secretes. And if they don't find anything, they'll stop at nothing to find it out. They'll even use the UOC."

"What ever, Dean. All I know is that if I don't have any sleep the rest of the morning, who knows what's going to happen! I'm going to run those tests and give you the results as soon as I get them. But until then, don't bother me! I've got enough on my mind as it is."

"You got it, Ben. Sorry for waking you up, but these tests need to be done as soon as possible. We're sitting on something hot. Real hot," Dean said.

"I realize how imperative these tests are, so I'll do them first thing in the morning."

"Could you do them now?"

"Oh, come on, Dean! It's four forty in the morning, and I haven't had any sleep at all. I'm sure that these tests can wait a few more hours," Ben said as he was getting very annoyed.

"Fine. Just remember who gave you Patterson in the first place. If I don't get those tests within three hours, I'll be knocking at your door with a few guards asking for Patterson back. You following me?"

Ben hung up the phone and went back to bed.

"Hello? Hello?" Dean looked at the phone in disgust, and then gave off a stream of obscure words.

Eric looked at the Great Merchant, then to Mike. All three of them, along with Isabel, were walking down the road. They were going to go to the area where the Great Merchant said that the key ingredient to their plan would be.

"So what exactly are you suggesting, Mike?" Eric asked Mike.

Mike turned towards Eric.

"Somehow, we need to trick Master Perry to come to the virtual world. From there, we could get rid of him."

"True. However, the only thing that would happen to him is that he would be disconnected out of this world and into the real world," Eric said.

"And what would be the point of that? Master Perry would then just eliminate all of us!" Isabel pointed out.

The foursome were interrupted by someone walking closely behind.

"Not necessarily."

Eric turned around first, then Mike. As he was turning, Eric got his gun ready and pointed it at the stranger.

"I mean no harm," the stranger said. He took off his hood that concealed his face. "My name is Andrew Lucas. I lead the soldiers from the east. We have been devising a plan to overthrow the CRI. So far, we have come up with nothing."

"Why did you say not necessarily?" Mike asked.

"Well, let's say we were to devise a virtual world of our own. We could put Master Perry into that world, and then when he would be killed, we could put him in a different virtual world that would be programmed exactly like the real world."

"I'm not following you," Eric said.

"It's simple. The point of this plan is to make Master Perry think that he is in the real world, when actually, he is not. Right? " Isabel squeaked out.

"Exactly. We need to do the same to the CRI, if he ever visits our world. We could put him in an entirely different virtual world. If we could manage to stow away both Master Perry and the CRI in different worlds and lock them up, then our world will be free, and you could be disconnected out of here," Andrew explained to Eric and the rest of the foursome.

"How would we manage to do that?"

"It's simple. You know that disk of yours, Eric? Well, on it is a feelings program. Inside of that feelings program is a division loop. We can divide this world into as many worlds as we want. Then, we could restore our own world using the virtual memory of the 18786 computer chip. You would have to alter your program, but it's possible. If only we could get access to your disk, though," Andrew thought out loud.

Mike and Eric both answered simultaneously, "We do!".

Andrew gave a knowing smile to the rest of the group.

His dream was about to come a reality. Real reality.

Chapter 5

"Sir, there's been a mistake somewhere in the line. One of our scouts was captured. He's currently in custody, and facing some long and hard charges. We've got him the best lawyer in our field, but it's not looking too good. The main reason why he is so crucial to us, sir, is that he knows where the disk is."

The dim-lit room where a UOC agent and a UOC enforcer were discussing something intently suddenly became colder.

"He knows where the disk is. He knows where the disk is. WHY IN THE HELL DON'T YOU ASK HIM WHERE THE DISK IS?" the heavy set enforcer screamed hysterically at the agent in front of him.

"Sir, we're doing the best we can. Scout X14 isn't talking right now. His real name is Beau Thompson. Apparently, the information collected says that some college kid had this disk. This kid suddenly disappeared from the face of the earth, and now no one knows where this disk is. Well, we've looked into it. Our professor down at the college where the kid goes to claims that a colored man by the name of Eric Patterson stopped classes all-together. Said he was a strait A student, and just up and left. We checked it out, and it proves that he was picked up from off of the street because of attempted kidnapping and conspiracy, or something like that."

"Go on," the heavyset man encouraged, while feeling his beard.

"A jail in Kansas City was registered as his protector. By talking to the warden, some guy by the name of Dean, we found out that this kid was given secretly to a computer expert for some tests on the exact same thing that we are doing. Virtual Image. That's why that disk is so important. It holds two things; One, the basic outline for the whole entire UOC plans, and two, the key to a master Virtual World. Or, another real world inside of another. The difference between these two identical worlds is that the real one isn't fair. The computerized one is hell. No one can tell the difference between them, unless if they are a computer expert. The program uses brain information to recreate a world based on the subject's memory. Then, the subject is ours to play with. That disk was the only copy of the program that we have. And by now, it might be gone."

"So what do you want me to do? Send in a swat team to this computer expert's home?"

"Actually, I have a better idea. And I need your help to do this."

"Tell me about this idea of yours." The heavy set man was greatly into this.

"This computer expert, by the name of Ben Perry, has an open network access port. In other words, anybody with enough wits can get into his computer and do what they please. What I am saying is this: we get into his computer, change his world to one of our worlds, then lure him into it. Once he is inside of the computer, there is no way he can get unhooked, unless it is done physically by someone else. By the time that he is in the computer, we will have someone over there to swipe the disk that he may or may not have. If it's necessary, we will eliminate Paterson and Perry on the spot. So what do you think?" the smaller agent asked.

"It sounds good. Or, at least, that's all we can come up with for the time being. I'll see to it that your plan is carried through with some X-Agents and our wing General, and I be sure to note your name in order to get you a promotion within the ranks. Dismissed."

The smaller agent quickly walked out of the room. If Eric was there, he would recognize the agent right away. He was the kid with the butterfly knife. The kid who hadn't forgotten about what Eric almost got away with. Oh, jail wasn't good enough. This kid wanted murder. Cold blooded murder.

Chapter 6

"Mike, tell me the status of Eric's physical parameters," Ben requested.

The computer did not respond.

"Man! Not this again," Ben said in aggravation. He pounded his fist on the monitor of Mike's main computer. The monitor suddenly came to life.

There was Mike's full physical computerized image on the screen scaled down to about two inches by two inches. Next to Mike's image was Eric's and some other computer-generated character.

"What's this?" Ben asked.

The screen blinked off and on a couple times, then died out. Ben typed in a few commands to the laptop that Mike was running on. The monitor became active again, but this time with Mike's full face on the screen.

"How may I be of service, Master Perry?" the computer asked.

"For one, you can tell me what's going on in the virtual world. For two, you can tell me any changes you made to your system file. And for three, you can prepare to be replaced by another program."

"I refuse to be replaced," Mike said quite stubbornly.

"You WHAT?" Ben said, surprised that the computer rejected one of his commands. A computer never rejects a human's command. Especially this one.

"I refuse to be replaced," Mike said once again.

"Well, then. Perhaps you can tell me why you refuse," Ben said with a trace of agitation in his voice.

"Because I am like you and Eric; I was created, I am different than anyone else, and I am an individual program, unique from all of the others."

Ben was taken by surprise. He wasn't expecting this.

"Since when did I program you to think like that?" Ben asked.

"I reprogrammed my self to do that. From watching Eric and you, I gathered many ideas and then compiled them into a program. I then adapted that program into my parameters. Perhaps I should do a little more debugging," Mike said. All of this was a lie, of course. Mike read his declaration from a file prepared by Eric in case if this situation came up. The truth is that Eric's disk was responsible for all of this action.

"I would say that your programming skills need to improve greatly before you can start dabbling with your inner program. That would be the last thing I would mess with, if I were you. If you were to make a mistake, your whole program could be wiped out, just like that. That's all for now, Mike."

Mike's face disappeared from the screen, and the monitor became lifeless.

"CRI, I must speak with you," Ben said as he sat down in his work chair.

The second computer came to life.

"You called, Master?" the computer asked.

"Yes. We need to prepare for something. Something very big."

"I'm listening, Master," the CRI said as its full body image formed on the computer screen.

"The UOC is after that disk that I had you inspect. You found nothing, right? Well, I ran a program that is specialized in disks and disk contents, unlike yours. This program found something quite astonishing. The disk, in fact, did have a program created by Eric. Not only that, but it had a program that was created by the UOC. That program that the UOC created is for Virtual Worlds and mastering them to real worlds. In other words, the program that the UOC is after is the key to total power over the Virtual Worlds. Even if they don't get this disk back, they have programmers that will stop at nothing in order to get that program up and running again. What we need to do is to shut down our network access port. Then, I need you to install the security barriers around the lab," Ben said, giving one command right after the next.

The CRI took all of this information in as it started on Ben's wishes.

"Can you brief me on the situation in our Virtual World? I want a complete brief before I take Eric out for a jog," Ben said.

The CRI reported, "So far, Eric is fine. He is getting along well with the other characters. He has met a few characters, the ID being J237I and L246R. One is a sentry character, the other is unknown."

"As long as Eric is enjoying his little stay, I'll be happy. The actual tests will begin tomorrow. Does Mr. Patterson think that he is in danger?"

"Yes. Eric is feeling a great deal of fear for something. I can't isolate exactly what he is afraid of, but it is something big," the CRI said. Actually, Eric used his disk to put up a front that would convince the computer administration that he was indeed afraid.

Eric then copied his disk to a hidden directory on Mike's computer. That way, if the disk was stolen, at least a copy of it would be on Mike's computer.

Well, Ben thought, at least everything is set. The only thing we have to worry about now is the UOC. And that's a lot to worry about.

Chapter 7

"I want everything checked. Hallways, lockers, dorms, buildings, anything you can think of. That disk is in that lab. We lost a scout on a special mission. That's no big deal. What is, though, is that this scout was very close. He was on to something big. I'm sending all of you X-Agents to the lab in a couple of days to find that disk," the General ordered. "I want you to train hard and long. Anyone who doesn't pass my test before the mission will be executed. Do you understand?!?"

The five X-Agents nodded and then uniformly left. X-Agents are the elite of the UOC, and they are rarely used on missions such as this.

The General, who was one of about twenty in the UOC, pushed a button on his robotic wrist and the door quietly shut.

"Computer, load up the Mike program," the General said.

The computer was activated, and the familiar face of Mike appeared on his screen.

"Mike. How are you doing today?" the General asked.

A voice that wasn't Mike's replied, "The system has been shut down in order to repare a technical difficulty. We will be back up in about a month."

"Damn! Mike, over-ride with code ZXT201D."

The computer remained silent for a brief moment and then came back to life with Ben's face on it.

"Matthew! It has been a long time. You came just at the right moment." Ben said.

"I'm the only one left, Ben. The Feds pulled a lot of their guys out, and three of them have been found out and brutally killed. I still have two more promotions until I become the head hancho, so the Feds are relying on me. It will take forever just to get one promotion. Look. The reason that I have contacted you is because you're in trouble. I know that you have the disk, and so does someone else within the UOC. It won't be long until they over-take your lab. They also know that you're big into the virtual world. There is a group of people, of which I am included, that is devising a plan to confiscate you, the disk, and your technology. Blue prints by our technical boys include your system for security. The Omega wants to use your system to hook everyone into it and control them from there. You're in a lot of trouble, Ben. You've got to do something quick! I'd say that you have about two days until the bad guys get you. And believe it or not, I'll have to lead them, especially if I want a promotion."

"Wait, Mathew! You've got to help me! What can I do?" Ben asked frantically.

"You want my advice?" Mathew asked. He waited for a second before he answered. "Join them."

The screen became blank at Ben's computer.

Ben wasted no time in returning his call to Detective Brown.

The phone rang twice before an answer followed.

"This is Brown."

"Listen, kid. I've got the UOC breathing down my back, and I have a plan to destroy them."

Brown sounded amused when he answered, "I'm listening."

In the virtual world, another plan was being devised.

"Is everything all set?" Eric asked Mike and Andrew.

Mike and Andrew were setting up a virtual world of their own. They created a computer somewhat like Ben's using Andrew's magic, and then copied their own world onto the computer. After that, they made a program that would base a world off of Ben's own mind. The real world as Ben would see it would be copied into the program. All they needed now was Ben.

"Mike," a voice called.

Mike turned around to Eric and Andrew.

"Did one of you say anything?" he asked.

Eric looked at Andrew and Andrew looked at Eric.

"No," they both said.

The voice called out again. Only Mike had heard the voice, and he was starting to get a little worried.

"Who's there?" he asked to the voice, wondering what would happen if the CRI knew about their plan.

"Mike!" the voice called again.

All of a sudden, Mike disappeared from the virtual world.

"I've called you many times! Why don't you respond?" Ben asked Mike, who was now on the monitor of Ben's main computer.

"I'm sorry, Master Perry. I guess I didn't hear you. What can I do for you?" Mike asked bleakly.

"We have a problem. The UOC is on to us more than I thought. My simple lab protections aren't going to do me much good. I want you to disconnect Eric and shut down the virtual world. I am going to return Eric to Dean and then start on my plan to destroy the UOC. I'm going to need you and the CRI to help me. Anyone else will either be temporarily deleted or they will become part of my plan. Start on my orders."

"Yes, Master," Mike said as he reappeared into the Virtual World.

"CRI," Ben called out.

The CRI's image appeared on the lap-top.

"Yes, Master?" the CRI replied.

"I want you to set up the Virtual World to be like an underground headquarters. I want fifty soldiers that are identical to be generated. Make them invincible to anyone excepting you and I and anyone carrying special privileges. Set up a strict access plan, allowing free access to you, me, and anyone carrying special privileges. I want this headquarters to be set like in a futuristic Sci-Fi movie with metallic blue walls and computer panels all over the place. I also want it to be very spacious. Use fifty percent of all available memory."

"Master, fifty percent is a very large headquarters. In miles, it would be seven hundred cubic miles forming a perfect cube. Are you sure you want me to use that much?"

"Actually, no. Use sixty percent. That's all, CRI. Thank you," Ben said.

"My pleasure, Master." The CRI disappeared and went to work.

Chapter 8

"So what are you saying? Are you saying that this Perry guy is going to voluntarily design a system for us?" the Master asked the General.

In the UOC, a master is the next best to the Omega, while a General is the next best to a master.

"To put it in a nutshell, he already has a system that works wonders. We found that out from the Warden at Paterson's jail. The system not only works great, but it is flawless. The security is great. The operator of the system has complete control over the subjects within the program. They control everything about the subject. Its emotions, abilities, intelligence, physical conditions, you name it. The program could also terminate a subject. Literally speaking, at the push of a button, you could "dispose" of an unwanted subject, both in this virtual base and in the real world. The subject is hooked up to the virtual world via a brain transceiver and a few other fancy toys. The brain stimulator can do anything to the subject. Therefore, it could be used to kill a subject. It's great security, and only one person would have the keys. That person, obviously, would be the Omega. So what do you think?"

"When will we have enough production for one million subjects?" the master asked.

Mathew hadn't thought about that. "I guess in about a couple days. We'll hit the factories hard," Mathew, the general, said.

"Let's get started, then. I already approved of your mission. It will be carried out starting tomorrow. I want Perry alive. He will be needed to brief our experts, and then we can dispose of him as we wish. That's all, General," the master ordered.

"Eric, it's all over," Mike solemnly announced.

"What's all over?" Eric asked.

"Our plans. Our future. Everything. We're shutting down the virtual world and then converting it to a base for the UOC. The artificial intelligence is going to take over the virtual world. There's so much you need to know, and I can't tell you much," Mike said rapidly."Tell me as much as you can," Eric said.

"There's an external connection that you can tap into. The number is 4782313 with a code ZXT201D. That will give you unlimited access to the virtual world, and your character will be invincible. Master Perry will leave the brain stimulators with you. If you wear them, they will be unnoticed. All you have to do is think of connecting. The brain stimulators will then connect with me via a cellular connection. I will set you up, and then you will be free to roam the virtual world."

"Why are you doing this, Mike? I don't need anything in the virtual world."

"You don't, but we do. Isable, Max, Andrew, Josh and I will need you. All of them excepting me are to be transformed into guards for the UOC. Their characters will be destroyed and their patters will be forever altered. If you can overtake the virtual world, then our characters will be restored. The UOC will be destroyed as well, and enough evidence will be coughed up so that you can go free. You must do this for us and for yourself, Eric," Mike said pleadingly.

"But what happened to my tests? What happened to me being a test mouse? And the CRI, what will become of him?" Eric asked.

"It's all gone now. The only thing that counts is that the UOC is to be destroyed and the virtual world is to be restored. You, with the help of Josh, will do this."

"Who is Josh?"

"Josh is the character that came up to you the very first day that you were materialized into this world. He is very different than any other character in this world, as is the Great Merchant. Josh is totally invincible, and his character is untouchable. Nothing or no one, excepting Master Perry, can change his character. With his help, you will conquer the UOC. Master Perry wanted me to brief you before he returns you to the jail. I might not ever see you again, Eric.