Chapter 1

Anon

So maybe I played it a little too much. Maybe I was obsessed with it. And maybe I was crazy over this awesome game that could have entertained me to the end of eternity…

Yes, I was hooked. I guess some call me a computer nerd, but I prefer the term gamer. So yes, as you can probably guess, I had finally found the game; one that could entertain me literally forever. I mean, that’s the problem with games, right?

You have your two basic games in life; those where you create, and the ones where you have a story.

The ones with story are obviously the most interesting, because your character has something to do; something to solve. There is a mission, and probably a mystery to be solved. But as always, this game has its drawbacks. Either you get stuck on a level that is extremely boring or hard, or in the end the game comes to a conclusion. It’s like a movie. Once you’ve seen it, you almost wonder why you spent those precious thirty bucks to get the extended DVD. There’s no reason to continue playing it now, unless there are multiplayer options (and even those get boring eventually), or you have to wait until a sequel comes out. But that’s just more money down the drain.

Then there’s the other game; the creative ones. In these games there usually is a motive, but no definite plot or limit to creation. These games allow you to test an infinity of scenarios, and create unique worlds. Once again, just like the multiplayer game, though, you run into the all-too-familiar problem of it getting boring. Sure we want to create many different worlds, but who wants to create all of them? Who has the time, too, when there are so many games with interesting stories?

And so you see my dilemma. I can either manage to accept what I have, continue spending money on new games, or take the alternative…

This was why it was the greatest game ever. While there was indeed a plot, it was limited only to the sky. Hell, even you could go past that! This was a universe where you had a plot, but could practically create whatever you wanted. How many of those plot-line games do you play where you can see other realms of existence beyond where your avatar is forced to go along with the plot? Some games allow you to explore a little out of the main world that you travel in, but you still wander around their world. Now think back to those creative games I was talking about. You can practically build a universe, but you never get to explore this universe. This universe is only for your fictional inhabitants to explore. What if you combined the two?

That was the greatest thing about this game; Anon. You took the place of a fictional character who—with the minor assistance (and let me emphasize the world minor) from super-human abilities—can go anywhere in the universe. From anywhere across the future-like version of Earth to the alien worlds of the galaxy, there were no limitations.

Want to visit New York? No problem; steal a plane, train, car, or teleporter and you’re set. Want to trash New York while you’re there? Still no problem! Grab a gun, a truck, a laser canon, or even a nuke! Just remember that after destroying New York, you will probably have quite a few people pissed off.

But wait; suppose you want to go to the hidden government underwater facilities? Hijack a Nuclear Submarine, and dive down to explore the mazes of laboratories and creatures. Want to terrorize a local neighborhood? They’re all over the planet, so grab something that can get you there quick, and steal a Tank.

But wait! Say you want to explore the cities of Mars? Or the super stations in orbit of Jupiter? Or the fleet yards of Saturn? Hey, while you’re exploring the fleet yards, why not steal some keys, and choose a snazzy battle cruiser to take out for fun. And don’t stop there!

Even though the other galaxies are millions of light-years away from the Milky Way, I’m in the process of finding an Easter egg wormhole to get me to Andromeda much faster! There is almost no limit to where you will find something to do. Hell, want to go to Mercury just for the heck of it? I would, because I just happened to stumble upon a monstrous underground city for exploration. And then there are the countless alien worlds that need exploring.

So yeah, I was addicted. My point is I could do anything, anywhere, anytime, and just how I wanted it. I could basically live inside my own little universe. Perhaps there are few of you out there who probably think that I’m wasting my time on a pointless game that just happens to mimic everyday life. Well, let me tell you first-hand that there are hidden secrets about this game. Hidden worlds I still haven’t found, and alternate realities that clash with this one. There is more to this game than meets the eye. Looking back now, I could never have guessed what wonders still waited…

But hey, I’ve neglected to introduce myself. The name is Chris. I’m fifteen, and just got this game for my birthday about a couple of months ago. By now you probably wonder if I am setting this up for some sort of introduction to a future world I live in, where games like this are low-tech, and graphics excel greatly. Actually, it’s only about four years later in the future. Not much has changed…well, except for the release of the game console for the Anon. Now that was quite a breakthrough in technology.

By now you’ve probably guessed that if I can afford a hot-off-the-market product like Anon, then I must have a family. Yep: a stay-at-home Mom, a typical office-figure Dad, and three siblings.

There’s my older sister, Ashley, my slightly younger brother, Mark, and my toddler aged brother, Justin. My Dad happens to be employed by a company working on newly developed virtual-reality technology, which allows one to interface directly with a game console. No, he is not a scientist or anything like that, but he does work for the development agency overseeing the integration of the technology. Basically he makes deals with the right people, and handles how it all comes together with his company’s technology.

As for my Mom, like I said before she is a stay-at-home Mom. I doubt she realized the potential for the technology my Dad was working on…well, at least until it was too late.

Ashley was an interesting character. Well, no, that’s adding a little too much to her profile. She was your stereotypical teenage girl. She spent most of her time with her friends, so we both could’ve cared what happened in each other’s lives.

Then there was Mark. Mark was a party man, and likewise spent a lot of time out of the house. What he did was his business, although I imagine our parents would be very interested to see some of the things he got involved in. I won’t say that I was naïve to his lifestyle, but it never really got in my way.

That’s what I’d like to bring to the overall picture; nothing really happened among us siblings. We had our own worlds; our own lives, which just happened to be outside each other’s range of give-a-crap. We never got in each other’s ways, never plotted against each other, and we never had any reason to. My sister had her life among her friends, my brother had his life in the parties, and I had my friends. But above all else, I had Anon.

I suppose looking back now it would have seemed plausible for such events to transpire as they did, but I never really thought about it until all was said and done. Let me just say, though, that after that our paths did cross. Things had changed, and would stay changed forever. But I digress. I guess I should start from the very beginning.



It was early August; friends everywhere were gossiping about the excitement of a new school year, parents were buying clothes by the truck load, and the actual teenagers involved silently prayed that this year would be the year that their meteor struck their school. As for me, I was bummed out that now I’d be forced to spend more time studying then actually exploring my universe.

It was Thursday, I believe; about ten in the morning, with a high chance of clear skies for the day. I had just stumbled onto a space station in orbit over Antarctica of all places. It wasn’t the station, though, that had gotten my attention, but the awesome ship in dock. After gassing the hallways and taking out the security systems I practically had control of the station, plus the command keys to this awesome ship. It wasn’t very big (probably about thirty feet tall, and oh, a hundred feet long), but it packed a punch. Almost every conceivable weapon was on this puppy. It had extra thruster capacity, making it fast and deadly. I could single-handily take on an enemy fleet with this little bugger. I was just starting up the engines when I heard the unmistakable call of the sister.

“Chris! Get your ass up here! Breakfast!”

Ah, good morning to you too, Ashley. I quickly saved and quit, leaving it so I could pick up where I left off. I then stepped out my basement room, and headed up the stairs. Our house was two-stories tall, but the basement was quite well suited for my needs. It had originally been a rec-room, but the last owners made additions to the basement and first floor, so now it was my room.

We lived in the suburbs of Denver, so naturally ever morning I was greeted to the familiar sight of the Rocky Mountains. It was a breathtaking view, but was increased so with the city skyline in the foreground. Our kitchen had a bay window where we usually ate, which gave us our westward view of the mountains.

Before me and on the table lay the makings of a fantastic breakfast; bacon, sausage, eggs, and pancakes. Mark and Dad had already dived in, and were ready for seconds. Ashley on the other hand had a bowl of cold cereal, and was partially eating, partially reading a book in her other hand.

“Hey! Let me get some firsts before you guys get seconds!” I quickly grabbed a plate, but not before Mark loaded his plate with more bacon. Ashley continued to read as though we were all a headache somewhere in the back of her mind.

It was then that I noticed Dad was still home at ten in the morning. Usually he was at work by now. It wasn’t the weekend was it? Man, I needed to keep better track of these things…

“Dad, what are you still doing here?”

He finally looked up from his paper and plate, and turned his attention to me. “Company is letting me test this stuff out at my home. They need a consumer report and a corporate report at the same time, so why not kill two birds with one stone and let me take it home for my own trial?”

That was even stranger. While my Dad was over that department, he wasn’t into analyzing. Why the heck would they send something like that home with him?

“Uh, Dad, I thought you didn’t work with the actual equipment.”

“I don’t,” he said casually, “but being over the department I needed someone to test it, and since this stuff looks pretty cool I wanted to try it myself.”

Oh really? “What is it exactly?”

“The same stuff I told you about earlier; interface technology. That’s why I brought it home. I wanted to try and see if it was adaptable with that game of yours.”

Holy crap…was he serious?! “Are you saying that I could actually go in Anon?”

He smiled and nodded. “Think about it; playing around inside that little world of yours.”

This was the holy grail of technology. If you thought it was the ultimate game to explore your universe, imagine exploring it in a physical sense; in the flesh. That was unheard of.

“Where is it?” I asked quickly.

“It’s out in the company vehicle. Because it’s still all new, we have to carry around these huge computers to modulate everything. It’ll probably take me awhile to hook it up, and then I’ll have to test it myself.”

Well if he was going to spend a good chunk of the day playing with it then I’d have some free time of mine own.

“Well while you’re testing it out, mind if I hang out with some friends?”

“Sure, go ahead. Bring them by later and you can all give it a shot.”

Oh hell yeah! This was going to make me the envy of them all now. Let’s see who can control their own universe, and actually walk around it? Ha!

I quickly finished up, and was about to head out the door when I realized something, and turned back quick. “Dad…”

“Yeah?”

“One thing. I’ve got a game running, so when you start hit the Randomization feature. That’ll let you play the game, but it’ll keep you from messing up what I’ve already got going.”

I did not want him to delete my last saved point; not after finding that sweet ship. For all I knew it could be an Easter egg and Easter eggs had a tendency to disappear…

“Don’t worry, Chris. When you start up it’ll be right where you left off.”

“Thanks.”

I quickly ran out the front door, and breathed in the morning air. Being near the mountains it was a little cool, but it was by no means in the cold department. This was still summer, and everything could quickly get hot. The great thing about the mountains though, was that they helped regulate the temperature. It was usually warm, but not burning hot. And it could cool down a little, but not too much to be annoying. It was great weather today, too. The sun shinned brightly from behind, and the few clouds that were out were only small wisps.

Around the house was where I kept my mountain bike. In Denver, the only kind of bike was a mountain bike. They were the best in style, handled the best in almost terrain, and could be used to any function. The only drawback was that you couldn’t use them at skate parks.

The neighborhood itself was composed of several contemporary-style houses, all of which were two-stories tall and had to be at least a couple hundred thousand dollars. This was no poor neighborhood, but it wasn’t a rich neighborhood either. The best description was probably a blessed middle-class man. The houses all looked fairly new, or very well kept. It was actually a well established and high-class neighborhood. Lawns were green, but not filled with front yard crap. Houses were beautiful, but not snobby. Neighbors dressed well, but were kind.

I turned down a variety of streets, slowly making my way through the labyrinth that was the suburbs of Denver. It was like a never ending sea of houses. Trees were actually scarce, giving a very open environment. I mean, it wasn’t like there weren’t any at all, but it wasn’t the traditional sense as you would expect in a usual middle-class neighborhood. You could see the rest of neighborhood quite well.

A few more streets and a big blue house came into view. It was the first stops on my journey, and it was also where one of my best friends lived.

Jessica.



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