The Virus

by Mark Cheverton

  “Come, do not fear,” the virus said. “The sunlight is for everyone.”

  The virus reached out for the arm of the nearest zombie and gently pulled it towards the sunlight. But as soon as the morning light touched the zombie’s hand, it burst into flame. Pulling back quickly, the zombie knelt and pounded its burning flesh on the ground, trying desperately to put out the fire.

  “See? Zombies and skeletons cannot venture into the sunlight,” the tallest zombie said. “The memories are now clear. The blue sky is not for these monsters.”

  “Yes, I too now remember,” the skeleton said. “We can’t go into the sunlight, for it will mean our deaths.”

  This made the virus furious.

  “Why should you be denied the warming rays of the sun?!” he shouted.

  Rage filled his soul.

  It wasn’t fair! he thought. These monsters should be able to go anywhere and live among the other creatures of Minecraft.

  The more he thought about it, the angrier he became. A burning resentment spread throughout his body and grew more intense until his hands started to glow a sickly yellow. Kneeling to the ground, he plunged his shimmering hands into the soil, then reached out into the fabric of Minecraft with his AI powers. Feeling for the segments of code that governed the skeletons and zombies, he poured his AI programming into them, pushing and crafting the digital rules until he removed the barrier that governed their movements. Finding the segment of software that made these creatures burst into flame, he tore that section of binary 1s and 0s out of the digital stream, leaving a new rule in its place.

  Pulling back his crafting powers, the virus withdrew his hands out from the flesh of Minecraft and turned to look at the monsters, a smile on his shadowy face.

  “Come, try now,” the virus said.

  Reaching out, he took the skeleton’s hand and pulled him roughly into the sunlight. The monster struggled against the virus’s grasp, but the pale creature was not strong enough to resist and was yanked out into the deadly light of day. When he released his grip on the bony wrist, the virus saw a look of wonder on the skeleton’s face.

  “I am alive,” clattered the skeleton.

  He looked down at his pale white arms and legs, then turned back to look at his brothers and sisters, motioning for them to join him. The three remaining skeletons clattered forward, cautiously stepping into the sunlight. As their bodies were bathed in the bright light of the morning sun, a look of happiness spread across their faces.

  “Zombies, come, the sunlight also belongs to you as well,” the virus said to the decaying monsters.

  Slowly shuffling forward with their arms extended, the zombies moved guardedly into the sunlight. And as with the skeletons, the zombie’s expressions were filled with surprise, then joy as they felt the heat of the sun shining down on their decaying faces.

  Moving away from the tunnel entrance, the monsters explored the landscape around them, smelling the flowers, touching the leaves, rubbing against the rough bark of the trees…feeling everything as if for the first time. The virus watched them all and felt proud of what he had done.

  “I feel as if I just made something wonderful,” the virus said aloud to the monsters, though only a scant few were listening. “Perhaps that is my job here in Minecraft. Perhaps I am a Maker.”

  And in that moment, for the first time in his electronic life, he felt at home.

  Chapter 4

  Coming Together

  Leading the collection of monsters, the virus walked across the landscape, weaving around tall spruces and over lush grass-covered rolling hills. Looking behind, he could see the small collection of creatures following, the dark eyes of the zombies and skeletons turned upward to stare in amazement at the white fluffy clouds that drifted across the deep blue sky.

  Following their gaze, the virus could see large boxy creatures with soft babe-like faces floating amongst the clouds. They dragged their tentacles through the rectangular mist playfully as they chased one another in some sort of airborne game. Feeling into the mechanism of Minecraft, the virus knew these creatures were ghasts…entities that lived in the sky, their skin painted a pristine white to match the blocks in which they played.

  “Maker, where are you leading ussss?” one of the spiders asked.

  She was the largest of the spiders. Her multiple red eyes looked up at the virus with wonder and respect, the tiny dark black hairs on her body moving in every direction. Her curved razor sharp mandibles clicked together in a syncopated rhythm, the other spiders nearby trying to match the cadence.

  “I found a village when I first appeared in Minecraft,” the virus said. “We are going there to offer them help.”

  “A village?” the spider asked. Some of the other monsters heard this and moved closer to listen.

  “Yes, a village,” the virus continued. “If we are all trapped on this server, we might as well work together…right?”

  “Well…they may not welcome ussss…”

  “Villages are dangerous to zombies,” one of the decaying creatures said.

  “And to skeletons,” a bony monster added.

  “The villagerssss hate ussss, and we hate them,” the large spider said. “We can all remember fighting them before thissss…Awakening.” The spider turned its dark head and looked up at the virus with its many red eyes. “The villagerssss are enemiessss.”

  “But that was before the Awakening,” the virus explained. “Now, living creatures inhabit the server…not just the villagers, but all the creatures of Minecraft. You don’t have to fight anymore…we should work together, instead.” He looked down into the questioning eyes of the spider, then reached out and placed a hand on her fuzzy black head. “No one has to be alone. Trust me.”

  Looking up from the spider, the virus saw the village at the bottom of the sloping plain. NPCs moved about between the buildings, unaware of the approaching mob.

  “They have not seen ussss yet,” hissed the spider. She pointed to the roofs of the wooden homes that dotted the community. “They usually put watcherssss up there to warn the otherssss of our arrival.”

  “These villagers do not expect us to come during the day,” one of the skeletons added. “But now that the Maker has changed us, we can visit them while the sun still shines.”

  The mob moved closer, now only forty blocks from the edge of the village. Some of the creepers hissed in excitement, but the quiet moans of the zombies were filled with worry. Looking at their faces, the virus could see that there was fear in their eyes…of the villagers and also of the sun.

  “It’s alright, my friends,” the virus reassured them. “We will all be accepted…no one has to be alone.”

  Within twenty blocks of the village, they could hear the sounds of hammers banging on iron tools and axes chopping wood rang across the grassy plain. Someone was shaping a block of stone; the characteristic ka-chunk! ka-chunk! of the pickaxe sounded from a deep hole near the edge of the village.

  The virus could feel the tension building behind him. The monsters were getting angry as memories of past attacks began to fill their heads. Their ancient enemy, the NPCs, were a source of fear and hatred, and the virus could feel emotions rising up in the creatures behind him, dangerous, violent emotions.

  But the past is the past, he thought, and feelings can be changed.

  Before entering this server, he’d been an AI virus, focused on the senseless destruction of innocent computer systems. Before infecting this digital domain, he’d been alone, unable to communicate to other programs on the Internet, unable to interact in any way with other things…But now he was awake and could feel the community of this server, the warm potential that he could live with other entities rather than destroying them. The thought of being a part of something bigger than himself, something that would welcome him and all of these monsters into the folds of a community, a kind of family, filled the virus with a child-like excitement.

  They were just a few blocks away now. The virus could sme
ll bread being baked somewhere in the village, and the aroma of meat sizzling in a furnace. A smile spread across his face as they reached their destination.

  An NPC walked around the corner of the building and came face-to-face with the mob of monsters. Color drained from the villager’s face.

  “MONSTERS!!!” he screamed. “We’re being attacked!”

  “No…it isn’t an attack!” the virus yelled. He turned and faced the monsters. “Stay here and let me talk with the villagers. This need not be a battle.”

  But it was too late…the fuse had been lit.

  Zombies growled and spiders clicked together their mandibles in angry anticipation as they charged forward, ready for battle. The virus could hear the clattering of skeleton bones as arrows were notched to bows, strings pulled back and ready to fire. Creepers started to hiss as they readied their ignition process. He could hear swords zinging as they were drawn from sheaths and bows creaking as arrows were fitted to strings and pulled back, ready to be launched. Anger and fear from both sides started to boil over as the memories of past battles surfaced in the minds of the villagers and the monsters.

  No! the virus thought. This is all wrong. It was supposed to be different this time!

  But it was too late. The war had begun.

  Chapter 5

  The Beginning of the War

  “No…they aren’t attacking you!” the virus yelled as he ran into the village, holding his hand up over his head to ease their fears.

  Finding Smithy in the crowd, the virus sprinted to the stocky NPC.

  “Smithy, this isn’t an attack!” the virus yelled. “We’re here to help…to be a part of the community.”

  “What are you thinking?” the NPC asked. “You bring our mortal enemy to our doorsteps. These monsters have attacked our village for as long as anyone can remember, and now you lead them to our doorstep?” He took a step closer and glared at the virus. “Is this some kind of sneak attack?” Smithy drew his sword and pointed it at the virus. “You’re no better than they are.”

  “No this is a mistake!” the virus yelled. “We aren’t attacking!”

  “Then tell your monsters to go back!” the smithy shouted.

  The virus turned and looked at the monsters. They were snarling and growling and moaning, their minds filled with violence. He knew there was no way to stop them. This hadn’t started as an attack, but that’s what it was now.”

  “You don’t understand,” the virus pleaded.

  He took a step closer to the blacksmith, but misjudged the blocks before him. Tripping, he fell forward. His arms shot out in front of him to catch his fall, but to the blacksmith it looked like an attack.

  In a single, fluid motion, Smithy drew his sword and attacked.

  The virus was terrified. He had no weapon or armor to protect himself…he was completely defenseless. As he looked at his attacker, the razor-sharp iron blade seemed to slice through the air in slow motion, its edge sparkling in the sunlight as it streaked toward him. I wish I were anywhere but here, the virus thought, closing his eyes just as the blade was about to hit his head. But the weapon never touched him. He opened his eyes and Smithy had vanished. In a haze of purple particles, the virus realized that he’d just teleported to the opposite side of the village, far from the monsters and villagers.

  “They killed the Maker!” he heard a zombie grumble, not realizing that the virus had escaped the sword’s blow.

  “All monssssterssss must avenge him!” screeched the spider.

  “No!” the virus shouted, but already he could hear the small collection of creatures charging into the village.

  He sprinted back to the center of the town. The villagers, dressed in leather armor, were slashing away at the monsters with their swords. Archers on rooftops were firing pointed shafts of death down upon the mob. The virus could hear the screams of pain coming from the monsters, and from the villagers as well as the mob retaliated. But for some strange reason, the villagers’ cries made him smile…

  The NPCs smashed into the ranks of the monsters, then slowly pulled back, drawing the monsters with them. The virus instantly knew that it was a trap…a classic pincher maneuver that had used in battle for centuries.

  “Monsters, follow me…retreat!” he shouted, but the creatures were lost to blind rage. They were fighting on pure instinct…not thinking, just acting.

  A villager fell to the razor sharp claws of a spider, his belongings falling to the ground. The virus moved forward and quickly donned the armor, then picked up the discarded sword.

  The blacksmith, Smithy, stood before him, his blade pointed directly at him.

  “You brought these monsters here!” Smithy shouted. “You caused this violence.”

  “No…I just wanted all of us to work together and be a community,” the virus protested. “Monsters and villagers can live together in peace.”

  “NO!” Smithy snapped. “That will never happen. Monsters have been our enemies for as long as I can remember, and it will always be that way.”

  He took a step forward, his shining weapon pointed directly at the virus’s chest.

  “Just because it was that way doesn’t mean that it must be that way,” the virus pleaded, but he saw it was no use.

  “We will protect our families and friends against the ravages of these monsters, and will never stop resisting their attacks.” Smithy took another step forward and swung his sword in warning, still too far away to reach him.

  “Stay back…we don’t need to fight,” the virus said. “We can still stop the violence and work together. Everything is different now after the Awakening. We can sculpt Minecraft into any shape we want.” He took a cautious step forward and lowered his sword. “We can choose peace instead of violence.”

  Smithy paused for a moment, his sword dipping slightly. The virus could tell that the NPC was considering this…maybe they could create a world of peace. But just as he was about to say something, a spider bumped into the NPC from behind, causing him to lunge directly toward the virus. The NPC’s sword waved wildly, and accidently sliced into the virus’s arm, causing waves of agony to surge through his nerves. With his mind overwhelmed with pain, the virus couldn’t think straight. He reverted back to his original programming, acting on instinct…seek out and destroy.

  The virus slashed at the blacksmith with his iron sword. Their blades crashed together, the metal ringing like a mighty bell. Stepping back, the virus attacked the NPC’s legs, getting under his defenses and tearing into the armored leggings. The blacksmith flashed red as he took damage. Not waiting to recover, Smithy charged, swinging his sword in a great arc. The virus brought up his blade to block the attack, but it had too much force. When their blades met, the virus’s weapon was torn from his hand as the blacksmith’s weapon sank into his side.

  Pain erupted throughout the virus’s entire being. It overwhelmed his senses and filled his mind with rage. The virus now hated this NPC with every fiber of his being, and wanted nothing more than to destroy him and all NPCs on every Minecraft server.

  Looking about, he could see that all the monsters, his friends, had been killed. Skeleton bones, balls of spider silk, piles of gunpowder and pieces of zombie flesh littered the battlefield. But he also saw items from the NPCs intermingled with the leavings of the monsters. This made him smile; at least the butcher’s bill was high on both sides.

  The virus was now completely surrounded by NPCs, all of them with weapons drawn.

  “You were unwelcome when you first came here,” Smithy said. “And bringing a mob of monsters to attack us has made it clear that you are an enemy, not a friend, regardless of the flowery words you spout about friendship and community. We know you for what you really are…a monster, like your companions.”

  The virus looked at a pile of skeleton bones on the ground, then glared at Smithy.

  “Remember this day well…all of you,” the virus said. He pointed at the blacksmith with a boxy finger. “You chose war over peace.”r />
  “There can be no peace with monsters!” Smithy snapped.

  The virus shook his head, then continued. “You chose war over peace…and it is war that I will give you. I will cleanse these servers of the infection that is the NPCs. And when I am done, I will leave this server and go infect others until I’ve have taken over everything.”

  “How are you going to do that?” Smithy asked. “Look around you. We have you completely surrounded and you have no weapon. You have no chance of survival.”

  The blacksmith looked about at the other villagers that encircled the virus.

  “For crimes against this village, we sentence you to death,” Smithy said. He held his sword up high into the air, then slowly lowered it until it was pointing directly at the virus’s head. “Villagers…ATTACK!”

  Chapter 6

  Choosing a Name

  As the villagers charged toward him, the virus closed his eyes and thought about where he’d originally met the monsters. At the speed of thought, he disappeared and materialized at the mouth of that cave, a haze of purple particles surrounding him like a morning mist. Stepping just inside the dark entrance, the virus could hear more creatures of the shadows hiding deep within the tunnel network. Gathering all of his AI powers, he let out a loud, sorrowful screech that made the server plane quake and tremble. Instantly, he could feel the monsters stirring deep underground, responding to his call.

  The virus glared back upon the sunlit landscape. The kaleidoscope of colors that decorated the terrain now made him sick.

  “The NPCs of the Overworld want a war…Well, I’ll give them one they will never forget,” the virus said. “I won’t stop until every last one of them is destroyed.”

  He cackled an evil, maniacal laugh.

  The sound of monsters began to echo off the rocky walls. Turning his back on the tunnel entrance, he faced the approaching horde. There were likely a hundred of them, their nervous eyes all fixed on him.