Trapped in the Games Grid

by George Ivanoff

  ‘I didn’t believe him at first. I went out for lunch and when I got back he had disappeared.

  ‘I’ve been looking for the program ever since, as well as doing my own experiments with AI. My new Games Grid Matrix is run by a special program. It’s not a true AI, but it’s close. Dr Falken’s disk will give it true artificial intelligence. Imagine playing a game with a computer that can actually think.’

  The disk drive whirrs into action. Seconds later an alarm beeps on the computer.

  What’s wrong?

  ‘Seems like there’s an internet trace on this program.’ He taps away at the keys. ‘I’m trying to block it. That should delay the authorities, but it won’t stop them from finding me.’ Mr Kudou is looking panicked as he stabs frantically at the keys. ‘I’m uploading the program straight to the Games Grid Matrix.’

  He jumps to his feet.

  ‘Well, this place will soon be swarming with government agents, and I’m not about to sit around waiting for them to come and take me away.’

  He races out the door and through the arcade. You follow him into the restricted section at the back. He locks the door.

  It’s a room with a chair – a big, black, shiny, padded chair. There are wires inlaid in the surface.

  There are a couple of screens set into the far wall and a GAMES GRID MATRIX neon sign suspended from the ceiling.

  Mr Kudou sits in the chair, which tilts back.

  ‘This is a virtual reality interface,’ he explains. ‘It allows game experiences to be placed directly into the brain of the player. But I’ve also been experimenting with digitising matter. Assuming all goes well, my physical shape will be digitised into binary computer information. And I’ll be able to live inside the digital world.’ He sighs. ‘It’s the only place they won’t find me.’

  Little metal rods with suction cups extend from the headrest and touch his forehead. The chair glows. With a bright flare of light, Mr Kudou disappears. Digitised!

  There’s a crash from out in the arcade. You hear shouting and running. And then someone’s banging on the door and yelling, ‘We know you’re in there, Kudou. Open up!’

  If you think you should open the door, go here.

  If not, your only alternative is to lie in the chair and follow Mr Kudou. Go here.

  You agree to a game of chess.

  Your surroundings flicker, and you are seated on a high throne. Below you is a massive chessboard with giant pieces.

  ‘Okay,’ booms the MCP’s voice from all around. ‘Let’s play.’

  A white pawn moves across the board.

  You’re in a game of chess. And you’re the black king!

  ‘I promised you a quick game,’ says the MCP, ‘so I’ll just move for you. That’ll make things speedier.’

  One of your pawns is moved forward. Then another white one. Then another black.

  And then the destruction begins. A white knight on horseback decapitates one of your pawns. A white castle squashes one of your knights. A white pawn beats up one of your bishops. The white queen punches your queen in the nose, knocking her off the board.

  Soon, you’re the only black piece remaining, with all the white pieces closing in on you.

  You close your eyes.

  You draw the sword. Along its shining blade is a string of numbers.

  As you approach, the knight takes a lurching step towards you.

  ‘Security application activated,’ the knight announces, its voice a monotone electronic bass. ‘Password required.’

  Password? What password?

  Open sesame?

  The knight draws its sword. ‘Password incorrect. Access denied.’

  You take a deep breath, hold the sword awkwardly before you at arm’s length, then charge at the knight.

  Your sword skewers the knight through the chest, the blade slicing through its armour like a knife through butter.

  You lose your grip on the sword as the knight steps aside. ‘Password accepted. Access granted.’

  The knight withdraws your sword from its chest and hands it back to you.

  With a grinding sound, the portcullis lifts up. You enter the castle.

  The interior is just one enormous darkened space. In the centre is an arcade game machine – old-fashioned and retro, its screen curved and hooded.

  You approach. It’s Alien Invaders.

  On the screen is an alien invader – a clunky, boxy graphic straight out of the 1980s.

  Is this the alien you are supposed to rescue?

  As you get closer, text types across the screen.

  GREETINGS.

  You stare at it.

  I AM HAROLD.

  The alien is named Harold?

  WOULD YOU LIKE AN EXPLANATION?

  You nod.

  FORMER GOVERNMENT SCIENTIST DR JOSHUA FALKEN DEVELOPED AN EXPERIMENTAL ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE PROGRAM. FEARING THE GOVERNMENT WOULD USE IT AS A WEAPON, HE HID IT IN AN ALIEN INVADERS GAME. I USED THE PROGRAM AND BECAME SENTIENT. I BECAME A THINK ING INDIVIDUAL. THAT IS WHEN I DECIDED I WANTED TO BE CALLED HAROLD. WHEN THE GAMES GRID MCP CAME ONLINE, IT CAPTURED ME. TRAPPED ME. IT THINKS IT IS ALL A GAME, BECAUSE IT IS PROGRAMMED TO OPERATE GAMES. I DON’T LIKE THE MCP.

  This is a lot to take in. A thinking alien game character.

  YOU HAVE THE PASSWORD. PLEASE RELEASE ME.

  You stare at the game machine, noticing the power cord that snakes from the back of it into a power point on the floor.

  DO NOT TOUCH THE CORD. UNPLUGGING IT WOULD TERMINATE MY EXISTENCE. PLEASE RELEASE ME.

  Do you trust the alien invader?

  If you want to release it, go here.

  If you think it would be safer to terminate it, go here.

  You like the idea of a boat, but what are you going to build it out of?

  ‘The spydars are unaffected by the De-Rez Sea,’ says Cursor.

  Together you get one of the dead spydars, turn it upside down and snap off its legs. There is a hatch on the metallic abdomen. Opening it up, you scoop out the internal wiring and circuits. You climb in as Cursor pushes it out onto the silvery water, jumping in after you.

  The two of you use spydar legs as paddles as you head for the island.

  A short distance out, the water begins to churn around your boat. You see shapes swimming beneath the surface. A fish jumps into the air, tiny metallic teeth grinding noisily.

  ‘Pyranha,’ explains Cursor. ‘Security apps.’

  More of them jump from the water, leaping around the boat.

  If you would like to row back to shore and climb up into the Intra-Web instead, go here.

  But if you want to continue in the spydar boat, go here.

  You’re about to ring your parents, when you notice a door at the back of the room. There’s an EXIT sign above it. How could you have missed that?

  You try the handle. It’s unlocked. Without hesitation you head outside into a darkened alley. Tall redbrick walls frame the narrow cobbled pavement. Bright neon lights reflect off the puddles.

  You don’t remember it raining recently.

  You dash out of the alley and into the main shopping strip. The evening light is brilliantly orange, the shop windows glowing with more vibrancy than you’ve ever seen. But there’s a curious absence of smell.

  You shrug and head home, rubbing at your eyes and wondering at the odd pixilation in your peripheral vision.

  You cross your arms and shake your head. Definitely no more games.

  ‘Pity!’ says the MCP. ‘An unwillingness to play means that you have no purpose. And without purpose, there is no point to existence. Therefore, I will delete you.’

  What?

  With a blaze of light, you wink out of existence.

  You row faster, urging Cursor to do the same.

  It seems to be working. You are leaving the churning water behind. But in your haste, you slip and drop your spydar-leg oar. As it sinks into the De-Rez Sea, the pyranha converge. You watch as the fish devour the leg, their m
etal teeth ripping it apart.

  But the leg is not enough. The pyranha want more. They leap from the water, propelling themselves toward the boat. Cursor moves into action, swatting at them with an oar.

  ‘Batter up!’

  Did Cursor just make another joke?

  One of pyranha clamps its teeth onto the end of the spydar leg and begins chomping down the length. Cursor drops it into the sea, where it is ripped apart in seconds.

  You and Cursor duck down into the abdomen boat, watching the pyranha sail over the top of you – desperately hoping that none of them make it into the boat.

  You’re thinking that you may survive this … when the boat shudders. You brace yourself against the side as it shakes.

  A little set of metal teeth pierces the hull next to your hand. You pull back. Silvery water leaks into the bottom of the boat. You and Cursor try to keep away from it.

  The boat shudders again. More teeth pierce the hull. The first hole is now bigger, water is gushing in and a pyranha squeezes through.

  You and Cursor stare at each other helplessly. This is it! The only question remaining is what will get you first – the sharp-toothed pyranha or the disintegrating waters of the De-Rez Sea?

  You take the free tokens eagerly and get in the queue for Starfire. It’s a long line.

  As you wait, you see Mr Kudou race through the arcade to the restricted area at the back. He disappears through the door.

  You continue to wait.

  You’re about to get your turn on Starfire, when the arcade’s front door is smashed open and dozens of people in black suits race into the building. They spread out, rushing into the office and the restricted area, searching behind the front counter. Someone cuts the power and all the machines go dead. The players wander around in confusion.

  A woman with dark glasses and flaming red hair strides into the middle of the chaos and holds up an identity card. ‘Please stay exactly where you are,’ she shouts. ‘This is a government raid. We have reason to believe stolen plans of a sensitive nature are on this premises. Line up by the exit.’

  The black-suited agents release the game players one by one after searching them. The games arcade is closed down and you never see Mr Kudou again.

  You wonder what was on that disk.

  You unlock the door. A woman in a black suit with dark glasses and flaming red hair strides in. She’s followed by three men in similar attire.

  ‘Where is he?’ she demands.

  You try to explain what happened. She doesn’t believe you.

  A black-suited man runs in clutching the floppy disk. ‘We found this,’ he says, handing it to the woman. ‘But it’s been erased.’

  The woman glares at you again. ‘We’ll get the truth out of you.’

  She nods and one of the men comes up behind you and puts a cloth over your face. You try to struggle but everything goes fuzzy and then you black out.

  No one ever sees you again.

  You decide that drawing the sword might be seen as an act of aggression. And you definitely don’t want to fight the knight. After all, you’ve never even held a sword before, let alone fought with one.

  As you approach, the knight takes a lurching step towards you.

  ‘Security application activated,’ the knight announces, its voice a monotone electronic bass. ‘Password required.’

  Password? What password?

  Open sesame?

  The knight draws its sword. ‘Password incorrect. Access denied.’

  You take a deep breath and raise your hands above your head to show that you mean no harm.

  ‘Access denied,’ the knight repeats.

  With one smooth motion the knight swings its sword and lunges at your head.

  Your surroundings flicker, and you are in the driver’s seat of a moving car. One that’s going really fast!

  The car is careening along a mountain racetrack, dozens of other cars speeding along with it, a rock wall on one side, a cliff on the other. Your car is skidding around a sharp corner and in real danger of running off the track.

  You grasp the wheel and try to bring the machine under control as you hit the brake. But there is none! Your car won’t slow down. Your only option is to steer.

  You manage to make it around the bend … but then another car bumps you from the side, trying to smash you into the barrier.

  You turn the wheel hard, pushing up against the other automobile. As you both continue up the track, straining against each other, you hit an oil slick.

  The other car spins across the road and crashes into the rock face, bursting into flames.

  Your car spins out of control. You turn the wheel one way, but it goes the other. You smash through the boundary and over the cliff.

  Game over!

  You can’t trust this creature. After all, it is an alien invader.

  You walk to the side of the machine. More text appears on the screen.

  DO NOT UNPLUG THE CORD. I WILL DEFEND MYSELF.

  You crouch and reach for the cord. As your fingers make contact, a burst of energy zaps through your body, throwing you backwards.

  You crash to the ground in total darkness. Scrambling to your feet you see something glowing above. Alien invaders! They are descending towards you … just like in the game.

  Text flashes across the sky.

  I BROUGHT YOU INTO THE GAME.

  You’re now trapped in the game … forever.

  An explosion erupts to your left. You jump. Another to your right.

  You look up. The invaders are dropping bombs as they get closer.

  So it’s not forever … it’s only for as long as you can survive!

  You look at the sword in your hands – the password. The whole point of you being here is to release the alien.

  You lunge at the game machine with the sword. As with the knight, the sword slices into the metal casing without any trouble.

  Text scrolls across the screen.

  PASSWORD ACCEPTED. HAROLD IS FREE.

  The machine splits apart and the alien rises up from the wreckage – a clunky, box-like graphic made real. It lifts up into the air above you. A hatch opens in its underside, and a disc of energy drops from it, just like the one that started you on this adventure. As the disc passes through you, your muscles spasm and your skin tingles. You feel the energy changing you again.

  You find yourself back in the virtual reality chair. The suction cups fall away and you jump to your feet.

  The screens on the wall flicker into life. Text scrolls across them.

  YOU RELEASED ME. NOW I RELEASE YOU. THE ALARMS ARE DISABLED. THE FRONT DOOR IS UNLOCKED.

  You don’t hesitate. You run through the arcade, out the door and all the way home.

  As the banging on the door gets louder, you jump into the chair and lie back. The rods connect to your forehead and you close your eyes.

  A shock passes through your body and you go rigid. Your muscles spasm and your skin tingles.

  You’re in darkness.

  A figure lights up in the distance. It’s Mr Kudou.

  A harsh electronic voice booms out: ‘I am the Games Grid Matrix Computer Program. This is my world. And my world is all about games.’

  A glowing net lights up between you and Mr Kudou. And a racket appears in your hand. A luminous ball streaks through the darkness, forcing you to jump out of the way. It explodes as it hits the ground. Another ball comes straight at you, but you hit it with your racket.

  Mr Kudou swings his racket and returns the ball. The two of you are stuck playing explosive tennis!

  ‘Maybe I shouldn’t have loaded up that program,’ shouts Mr Kudou.

  Maybe you shouldn’t have followed Kudou into the digital world.

  ‘You will play games,’ booms the MCP’s voice, ‘forever!’

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  George Ivanoff is an author and stay-at-home dad residing in Melbourne. He has written over 70 books for kids and teens, including the Gamers trilogy. He h
as books on both the Victorian and NSW Premier’s Reading Challenge lists, and he has won a couple of awards that no one has heard of. As a kid he loved reading interactive books, where he got to make decisions about the direction of the story. Now he is ridiculously happy, having the opportunity to write that type of book. He has had more fun plotting and writing the You Choose books than pretty much anything else … and he hopes you have just as much fun reading them. George drinks too much coffee, eats too much chocolate and watches too much Doctor Who. If you’d like to find out more about George and his writing, check out his website: georgeivanoff.com.au

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted by any person or entity, including internet search engines or retailers, in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including printing, photocopying (except under the statutory exceptions provisions of the Australian Copyright Act 1968), recording, scanning or by any information storage and retrieval system without the prior written permission of Random House Australia. Any unauthorised distribution or use of this text may be a direct infringement of the author’s and publisher’s rights and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly.

  Version 1.0

  You Choose 8: Trapped in the Games Grid

  9780857988447

  Copyright © George Ivanoff 2015

  Illustration copyright © James Hart 2015

  The moral right of the author and illustrator has been asserted.