Disclaimer: Diadem: Worlds of Magic does NOT belong to me. It belongs to Peel and his publishers, currently Llewellyn Worldwide. I highly respect his work and am making no profit from this, nor do I intend for this piece of fan fiction to interfere with his profits.
Author's Note: Takes place sometime after Book of Nightmares and before Book of War
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Diadem: Book of Thoughts
CHAPTER 9: “Reality Check”
by Luna
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“Thank the motherboard we were able to hack in!”
Pixel could not believe his eyes or ears. His best friends from Calomir, Byte and Digit, stood before him; just as he had seen them last in the virtual world.
“But you can’t be here! You’re in VR back home.” Pixel felt frightened and confused. He lived for logic and rules. This made no sense at all.
Digit, always the least emotional of the three, calmly explained to the shocked Pixel. “You’re right, Pix. We *are* on Calomir. And so are you.”
Byte joined in. “The game we made for you has gone haywire. The AI matrix is out of control. You’re not on Rawn. Rawn doesn’t even exist.”
“What are you talking about?! This is real… isn’t it?”
Byte and Digit both shook their heads. “You’re still logged in. You were always complaining about experiencing something more real, so we created the ultimate RPG fantasy world.”
“Or so we thought,” chimed in Byte, her voice full of bitter disappointment. “The equipment tapped so thoroughly into your brain impulses that it made you believe it was the only reality.”
Pixel could not, would not, allow himself to believe this. Everything he had experienced, the friends he had made -- all a lie? Nothing more than a computer simulation for his amusement?
“No.” Pixel said firmly. “It doesn’t add up. I don’t have any memory of entering a Simo like this. EVER.”
Digit looked at Byte, plainly worried. “See? The game’s even blocked some of his true memories!”
Digit looked seriously at Pixel. “Before you entered this Simo, we had all been together in VR, remember? You were telling us your need for something more real to interact with.”
Byte continued for him. “By the time we finished the Diadem Simo for you, you had already left your House. Fortunately for you, your parents sent out a ‘bot to retrieve you. You remember that part, don’t you?”
Pixel shook his head. “No, that’s not how it happened. I was rescued from a pack of wild dogs by Hakar, the Beastial. Not by some robot.”
Digit was shaking his head, as if trying to explain basic calculus to a 5 year-old. “No, it was a robot. Then you came home (after being disciplined by your parents a bit) and tried out our new Simo.”
Pixel felt the beginnings of doubt in his own memories. “Why wouldn’t I remember that?”
“Because it never happened,” chimed a man’s voice next to Pixel.
“Oracle!” Pixel yelled. Maybe he could get some straight answers.
Byte and Digit looked angry. “It’s one of the renegade AI creations. Don’t listen to him, Pixel!”
Oracle seemed to ignore the people in front of him. “Other than you, Pixel, no one here is real. You are trapped in an illusion of Morphos’ making.”
Digit’s angry expression changed to smug calm. “Pixel, if you really don’t believe us then put it to the test. Log off. If nothing happens, then that thing over there was telling the truth.”
Pixel nodded, wanting answers. “Computer, log off user Shalar Domain.”
The world around him disappeared and Pixel found himself back in his room on Calomir, donning his VR helmet.
“No, no!” Pixel cried. It was all fake?
“Clever, but it’s still an illusion.”
“Oracle?” Pixel yanked off his helmet and was greeted by the sight of Oracle. His eyes twinkled in amusement.
“Morphos can’t lose me that easily. As a magical projection, I’m out of his control. I have no living mind to tap into.”
“So I wasn’t in a VR Simo of the Diadem? I’m stuck in some illusion made by Morphos?”
Oracle nodded.
Pixel signed a huge breath of relief. “How do I get out?”
“Morphos’ illusions are powerful. It will take the combined strengths of Helaine and Score to break the spell. However, you are the only one who knows of the trap.”
“Helaine and Score are trapped in illusions, too? Just great.” Pixel paced around “his room”, thinking.
“Oracle, why did you contact me first?”
Oracle smiled proudly. “Of my three masters, you are the most logical minded. It would be far easier to convince you that this is nothing but an illusion. I may not be able to convince the others by myself.”
Pixel nodded in agreement. It wasn’t arrogance, just acceptance of his abilities. “Contact Helaine first. She can use her agate to form a mental link between us all to communicate. We need to get out of these illusions!”
Oracle bowed and was gone.
Chapter 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 |
