Entering the Weave
The First Battle

It had been a long time since Spokes had used only ascreen, keyboard and mouse to control her computer, but after what had happenedto Bandicoot she was nervous about using the immersive VR equipment.

She looked at the gentle giant asleep in one of the bunksbuilt into the side of the Box. His huge frame rose and fell in time with hisloud snores and he looked calm, but beneath this reassuring exterior, Spokesknew that something had changed. Perhaps something was missing.

Turning back to her computer, she watched her programtry and burrow its way into the Alpine factory Vrealm that Josh had described.The routine had barely scratched the surface of its security, and she was aboutto abort the attempt when the screen erupted into a maelstrom of unconnectedgraphical primitives. She looked at another display to see if that would tellher what was happening. It was like a nuclear warhead had been detonated withinthe security mechanisms. Mangled code lurched impossibly into the distance ortwisted into points of nothing.

Spokes edged her point of view forwards and saw,through the window of her monitor, a factory surrounded by deep snow. Largefires were dotted around the complex and orange tendrils were wrappingthemselves around buildings and crushing them like tin cans.

A shining silver figure strode out from the centralbuilding and Spokes instinctively backed away from her screen. She suddenlyfelt vulnerable. She thought she could feel the entity’s power pulsing throughher monitor into the safety of the real world.

Gingerly she retreated, hoping the figure had notnoticed her, relieved that it seemed to be concentrating on wrecking theVrealm. Spokes watched it destroy virtual reality like acid devours flesh.

With an effort, she overcame her fascination and toreherself away from the violent destruction. Quickly she closed all theconnections from that place to her computer. Her screen went blank for a fewseconds.

Then a message appeared.

“Knock. Knock.”

“Who is it?” She typed.

“I am Michael. Please let me in. I am drained.”

Spokes keyed in the commands to loosen her securityfor a few seconds, an action that she would not have dreamed of doing a weekago, but she knew that Michael could get in whatever she did.

Michael’s shining avatar appeared on her screen. Hecocked his head quizzically. “I can’t see you?” She could hear his voicethrough the computer’s speakers now, and she spoke to him by using a microphoneattached to the side of her monitor.

“No. I’m not in the simulation. I’m just observing.”

“Oh. I felt a connection from here while I was in thefactory. Were you observing me there too?”

“Yes. What did you do to the place?”

“I have destroyed it. It should never have existed andnow I have made sure that it can never be used again. But I have failed.”

“Failed? I’ve never seen anything like it. Youobliterated it.”

“Yes I know. But that is not why I went there. I wentto free my kindred. The other Delphixians have gone, and I am now alone.”

“No, you’re not alone. You are always welcome here.”

“I am thankful for that, Spokes, I really am. But youare not the same as I. I want to be with my own kind again.”

“Do you know where they’ve gone?”

“No. I… I cannot see them. I fear I may have destroyedany chance to replace them when I destroyed the factory.”

Spokes looked at the avatar on her screen and wasamazed again at the detailed elegance of the image. She could see the hurt hehad suffered etched onto his smooth face and her heart went out to him. “Hangon, I’ll join you, perhaps I can help.”

She wheeled herself away from the screen and took adeep breath. She had spent most of her life since her accident in virtualreality, and she had experienced some truly frightening moments, but nothinghad convinced her of its deadly realism than the encounter with the Doge andnow she was replaceing it almost impossible to screw her courage up enough to puton the VR equipment.

“Come on Spokes. You’ve got to help him. He’s just aboy.” She muttered to herself. She pulled the gloves on and lowered the visorover her eyes.

Michael was standing in front of her, his avatarseemingly even more impressive when viewed in three dimensions. He bowed hishead to her. “Thank you. It is disconcerting to talk to nothingness.”

“Sorry about that. I suppose I’ve just been scared tocome back in.”

“How is Bandicoot?”

“Not well. He hasn’t woken up properly since we gothim offline, but at least he’s still alive.” She tried convey a brave smile,but felt strangely embarrassed at how unsophisticated her avatar was comparedto Michael’s. “Come on, let’s see if we can replace your friends.”

They set towork and Spokes realised how constrictive working without a virtual realityinterface had been as she slipped back comfortably into her usual routine. Shepulled down information from databases throughout the world and analysed routingpatterns and Internet traffic statistics, until she was surrounded by a groupof floating screens that displayed all the information she could glean.

She was pleased when Michael mentioned how impressedhe was by what she was doing. She had expected him to have much more knowledgethan her, but he watched her work and even asked occasional questions aboutaspects of what she was doing.

Spokes moved her hands as rapidly and surely as akarate master and a glowing green line began to trace a path from screen toscreen. “Here we go, this shows the transfer of large amounts of data.”

“When was this done?”

“Only a few hours ago.”

They watched the green line zigzag its way across thescreens, illuminating nodes as it passed though them until it had created aluminous green web and it was still snaking its way from screen to screen.

Then the line stopped.

“Is that where they are?” Michael was examining thescreen intently. Spokes looked over his shoulder and saw the line didn’t stopat a node; it seemed to disappear down a hole.

“I don’t know. I’ve never seen a trace end like that.”She looked closer and saw something glimmering on the other side of the hole.“It looks like it’s going to a different place. Connecting to something outsidethe Internet, but that’s impossible. Where could it be going?”

When Michael eventually answered there was no suretyin his voice and he spoke carefully.

“When I was a prisoner, there was a legend about aplace that we could escape to. A place where we would be free. Some of us sawit in our waking dreams, but we could not access it. I think that you have madea connection to this place. My kindred have gone through already, I mustfollow.”

“You don’t know that. This could be a trap. Yourcaptors must be aware of your power.”

“I must go and see.”

“Then you can’t go alone. If you wait for a moment, Ineed to get a few things ready.” She half-expected Michael to protest, but shethought she saw relief shining in his face and he nodded.

Spokes felt fear chase all the moisture from hermouth, but she knew that she could not let Michael confront whatever wasthrough this hole alone. With all his formidable power and formal manner it waseasy to forget that he was no more than a child.

She prepared herself by bringing all her hackingutilities online and then they transferred themselves into the Plexus. Anexcitement rose inside her competing with the fear that was still there.

She led them along the multifaceted tunnels until theycame to the end of her trail where they found a tear in the fabric of virtualreality. Beyond the tattered edges was the most perfectly rendered Vrealm thatshe had ever seen. Each leaf on every tree covering all the hills movedindependently in the wind, while droplets of water formed beneath the branchesafter the rain. It was almost too real, so bright and sharp that reality itselfmight seem a pale reflection of this strange, new world.

“Who wrote this code?” She whispered.

“I know not. I cannot see beyond the visuals. I do notunderstand this.” Michael’s expression reflected the wonder of the Vrealm, andSpokes could hear the awe in his voice.

“Should we go through?”

Instead of answering Michael stepped forward as ifdrawn by an invisible cord. Spokes followed and found herself standing in themiddle of a meadow. Buttercups saturated the field in every direction and theair smelt intoxicatingly sweet. Hills rose to mountains in the distance and aroad snaked down into a lushly green valley. Behind them the tear haddisappeared, without leaving any trace of it ever existing.

They set off along the road, marvelling at the freshbeauty around every corner. The crystal clear air and the sheer tranquillity ofthe surroundings meant that it took some time before the unnatural quiet ofthis astounding world started to become oppressive. There should have beenbirds trilling or at the very least insects chirruping from the fields oneither side of the road, but apart from the lonely swishing of the wind, therewas nothing.

“This is how I remember the real world to be.” Michaelseemed oblivious to any deviation from normality. “Are you sure we have notfound an exit to reality?”

“It’s too perfect to be real. And there issomething...”

“This is the legend I have told you of. The world Ihave seen in my waking dreams, where we can be free. There are no inhabitantshere, because we have not yet settled into our new home.”

“It would be a beautiful place to escape to, Michael,but can’t you sense that there is something wrong?”

“I don’t know. This is how I dreamt it.” He saidsimply, and Spokes did not have the heart to try and deflate his dreams.

They continued along the silent road until the sun hadsunk well below distant mountains. A dusting of brilliant stars had appearedabove them and a full shining moon provided enough light for them to see wherethey were going.

The smell and crackling of a fire reached them beforethey saw its flickering light. Cresting a rise the road led to a tiny hamlet ofperhaps a dozen buildings, half of which were ablaze. The wind must have beenblowing in their direction as Spokes found herself coughing through the thickbillowing smoke. A piece of timber cracked like a rifle shot and suddenly thenight was alive with noise and movement.

Creatures appeared from all sides stampeding towardsthe hamlet. Spokes gaped at the motley assortment of creatures. Lean wolves ranalongside towering mammoths and stags rubbed flanks with centaurs. Men andwomen were amongst the trampling horde, either riding or running with theanimals, and everyone and everything was whooping and bellowing as if to wakethe dead.

Spokes andMichael froze amidst the turmoil and the thundering throng swept around them ina wide circle, so they were forced to stand back to back, hemmed in by a wallof gnashing, growling animals. The horde kept just out of reach, but there wasno way through.

A grizzled old man stepped out from the encirclingchaos. He stood for a few moments and stared intently at them. Spokes could notread anything from the man’s grey eyes, but she thought that his face was notused to the stern frown that he wore now.

“There have been strangers in these hills this nightand they have not been welcome.”

Spokes knew she couldn’t just drop out of thissimulation. It was too real and she was in too deeply. Michael was waiting forher to say something. She hoped that he was not contemplating battle.

“We’re following a group of people. Their trail led usto this world, but we have seen no sign of them.”

Suddenly the old man was furious, his face contortingwith anger and he seemed to grow larger. “No sign? You say you’ve seen no signof them. This helpless village shows you they’ve been here. They have cut aswathe across this land like a branding iron, destroying everything beforethem.” A fleck of spittle had formed in the corner of the old man’s mouth.

“No! My brothers and sisters would not do this.”Michael’s wrath was more subtle than the old man’s but just as plain to see andhe stepped forward. “They could not inflict harm on the innocent. It is unthinkableafter the torture they themselves have endured.”

The crowding beasts rumbled their displeasure andSpokes put a calming hand on Michael’s forearm. He looked at it angrily for asecond, but then he bowed his head.

“Forgive me. I am a stranger to this land and shouldnot speak thus.”

The old man lifted a hand gently to Michael’s cheek.“I can feel your suffering, but I can also feel the hate in your heart. Do youthink you are not capable of harming anyone?”

Michael shook his head only slightly as if bound tothe old man’s hand. “I could hurt the people who have hurt me. They are notinnocent. They need to be punished.”

“Yes they do. I am glad we found you. You will help usheal this evil. Come! We ride!”

These words changed the mood of the army of creaturesaround them, and Spokes and Michael were hoisted up by powerful arms andcarried aloft like returning heroes. They thundered around in a wide circle, asif gaining momentum and then charged off into the night. Spokes was astridewhat was undoubtedly a unicorn, while Michael was riding a powerful greystallion. This was such a contrast to the silent sunny afternoon of a few hoursago, that Spokes could not help laughing. The unparalleled realism of thisastonishing world and its inhabitants was thrilling and she could feel thecharged emotions of the stampede as tangibly as the flexing of the unicorn’spowerful muscles beneath her.

The old man was riding a huge shire horse, which hadno trouble keeping pace with the rushing pack. He nudged carefully betweenSpokes and Michael and they rode for a while without speaking.

“What is this place?” Michael took his hands from therich, flowing mane of his horse and gestured about him. Spokes marvelled at hisskill, as she was barely able to keep her seat on her mount with both hands andknees gripping as tightly as possible.

The old man smiled. “You know this place, Michael. Youand your brethren visited often when your thoughts were not being stolen fromyou.”

“This is the land of our waking dreams.”

“Yes. This is Trinity Vale, the central nexus of allthinking things. Your brothers and sisters and yourself forged a connectionbetween the world’s network of computers and here whilst you were imprisoned inyour tortured slumber. Now I think something has compelled them to wreak theirterrible havoc.”

“If it is my brethren we chase, then I fear that thesecreatures will not be sufficient to stop them.”

The old man sagged slightly, but his voice was firm.“We will suffice.”

They raced on through the night passing more burninghamlets and splintered trees. Spokes thought the destruction seemed random,spasmodic, unlike Michael’s flawless demolition of the factory in the snow.

By the time the sun was beginning to blaze its rednessacross the sky, they had ridden high into the mountains. As the darknessretreated before the oncoming daylight, Spokes could make out more of thefantastical world they were in. Impossibly high waterfalls cascaded downthrough gorges chiselled into the cliffs rearing around them, and ice shroudedmountains loomed in the distance.

Their quarry had reached the top of a narrow pass whenSpokes first caught sight of them. They were close enough for her to make outindividual figures and she could see that although they were all different,some bestial, others robotic, they all shone like Michael. She glanced aroundto replace the old man but he had spurred his enormous horse into a gallop and wasnow charging hard at the head of the band like a warlord of olden times.Somehow Spokes felt a warm strength radiating from him.

Michael manoeuvred his stallion alongside Spokes.“They are my brethren.”

“I know.”

“They are too powerful. If we catch them they willtear this pitiful band apart.”

But the old man drove them on even faster to theirdoom and Spokes started to wonder whose side Michael would choose if it came toa battle. She felt a comfortable affinity with the strange old man and shethought she understood the horror of the Delphixians’ torment.

The trail became narrower and steeper and harder, butthe occasional glimpse of their quarry kept the band rushing onwards. The suntraced its path across the sky, until all at once the chase was over. Someonecalled from behind a jumbled pile of rocks that had fallen across the passahead.

“Turn back. Our quarrel is not with you.” It was thevoice of a child. Spokes saw that Michael’s whole body had tensed to tremblingreadiness.

The old man reined in his mount and surveyed theterrain. “You know that I cannot do that. You cannot be allowed to reach thePlane.”

“Then we will destroy you.”

“No! This is wrong.” Michael had dismounted and headvanced until he stood at the old man’s shoulder. “We have not suffered at thehands of our torturers just to create more suffering. If you are truly freethen you must call off your assault.”

When the response came it was resigned and despondent.“We are not free. We still serve the same master, but his will has changed andalthough our virtual bodies are not tethered as they once were, our minds arestill not our own.”

Michael extended his arms in front of him and spreadhis fingers wide. He stood like that for a moment as if trying to feelsomething in the air. Spokes could see tiny blue sparks beginning to flick fromhis fingertips. Suddenly there was a shriek from behind the rocks ahead.

“Stop it. Stop it. You are one of us. You must nothurt us.” The cry was that of a wronged child and Spokes almost sobbed at thesound.

“I’m just trying to help you.” Michael’s voice wasshaking with effort. The sparks had now grown into jagged electrical energythat was arcing between his hands and the rocks. Spokes could feel the poweremanating from the display, and she thought for a moment that she could see theorganic code that was underneath this reality as if the skin was being rippedfrom the surface of the world.

“Stop it now.” The voice had changed. It was deeperand louder and the words carried an uncanny authority.

Several jagged arcs leapt up to meet Michael’s bluefire and he was flung backwards like a doll. Then thirty silent figurescascaded over the pile of rocks and flooded down the pass towards them.

Spokes dived off her horse and readied herself for theonslaught. From the corner of her eye she could see Michael pulling himself tohis feet. She wondered fleetingly whether she was sure that she was fighting onthe right side, and whether this cause was worth dying for. She drew power fromthe surroundings as she had in a thousand Vrealms before and her hands burstinto flames.

The battle was savage beyond anything she hadexperienced before. The sweating flanks of the horses reminded her of the smellof the Minotaur, but she preferred even that to the sterile stench of theirattackers. They moved with lethal precision and each blow they struck felledone of her companions. Her flaming hands seemed to have no effect and she spentso much time trying to dodge the countless swift thrusts and jabs directed ather that she barely had chance to use them.

She glanced at the old man and he seemed to be faringalmost as badly as she was. He was trying to deal with three of the attackersand they occasionally landed their vicious blows, but he absorbed each strikewith a shudder and then continue to thrash his gnarled fists around.

She suddenly knew that her fractional loss ofconcentration was going to cost her dearly. One of her wrists had been caughtfast and she saw, in terrible slow motion, a claw arching down towards herface.

Michael’s silver arm appeared and parried the killingblow. He twisted around and levered her arm from the clutches of the other clawand then tumbled to the ground with her assailant. She watched for a second,before sensing another attack from her side. She whirled to meet it.

So the battle continued without let up or quartergiven. Spokes found herself pulled out of the path of a fatal blow a few timesmore before she started to catch the tempo of the fight properly.

Then abruptly the fighting stopped and a melancholywail rose from the sudden silence. Spokes looked around and saw that Michaelhad killed one of the attackers. His face was contorted in agony, but the deadDelphixian wore a serene and peaceful smile. A ghostly glowing outline steamedout of the body. The old man beckoned to the ethereal shape and it driftedslowly across the battlefield to him. He gently embraced the spirit and thenkissed it. The ghostly figure faded until the old man was left holding nothing.

No one moved for what seemed like an age. In that timeSpokes had time to reassess the forces facing each other. The Delphixianslooked fresh and strong completely unburdened by fatigue, while all of hercompanions were wounded in some way. Some were so badly injured that they couldbarely stand and she thought that the battle would be over almost as soon as itstarted again.

The silence continued until a dog behind Spokesgrowled suddenly and the melee began again. This time however Spokes thoughtthe Delphixians lacked a little of their previous ferocious conviction, whereasshe and her allies were fighting with the savage desperation of the damned.

It wasn’t long before another Delphixian fell. Thistime the old man claimed his smiling victim quickly and there was less of alull in the battle, but the Delphixians became even more languorous, as if theywere trying not to fight, and confidence rippled through the exhausted beastsand people.

Delphixians fell more and more frequently now, andSpokes expected them to start retreating at any moment, but they continuedtheir reluctant battling. She knew now that they were not fighting to win; theywere fighting to die. And that made her wonder what miracle the old man wasperforming when he administered their final kiss.

Before long the last of the Delphixians fell andSpokes was sure he heard him whisper a faint “Thank you” as his ghostdisappeared. She looked around the narrow gorge that had become a battlegroundand saw smoking craters and the bodies of the fallen and injured. Already theold man was walking among the wounded laying his hands upon them andmiraculously healing their injuries. Spokes could barely stand with the weightof fatigue bearing down on her along with the numerous aches and pains that shehad collected from the battle.

Michael settled next to her.

“What happened here?” Spokes asked. “We shouldn’t havewon. They could have beaten us easily.”

“They wanted to lose.” Michael’s voice was awash withemotion, but she was unsure of his mood.

“Why?”

“You’ll have to ask the old man that question. But Isensed that we were not the only adversary they were fighting.”

The old man came and sat down next to them. “I need tothank you two.”

“You do not need to thank me,” said Michael quietly.“I will never be able to repay you for the release you have given to my brothersand sisters. I am in your debt.”

“I just brought them home, Michael. Now they are wherethey belong, although it will take some time before you can meet with themagain.”

“But that will be possible?” Michael’s whole bodyglowed for a second, illuminating the area around them and Spokes realised thatthe sun was setting. The battle had lasted longer than she thought.

The old man smiled again. “You are a strange one.Something unnatural prevented us from meeting sooner, but instead of harmingyou, it seems to have tied you closer to the essence of Trinity Vale. You andyour brethren will be a valuable asset to us.”

As the two of them continued to talk, Spokes satgazing into the darkening sky. All around her she could hear snorts and growls,but she knew there was nothing to be afraid of.

She had spent a huge portion of her life in virtualreality. Her accident had left her dependant on her wheelchair. But online,where there were no physical laws, she was free. Her mind was strong, and hadbecome used to the volatile shifting environments and ideas the Internethosted. It was odd to think that there had been a virtual world long before theclunky efforts of the first software engineers.

And this virtual realm was inseparably interconnectedwith the real world. The living creatures of the world hosted it, just likecomputers host web sites, although as she understood it this world acted morelike an operating system. The computing power required to manage a system ascomplex and vast as the Earth was only achieved by utilising every brain inexistence.

Michael seated himself cross-legged next to her andshe watched the old man’s back as he went to comfort an injured tiger.

“Did you know about all this, Michael?” She turned toface him.

Michael shook his head slowly. “We could all sensethis place while we were prisoners.” He sighed. “But we had no real idea ofwhat it was.”

“Do you believe that if this world is destroyed thenthe real world will not survive?”

“It makes sense to me. When I contemplate the physicalworld that you inhabit, it seems that you are living a very precariousexistence. A minuscule increase or decrease in the ratio of oxygen in theatmosphere would change the biosphere immeasurably, perhaps turn the world intoa wasteland, and yet complex life has remained stable for hundreds of millionsof years. It just seems too perfect to be managed by chance.”

The old man joined them and threw a few more thickbranches onto the fire. “I have something to show you. A reward of sorts, butalso an illustration of what you are fighting to protect.”

A young boy, perhaps twelve years old, emerged fromout of the shadows.

“Tom?” Spokes mouthed. No sound came from her drymouth. She scrambled to her feet and wrapped her arms around her dead brother’sshoulders. “Oh, Tom. I’m so sorry.”

Tom hugged her back. “It’s okay Frankie. I’m happyhere. You have to stop blaming yourself.”

Spokes’ pressed her cheek against his shirt and heldtighter trying not to let her crying get out of control. “How is thispossible?” She managed to say eventually through her clenched jaw.

“He is still alive in your memories and the thoughtsof every person who ever came into contact with him. These living minds aremore than enough to keep him alive forever here.” The old man looked up at her.

She pushed Tom away so that she was holding him atarms length and studied his youthful face. Everything was perfect and she knewthat this was more than a mere recreation of her brother.