Ben had been coaxed into trying the game by Jane to provide his opinion on this game. The game was designed and made by Jane; it was due for release in a month’s time in the U.S. The market for these types of games was rapidly increasing and Jane stands to earn a lot of money and credit for the work she had put into this game.
“What are you doing here Ben?” questioned Jane as if she didn’t know. She designed the game for goodness sake, but because she is in the game it takes over your mind beyond your control. You were not fully aware of who you were, just who you were meant to be.
“I’m here to help you protect the contents of that briefcase, I know what you and your organisation were planning.” Whispered Ben.
In the meantime back in the testing control room. The boss, two bodyguards, three computer operators, Cambe the project overseer and a few high up officials were standing, sitting or lying in the room. They were all around a very large control panel and can hear in a sealed room the D.D.R droning at full volume. They were all watching the game through a large TV screen on one side of the wall. The atmosphere was relaxed and peaceful.
Unexpectedly approximately twenty ‘game terrorists’, armed with pulse rifles and pistols all flooded through the door. Each one of them was dressed from head to toe in black; black balaclavas, black, pulse resistant full body armour and shiny black boots.
“You the boss of this ‘ere organisation?” queried the leader of this mob.
“Yes I am.” Snuffled the boss.
Smack! “Aaaaaahhhhhhh!” Screamed the boss, Thud! Down went the boss, smack, and smack! The mob took out the two bodyguards almost simultaneously. The boss, lying still and lifeless on the white now bloodstained marble floor. What a terrible sight!
“Noooooooooooooo!” exclaimed Cambe as he rushed to the boss’ side as the boss drew his final breath.
Inside the game Jane and Ben were oblivious to the horrors that were taking place outside in the real world. Their bodies were in a sealed chamber so that they could not be torn away or disturbed from the game unpredictably which would probably cause major damage to their cerebral cortex, resulting in permanent brain damage.
They have currently arrived at New London Central, as they stepped off the train, six, well-armed, three meter tall guards surrounded them and the briefcase. As they passed through the train station people did look and stare. This was to be expected as they were not people at all but ‘robot-guards’. Jane had to add them to make the game just that little bit more exciting for it’s current audience. She knew that they didn’t really exist in the 20th century.
As they all approached the secluded rendezvous there the two previously arranged and marked limos were waiting to take them to the safe house and to complete the mission.
“This was a great game Jane!” whispered Ben as they were striding out to get into the limousines. The robot-guards compacted and got into a larger limo while Jane and Ben got into the other, slightly smaller one.
Forcefully surging away in the limo, Ben heard a loud explosion behind him, he turned around only to see that the limo accommodating the robot-guards had blown up and was now just a giant fireball. Jane heard it as well and saw exactly the same terrible thing, but if it had blown up then who was going to protect them? Who was driving their limo, and had they seen the explosion? The back of the limo unexpectedly filled with some sort of gas and knocked Jane and Ben unconscious.
As they gradually awoke from their deep sleep Ben and Jane had a large gang of thieves surrounding them. They had acquired knowledge about the briefcase and wanted to see for themselves what the talk was all about, if the briefcase and its contents had any value. Jane and Ben found that they were each tied separately to a wooden bench.
“What is the combination of this lock? I am only asking, as I do not want to damage the contents of the briefcase by hastily breaking into it. Now tell me the combination!” Exclaimed the leader.
“I will never tell you that!” Yelled Jane, Ben was terrified as he would have told them the combination, but didn’t know it and the character wouldn’t have said anything so neither could Ben.
“In that case I will have to leave you down here, in this awful cellar to rot and die, I can still get into this case without your help, it will just take a little longer, that’s all!” Chuckled the leader as he and his gang left the cellar to discover their presumed riches.
Ben tried to let out a little yelp to get them to stop, but the game prevented him, it was useless!
The cellar was dark, dingy and had a terrible stench to it, it was worse than most citizens of the world for the past, at least, three centuries could have imagined possible. They were always used to a clean sterilized atmosphere.
The poverty that Jane grew up in was never on the news. The news channels were not allowed to present anything to do with the very small yet appalling dark and dirty side of this world.
Jane’s mother was killed when Jane was very young. Her Father had to bring her up on his own, he had to work, cook, bring Jane up and cope with his wife’s death as well as many other things. Jane knows that some people are and have been much worse off, therefore, in that way, she feels lucky that she has got at least one parent. Although no one should have had to go through what she went through.
Ten minutes later Jane can hear a racket coming from outside the door, Jane and Ben can hear screaming and gun shots. Rapidly everything fell silent and a robot-guard burst through the cellar door, smashing it from the hinges and causing it to break into at least twenty diverse pieces.
“I thought you were all destroyed in that explosion!” exclaimed Ben,
“No we knew what they were planning so we got into the limo and then killed the driver, got out of the limo in a way that no-one saw, then we blew up the limo so we wouldn’t raise any eyebrows. Then we followed the tracker in the briefcase.” Claimed the robot-guard.
After they were untied and had the briefcase back in their possession they contacted the office and told them all about the incident with the thieves and how they escaped. The office said that they would send another limo around in around five minutes.
Meanwhile some of the game terrorists back at the testing control centre were flooding around the centre of the room and started demolishing the equipment.
“Oi, STOP!” Shouted the leader, “We don’t want to destroy these people’s work just their ideas and stop the games taking over our minds!”
“The games are not like...” Zap, thud, the leader was cut short by a well-placed shot to the chest.
“Lets go boys!” Yelled the leader to his horrible gang.
A limo appeared from around the corner, was this the one or another trick? As soon as Jane had said that to herself, the limo exploded in a great red-orange fireball, with plumes of smoke billowing from the engine. Jane and Ben turned around to find the some of the robot-guards had pulse rocket launchers on their shoulders. It was them who had destroyed the limo, but before they could question the act they heard another limo screech around the corner, exactly five minutes after the phone call to the office. This must be the one, Jane thought, as this one had survived the journey from the corner, at least half way down the road.
The terrorists had not seen Cambe push a security button before he was shot. The terrorists sped out of the testing room on the top floor of this complex. They went down the stairs in case someone wanted to block or stop the lifts.
The limo pulled up beside Jane and the others, this time none of them were taking any chances with security. The robot-guards checked all around the limo for anything suspicious or incriminating. When they had finished everyone got into the car and drove off.
The limo pulled away from the pavement, slowly at first then increasing in speed until they were travelling at an incredible speed. Dodging and weaving through the daytime traffic was hair-raising.
The terrorists were all running down the last five flights of stairs when they heard police sirens in the distance.
“We can make it before they get here! Hurry up!” Shouted the leader. As the gang of terrorists reached the ground floor a security guard tried to stop them, but failed as they all rushed him and left him lying unconscious and still. As the terrorists left the building and all bundled into a black van and sped away the bomb that they had left behind blew up, killing all the people in that room.
Jane and Ben were oblivious to this entire ordeal. When just as they were about to complete the game by handing in the briefcase, the game terrorists had arrived in their safe house in Scotland and were hacking into the game. The only thing that Jane and Ben saw was a giant asteroid hurtling towards them.
“This was not part of my program!” Cried out Jane.
The asteroid was about to hit when Jane and Ben were transported to an empty testing control room, here Jane and Ben were made to watch what had gone on, this was produced by the terrorists from the CCTV footage they stole.
Jane developed an emergency button so she could stop the program at any time, she pressed it and the sealed room they were in became immediately visible. It was dark and dingy, then there was a bright flash and when Jane opened the door she saw the testing control room with the boss’ body lying on the floor.
“See you in hell!” murmured a quiet voice from nowhere!
Suddenly the floor opened up beneath Jane and Ben and they started to fall down and down the side of the building.
As they hit the bottom nothing happened! They were all right, but as they thought this they found themselves at the beginning of the game again! Jane franticly pressed the emergency button, but with no effect! It dawned on Jane and Ben that they were trapped in this game for the rest of their lives!
A few days later the terrorists were about to leave the country then they were planning to go to Mars for a while. As they were about to do so a gang of about 30 armed police were racing towards them, most of the terrorists stop what they were doing and give up, but a few along with the leader make a break for it. The police chef had anticipated this and had therefore placed snipers along the station roof. He ordered them to fire. Every last packet of photons hit its target and brought them tumbling to the ground.
At last the terrorists were brought to justice, but what of Jane and Ben? They were presumed dead and when that part of the building was rebuilt their bodies were sealed forever in the room in which they had spent their last few minutes as themselves.
In that year Jane and Ben’s parents formed a committee constantly opposing the games and there safety but as things were in this world this minority had little effect on the people that make the final decisions. As the years pass Jane and Ben were constantly living out her creation over and over again nothing ever changes. This brings a whole new perspective to the word repetitive. They were living the rest of their life doing nothing but that.
Their fate may have been easier if it was a game they had to master from scratch, but because Jane had created it she knew everything about it! Nothing was new, ever!
Their fate, stuck in this loop forever!