I keep pushing and pushing, outward and outward, but I may have reached a limit. The Abyss.
I’m seeing things in the wrong places. JAX again.
On the other hand, there’s the magnificent “Barkley’s Barnyard Critters” videos. Rudy!
I pick back up the cane and run with it.
Filed under **VIRTUAL SL, 0050, 0115, ADC, Critterville
Tom entered the door to the right. This was not the correct door and Tom knew this perfectly well. What Tom didn’t know is that he will be punished for going into the wrong door. Tom found himself at a dark corner. It was a theoretical dead end. There was no escaping this dark corner. Maybe he should have gone through the left door and he would not be in this situation. Tom thought to himself: why is this corner here, why is it so dark? Is it a missing texture or is this corner a representation of something greater? As he pondered this, something peculiar happened.
Panicking, Newt shuts down the attic computer, even pulls out the power chord from the back to make sure it’s off. He never wanted to see that corner again. It didn’t have to end like this. Daisy and Frank could work it out, he thinks while trying to calm himself down, taking another sip of his ever present 4 shot latte beside him. Unless it’s a Michelob Zero. You need to drink more water, Newt. Maybe if you did you wouldn’t be in this situation, ha. TBC
Filed under **VIRTUAL SL, 0049, 0612, Bright Moon Cottage, Jeogeot, LSD, Nawt Vaya+, Newtonia, NVFS
Where did it all go wrong for us, Daisy?
But I remember. When I went South is where. Sato knows. If he is the same as Okama Majo which he is. St. Dennis was always South to him, just across the line from his home in the North, in K-Town (Kangarootown). He wondered why we would even contemplate flying to the place.
Flying? I can hear her question me in my mind.
Later on, after I’d gathered more information about our split through some strategically placed indigo lamps, she started weeping again. On and on it went. Couldn’t be consoled. Ring Woman.
Couldn’t be trusted was the bottom line, I thought to end things. Had to be eliminated.
Filed under **VIRTUAL SL, 0049, 0303, Bright Moon Cottage, Illinois, Jeogeot, Kangerootown+, LSD, Nawt Vaya+, Newtonia, NVFS, Omega, RDR2, South Carolina, Southern
Lost in the woods…
… soon to be in an even darker place (Mouse drops his cane!).
Filed under **VIRTUAL SL, 0049, 0302, Bright Moon Cottage, Frank's Moving Castle, Jeogeot, LSD, Natural World, Nawt Vaya+, Newtonia, NVFS
Tom went through the door to the left. It was the door into his office. But something was different. The light in his room was a different color, and his computer screen was blue, with the text, ‘Press any key to begin.’ Tom pressed a key on the computer screen and a weird face appeared on it.
“Michael,” Tom managed to whisper between the words of The Machine. But *how*? “Morning, Tom,” he imagined the glowing face whispering back behind raised fingers. Imagined??
Then Tom remembered one important thing. That he was playing a game. Not just any game but he was playing the Indigo Parallel, so of course a weird face would appear on his computer screen. Tom also realized that if he is playing a game, then his actions have no Real World consequences. Tom can do what he wants, without any repercussions, because this is a simulation after all. After a heated conversation with Daisy, Tom picked up a knife…
Newt quickly shuts down the game. No more Indigo Parallel for a while! Or LSD…
… LSD Dream Emulator that is, a direct influence for IP and perhaps an even weirder game despite being almost 30 years old now. What faces would he see in that one after this shocker?? Simulation indeed!
Maybe just remove the 2nd computer from the attic altogether. Perhaps the whole place is cursed. TBC
Filed under **VIRTUAL SL, 0049, 0216, Back Rooms, Bright Moon Cottage, Jeogeot, LSD, Nawt Vaya+, Newtonia, NVFS
Time to go see what the boys are up to.
—–
“Thanks for joining me on this little venture.”
“Sure,” he said. “Vegetable garden can wait. Besides, well…”
“Yeah. Potential company back there. You’re going to have to be careful.”
“*You’re* going to have to be careful.”
“Soo… (sigh) This is where it happens, the magic, the view of paradise that boy mentioned.”
“Suppose so, Wheeler.”
“I mean, we saw them head in this direction. No lights. Like now.” Here Wheeler once again wonders if Newt and she would ever be a proper couple. Probably not, she concludes once more, a broken record, a record missing some letters in the middle to make it real. Simply because he’s Baker Bloch and that’s not allowed. Not *here*.
“Right, right. Stayed there — here — about an hour. I suppose that’s enough for paradise.”
“Yes,” said Wheeler nonchalantly to this. “And over there too, that building over there.” Wheeler remotely opens the window to the shack, points. “A treehouse as I’m checking; ‘nother place they go now.”
Treehouse, she ponders. Like the boys live in, with a shared robot computer on the way from their home world of Oooo as well. Should be arriving by next Tuesday’s Thursday.
“Yes, I remember when we were young and full of energy like that,” says Newt. Now just old and tired? he thinks to himself. He’s 50 going on 67. And Wheeler… he supposes she’s at least in her late 40s. Doesn’t look a day over 25 (he looks over). Well, 30 (pause) 35. Body aging gracefully, though. And so is his, he realizes. This works down here and that works up there. Both can happen.
Plus there’s The Abyss to consider, the writhing. Not Hell, but a kind of prison anyway (like Shelley is in?). Newt’s seen glimpses when he drinks his two daily 4 shot lattes too close to each other. 319. Must think about that more. Nawt Vaya — 319, hmm.
“Wheeler?” He looks over, sees the eyes. “I’ve decided to give it a shot.”
“What shot?” she shoots back.
“You know. *That*.”
“*Here*?”
He thinks of The Abyss. So many writhing in The Abyss. Trapped. A date to begin, yes. Start over fresh. Hot dog joint out in the sticks won’t swing it. Something upscale, classy. Wheeler can wear one of those discount gowns she’s been collecting recently, hmph.
“Are you asking me *out*? Hubby?”
(to be continued)
Filed under **VIRTUAL SL, 0046, 0207, Jeogeot, Juho, Nawt Vaya+, Oooo, SG Park
He’d been having dreams of Pansy Mouse again and going in a classical direction instead of rocking the day away like he had been. Wendy was showing him the way. He was less scared now of the ghostly spectre.
In one dream, Pansy handed him a list procured from behind the counter. On it: 52 single column words, including Asylum. Featuring Asylum, perhaps. Headliner. He must not run away from it. He needs to put it back in the file in Filetown.
—–
She came back in the wrong dress. He knew their time was limited, wanted to spend it in the best manner possible. “Walk with me,” he said. Reaching the balcony outside the bar and grill, he suddenly took her hand and flung them both over the rail…
… but they were okay — only 12 feet down. “Warn me the next time you do that!” complained winded Wendy, even though she landed rather gently as did he. Much harder to hurt yourself in Our Second Lyfe than up in reality. Barry learned that the hard way.
Onward through the construction warning signs. Barry knew this tunnel starting below the balcony would be safe as well; would take them to where it all ended. Heaven of sorts.
Midge looked on, unseen by Barry behind the dumpster. But not Wendy. Just by her look she knew they had found the file.
(to be continued)
Filed under **VIRTUAL SL, 0042, 0615, Castle Town+, Omega
The disappearance of the gargoyles on the return passage really started throwing her game off. She fell on some loose ruble in their former room, near the crosshairs where your hair and also head could get roasted and toasted. No longer. “Where *are* they? What *happened* to them?” she said in a panic as she brushed off her polka dot ribbon dress and attempted to stand upright again. “Am I even in the right room?” But she knew the steep stairs behind her could lead only to this place.
More obstacles were ahead, including an invisible barrier impeding her way where there was open air before. She felt like a rat in a maze, trying to find the cheese that is the surface of this Cass City town and the return to her warm, safe desk at the mayor’s office. She felt in her dress pocket — *curses*; never should have worn this cursed dress. But the coins (real? fake?) and the figurine of the statue were still there. If only she could find the way out.
—–
The Mayor checked the time on her watch, cursing as well. “Where the f— is she?” she said aloud. “And, more importantly, where are those coins and that statue?” Town Council meeting in 12 hours. She *can’t* postpone any longer (!).
She turns to the map on the display board. “*Corvo*. *You’re* doing this. Aren’t you, you little bugger of an island?”
“ANSWER ME!” And here I believe she started to sob inconsolably, remembering the Abyss again.
Filed under **VIRTUAL SL, 0041, 0313, Cass City+, Maebaleia/Satori
It was still before the Great War II that never was, leaving only the Great War in history books without a needed numeral to accompany it. Axis was not yet in control, and, even if he were, it would not result in war. Only a child (Alice Tart). 1939 would be the year by that time. But right now it was ’36.
They knew her as Clare by now, the Boss’ Girl Friday instead of Biff’s down at Southside. This was Northside or thereabouts, close enough to count. She heard the Desire streetcar pass by below and thought of conductor/driver Dennis Martennis, what he said the other week to her as the rain poured down outside, making it undesirable to walk to work like she usually does. He asked: Are you the One?
“*There*, Madam Mayor,” she said, her physical work probably complete for the day. “Ancient computer’s fixed. All we had to do was change the ribbon.” This made her think of her ribbon dress that she elected not to wear to work today. Instead she chose something simpler, something plain and black and more conservative. Maybe she’ll try the ribbon dress out next week on the public but for now: inconspicuous will do. Until they find out about the coins.
The mayor was right beside her, just having finished rechecking office files for the missing 3-n-1 folder, another thing the Boss had in common with private dick Biff across town. No luck.
“Clare,” she said, turning. “That grey haired man who came to see me last week… Dextre or something.”
“Keith B., right,” Clare corrected, knowing where the confusion came from. He *does* look like a serial killer, albeit with a code. ‘Nother one.
“Were you here when he left? Weren’t you on some kind of break at the time?”
“Let’s see,” she thought out loud. “I let him in, you guys talked for a while. It was about 12 and he was still in there with you. Yes, I took my lunch break at the time. I didn’t see him leave.”
“And I didn’t follow him out. Got sleepy all of a sudden — can’t even remember the next hour or so. We had coffee,” she said, thinking back. “And donuts… he brought donuts.”
“*I* brought donuts,” corrected Clare again. “Per your suggestion. Said you had a lot of figuring out to do and needed caffeine *and* sugar, a double boost of the grey matter… as you put it.”
“Okay, *you* brought the donuts in.” She stopped, trying to picture the scene. The information was stupendous, almost knocked her off her feet without the needed drugs. Moby Prick is alive and well out there somewhere off the coast of Flores. And pyramids are out there as well! Atlantis; Abyss. She had seen into the depths of her soul and it wasn’t pretty. Dr. Mouse and his Serapis Club may have a point after all.
(to be continued)
Filed under **VIRTUAL SL, 0041, 0310, Cass City+, Maebaleia/Satori
The name of the city had changed from Cassandra to just Cass. What she knew as the Seraph Club was now the Serapis Club. She had to look that up. Old Graeco-Egyptian god associated with a Jesus-like cult. But in Our Second Lyfe, well, an interesting topic. Cult in that case headed by a doctor — looks like a Mouse. Make that: looks like Mouse (for a name (according to an attached notecard she found)). And this Cass City? Azore Islands alternate or parallel history. Pyramid, hidden from the public eye after a brief exposure. Atlantis at the bottom of everything and sloowly making its way back to the top again. She’d seen the Abyss inside. Abyss, she repeated in her mind. Dr. Mouse and his Serapis might have a point.
Better get some human clothes to go along with a human form asap. This situation needs investigating!
Filed under **VIRTUAL SL, 0041, 0204, Cass City+, Maebaleia/Satori
Sunklands 