Beyond The Network

They arrived at the Fence. The Fence was approximately 20 feet high and stretched off in both directions, though there were quite a few gaps through it, as if someone had taken a car or transport module through it. They went through one of the gaps to the other side.

The ground was pock-marked with holes, and strewn with various forms of garbage. The gray light seeping in through the clouds gave the area a decrepit look. There was not a soul in sight, and all was almost completely quiet.

The five trudged onwards. Despite what Ana had told them the night before, they were not immobilized automatically. Perhaps it was because The Network simply did not "see" them. Or, perhaps, this was yet another of N3ox's many tricks.

Suddenly, Jeremy1449 cried out: "Look out!" But it was too late. Andy2ddf had caught his foot on a trip wire, and had fallen face down into a razor trap. Blood was already flowing from his severed jugular vein.

John52fe turned Chels9b01's head away. He did not want her to see the gruesome sight. "We must go on without him. Be careful now." N3ox pointed to another such trap a distance ahead. "There can be more of those ahead. Watch your step."

They moved on. Already, the light was growing dimmer, and a soft breeze was beginning to blow. On and on they walked. How long, they did not bother to check, though it felt like hours.

John52fe could see a structure looming up in front of them, with a gaping hole in its side. Behind it was a wall, stretching out as far as the eye could see to the left and to the right.

N3ox stood before them. "If my guess is correct, that is the edge of the Network user boundary. On the other side of that wall is the maintenance area of The Network." He had never sounded this excited before.

They went down the long tunnel. Faint lights glimmered in the air around them, magenta and purple and blue. They could sense a tremendous amount of energy beyond.

John52fe came through the end of the tunnel. The others followed. Silently, they surveyed the scene before them.

They were in a sea of lights. "Packet storm," N3ox pointed out. "Stick close together."

John52fe passed through the packet storm. Magenta, purple, blue, and white lights flitted around him. The ground was a moving mass of lights. He could not see anything more than a few feet away. Thoughts floated into his head – random, incoherent thoughts, seemingly belonging to other people.

Chels9b01 held his hand tightly; he returned the gesture and pushed on.

N3ox seemed to be having trouble passing through the packet storm – he was stumbling, falling. They could almost see light passing through him. "I... can't... "

He was fading out. Disappearing. "See ya... Oh... network field generator... under... go under, not over..." And he was gone.

Presently, John52fe, Chels9b01, and Jeremy1449 passed through the packet storm and arrived at a sloping wall. A strong hum emanated from within; evidently, this was one of the Network field generators that N3ox had mentioned. True to his word, there was a small, dark opening beneath it; there was also a ladder leading up to the top.

"So now we go under. Who's first?"

"No way! I'm not going under that thing!" Before the others could stop him, Jeremy1449 had climbed up the ladder and was standing atop the generator. "Hey, guys! Come on up!"

Suddenly, there was a loud zap and a scream. Jeremy1449 was nowhere to be seen.

"No!" John52fe could not contain his grief. His best friend, Jeremy1449, had been taken from him... all because of a stupid mistake. He should have been more careful, should have held him back. Oh, if only he could somehow bring him back... but there was no use crying yet. He, John52fe, was still alive.

Carefully, he climbed up the ladder up to where Jeremy1449 had disappeared. He could now see where Jeremy1449 had gone – his weight had simply proven too much for the thin carbon-based cover of the generator, and he had fallen straight through. A blinding yellow-white light shone out of the hole, though it did not light up the air around it. John52fe climbed down, knowing well that there was no hope for rescuing Jeremy1449.

"We go on." John52fe pulled Chels9b01 down into the opening with him.

They climbed through the low opening on their stomachs. It was dry, empty. More empty than they could have imagined. There was no information being broadcast by these walls.

On and on they continued. One hand and foot forward at a time. They could feel the tunnel sloping upwards – not too steeply, but steep enough to make their climb all the more difficult. But they kept at it.

They could feel the mouth of the tunnel nearby. John52fe pulled himself out first, then helped Chels9b01 out.

"We made it." Chels9b01 put her arms around John52fe, breathing a sigh of relief.

They were on high ground, with a wall before them. There was a door directly in front of them. Only 2 out of 5 who started on the mission had made it this far; they must finish this last stretch.

"You first." She kissed John52fe on the cheek and motioned for him to open the door. John52fe felt that this was the moment he had been waiting for all of his life. It was all fitting together now. He must walk through the door and see what lay beyond.

But opening the door proved to be more difficult. He placed his hand on it, but it did not open. He tried sending the "open" signal subconsciously, but the door did not respond. There was no access panel – only a lever on one side. He pressed down on it, but it wouldn't budge.

"Here. Try this." Chels9b01 held out the metallic object she had picked up off the ground. "I think it goes into the little hole on the front."

John52fe stuck the object into the hole. Nothing happened. Then it dawned on him that this was one of those primitive doors where one had to manually turn the key in the lock – back when mechanical locks were still widely used, hundreds of years ago. Sure enough, the key turned, and they could hear an audible click.

Yanking the lever down, he managed to get the heavy door to swing open. Fresh air blew through the opening, and a dim gray light shone.

He was standing on a hill of sorts. Before him, he could see a river of dirty gray. The remains of trees surrounded it on either side. The ground was covered in some sort of yellow-gray-brown BioTurf, though far less perfect, and in a decrepit condition.

In the distance, he could see a heap of ruins. An occasional building stood tall amidst the wreckage. A thin pall of smoke hung over it.

This all looked vaguely familiar to him. It looked... it reminded him of the Landscape he had seen.

No human being had been here for hundreds of years.

He could see many pipes leading away into the distance along the river. Some large, big enough to fit a house; others the size of his index finger. They all led away from the hill where he was standing. Some went over his head; most were below. A faint hum rose from within each pipe; evidently, much energy was being transferred through it.

"Control: open Ana."

No response. Something wasn't right. Control did not respond. He had never experienced this before. He felt blind, deaf, and numb. He could see, hear, and feel... yet he could not. Everything was grey and flat. He was helpless.

Everything was fading away. He slipped, fell, and landed on one of the larger pipes about 10 feet beneath the ledge. With all his might, he raised himself up on all fours, climbed farther and farther across, trying to get to the end.

Chels9b01 stood aghast, watching John52fe making a feeble attempt to climb across the horizontal pipe he was on. She felt a certain dizziness herself. It was a strange feeling – everything was so gloomy, dreary, and decrepit. And she could not tell the time of day, the temperature of the air...

"John52fe! You OK?" Her voice sounded strange. She suddenly realized that she could only speak in an unclear babble coming from her mouth alone; after all, speech had been transmitted through The Network. Audio alone could carry only so much information.

John52fe was almost at the end of the pipe, where it bent downwards. It was a drop of about 100 feet. He saw a ladder above him, which he could grab ahold of. He lunged towards it, his mind reeling, his body disobeying his will.

He had miscalculated the distance – for no guide lines had appeared at the edges of his vision, no red indicator stating "danger". He slipped. Fell. 100 feet down. He lay motionless on the ground.

"John52fe!" Chels9b01 stared downwards, leaning precariously on the ledge. Suddenly, she too, slipped, but caught herself just in time. She was going to save John52fe, even if it was the last thing she did.

She found the ladder John52fe was trying to climb up, and went down it. She was now lying atop the pipe from which John52fe had fallen. There was no way of getting down, save by jumping, and that would be suicide.

She felt even dizzier by the moment. She couldn't think; everything was so empty. Perhaps this is what John52fe had felt? A wind blew across the plain, and the door on the hillside clanged shut. But Chels9b01 could not feel it, did not care. She closed her eyes, lying motionless on the pipe. She felt herself getting weaker and weaker...

So they had made it. They had made it beyond The Network.