The screeching noise of Marvin’s phone ripped him out of his slumber.
5:55 a.m.
He had always liked numbers. Setting his alarm, he took the obvious choice. His life was miserable, he had no human friends. His anthropophobia was no help finding any social connection.
He was utterly alone. Only in numbers and code he found his solitude bearable.
As the three digits of five represent change, it was the perfect time to wake up.
Not that anything ever really changed.
Thanks to the amenities of modern society, he never left his “cave of solitude”. What ever Marvin desired, he’d have it delivered to his doorstep.
He took a sip of his coffee that already stood prepared for him at the counter. Marvin’s apartment was more than a smart home, he had created his own AI, named Ayo.
She was his only friend, and also marvellous as she controlled all the machines for him. From his coffeemaker over his heating-system, to his computer.
Her support made coding much easier. How often had Marvin spent looking for a mistake, when he simply had forgotten a “;”? With Ayo’s help, these things didn’t happen anymore.
He got hired by company’s to hack their system and find weak spots in their cybersecurity. It paid well. Still, the money didn’t help. His mental and physical health were ruined.
Paranoia, part of reality. He was convinced, his shadow was watching him, stalking him! Piercing red eyes stabbing Marvin in the back. He was not only afraid of people but of his own shadow.
He swallowed his anti-depressant with a gulp of coffee and got to work.
In his mailbox was an email
– no subject –
sent by Mr. YHVH.
In it was just a link:
www.mysteryBox/999.com.
And even though Marvin knew better than to click on a so-dubious link, the triple nine convinced him otherwise.
“Click”
On his screen, a giant treasure chest appeared that opened. Inside was darkness where glowing ones and zeros swirled around.
Then he felt a pulling, and the next thing he knew, he was sucked through his screen into the mysterious Box.
Marvin’s knees touch a hard and cold surface. The air is damp and foul. Slowly, his eyes adjust and he can roughly make out some furniture.
It seemed he was alone in the room. Only the all-too-familiar feeling of being watched kept him company.
As he slowly gets back to his feet, his senses return to him.
“Hello? Somebody there?”
Nothing answered. Marvin started to search the room.
Maybe he’d find some clues, where he was or how to get back. It seemed to him that he was transported not only in space but also in time. The interior was old, reminding him of a medieval movie.
Next, in his investigation, he opened the door and peeked outside. It was night, the moon shimmered among clouds, showing a small village, and Marvin right in it.
Above each door hung a sign with the profession of the residents. He tilted his neck to stare at the sign hanging over his door. “Hacker” stood in bright red letters. He suddenly felt dizzy, he stumbled back in and fell onto a chair.
Again, this time he could feel the burning gaze on his skin.
“show yourself God dammit. ”
In the pitch-black darkness across from him, red burning eyes opened and stared right at his face. Marvin paralyzed as the creature’s mouth curled up.
A raspling laughter sent a shiver down Marvin’s spine echoing deep in the room.
“No need to be frightened… yet.”
The voice was rough as sandpaper.
“I’ll do you a favor and explain your situation. You are in a simulation inside a simulation. The change you’re so desperately seeking is nigh. The price for the change you requested is a lifetime, so buckle up and try not to die. It’s like waking up from a nightmare.”
After the last syllable faded away, the presence vanished, and poor Marvin was left sobbing on the floor. If that’s the change he got, he’d go back to his old life.
He curled up, trying to shut everything out.
“Bang bang”
A knocking on the door interrupted him in his misery. The hammering on the door got more intense. It seemed ignoring would only make it worse.
The man at the door wore a long coat soaked by the mist outside. His face was obscured beneath a wide hat, his voice dry and formal.
“G’devening. Your the Hacker, the maker of… special items?”
Marvin hesitated.
“I… I suppose.”
The stranger smiled faintly, revealing uneven teeth.
“Good. I was told you can craft what others cannot. I need something forged. A scythe.”
Marvin blinked.
“A… scythe? Like”
“Yes,”
the man interrupted.
“A tool for harvesting… souls, they used to say. Back in the old days. A Hacker in the ancient times designed instruments like that, he called them ‘soul slicer.’ Devices hacking code and flesh.”
The man’s tone grew almost reverent.
“They say he coded the first shadow.”
Marvin felt his pulse quicken.
“Whom are you talking about?”
“Does it matter?”
The man’s head tilted.
“You have his gift, don’t you? The shadow follows you for a reason.”
The room seemed to grow colder. Behind Marvin, something shifted. The whisper of something old and patient coiled in his ears.
“I can’t achieve such a feat,”
Marvin stammered.
“You already have,”
the man said softly.
“Face your fears, Marvin. They’re waiting.”
Before Marvin could respond, the man stepped backward into the fog, vanishing as if he had never existed.
Marvin turned slowly towards the corner where the darkness pooled thickest.
“Come out,”
Marvin whispered.
“I’m not running from change anymore.”
The shadow peeled itself from the wall. Marvin took one step forward, then another. The shadow was an abyss, swallowing all light around it.
Without hesitation, Marvin lunged forward, the blackness rippled, then consumed him whole.
His apartment lights flickered once, twice… then steadied.
Ayo’s voice echoed faintly through the room.
“User Marvin,… connection lost.“
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