Continue Online (Book 1, Memories) by Stephan Morse Page B

asked.
    "Affirmative."
    "System
update?" Unexpected patching might have added new features. To
my knowledge, the ARC wasn't scheduled for any overhauls soon.
    “ Negative.”
The machine response sounded stiff.
    "When
did this start?"
    "Recordings
indicate all changes occurred after contact with the card in your
pocket."
    That
was pretty specific. ARC was basically admitting that whatever was
installed by the box was at fault, without telling me how long this
had been going on, or what exactly had changed. I checked the clock.
The Atrium had been loaded for maybe thirty minutes. So far I had
torn open a box, danced with my fiancée, and been subjected to
an unexplained mess.
    I
grabbed water and a towel from my mostly unused hot tub program.
Finally, there was a use for last year's performance award. Water
went into my one good cup that remained. The towel was curled around
a mess of broken glass and slowly gathered everything up. Without a
real broom, this was as close as I would get.
    "ARC."
    "Awaiting
input." Maybe the machine could be given a new voice. An actor
or someone popular might spice it up. I could look up sports
commentators.
    "How
much does a broom program cost?" I said.
    "Two
dollars, plus taxes."
    Not
worth it yet. Maybe later I would download one. I brushed off another
pile to the side with my rolled up towel and took a sip of the water.
It came from a hose spigot outside with the hot tub. Luckily digital
water had no chance of corruption and tasted mountain fresh. I
inspected the counter next. Creamer typically stayed neat and in
order on the counter. They were scattered all over and some were
clearly torn open and leaking. I tried to mop it up with the towel
and didn't get very far.
    Something
yawned behind me. A sound I vaguely remembered from Sniffles my cat.
The half meow mixed with a snapping of jaws. Maybe the box had been a
cat program?
    I
turned slowly and looked.
    That
was no cat.
    It
was maybe half the size of one. Tiny and calm while sitting in the
second doorway. I raised an eyebrow. It tilted an oddly shaped head
to one side. Large haunches twisted under its back. There was a long
line of black almost as deep as the obsidian card, broken up by the
same gold as the lettering. Wait a minute. This creature may have
looked like a cat. It may be sitting like one. But it had leather
wings on its back.
    “ Huh?”
I questioned out loud.
    The
creature, which had to be a pet-sized dragon, turned and lazily went
into the other room. I looked at the mess in my Atrium that was
barely contained. Had that tiny dragon messed up my room? There was
no longer a doubt in my mind. This was certainly tied to Continue
Online.
    I
walked into the second door and onward towards mystery.
    Inside
the room was dark. There was a lot more depth here than my dance
program. Not that I could have seen ten feet from the door. This
place had a feeling of vastness that could swallow someone whole. I
looked down and could see a little bit of my surroundings thanks to
the Atrium's ambiance. My head turned to the area behind and the
doorway was plainly in sight. Everything around it faded off into
black.
    Okay.
Well, this wasn't real. My body was sitting in a device hooked up
with every safety feature a paranoid human could envision.
Exploration into an abyss wouldn't be the end of my life.
    This
was actually very neat.
    Forward
wasn't clear. There was nothing to put my hands on. No wall, no
objects along the startlingly smooth floor. Atrium me had shoes on
which made a slight clomp with each step. I clutched the half full
glass and prepared to be scared by some jump scene. Finally, after
minutes of slightly hesitant walking, an odd lack of frightening
monsters, and saying 'echo' over and over, I found something. A
pillar jutted out of the ground, surrounded by far too dramatic
light.
    Next
to the pillar, at the shadow's edge, was that tiny black dragon thing
that had likely destroyed my front room. It yawned again, with a snap
of