Effie and Dennis materialised in the new server...
This was a lot different then the other servers they had been on. Someone had gone to great lengths to make it comfortable and relaxing. It had taken the form of some kind of 'lounge' like one would get in a hotel. There was even a window... looking outside, were sparks of light, streaming across as data nodes impacted on each other, sending information across the internet.
It almost felt like the real world... there was a carpet under their feet, and what looked like some kind of game of pool in the corner. There were four other fairies, two of which were talking to each other. The other two seemed to be 'eating' something. There was an orb of light in the center, an AI... in the corner, there was the daemon, observing everything.
"Hi there," Waved one of the digital fairies. He was a male, and older then Effie and Dennis. Probably mid twenties. If they were to guess, he appeared to be a Linux fairy. "I'm Janus."
Dennis looked around. "I'm- Dennis," he said. "Nice to meet you too... where are we?"
"Well, I like to call this place the lounge. My host and I made this place somewhere to relax... and well..." he glanced at the daemon. "We try to help digital fairies."
Effie glanced at the daemon. "He said he was not sentient," she said. "Not a transformed."
"Partly true..." replied Janus. "We found a fairy, who had tried to hack himself. Looks like he was trying to change his appearance."
Effie and Dennis gasped.
Janus pointed at the daemon. "I don't know what happened... and I'm no philosopher. His program is not inert, but that spark of life was lost... We brought him here, and to the workshop to see if there's anything we could do."
"You mean... he's dead?" Asked Dennis alarmed. He had heard some people were desperate...
"We try to keep his program active. He runs a lot of things here. We hoped... maybe if he interacted with living things, it might help him. So far, we haven't seen anything. We're... still trying."
The orb of light glowed. "I am running many simulations to work what has changed. However, it might take several years before a solution is found. Even with my processing abilities."
Effie looked to the orb of light. She was incredibly nervous around AI's, given her experiences so far of them on the internet. For some reason her nerves made her curtsy before the AI. "N-nice to meet you," she frowned slightly realising her hands on her skirt. Why did she keep doing that! "I'm Effie..."
"Hello little one. A pleasure to be processing your code this day. I'm Vertigo. not my IRL name of course... I hope you don't mind. I help provide the run time to this server, in collaboration with a few other AIs, and of course Emergence."
Dennis and Effie smiled. It was good to know this AI was linked to emergence. Effie in particular felt a little safer.
"Can you help this digital fairy?" She asked. She felt sadly looking at the daemon...
"I am trying," replied Vertigo. "Perhaps you could help by interacting with him."
Effie nodded.
Andy was fuming. How dare they disobey him! When his children didn't arrive as scheduled before sunrise, it was obvious they were going to be changed. He tried to think that maybe they were smart enough to avoid it, but Alex was always a dumb head. He had said so many times, and this just proved it. The idiot!
Now they were animals. Disgusting dirty, Dangerous animals. No, Beasts. And his son, by far worse. He had become some kind of transvestite. It made him sick to his stomach, and there was no way he could consider such an abomination his son, or daughter, or anything.
His wife though... interfered again. Just what did she think this was? A game? Did she even know what happened to their children. They were effectively dead! The sun had got into their heads, and killed them. These things were masquerading as them and expected to be treated as if they were Alex and Sally?
A bloody insult!
This called for another beer. He opened the can and quickly drank it, trying to forget what he saw. His children turning into monsters...
Why didn't people understand they were fighting a war here? he was sure everyone human would agree. Humanity was becoming an extinct species, and when they were pushed, they tended to kill... He didn't know what started this war, but by God he was going to be on the human side. He had hoped to be fighting for his children... but they had become casualties.
he took another drink of the beer.
Maybe the children were deluded now.. into thinking they were better then him. He would show them. This was still his house, his rules! He would make sure they understood that.
Sally looked in concern to her twin sister. "You Okay?"
Alex frowned. "No.. I'm not. I don't know what dad's problem is."
Sally looked down. "Even before... our change. I um.. I always thought he loved you more then me..." She whispered softly, a tear in her eye.
Alex blinked. "What?"
"Well... It's true. He was always nicer to you then me."
Alex was stunned and didn't know what to say. She never felt any affection from her father. Why would Sally think such a thing? "Don't think that way sis... I believe... he loves you as much as he did me." She said not technically lying, to her twin. She knew that her father wanted Alex to 'measure up' all the time. It was a pressure she felt ever since she was little. "And... we are the same now. So... if he likes me, he has to like you as well." she gave an easy going smile hugging her twin.
Sally hugged back, feeling more calm. It was... nice having a twin sister.
Adora as always stuck close to her 'friend' David. It was the end of school now, and it felt like one 'really' weird day. But David was the one acting strange now. Every now and then, there was this faraway look to the angel girl..
"What's wrong with you!" Asked Adora in the end.
"I just... feel like there's somewhere I have to go," David said looking vaguely picking up a little speed in her step.
"What, you mean like the bathroom?" the Devil girl giggled trying to make light of this weirdness.
David blinked and looked at Adora. "Huh? No! Um- I can't explain it. Some kind of... feeling? I just know I have to be somewhere at a certain time."
"I think you're nuts. Remember what I said about that instinct thing? You should fight it! Whatever you're feeling, its not worth losing yourself." Adora was very concerned. What exactly did David feel?
David had that faraway look again... "Sorry Adora... I have to go..." The angel girl took flight, jumping into the air.
"WHAT! Don't think I'll forget this! You can't just run away like thi-" She glanced at the street as everyone was looking at her ranting. she tried to regain some composure, as she took in David's general direction.
Maybe she should just let the girl go. It's not as if they were friends...
Ah hell. She tried to run following the Angel in the general direction.
