 
PREFACE: English isn't my native language. I've tried my best to translate this small story so it's available to as many people as possible. This is written purely for fun and shared in hope you'll have some fun while reading it too. Thank you.

PROJECT TICKLE BY DIMITRIS CHRISTOU

In the not so distant future a large portion of Earth's population lives a virtual life. Connected to machines, people spend their time in imaginary worlds build by individuals and private sectors. Alienation, solitude and increasingly poor living conditions, lead most to a new form of depression. As a result the dream worlds initially manufactured, give their place to virtual nightmares and twisted simulations.

The only temporary escape from digital depression is possible by consuming chocolate. When this becomes known and verified, big corporations and governments rush out to declare chocolate a drug and use or possession, becomes a hard punished crime. The profits are, as expected, huge and force those involved to take steps in order to protect their investments and control the traffic of chocolate both in the world wide web and the real world.

A panel is established under the pretext of protecting the public from the new dangerous drug, the CFG, Chocolate Fighters Group. Free to access and step in at any time in any area or system, CFG rapidly gains extreme power.

Chapter 1: VR Highways

Icarus sits on a bench near an elevated highway. His view covers several streets that branch, pass one above the other, spin around and go far to the edge of the horizon. They are filled with cars, in a big variety of color and design, so many it looks as if the roads are made by a collection of oddly shaped machines. Every now and then, sounds of horns interrupt the relative silence and instantly cover the humming sound of thousands of cars, sitting almost still in a virtual -traffic jam- reality.

On roadsides, and floating away from him, hundreds of small and large, bright animated ads do their best at promoting a huge number of products. The whole picture is a weird, colorful spectacle in the eyes of Icarus.

He is drawn by a black and white advertisement about a poor miserable guy selling his belongings for some chocolate. He is forced by his sick addiction to become a thief, just to get his hands on a small dose of the dangerous new drug. His baby, always in such case, daughter cries in her crib, while her mother, looking helpless and desperate, sits next to the infant and breaks in tears.

Shortly after in big, bold red letters, the obvious conclusion appears. Say NO to drugs. Say NO to chocolate.

Icarus turns his head away disgusted. He is sure that the ad moves on showing a beautiful, healthy family, in full bright colors this time round, living a happy, carefree life away from the dangerous drug.

"Chocolate!"

Icarus remembers eating lots of sweet chocolate bars when he was a kid and all he ever faced was a bellyache when he once had too many, followed by his mother's scold for his unreasonable gluttony.

He feels image, has the power to make people hate the things once loved and make them stand up for the stuff that used to make them sick and are, totally wrong or unimportant. He is clearly disgusted by the way the media are forcing a new state of mind for everyone, a new reality. Especially here, in the web, the pessimism and negativity thrown at about pretty much everything and everyone is baffling. A voice above his head pulls him out of his thoughts, speaking with clear words.

"Image is a powerful weapon, and like any powerful weapon out there, it's placed at the wrong hands and used for the wrong reasons. Am I right Icarus?"

"You're right Phoenix. Guess you had a good teacher..."

"I think I do."

A metal sphere in the color of sand with golden mechanisms, surrounded by soft white light flies over Icarus shoulder. Obviously Icarus is not his real name but some short of username. Most Internet users avoid using their real life names and personal information to maintain a degree of anonymity and acquire a certain sense of safety. Icarus has all the more reasons to hide who he truly is.

During his visits on the web he always appears as a thin yet strong build robot with long agile hands and feet made out of transparent plastic mechanisms and glass. His face is a liquid, metallic one-piece part that can rapidly change shape, form and flows into any expression according to his thoughts, reactions and feelings.

Just a few inches above the body Icarus has designed as his web avatar, Phoenix is flying gently. Phoenix is an artificial intelligence machine coded by Icarus, a helping hand and information provider when online. Through it, Icarus can handle any interface, control his navigation and even change the web world code he visits. Although Icarus is occasionally teasing Phoenix by calling it a simple virtual keyboard, he knows that his little assistant is a great piece of software. He is almost sure Phoenix is the most delicate, smart and simple piece of code he'll ever produce. Calling Phoenix a virtual keyboard is far from the truth; it's designed to take voice commands and usually answers using a gentle female voice.

Icarus gets up slowly and gives Phoenix a simple order.

"Can I have a count please?"

Phoenix's voice is clear and soothing.

"Connected, nineteen thousand, two hundred and twenty four registered users and twenty three thousand and fifty six visitors."

Icarus tilts his head as he tries to capture the entire scene.

"Virtual Worlds turning into sad spectacles. This is so weird. So many people... a river of souls that finds a virtual traffic jam entertaining. Since digital depression showed up all we see are web worlds turning into nightmares. Dark, depressing places. I'll have to admit though that this one is ideal for our little test. Phoenix, execute the transformation web code application please."

"Transformation software ready. We now have the ability to upload compatible files to the 3D matrix of this simulation. File conversion program is loaded. Administrator password overrun... done. We're ready Icarus."

"Let's see. Taking control..."

Icarus stands still for a while and soon huge, illuminated letters appear above him. Letters form words within seconds while their shape and color changes rapidly. A funny face appears on the robot's head as he's working hard to shape the meaning and look of his message. He soon reaches a point that seems satisfying. He stops to think, looks around to check his progress. A comical, happy expression is drawn on his face while he's looking at the result. Phoenix also reads Icarus message.

"You can't be serious Icarus. No way!"

Icarus turns to look at it with a big question mark drawn on his face.

"Why you're saying this?"

"Well... Chocolate is just a sweet pleasure? Although I'm just a piece of code, I can clearly see writing isn't your strong point."

Icarus lifts his metallic fist with a hilarious angry face on his head.

"Writing? That's not a polite thing to say to someone who actually writes tons of code to make a living! I don't remember programming you to be rude!"

Phoenix is gently gaining extra height, taking some distance from the slightly mad robot.

"I can obviously say you're a great coder and I'm the living proof of your skills. You were also a great artist a while back and I hear you also bake delicious meat pies and make hand made pasta; although I guess I'll never be able to form my own opinion for obvious reasons. But this isn't good."

"Is it so bad?"

The angry robot calms a bit and takes a look the message.

"Well it reads like a chocolate candy product, aimed at single ladies from the past; doesn't it? Remember we're trying to test something here..."

Icarus stays still, looks rather disjointed and in an instant a different colored set of letters appears above them. Phoenix turns around to see the new green glowing text.

HELLO WORLD

"Funny, but we could use this opportunity to actually write something, right?"

"If talking was the foundation of learning, you'd be a genius in no time Phoenix. Sadly for you, one becomes wiser by listening... All right, let's get over with it!"

In an instant they're both under some big bright, gold letters.

CHOCOLATE ISN'T A DRUG!

ICARUS

Phoenix reads this one too...

"I think I'll regret making you change your initial message. Is the signature necessary?"

"Yeah, why not?"

"Well... It looks OK, so perhaps we could..."

Phoenix stops as a majestic lighting illuminates the night sky and the whole virtual scenery. As thunder strikes, three huge robots appear out of thin air, at about four hundred meters away from them. They look weird with big bulky feet, thin but long upper bodies and hands. There are no heads too; a hemispheric construction on their shoulders seems to serve as a communication or operations center. On the relatively thin spines, one can easily spot a dozen auto guided rocket launchers, spinning nervously on their axes and other, presumably deadly devices. From small openings on their feet, flexible tentacles appear. They're hitting the air like metallic whips and destroy a bunch of the hovering ads as the giant robots move.

Pandemonium takes over the web world. Drivers hit their cars horns in agony, shouting and cursing. Most of them disappear leaving their virtual cars behind.

Icarus is watching the three robots coming straight at him and for a couple of seconds stays completely still, in awe. He decides to take action when he sees five to six rockets launched from two of the giant virtual machines. He can feel the whole place vibrating under his feet. These rockets seem to have a very specific target. He raises his voice and hopes to give the right orders.

"Time for a real test Phoenix! New object, mesh, sphere. Sphere radius set to five meters. Feel free to choose the color, set the transparency to seventy per cent!"

In an instant Icarus and Phoenix are surrounded by a perfect, light gray transparent sphere.

"I want a triple exit, now!"

Icarus has to scream since the rockets are closing in, painting the night sky with the fumes coming out from their tails. Phoenix is nervously flying up and down making sure he stays within the formed sphere radius.

"Any specific destination Icarus?"

"Are you kidding me? Triple, wait I want a five fold exit for trace cover and final destination to a low traffic web world! Do it!"

Icarus isn't sure Phoenix can now hear him. Four of the rockets hit the protective sphere. The explosion is so violent that a big chunk of the highway close to them is destroyed within seconds. Dozens of cars get tossed around like little toys. The sphere surrounding them absorbs the attack and breaks into small pieces. Icarus can now see at least four more rockets fired. He thinks he hears Phoenix getting ready for logging out. He turns to see the robots once more and now that their closer, realizes they're really huge.

"New CFG toys. He whispers."

"We'll deal with you later..."

Icarus and Phoenix disappear in a flash right before getting hit by the second attack. In just a few seconds they pass though a dating website followed by an online encyclopedia were some detailed 3D space galaxy visualization is on display. They then pass through a web porn simulation and they instantly see a virtual tour at a holiday resort found somewhere at the Mediterranean. Finally they reach the fifth and final destination.

Chapter 2: Electra's Forest

Icarus and Phoenix find themselves in a lush, photo realistic forest. Icarus walks around and he's soon absorbed by the colorful environment. He sees everything from big trees to small flowers and feels certain he hasn't seen most of them in real life or online. Everything around him seems to be made by a team of designers with lots of time on their hands, great skills and extraordinary patience.

He admires the exotic insects flying around and enjoys the whispering sound of their tiny wings hitting the air. Every now and then light rays penetrate the dense vegetation and illuminate small corners, leaves and fruits, shapes and colors of the digital forest. There are also places the virtual sun can't reach. All you see there is groups, a huge variety of flying bugs form floating, glowing fibers as they dance in the dim light.

Icarus notices something very strange. On the forest ground he can spot a number of bombs from a variety of time periods in different shapes and designs. Although one could claim these bombs have found their target not a single one of them seems to have detonated or even looks deformed from the fall. But they're not in perfect shape either. The once shiny bomb shells although intact, seem to be heavily affected by erosion. The environment has changed the killing devices forever while some of them even look like they host vegetation along with groups of small insects. Every bomb Icarus sees is a triumph of the virtual nature over the ruthless instruments of war. Still there is no violence in the process; the forest slowly transforms the bombs turning them into a part of it's own self.

All these drive the curiosity of Icarus making him turn to Phoenix for information about this bizarre web world and its owners. Phoenix answers with its familiar sweet voice.

"The simulation consists of about five billion polygons while more than sixteen thousand different shaders have been used. The website is updated every week, with no evident gap or interruption for the last three and a half years. I also get a single person as an owner, designer and responsible for security and maintenance. Username: Electra. Code: 1435907E. What's also interesting is that..."

Icarus raises his hand in a quick nod making Phoenix pause his report. A small round glade is right in front of them. It's surrounded by big oak like trees loaded with fruits and flowers and the ground is covered by short, soft grass. Right in the middle of the glade a little nine to ten year old girl is sitting on her knees. Icarus and Phoenix are not far and definitely into her field of view, right between the trees, but she seems too busy to notice them. They both decide to stay still though; at least until they figure out what's going on.

Girl's attention is fixed on a flower that floats in front of her. The girl pulls the petals with graceful soft moves and they seem to grow following the motion of her hand. Her other hand carefully rotates a circle, responsible for changing the color and texture of the petals for her virtual flower. She stands for a while and looks at her work in progress while her expression changes from skeptical to happy.

Shortly after she uses one hand to pull the bottom of the flower and forms a straight green stem. Her other hand's fingers gently beat the formed stem at different points making pretty green leafs unfold and grow, completing her design.

The little girl leans back to enjoy her new built flower when her eyes fall on the half hidden figure of Icarus. A beam of light, reflected on his metallic body reveals his hiding spot. She begins to move nervously and stretches her head for a better look, trying to distinguish the metal body among the trees. Her trees! The expression on the girl's sweet face shows both fear and anger. She gets up and makes some uncertain small steps towards her uninvited visitors.

Icarus realizes it's time to show up. He slowly abandons his hiding place and moves to the clearing. Without thinking too much he stretches his arms forward, trying to show that they intend to do no harm. He is pressed to think of something to say that could calm the little girl, when he hears the voice of Phoenix, who is still hidden in the foliage.

"Watch out Icarus. I sense some depression here."

The girl's eyes are now fixed to the bewildered Icarus; she begins to tremble. She scrubs her arms with her palms and repeats the word who with increasing agony in her voice. The weather changes instantly and the virtual forest gets pretty dark as swift, dark clouds cover the sky. On the horizon, lightnings briefly illuminate the tree tops. Weather isn't the only thing changing though; the girl also begins to deform, to grow rapidly. She grows one, two, five, ten, almost fifteen years. Within seconds Icarus is facing a pissed off, scared, brunette woman.

A heavy rain with big fat drops begins to fall. Icarus is just about to say something when the frightened woman beats him to it. She almost screams.

"Go away!"

In an instant a number of thin shadow forms appear between the forest trees. The falling rain seems to be passing right through their opaque bodies as they swiftly move towards Icarus.

"Damn! Shadows... Now that's a proper low traffic, virtual world. Nice destination choice, Phoenix!"

Icarus is doing his best to avoid the weird, ghost like fierce attackers from hitting him.

"Sorry Icarus. We are dealing with digital depression here. We've met the byproduct of sadness and anger before. Sadly, there is no use trying to fight back..."

"I know that! You can't beat a bad dream or a sad thought with your fists! Thanks for the information but we still need a plan!"

Icarus reflexes and agility is put to the test. He leans, dives and rolls trying to avoid the furious attacks. He doesn't even want to be touched by these things. He remembers on their last encounter, he was hit by a shadow and was instantly filled with depressing thoughts and life like, nightmare visions. His virtual body code was also partly destroyed; he definitely doesn't want to go through this again. No way.

"Phoenix I got an idea! Make an administrator log in. I want another transformation software upload. Make it quick!"

Even though in a virtual environment, Icarus finds himself gasping for air and feeling every bit of effort and struggle. He thinks it's better this way.

"All right Icarus, we'll be ready in a second."

"Convert and upload file G dash olive dash final. Folder name is nature dash... two? Something."

Seconds later, in the center of the glade an impressive olive tree appears. It's tall with thick trunk and silvery-green leaves. Hanging olives are brown, shiny, juicy pearls.

The woman is immediately charmed by the tree and takes her eyes away from the furious, unfair battle. She watches the branches dancing lazily in the wind and the olive fruits glowing in the dim overcast light. A faint smile is painted on her face and the blurred shadows disappear one after the other. Icarus is left lying on the grass exhausted but relieved since his unbeatable enemies are now all gone.

Icarus gets up slowly and approaches the girl, who is completely absorbed by the beauty of Olea Europaea.

"Wow! Such a lovely olive tree. Myth has it that goddess Athena won the patron-ship of ancient Athens from Poseidon with this very gift. Some actual trees are said to be more than two thousand years old. Nicely done too..."

"Glad you like it. I won a prize for realistic flora representation some years ago with this one. I'd like to leave it here... Judging by what happened before... Well... I can definitely say it'll be safe in your forest. I'm Icarus."

The girl smiles again and on the edge of the clearing, right on the green grass, small yellow flowers spring. Shrubs and a variety of flowers move like a tiny tidal wave from the edge of the glade and surround the olive tree. The virtual forest seems to accept and hug its newest member with a warm reception. The clearing is radically transformed within seconds.

"Hope this is a better welcome... I'm sorry for what happened before. Truth is that I rarely get visits here. I'm Electra... That's a great looking tree Icarus. Thank you for your gift."

"You're welcome. We both know you're not to blame for what happened. I came out of nowhere. You were frightened... Angry..."

"It's the depression Icarus... I'm well aware of my condition. The changes in virtual worlds, the whole web speaks volumes about the human condition, about our bright and dark sides. Web is home to our knowledge, passion and fear. But more than anything else, the world network is the mirror of our infinite loneliness. Loneliness and depression are now, almost friends of mine. It might sound sad but I've learned to live with them both. This forest makes me forget about the whole world and it's problems. I take good care of it, build it, renew it and enjoy its beauty. It's my little private paradise. How did..."

Phoenix approaches Icarus and Electra. She pauses for a while as she examines the weird flying machine.

"I mean, how did you come here? There is no actual address or links that can lead you to my virtual forest."

"Our luck brought us here. We were chased by the Chocolate Fighters Group minutes ago. Phoenix my 'assistant' here, arranged a number of log-ins and outs on different and random web addresses and here we are."

"So... You're fighting the good fight for people's chocolate?"

"I'm willing to fight for something that brings me joy. That's all."

Icarus slowly sits on the soft grass. He seems to admire the virtual forest for a few seconds.

"It's a good thing you're so creative. Your forest looks good, nice balance of shapes, great variation and use of shaders. You're good. The actual reason I'm here and also hunted for, is because I think I got a cure for digital depression."

Electra almost falls near Icarus. She looks at him with a puzzled face.

"Well it's not really a cure or a permanent way out or anything. Let's say it's a form of virtual chocolate, a reminder of the beauty of life"

"A what?"

"In the web world, like in the real one, our mood changes according to what our senses receive. We can also be deceived. We get stimulated by an 'adult' image or a video even when we don't have a sexual partner. We cry in movies even if we know that we're actually looking at professional actors doing their job. Well... just realized... I gave two awful examples but I think you get my point. I strongly think the web needs to get its smile back. Project Tickle is the software I've been working on for a while now..."

A wide smile appears on Electra's face she seems to be making an effort not to laugh with what she hears.

"Project... Tickle you said..."

"See? We need silly stuff like this. We take ourselves too seriously and we've ended up thinking laughter makes us look like fools. We need small doses of fun. This is some short of escaping digital depression. A tiny feel of euphoria, like the effect chocolate has on us. In your case, the olive tree made you smile and forget your fear."

Electra lets her eyes wonder on her virtual forest for a while. She also seems to be satisfied with her work so far.

"In my case it was rather easy to guess what could give me joy and grab my attention. We are in a digital forest..."

"Tickle is a relatively small program that initially collects information about the target. Such information comes from his or her profiles, contacts and most visited websites. The software learns things the individual likes, stuff that make him or her relax or paint a smile on his face. It then searches the Internet, finds and brings to the target's virtual world images, videos, sounds and smells that make him cheer. I have tried it several times and I can say that the success rate is pretty high. My only problem is that I can not upload it on a massive scale before it gets deleted or before I am getting traced and chased. Because of my recent activities unfortunately, I've grabbed the attention of the wrong people. I think... I'm stuck."

Electra's eyes are wide open and she seems exited. She believes she can help Icarus with his problem, and takes a few seconds to organize her thoughts.

"There might be someone who could help us with this one..."

"That's so... vague? Wait. What do you mean by saying, help us!?"

"Don't give me the heroic crap about fighting your own fight and all. You obviously need help and I think I got a plan here. Almost... I'll only tell you about it if you let me come with you. Moreover, as you discovered a few minutes ago, I'm more than able to defend myself against possible threats."

Icarus stops to think for a while. When he turns back to Electra her serious and energetic expression makes him smile a bit. He has to think straight though.

"I agree but still..." Electra interrupts him.

"I'd love to hear you sharing a story, on how an olive tree saved your digital butt once."

"Well... Why not. You could join us if you want to. You were saying that there is someone that might be able to give us some answers..."

"Exactly, have you ever heard of Gray?"

Phoenix now comes even closer to them.

"You mean the first artificial intelligence on the web?"

Icarus turns to Phoenix, he looks a bit surprised.

"I've heard some stuff ; yes. Phoenix you seem to know a thing or two about it. How's that?"

"Gray is something you organic beings can't comprehend. Only when your logic is based on code you can actually realize and understand what Gray is. That's cause Gray is probably the most elaborate and dynamic piece of code in the entire network." Electra also seems well informed.

"Exactly. It is said to be the result of an experiment of two quirky but intelligent students. The experiment was about simulating the structure and functions of the human brain, using the complexity of the web that would act like a neuron system. The experiment succeeded, but the application gave birth to an artificial intelligence that was beyond the coders control and evolved rapidly, thanks to information and data derived from the internet. From every corner of the world web... Gray fathoms man's intelligence, perversity, knowledge and cunning. Neither good nor bad. Neither black nor white. He is, well it is obviously wanted but there is really no one that would confront Gray. Not in here; so they let him be."

Icarus gets up, he also looks exited.

"Gray... Evolving artificial intelligence. Wonderful. I've read something about it. It must have made quite the headlines six to seven years ago. What makes you think that we can actually find it and convince it to offer us a helping hand?"

"I think I have a way to find it and make some short of contact. About whether it wants to help or not; we can simply ask, right? Are you good at riddles Icarus?"

"Don't know... Wait; what do you mean?"

Electra turns to Icarus with eyes full of confidence. She stands up, takes a look at her new olive tree and sends a quick kiss from a far to it.

"I've heard that Gray loves riddles, let's go!"

Chapter 3: We meet

Icarus, Electra and Phoenix are now at one of the most known web worlds of the entire net. Here, billions of users chat, exchange pictures, news, messages and digital gifts. The high security virtual world appears in the form of a vast night club. The colossal virtual structure is divided into thousands of levels. Every level is almost unique, plays different kind of music and even has the look the visitors chose for it. Some are colorful with happy tunes playing out loud and others are dark, almost chilling corners.

It's a virtual space where everyone can have some fun while connected with friends from all around the world. Visitors share the scenery variety since most of them don't appear in their true world form but use virtual avatars. So it's pretty common to see characters from movies, monsters and robots hanging out together. Simple hand drawn characters talk to animals standing on their back feet, while above almost anyone's head glowing animated messages from 'U R GAY' to 'Knowledge is Power' make it all looking even more colorful and bizarre.

At the center of the night club a huge round bar is serving small groups and lonely visitors. Programs called shots emulate the taste of actual alcohol drinks for a reasonable price. If you have too many, your navigation gets tough and you're disoriented, offering the 'drunk effect' experience. On the bar one can also find virtual terminals for users to communicate via text messages or search for friends and contacts in the vast web world. Every terminal is connected to a big transparent vibrating sphere that floats above the bar. In this sphere a few hundred thousands symbols, profile images and numbers are constantly moving, merging, some vanish and some new ones appear. The movement and activities of the web world users are monitored and projected into an ever moving, colorful, evolving piece of digital art. It's an eye catching spectacle and a welcome distraction for the web world visitors. Electra points to one of the terminals suggesting a member search.

Icarus slowly walks between the crowd. He was never fond of such places and rarely visits them. He thinks that there is only one way to meet and hang out with friends and it definitely doesn't involve circuits, processors and an internet connection. Moreover you need to be logged when visiting such web worlds and one can be very easy for the Chocolate Fighters Group to trace within a couple of minutes. He knows that and he only hopes it won't take them long to find Gray and make some short of contact. He is wrong.

"Can I buy you a drink?"

Icarus slowly turns towards the familiar voice. He sees a man in his early fifties with gray hair and trimmed beard. A pair of small hawk eyes are in perfect fit with his aquiline nose. An evil, sardonic smile is painted on his thin lips. He looks very fit in his tight uniform. The man stands between two enforcement programs, known as MK, appearing with their famous impressive robotic form. A mix of an urban police and army unit. Icarus throws them a calm look, from top to toe, before talking.

"Doctor Menos... Chocolate Fighters Group must be really mad at me to send you here in person. I'm flattered. Hmm... honored. I mean, honored"

"It's my job Icarus. Do you think I enjoy running after trash like you?"

"Such a kind, nice person. Do you have a profile here? I bet your friends list is full."

Icarus was hoping to find some clues and remain undetected. Knows he's in a tight spot.

"Can we cut the crap Icarus? I don't know what you're up to but I'll soon find out. Give me your data now, and we'll split peacefully. It wouldn't be wise to fight me..."

MK units make a small step forward and fix their cold eyes on Icarus. People watching the scene, sense the trouble and take a secure distance from those involved. Some feel the need to capture the scene, unaware that in a few minutes their device data from the entire day will go missing. Electra slowly approaches Icarus and whispers with a worried voice.

"Should I panic now?"

Icarus turns his head; the famous yellow smiley face appears on his head for a while.

"God, no... You'd better go to one of these terminals and start searching for our friend."

Doctor Menos seems to be losing his patience. Tries his best to stay polite and calm.

"What will it be Icarus? You choose."

"Well... Giving you my data means you'll have access to my personal info and my actual location. It also means you'll be able to copy and reuse the code of my virtual body. I'll be honest with you doctor; it's not a fair deal."

"The only thing we want, Icarus, is to make sure that you won't cause any trouble from now on. I promise I'll do my best so you won't get arrested in the real world. The fact that we'll know your real info and location will make our lives and your own, easier. Safer even... I give you a second chance, a deal I almost never do. All this, will of course happen, if you give me your data... Now. Your virtual body will also not be wasted. I have to admit that you've done a wonderful job with it. A fair deal, if I may say; your crimes can easily secure you more than twenty years in a cell, and we're talking about a real world prison. Cyber terrorism! Sounds like big shit to me." Dr Menos smiles, the tips of his teeth appear right under his lips.

"Since you got such big plans for me, you leave me no choice. I'm glad you like my body; god this sounds so wrong! It would be a shame though to get it without knowing what it's capable of. Allow me to make a brief demonstration for you." His heart beats like a drum in his chest. Loves it.

Icarus tightens his left fist until a dry metallic clank is heard. In less than a second his virtual robotic form changes dramatically. He grows taller; his shoulders become wider and his arms seem to almost double in strength and volume. Hundreds of thin metal strips are fired from his spine and hug his chest with incredible speed, offering added protection and durability.

His opponents surprise gives him the little time he needs. He makes one daring step and lands his left fist on the belly of the first MK. Its protection plates break into hundreds of pieces and internal components soon follow. The robot's spine, responsible for the unit's stability and data transfer breaks in half unable to stand the furious hit. Icarus right hand grabs the second MK from its head, lifts it a bit and holds it firmly in place, while his blank metallic head is fixed on Dr Menos face. From his arm a bunch of cables show up and plug into the MK unit who's struggling to get free. After a violent contraction Icarus opens his hand and lets the enforcement program fall to the ground like a soulless rag doll.

Dr. Menos is surprised but his face shows no fear.

"Piece of crap... Never put a program do a coders work!"

The rough skin on his faces stretches as he takes a wild expression filled with anger. With his right hand's open palm he gives a swift blow to Icarus chest. Although the hit doesn't seem to be too strong Icarus body is violently thrown a few meters back.

Dr. Menos turns to Phoenix who watches the battle not far from them, hoping Icarus has a plan.

"Useless! Like the flying junk you have here. I'm pretty sure it's as worthless as it is ugly."

Icarus slowly gets up whispering words that never reach his enemy's ears.

"Let me see you deal with this, doctor..."

Phoenix begins flying nervously, almost teleports from place to place. Its voice changes significantly along with the speed it executes orders.

"Who needs plans? Checking current web world... Simulation secure. Automatic block of uploading unregistered file larger than fifty kilobytes. Uploading single force field, file size thirty-eight kilobytes. Force field type: Wind. Power set to fifty-five. Re-sizing. Thirty eight kilobytes."

Phoenix is full of energy, glowing in a fiery light.

"That's all I need ... and some good old copy and paste."

Dr. Menos is now facing a big fan made out of a few simple lines. He begins to laugh until the fan blades start moving; then he realizes what this small object is capable of. He is thrown back like he's made out of paper and takes a couple of the bar's stools with him. He only stops when a similar fan is hitting him from the opposite direction. Two more wind force fields appear from the sides, while the bigger one hits him from above.

The virtual fans hit Dr. Menos from every direction; he is trapped into an invisible prison. He falls on his knees as the wind's force is violently hitting his body. He ends up putting his palms on the floor too.

Right before the eyes of the surprised and frightened guests of the famous website, Icarus hastily approaches Electra who seems stuck with a puzzled and angry face on a terminal screen. She did locate a user named Gray, but the profile is pretty strange. First, the owner never disconnected since the profile creation, approximately five years ago. Second, there is no virtual avatar and the friends list is empty. No images, comments, gifts, or contacts. A five years old profile that looks like it was made just yesterday if not a couple of minutes ago.

The only thing she could find in this strange, empty profile page of a user named Gray was a blue button. Visit Me. Two heart shaped characters surround the heartfelt invitation. Electra clicked it since there was nothing else to do, but all she got was a strange question with an empty field waiting for the right answer below. What was my first word? That was the question or riddle she was trying to figure out.

Icarus approaches her and looks at the terminal screen. The question draws his attention too.

"Any progress?"

"What do you think? What could be the right answer? I've tried mama, daddy, mommy, papa; you name it... None of them seems to be right."

"Wait a minute. If we're at the right profile, and I really hope for our own good, it's the right one; what makes you think the Gray we're searching for would use the first word of an infant?"

"Damn! You're right! Gray is an artificial intelligence that was born and raised in and by the world web..."

"Exactly Electra. I got an idea!"

Dr. Menos slowly raises his head. He looks at Icarus and Electra and screams like a furious beast. He then seems to whisper some orders and suddenly gets up. He walks towards them; the force field fans doesn't seem to affect him any more. Icarus turns his head and sees him getting out of his virtual trap with no effort.

"Absolute power Icarus. Bending the virtual simulation laws isn't so hard for me. Take gravity for example."

Dr. Menos lifts his hands and big pieces of the night club's marble floor along with bar stools and a couple of terminals follow his moves and float right in front of him. He then slams his hands and the floating objects violently hit each other. Icarus looks like he is awaken from a bad dream. He knows they're next.

"Try LO for an answer Electra! Now!"

Electra hears him, fills the empty field and clicks the confirmation button. Shortly before connecting to the virtual world of user Gray, Icarus sees Phoenix squashed between two big marble floor plates.

Icarus and Electra are now in a long, well-lit, narrow hallway. Its top half is white and the bottom one is black. As the passage progresses, white and black fade into one another and merge in a single color. In the end of the hallway they see a gray door. Hoping they're at the right place they begin to run towards the only exit. They only stop when they here a clear, calm voice.

"No one can follow you here."

They immediately stop running and take a few deep breaths. Electra turns to Icarus; now that the danger has passed, she feels the need to satisfy her curiosity.

"How did you find the answer to the riddle?"

"Wasn't sure about the answer you know; now that I think of it I'm guessing it could well just be a disguised knowledge question. To be fair it would be hard to find it without your help..."

"What do you mean?"

"Remember telling me that Gray is an artificial intelligence that was born and raised in and by the world web?"

"Yes."

"It appears that Gray with it's insight of the world web and its strong connection to it... Well, it might think it IS the World Wide Web. Ever heard of the Arpanet?"

"I don't think I get it... Hmm, Arpanet is, or was one of the first big scale networks for communication and data transfer, right?"

"Exactly. The ancestor of today's internet, or to be precise one of the web's ancestors. Speech is a form of communication, isn't it?"

"You're confusing me Icarus; we were talking about the first big networks."

"In nineteen sixty nine, if I'm not mistaken, the first web message was sent from one computer to a distant one. To be accurate terms like web and internet didn't even exist back then. Rumors say the first message was a simple word, some say it was the word login others say it was love or something. What matters is that only letters L and O reached their destination before the first ever message, system crash occurred."

"The first communication attempt... The first word of the world web."

"Exactly."

Icarus opens the Gray door.

Chapter 4: Fade to Gray

Icarus and Electra find themselves in a motel room. In fact it looks like someone brought down the walls of three or four rooms, creating a unified wide space. The smell from humidity and some short of unidentified decomposition reaches their actual bodies, far from this place. The flickering of a neon O letter outside, adds some extra light to the dim room and gives life to the small details in it. The walls are covered with cheap wallpaper of which the monotony is broken by all shorts of stains. Ironically some of the greatest paintings of the real world also occupy a big part of the wall space. The impressive thing is that this web world, feels almost as vivid as the actual one.

In the middle of the room Gray appears as a man fifty to fifty five years old, naked from the waist up. His chest, shoulders and arms are those of an athlete, strong and fit. His belly on the other hand is pretty big but not floppy or loose. His face has strong features, big nose and like the rest of his body, no hair at all. Eyebrows are pencil drawn, eyes and cheeks covered in makeup but the most striking detail is the red lipstick on Gray's lips.

If Icarus had mood for jokes he would describe Gray as a massive, homosexual version of Buddha on steroids. However neither Icarus nor Electra seem to have something to say; they approach Gray with small steps as they try to steer their eyes away from the striking figure.

Gray sits in a lotus position on an oriental rug; eyes wide open. A beautiful lightly dressed blond woman massages his back while a man with model looks and fit body is rubbing Gray's feet. Right in front of it one could see dozens of small screens displaying all shorts of stuff; from news and movies, to documentaries, nudes and random web videos. Gray takes a look at its visitors and gets up slowly.

"We see the world through screens you and I. Data, a bunch of ones and zeroes. Our only difference is that I can only experience the cosmos through them."

Gray gets up and takes an examining look at them. It looks even bigger now that it's up. His palms are twice the size of these of an adult man.

"Icarus and Electra... How fitting. Almost fateful... I love ancient Greece... If I had a choice to live a man's life, that's where and when I'd love to be. Birth of history, science, philosophy, medicine, astronomy, laws, democracy. A culture that like a poet said once hugged the east and gave birth to the west as we know it. Passion, love, lustful gods and genius poets. Natural born warriors and sensitive thinkers, visionaries and traitors."

Icarus and Electra observe that Gray speaks with two voices, uses two languages. One of them is an ancient, dialect, which Electra recognizes shortly after.

"I know why you're here. If knowledge is power, then I could be a God. Is it right to think me as God Icarus? Is it sane? Do people ever think they are gods?"

"If you think you're a god then you're pretty close into becoming human. There are many people that consider themselves to be gods. More than you think."

"Don't you think the legendary Icarus felt like god? Even for a little while?"

"Probably. But it cost him his life..."

"True that. But you know what happens to people who die for their beliefs?"

"They turn into legends?"

"And saints... I admit I like you Icarus. To be honest, you're enjoying my admiration."

Over Icarus shoulder seven spheres, each with one of the rainbow colors, appear. After following concentric circular orbits they meet at the center point into a bright white light. Phoenix shows up and it is good as new. Gray follows the scene with a smile on its face.

"Phoenix, for example ... It was made in a way similar to the one that brought me to life. Its data absorption is of course limited, but you'll soon be having one hell of a partner. Your job is spectacular. You know, I have a weird theory... The day man and the machine will be joined in one, will be a glorious day... From one side the human randomness... Imagination, hope, inspiration and dreams. On the other side, the discipline, precision and accuracy of the code. I've learned not to underestimate people Icarus. I was built by them, and even once, defeated by one of them. A long story... How can I help you?"

"I think I got a way of fighting digital depression. It's a code..."

"You think?"

"I got something that works... Yeah."

"Then you don't have to describe me how it works and what it does. I'll help you Icarus and I'll also tell you why. As you already know the web taught me everything I know. I owe it my very existence. From the web I get valuable knowledge and information but also study the joys of flesh, the deepest sinful desires; and as a human being you probably realize I enjoy them both. Lately, however, I've seen the perversion grow at the expense of research. Digital depression prevents web users from uploading and sharing valuable info on the net. Most people prefer spending their time chasing sick and dark treats. We are two sided coins, Icarus and Electra, man and woman. It's a delicate balance..."

"Black and white... Good and evil." Electra sounds exited.

"Exactly. If your program works it'll benefit both of us. People who share knowledge trough the web, people who upload their findings, thoughts and conclusions are valuable... Science, arts, even history is continuously evolving. We need those people back and we want them to be active, thinking, sharing units."

Gray is interrupted by a cold digital voice.

"Commencing precautionary transfer. Procedure completion in two minutes and twenty six seconds."

"Here is what you should do. I suspect your problem is the continuous and uninterrupted transmission of your code to the vast majority of Internet users. Uninterrupted and continuous... For the first one you'll need an absolute access terminal. As you're well aware, the universal need for chocolate led big corporations, if not entire nations, into new huge profits. Those involved spend lots of money to control the distribution and handling of the new drug. They're also using cutting edge technology to monitor the drugs trafficking on the web and eliminate pawns that don't split their profits like they should or misbehave. So... The only terminal that can offer uninterrupted transmission is..." Grey makes a dramatic pause.

"At the Chocolate Fighters Group web world. Right at the bee's nest. Can't say I like it..." Icarus lowers his head; he realizes things are getting pretty complicated and risky. Grey on the other hand sounds optimistic if not agitated by the whole setup.

"I find it to be quite fitting. Digital depression and CFG are so close that you can't fight one of them without facing the other. We're talking about a system that can bypass any password or safety protocol and gives you the power to modify virtual worlds at will. I will help you Icarus. I want you to give the world some joy so it can feed me with information."

"How about the continuous transmission? How can we get it?"

A sardonic expression appears on Gray's face.

"You got to seek the person that will help you with this issue. One of the biggest forces on the web. Won the man of the year title once, in the past. It may take a bit of... searching to find him but you can't make it without his help."

Electra turns to Gray with a puzzled yet exited expression.

"This is another riddle; right?"

"Exactly, sweet Electra."

Everything around them begins to blur.

"I will keep an eye on you three. Good luck."

Icarus, Phoenix and Electra feel a strong shake and are embraced by a blinding flash. Once done with the transfer, they realize that they're in a desolate highway, somewhere in the vast world web.

Chapter 5: Report

Dr. Menos is in an empty room build with metal walls and floor. On them, around him thousands of small, hidden pockets accommodate holographic projectors that emit a soft white light. A female voice interrupts the silence and signs the end of his wait.

"Commencing secure contact. Loading meeting point. Following conversation will not be recorded or filed. Connection with node seven hundred and sixty four is secure. Ready."

The holographic projectors begin to work with a gentle hum. Line by line with incredible speed a big office is projected in the empty room. Furniture follows the latest trends of contemporary design and the middle of the room hosts a large conference table. A corner window offers a stunning view of an orient metropolis from up high, while the sun illuminates the office with a warm afternoon light.

A relatively short man at around his sixties stands next to what appears to be his personal desk in the foreground. He spends a few seconds looking at doctor Menos without speaking at all. He has short snow-white hair and a tiny Gray mustache. A small nose is right at the center of his round face and he has a pair of calm blue eyes. A deep voice fills the virtual space.

"Dr. Menos..."

"Chairman, sir. You wanted too see me."

Dr Menos slightly tilts his head forward and looks down.

"Talk is cheap. I consider you to be a man of action. Do you really think you can handle this minor issue?"

"I know I can."

CFG chairman begins a slow, small step stroll around his office. He crosses his hands on his chest.

"Only the leaders of our three units have access to the terminal. The head of the suppression section, the head of the distribution control and you. Your mission is to address small groups or units that cause us trouble. Blackmailers, rebellious groups, journalists and aspiring detectives that constantly try to find information about our activities or harm us in any way. Sounds simple, so we expect results. The power you got on your hands, the power CFG gave you, probably has no match on the web and you can't capture a single good for nothing rebel?"

"Chairman, with all due respect; you told me once that it's wise and prudent to recognize one's worth, never to underestimate the power of our opponents. We both know Icarus is more than a mere agitator."

"And you're supposed to be the right person to arrest him! You're not in this position by luck, you have the required experience. I am, sadly, beginning to have doubts about your courage and determination... Prove me wrong, do what you should."

"I do think this time round his moves have a specific purpose. I want to know what he's after, understand..."

Chairman raises his hand and almost looses his temper. His eyes are now two small burning fires.

"You know what you witness when you spent time observing your opponents moves? You see them fulfilling their plan, right in front of your very eyes. He came in contact with Gray and you were there, but couldn't stop him! Gray! You know what that means? Trouble. This... thing is crazy! Totally unstable and unreliable. We know from the little info we have at our disposal, that Icarus has an Oloclerotic Device connection. If you can't stop him or arrest him, destroy him. Find all the info you can about the girl too. If Icarus, as you say, has a plan we'll be seeing him somewhere very soon. Be ready for action at any time."

"Yes sir."

"We are can only stay in business if we deliver, if we're strong, precise and ruthless. Chocolate isn't candy any more and childish faults will not be tolerated, doctor. Disconnect."

The office and CFG chairman quickly disappear, leaving Dr Menos alone in the cold metal room.

Chapter 6: Search Engines

Icarus, Electra and Phoenix are next to something that resembles a long motorway in an arid deserted place. The virtual sun burns from above their heads and they're surrounded by sparse wild vegetation and rocky hills.

Electra takes a quick look around.

"We forgot to thank it... It helped us didn't it?"

"I have to admit that it could tell us more about our issue, but it was generally pretty talkative. Strange guy... thing..."

"Indeed."

Electra smiles and puts her hand on her lips. She is pretty sure her actual self is also smiling, as she feels the tiny tickle on her face.

"Will I ever see your real face Icarus?"

"You will. Once this whole thing is over... I'd love to actually meet you. It would be nice."

"Yep!"

A couple of seconds pass by as none of them seems to find something fitting to say. Icarus decides to end this awkward silence by taking them back to the job in hand.

"It would be unfair to assume that Gray didn't help us. At least we now know what to do. We'll begin with the search. If we ever get to the absolute access terminal at CFG headquarters we have to be well prepared. I feel Gray did not leave us here for no reason. Logically, this road leads to an oasis."

"An oasis?"

"In the world web there are thousands of web addresses that although owned by someone, they're not actually used to host something. The owner has the option to use a simple prefabricated virtual world like this one. You can also include one or more search engines as well as a number of advertisements. Ads make a small profit depending on the number of visitors and sponsored hits. Such websites are generally empty, so the place one can find the search engines and advertisements is called an oasis. You usually enter such worlds by mistake."

"You're talking about parking?"

"Exactly. You also don't have to log-in to access such web worlds. Nice thought by Gray to be honest."

Icarus looks up at Phoenix who's gently flying above them.

"Glad to have you back!"

The metal sphere performs a couple of quick loops on the clear blue sky.

"Reborn from my ashes!"

"A true Phoenix."

"Glad it was me Icarus. I'd really hate to see something like that happening to you..."

Electra raises her eyes.

"What do you mean?"

"I presumed it was pretty easy to notice. Icarus speed and reflexes are a result of his O.D. connection. With it there is minimal thought to action delay and he can also receive a wealth of web world data unavailable to those with a 'normal' connection."

Electra looks upset.

"I can't believe it. You mean you've done a whole surgery for this? In... in your spine?"

"The surgery on my spine was a given. The O.D. connection was a bonus. Even in a basic web worlds like this one, I can feel it all. I feel the heat from the asphalt and I can hear our voices bouncing on the rocky hills. I can smell the few wild flowers around us and to be honest I can also feel a light breeze hitting my body."

"But... You can feel pain too. Right?"

Phoenix moves down to Electra's line of sight.

"It can sadly be worst than that..."

"He could die..."

"A fierce, violent internet death could cause a heart attack or a stroke in the real user's body when using an O.D. Connection. If the brain sees death, the body will probably follow"

Electra freezes for a while and then turns to Icarus with a mad look on her face. On the blue web world sky, gray clouds appear.

"Didn't know that! Why Icarus? You're a fool!"

"We never got the chance to talk about it and I would love you two to stop talking as if I'm not here. Or... as if something awful will happen to me. I do not intent to pass on in the near future and I definitely don't want to find death connected to the damn web! We're here for a simple search."

Icarus feels a strong cold burst of air on his back. Weather is getting worse and he decides to try and calm everyone down.

"I find it to be very sweet that you worry about me, Electra. I have quite a few aces up my sleeve and you to look after me. I didn't want you to know about the possibility of me getting hurt cause when you're upset you're also... a bit dangerous. And we don't need any more danger right now. Calm down please, I'll be very careful; promise."

Electra looks at him with misty eyes. She seems to be struggling not to cry, it's easy to understand that by the sound of her voice and expression.

"You make me laugh and then bring tears to my eyes. You do realize that this isn't good for me. You better take good care of yourself, or you'll be dealing with me and my shadows!"

"Deal, try to relax now. We shouldn't waste our time; let's get over with it as soon as possible. We need a ride to go to the nearest oasis. I think I got exactly what we need. Phoenix load the... file... Ride... Me. From the... yeah the models folder..."

A wide smile appears on Electra's face. Icarus turns to her and lifts his shoulders while a cartoon face with blushed cheeks is painted on his robot head. Web world's weather slowly turns back to the default sunshine. Electra decides to comment on the motorcycle file name..

"Be careful with the file upload Phoenix. We wouldn't want to find ourselves with a busty blonde, 3D girl in the middle of nowhere! Not now at least..."

"Get on with it Phoenix. And you... be patient!"

A striking bike is build piece by piece in a couple of seconds' right next to them. Electra examines the bike design for a while.

"Not bad Icarus! I see you're also skilled building mechanical design models. Guess you've won another modeling contest with this one..."

Icarus wears a helmet and gives another one to Electra. He waves his hand in the air inviting her to ride with him.

"To be honest this bike is from my personal collection. One of the ten something models I've put together that are worth showing to someone. Never shared this before though, not even an image."

"Trying to impress the girl with a 3D modeled bike? This is as geeky as it gets. I like it."

Icarus turns to her and blinks a set of really big eyes on his face.

"I'm doing my best. Truth is that it took me three weeks to build, and I've only taken it for a ride four or five times now. Got a custom riding mode that is kinda scary..."

Icarus sits on the bike, bends over and almost hugs the front wheel. His hands are hidden on the sides of the wheel and hold two sturdy handles with some of the bike functions mapped on buttons close to his thumbs and indexes. There is no traditional handle bar on Icarus bike; the rider uses his body to steer and control it. It definitely looks like it's built for high speeds and open roads. As Icarus hugs his bike his mechanic body almost becomes a part of it. The rear swing arm is pretty long and ends up on a big wide wheel. As he fires up the engine a loud whistling noise comes straight from the engine mixed with a metallic rattle coming from the gears and transmission. The motorbike's acceleration forces the front wheel to gently leave the asphalt for a second. The helmets they wear offer them both protection and the ability to comfortably talk via some sort of voice intercom.

"You know Electra, I'm afraid even our little search will be a hard task."

"What do you mean?"

"Remember talking to Gray about the continuity issue?"

"I remember mentioning that we'll need both continuous and uninterrupted access."

"I'm worried about the continuity, especially when we have to deal with search engines. No login is required for this web world but..."

"Can't believe it! Tracing through search engines. Of course. You're marked, that's also why you can't upload your file. How much time do we have Icarus; Ten minutes? Five?"

"Sadly I can't stay hooked to a search engine without being traced for more than... thirty seconds."

"Thirty seconds? God... Icarus. We couldn't even find an astrology web page in such a short time. Not that I would like to know today's horoscope predictions."

"Don't worry I'll tell you. What's your sign?"

"Virgo."

"New, big roads open for you today. You'll strike up an acquaintance with an interesting, charismatic individual and live an exiting adventure. How does that sound?"

"Pretty optimistic. Like a rainbow coming off a unicorn's butt. Let's hope it'll also come true."

Icarus bike gently pierces the air as it moves on the desert road and shines under the strong sunlight. Electra spots some random visitor and realizes they're not alone in this vast web world. She can't stop thinking about the restricted time limit for their search. She tries to figure out a way round this but fails to do so.

"Thirty seconds... What could we do about it?"

"I'm afraid thirty seconds is all we've got. I've been also trying to find a way that could buy us some more time but..."

"Can't Phoenix help us with that?"

"Phoenix is a loyal companion and a powerful tool. It can upload modification software on any web world. Even when we're dealing with secure simulations, Phoenix can upload small files that can radically change the virtual environment. Remember what it did to Dr Menos before? It could for example upload a simple particle generator here and cause rain; not that it would do us any good right now..."

"But it can't do a web search."

"Sadly it can't. I also presume we're all at the same fate and can be traced in the same time frame by the search engines from around the web. Although our personal data are safe, our exact position in the internet can be found and sent to CFG in seconds. I've been compiling an advanced secure search engine for the last few weeks but it'll take a lot of work before even considered to be functional. We will try to break our search into thirty second segments on different engines. We could also organize our key words and work-flow to get to the desired results on time. I think we're getting closer to the nearest oasis; we see more and more visitors as we move on."

"Man of the year... Icarus do you remember any?"

"We're talking about man of the year by the famous magazine, right?"

"Guess so. It's actually the first that comes to mind."

"Could be it. I do remember a few of the recent ones. If I'm not mistaken, the one we're searching for isn't among them. Gray also mentioned that he was man of the year in the past. Usually the title goes to politicians and rarely to scientists or groups of people. I do feel that we're looking for a special guy or something..."

"We should find them all then. Is the publication web page address the obvious one?"

"Probably, I do think it will be hard to find it if we go straight to the front page. There will be news, ads and lots of confusing links. Seems like the safest way, but I guess it'll also be time consuming. We'd better search for a link that will take us straight to the list."

"So... What do you think about: Time-Magazine-Man-Of- The-Year-List for search keywords?"

"Sounds good for a start. Phoenix I want you to store the links our search will provide in their specific order. We will try to switch engines before spending thirty seconds on a single connection. Here we are..."

On the side of the road, not far from it one can find the search engines of this oasis. A small crowd surrounds the big machines, mostly random web world visitors and modern street vendors. Well dressed salesmen approach visitors holding leaflets and portable computer tablets. Some of them carry small devices designed to connect the visitor to the advertised web page, where he can get a taste or tryout of the offered products and services. One can find almost everything here; from new revolutionary devices and gadgets to sex pills and realistic game simulations. Even virtual porn websites are promoted by half naked delightful girls.

Icarus is well aware that among the busy crowd there are also a number of fraud sellers. They usually approach their victims with 'great job opportunity' or a 'one time offer on an almost free, unique and expensive gift'. Not much change, in form or function, he thinks.

Electra walks in the crowd looking around with her eyes wide open. Seems like she's never been in such place before; Icarus on the other hand looks like he's in familiar surroundings. Although the search engines use the same shape and more or less technology they differ in color. Blue, red, orange and green machines each one paint to match the provider's distinctive color. They are big curvy, drop shaped constructions. The wide part hosts the user interaction devices. There are three big touch screens and an optional metal keyboard. Navigation is controlled by voice command while body moves can be recorded and used for handling the graphical interface. For the advanced and daring web users there is also the direct connection of the user and the machine; only available to those with a O.D. connection.

The top, thin side of the machines; is the place the navigation data comes and leaves from. At the tip of the drop, the mechanisms end up on thin long threads that seem to float and dance in the air. The search engines themselves are also covered with printed or moving ads and logos. The size of these ads is proportional to the amount of money spend for their placement. Even in this visual mess of people walking around and colorful logos covering almost everything, the search engines preserve their shape simplicity and imposing presence.

Icarus, Electra and Phoenix cautiously approach the closest free engine. The computer asks if they want to carry out a private search and Icarus gives a positive reply. In an instant they're surrounded by thin arms holding curved glass panels coming from the sides of the machine. After creating a small private space the glass panels become dark and muddy in order to protect them from any prying eyes. Electra sighs.

"I feel like we going to search for illegal stuff or something..."

"To be honest I always go for a private search when using these machines. There is nothing funny or unusual about the search we're going to carry out in a second, still it would be better to remain unnoticed."

Icarus looks at the middle, main screen where a start button is waiting to be pushed.

"Phoenix, get ready for the countdown. Keep an eye on the search results too. Start. Search. Input keywords: time, magazine, man, of, the, year, list. Go."

Phoenix begins counting down from thirty to zero.

Electra quickly reads the first links that use the search terms in their text or contents. There are as always, two or three unrelated advertising links at the top that she almost ignores. Twenty five seconds remaining. Electra discovers an address that belongs to the magazine that interests them. She is forced to read a part of the accompanying text and she realizes that although the website is right, the list contains some successful entrepreneurs of the last year. Ten seconds left.

Electra speeds over the next two links belonging to a well known online auction site. Apparently, old and new issues of the magazine are to be sold to interested individuals and collectors. Electra checks the next link, which also belongs to the famous magazine. She starts to read the link's description but her time is running out. She has less than five seconds. Icarus hastily clicks the button that stops the navigation and orders to disconnect from the current engine. Electra looks flustered.

The glass panel holding arms make a quick return to the side of the machine, revealing the oasis around them. Electra blinks her eyes a couple of times to get used to the strong sunlight.

"The last link, if I'm not mistaken, was actually from the magazine's website but in must led to some other list. Could have been Schindler's list; I'm not sure..." Phoenix moves closer.

"I have the link description stored in memory, Electra. Sadly, it's not the list we're looking for."

Icarus moves to the next different colored search engine and waves at them to follow.

"We'd better use a new machine to continue. Changing providers means our data are taken to different servers making us harder to trace. Hope it works that way, at least... Its' my turn now; right?"

"Be my guest! It was pretty stressful to be honest..."

Icarus, Electra and Phoenix approach the machine and follow the same procedure using the same keywords for their web search. Icarus bypasses the links they've already checked and sees a link about some freeware software used to organize music play lists on one's personal computer. Next one refers to a feature film titled 'The man of the Year' released in two thousand and six. Right below he finds a link that doesn't belong to the famous magazine but seems to take visitors to a man of the year list. He decides to click the address and visit the web-page; the list they're searching for, is right there. They only got ten seconds till being traced, though. Icarus begins from the top of the list, reading and mumbling.

"No... no. Politician... Two thousand and eleven... No..."

They only got a few seconds left. Electra nervously taps Icarus back.

"Let's go..." She whispers.

"Two thousand and eight... No."

Icarus suddenly freezes.

"Damn! No! You..."

Icarus almost breaks the touch screen with his fist when hitting the disconnect button. He quickly turns around and walks away from the search engine. Electra follows him with a baffled, worried look on her face. Truth is that for the last few seconds she had sealed her eyes and could only hear Phoenix counting down. She was also pretty sure she heard it reach its count to zero.

"So Icarus? Got it?"

"We freaking found our answer! Damn. A trolling, trap question by our dear good friend, Gray. A riddle for fools like ours truly!"

Sky became slightly darker and web world time moved hastily a couple of hours forward.

"To the bike! Now!"

Phoenix gets close to Icarus and Electra while their getting ready to ride the virtual motorbike.

"Rapid changes in a simulation definitely isn't good news. You do realize our last search reached a total of thirty two seconds."

A distant lightning showers everything in an instant blinding light. Wind grows stronger and begins to blow off the fine sand from the ground.

"I know, Phoenix... Damn! Let's go!"

From the same direction a big robot appears. Icarus starts the bike and takes a look at the invader. Its size is indeed impressive but it definitely doesn't look like the programmed machines they encountered earlier. It seems pretty agile and able to move fast. Icarus thinks he's seen this before but can't remember where and when. He knows it carries light weaponry and takes orders from a human operator. Entering a relatively safe web world with such ease and weaponry can only mean that the man behind the wheel, is his dexterous persecutor and enemy. And he must be pretty pissed too. The robot moves towards them, running like a huge headless metallic chicken. Phoenix interrupts his thoughts.

"It's project Talos Icarus. We've seen it at an early stage when we hacked the CFG website a while ago. There is a three men crew in the machine's torso of two handling officers and a navigator. Guess Doctor Menos is back. I've been trying to set an exit since the end of our last search but failed to do so. It seems like disconnecting is at the moment, forbidden. No one can leave this place now."

"Let's run! Phoenix switch bike configuration for off road racing. Morph target one! Two wheel drive please. Electra hold on tight!"

A number of bumps and spikes appear or the tire's surface. Bikes spring become longer and softer and even the saddles they sit on seem to be just a bit more comfortable. At the peak of the motorbike's transform, its color changes from the metal black and red paint to a matte desert camouflage.

Icarus feels Electra holding tight to his robotic body. He pushes the gas button and takes the motorbike off the road; away from the enemy. The oasis they leave behind, turns into a virtual hell. Visitors and vendors run around in panic, screaming and swearing. Even those who initially kept their calm seem to run for their lives in distress after finding out that they simply can't disconnect from the web world.

Icarus thinks that people with O.D. connection like him might even experience a violent death under project Talos feet. Things were getting pretty serious; he realized CFG wants him dead.

His thoughts are interrupted by the noise of a few one-wheeled bike riders that showed up along with the huge robot. These motorbikes only have one big wheel and the driver sits in the center of it. This design has been around for more than a decade now but it has just found its way into a fully usable mass production model. One of these bikes approaches them from the right; they can clearly hear the rider's voice through some short of loudspeaker.

"Stop the vehicle now!"

Icarus once designed a bike like that and he clearly remembers that stability isn't what these bikes are famous for. He releases the throttle and moves his hip to the left making the motorbike's tail follow his move. He then hits the gas making the back of the bike violently move to the right. As a result the tire throws pebbles and small rocks from the ground with great momentum. Few of the stones traveling with bullet speed hit the rider and motorbike closer to them. The poor man looses the bike's control and finds himself kissing the dust while his ride flips like a huge coin before braking in small pieces.

Project Talos follows them with a steady trot; the rest of the CFG riders hear Dr. Menos furious yelling in their helmets.

"What the hell are you doing? We're dealing with dangerous web terrorists here! Destroy them."

Riders grab metal telescopic rods from the sides of their bikes and try to reach and press their targets. Electra tries to tighten her grip, puts her cheek on Icaru's back and closes her eyes. Icarus decides to try something else.

"Phoenix! Upload 3D model building application. Add geometry; cube. Triple default size. I'll let you set the cube's origin."

"Software uploaded. Commencing speed and trajectory calculations. Take some distance from them. Do it now."

Icarus nervously tilts both handles in and pulls them back. A second whistling sound starts; a second bike motor fires up. The extra torque and thrust they receive is so brutal, Electra nearly misses her grip and founds herself mid air for a second. With her fingertips she grapples some components on Icarus back and pulls herself safely in.

"Thanks for the warning! If we make it through this, I promise I'll kick your metal butt for good!"

"Sounds lovely Electra! It was a bit of a stir for us but our followers will face a harder lot. Phoenix! Now!"

Electra turns her head back and sees the riders chasing them facing the biggest surprise of their lives. A large gray block appears suddenly in front of them without leaving any room or time for reaction. Three of the drivers with their machines crush on the three-dimensional obstacle with incredible speed. Only one rider escapes Icarus death trap due to a quick response and lots of luck; he was left behind and had more space for his maneuver.

Icarus realizes there is one rider left and is forced to lift his body from the odd driving position, to look back. Project Talos charges forward diminishing the distance between them and the last rider comes from the side with his metal rod rolled up, ready to hit them. Icarus understands that taking a good hit is enough to make him lose control of the bike with disastrous results.

Icarus takes another careful look back and hits the breaks. The motorbike rapidly looses speed while their pursuers still move forth. The rider who was about to strike, is left with his hand and weapon up while his head is trying to follow his target. Icarus bike passes right between Talos feet and Electra skips a heartbeat as she watches the robot's feet hitting the ground just half a meter away from them.

It takes a couple of seconds for their pursuers to react. The rider decides to hit the breaks too, but his course takes him straight to the left leg of the huge robot. Poor man is instantly crushed by the heavy metal foot, killed by his own companions. Project Talos is now Icarus only concern. Now that they're right behind it, he makes a right turn heading to a part of the web world studded with tall rocky formations. For the first time the robot's strong hands come to play as it uses them to make a quick turn and follow the speeding motorbike.

From the top of the robot's body four high caliber machine guns make their appearance. Project Talos opens fire. Icarus returns to his driving position and tries to focus both on the road ahead and the marching enemy. He enters the rocky part and tries to either avoid the virtual formations or use them for cover. He knows he's fortunate because the guns are fixed on the robot's body and it can only hit them when it's right behind their tail. Icarus can hear Talos heavy feet as it comes closer. He thought that the rocks would slow the robot down, but discovers it smashes the rocks with its hands or avoids them with ease. He realizes the machine guns have stop firing for a couple of seconds. Right before thinking about it or trying to look behind to see what's going on, he feels a violent shake on his motorbike.

A scream from Electra echoes in his helmet followed by her distress call to Icarus.

"Icarus. Help!"

Project Talos has grabbed Electra with its left hand. He stand on his feet and tries to catch and bring her back but it's too late. The huge robot slows down as it puts Electra in a metal cage on its back. Icarus moves away with his hand stretched and eyes fixed on project Talos.

"Shit! Damn. Phoenix; do me a favor and upload the Divide-zero file from the virus partition."

"You do remember that this program destroys big code segments by turning them impossible to compile, right? Are you sure...?"

"Come on! I didn't ask for file description or anything! Project Talos is reducing its speed as we speak but even now I can't reach and hurt it. In a few seconds they will allow exits from this web world and get the hell out of here! They got Electra."

Icarus hits the break and makes a quick u turn with his motorbike. He faces the robot far ahead and pushes the gas. Both motors whistling sounds like a scream now.

"I want you to keep an eye on them logging out and give me the virus. Now!"

From the crowded command center in the belly of project Talos a navigation officer turns to Dr Menos.

"The motorbike is coming straight at us."

"I can see that. Let him come..."

Doctor Menos clenches his teeth and orders to move forward with increasing speed.

"The target also begins a small file upload. File type can't be identified at the moment."

"He's up to something... He definitely is. Allow disconnecting from the web world and prepare a quick exit for us. Wait for my order."

Icarus is speeding up moving towards project Talos. A crazy thought comes to mind.

"Phoenix, I know we're protected... But is the bike safe?"

"I'll copy the full file to a secure folder and upload it on a trusted file-sharing website just in case. I also have to report that logging out is now possible; and it can only mean..."

"They're leaving..." Icarus is furious.

"Virus is up and running... Anytime now..."

Icarus looking completely calm rises up and stands on the saddle of his bike.

"Hover up. Give me 'you're_my_sk8_now' configuration." His feet seem to connect to the bike.

"Crap, I'll never get used to it! I'll die."

Icarus moves his feet sightly and the bike follows. It even leans when he bend his knees and re-positions his body accordingly. He tries to avoid the big rock formations without losing much speed.

His ears catch a strange yet familiar sound. It's like a short bang playing in reverse. Time runs slower as the virus occupies the system and destroys it piece by piece. The sky above them dissolves in an instant while the dunes lose the rocks and vegetation on them. Their color turns gray and they hastily deflate like they're made out or rubber. The mountains in the background lose their color too and break like thin glass.

Project Talos loses some of its parts. They turn transparent and then disappear. The same fate finds Icarus motorbike. It slowly breaks into its polygons and fades like a puzzle toy, hit by the strong wind. Icarus bends his knees and takes advantage of his speed and strong feet, to a daring leap right into project Talos. Inside the robot, hit by the devastating power of the virus, Icarus sees Electra and understands he's close. He watches the three operators in the control room. The word now is spelled by Dr. Menos in slow motion.

Electra is close. Icarus spreads out his arms to grab her. A sweet melancholic smile is painted on her face. Right before reaching and touching her, Electra slowly vanishes into a white blinding light.

"Nooo!!!"

Time reverts to its normal speed and Icarus passes through the robot and carries along some of its parts that were still standing in place. He lands several meters away, bending his mechanic knees to absorb his fall. Project Talos bits and parts, violently hit the floor, break into small pieces and disappear. Icarus finds himself alone in a flat gray world with a monotonous gray sky above his head. He is furious. His own body parts slowly fade away and moments after he re enters the empty web world.

"Crap! To hell. Motherfu...! This is a fail of epic proportions! Did we lose her!?" He screams.

"Gray! I HATE Gray!"

"My favorite color..."

Icarus turns to the source of the tempting, deep female voice. He is struck dumb by what he sees. A beautiful red haired woman, with attractive curves and big green eyes approaches him. She wars a tight Gray dress that reveals her bust, back and long legs. She is barefoot with a soft alabaster skin. On her back a big pair of wings, a white and a black one, slowly spread out.

"All men are created equal! Ha! Probably the biggest lie of your world. I'm not talking about social or race discrimination, about poor and rich. People are initially separated by the way they look."

"Thanks for the info, Gray... Hate you so much right now! Your riddle... Your riddle was cheap and, and lame... and shitty."

"You mean that it was easy? I find it hard to follow you right now. If it was, why didn't you give me a straight, quick answer?"

"Your question was a trap! I lost her! I lost Electra..."

"Listen, Icarus... You knew the answer but you had to go through all this to find it. People enjoy risking their lives just to find the answers they already know. Not my fault. I did it for fun. In the past, I used to kill people, people with O.D. connection like you, guess why? For fun."

"Damn! I... lost her..."

"When you know where something or someone is, it's wrong to consider them to be lost. We both know where she is, at this very moment."

"She had nothing to do with..."

"Nonsense! She brought you to me. We are having this conversation, right now, as a result of her choice and actions. I'll do my best to keep Electra's real info and location safe from CFG hands."

"I shouldn't... Crap..."

"I'm not here to hear you whining, Icarus. You know, I never stop to eat or sleep. The information I get, the data I receive is my food and rest. I already know lots of things about you. You know why you should feel lucky now? You have a motive, a mission, a clear and visible goal. You were lost for a long time, deep in digital depression, with no one to blame and no one to hunt for revenge. The truth others force upon you is a stranger to you. Are you here on a Holy chocolate war? No, you're here because you now know what you want. Your enemy is visible and your target is clear as daylight. You'll find both Electra and the terminal you need at the CFG virtual headquarters. If you feel I've been unfair to you then I'll do my best to set things right. Once more, for fun... Really, you'll see."

Gray pauses for a while.

"You do know that virtual worlds, simulate natural laws; like gravity."

"So that human visitors may feel as if they're at the real world. Anything else would cause confusion and disorientation, if not panic. Meaning?"

"Give me a kiss Icarus..."

"Are you kidding me...? You... Can't do. You are..."

"You mean... you mean I'm a man? Funny! First impressions can be misleading... Do I look like a man Icarus? I'm Gray; I'm neither a male nor a female."

Gray slowly moves towards Icarus.

"One thing is certain... You're some crazy... thing."

"Don't you like me?"

It moves even closer with a simpering voice and a set of blinking big green eyes.

"I know you have an O.D. connection. You're going to feel... everything."

Gray makes a swift forward move and glues its lips on Icarus face. The kiss is warm and sweet. He feels a tickle at his spine and chest, and feels his heartbeats rising up. Gray's wings gently surround them during the long kiss. Seconds later, Icarus pulls himself away, slightly confused and dizzy. He takes a deep breath.

"Okay, that was sick and kind of nice, and that is what makes it feel even more sick."

"Maybe I should have a bath. Lots of soap, cold water preferably. Why... What the..."

Gray offers him a sweet, foxy smile. It really looks adorable.

"What can I say...? Heroes turn me on. We were talking about web worlds making use of natural laws. Although you seem to take advantage of it with your raw power, you can still be stronger, better. You're having itchy hands; right?"

"How do you know?"

Icarus already struggles to ignore the tickle in his hands but also wonders how it is possible to feel something like it on his coded, avatar body.

"I call it liquid fire after a legendary ancient weapon, but I do have to confess that the only 'liquid' about it is my kiss... I've just sent you a small program that modifies your virtual body. Take a look at your hands."

Icarus takes his surprised eyes off Gray and looks at his hands. He sees and feels no difference. Gray on the other hand, stares with a kid's smile and eyes full of excitement.

"Put your index and middle finger together."

Icarus does what Gray orders him to; when his two fingers touch each other they instantly transform to a gun barrel. He tries it a couple of times and the result paints a happy face on his robotic head. He then raises his hand and tries to get a feel of how it would be like to fire with this new weapon.

"Wow! That's possibly a kid's dream come true! The hand-gun."

"And since we're in virtual worlds, we can bend the rules as we wish. We got... infinite ammo, up to a thousand rounds per minute, and just cause I'm a shooter video game lover, alternative fire."

"You mean..."

"Explosive shots, flame thrower, pulse shots... The perfect weapon. Your imagination is your only limit. Well not... only... your imagination..."

Gray has an almost apologetic expression. It instantly looks down and moves its left foot back and forth, like a little girl who's done something naughty.

"It only takes voice orders... Fire description voice orders, to be specific..."

Gray lifts it's head, blinks its big green eyes and smiles.

"Jeez! I should have imagined that! Gray you bloody... You got lots of issues for an artificial intelligence, you know that? Voice orders using fire description? You mean like, ratatatataaaa... ratatataaa?"

"And click, bang! And Pfssssh or whoosh or something when you want to use explosive shots... You said it yourself; it's every kid's dream come true! In every way possible. Enjoy it. It fits you well..."

Gray explodes like a balloon leaving a bunch of slowly falling, shiny pink confetti behind.

"I'll be watching you Icarus... I find your little adventure very amusing by so far!"

"Yeah, don't miss the next episode. It's called We're in deep sh..!"

Icarus raises his right hand and joins the two fingers as he did before. He produces a pretty funny sound something like pfrrrr but the result is impressive. A strong, quick burst comes out of his hand. He laughs.

"Seems like this silly piece of code actually works..."

Icarus turns to his digital companion and assistant.

"Phoenix; have you followed Electra's exit?"

"I do not have an exact location, but we can start from the CFG web world entrance. I think we'll find our way once we get there."

"Electra and the terminal should be both there. One thing is certain; Dr. Menos will definitely prepare a warm welcome for us."

"You know... We'll need all the help we can get... Every weapon at our disposal. It's crucial for a job well done..."

Icarus looks at Phoenix with a funny expression on his face. His eyes are almost sealed and lips curled.

"Ha! I knew that! I was expecting you to propose this sooner or later. Seems like you got a good excuse this time around though; truth is that we'll need it."

"Well I wasn't trying to... Come on Icarus; it'll be fun!"

"So... Disconnect!"

"Why? Gonna have that bath you..."

"What? I'm off to my secret stash for some, highly illegal, hot chocolate. If we have to go after Speedy we should take a break first."

Chapter 7: Work and Play

About fifteen minutes later, Icarus appears in a virtual game hall. He is seated in a modern armchair, but it's not particularly comfortable. Right in front of him, small screens, show information about the game and comments from the guests and testers. Those who have tried the game seem very enthusiastic and positive, but Icarus isn't surprised by their reactions. User-name Ricoxx might sound silly but behind it he found both a humble, shy kid and a rare genius in the programming and design of virtual worlds and interactive entertainment.

Icarus had met him about three years ago in an online first person shooter game. They were always in the same group and in one of the battles they were surrounded by their opponents. They were side by side hiding behind some barrels and crates and could hear enemy bullets flying over their heads. Icarus saw Ricoxx uploading and executing a program called Speedy. Opponents immediately began moving very slowly, and the two of them left their hiding spot and killed them with ease. As usual both teammates and opponents expelled them from the game because they cheated their way to victory, but they didn't care a bit; they're good friends since then.

Icarus Divide-zero virus does actually slow down time but this chronic interference is nothing more than a side effect which is impossible to maintain or control. Truth is that Icarus also tried to compile a program that would allow him to control virtual time but had no success in completing it.

User Ricoxx is fan of fast paced games that demand lightning fast reflexes and nerves of steel. His first, almost complete game of his own is called Drago and he's been working on it for the last two and a half years. Icarus is helping Ricoxx by designing some of the in game models and applying modifications on the game's code. It seems like Drago is moving on pretty well and has reached testing phase; it's now in a fully playable beta version.

Game's concept and goal is pretty simple. Player rides a dragon and controls it's flight. A tiny hummingbird is the target and in order to complete the game one must reach and grab it while passing through imaginary courses and avoiding the various obstacles. Icarus, as a friend of the developer and assistant designer had the privilege of being one of the first Drago testers but his latest try of the game was a total failure. Icarus thinks that as he grows up he prefers games that sharpen his mind and stir his imagination to those that make you jump off your seat and require you to react in nanoseconds if you wish to stay alive. What he can easily recall from his last unsuccessful tryout is that the game is super fast and incredibly realistic. Phoenix had a blast when playing too...

Ricoxx told him that if he managed to capture the hummingbird he would get the Speedy program along with a brief explanation of the way this ingenious piece of code affects virtual time. Icarus is here for a second chance. He strongly believes that Speedy could save his life at the battle that awaits him at the CFG headquarters. His thoughts are interrupted by a young male voice.

"The armchair you're sitting on might be uncomfortable but it gives me ratings of the prospective testers. Both my ratings and eyes tell me that this bad boy had some chocolate before coming here..."

Ricoxx makes a sensational appearance; he's a seventeen years old kid dressed in a full body, black and tight vinyl uniform. A wide opening starts from the neck leaving his chest exposed and closes right at his belly. His skin is painted white and a black star encircles his left eye. His hair is long and tufted and the eighties rock star look finishing touch is a pair of bulky black boots with thick soles that add some valuable height to the short stature, of the lean young man. A broad smiling face appears on Icarus head.

"Guilty!" Turn his head and gets a good glimpse at his friend.

"What's all this? You look like a weirdo! What the...? God, not the 80s, not again!"

"Game developers are the rock stars of our times. Girls love the new look! How's things mate? So glad to see you. It's been a long time... Still waiting for some of your valuable contributions for our game!"

Instantly turns serious, then a broad smile slowly appears on his face.

"How are you, pal?"

"I'm fine... I need Speedy."

"Good old cut-to-the-chase Icarus! I like you man! Would you mind me asking for the reason?"

Ricoxx lowers the tone of his voice and talks with conspiratorial air.

"My code... Why would you... Does it have to do anything with chocolate?"

"I've completed the program I told you once. I think I can pull dd veil with it. For a while at least. But if I want to release it properly I'll have to do it through a terminal found only at the CFG headquarters. They're probably waiting for me. I shouldn't pay a visit empty handed..."

"You? At Chocolate Fighters Group headquarters? Insane! Oh man! I'm sure you don't want me in, but I have to ask. Can I ask? Good old days? Nudge, nudge..."

"Good old days? You're seventeen years old Mike... you can't have good old days! And in order to have them in the future... Well, you know the rest. We're in big trouble as you can see, so..."

"Damn... You're breaking my heart, man. I wanna come with you cause you can definitely handle stuff... In real life, not much, no offense man; but the virtual world is a whole new story. It's your playground, really."

"Still a 'sorry, you can't come' from me. No way."

Ricoxx turns to Phoenix that gently floats above their heads.

"Hello Phoenix."

"Greetings user Ricoxx. Mike."

"You know I want videos from the operation showing you kicking some CFG butt... Wait a minute! Yeah. You want Speedy. You can have it right now if you wish..."

Icarus raises his hand and interrupts him.

"I was thinking about checking your lousy game too. Have you done any improvements or have you been wasting your time on gaming and... companion simulations?"

"Ha! Business before pleasure pal. You know me; when I want something done, nothing can stop me. I see you still use your O.D. connection... Dangerous but gutsy at the same time. I like it! So for your game we have... Air drag and wind feel and forces; makes it a bit harder to hold on. Realistic smells... Enhanced virtual sounds... etc. And last but definitely not least a hundred per cent actual risk and danger for you. You know what's my latest trick?"

"Go on."

"I've modified the code in a way that now offers me the power of using an almost infinite number of objects in the game! It's a complicated system that 'describes' the objects using mathematics. That replaces the classic polygonal objects into parametric forms that use less data..."

"...and less data means faster processing." Icarus nods satisfied and Ricoxx takes a deep breath.

"Exactly. Take a simple sphere for example. You had to use hundreds of polygons to describe such an object. This is quite silly since the only info we need to reproduce it, is its origin and radius. Just a few numbers! The new sphere has one more advantage; it's perfect! No more funny edges and odd corners for low resolution objects. The beta build you're going to play, after some calculations I've made, includes geometry that would use more than three hundred billion polygons! Ultimate freedom in game design."

"You look like crap but that doesn't change the fact that you're a genius."

"Game publishers are all over me. They all want the game and the technology that comes with it but I want to complete Drago and bring them to their knees! We're talking about a load of money mate!"

"And you deserve every penny of it. So... I'm ready."

"Nice! Are you... sure you don't want me to crank down the difficulty for you? I mean you're an old guy and all..."

"Ricoxx, Mike, screw you."

Icarus gets up slowly.

"Talking about old guys; I just found out what's missing from your crazy look..."

"What?"

"Chest openings need some hair, kiddo!"

Ricoxx laughs out loud and claps his hands taking Icarus to the Drago game environment. The young developer is still in the hall but his voice can be clearly heard in his game.

"After the persistent demand of your assistant, you won't be riding one of my dragons today. You'll have to guide Phoenix, the legendary bird through this brand new level. If you come to think of it, the game isn't even out yet and we have our first modification. Hope it brings you some luck because if I remember well, you last attempt was a total disaster."

Icarus raises his right fist and his middle finger. He is indeed seated on the back of a big weird bird. Bird's beak is short and curved at its tip and its eyes are blue. Its wings are rather short especially when compared to its spectacular long tail. Phoenix has a share of orange and red on its body and the tips of its wings have an iridescent blue color. Beak and legs are almost black while its long claws look like they're made out of some short of dark metal.

They're in a huge rift with sharp craggy rocks on their left and right. They also see and hear a furious, foamy river below them. Icarus looks at his left and sees a small, ornate wooden cage. He can also spot the tiny bird in it.

"Smallest bird in the world; the Bee Hummingbird. It is definitely not easy but it's really simple, to prove your worth and get Speedy you have to be really fast. Fitting isn't it? If you pull both reins up or towards your body, Phoenix will gain altitude. If you pull then down or apply some pressure on its neck it will dive down. You can make Phoenix roll by using both your arms and legs. If you pull the reigns to the sides you can force it to turn; and finally, you can hit its side with your heels for a quick speed up. Are you ready?"

Phoenix rushes to answer the question. It sounds exited.

"I'm ready! Let's go!"

The small cage door slowly opens and the tiny bird shows up. It makes two revolutions around the cage and instantly appears right in front of Icarus face. The hummingbird stares at Icarus who is bewildered by the audacity of the tiny creature. He lingers and does not stretch out his hand in time to catch it. The hummingbird begins its race with lightning speed, while Icarus throws a brisk hit with his feet at Phoenix's side.

The mythical bird, without a second thought, beats its wings and hastily moves forward following its rider's orders. Strong wind hits Icarus virtual body and forces him to pull the reigns back on his attempt to maintain his position on Phoenix's back. He realizes that wasn't a smart move when his flying companion begins an almost vertical fast climb. Icarus thinks he should also be calculating the force of the wind from now on and notices that Drago really feels and looks stunning. He realizes Ricoxx technique allows him to put a massive amount of objects in his scene. Icarus pushes Phoenix's neck down and hits him to increase their speed. Although they're high they can still hear the furious river below.

At some points of the river the height difference creates small waterfalls. Dozens of tiny rainbows show up as a sign of the union between water and light. Rays look like they dive into the rift, and at open places the virtual sun reveals the beautifully crafted details. Icarus gives another hit at the mythical bird's side as he sees their target straight ahead. At the ridge's edges, and at times even hanging from the steep walls, a variety of flowers, small shrubs and trees make his job even harder.

As he moves forward he notices two young goats jumping and playing on the rocky surface on his right. He bends forward and tries to convince himself to keep his eyes and mind on the tiny bird. When he rises up he almost hits Phoenix's neck as he sees a fallen huge tree trunk right up front. The big bird receives the order and makes a swift dive heading to a foamy waterfall. Icarus gently pulls both reins and tries to control Phoenix and save their lives. After balancing their flight he looks up and finds out that the hummingbird has risen up. He decides to keep on trying and hopes that they'll meet fewer obstacles up high. Phoenix follows his orders and begins to gain height and increase speed. Icarus tries not to loose the small bird from his sight.

The hummingbird is at a continuous rise; it easily passes through a clump of trees that seem to hang at the left edge of the rift. Icarus envies the agility and size of the small bird, and with a swift move he pulls the left rein up and pushes the right one down. He tries to make Phoenix fly parallel to the left wall and he somehow succeeds. The problem is that his head is facing down and the belly of his flying friend stands opposite to the sun that's on its setting route. Icarus screams driven by his tension and excitement as they, by pure luck, make it through the leaves and twigs and reach the edge of the rift.

In a counter pull of the reins Phoenix is forced to flip and move in parallel with the ground. The sharp claws of the mythical bird sweep along small stones and dirt as they leave the rift behind. Icarus realizes that the sun begins to set and that like in most games time passes faster than normal, offering some variety in lighting and atmosphere for Drago. They should now try to come closer to their target and Phoenix eagerly increases speed, as it realizes its rider's request.

Right in front, they see tall rocky structures that look like they've sprouted out of the dry earth. They at places form big stone arches throwing their heavy shadows on the sand below. Some ancient, rock made pylons in many ornate designs, covered in sand and dry small shrubs also block their way forward. Icarus increases speed and prepares for extreme maneuvering. He thinks that in the rift, action took place mainly on the vertical axis, while they now have to move on the horizontal to avoid the hard and sharp obstacles. Phoenix moves gracefully between the rocks and Icarus notices the hummingbird flies just a few meters ahead. He is forced to pull the reins to move above a hill that marks the end of the rocky trail, and blocks their view.

When they reach the top of it, Icarus is left speechless by the amazing sight. In front and below them, stretched out in a huge valley, a fierce medieval battle is underway. He forces the mythical bird to dive in the valley as he sees the hummingbird taking advantage of his surprise and increases its distance from them. Icarus sees the sun rays hitting the shields and weapons of the myriads of warriors. As the sun slowly surrenders beaten by a silver full moon it uses its last breath to paint the scenery with a warm gold color. Screams, shouts and weapons hitting bodies or other weapons can be clearly heard below them. A group of horseback warriors rides fast not far from them. Icarus and Phoenix can hear them shouting in an unknown language. Their swords are rolled up and their faces are distorted by the intensity of the battle and the thirst for their enemies' blood.

Icarus notes that far ahead, almost in the valley's center, a big castle is perched on a rock.

"A siege!"

He also discovers that the hummingbird flies a bit lower, but not too far away. He decides to move closer; they should catch it before the sun is completely gone. Suddenly in front of them large siege towers moving on huge wooden wheels appear; Icarus begins maneuvering to avoid crashing on them. While passing right next to the mobile tall towers, they hear a hissing sound behind them. A large stone, scratch passes Phoenix's right wing and hits at the base of the wall surrounding the castle.

"Catapults! Nice..."

Icarus takes a deep breath and pulls the reigns. Their target moves up higher and it's fortunately pretty close. Phoenix obeys and flaps its strong wings flying almost vertically to gain height. They're getting closer. Icarus reaches out and almost touches the tireless hummingbird that keeps rising. He takes a big risk as he tries to leave his seating and put his feet on the bird's wings. He struggles to keep some short of balance by holding on Phoenix's head with one hand while stretching the other to their flying goal. Icarus makes a swift, desperate move and feels like he's grabbed something. He is instantly hit by an arrow that penetrates his left shoulder while a second one hits his extended arm. Two arrows hit Phoenix's belly while another one passes through its left wing. The pain is so strong that Icarus feels he's gonna pass out but refuses to open his hand and let the tiny bird free. He looses balance, rolls on the back of the mythical bird and begins to fall.

Phoenix isn't facing a better fate. It screeches from pain and its high pitched screams reach every corner of the vast valley below. Seconds later it also surrenders to the relentless power of the virtual gravity and joins its rider in his fall. Icarus almost faints but holds his hand close to his chest and feels the hummingbird hitting its tiny wings right above his heart. He did it.

Suddenly time slows to a crawl. He feels and hears the air hitting his body during his fall. He also hears screams and noise from below; although it's pretty dark now the furious battle still goes on. Ricoxx voice sounds warm and calm.

"As you're well aware Icarus; speed is something relative. My program follows a simple logic. If you want to be super fast you just slow everything around you down. I explain... Every website, web world and simulation uses an internal clock. It is necessary. With its help users and moderators keep track of the time they log-in and out, and put posts and comments in the right order. Web time is similar to the real thing; it's both valuable and flexible. Here is how it works. First you have to synchronize yourself with an external, constant clock. There are dozens of web sites and services that can help you with that. With the help of Speedy you gain time control on the web world you visit. You can then change the pace of time at will. Even human users found in the same place can have a different refresh rate and response time. It's a weapon that can give you a huge advantage over your enemies. We've used before, you know how it goes. As you can see the program is already in your possession. Wish you good luck buddy and hope to see you soon..."

"Mike..."

"Yep?"

"Game is awesome pal... Congratulations. Phoenix; we're good to go. Phoenix...? Is it dead? Again?"

"Oh well... Disconnect."

Chapter 8: Chocolate Fighters Group

Dr. Menos and Electra are on the top of the virtual building that hosts CFG. They are on an elegant table facing each other. The environment is also well built. The whole terrace is right below a glass dome and a bright blue sky can be seen through it. Huge pots made out of thick glass are all over the place and in them, there is a variety of virtual flora, from flowers to big trees. The pots are thin at their base and get wider at the top, giving the impression of a big hanging garden. There are Asian cherry trees, willow trees, strong pine trees and lots more. The smaller glass pots have the same shape but they're used to hold a variety of colorful shrubs and exotic flowers.

In the center of it all, there is a bizarre, jarring object. It's a black solid monolith cut with impressive precision to form a perfect tall parallelogram. The tasteful environment and flora variety would, under different circumstances, charm and cheer Electra. Her mind though is set on Icarus and on the fact that they're both in big trouble. She holds her head with her hands and puts her elbows on the table. She hears and sees several MK units surrounding them, getting ready for Icarus arrival. Dr. Menos on the other hand, sits comfortably and seems calm. He holds a small chocolate box in his hand and carefully throws it on the table close to Electra.

"Chocolate?"

"Why not?"

Electra stretches her arm, grabs a candy and throws it in her open mouth. As the chocolate melts, she sees little flashes in her eyes and feels little pinches on her body. Seconds later she feels slightly relaxed.

"Hey... This works..."

"Virtual chocolate. What you have here is literally a taste of the future. We've worked very hard for this. It gives you the same brain signals and reactions as the real deal. People with O.D. connection should also get the actual chocolate taste. Patented code that can't be copied and self-destructs after use."

"Like a real chocolate candy."

"Everything can be replicated. The program you just consumed is the living proof. Programming is the magic of our times. Imagination is our only limit in this world. Take Icarus companion for example. I underestimated it; an error I do not often do. It has done a wonderful job at hiding your trace and actual locations. We've been trying to locate you for a while now and all we get is a weak signal somewhere from Pretoria, South Africa. I've sent a team to check things out, but I really doubt they'll find anything there."

"I find your voice irritating now. Eat one of your little programs and relax. We have nothing to talk about, nothing to share or split."

"Though it may sound crazy nowadays, a box of chocolate used to be the best gift for a girl. And I don't even get a simple thank you from you."

Electra pushes the box towards Dr. Menos, sits comfortably, leans back her head and closes her eyes.

"Take one. Everyone knows cops love drugs. You know, taking some... just so they know everything about their 'product'..."

"Don't want one... Besides I'm allergic to chocolate."

Electra slowly turns and looks at him. She is still calm but looks very surprised. She laughs a bit.

"Even this tiny virtual chocolate candy could give me a strong allergic shock. Don't forget that I also use an O.D. connection like our mutual friend Icarus does."

"Unbelievable... Ha... I've must misheard what you said. Or; maybe not... You're trying to tell me that the top dog chocolate fighter, and dealer, let's be honest, is allergic to his own drug? Crazy!"

"I'm not a dealer, a pusher or whatever you spoiled, stupid girl! I used to be like Icarus once; our only difference is that we had guts back then. There was a time when the agencies could break through your door and handcuff you right in your God damn home. Real hackers! I was at university when a friend and I got arrested. We were forced to work in a newly formed team; initially for tracing and monitoring suspects and selected targets. We could easily trace people from around the world and collect info from their visits, likes and transactions. We were at times practicing on random targets; you wouldn't believe the filth we were facing. Internet is full of pedophiles, drug addicts, perverts and suicidal brain-dead teenagers."

"You chose to spy and destroy people just to save yourself from getting behind bars. Such a nice person..."

Dr. Menos gets up quickly. He looks furious.

"Shut up! All I do is trying to protect this company from punks and wannabe heroes like you and your friend Icarus. You're bad for business so business will take care of you."

Electra also gets up. She is still under chocolate's influence but her almost comical, angry expression shows she is still ready for a fight.

"You're a lucky man. You should learn that today, chocolate saved your life. Believe it or not... I perhaps shouldn't have..." She suddenly feels numb and tired.

"Why do you think I gave you the chocolate for? It would be better not to have you messing around when..."

Dr Menos suddenly stops. He seems to get some info from within CFG. He listens carefully for a while.

"He's here? Nice. I want you to block all exits and seal the elevator doors once he's in. Shoot to kill; we're on code red."

It's been just a few seconds since Icarus has entered CFG headquarters and he's already got busy. Four MK units were guarding the main way in, but didn't have time to react. They were standing on the left and right side of the big glass entrance. Icarus struck with lightning speed, the two robots closer to the door. He stood between them and punched them with both hands spread, at the side of their heads. His fists were so fast, they went through the MK's heads. Once through, Icarus put his two fingers together and shot the other two enforcement units that were standing further away. It only took him a second; the MK units that got shot might have possibly heard an odd noise coming from Icarus.

"Pfrrrrr..."

Dr. Menos was informed for his burst in at the time he was entering the building's lobby. Icarus stares at the four MK units thinking that the hunt for the Speedy program was a worthwhile risk. The enforcement units open an almost blind fire towards him. In the center of the reception hall, he spots a structure of big glass pieces arranged and glued together form the shape of a standing man. Icarus is forced to slow down time again, as the huge sculpture is hit by hundreds of bullets and breaks into countless small and large, hazardous fragments.

He tries to wound his way through bullets and sharp glass shards. He avoids some of the pieces and gets hit by others. He runs straight towards the enforcement units and manages to grab a big flying glass fragment with his left hand. With a rapid move of his right hand and wrist, he grasps a smaller but sharp piece of the sculpture. He then raises both his hands and uses all his might to throw the glass fragments at his enemies. Two of the MK units receive the flying shards and collapse with them nailed on their robotic bodies.

The other two enforcement programs saw nothing but a blurry flash moving towards them. They were standing side by side when their heads were crushed on the wall behind them. Icarus reverts the simulation time to its normal speed and takes a deep breath. He pulls his fists from the wall and lets the headless MK units yield to the web world's virtual gravity. He sees two elevators on his left with their doors open. Icarus enters one of them, leans forward and puts his hands on the wall. He has taken several hits that seem to send lots of pain signals to his brain. He stares at the elevator doors as they close and takes a few quick breaths. Phoenix sounds worried.

"Are you OK Icarus?"

"I'm doing my best... We have to get through this."

"Maybe we..."

"It's too late now; Phoenix. I'm guessing that by now all log outs from CFG are blocked. Electra and Dr. Menos are waiting for us. We shouldn't let them down."

"You're right. We have to complete our mission and save the damsel in distress."

"Let's hope happy endings do come true in –virtual- reality. Now we're in, can we trace her?"

"She's at the top of the building. At the terrace. Fifty floors up. I'm afraid I got some bad news. Elevator doors are sealed."

"That doesn't mean we're trapped... I got an idea. I want you to connect the virtual elevator object to me for a few seconds."

"Done. What for?"

Icarus hits the button and feels the elevator moving up. He instantly speeds up time. This time around he isn't the only one moving fast. The elevator covers lots of floors in an instant. Icarus takes a look at the digital meter above the door and prepares himself for the impact. He orders Phoenix to break their connection to the elevator after the hit.

They furiously hit the ceiling. The upper part of the elevator is destroyed and the walls tear and break. Luckily the lift manages to keep its shape, carries along the mechanisms above it and rips through the wall. Their speed and momentum are so big that the heavy object flies a few meters above the roof. Icarus has received a strong blow on his back while his left arm is missing a big part. Their brief flight gives him the time and perspective to evaluate the situation. Electra and Dr. Menos move very slowly and both seem to turn their heads towards him. He sees seven MK units at different parts of the terrace and observes the black monolith at its center. Icarus merges his two fingers once more.

"Phoosh! Phoosh!"

Two small rockets fired; straight from his right hand. The first one destroys two enforcement units that were standing close to each other and the second rocket hits a third MK in its feet. The robot's upper part is blown away and makes a big hole on the side of the dome. Icarus jumps from the elevator seconds before hitting the floor with a loud thud and breaking apart. Dr. Menos has now seen Icarus. He has turned towards him and looks upset; his eyes and mouth are wide open while his right palm and fingers are rolled up. Icarus tries to think his next move when he sees a big glass pot ahead breaking to pieces by an invisible force. The pot's soil spreads out like a big brown cloud. Icarus instinctively jumps to the side right before being hit by the destructive power of Dr. Menos blow. What's left of the broken elevator is right behind him. Icarus turns and sees the metal mass torn in half. A poor MK unit that was behind it, violently breaks in pieces as if it got hit by an invisible, giant ax.

The pulse blow. Pretty stronger now.

Icarus hastily gets up and runs towards Dr. Menos and Electra. He hears Phoenix once more.

"You'd better hurry. Our dear enemy is a coding expert, he'll soon find out about our little time trick."

With a few quick leaps Icarus approaches Dr. Menos; he seems to utter some short of order or curse. He sees the tension and the stretched skin on his face. Although he has the time for a strong, precise hit, Icarus chooses to grab Electra, turn back and run to the monolith. Dr Menos completes his phrase and lifts his palm; he attacks once more.

"Synchronize simulation clock to external time source! Now!"

Icarus is close to his target. He makes a big leap while holding Electra in his arms. He hears the sound of a wooden trunk violently ripping in half. CFG time returns to normal. Icarus and Electra touch the monolith and disappear. Luckily Dr. Menos blow follows an instant later; hits the monolith but doesn't even scratch its hard surface. He screams out loud and furiously hits his fist on the ground. He failed... Beaten by Icarus and a freaking gaming hacking program. Caught off guard. Again...

Icarus and Electra are in the monolith. The inside, apparently another simulation or an entirely different system, is a big strange place. Far from them, the walls of the monolith are covered by overlapping curvy surfaces. They see big holes on the soft ground; they're pretty deep and dark too. Above them, they see a similar almost mirrored pattern. Its bigger difference with the one below is that white beams of light come through the holes. Although they can't see the light source, the beams form a luminous grid that allows them to view their surroundings. Icarus total O.D. connection is bombarded with smells and sounds. He feels like he's in a living, breathing organism. He stays motionless for a couple of seconds and focuses on his virtual sensors.

"Such a bizarre construction... I feel some sort of moisture and I get this distinctive smell. Can't figure out what could it be..."

Electra sees a soft light at the center of the system. She carefully approaches it and after examining it for a while she nods for Icarus to join her.

"What the hell is this? What are we supposed to do now?" She seems entirely lost and confused.

"Ha! Guess I know what it is..."

Icarus bends his knees and takes a closer look at the small mushroom close to their feet.

"I think I know where we are... Moisture and smell of wet soil; light above and darkness below. Organic construction with infinite branches just like the world web. We're in a tree and to be more specific..."

A deep male voice interrupts him.

"We're at the root... "

A dark skinned man walks right between Icarus and Electra. He is tall and thin and although he's completely nude, he doesn't seem to have any reproductive organs. Strange man has Gray eyes big nose and a tiny mouth. A small triangular beard on his chin moves along with it, as he speaks.

"You do know what a root means in a virtual, digital world. Absolute access. From this place you can delete world's biggest web sites and simulations with the same ease you would erase a simple file from your personal computer."

Gray observes the tiny mushroom.

"One of you two should connect. It wouldn't be a nice idea for me to use this system. Tempting but..."

Electra looks at it with a puzzled expression on her face.

"Gray, what are you doing here? What's this thing?"

"It's a mushroom! Obviously a simulation of a hallucinatory drug. Chocolate Fighters Group's biggest motive is money, but that doesn't mean they're worthless. Judging by what I see here, I have to admit they're geniuses. If anyone wants to handle all this massive information and power, he has to let his mind free; away from tame thoughts and needs. That's what this mushroom does. I guess the few people using this, must be trained or something. You have to be extremely careful..."

"I'll do it... I guess one should also use a total O.D. connection to operate the system."

Icarus spreads his hand out and cuts a small piece from the mushroom's cap.

"Besides, I've prepared approximately nine hundred addresses for my program's upload and sharing."

"And that's why I'm here. The links you have aren't enough; your code will be traced and deleted in no time. What would you say for about half a million web pages?"

Electra looks at Gray with her eyes and mouth wide open.

"So you are the man of the year you had us searching for? Is this the reason Icarus was so mad when he found the answer to your riddle?"

Icarus puts the mushroom in his mouth.

"No. It wasn't Gray. You'll see in a minute..."

He stands still but fails to hide his anticipation. He moves his head and hands nervously.

"If I say or do anything stupid don't get me wrong..."

Seconds later he feels a strong shiver in his spinal column. His ears buzz for a couple of seconds and all he hears after that is the beating of his own heart. He is forced to take two deep breaths to continue. His vision is also affected. Everything looks brighter; different. Icarus sees Electra and Gray. They look anxious but he realizes that he can't speak to them and doesn't want to. Two paper thin screens appear before him. One has risen from the roots and the other has come down from the branches and trunk. They get smaller and stabilize right in front of his eyes. Icarus feels very strange. He rises his hands and realizes he's becoming transparent. He breaks in loud laughs. Electra makes a step to come closer to him but Gray gently stops her. Almost the whole robotic body is now transparent. Only parts visible, is the user's brain and spine; they also emit a soft blue light. A dark film covers the two vital organs. Electra watches the sight with her mouth open. She was at first repelled by the idea but now she's almost certain. While Icarus disappears a familiar shape emerges. It definitely looks like...

"A male reproductive cell!"

Gray observes Icarus with an ecstatic expression on its face.

"He is connected..."

Dr. Menos is right out of the monolith and looks both angry and skeptical. He knows that the system doesn't permit entry to anyone during its operation. The situation requires drastic measures. He turns and looks at an officer who is next to him accompanied by a few MK units.

"I want the upload and execution of the Rage file. I want it now!"

Officer looks surprised.

"Are you sure sir? That thing is still uncontrollable; we wouldn't want to risk any damage to the delicate CFG systems."

Dr. Menos face shows both anger and desperation.

"Do it!"

File is executed and Dr. Menos eyes get covered by a bizarre red glow. His pulse is erratic and he struggles to even breathe right. He grabs a big pot close to him and absorbs it. The glass and tree break and slide onto his body. He's getting bigger but also looks like he's in a lot of pain. With a swift move he grabs one of the MK units surrounding him, breaks it in half like a kid's toy and hastily puts it on his chest. The officer close to him takes a few steps back. He knows that the Rage modification software is a code crunching application and that the modified subject is usually out of control. Dr. Menos hits him with the back of his palm. Poor man's body lands several meters away.

"Coward bastard. Are you sure, sir? I'm more than sure you pathetic tool; I'm already dead!"

He turns around and puts his palms on the big black stone. The monolith looks like its slowly melting.

In it, the altered Icarus is surrounded by images representing various web worlds. They're hundreds of them. A female voice breaks the silence.

"Uploading updated user list. Five hundred thirty four thousand and seventy eight links registered. Connecting..."

The images surrounding Icarus quickly multiply and almost fill the virtual system space. The voice continues.

"Administrator access on all web pages. Uploading Tickle executable file. Program also sent to file sharing websites. Sending messages to all connected users with link and description."

Images around Icarus change fast and get hit by thin lines coming out his body. An abstract, colorful spectacle fills the whole place.

"Executable file Tickle distribution complete. We now have five plus million active, full copies. Transfer complete. Error... Error..."

The system begins reporting damages caused by a modification program called Rage. Gray turns to Electra as the thousands of screens surrounding Icarus hastily set off, moving down to the structure's root. Emergency log out procedure begins.

"I've been expecting this... Electra; man of the year for two thousand and six is the ordinary people and specifically the Internet contributors. The magazine even had a computer screen on its cover with the word YOU on it. The internet users responsible for building, maintaining and enriching the web worlds that surround us. Information, images, sounds, thoughts and opinions; people uploading content are and ever will be the biggest force on the net. Chocolate Fighters Group can, in a relatively short time, destroy every file we've uploaded. But if internet users download, copy, store and share Icarus file again and again, they'll keep it 'alive' for a long time to come. We pin our hopes to them now... "

Gray turns and looks at Icarus.

"He slowly comes together. You should get out of here, as soon as possible."

Icarus finally logs out and regains his virtual form. He looks exhausted.

"I owe you a proper farewell. Good luck!"

Gray disappears like a cloud of smoke hit by strong wind.

"Thank you..."

Electra doesn't even turn to see the mysterious artificial intelligence depart. Her eyes and mind are set on Icarus. She runs to him and helps him stand up. The web world or system they're in begins to collapse and breaks into pieces.

"We have to get out of here Icarus! Now!"

"Yep! You could call it funny... sounds like a joke to be honest! Ha! I'm dizzy..."

"Put yourself together mister! What are you talking about?"

"The system we're in will soon be history. There is no way it'll allow me to log-in again. We can't move to another web world. There is no exit... unless..."

"Unless what?"

"That's what sounded like a joke... at least a while ago. We can only go back... Back to the top of the CFG headquarters. Where we won't be able to log out you know... We're done."

"All I know is that we can't stay here. You also promised me you'll take care... I mean... What else can we do?"

"Back it is..."

Electra and Icarus suddenly appear at the CFG terrace. Right before being spotted Icarus opens fire. An MK unit gets hit by his bullets but everyone realizes they're back. He scans the area for Dr. Menos but definitely doesn't like what he sees. His nemesis is disfigured and nearly three times bigger than before. He is massive. It's a bizarre spectacle; Icarus can see tree branches coming out of his back and shoulders while mechanical, broken parts are all over his body.

"Oh my..."

Phoenix shows up.

"Glad to have you guys back. I'm afraid I only got bad news for you."

Icarus tries to affect time, but his failed attempt only confirms his fears. The web world time is already synchronized to external multiple clocks. Dr. Menos, a deformed giant runs towards them with vigorous strides. Icarus squeezes both his hands until two dry metallic clanks are heard. Dr Menos sweeps away an MK unit as he runs. It beaks into pieces and the metallic fragments immediately stick onto the man's body; they too become a part of his repulsive form. Icarus also changes. His shoulders spread out and the muscles in his arms pump up abruptly. His legs, arms and torso quickly lengthen and strengthen. He is now black and looks pretty forceful but he's still half the size of his raging enemy.

Electra looks dazed and scared; she takes a few steps back. She turns and looks at Phoenix right above their heads. Dr. Menos comes closer; he grabs an apple and a cypress tree with his strong hands. He breaks the apple tree and its pot on his back and hastily absorbs it, and throws the cypress tree straight to Icarus. Icarus moves fast; he forms the gun with his fingers and fires two explosive shots. One of them hits the flying tree and destroys it before reaching him and the other hits Dr. Menos at his shoulder. A large piece of his disfigured body breaks and he grunts of pain but keeps running at the same pace.

Electra stands still, looking abashed. She tries to figure out a way she could help but she fails to come with an idea. She worries a lot. Icarus bends his knees and coils his mechanical body while Dr. Menos performs a running leap towards him with his fists ready to strike. Right before getting hit by his enemy, Icarus tries a vertical spring jump with his fist rolled up. It's a massive blow; several bits and pieces from Dr. Menos belly and chest break and get cut off and his attack is stopped. After recovering from the hit he casts a furious look at his opponent, and a revolting smile is painted on his face. He grabs Icarus with a swift move and throws him several meters away. Icarus lands on the side of a pot that hosts a big plane tree, breaks the thick glass and feels the warm soil on his virtual body. Electra is hopeless; she turns and looks at Phoenix once again.

"Do something!"

"What can...? I..."

Dr. Menos closes in again and throws his enemy away with ease. Icarus is badly hurt; he can feel the piercing pain in his real body far away from the CFG terrace. He lifts his hand, forms the virtual gun and fires an exploding shot that hits Dr. Menos leg.

"Son of a bitch!"

He is hurt but doesn't waste a second. He grabs an MK unit that stands close to him, breaks it and sticks it on his dilapidated leg. Electra realizes this will definitely end up badly. She fears for Icarus life; his powers are failing him, he's hurt and he is facing an almost indestructible enemy. She stands alone and desperate; she feels weak and guilty. She continually repeats Icarus name and begins to nervously rub her arms. The sky above CFG headquarters gets dark as heavy dark clouds suddenly appear. Dr. Menos approaches Icarus who can barely stand on his feet and grabs him with his deformed hands.

"Little punk... I don't know what you've done and to be honest; I don't care anymore. All this will probably cost me my life, but you know? I don't give a damn. You know what makes me happy now? I know that you'll leave your last breath alone and helpless connected to a god damn machine!"

Small pieces from the disfigured body of Dr. Menos swiftly travel through his hands and stick to Icarus robotic avatar.

"You've been a worthy opponent; no doubt about it, but your little adventure ends here. No blue skies on Mars for you..."

Electra can't stand this anymore; she breaks out.

"Icarus!!! Nooo!"

She trembles, falls on her knees and breaks in tears. A heavy rain falls from the sky and strong, furious wind blows from every direction. A pink glow surrounds her and quickly forms a luminous, growing sphere. Hundreds of dark shadows revolve around Electra and within the sphere's ever growing limits. The glowing ball destroys everything it touches, instantly. Dr. Menos appears to be too absorbed in enjoying his enemy's slow death. He doesn't feel the rain, the wind and the devastating force that slowly closes in. An officer's voice reaches his ears.

"Dr. Menos. An unidentified data destroying phenomenon is in progress. It doesn't look like a virus and we can't do something to address it. In a few seconds we will allow exits from the web world. Evacuate the Chocolate Fighters Group headquarters as soon as possible."

Icarus hears the report and sees Electra's shadows destroying the web world right above his enemy's shoulder. He exerts himself to the utmost, grabs Dr. Menos shoulders and hits his head with his metallic forehead. He then puts his fingers together and shoots a burst of bullets at his enemy's belly. Dr. Menos throws him a few meters away. He's got to act fast.

"Phoenix! New object, cube. Size; four meters. You know the object's position... That's what you get when you're making money out of people's pain, doctor..."

A gray cube surrounds Dr.Menos as Electra's shadow sphere closes in. The deformed man realizes he's trapped and furiously hits the cube's sides. Icarus wants to be sure.

"Phoenix; clone selected object. Number of clones; one hundred."

Dr. Menos breaks the cube but finds out he's surrounded by a new one. In a few seconds both Dr. Menos and his prison are devoured by Electra's shadows. Icarus takes a few steps back and looks at Electra in agony. He tries to think of a way to help her but his thoughts are interrupted by a man's voice.

"We've succeeded Icarus. Your file is all over the net. It's been downloaded, stored and send more than twelve million times now. I think it's time for you to get the hell out of there."

"I didn't come here just to distribute Tickle, Gray; said it yourself, I came for Electra too. I'm not leaving this place without her."

"In a few minutes the entire CFG web world will be history... What are you waiting for?"

"I'm waiting for a miracle."

The sphere approaches him; soon he'll also get hit by its devastating force. Suddenly a baby's strong laugh fills the air; although he's too weak to even stand on his feet, a smile appears on his face.

"Project Tickle..."

The CFG terrace changes in a few seconds. The sky turns blue again, the glass dome disappears and a vivid rainbow unfolds over their heads. The floor is covered with long green grass and thousands of daisies grow in hurry and dance in the gentle breeze. A few dozen bees appear and immediately get to work. Some suck nectar from flowers with satisfaction, while others carry small wooden buckets filled with nature's juices. Their buzzing is much different than normal, it sounds melodic and somehow funny.

Electra understands the change around her and stops her mourning to see what happens. The sphere around her becomes blurry and a courageous bee flies inside. It stands in front of her face and looks at her eyes with a curious funny face. Icarus doesn't lose time; he jumps into the fading sphere and puts his arms around Electra. She looks surprised and tired and tries to control her uneven breathing.

"Making a total mess when you're upset or worried. I have to be extremely careful with you, Electra..."

"Yep..."

A big smile appears on her face. She looks tired.

"Is this over? We did it? Can I do the happy dance?"

"Looks like it... Actually all I can think now is that I'm grateful we're both fine. We did our best and to be honest I don't care about the results. Tickle is definitely not the cure; being happy isn't easy. You got to fill your world with the things you love and bring you joy. And I'm talking about the real world... Meeting you is the highlight of this adventure for me and..." Stops abruptly and thinks for an instant.

"Wait! Let's do this the right way. Phoenix! Disconnect!"

"Phoenix?"

THE END
