The day when it became all too real...

Discussion in 'Writers' Corner' started by ShelLuser, Nov 27, 2015.

  1. To whoever is reading this... If you find this paper and no one is around then know that my fears have most likely became true. Be alert: you're probably not safe. I assume you found this paper in the neighborhood war room, which used to be my work / study room. You can probably find some supplies in my fridge, go back the way you came in, turn right and you should see it. Feel free to take any supplies you need but I do want to implore you to share with others as well. This isn't the time to be selfish, this is the time to try and survive. If I'm right you guys will need all the help you can get. So be there for each other!

    Also: this is very important: do NOT throw away any bones or old fish you may have, you will need them to attract any cats and dogs which may be in the area. Just take my word for it: you NEED them. They're no longer nice pets to have around, they may very well be the key to our survival...

    No matter what the government tries to make you believe we're not at war, but we are in grave danger. For what's it worth it is my personal believe that Gaia herself has finally had enough of seeing mankind take whatever they wanted without ever showing one small bit of gratitude in return. Even when it came to try and preserve her domain with alternative fuel sources we still had to try and make a profit out of things for ourselves. We wanted more, more, more right up to a point where I believe she has finally seen enough and decided to turn things around. Now Earth has really become her playground. It's a bit ironic if you think about it.

    Sorry for the long read, force of habbit. At the time of writing we're preparing for the first night after the meteor impacted Earth and everything around us stopped working. And sometimes I just like to sit down and write, even though I have to admit that actually writing instead of typing this on my computer takes quite a bit of effort. At least it helps to get my mind of those things to come. I really fear for the worst and I just hope my parents are safe....

    I'll try to explain what happened and I can only pray that my writing will be found and can help you survive in this brave new world. Because don't fool yourself: that is exactly what this is. Forget everything you have learned and know about physics, Scotty would turn around in his grave (as would Einstein I assume) but now you can really change the laws of physics.

    My story begins last week.... News reports came in that NASA had discovered a meteor which was on a collision course with the Earth. The object was said to have a diameter of approximately 5 meters and even though they weren't too sure about the kinetic energy this would bring (= energy which it got from getting sped up by getting pulled in by gravity) they measured some weird radiations coming from the meteor. Signals which NASA couldn't explain. Rumor has it that scientists who were present when the first data reports came in shouted out that: "This thing is totally off the scale!".

    The governments assured us that nothing was wrong and that the situation was well under control, but I knew something was up. I mean... Under the guidance of the Russian president Poetin all the leaders of the Middle Eastern countries had agreed to invest a total sum of 20 biljard dollars into NASA so that they had all the means required to build a probe which could do more precise measurements. Iran, not exactly friends of the United States I'd say, was rumored to have spend an easy 750million on this! But lets keep the politics out of my story. Those don't matter anymore now anyway...

    It's amazing what money and manpower can do, because for sure: in only 2 days time a new probe was ready and launched. I still remember that weird Wednesday when the live broadcast would show the first images of the meteor all throughout the world. I think I still have a picture somewhere. At first I thought I went crazy and kept a bit to myself, but when I logged back onto one of my favorite forums (Empire Minecraft, as you can see fate comes with a bit of irony) I soon noticed that several of my internet friends confirmed my suspicions. Part of that meteorite looked almost identical to the command block which we had in our game of Minecraft.

    Of course most of my friends were told by their parents that they were imagining things and that it was about time for them to grow up and stop playing games. Which is another tip I'd like to give you: don't be too hasty with jumping to conclusions. In this new world things sometimes really are as simply as they look. If you're with others and there are a few kids with you then you'd be wise to include them in your plans and ask them for an opinion as well. I still wonder if NASA knew. Why else was that meteor named MC1987-X?

    Anyway, I did my share of warning too of course. Even went up to city hall to discuss some theories I had. Of course only with a local party which didn't exactly have a big say in things, but sometimes even the smaller things can help. And it really helps if you're 45 years old, and can motivate your opinion and your believes.

    Back then I was considered to be someone who "had a wild imagination and based himself too much on rumors and hearsay" and now while writing this I'm considered by all my neighbors as their savior and have also been elected as leader of the neighborhood. Quite the turn around indeed, wouldn't you say?

    Anyway... It was only last night when the meteor impacted Earth and at first nothing seemed wrong. It hit land: it crashed right between the front legs of the sphinx in Egypt creating what scientists immediately referred to as the "pixelized crater". When I saw the first images which clearly showed the command block at the bottom of the crater, all surrounded by reddish pulsating colors then I knew something bad was up.

    It wasn't long after that when all sophisticated machines suddenly stopped working. Computers, televisions, phones, even my electronic keyboard (I'm actually a bit sad about that)... Everything just stopped. Dozens of helicopters have crashed from the skies and... I know I shouldn't make comments like these and show respect for the dead but I believe I was right all along: most of the pilots who flew big commercial airliners really couldn't fly for shit without their computers. I am sad but also appalled with hearing the rumors come in that only a handful of pilots managed to actually land their planes, most only crashed :(

    I didn't exactly witness all that for myself of course. After seeing the first reports about the meteor hit I once again logged onto EMC to discuss some things, drank a few beers and eventually went to bed.

    When I woke up this morning I first noticed that my alarm clock had stopped working. Considering that it's already quite a few years old I thought nothing of it and got dressed and made some tea and coffee, like I always do. I started noticing something odd when I opened up my fridge to get some stuff for breakfast. All the stuff I had to put on my sandwiches was more or less gone. I had only bought a pot of jam yesterday but now it was only an empty jar. Same for my peanut butter, honey, choco paste... I did have some slices of cheese left, some meat (Filet Americain) and even the butter seemed normal.

    I started making a sandwich and everything seemed fine, yet the very moment I tried to slice it in two it just disappeared in a puff of smoke! A sight I immediately recognized from my beloved game of Minecraft.

    So then I just grabbed a slice of bread, put it into my mouth and for sure: munch, munch, munch, munch... Buuuurp.

    And that's when the doorbell rang.....

    End of Part I, part II coming very soon.
  2. *like* *like* *like* *like* *like* *like* *like*
  3. I answered the doorbell and I found my neighbor outside wondering if my phone had also gone dead. I invited him in and immediately tried to call my parents but as predicted; it didn't work. I walked over to my desk and turned on my monitor (I never turn my computer off) and for sure: nothing. Something odd was going on here. At this time I had my suspicions, sure, but that's all it was. I told my neighbor that it wasn't him alone who was having issues. He thanked me and told me he was going to check if his car still worked.

    After he left I started thinking about my options. The only people I was worried about were my parents, but since they lived approximately 40km away from here there was little I could do right now. I went over other stuff in my house and quickly noticed that all my lamps worked as normal. On, off, no problem. Everything else.. Nothing.

    To be perfectly honest, easily shared after the facts, at this point I also briefly questioned my sanity for a bit. I mean... For all we knew some kind of EMP bomb (EMP: Electro Magnetic Pulse; renders all computerized equipment useless) could have gone off which caused this massive blackout. I mean... Come on Peter... Minecraft being made real? How much beers did I had last night anyway. Yeah, plenty to be honest, especially after I ended up on an EMC mining event and met up with several of my friends. Surely I simply stuffed myself with bread and suffered a bit from anxiety.

    That got me thinking a bit and well.. I had to be sure. I went outside, walked around the building and went to the big tree which had been standing behind the apartment building for years now. What is the first thing you should normally do when you start your game of Minecraft? Well, here goes.. Either I'll finally get the proof I needed or I am about to make the perfect fool of myself. I could almost feel some of my neighbors watching and wondering what I did. I took a deep breath and started hitting the tree and I'm sure it must have looked pretty ridiculous. Peter in a boxing match with a tree, who will win? ;-)

    After I shared some hefty punches (of course I started softly and when I didn't really feel any pain I started hitting it harder and harder) and just when I was about to give up my breath stocked. I saw black, square, spots appear. Could it be? Anxiety and adrenaline kicked in and now I really started punching and the more I punched the more square spots appeared. Until finally... "bop", and all of a sudden a square piece of wood fell down onto the ground. A -square- piece of wood coming from a normal -round- tree mind you, but at that moment this detail totally eluded me and I thought nothing of it. I just stared at the block of wood for a moment. wondering if I was going insane or if this was a dream. Considering the lack of pain I felt and my beer consumption last night I think that I should really keep the dream option in mind here. Even so...

    "What... what are you doing, what kind of trickery is this?!", a voice said behind me. When I looked back I saw one of the neighbors looking at me with a bewildered expressing on his face. "Don't worry, it's perfectly fine", I answered him while he walked towards me. "Fine? What do you mean fine? Why the hell is that tree still in the air? What's happening here?!". Uh oh... Maybe I should have tried to remove some dirt instead. When looking back I can see what he means: I created a gap right in the middle of the tree stem and it looks as if the whole tree is floating in the air. In order to try and prevent causing a total riot here I quickly pick up the wooden block and I place it right back in the hole. It immediately transforms back into a round tree chunk and immediately there's nothing special to see anymore. "Don't worry, it'll be fine", I tell my neighbor. "What... what is going on here?", he asks. "I'm not sure yet but I think something massive has changed when that meteorite hit Earth last night", I say.

    This is crazy, but... I need to be absolutely sure. I drop down on my knees and start hitting the grass we're on and as expected: black specks appear and it doesn't take long before a 'grass breaking' sound is heard and a square hole becomes visible. Next to the hole is a square piece of dark sand floating above the ground, obviously a dirt block. "Amazing", I gasp. I'm trying to grab the piece of dirt but before I can do anything it floats towards me and after a small pop is heard it disappears. "I... I don't know what trick you're doing here but that's vandalism. I'm going to call the cops", my neighbor says while walking back towards the main entrance. "Good luck with that", I think while wondering where the dirt block went. If I'm right then... I try going over my pockets but.. empty. Only my... oh no!

    My pockets are empty! I was so preoccupied that I totally forgot to take my house keys with me and now I'm locked out. Normally the first thing I do after getting dressed is to put my keys in my pocket so that I can always leave the house while being absolutely sure that I have my keys with me. Still... Locks have never existed in Minecraft, so if I'm right here.. I walk back up the stairs and towards my front door and I try to open it. A clicking sound is heard and for sure: the door easily opens. Even without my keys and without any handle.

    This is intense.

    End of Part IIa - message too long.
  4. Part IIb

    But even so... As much as I hate to admit it I still can't help think that I'm either still dreaming or slowly going completely crazy. I mean: I've seen this on the television several times; both in movies but also in medical programs. Where patients showed pretty weird behavior while doctors and medical experts were convinced that in the patients mind everything was normal. So could it be that instead of getting a block of wood I actually bust open my hands and managed to scare of my neighbor with my erratic behavior? I walk over to the kitchen, open up the hot water and while steam comes from it I hold my breath and stick my hand under it. Only to cry out in pain, quickly followed by a very creepy sensation: spasms. Every second or so my arms and legs flex, it even caused me to crash to the ground. Totally unable to control it I simply lie on the kitchen floor while my arms and legs flex every second, at one time even hitting my cupboards. Fortunately for me this didn't last long but it scared me immensely.

    I slowly get up, gasp for breath and turn off the sink. After which I feel another strong anxiety: hunger. Again? I've only eaten one hour ago! I grab a slice of bread, this time I don't take any effort to get butter or cheese or whatever and simply stick it in my mouth. For sure: munch, munch, munch, munch... buuuuurp. And immediately I start to feel a little better again....

    Well, I'm obviously not dreaming. I think I can safely rule out that bit. But... I don't know anymore to be honest, I can't help think that the only logical explanation here is that I'm going crazy. What else could it be? This is a very stressful moment for me and whenever I experience this much stress and anxiety I try to seek some kind of counseling. But not from other people... I'm not religious but I still like to think that there's something out there, something we cannot control and which has their own rules to play with. I grab my tarot deck which I keep in the drawer of my desk, take the cards out of the box and slowly start to shuffle them a bit. This process actually helps me relax, it soothes me a little and helps me to focus a bit better on what exactly is going on. While thinking about the whole thing and taking everything into consideration then... I don't think that I'm going crazy. It's not me who's going crazy, its the world. Even though that sounds kind of arrogant I guess. I take out a single card and I gasp. The card which I'm holding right now is none other than The World. Could this be? I grab another card, and this time I'm holding Judgement.

    At this point I'm not sure anymore if I'm not going completely crazy, if I'm actually getting some kind of sign or if I'm simply too stupid to actually shuffle the cards right, also considering that those two cards follow up on each other in the deck.

    My doorbell rings again and I quickly put my cards away before answering the door.

    Several of my neighbors stand outside: "Is it true, do you know what's going on here?", they ask. They explain that some of them considered going to city hall to try and find out about all this when my other neighbor told them about the things I did. They went outside and all of them saw the square hole in the ground, which convinced them that they should consult me first.

    That's it, I'm not going crazy here. Ok Peter, get a grip on yourself; now is the time to actually use everything you know about Minecraft.

    "Guys", I begin: "it's true. I think I know what's going on and I'm sure that you're not going to like this", I tell them. "When I woke up this morning...", and I tell them about my discoveries, about my extensive knowledge about Minecraft and how my overseas friends on the EMC forums confirmed most of my suspicions.

    "Are you saying we're inside a game now?", a neighbor asks. I shake my head: "I think that this meteor has changed the whole essence of Earth and nature itself. We're not inside a game, we are the game". Some mumbleing is heard when suddenly the neighbor I met earlier speaks up: "You're not actually listening to this fruitcake are you?", he says: "he's obviously totally lost it. I say we go to city hall and find out the truth about this once and for all!".

    As soon as he finished a loud metallic banging and crunching noise sounded. So loud and intense I quickly covered my ears before it became too deafening. A few seconds later a loud bang followed and... What the... The metal fence which prevents people from falling off the gallery used to have a round edge on top of it. But right now that round edge has turned... squared?

    "Still convinced that this is simply an electrical malfunction?", I ask.

    End of Part II, part III follows shortly.
  5. This is good! Interesting that it switched from past to present tense :p
    Equinox_Boss and ShelLuser like this.
  6. At first I thought you were insanely drunk, until I realized this was a story.
  7. Ah this is awesome.
    Equinox_Boss, Gawadrolt and ShelLuser like this.
  8. Small inconsistencies can happen, yeah. I'm usually doing the fixing & cleaning up after I posted it, it makes it easier for me to take a break (I hardly do that while writing) and then look at it again afterwards. A good example would be the sandwich (mentioned previously) vs. the slices of bread (current).

    The problem with this particular story is that I'm combining a bit of reality with a huge bit of (Minecraft) fantasy while being very careful not to overdo either part. And it feels a bit awkward to write about the real stuff which automatically puts me a bit at risk of getting sidetracked a bit :)
    Equinox_Boss and 607 like this.
  9. While my neighbors look in astonishment to the fence one of them starts: "So... what do you suggest we do then?". I step outside to address them better: "Well, the first things you should do when you start a game of Minecraft is to get shelter and a food source. Since we all got a house we should concentrate on food. At the rate we're eating I think we'll run out way too quickly". Of course before we can even get to that I need to do something way different; first I'll need to discover how and if we can actually do any crafting to make some useful tools. I'm not sure but something tells me that my toolbox won't suffice for all this. First things first though, so far I haven't been able to retrieve that dirt block I picked up earlier. I'm convinced that it must be in my inventory somewhere, which is also where I should be able to do some basic crafting, but no matter what I try I can't reach it.

    "Auntie, you here? I'm bored, can we go out for a walk now?", a young boy says while walking up to us and he's obviously a little surprised: "Oh, sorry Henkie, something important came up. You go back to the house and I'll be there shortly", one of my neighbors answers. While they talk I notice that Henk is playing with something reddish, and it almost looks like... "Say Henk, what do you got there in your hand?", I ask him. He looks up and the red thing immediately disappears. "Nuthing", he answers. Could that have been redstone dust? "Say, do you know about Minecraft?", I ask him. "Yah, duh. Who doesn't?", he answers now visibly surprised at my question: "I'm the best builder at school!", he says. "Well, I think you found some redstone somewhere. Could I please see it, it's really important", I ask him. "Well, uhm..", he starts. "You're not in any trouble if you broke something", I tell him: "This is really really important". He grins and sticks out his empty hand to me, and within a second he's suddenly holding a red object which I immediately recognize as a piece of redstone dust. I try to take it but for some reason that doesn't work. Henk grins and throws the dust towards me. Once again a popping sound is heard when the object flies towards me and disappears. "You need to give it back", Henk tells me. "Will be my pleasure, as soon as I find out how to open my inventory", I answer him. "Man, u don't even know that? pfff, u old peeps...", he says: "but this is so cool, I actually mined a bit earlier you know", he tells me. "Found anything good?", I ask. "Naah, just wood and some stone.", he answers: "Uhm, Auntie. I think ya need to buy a new table", he says to my neighbor which gives me a pretty good idea what he has been up to.

    "Wait, so you know about all this too?", one of my neighbors asks Henk. "Well, duh! Minecraft is only one of the most popular games around, you know", Henk says. I tell Henk to stay with us for now and also explain to him in a few words how I think that Minecraft has actually become real. Then I address the neighbors again: "Our first priority right now is food. We need a proper food source since we cannot rely on the grocery stores any longer". They nod. "I suggest we confiscate the grass field next to the building. We remove the grass and all the plants, then Henk here can help us hoe it down. Then we'll plant every vegetable we got. Carrots, potatoes, seeds, everything", I tell them. "Planting potatoes? Do you have any idea how long those take to grow? We'll be several weeks ahead then", one of my neighbors complains. "Duh, you don't know anything huh? We can grow it in 3 days man", Henk says: "As long as no one steals or griefs it". When the neighbors look surprised at Henk, obviously unaware of what he's talking about, he continues: "You know, creepers right?". My neighbors just look at him, obviously oblivious of anything happening in the game. "Boy, you guys.. they're just the meanest mob around. They sneak up on you and you can't hear them. Then you hear sssss and BOOOM", Henk even uses his hands to show an explosion happening. And around that point he suddenly also starts to realize what I've been worried about ever since I discovered what mess we're in. "uhhh, I think I got homework to do auntie...", Henk says. Poor guy, I feel sorry for him. He should be worried about homework and getting angry at being blown up by creepers in the game. Not having to worry about risking his life for real.

    "Henk, relax. It'll be ok", I tell him. "Do any of you guys have pets?", I ask my neighbors: "We'll be needing them. Henk here will be in charge of the animals.". Henk looks up to me and suddenly realizes what I'm planning: "Oh of course, ocelots!", he says. I nod at him: "We're not going to let some creeper blow us up that easily", I tell him. Or at least I hope not...

    But first things first..."Henk, since you know how to open your inventory... does that mean you can also do some basic crafting?", I ask him. He nods: "think so, yah". "ok then, lets chop down a tree", I tell him. I then ask all my neighbors to check for anything which they don't need and to try and disassemble it. Tables, chairs, maybe even a wall or two. They should all try to knock some down so that we get some materials which we can then use for building something.

    "Ok, you chop the tree down and I'll look out for creepers and other nasties, ok?", I tell Henk. He nods, but obviously not too enthusiastically: "So uhm, what are you gonna do when we do spot a creeper?", he asks. "I'll improvise, don't worry about it", I say.

    Time to chop down a tree...

    End of part III, part IV to follow hopefully sooner than part III did ;)
  10. How did I miss this? huh shell? HOW!?!
  11. Sorry, it was supposed to be a secret ;) or.. no, that would be silly. Hmm, I dunno?!
  12. Write more. I'm having fun here =P
    And i wanna know how to open your inventory >.>
    Equinox_Boss and Gawadrolt like this.
  13. Like :D
    I just read it, I'M waiting for part IV now :D
    Equinox_Boss and 607 like this.
  14. I'm enjoying this!

    Find a publisher to publish this book as "Shel's guide to surviving MC1987-X"
    Equinox_Boss likes this.
  15. ... This is amazing! I'd actually love to live in that world! Really challenging to my MC instincts.
    Equinox_Boss and ShelLuser like this.
  16. Hah?!?!!! Are you crazy? Everything will be square! No circles!
    How can you live with no circles ;.;
    Equinox_Boss, Ethy202 and ShelLuser like this.
  17. What is a circle?
    Equinox_Boss likes this.
  18. This thing:
  19. too long to read, skipped it all.