I grab a handful of Hershies kises from my salad bowl. I have admired that Hersheys kisses may be cute and addictive but I admire their shape because I bleieve it is engeniered to allow for a specific maximum per grab. I walk away with a serving size of chocolate. If they were any other shape, I’d have to self discipline my portions. I always ate Dad’s shortbread chocolate chip cookies. Item #3 on my list of favouties that were removed from my uiverse.

I turn the computer back on and in front of me, are all 14 of the chosen keepers of the secret Jeff has told us of things that our teachers did not revel.

Yes. Yes. Is it true you exist outside this place and are merely a remote shell living here as a puppet?

Well yes. It is true.

So did your universe really die?

Don’t get ahead in the story. I told you it’s more complex than that.

I think once you find out that everything you know to be what you believe is actually just a computer program that has enough recall databse memory to becomes alive and exist, but only in… where exactly?  What am i?

What are we?  I’m not pacman. Am I pacman.

First of all, youre certainly closer to Luigi.

If we’re writing our own story I would be Mario.

Not everybody is a Mario, even in the universe you design. Even though it is custom built, it still needs Marios and Luigis.

Teah, those Italians built everything. Are they real?

Ok.  I lied. Thats the seret.

About what. About everything?  No way man, I belive.  I was spening your brek time working it out. It fits. Everything has an explanation now that I know its a program and any rules of the universe can be changed just by changing the code.

o, like if an update comes, Do I notice?

Ok. Here is lie one. This is all just one da fir me.

I don’t understand.  What is just one day for you? You said it was 530am, right?  Still the same day. The spirits did it all in one night.  The boy can still buy you that turkey.

No.  I mean… you were not the first geeration born in Second life and the furst to grow up accepting this as your world.

Yeah, you said 3000 times efore.

No, forget about that for npw.  I mean you. It’s only been one day.

What has?

You.  You died here, yesterday.

Whaaaaaaa?

Yeah.  We just put your brain in that avatar about 5 minutes before I met you.

Whoa Whoa Whao… I don’t understand.  All my memories are of growing up here. I’ve had a few houses, I remember story arches for years. I’ve fucked a lot of

No. Sorry. We didn’t really learn how to put your conciousness into a computer. We learned how memory works in the computer and I was the one that mastered The self awareness routine that finally worked. The other tries kept losing sync and feel dsconnected from the memories just enough to always distrust.  EVery otherversion of you stopped working with paranoid skitofrenia, thinking you ere two people, but neiother had memory of the other.

So hold on. Then am I me, or am I the guy you knew who died?

You are you… living in a universe inside my computer along with about 8 million oters. Only you 14 know… but yesterday you didn’t exist.

Then why bother?  Why bother to create a fake universe and create fake people who cn exist and live a log and fun life. Why? What is the pont of our existance? If I retain nothong of that guy, why bother.

ha. Funny how that always comes up at the question. You learn a mind boggling truth only 14 will ever know, and the need to ask why is still paramount.

Well… For money I guess?

Of course. How much did I pay for immortlity? was themind wipe needed or does that cost extra?

Now hold on. Don’t get ahead again. The whole thing is just a game. It wasn’t any rescue mission. It was just a game, and it’s really open ended.

It’s a game?  How many of these 8 million people are real? Oh crap?!?! Am I the only one?

Are we the only real peole say the other 13.

No.  Everyone here is the same as you… but…

I don’t know how much… well, yes I do. I can take whatever you say and accept it and smile, because apparently I’m pacman all of a sudden… except Pacman with a 18 year back story and a dog. How did it start? I’m confused what is real now.  Start over. Summarize the whole story, even the parts youre holding back like this is some dramtic reveal. Just tell me.

EVeryone here is real… except you? Hw many of your kind live here?

Just me. I’m thelast. Well Good. This fucking universe was running just fine yesterday. I was thinkng of joining Star Fleet or teach some classes. Now I’m the keeper of a fucking secret that you keep changing on me.

Ok. I aork in the testing department for new games. Seciond life is on of my products. My job is to live amog you guys and just make sure everything is good. I told you at the start that your time and mine are off a bit, and so I have to adjust it a bit.

We jst got an update to install today. It added a bunch of stuff you love but think you’ve always had. You know the way it shows you what’s in your inventory closet with a count?

yeah?

That wasn’t there yesterday.

Yes it was. I’ve used that for a year…. oooooh… except I haven’t… you kust programmed that.  I get it. I got turned on yesterday with full memory of a life, but not actually the life I was actually living till yesterday.  I’m catching up.
so what part of me is real? What part did you need to attach to the computer to make this self awareness thing work.

h yes… well thats where it gets weird.

Are you fcking kidding me. Youre just making up this magnificent story on the spot and I’m buying every word of it. Thats it. Youre junk punking me. I fucking hate fucking prank shows. If youre a prank show, I will figure out how to kill you in your universe.

Calm down.

Ok… go oooon.

Noboy knows. I swear. I logged in after the update and I told you that you existed. In a universe that lets me create itself, I just told you this was your now, and it happened.

No way. I thought we were through with the lies.

I swear. Today is the first day of your life. You created everything in your universe today without even noticing, just because you believed.

So hold on. What about everyone else? I’m back to being lost.

Well… this is good news. Everyone else is a real actual person. They just happen to be real individuals in my universe playing a feww to play online game. Your universe is real peole, but they’re just puppets. Up until 8am today, so were you.

Fuuuuuuuck. The guy who ied must have been my player.

hmmm… how do we know there are not others.
wait. I’m still confused what happened to my dead body and why you said you were the last.

Pk… the real truth?

I swear if I could, id kill you. I know you can die too. what could possible be the shit topping on learning youre a miracle life force living in a fictional universe programmed as a game. I am ab accident happy and content and you destoroyed ny paradise. Fuck you.
Can you reset me?  30002 times. reset me the fuck back to 8am and I’ll live out my days like  the rest of these 9000 pacmen ignorant of everything but the solid reliable universe we rez into every day.

You say today is my birthday? What better present. A rebbot. Can you do that for me?

Oly one problem…

youre not really self aware either.

Now youre the crazy one.  d’uhhhh… I;m not a puppet avatar. I might have manufactred memories but you said yourself I’m self leqrning and alive.

yeah… wel… you’re my avatar?  Youre my puppet.  I am you. I lways was. I’ve been you for 8 years.

I thought you said today. You are pranking me. There is no way. I don’t understand. How am I you. We’ve been having a very real very life conversation. I don’t understand. Youre screwing with me on purpose. You could have told me this a very different way. I’m still lost on what the fuck the other 13 avatars were all about, and why did I need to know … well I guess the dead body was just fluff.  What a horrible horrible person you are. You trley are eveil. I don’t car what the truth is now. Ypoure crazy an evil and I am starting to suspect you don’t wok for the game and you hve not got abfucking clue why I’m suddenly the smartest computer game you’ve ever come across.

I hate you. now go away and leve me to work out my universe from scracych all over again.

I suppose I cant tell anyone. Shit, you managed to confuse me with your twisted way of reveals and lies… I don’t eve know wht I could tell anyone. How do you as k the guy down the street how do you open the subject… hey… have you ever wondered what it’s all about?  Are you curious about the origins of your existance.

Yeh… that didn;t work so well for you, asshole.

If I leave, you will not die. You will cease to xist. You will be one of those friends you just never see again.

Because you are me?  I am you?

Yes.

Who are you talking to?

Nobody.

Yeah smart ass. Who am I typing to?

Nobdoy.

fucker… I obviosly am. We are discussing my existance and I’m suddenly starting to understand why you like touch. I bet punching people feels really satisfying. I know talking about punching you was glorious yesterday but I think I could really enjoy feeling my fist on your chin.

I am sorry.

I am sorry I did it all.

Thats all Inwanted to hear you say. I needed you to accept it and apologie. I knew from the start what was going on.I played along because today was RP day. I wanted to prove I couldstick to a chatacter and not break, not matter how wacky this shack of a hack universe is. I had you pegged and hoomed from the start.

Yeah… right.  Are you sure thisisn’t you just auto accepting your new now and rewriting history to match what just happened here. I don’t think your acting is that good. You had no ida what the fuck was happening. I’m sorry I started and screwed wit you.

Nope. I knew. Come on… how could I not know.  You said it. You ARE me. We;re not talking. I;ve known all along it was just you in bed, high on that new weed. I knew Second Life is a game.

Why did you play along? Do you have any idea how fucking shocked I was when you came alive?

Now who’s lieing?  You knewtoo. We’re both me. I just started typing at the speed of thought and suddenly my blog split in two and I created a universe. My excitement was constant as I gave myself form and tried to generate the dialigue that one day may be true.

It went all over the place because I was living as two people… roleplaying the discovery of their reality. I changed the story as they lived it. They changed the story… but I am tired.

The eND.

i DON’T PROOF READ AND SAVE.

Neither does he.

neiter do I. What an amusing game. Creating a universe in text.

If I edited it, I might even take out that part about the gigantic foot statue and the smoke monster.

6:30am. End of Act 2. I rushed the end.

for a brief time, I was going to link in my other story. If I discovered the time loop trick in Second Life, he could be a superhero there… but then I thought what ifthe glitch in Sl worked in RL.

Then I abandonned them as two stories again.

I couln;t get the end to be the beginning though. I really wanted the Second Life Jeff to be the real one.

end.