A Fight Club pic, my first machine faction.

A pic I made for an RP illustration.

Me as the Agent Angel during halloween.

Me kissing the Merovingian. (Rarebit)

Me and my motorcycle.

Me hanging out with the Machines.

You know every good franchise comes back eventually to be reintroduced to new generations, etc.   I mean look at the Terminator franchise.  So dont delete the database and all that, who knows it might come in handy again someday.

Yeah, Star Trek is another one that came back after many years.

ShiXinFeng wrote:

STO is still in development. Beta will probably be beginning soon, though, because rumor has it that they are expecting it to launch late this year.

There have been a lot of cool things going on through the forums, though; updates from the writers to let us know what has been going on in the ST universe in the time between Nemesis and the beginning of the game, story contests for lifetime subscriptions, community development ideas, etc.

Sounds awesome!!

Really? I had no idea. Is it being sold somewhere so I can buy it and subscribe? Or is it just being developed still? Does it have a Beta?

That's one game I've been looking forward to for about 2 years now.

mantra777 wrote:

Well that's not true either. "Gods and Generals" never seen the light of day I believe.  And guess what happened to that Pirates of the Burning Sea MMO???

True, add Star Trek online to that list.

No thanks, SOE, I'm not interested in any of your other games. Everquest sucks, and I've heard SWG does too. I can't seem to figure out how a crappy game like EQ has lasted as long as it has. What's it going on now...like 13 years?

Just when I thought things couldn't get any worse, I get this email in my box that says you're terminating my favorite game of all time. I'm severely disappointed...all the things I've worked for, my info, my items, my collectibles, emails, and all the things I love...worthless and gone.

We haven't had an event in months. Once Rarebit left that was pretty much it. I was still holding out the hope that maybe things would get better, maybe you'd hire another dev. My hope has been dissolved.

My sadness has turned to anger. But how can I expect a corporation to fund a game that is losing players...due to the company's failure to continue the funding end of it - namely a new Dev.

This is not just the death of my beloved game, oh no...it's the death of the Matrix as we know it.

Dear players, we need to exchange contact information sometime. Or get an Xfire account and look me up. I've met many good people, have seen many things, and have done it all. But now someone is pulling Wire's jack and she won't survive this time, no EJP for her this time.

All I know: I'll be taking tons of screenies from here on out. More than probably in all the four years I've played this game.

Wire will live on...and she does. As a warrior and about 9 other characters on Guild Wars. Come find me. Just look for The Wire.

Rest in peace, MXO, old friend. It's been nice knowing you.

Ra2za wrote:

Now that Rarebit has left us mottley crew.

1. What do you guys think will happen to us here at MxO?

2. Is this really the 'Final nail in the coffin?'

3. Are we ever getting this intern we worried about?

4. Is MXO Going to be Free?

5. Are we merging?

6. Are we going to log on one day to find the message! ''Sorry you wasted your time MXO is gone!'' lol

1. What will happen? What's been happening a long time: more players leaving and the servers getting even more empty than they are now.

2. No, I don't believe so yet, even though I'm beginning to wonder.

3. What intern?

4. I doubt it.

5. I hope not. If so, I'll quit for good.

6. I don't think SOE would be that drastic.

I have submitted a petition to SOE regarding this issue.

Yeah, tried that too, nothing was found. /shrug

The MXO options make absolutely no difference.

Hey Guys. Need your help with a problem. Recently reinstalled windows and consequently MXO. I've found that gunshots, footsteps and door sound effects are usually bugged and when they bug up can cause lag.

I've updated to Direct X 9 and updated my sound driver. Here's my Dxdiag readout.

------------------
System Information
------------------
Time of this report: 4/1/2009, 14:53:09
       Machine name: S
   Operating System: Windows XP Professional (5.1, Build 2600) Service Pack 3 (2600.xpsp_sp3_gdr.080814-1236)
           Language: English (Regional Setting: English)
System Manufacturer: OEM
       System Model: OEM
               BIOS: Phoenix - AwardBIOS v6.00PG
          Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo CPU     E6850  @ 3.00GHz (2 CPUs)
             Memory: 2046MB RAM
          Page File: 340MB used, 3598MB available
        Windows Dir: C:\WINDOWS
    DirectX Version: DirectX 9.0c (4.09.0000.0904)
DX Setup Parameters: Not found
     DxDiag Version: 5.03.2600.5512 32bit Unicode

------------
DxDiag Notes
------------
  DirectX Files Tab: No problems found.
      Display Tab 1: No problems found.
        Sound Tab 1: No problems found.
          Music Tab: DirectMusic test results: All tests were successful.
          Input Tab: No problems found.
        Network Tab: No problems found.

--------------------
DirectX Debug Levels
--------------------
Direct3D:    0/4 (n/a)
DirectDraw:  0/4 (retail)
DirectInput: 0/5 (n/a)
DirectMusic: 0/5 (n/a)
DirectPlay:  0/9 (retail)
DirectSound: 0/5 (retail)
DirectShow:  0/6 (retail)

-------------
Sound Devices
-------------
            Description: Realtek HD Audio output
 Default Sound Playback: Yes
 Default Voice Playback: Yes
            Hardware ID: HDAUDIO\FUNC_01&VEN_10EC&DEV_0885&SUBSYS_15BD3112&REV_1001
        Manufacturer ID: 1
             Product ID: 100
                   Type: WDM
            Driver Name: RtkHDAud.sys
         Driver Version: 5.10.0000.5605 (English)
      Driver Attributes: Final Retail
            WHQL Logo'd: Yes
          Date and Size: 4/17/2008 09:33:26, 4707328 bytes
            Other Files:
        Driver Provider: Realtek Semiconductor Corp.
         HW Accel Level: Full
              Cap Flags: 0xF5F
    Min/Max Sample Rate: 8000, 192000
Static/Strm HW Mix Bufs: 33, 32
 Static/Strm HW 3D Bufs: 33, 32
              HW Memory: 0
       Voice Management: No
 EAX(tm) 2.0 Listen/Src: Yes, Yes
   I3DL2(tm) Listen/Src: Yes, Yes
Sensaura(tm) ZoomFX(tm): No
               Registry: OK
      Sound Test Result: Not run

---------------------
Sound Capture Devices
---------------------
            Description: Realtek HD Audio Input
  Default Sound Capture: Yes
  Default Voice Capture: Yes
            Driver Name: RtkHDAud.sys
         Driver Version: 5.10.0000.5605 (English)
      Driver Attributes: Final Retail
          Date and Size: 4/17/2008 09:33:26, 4707328 bytes
              Cap Flags: 0x41
           Format Flags: 0xFFF

            Description: Realtek HD Digital input
  Default Sound Capture: No
  Default Voice Capture: No
            Driver Name: RtkHDAud.sys
         Driver Version: 5.10.0000.5605 (English)
      Driver Attributes: Final Retail
          Date and Size: 4/17/2008 09:33:26, 4707328 bytes
              Cap Flags: 0x41
           Format Flags: 0xFFF

If you need/want more info from this report, let me know. Thanks!

when an Agent

badkiity wrote:

The ironic solution here is: have some patience and by Thursday morning Update 66 will be released, turning off the level 100 "war Agents."  If your missions still then send you to Westview, and if that (being the convoluted death maze for escorted NPCs that Wesview is) bothers you, you'll have to level up using other methods until the Archived and Standard missions can be run from International.

No more Agent killing fun for high level Zionists

They're taking away the war Agents? what is the point of having the war then if it has NO effect on the Matrix?

I'll thank you as well, for all of your good work for all of these years. The Dev team has done an excellent job, and that includes you.

Good luck on all your future endeavors. You've had a profound positive influence on this community, and you will be sorely missed.

MXO is going into it's forth year, and it definitely won't be the same without you around.

When SOE chooses a successor, I'm sure they will choose someone talented to continue this game. I have confidence in their decision.

Again, thank you and good luck. May you have good fortune in all your undertakings.

~Subscriber since March 2005,

 Wire393

For Fans, this thread is now located here: http://wiresfanfics.forumup.com/for...resfanfics.html
This site is too moderated for continued posting here.

Thanks for reading!

Eh, even after all this time, I STILL Want my criticals back. I haven't touched the storyline since the "update".

Honestly, the collectibles aren't that great, but the merv boots might be worth something. But who knows.

FYI: I tried the first 11.3 crit last night, and I made it all the way though, was going to do the next part, until I realized that I needed some idiotic wire-frame pen.

So...it wasn't so bad until I realized that SOE is forcing you to fight the drop-in ambush teams that show up between phases.

F.T.L.

eval wrote:

Wait...thinking about leaving because you couldn't find the collectors that give out the new missions?

And no, that's not the reason. Thinking about leaving because SOE messed up one of the biggest features of my gameplay experience.

/sigh

Yeah, I know. I saw that. I bought a ticket. But I didn't get a wireframe pen. They pretty much force you to fight the drop-in mobs though.

Well, I don't really WANT to leave, but it seems that the more things change, the worse things get, and the more reason for me to walk out that door.

And we all know I probably wouldn't be gone permanently anyways. The last time I left was in April during the intruder storyline. I needed the money and I got bored of the storyline.

Well...if you're online when I am, feel free to /tell me and show me how/where to get these tickets. It might not be as bad as I'm thinking it is.

But still...I want my crits back!! Waaa...

Lol

Pretty much, yes.  The next tier of ticket (11.3.2 then 11.3.3) requires both the completion token from the previous mission as well as a few collected items that may actually require you to abort/repeat the previous mission several times to collect enough.  Once you have the ticket, though, you can play it as many times as you want as long as you don't finish it.  Once finished, the activation ticket is replaced by the completion token, just like with the archives.

Keep in mind that, due to the trade-up style system, if you complete 11.3.3 and want/need to re-do it, it will require completing 11.3.1 and 11.3.2 again.

Yikes. Sounds like too much work. 1 info isn't bad...that's as cheap as things get.

Who wants to do all these quests just to advance the storyline? Eh! And you need completion tokens from one to do the next...too much work.

I don't know what was wrong with criticals and then archiving the missions, and people can do THOSE to get collectibles.

I just don't think collectibles are a big enough incentive for me. Seems they just took away my final motivation to A) Keep playing and advancing the storyline; and B) to get my Merv reputation to 50, no point to doing that anymore.

So what's left? PVP/RP? Eh!

Well maybe, but why not leave normal crits in the mission panel? I liked not having to travel to DT to do missions, and just hit N and call Flood.

And we have to PAY for tickets? I hope they're not expensive like the archive tickets (i.e. Datamine). And the tickets are reuseable?

I dunno, I still think it's a bummer.

Collectibles are nice, BUT why force people (like me) to explore the city? I've been playing three years, I know this city inside and out.

Plus I don't feel like going to Bald Heights and getting owned by Neighborhood gang freaks.

Eh...I logged on today to find that SOE stole my critical missions. I don't know about you, but I don't feel like doing hundreds of impossible quests to get any "collectibles" and I surely don't want "more challenging" missions.

Missions were hard enough before, but now they stole my crits. Anyone else unhappy about this? I surely am.

Again, I ask: Why change something that's worked for YEARS? SOE has officially taken away the point to doing missions now. No more crits, no more point in bothering with missions.

I got to Club Hel and found the Merovingian. "Hello, Wire..." He said, "I have a present for you as promised." He was sitting in the balcony at the top floor of Hel. Next to him sat a vampire. He smiled at me and showed his fangs. "This is my present?" I asked. He nodded. "My name is Cain Lestat. A pleasure to meet you." The vampire said to me. I nodded and flashed a quick smile. But I was anything but happy to meet him. "With all due respect, Liege, I thought my present was something better." "Ah, but this is the best present one could give anyone, Wire." He replied, "You see, Cain is a vampire, and he's thirsty. I brought him here to meet you because I know you love vampires." I nodded. "And?" I knew there was a catch. "And...he would like to turn you." "You mean so I can become a vampire again?" He nodded. I shook my head. "No thanks, sir. I was a vampire once and it was a miserable existence." "But you fail to see the beauty of this, Wire..." The Merovingian said again. "Vampirism allows you to do things other operatives can't. You are faster, stronger...and the only consequence is the thirst." "And...she would be much more beautiful as a vampire..." I heard a female voice chime in. It was Persephone. The Merovingian's wife. She walked up and set a small plate of cake on the coffee table between the three of us. I became nervous. I knew where the Merv was going with all this. I stood up. "I'm sorry, Sir...I cannot accept your gift." "Ah, but Wire, you assume that your acceptance of this gift is voluntary. It is not. Cain has come here to turn you today and he won't be disappointed." A pause. He pointed at the cake. Persephone sat next to him. "Take a piece of cake, relax Wire...this is not such a big deal." "Ah, but it is. The thirst is miserable, and I don't want to be afflicted with it again." And I turned and left the balcony. "But you cannot refuse this gift, Wire! Cain will pursue you!" He called over the balcony. I didn't answer. I left Club Hel as fast as I could.

I was still on my knees praying when I heard commotion outside...gunfire, screaming. Then, I heard "Get away from the door!" so, I did. I backed up to the back wall, and the door got blown off it's hinges. Outside stood Commandos, and the General. "Come on, Soldier! We don't have much time." He said to me. I ran up to him, and they led me out of the Prison, as an armed escort. I saw Agents laying dead in an office down the hall. I wondered how the General killed them, until I saw an Override Orb in the office with them. We got to the exit, and near the door, a man made of wireframes was standing there. "Hello," He said, "You're the one who created Agent White?" "Well, I didn't really create him, but I did give him emotions." "Excellent. Nice to meet you. My name is Carlyne." I wondered what an Intruder could want. Surely he had something to do with Algorithm Black, the very thing that had killed Agent White?

The Machines infiltrated the perimeter at about 6am. I figured they were trying to catch us off guard. Luckily for all of us, the Agents never slept and I had guns hidden all over the construct. I awoke with a start, doing a leap off the couch in my office and grabbing the nearest guns. I then grabbed my device. I hit an alarm, an alarm that the Agents knew meant an emergency and to convene in my office. I waited for them as they ran through the door one by one.

"Here's the situation," I began, "the Machines have broken in, and the shield I put around the construct won't hold forever. I need to start transporting the rest of you into the device." "We're ready to begin." Agent Brown said, speaking for all of them. "Very well. Here goes nothing." I hit a button, and a beam shot out from my device. The Agents all turned into green code, and flew like a stream into the end of my device, which looked sorta like a TV remote control. I heard a beep which meant the programs had been transferred successfully. I turned around, running for the hardline in my office. I dialed a number I had pre-programmed to transfer me out of the construct in event of an emergency. It worked. The Machines hadn't anticipated that I had created another exit beside the one that they would come through.

Unfortunately for all of us, my hardline hack wasn't perfect and I knew there would be some risk. I felt dizzy and slightly nauseous as I came through the other end. I had the Agent Storage Device in my pocket. I opened my cell phone and hit 2, the speed dial for the Merovingian. "Sir, we have a problem." I began immediately. "What is wrong, my Wire?" He asked. "The Machines have hacked the construct. I have the Agents decompiled and stored on a special storage device. I need somewhere to hide." "I will bring you to the Chateau. The Machines cannot reach you there." "Alright. Thank you, Sir." I closed my cell phone as I approached a hardline. The world turned to code rather quickly, suddenly, as the Merovingian transferred me and my "decomped" Agents to the Chateau.

It was a full twenty four hours before I showed my face in Megacity again. I had bolted my door and all my windows shut to keep the Smiths out. I was terrified he'd find me again.

I eventually went to see the Oracle about what I had seen...as I found it profoundly disturbing. I walked into her kitchen. "Hello Wire. I know why you're here. You're going to ask about Smith." "Yes. I saw him in Debir Court. Him and a whole bunch of his...clones." She nodded slightly, while she sat at her kitchen table and smoked a cigarette. "How is he able to do that? How can an Agent clone himself?" "Smith is no longer an Agent, dear. He's become an exile as a result of a fight with Neo." "How?" I asked. "Neo fought Smith, changed his code. Smith was called for deletion by the Machines...but he is far too determined to take over this world to just give up so easily." I grimaced slightly. "Take over this world? You mean using his clones?" "Yes. Smith found out that he has that ability, now he's going to use it to take over the Matrix. Neo is going to fight Smith one final time before Smith has the chance to succeed and make the Matrix his. The outcome of that fight will determine if this world will be in Smith's hands or in Neo's." "What about me? What should I do?" She shook her head. "Honey, I'm sorry. I don't have any good news for you today. You're a good soul, you really are." I waited for her reply. She seemed to be hesitating. "Smith loves you more than anything. He won't continue on this path of his without you. He is coming to find you...and you're going to become one of him." My eyes went wide. "So...that's it?" I asked, "How can I prevent it? Is there anything I can do?" "Get out of the Matrix as soon as you can, and don't come back...for quite a while." She replied, finally putting out her cigarette. "I see the darkness spreading...I see death. And it's only a matter of time before he finds you. Get out while you still can, honey. That's all I can tell you."

Everything was normal, until one day I needed Smith's help with something; I went to track him down. I could track him via a cell phone he carried with him, and he gave me one like it. I could track him using the phone's GPS. He was at some park in Mara. He was at Debir Court...I didn't know why or what he was doing there. I walked between the apartment buildings there, through some alleyways. I got to the center of the place but stopped in my tracks when I saw something that truly terrified me. My eyes went wide as I slowly scanned the middle of the park...I saw what appeared to be like a hundred Agent Smiths fighting a man in a long jacket. I had to take a second look to realize that they were Smith clones. I ducked down and hid from a vantage point where I could see most of the fight. The man in the jacket was extremely powerful, he was able to throw and overpower the clones. They fought for a long time, until the man in the jacket flew off into the sky... flew?! But that was...impossible? I heard one of the clones call the man "Mr. Anderson". It must've been Neo. It was the first time I'd ever seen him.

The next second we were standing in an all white room. "Where are we?" I asked him, "And how did we get here?" "We've arrived at the Source." There was a white chair nearby, empty. There were TV screens all over the walls. Smith waved his hand slowly at the screens, and they began to show different scenes. I walked around and peered at them. Some showed a nuclear war, strange machines I had never seen before, people inside pods asleep. I kept walking, slowly. Other screens showed a man grabbing a phone in a phone booth and vanishing, an Agent dressed like Smith who punched through a concrete wall and kicked down a door, and another of an Agent dodging bullets. "Is that Agent dodging bullets? That's impossible." Smith was silent. I kept looking. Another showed an Agent hyper jumping, an Agent morphing, and another of strange hover craft type ships in what appeared to be sewer tunnels. "So..." I began, "The world I know isn't real." "That's correct." Smith replied. "So...what is this place?" "In a place your religion would call ‘Heaven'. Separate from the world you knew, and yet everything that happens in that world is controlled from here." Smith tapped one of the screens, and an entire group of them showed one large picture of a person in a pod. I looked closer. That person was...me. "Is that me?" I asked. He nodded. "Yes." I saw Machines surrounding my pod. "What is this?" "That...is the Real World." "My God...those machines look really scary." I felt a hand on my shoulder. "They are making sure you are ok...because the truth could kill you." My eyes went wide. He told me the story of the Matrix. The nuclear war, and how the Matrix came to be and why it was there. I agreed to stay plugged in, and Smith made it so. He taught me quickly, downloading things like Kung Fu, Hacking (Healing), and Coding directly into my brain in the real.

Afterward, Smith took me to a safehouse back in the Matrix to observe my reaction to the truth. I knew things were about to get interesting.

It all started three years ago. I was a software tech at Metacortex, and I had my office way up on the 25th floor. It was an easy job, nine to five, decent pay. My boss wasn't that bad either. It was a normal day the day it all started, I came into work at 9am and sat down at my desk. I got to work, and the next thing I knew it was almost noon. Time for lunch. I turned in my chair to organize some papers on my desk...but I didn't have to touch them and they moved. At first I didn't believe it. Was it mind over matter? I moved the papers with my mind, motioning with my hand and they landed in a neat pile nearby. I looked around my office and saw it turn to green code, and I felt sick suddenly, and lightheaded. The view turned back to normal, and I found I could influence my entire office. My office didn't originally have a window. I gave it a window view. I gave myself a better computer, a nicer desk, nicer carpeting and a new paint job on the walls. Though I thought it was cool that I could change things this way, I was also scared to death. Was I losing my mind?

I went home that night, jumped on the internet. I got into a chatroom and asked if anyone else had ever had this experience. I felt alone, and was looking for just one kindred soul. Finally, a reply. "Ms. Anderson, I am Agent Smith with the Secret Service. Things are not as they appear to be. If you are interested in learning more, email me at my Agency. I will give you my information if you wish. I would be interested in assisting you in this matter. One more thing, Ms. Anderson. You are not alone." So I emailed him with my name, location, all that jazz. The next day, he showed up at my work, scared me half to death. He had two colleagues with him. I peeked at him over a cubicle wall. Three Agents in black suits, the whole G-Man look. I felt nervous as I returned to my office, a cubicle that was separated into a different room, away from the noise. I sat down and drank my coffee, and worked on our latest computer game. I was typing on my computer when I heard a knock at the door. "Come in." I said. The door opened. Three Agents walked in slowly. "I am Agent Smith." The Agent who had knocked said. He pointed at his two colleagues. "My colleagues, Agent Brown and Agent Jones. Would you care to tell us what happened last night?" I sighed. They were a bit intimidating.

Agent Wilson looked over at his colleagues: Agents Johnson and Long. "She's running for the hardline." "We must stop her." "Erect a barrier. Immediately." "It's not working." "Then we must stop the hardline from functioning." The Agents could bend the code to their will, and they did.

I reached the hardline and put it to my ear. It was in an alleyway near a dead end. I called the hideout. "Hello?" I heard Agent Gray say. "Agent Gray, thank the Gods. Listen, I need a teleport to the hideout right away." "What's wrong?" "There are three Agents behind me. Just get me that teleport. No time to explain!" "Can't you just use the hardline to teleport yourself here?" "No...the hardline won't teleport me! Get me that teleport! Hurry!" The Agents entered the beginning of the alley and stopped where they were. All three of them watched me...then began to walk slowly towards my position. "You always said I could trust you. You always said you stuck to your word. Now's the time for you to prove that you can be trusted! That you stick to your word! Get me that tele -" The world turned to green code.

The Agents watched as Wire disappeared in a green haze. "She's escaped." "Where did she go?" "I have a trace: Morrell in the Downtown district." "Let's go." The three Agents vanished.

I reappeared inside the hideout. Agents Gray and Brown were waiting for me. "Are you damaged?" Agent Brown asked. I shook my head. "I'm alright." "We have a problem." Gray said, suddenly, "The System Agents followed you here. We have been exposed."

I work retail, and I've seen people ask for something specific, pay for it, then find some inane reason to scream about it, threaten to call the police because the store "robbed them", etc. I swear, I come on here and wonder if some of the player base is comprised of the nitpicky old ladies I have to put up with, day in and day out.

That said, haven't had a chance to check out the new toys, but I'm really excited about this and I give the devs two thumbs up for giving this to us. And what Skull said: you devs *RAWK*!

I opened my cell phone and hit 3, the speed dial for the Merovingian. “Hello, Wire.” He said. “I have an issue.” “I know about your Agent program.” “Sir, it’s spreading. I need somewhere to send these Agents, or the System will seek to destroy them.” “You are empathetic for them?” “Yes, sir. I must protect them. And I need your help.” “I have a plan, dear Wire. I have a place downtown that no one knows about. It is a tall building in Morrell, which has sixty floors. I can isolate the building from the simulation upon will.” “Excellent. May I ask if I can use it?” “Of course you can, my dear Wire. I can transport you there immediately, if you wish.” “Yes. The faster the better.” “Prepare for teleport, as soon as you hang up this phone.” “Thank you, Liege.” I hung up the phone. It wasn’t ten seconds. We all disappeared from the safehouse.

We reappeared in this government building. I had five Agents with me. “Where did you take us?” Agent Gray asked. I looked over at him. “A safehouse.” “Another one? Where?” “A place in the Downtown district of the simulation where you’ll all be safe from the System.” “Are you sure that this is safe?” Another Agent asked. I nodded. “I was assured of it by the Merovingian.” “And since when can the Merovingian be trusted?” “Since the System decided that it wanted to work against me…and wanted to destroy you.” “Why do you care about us?” Another Agent asked. “I…I don’t know.” I replied. They finally shut up long enough for me to take a look around. We were in the lobby of the building. “Go up to the 42^nd floor. I’ll be there in a little bit.” The three as-of-yet unnamed Agents boarded the elevator and disappeared behind it’s closed door.

Agents Brown and Gray were still with me. “You trust the Merovingian?” Brown asked. I nodded. “I used to work for him. I find him trustworthy…as long as you don’t get on his bad side.” I turned around and began to walk to the front door, which was sealed. In order to exit, I had to use the hardline directly next to the door. “Where are you going?” “Back to the simulation.” “We are coming with.” Gray said. “No…I want you to stay here until further notice. I can’t risk your viruses spreading further into the simulation.” “But -” “Leave the protecting up to me…please. Stay here. That’s an order.” I turned around and walked up to the phone. Brown followed. I felt a hand on my shoulder. “I can’t allow you to leave.” I turned around, taking his hand into mine. “But I must. I must…find a cure for your condition. I don’t know why it’s spreading…but it is.” “Please don’t leave.” “I must. I will be back.” “You’ll be back?” “I promise.” He nodded, seeming to find comfort in my words. “Ok.” I returned his nod and smiled at him. I let him go and picked up the phone. I put it to my ear and vanished, back into the simulation.