From: "Joshua Falken" Subject: Quantum ReBoot - Installation (part 2) Date: Sat, 10 Oct 1998 22:19:14 -0300 Message-ID: <01bdf4b5$290b3460$LocalHost.2@smdksbcr.telnet.com.br> Quantum ReBoot -- Installation Written by Joshua Falken _________________________________________________________________ I come from outside of the Net. Through lives, peoples and cities, to this place, Mainframe. My format? I think... Leaper. To change the history for better, to put right what went wrong. ReBoot! _________________________________________________________________ Chapter 2 Mainframe Outskirts of the Principal Office Sam looked at lonely to the Mainframe's sky and he murmured for God, Fate or Time: "You already placed me in strange situations, and even bizarre situations, of the whole kind, but of this time You overcame yourself!" After he said that, Sam went back to the Principal Office trying imagine a way of entering there. "Hey, Enzo!", a voice behind him called. Sam turned himself, and he saw a female sprite of green skin, short black hair and blue eyes. She should have between 20 and 25 years. "What are you processing?", the young woman asked. "Oh boy!", Sam thought. _________________________________________________________________ Project Quantum Leap Control Room "But... but that is impossible!", Gooshie exclaimed. Ziggy, the parallel-hybrid supercomputer that controlled the project, spoke with arrogance: "This isn't impossible, since the facts prove that is possible." "Do you mean that Sam Leaped into a computer program?!", Donna Eleese-Beckett asked, shocked. "In a computer sprite.", Al corrected, while he tried to light his cigar. "Does that mean that there are people inside of the computers!?", Tina asked of this time. "I don't believe!" "Verbena is in the Waiting Room interviewing the boy, but, definitively, Sam is inside of a computer!" Ziggy interrupted again. "Admiral, Dr. Beeks has just transmitted data about the host's family. I believe be a good idea, due to the situation of this leap, inform Dr. Beckett regarding that." Al will give a nothing educated answer to Ziggy, but he thought better, and he went to the Imaging Chamber. _________________________________________________________________ Mainframe Outskirts of the Principal Office "Hi, Sis!", Sam answered. The word left his mouth naturally. "Thank you, telepathy!",he thought. "I'm fine. And you?" "Me too. I'm going to the Principal Office. Phong called me for a reunion.", she answered. Sam released the air, of relief. On this moment, the Imaging Chamber door opened up. "Hey, Sam! That is Enzo's sister!", Al informed, consulting the handlink. Her name is Dot Matrix. She seems to be a kind of workaholic entrepreneur, someone very important here, in Mainframe. In fact, the name of this system is Mainframe!" Sam (that thought "now that he tells me that she is "my" sister") asked Dot: "About what the meeting is?" "It looks that somebody or something elevated the energy level of Mainframe. We will try to discover what is making that." "Sam, ask for her to take you to the Principal Office! According to Enzo, there, in a place called Read-Only Room, they are all the information about this city, er... I mean... system." Sam asked Dot if he could go with her. "I need go to the Read-Only Room, to do a research for the school", he justified. A little surprise, she agreed. "She reminds me a girl that I knew in Las Vegas, Sam. She had...", Al began. Sam only glancing heavenward. They entered in the Principal Office. _________________________________________________________________ Project Quantum Leap Waiting Room Dr. Verbena Beeks was completely surprised. She was not speaking with a human being, like her, but with a sprite, a digital being! She didn't imagine that that was possible: an entire civilization existed inside of a simple HD! She felt more or less as the guy of the movie Tron. But even so, she calmly talked with Enzo Matrix. "Then, you mean that there are two virus in Mainframe. One called Hexidecimal, totally chaotic, and another called Megabyte, power-thirsted, and that he is always trying to conquer Mainframe and reach the Supercomputer." She imagined that the Supercomputer should be a Cray-2 or a CM-5. "Yes, but he won't get because Bob always defeats him." "Who is Bob?" "He's the Guardian of Mainframe. He defends us of the viruses and of the User". Verbena was confused. How like this "defend them of the User"? Enzo explained the that wanted to say and the Verbena's spine froze. _________________________________________________________________ Mainframe Read-Only Room Sam was seeking in the various windows of the name of Mainframe's User and the registration number of the computer. Starting from that, they could discover the that had happened in this system that Sam should mend. He had known more two sprites, that at this time were talking with Dot. "The name of Deep Blue here is Bob.", Al said, pointing for the sprite of blue skin, brown eyes and silicon-colored hair. "According to the boy, Dot and him are between the friendship and the courtship. He is a... Guardian?! His protocol is "to mend and defend." "He is a kind of sentinel.", Sam thought, observing the blue uniform and the icon. It was different: the same drawing, but instead of black and white, it was yellow and black. The another had, more or less, the half of the height of Dot and Bob. He was Phong, executive secretary of Command.Com. His icon was a Yin and Yang symbol. He reminded Sam an old and wise Chinese. Sam clicked, concentrated, in the windows. Suddenly, he smiled. He had found what sought. "And then, Sam?" After recovering of his nearly heart attack, Sam greeted Al and he said: "I discovered, Al! The user's name is Gregory Carter, and the registration code of the computer is 3487-TYU-578FG/21." "O.K. I will give those data to Ziggy." Al smiled. "You can be calm, Sam. We will discover what is your mission." And he disappeared. Sam continued in the Read-Only Room. After all, if he had to execute a mission here, he should know the city well for not doing nonsense. _________________________________________________________________ Mainframe Meeting room Phong, Dot and Bob discussed regarding the increase of the energy levels. "It is very strange, my child, but this increase of energy is not making anything. The energy is dispersed for such an extensive field, that can't do nothing bad." Bob spoke: "This energy is in a very strange excited state. This state seems with one that I heard in Supercomputer ". "Which?", Dot and Phong asked, surprised. "I don't know exactly.", Bob informed. "It seems with one called Quantum Leaping." Bob will explain more, but he was interrupted by AndrAIa, that had arrived. "Do you know where the Guardian is?", she asked. Bob knew who is the "guardian" that she was referring. "Enzo is in the Read-Only Room.", he answered. AndrAIa thanked and she went in direction to the room. Bob gave a funny glance for Dot and he asked: "Didn't he say her that him isn't a guardian yet?" Dot shrugged. _________________________________________________________________ Project Quantum Leap Control Room Al has just transmitted to Ziggy the information that Sam had given, when he saw Verbena to come in his direction. She took a breath. "Al, there is something that Sam needs to know about Mainframe." She told the that Enzo had told regarding the Games that the User executed in Mainframe. Al was of open mouth by an instant, later he was recomposed and he asked with serious air: "Are you sure,'Bena?" She confirmed. At this time, Ziggy interrupted, as of habit. But of this time, her voice had an urgency tone. "Admiral, we determined the Dr. Beckett's mission. I would advise you so that it went as soon as possible to the Imaging Chamber." _________________________________________________________________ Mainframe Read-Only Room Sam was astonished with the history of Mainframe. He had discovered about the Twin City and the Dot and Enzo's parents. On that moment, the door of the room opened up. A girl entered, dressed with if she has just left of a pool. She seemed a little with a mermaid. But Sam only would notice this later because when AndrAIa saw Sam, her eyes were stared and she was placed in attack position. "Who are you?!",the girl demanded. "Hey! It's me! Enzo, AndrAIa!", Sam said with a weak smile. "NO WAY!!! YOU AREN'T ENZO!!!" Suddenly, AndrAIa had jumped on top of him and she was ready to nail the paralyser fingernails into him. "Oh Boy!"