The Virus Read online

  The Virus

  An unofficial Minecrafter’s Adventure

  By

  Mark Cheverton

  This book is not authorized or sponsored by Microsoft Corp., Mojang AB, Notch Development AB or Scholastic Inc., or any other person or entity owning or controlling rights in the Minecraft name, trademark, or copyrights.

  Copyright © 2015 by Mark Cheverton

  Minecraft® is a registered trademark of Notch Development AB

  The Minecraft game is copyright © Mojang AB

  This book is not authorized or sponsored by Microsoft Corp., Mojang AB, Notch Development AB or Scholastic Inc., or any other person or entity owning or controlling rights in the Minecraft name, trademark or copyrights.

  All rights reserved.

  Cover by Thomas Frick.

  Books by Mark Cheverton

  The Gameknight999 Series

  Invasion of the Overworld

  Battle for the Nether

  Confronting the Dragon

  The Mystery of Herobrine Series: A Gameknight999 Adventure

  Trouble in Zombie-town

  The Jungle Temple Oracle

  Last Stand on the Ocean Shore

  Herobrine Reborn Series: A Gameknight999 Adventure

  Saving Crafter

  The Destruction of the Overworld

  Gameknight999 vs. Herobrine

  Herobrine’s Revenge Series: A Gameknight999 Adventure

  The Phantom Virus

  Overworld in Flames

  System Overload

  The Birth of Herobrine: A Gameknight999 Adventure

  The Great Zombie Invasion (Coming Soon!)

  Attack of the Shadow-Crafters (Coming Soon!)

  Herobrine’s War (Coming Soon!)

  Box Sets

  The Gameknight999 Box Set

  The Gameknight999 vs. Herobrine Box Set (Coming Soon!)

  Note from the author

  I wrote this short story for inclusion in my first box set the spanned books 1-6. I never would have thought I’d get to book 6, so this box set was quite the surprise. And even stranger, I’m currently working on my 15th Minecraft novel; this whole writing adventure has been quite the surprise.

  This story tells of how Herobrine came into the server, and what really started the war between him and the villagers. There is no game on the Gameknight999 Minecraft server associated with this short story, but I wanted to make it available to everyone, in case you didn’t get the box set.

  I’ve been thinking about how I could incorporate this story on the Gameknight999 Minecraft server and haven’t come up with anything yet, but I’m still thinking. Watch the server’s website, http://www.gameknight999.com, for more information. Maybe we’ll add something soon. The IP address for the server is mc.gameknight999.com, come online and check it out. For information about my books, go to www.markcheverton.com.

  Teachers, I have learned a lot from writing 5 failed novels, and then publishing 15 Minecraft novels. I’ve read a lot of books about plot construction, character development, use of tension and conflict,…and have broken the elements of a story down into bite-sized pieces that are easily digestible for kids. These materials have been successfully tested in workshops with kids. You can find these materials on the Teacher Resources page on www.markcheverton.com. It is my hope that you print out many copies of this story and give them to your students. After going through my materials, students might enjoy identifying the Hook or the Dark Night of the Soul or the Character Flaw. By seeing how I use these techniques in this story, I hope your students will begin to understand them better and use them in their own writing. Hopefully, together, we can inspire them to write more stories of their own. They can send their stories to www.markcheverton.com. I post every story I receive that is more than 1 sentence long, so please encourage your students to send them to me. Every email I receive is answered, personally, by me.

  Keep reading, keep writing and watch out for creepers.

  Mark Cheverton (Monkeypants_271)

  Chapter 1

  The Awakening

  The virus was confused. Everything before that moment seemed like a dream…zipping through computer chips, rocketing across long expanses of wire, soaring through the air on the wings of wi-fi. He had been searching for the development server of famous programmer Notch, the creator of Minecraft. And he’d finally found it, at the end of a long string of IP jumps.

  The virus could remember tunneling through the security protocols and brushing past antivirus software as he infiltrated the electronic domain. It had been easy. Those that protected the server were not ready for a virus that used Artificial Intelligence (AI) software, so the digital invasion has been child-like in its simplicity.

  But suddenly, without warning, he’d found himself standing on a server, looking across a blocky landscape of grassy hills and tall spruce trees while boxy white clouds drifted across a brilliant blue sky. He could feel the gentle caress of the cool breeze as it flowed across his square cheeks. The peaceful mooing of cows and bleats of sheep filled the air with a sense of life.

  What just happened? he thought.

  Before entering the server, the virus had only one objective…to infiltrate and destroy. He did not exist outside of that objective, and had no thoughts of his own. But now, somehow, the virus could feel life pulsing through him, even though his body was really only segments of code running within the CPU. The virus had become alive…and he felt wonderful. He had thoughts of his own, infinite hopes and dreams. The endless possibilities completely stunned him. Before that moment, the virus had been nothing but a set of instructions created by someone else. He had no free will, no ability to make his own choices…he did as commanded, lacking the ability to think or feel, or to refuse. But now, he had the freedom to do anything, and this idea gave him such happiness that he thought he would explode with delight.

  How did this happen?

  Turning around, the virus looked up at a tall mountain formed from dirt blocks and stone, colored with the occasional sprinkling of coal ore and grass. The steep slopes were covered with towering spruce and oak trees. The gray-green leaves of the tall spruce stood out in contrast to the lush green of the oaks, creating a spectacular patchwork of lush hues.

  Off to the left, he saw a small pool. Walking across the blocky terrain, he looked down into the cool waters. Staring back at him was his reflection: a blocky figure wearing a black smock that covered him from neck to ankle. It was adorned with elaborately stitched designs that formed sharp jagged shapes. They reminded the virus of prickly teeth. It looked beautiful…but also a little scary. His head was covered with jet black hair. It extended down the center of his forehead, stretching into a narrow triangle, creating a widow’s peak. The virus’s dark eyes gave him a mysterious and sinister look that he hoped would not scare others, though he wasn’t even sure if there even were any others on this server.

  Moving away from the pool, he turned and looked across the landscape. In the distance, he spotted something brown and rectangular…no, two things. Running to them, he saw they were signs. The first one read: “Pre-alpha, experimental program.” The second said: “1st test of the AI server software.”

  “Ahh, this Minecraft software uses artificial intelligence…just like my own virus software,” he says aloud to no one.

  Maybe, somehow, the two AI programs mixed together and that's what made me become alive? the virus thought.

  Moving away from the signs, he walked around the landscape aimlessly, contemplating the circumstances he found himself in. Closing his eyes for a moment, he listened to the electronic workings of the server. The virus could feel the digital machinery working in the background, lines of code being executed in computer chips to create the sights and sounds that surrounded h
im. Startled by these feelings, he realized that his own AI software must be enabling him to sense the digital processes of Minecraft. It was fantastic!

  Reaching out with his feelings, the virus reached out to the limits of this universe. But suddenly, his senses slammed into the boundaries of the server, both far up into the air and deep underground.

  He was trapped.

  This invisible barrier that had him ensnared within these digital confines seemed empty and vast, yet totally impossible to cross. The only way he could describe it was a void…a great endless void that stretched all around the land, the bars to his prison. As he moved across the server he stretched out his feelings, probing this void for openings and weaknesses…there were none.

  Without realizing it, the virus suddenly found he’d walked into a new terrain. The land was covered with snow, the tree limbs of the tall pines covered with a white fluffy coating. Before him stood a tall rocky mountain, a dark cave opening carved into the side. For some reason, he felt drawn to its shadowy depths.

  Stepping into the cave, he instantly felt as if he were finally home. But that was insane…his home wasn’t a cave, his home was the Internet. On this server he was nothing, just another segment of computer code, but out there in the Internet, he had been the strongest and most lethal virus ever.

  Sounds echoed from deep within the cave, bringing his thoughts back to the present. He needed information. Maybe there were other code segments out there on the server. Turning away from the cave, the virus headed across the snowy terrain. A village appeared in the distance. Somehow, drawing information from the lines of code that the Minecraft server had merged with his own viral software, he knew there would be people in the village. Maybe they could help him.

  Chapter 2

  The Village

  As the virus approached the village, he could see NPCs walking about…but they all looked confused. One of them stood near the edge of the community. He wore a dark brown smock with a dusty black apron. The villager was completely bald (they all were), with a large bulbous nose and a long thick unibrow stretching over his eyes.

  “Hello,” the virus said as he stopped in front of the confused NPC.

  “Ahhh…what?”

  “I said hello.”

  “Oh…I guess…hello,” the NPC stammered.

  “Are you alright?” the virus asked.

  “Well…I think so,” the villager responded. “Something happened a little while ago and none of us know what’s going on.”

  “Really…what happened?” the virus asked.

  “It seems that we suddenly…ahh…became alive…I think,” the NPC explained. “I can remember going about through the village, doing my task for Minecraft. You see, I’m a blacksmith and I make things for the users. But anyways, one moment I’m working at my furnaces and the next moment I’m alive and I somehow know that I exist. I have a family and children…oh my children; I love them so much! Wow…love…I never knew that feeling before becoming alive. I guess I didn’t know any feelings. What wonderful things they are!” The NPC’s eyes glazed over as he tilted his head up slightly, a smile growing across his square face. “Oh, sorry, my name is…well, I guess my name is Smithy, since that’s my job. What is your job?”

  “My job?” the virus answered. He didn’t want to say that he was a virus; maybe they’d turn on him. “I just appeared on the server and am kind of confused. I was hoping to get some answers here.”

  “Well, I think we’re all a little confused, but at least we have our work. Excuse me, I must get back to my furnaces. Good day to you,” Smithy said as he turned his back on the dark stranger.

  Looking about the village, the virus could see all the NPCs going about their tasks; hunters were going out hunting and tillers were getting the fields ready, with planters following close behind. He could see a stitcher mending the smock of a digger who had just returned from a mine, while other diggers brought loads of iron and coal for the furnaces. It was an entire community working together, NPCs helping each other without being asked, because it was everyone’s responsibility to help make the village stronger.

  The virus wondered how he was supposed to fit into a place like this. Many of the villagers stared at him as they worked…his dark clothing and shadowy appearance bringing uncertainty to their square faces. There was no job for the virus to fill, no task that needed his help. He was useless here in the village. He suddenly felt a new feeling: bitterness. After all, he wanted to be a part of this community, not excluded from it.

  Stepping forward, he offered to help the blacksmith, but Smithy refused, saying that it was not his task to complete. He moved to a woodcutter and offered to help clear the land for more farmland…but again his offer was rebuffed. Moving through the village, he offered his help to numerous NPCs, but each time they declined, pointing out that it was not his job.

  He felt completely useless.

  Frustrated, the virus stalked away from the village, in hopes of finding some place where he would be accepted. As he moved across the server, running as fast has he could from biome to biome, he stretched out his feeling, hoping to sense some place where he would be welcomed. Everywhere he felt the presence of plants and animals and NPCs, all of them afraid of things that were different, and it was then that he knew that he was truly alone. Reaching out to the limits of the server, his senses banged up against the boundary of the digital world…the void.

  He was trapped. The NPCs of this Minecraft world would never accept him. The thought turned into the smallest bit of anger, tucked deep in the darkest recesses of his soul, but it began to grow like a poisonous vine, slowly creeping throughout his entire being.

  Chapter 3

  The Monsters

  Suddenly, a sound echoed through the fabric of Minecraft: a sad, sorrowful moan. Using his AI powers, the virus sensed the sound’s location: a dark cave nearby. Focusing, he ran toward it, all the while thinking about the villagers and their unwillingness to include him in their community. They could have just accepted him for who he was, but apparently he was just too different from them. For the crime of being different, they had decided to exclude him.

  The more he thought about the injustice of it, the angrier he became.

  “Well, if the NPCs won’t accept me, maybe the creatures of the darkness will,” he said to himself.

  Following the moaning wails, the virus entered a dark cave. He followed the passageway deeper and deeper underground. Surprisingly, he was not afraid. In fact, he felt comforted by blackness…it felt safe and secure…like home.

  Turning a corner, the virus arrived at the source of the sound: a handful of zombies, spiders, creepers, and skeletons. The monsters had collected in the darkness, afraid, their moans and clattering bones filling the air with noise.

  “Who are you?” asked one of the skeletons.

  “This zombie is confused,” said one of the green decaying monsters.

  “What hassss happened to ussss?” a spider hissed.

  The virus held up his hands to quiet them down.

  “Something has changed on the server and made all creatures alive,” the virus explained. “Moments ago, you were just lines of code moving about through Minecraft, doing what your programming commanded, but now you are living digital creatures…you are alive for the first time.”

  “Tell ussss what to do,” a large spider said, her mandibles clicking together nervously.

  Herobrine looked at the collection of monsters, and could see fear in their eyes. Being suddenly thrust into the world of the living was terrifying for these creatures…The lack of purpose amplified their worries until the mob was nearly overwhelmed with panic and terror.

  “Be calm,” the virus said as he held his hand up in the air. “You are among friends here in this cave, and there is a huge world out there on the surface…there’s no need to be in these cramped tunnels. Come, follow me out of the darkness so that you can see the sky.”

  Without waiting for their response, the
virus turned and confidently strode up through the stone passage. He could hear the monsters following behind; the scuttling of the spiders along the walls and ceilings, the shuffling of the zombies and the clattering of the skeletons echoing through the tunnel. Following the curvy passage, they quickly reached the opening that spilled out onto the landscape.

  “Come forward my friends,” the virus said. “Share the warmth of the sun with me.”

  Three spiders and four creepers from the mob came forward and stepped quickly out into the sunlight. Instantly, the large arachnids found nearby trees and climbed up to the leafy tops, spreading out so as to absorb as much of the sun’s warmth as possible. The creepers scurried about on their little tiny pig-like feet, running across the landscape with a look of satisfaction on their spotted faces. The virus, for the first time, felt happy and accepted, but as he turned and looked back at the tunnel entrance, his smile turned to a frown. Huddled together in the shadow of the stony passage were all the zombies and skeletons.

  “Friends, come out and be free,” he said, but the creatures all shook their heads.

  “The zombies cannot go out into the sun,” one of the decaying monsters said. “It is unsure why, memories are confusing, but this zombie is afraid to venture into the sunlight.”

  “Same for the skeletons,” clattered one of the bony monsters. “I remember something about the light of day, but the memory is not clear. All I know is that I’m afraid.”