Read Gamers' Rebellion for Free Online Page B

going.
    Finally, Robbie placed his hand on a portion of wall and a door opened. He led the way in.
    The first thing that struck Zyra was the humidity. It was like walking into a wall of moist heat and finding it difficult to breathe.
    Robbie had brought her into a room with a pool – at least, that was her initial impression. It was a sunken vat, about five metres in diameter. It was filled with a green, gelatinous substance that churned and bubbled and frothed. Tubes and pipes and wiring fed into the ‘pool’, disappearing from view beneath the surface. They snaked around the rim of the pool and connected to the walls around it. Condensation collected on the walls and ceiling, and dripped.
    Although the room was white like all the others, the lighting was subdued. And the green gelatinous substance glowed from within.
    ‘What is this stuff?’ asked Zyra.
    ‘Billions upon billions of organic nanobots,’ answered Robbie.
    ‘What are they for?’
    ‘They are the mainframe,’ said Robbie. ‘The matrix of information. They are the storage and the operation. In essence, they are the Game.’
    ‘So …’ Zyra stared into the pool. ‘The Game is alive.’
    ‘In a way,’ said Robbie. ‘The nanobots are organic. But they are not sentient.’
    ‘So this is the Game data.’ Zyra lifted a hand to her ear but there was no metal stud for her to play with. ‘How do the Designers control it all?’
    ‘Programming portals. I can show you one.’
    He led the way to another room. It was smaller and it was empty.
    Zyra scanned the room. ‘There’s nothing here.’
    Robbie walked to the centre of the room. ‘Activate portal.’
    ‘Security scan,’ announced a disembodied, androgynous voice.
    Waves of green light flickered across Robbie’s body.
    ‘Identity confirmed,’ said the voice. ‘Welcome, Robbie. Level four portal access granted.’
    Holographic controls materialised around Robbie. His hands moved across the circle of keyboards, and into the mid-air displays, manipulating data directly and rearranging code.
    ‘It’s like the Ultimate Gamer’s interface,’ breathed Zyra.
    ‘I suppose it is,’ agreed Robbie. ‘This is Designer Prime’s portal. It is the original one. Each of the other Designers has one as well. Designer Prime allows me to use his.’
    His hands continued to fly across the holographic displays.
    ‘What are you doing?’ asked Zyra.
    ‘Nothing of any importance,’ said Robbie. ‘I am writing the coding for a cloud formation in the shape of my face. It will appear in Suburbia at random times, for exactly three point four seconds at each manifestation before beginning to disperse.’
    ‘Oh,’ said Zyra. ‘How creative of you.’
    ‘It amuses me,’ responded Robbie, his hands slowing down. ‘Session complete. Deactivate portal.’
    The holographic displays disappeared and they were again in an empty room.
    ‘So,’ said Zyra, watching Robbie carefully. ‘You need amusing. Interesting for a robot clone.’
    ‘Would you like to try using the portal?’ asked Robbie.
    ‘Me?’ Zyra’s voice betrayed her surprise. ‘I don’t know anything about coding or programming. I wouldn’t know what to do.’
    ‘You would not be able to do anything,’ said Robbie. ‘Designer Prime has simply arranged observer level access for you.’
    ‘Um … okay then.’
    Robbie stepped aside to allow Zyra into the centre of the room. ‘Activate portal.’
    ‘Security scan,’ announced the voice.
    Zyra flinched as the waves of green light flickered across her body.
    ‘Identity confirmed,’ said the voice. ‘Welcome, Zyra. Observer level access granted.’
    A holographic display of tiny images encircled Zyra. It was like being in the middle of hundreds of mini television screens.
    ‘This is the environment menu. Each image represents a Game environment,’ explained Robbie. ‘Simply touch the one you would like to observe.’
    Zyra chose an image at random. The image enlarged and enveloped