FINAL: Andy Roos- 'Delete'

Who: Andy
Where: Krylon central mind...?
When: 0500 hours
The hacker's arms unlinked from around the Krylon massager's waist
sending him tumbling to the ground. From the way he hit the 'ground'
he'd have starling impression of a Jackson Pollock painting had it
happened in the real world.
Andy gritted his teeth as he pulled his eternal body off the floor.
His hand almost immediately shielded his eyes when a scorching white
hot light flashed into his eyes.
When his false iris contracted or some other unknown reason Andy
lowered his hand as the light became bearable.
His mouth dropped with it.
In the middle of the dark metal fortress that comprised the Krylon
cyberspace was a massive white sphere that shone with the force of a
sun. The hacker found his strength building and soon began to take
small steps towards it. Rather than dread, Andy felt a strong sense of
nostalgia build up inside of him.
At first Andy thought that he'd have been ratted out by know. Surely
some of these Krylons would have noticed a human avatar strolling
around here? Nope, they all whizzed past him. If anything they seemed
to avoid him. None of the machine avatars came close to the pulsating
mass that Andy was quickly approaching.
Common sense told him that it was a trap but that was all but pushed
out of his mind the second he was told he would die.
The impending death does funny things to a man.
The janitor's speed began to pick up as he walked towards the sphere.
Although its heat was that of a furnace there was not harness or
burning to it.
Andy came so close that the light was so bright he couldn't see out
the corners of his eyes. His hand reached out to the orb and
harmlessly entered.
The hacker gave pause to what he could be doing. Doubt crept into his
mind. He shouldn't be here, this was clearly a trap. A better option
was to tear the Krylon forces apart piece by piece.
No... he didn't have time for that. This... orb held all the answers,
it called him. This sphere was surely the mind of the Krylon forces.
With a deep breath Andy took a large stride inside.
What faced him was not a burning white in all directions, it wasn't as
general Ackbar would say 'a trap!', what faced him was just that- a face.
It wasn't even a very good looking one either.
"Hello Andy." A slightly familiar voice greeted softly.
"What the hell..." The janitor stumbled backwards as the rest of the
face's body came into view. "Now Andy! There is not reason for
language such as that." The elderly nun chided him.
He looked up and he looked down. Andy was certain that the entity in
front of him was none other than the woman who had for better or worse
raised him for his younger years.
"*Matron*!?" The hacker spluttered at the spitting image of Hattie
Jacques, the former circus acrobatic.
"I am afraid not Andy." The nun said with a touch of humour in her
voice. "You see me only as your mind would allow it. I am what you
seek and I have been with you for a long time."
The hacker's face hardened at the AI's words. "Typical of you
holograms, take whatever form we hold dear and use them against us."
This was only met with a whoop of laughter from the masquerading
program. "*hold dear*? You *hated* your Matron! All the other children
hated her. She was harsh, uncaring, adamant and a general harpy to you."
Andy's lips parted to release a vicious retort only to stop himself
halfway. "Hmmm... okay, you got me there. Just change out of that skin
and into something else."
"I can't Andy." She replied flippantly. "*you* are the one who sees me
like this. Now... sit down." With a single gesture a black ergonomic
chair was pulled up behind Andy, checking him in the back of his knees
and forcing him down. "I believe we have business to discuss." She
finished before getting seated herself.
The hacker leaned forward. "You know so much about me... then you must
already know why I am here."
The falx-nun nodded slowly. "I do Andy, and I am afraid that you do
not know the full story. You see I am not the Krylon hive mind, or
queen or some such. I am the connection of the Krylon
subconsciousness. It is I rakes through their thoughts and gives them
their intelligence. I do not think for them but only give
suggestions." The Krylon smiled and leaned back. "I am known to your
kind as the Eternity Code."
With that Andy stood and kicked the chair that seated him over. "I
don't care *what* you are. I'm here to destroy you and all the Krylons."
At this the elderly nun merely nodded impassively. "You don't
understand it yet do you? Why I am like this and why I can see into
your mind? I am a part of *you* Andy as much as you are a part of
*me*. I mean you no ill. To harm you is to harm myself and visa versa.
To me and all of the Krylons you are a brother since the day you came
into contact with the Eternity Code AI."
The corners of Andy's mouth pert, snickers burbling out before he
broke out into a full blown laugh. "You think I care? You Krylons
wanted nothing but to kill us all since day one! What do you think
your little shock troops where shooting at *me*? B.B Laser beams?!"
The Krylon sighed and shook his/her/its head. "You still don't
understand do you? Your form right here, right now is pure Krylon.
Your human mind is dead and only your mechanical self is alive. They
wanted to kill your body but not your mind. Now you are here... among
your family."
"...'Family'." Andy snarled, bile slowly building. "Don't you talk to
me about 'family'! I had a 'family' once and now they're all dead!
Thanks to you and your shitty... 'code' I've not idea what the hell
happened to them!!"
At this the Krylon lost its warmth, looking up at him with sunken
eyes. "...Do you want to know what happened to them?" The program
asked with a 'be careful what you wish for' voice.
"What...?" The janitor replied softly, the rage in voice evaporating.
"I can reverse the first Krylon memory swap. You'll remain one of
us... but you'll finally have what you want."
"Tell me..." He replied with an aggressive voice. "...Tell me right now."
"I'll do better than that." The nun replied. "I'll show you."
With a single banishing gesture, Andy's consciousness vanished into
the blackness.
~~
Who: A young orphan
Where: 'Sister Jacquie's home for the lost' Orphanage, outside of Mt. Isa
When: 63 years ago...
"Hey guys... can I play?"
"Play? Who wants to play with *you*, you dumbfuck?"
"Yeah, piss off! How many times we have to say it?"
"...Please? I swear I'll be 'it' first and everything just-."
"Just shut up! We don't talk to shitheads like you!"
"C'mon, let's get out of here before he goes bitching to the matron."
Tears began welling up in the 12 year old's eyes. Why did everyone
hate him so much? He'd been here since he was born but no one seemed
to like him. Even the 'outcasts' of the orphanage refused to associate
with him. Was it because he was dumb and ugly like the kids say? Or
was it was he was crude and inattentive like the Matron said? As the
others quickly fled from his sight he could only turn and walk back
towards his only place of refuge; the shed.
He wasn't as smart as the other kids were. He kept making stupid
mistakes on his school work and he kept getting tricked by the others
in any practical jokes they could pin on him, which was numerous.
Still... the shed was his shelter. All the tools in there helped him
step into another world. A rake was suddenly a brave knight's lance or
a genius wizard's staff. A weed killer canister and pack transformed
him into daring spy with gun and jet pack. His imagination was his
best friend, even if it was no match for a real one.
Wait... maybe there was something in there that could turn him into a
hero for real... all it would take was a bit of acting...
The young boy's hand reached out and gently opened the tool shed. His
small brown eyes, meant to be innocent but now only dark, rested upon
the petrol canister that lay in the corner. A tingling mania danced in
the back of his mind. He could make them stop laughing at him. He
could make them *like* him.
All he had to do was make a little fire in the kitchen when no one was
looking. Then when everyone knew of the danger he could run in with
the fire extinguisher at the last second. He'd 'bravely' blow it out
in a strong rush of white powder and look like a hero.
Yeah... everyone liked those fireman heroes they saw on TV. Soon,
everyone will like him too...
~~
Who: Andy
Where: Heart of Krylon subconsciousness
When: time unknown
"What... WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT?!" The man screamed at the aberration.
The memory taunted him restlessly. He didn't factor in that the fire
extinguisher didn't have any fuel left to stop it, all he could have
done was run from the rushing flames as it swept across the house.
"Your most traumatic childhood memory..." The Krylon replied wistfully
as though reminiscing. "You are not truly to blame Andy. After all,
you lived pretty much without guilt for your entire childhood. They
hated you and you simply wanted their acceptance. Nothing wrong with
that."
"'Nothing wrong with that'? What the *FUCK* does that mean?! I-I... oh
my god... I killed them because I was an idiot. Then I simply
pretended to not know what happened?! What happened to *me*!?!" The
Australian's concept of his own mind's moral stability slowly began to
crumble around him. He was a murderer. Although rejecting at first it
quickly began to click in his mind. Why he was such a drifter during
his teen years. Why he pushed people away. Why he had hated himself so
much wasn't because of some overblown survivor's guilt... it was
because he was actually guilty!
"You should be thankful, your lack of...'guilt' during your childhood
protected you from a prison sentence. Should that have happened then
you would have never came into contact with us. Still... it caused you
pain so... we removed it." The possibly cross-dressing AI creaked back
in its chair with its fingers knitted, his tone of voice so easy he
was speaking of mass-manslaughter as easy as removing a tumour.
"But it isn't over Andy... while it is true that your human body is
keeping you alive for the moment, you can still live." A benevolent
smile spread across the Krylon's features. Its head tilted slightly,
fully exploiting the 'kindly grandmother' appearance it currently had.
"Just take my hand and you will be transformed into one of us. Free
from negative emotions that flesh forces upon you. Know only joy as
you fight along single-minded beings that all call you brother with
all their hearts."
The words 'fuck you' easily came to the Janitor's mind but he found
that they sounded increasingly hollow even to him. A family... he
could be part of a family again. The vastness of the Krylon machine
meant that he would never be alone again.
What else did he have? Death? Nothingness? Oblivion? Andy didn't know
what lay beyond the veil but he doubted that if there was it wouldn't
be happy to see him. He may have been raised a catholic but he wasn't
exactly a god-fearing man. What if there wasn't? He was practically
turning down immortality...
Then a single point was raised in his mind. The second reason he'd
been carrying on for so long. The reason real reason he scorned fame
and fortune. The debt he owed to the orphans that he had thoughtlessly
killed. While to a lesser degree, to all bank accounts he'd looted
without thought of the consequence in his youth.
Andy didn't deserve paradise.
But perhaps he could earn redemption.
"No..."
"I see..."
The Krylon stated quietly. The AI stood and pointed it arm out to a
patch of light. In the middle of the spotlight was a single wall
mounted switch label 'Annihilation'.
Andy looked over at it. The switch was innocuous and unassuming to its
true purpose.
"That is your goal then. A single tug and you will destroy me."
"...Why...?" Andy breathed, standing firm before the program.
"Because I am you Andy and you are me." The Krylon replied with a
sombre tone. "If that is your choice then I have no choice but to
support you. The Krylon subconscious was never meant to be transferred
to one such as you, one that could destroy us. Your entire life has
been nothing but one misfortunate to the next for us, a reverse
Xanatos Roulette that has finally consummated in our imminent
destruction."
The Australian nodded slowly. He was too far gone now to suspect a
trap. Far too deep into belly of the beast to pull out and
re-strategise. No. His fate was sealed. There was no turning back.
The adult walked slowly over to the switch, his knees seeming to lock
at every pace as though still attempting to stop his own self-induced
demise.
What was actually 10 metres morphed had somehow warped into one. The
switch's handle suddenly appeared in his hand. The lonely being cast a
single look back.
"Andy...? My offer still stands." The heaving voice echoed mournfully.
"Everyone dies." The wanderer replied evenly. "I've just been living
on borrowed time."
With a single yank, a burst of white light erupted from every pore of
Andrew Roo's existence. He didn't move, he didn't flinch, not a single
motion in a vain attempt to avoid the inevitable. The hero instead
closed his eyes and dreamed. Dreams of happier days long past, of
playing in school yard, of running alongside his skutters and of his
time spent with Sarah- no matter how false it was.
With that final reminisce, the orphan faded into the black void.
<End>