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You pry open the rusty back door of the QUANTUM ARCADE, wincing at the sharp creak that pierces the twilight silence.
Your hand brushes against the LED flashlight in your jacket pocket (that also doubles as a stun gun) – a necessary precaution on this side of town, especially after dark.
You ask yourself if all this is really worth the risk?
Yep…
The promise of a █████████ is so worth the risk AND the punishment headed your way…
Mom’s going to lose it when she finds out you’re not actually at Jason’s house studying for your biology test.
The thick air hits you first – a musty cocktail of dead electronics, ancient carpet, and something metallic you can’t quite place.
Your flashlight beam cuts through decades of dust, dancing particles swimming in its path like tiny stars.
Through the grimy front windows, you catch glimpses of low shadowy figures shuffling past under flickering streetlights — likely stray dogs.
The arcade sprawls before you in all directions—cabinets clustered in islands, narrow pathways branching into shadowy alcoves, mysterious corridors leading to areas you can’t quite make out.
Their blank screens reflect your flashlight beam, following your movements like dead eyes.
Some still have faded “OUT OF ORDER” signs taped to their cracked displays.
The floor beneath your feet is tacky, your sneakers making subtle peeling sounds with each step on the neglected carpet.
A faint electrical hum emanates from somewhere deeper in the building.
It shouldn’t be there – this place hasn’t had power in years.
The sound seems to pulse in rhythm with your quickening heartbeat.
You catch glimpses of yourself in the dark screens as you pass – a nervous teenager trying to look braver than they feel.
A nearby cabinet suddenly flickers to life for a split second, casting your shadow in three different directions before dying again.
Your breath catches in your throat…
You notice the words “The Graveyard” crudely spray painted across the far back wall in lime green paint…
This is definitely where old games go to die…
The note said to find the machine with the lightning bolt etched into its side, hidden in the back corner past the broken change machine.
As you approach, the metallic taste in the air grows stronger, and the humming gets louder.
You approach controls, a solid layer of dust blankets the joystick and buttons…
You enter the code as instructed:
➡ ⬇ ➡ [Punch]
Static electricity makes the hair on your arms stand up.
The cracked screen shifted deeper into the cabinet then slides down out of view — revealing the darkness inside…
That’s when you see it – a panel eases out — a sleek, matte-black VR headset resting on the dusty panel, looking impossibly new among the decay around you.
(You’ll later learn this is what the future calls an ETHER RIG…)
A small note beside it reads “Put me on…”
Your hand hovers over the headset, heart pounding.
Every instinct screams “this is a bad idea,” but your curiosity burns stronger than your fear…
(Plus you can’t ignore the chance for a brand new █████████ 10 years before its available online)
You follow the instructions you were sent and slip the headset over your eyes and the world dissolves into light.
That’s when the strange figure appears.
.
.
.
A holographic figure flickers before you, augmented in the middle of the old arcade.
His features obscured by shadows despite the indescribable clarity of the tech projecting his image.
Only the symbol “☉” glows steadily on his chest.
The Archivist, is what he said to call him – a mysterious entity claiming to be from “humanity’s darkest future.”
Honestly you don’t believe any of the “man from the future” talk — you’re just here to bag the █████████ and get back home…
“Let me be clear,” The Archivist’s voice resonates with an otherworldly echo.
“What I’m about to share with you is not mere science-fiction.
It’s a glimpse into humanity’s future – your future.”
He pauses, his hidden gaze seeming to pierce right through you.
You lean forward, your heart pounds harder as he continues.
“The KNOXX cannot be simply told or shown,” the Archivist’s voice resonates with an otherworldly echo.
“It exists beyond mere description.
It must be… experienced.”
He pauses, his hidden gaze seeming to pierce right through you.
“What you discover through the KNOXX will reshape everything you thought you knew about your world, your future… your very existence.”
Your heart races as he continues, even though you don’t buy the “future stuff” — his words still manage to carry the weight of centuries yet to come.
“It’s…” he pauses, searching for words.
“Imagine trying to explore New York City by walking in a straight line,” he gestures, creating a glowing path in the air.
“Absurd, isn’t it?
You’d miss the hidden alleys where deals are struck, the rooftops where secrets are whispered, the underground tunnels where futures are decided.”
The air between you shimmers as countless threads of light burst into existence.
Cities form, dissolve, and reform—people live entire lives in seconds.
Threads split, merge, and intertwine in a complex tapestry.
“Reality isn’t a straight line,” he whispers, touching one glowing strand.
It pulses, sending ripples through dozens of connected threads.
“One decision, one moment, branches into infinite possibilities — but still leads to the same destinations.
The true shape of time is something your mind can barely comprehend.”
The hologram shifts, displaying a vast network of interconnected points of light.
“The KNOXX is similar.
On the surface it may seem like just another world — it’s not – it’s a living organism of intertwined narratives, the bleeding-edge technology and people whose destinies, decisions and chaos are more entangled than you could possibly imagine.“
The hologram between you expands into a vast web of glowing points, each pulsing with its own rhythm.
As you watch, certain nodes brighten, sending waves of light through connected threads.
“The KNOXX is alive,” he says, his voice dropping to an urgent whisper.
“Every story within it continues beyond its apparent ending.
Every character’s fate intertwines with others you’ve yet to discover.
Every revealed secret unlocks new mysteries.”
You reach toward the display, transfixed as the lights react to your movement, new connections forming where none existed before.
“Your curiosity changes it.
Your attention shapes it.
Your understanding transforms it.”
The web of lights pulses, growing more complex.
“For you, The KNOXX seems impossible,” he continues, gesturing at the web of light.
“For me, it is memory—the history of your future.”
The Archivist’s form shifts, becoming momentarily translucent as he studies the abandoned arcade around you.
“Your generation stands at a crossroads,” he says softly.
“Nearly infinite path leads to what you see around you—abandoned potential, forgotten possibilities.
A graveyard where old things go to die… “
The web of light pulses brighter, casting strange shadows across the decaying machines.
“…While one leads to The KNOXX.”
“Did he just read my m—” you think, but don’t finish the thought.
“We’ve tried countless ways to warn humanity about what’s coming,” the Archivist continues, as if sensing your unease. “Stories, symbols, whispers in dreams—all attempts to reveal THE KNOXX.”
The web of light contracts, forming a complex geometric shape that seems to fold in on itself impossibly.
“But the messages fragment. Distort.
People see only what they expect to see.
They only see pieces of THE PUZZLE”
He gestures toward you, the symbol on his chest pulsing brighter.
“But minds like yours—curious, questioning, hungry for discovery—you might perceive what others cannot.
You follow threads others don’t even notice.
This is why you’re crucial for THE PUZZLE.”
You: “Wait — what puzzle?”
The Archivist leans forward, his voice heavy with significance — for a moment, you swear you see genuine concern in his eyes.
“That’s why I sought you out.”
His voice drops to an urgent whisper.
“Within The KNOXX lies THE PUZZLE—fragmented truths scattered across countless lives, and experience.
Even I, with all my technology and knowledge of future events, cannot see the complete picture.
The KNOXX guards its deepest SECRETS, revealing them only to those who prove worthy.”
“But minds like yours…” the light from his symbol intensifies, illuminating fragments of the arcade around you, revealing hidden symbols etched into the walls you hadn’t noticed before.
“You see connections where others see only chaos.
You question what others accept as immutable truth.
In this ability to perceive the hidden tapestry beneath the surface of reality— and there lies the key to unlocking everything!”
You: “What secrets are you talking ab — “
He raises his hand interrupting…
Symbols you don’t recognize dance in the air between you…
The ☉ symbol pulsing brighter.
The Archivist’s form begins to fade, the edges of his silhouette blurring into the darkness.
“Want to know why you might succeed where others have failed?” A knowing quality enters his voice.
“Your mind isn’t yet bound by uncertainties.
You still believe in possibilities.”
You have a superpower that you haven’t yet tapped into — one that the greatest minds of the future have long lost — the ability not to overcomplicate and misinterpret the obvious…It means YOU can solve THE PUZZLE that even the quantum physicists and the meta physicists can’t“ —
As he dissolves into particles of light, a single word forms in the air between you:
SIMPLICITY, glowing red against the darkness.
“This power is simply: Simplicity.”
The arcade around you seems to shift, new pathways appearing where solid walls stood moments before.
Distant doorways pulse with strange light, each a different color, each beckoning, each stemming from the word SIMPLICITY.
“The choice is yours,” his voice echoes, though his form is gone. “Remember – the future depends on what you discover.”
