[532] In the Coder (3)
Lian and Fermi Marsha followed the labyrinth and crossed the veil of the setting sun.
In a space as dark as the night sky, lines emitting blue light ran vertically, and glittering lights like stars descended along the lines.
“Don’t you feel like you’re falling?”
“Precisely because information is transmitted. Gravity has nothing to do with it.”
Ryan walked to the maze.
“Is this < Under Coder >?”
“You could call it an entrance. Since we are out of Dremo, our information is treated as a minority concept. When the Dream Star’s medicinal effect wears off, we too will disintegrate.”
“Isn’t it dangerous?”
“yes. Because the incarnation was not damaged. It will go down intact because it will not be combined with any other information.”
“What about Arius?”
Come to think of it, I didn’t see a dog with blue fur.
“He is not an incarnation. It’s an illusion that came through our mental channels. You seem to have lost your mind so far.”
The maze was passed without much thought.
“doesn’t care. I will find a way to contact you. If you don’t, you can’t do it.”
When the drug effect of the Dream Star disappeared, the bodies of the four began to disintegrate into sparkling particles.
Fermi said at the point where the decomposition that started from the limbs passed through the lower and upper body and left only the face.
“I’ll see you on the middle floor.”
“What is that…”
Before Marsha could finish her words, everyone’s bodies were disintegrated into powder of light and descended along < Under Coder >.
“Oh, that’s the head.”
Miro frowned and came to his senses, and Lian and Fermi Marsha also had expressions that were no different.
“What do you mean middle class?”
said Fermi, looking around.
“Right here.”
Hundreds of mirrors hung in a square room measuring 100 pyeong.
“This is a virtual space created by humans in the middle of < Under Coder >. It is to create a small world by recycling discarded junk information from Dremo. All incarnations of human beings in their entirety go through a filter and arrive here.”
In front of the human footprints in < Under Coder >, Marsha suddenly realized how crazy humans are for exploration.
“Then what is this mirror?”
“It is a passage that connects the virtual world created by designers. It’s called a link. The mirror is the communication protocol they set.”
“Hmm, you mean they are connected to different virtual worlds? What worlds are there?”
Fermi cast the trade of depreciation.
The chip, which had a picture of a beehive of four horizontal and four vertical lines of light, slid down his throat.
“Information Magic Information. It deciphers the protocols of the middle layer into real information.”
When the spirit zone was opened, the name of the virtual world and the designer’s code name were revealed in the language of reality on the surface of the mirror.
“Here at the entrance on the mezzanine level is a link to one of the most popular virtual worlds of the moment. I’ll recite a few, so if there’s a world you like, pick one.”
Fermi listed the names of the worlds and the code names of their designers.
Human taste-ID:
A love story between a pig and a dog-ID: Animal lovers
It’s okay even if you don’t have limbs-ID: Only the head remains
“Stop!”
Marsha held out her hand as if it wasn’t worth reading any further.
It may not seem like a big deal, but when I listened to the name of the world, I was reminded of things that would never be tolerated in reality.
‘It’s a world where people eat human flesh, do bestiality, or do things like mutilation.’
Even more speculative, it was clear that he did not feel the slightest sense of guilt about the code name connected to the name of the world.
“It’s a feast of all kinds of minority concepts. You mean you can actually try it once you enter that world?”
“Some just watch and some actually play. The ratio is about 5 to 5.”
“Of course it’s not free, right?”
At Marsha’s words, Fermi smiled.
The idea that she would have created this world in hopes of a price was telling me that Marsha was a normal person.
“Unfortunately, 80 percent of the content is free. Most of the designers are just crazy people who have no attachments to the real world. If you use paid content, you can pay with Dream Star. All they need is a Dream Star, and in reality they can be exchanged for currency.”
Miro said.
“I roughly understood. Then where do we go?”
“No matter which link you follow, the information keeps crashing. No matter where you choose, the final destination is The Abyss.”
“Then let’s go over there.”
When Miro pointed to the large mirror, Fermi looked at what kind of world it was through information magic.
Dead Men Tell No Tales-ID: Limp corpses
It was a world of playing around with corpses, and Fermi decided that this was enough for beginners.
“It’s simple to move on the link. It’s the principle behind the world. Just put your palm on the mirror like this…”
Fermi’s figure disappeared.
“Hmm, it sure is simple.”
Next, when Miro placed her palm, the scene suddenly changed as her reality and her reality reflected in the mirror were reversed.
Feeling as if the reflection in the mirror was her real self from the beginning, Miro realized what the principle behind the world was.
“It is convenient. With this, I can transmit the entire information.”
The waiting Fermi shrugged.
“That’s it.”
After a while, when Lian and Marsha arrived, the group began descending the middle layer in earnest.
The virtual worlds built by humans were of different sizes, and each had its own characteristics in composition and environment, but it was common that terrible things were being done so that it was difficult to open our eyes.
Terrible screams, disgusting acts, the expressions of people driven mad by pleasure or pain were already of a different species than humans.
By the time I got on the rink and arrived at the 40th world, Marsha, a regular outsider, was also mentally exhausted.
The labyrinth of impermanence could have endured, but it was unexpected that Fermi would even hum and be happy.
Miro, who had been glancing at Fermi, asked.
“This place looks pretty familiar. How often have you used < Under Coder >?”
“He doesn’t come today. By the time I was 12, I was completely absorbed in it, but lately I haven’t been interested in it.”
‘Twelve years old…’
It’s a nephew I met in 20 years, but Miro was able to be sure that Fermi was never a normal human being.
Ignoring the horrible screams, Fermi continued.
“At one time, I was also the designer of this place. The name of the world, revenge is mine. It was a virtual world where you could embodied the object you hated and take revenge to your heart’s content. There, my aunt was also bullied quite a lot by me.”
No matter how virtual it is, it would be a frightening thing to walk with the person who tortured you with the same information as yourself.
But instead, Miro burst into laughter.
“Ho-ho-ho! Could it have been popular?”
“no. In the beginning, there were times when we were in the top 1,000 of the mid-tier popularity rankings, but the number of guests gradually decreased. If new information was not updated, I couldn’t survive in the middle layer, so the world I created eventually sank into The Abyss.”
“Hmm, that’s a pity.”
“At the time, my pride was hurt. While thinking about how to gain popularity, I realized one thing. Did I have fun torturing and killing my aunt? Come to think of it, it wasn’t. What do you think is the reason?”
Miro put her finger on her chin and tried to think.
“Um well. Because it’s not real?”
“no.”
Fermi stopped and looked around the maze.
“Because I ‘know’ it’s not real.”
Only being locked up is real.
The moment the lid is opened, all concepts are bound to come out and change into new meanings.
“The moment you think you can go out anytime, all your senses become fake. I haven’t been here since then. It’s not a place for a realist like me.”
‘I can go out anytime.’
Miro savored Fermi’s words.
It is a fact that everyone knows in the virtual world created by humans, but in this reality, no one, including her, could sincerely think about it.
“Now you have arrived. This is the last virtual world.”
The place where Link arrived was a virtual world where parts of the body were amputated and replaced with each other.
I don’t know why it’s fun, but the dismembered people were ecstatic, and the man with multiple arms was narcissistic with a satisfied expression.
When I got out of it, I finally came to a darkly lit room with only one mirror installed.
Fermi cast an information spell to decipher the information.
warning. This is the exit of the middle floor. Anyone who doesn’t want to go to The Abyss, wake up from your dreams.
“It says…”
“Is waking up from a dream just waiting?”
“There is a special method. Anyone who enjoys < Under Coder > knows that. But even that is possible because it is a world created by humans. The Abyss is an automatic assembly of Minority Concepts. No information will give us consideration.”
Fermi gave a final caution.
“I warn you, but once you enter The Abyss, I don’t even know how to get back. Maybe there is no other way.”
“No, definitely.”
Miro said.
“Because my friend is back. So there must be a way.”
Of course, there would be no need to bring up the story that I had gone there again now.
Marsha asked.
“I want to hear it before I go, but in exactly what state does Sirone exist in The Abyss? If it’s a completely different world, then there’s the problem of adapting. I don’t think there will be a magic school.”
“The pattern of combining information cannot be predicted by humans. However, they will be combined in the most appropriate form in the world of The Abyss. If there is a magic school, of course you are a student there.”
“Hmm, so in the end, the most familiar information exists in a combined state.”
“yes. That’s why we need two people.”
If it were two people, they were none other than Marsha and Lian.
“You mean that if we had a strong rapport in real life, we would have a high affinity for information with Sirone, right?”
“yes. The closer the two people’s information penetrates, the higher the chance that Sirone’s damaged information will be restored. In other words, it cuts off the information associated with the Abyss and injects your information.”
“Okay, I understand. Then let’s go in.”
The four of them stopped side by side, looking at the last mirror on the way to The Abyss.
The way to return is still unclear, and the world there must have accumulated the worst information, comparable to the middle layer of < Under Coder >.
‘The destination of information. In other words, the end of this world.’
It was natural to be nervous as it was an unknown world that even Fermi, who had visited < Under Coder > like a meal, had never gone down to.
Miro took a deep breath and pointed to the mirror.
“So, who shall we start with? The one who will be the first tourist on the Journey to Hell.”
Lian said without giving anyone a chance to step out.
“I will go down and wait.”
When Lian held out his hand, the two Lians joined right hands across the mirror.
As Lian in the mirror became real, Lian’s body in reality disappeared as if it had been an illusion from the beginning.
“Wow, he’s a man too.”
“Hey, let’s go. Could there be anything worse than dying?”
As Marsha continued to ride the rink out, Miro looked back at Fermi and smiled.
“Are you going too? Aren’t you supposed to make money? Or were you thinking of leaving me behind?”
“No way.”
Fermi smiled bitterly and reached for the mirror.
It’s not that I didn’t think about it, but I didn’t think that I could take revenge on Miro in the world to the extent that I fell into The Abyss.
‘I’m going to do it step by step.’
As Fermi entered the Abyss, Miro smiled at his reflection in the mirror.
“It’s okay. It’s where you are.”
Leaving words unintelligible to others, the labyrinth took the first step toward an endless hell.
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