Chapter 4...Fate meets Destiny...they kiss...they part...or not...
We were young. All of us. Even us older ones. And it was so new. So bright and shiny new and special and filllllllling. So...how could you say no? How could you just get up and leave it once you'd had a taste? It was an addiction. A true, fast flowing shot in the vein. It left you wanting more. It left you waiting. It took your heart and wrenched it from your body. It took your heart and pushed it to heights you'd maybe only feel once in your life, if ever. It did that every night. Fast. It was so fast.
There. There was Here and there was There. Real Time and Inside. Well, I called it Inside. That's what it was. Like when you drive down the road and tell your mind that the road is moving under you and you and the vehicle are sitting still. You could crash going 100 miles an hour at any second and think it the fault of the road. It'd play with your mind that way. The whole world in a box, coming at you...all directions a road. Across the street. Across the world. Age didn't matter. Time didn't matter. You could talk to tomorrow for free. Yesterday too. Of course I was always in yesterday. The only thing that you hooked into was the other guy's mind. The feeling of someone. Read between their lines if you will. I did that anyhow. I got to know a lot of great minds in my time. Still do. Some keep in touch. Some never did. Ships passing. Or was it me who left them? Don't know sweetie. It just happened like that. It was fast.
So many minds. Some tormented. Some out to save us all. Fighters. Lovers. Philosophers. Jokers. Professionals. Kids. Pure genius. All There. Inside. A virtual banquet of minds to be had if you found the key. People went in waves. Ride the same one and you instantly clicked. Instant friend. Instant lover. Instant heartbreak. Go on. The next. Keep it coming. Give me more. Make me happy damn it! And here's the thing. They were all real. Like me. All giving these little pieces of themselves and taking from someone else and everybody loved it or hated it. Yelled and screamed and flamed in capital letters. Whispered code. Soft gentle words. Harsh hatespeak. Most times you just ignored the screwed up ones. Sometimes you saw their loneliness and reached out. They either turned into people or bit your hand off.
But that was it. You weren't afraid to try to talk someone down. Reach out and touch. What could they do? Kill your machine with a virus. About it. Flame the server. Kick you off for a while and then you're back. Find new ways to avoid the bad ones. The ones who played God with a vengence. Make friends with the good ones. Seek protection. Feed the addiction. The Net. It was. It caught you. It held you. I was there. I ate it up. I learned more about myself and human nature than I could have ever learned living Real Time. I learned how men think. I learned how women think. I found out I wasn't alone anymore. I found the world. I asked hard questions and nobody ran. They asked me hard questions right back. We tug'o'warred. We played. We pulled each other's heartstrings and gave and gave and gave and filled ourselves at the fountain. Drinking brighter minds. Sweet.
So what happened? Where did it all lead to in the end? Let's turn on the machine and see. Come on Inside. I'll introduce you. I am a Goddess after all.