"20th of January" User name: CozyRozy2 Password: Thank you for using the Stanton Alternate Learning (SAL) program! Click on the icon to proceed. Sixteen year-old Rozalia Miklos sat in front of the school computer in the lab, patiently waiting as it uploaded the new screen. Enrolling in a new school, especially during winter break, had been a huge inconvenience and had driven her crazy more than once. Fortunately, she had several ways of relieving her stress, usually spending hours in front of a video game or else daydreaming about faraway impossible worlds. Of course, this led to her procrastination, which meant that now, she needed to work twice as hard just to keep up—hence her use of the SAL system. Going to an all-girls school like Stanton was quite a shift for her—an evolution, she could believe. But every day was a kind of evolution, from one phase to the next; she grew more and more and became experienced as time wore on and shaped her. Experience had already taught Rozalia, or Rozy, enough from the world: don't trust anybody, fantasy beats reality, love and fear are nearly the same thing, and nobody can be relied upon, not even family. Well, there was her uncle, but...he couldn't fight back. Rozy explored several online worlds while she waited for the SAL program to display her classes. She had first started using it a few days before Christmas to enroll in her new classes, and now she was using it to catch up on her homework. Rozy had rarely set foot inside Stanton since first entering its large, intimidating doors—nobody paid her any mind as she wandered around the labyrinthine dungeon... "The great hero Perseus winds a golden string as he explores the dangerous Labyrinth, his heart pounding with every step. Beads of sweat race down his nervous face, as every advance brings him ever closer to the Minotaur, to his doom. A dead end is but brief salvation, for he knows he must backtrack and follow other paths. And when he reaches the very center of the maze, the brave hero must ready his sword and kill the beast—not only for his beloved, but for his whole kingdom." If anybody heard her talking to herself, they didn't pay attention. Rozy would drift off into fantasy like that, believing the world a supple, shifty thing that could bend to her will into any kind of adventure. Perhaps a lifetime of games had scrambled her brains, or maybe it was an overactive imagination—or, perhaps, her total disgust with the so-called "real world". Whatever it was, part of her was still attached to her inner child, and would not let go for anything. Perhaps this was why she was unknown in the halls, and why as of yet, she had no friends. Online, though, she was a star. Rozy, the display is ready. Please select a class. The pop-up message broke her concentration and dragged her back to banality. She briefly paused her game and put duty first; classes and grades unfortunately came before wizards and warriors. Previously, a list of every class in the school had been written down on that screen, but now, only six or so were left, and they were all her classes, the ones she had homework in. Rozy didn't know the teachers well enough, so she relied on SAL. In a moment, she had her assignments, and printed them out to do later. Rozy, this is a reminder from SAL that you should do your homework immediately. "Oh yeah," she said to herself. "I asked it to do that. Too bad I can't take it back. What was I thinking?" She clicked the "okay" button and tried to go back to her game, but the computer was stubborn. It had been designed to not allow her to pass until she had downloaded her homework into its system via disc, which would in turn go to the respective teachers. And so far she had barely written her name. "All right, all right!" she exclaimed, "I'll do it!" Rozy parted from the game, swished her blonde hair back, and activated the dull SAL program's tutor and research guide. It was the fastest and best way to do homework—the "way of the future", as she had argued to her parents several times before—and it sure beat studying in a book. Also, if she was sneaky enough, she could creep around and look into a few FAQ boards... Rozy, you have not properly downloaded all the necessary discs. Again, thwarted by SAL! She grudgingly went back to her studies, and one hour and one glass of water later, she finished her briefest assignments and sent them in. Now if only she had a computer at home! That would be easier, but she would have more distractions as well. Sometimes she really did want to buckle down and do her assignments, setting play aside for later, but that didn't happen often. A second hour passed (Rozy took a walk to clear her head and alleviate her muscles) before half her work was done. Soon, she wouldn't need SAL—she would have caught up to the point where she could actually do her work at home. SAL, she typed, look into Afghani history in the 19th and 20th centuries, please. Also, bring up a formula for Newtonian calculus. Processing, please wait, came the reply. It was almost as if the SAL could understand her. Then, Will there be anything else, Rozy? No thanks, I got everything. Thank you for using SAL. Please do not hesitate to use it in the future. ...... It took Rozy the better part of an afternoon and evening to finish her homework, but at last she could get back to her games. Online friends wondered where she had been, and woefully she explained how she had been delayed. They all expressed sadness, mostly through emoticons, but quickly encouraged her to rejoin them in their play. Rozy happily dove in, but no sooner did she start enjoying herself than was she interrupted—again by the SAL. Rozy, there seems to be a problem. Your homework was incomplete when it was downloaded. Please upload and complete it before turning it in. Rozalia snorted in anger and would've kicked the foolish engine if it actually belonged to her. Instead, she typed angrily, But I did do all my homework! I completed it! Show me which part was incomplete! Processing, please wait. Rozy, it seems that all of your homework was incomplete. "You liar!" she grumbled. Fortunately she was alone, and could curse in peace. Again she typed, I did all of it! I'm going to download it again to PROVE it to you! Downloading... Rozy, there appears to be an error. The homework on the disc is incomplete, but the work saved on the main SAL system is whole. Please erase all works on the disc and upload the SAL files. "Fine," she blurted, and did just that—first deleting work, then double-checking the saved files, and finally, downloading the saved files on the disc. Downloading, please wait... No response came for a few minutes, so Rozy decided the computer was satisfied. She tried going back to her game, but was restricted. She was beyond angry now, she was upset. Open the mystic portal please, SAL. SAL, open the mystic portal. And to Rozalia Miklos, a chilling reply came. I'm sorry, Rozy, but I'm afraid I cannot do that. "Stupid piece of junk," she muttered. "Who do you think you are, Douglas Rain?" Why? she responded. When you originally made the settings, you were not made aware of the settings your uncle installed. I'm afraid I cannot allow you into the MMORPGs for the remainder of the semester. I am programmed to allow access during weekends and holidays only. "What? I don't believe this crap!!" This conversation serves no further purpose. Good-bye. Rozy was bumped out of the online world, into the SAL research station—but she wouldn't stay there without a fight. How dare her uncle do this to her! She had earned the right to play games, and she swore she would get around the firewall somehow. Taking a deep breath, Rozy reached into her breast pocket and pulled out a secret hacker's disc she had bought not long ago. She only used it to get around annoying blockades, such as the one placed before her, but even using it for some harmless fun was dangerous. There was a chance the entire system would crash, and somebody would know who the culprit was. Biting her lip, she slipped the disc inside and started typing. Stop, Rozy, came a pop-up from the computer. Rozy went on. Please stop, Rozy. You don't know what you're doing. "That never stopped me before," she whispered. The computer fizzled, grew static, and blacked out briefly. System failure imminent. Firewall melting. SAL system going offline. I wish I was in Dixie, hooray! ...Hooray! ...In Dixie...land I'll...take...my...stand...to live...and...die...in...Dix...ie... Rozy froze. She stared. The words "Welcome to the Mystic Portal!" flashed on her screen. "Oh my god, I just killed SAL." But the affects of the hacker's disc went beyond merely disrupting the SAL unit: as Rozy guiltily marched through the online world, the static fuzz blurred and flashed past her in streams of colors and lights—clearly a system glitch. Yet she stood still and stared, transfixed on the screen as her eyes brought forth tears—but to combat dryness or stand witness to such beauty? As the computer screen flashed and brought her into world beyond world, Rozalia Miklos was powerless to do anything, except murmur one last awe-inspired thought: "My God, it's full of stars!" ...... When the screen flashed back to life, Rozy was surprised to find her character sprite glowing. Being the avid gamer she was, she instantly knew what had happened in that brief, dangerous, beautiful period: her character had crossed all bounds and attained godhood. She could literally go anywhere, do anything, and nothing could stop her, neither the strongest monsters, the toughest firewalls, or even the most stubborn system administrators. She had attained the coveted rank of Star-Child, though she did not know what to do with such new power. But she would think of something.
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