TIKTILAOOOOK
Oscar awakes to the sound of the family rooster. As he gets out of bed, he notices a semi-translucent grey plane in front of him. It is as if it is connected to him by wire as he moves, following smoothly. Curious, he reaches out, but his hand just phases through.
As he continues to examine the oddity, text appears.
----------------------------------------
> Dev Console Activated - Oscar Rosario
>
> See SPI documentation for further details.
>
> |Acknowledge|
----------------------------------------
The concept of a developer console rings bells as Oscar remembers lessons on Pre-Sim technology. The computer was a general tool used before humanity was uploaded. Unfortunately, technology of the past has been inaccessible to the people within the simulation. Not without the lack of trying however, it just seems like minor changes in physical properties of materials does not allow for reliable electronics. Or at least that's what was written in the papers.
He heads downstairs to look for his grandfather. He loves his grandfather and is grateful to have him around. It isn't common for Pre-Sim humans to care or even respect their non-uploaded descendants.
"Morning Lolo, you worked with computers Pre-Sim right?". Lolo Gil places his newspaper on the table. He looks exactly like Oscar, short jet black hair and brown eyes with a bit of stubble growing. They could be mistaken for siblings if you didn't know them.
"Good morning, Oscar. Yes, I used to be a software engineer. Why?"
"I think you might be interested in this." Oscar says while gesturing to the console in front of him.
Lolo raises a brow "Which is..."
"Ah, so I guess only I can see it. There is a developer console in front of me saying I need to see SPI documentation and to acknowledge." Oscar said.
'Fascinating, I would continue if I were you.' Lolo said.
"How?". Oscar asked.
"Try poking 'Acknowledge'." Lolo said. — "Nothing." Oscar replied.
Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.
"Are there any visible instructions anywhere?" — "Nope"
"Does the text change at all when you look at it?" — "Uh, no I don- Oh, yes! It it moved closed to me a bit."
"Okay, can you poke it now?" — "Negative." Oscar says while repeatedly tapping the air.
"Hmm, touch the tips of your index and thumb together?" — "That worked! Something else is showing."
----------------------------------------
> Congratulations! You have successfully accessed the console.
>
> ----------------------------------------
>
> |
----------------------------------------
"Any buttons on screen?" — "No, just this blinking line."
"That's the cursor, it tells you where you are when typ- wait, can you stick your hands out like this?" Lolo makes a double T-rex arm maneuver and wiggles his fingers.
"Is this how you worked?" Oscar asked while copying the pose. "More or less." Lolo responded. "Anything?"
"No, but let me stare at this blinking line for a second... Boom, the words I think show up now." Oscar says excitedly.
"Good work, can you try inputting 'help'?" — "Yes...it says 'command not found'."
"Oscar, I love you, but I just need you to know I am immensely jealous of you right now." — "Oh, why Lolo?"
"I've been itching to play around with a computer for decades since The Upload. Try a question mark." — "That worked!"
----------------------------------------
> >boom the words I think show up now
>
> Command not found!
>
> >help
>
> Command not found!
>
> >?
>
> mode -
>
> duplicate -
>
> destroy -
>
> extract -
>
> entity -
>
> modify -
>
> message -
>
> script -
>
> revert -
>
> save -
>
> ? -
>
> ----------------------------------------
>
> |
----------------------------------------
Lolo watches as Oscars eyes dart back and forth reading the various commands. "Alright Oscar, I'll leave you to it. Maybe you can test some stuff out during your morning chores? If this is anything similar to coding, you should be able to automate some stuff."
Oscar beams at Lolo for a second and rushes to the back yard. Lolo heads to the kitchen to make some breakfast. As soon as he opens the fridge, he hears a shriek.
TIKTILA-
"Probably should've started with Hello World first..."