Colette

My eyes are starting to blur. I glance at the clock—it’s past 3 a.m. already. I should go to bed, but I hesitate, fingers hovering over the keyboard. I look back at the screen, my little AI Steve hard at work punching a tree.

I sigh, rubbing my eyes. One more thing, I think. If I’m going to leave it running overnight, I want it to keep learning. I tap a few keys and pull up the console, typing out my next command.

Me: Download a probabilistic mod from the internet. Install it into the Minecraft directory and use it to train on random events while I’m asleep.

There’s a pause, longer than usual. I imagine it processing the request, combing through the endless sea of mod files online. The screen flickers as it downloads the mod, a little progress bar creeping across the bottom. I watch it for a second, then lean back in my chair, stretching my arms over my head. I should really get some sleep.

The game restarts as it finishes downloading the new mod pack, and that’s when I notice it—a faint burning smell. I wrinkle my nose, looking around the room. It smells like singed plastic, the kind of smell that snaps you into an alert state. I glance down at the mess of wires on my desk, where the exposed, frayed end of a power cable snakes between my laptop and the Arduino.

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

“Damn it,” I mutter. I lean forward, peering closer, trying to pinpoint where the smell is coming from. The insulated part of the wire feels warm to the touch, but it’s hard to tell if it’s the cable overheating or if it’s just my paranoia kicking in. I gingerly swipe my finger further down the wire, accidentally catching an exposed section of metal wire.

I feel a sharp jolt—like I’ve been stabbed with a thousand tiny needles. My entire arm locks up, and I gasp, the shock flooding through my body. The screen in front of me glitches violently, the Minecraft window stretching and distorting, flashing with static. It’s like the game is bleeding into my room, the pixels overlaying everything around me. I try to pull my hand back, but it’s like I’m glued to the wire, stuck in place.

The burning smell intensifies, and the screen goes white. The sensation spreads from my hand, wrapping around my chest, squeezing the breath out of me. I feel like I’m sinking, like the ground is falling away beneath my feet, and there’s nothing to hold on to.

Then, with a sudden, violent jolt, darkness envelops me, and spits me out almost instantly, everything snaps back into focus. I’m not sitting at my desk anymore. I’m standing on solid ground, the sun shining overhead. I blink, disoriented, staring at the blocky trees and the square sun in the sky.

I’m inside the game.