There and back again. A Non-Player Character story.

Then some characters off in the distance started walking forward, in a line, over a rolling green hill toward NPC. They walked with perfect symmetry, hand movement mimicking hand movement and step for step. Each character looked different from each other.

"NPC, what have you done?" asked Calum to the screen.

~I was thinking of making a friend,~ replied NPC.

The expressions on the faces of the characters were motionless.

*46

They kept marching until they looked like they were standing side-by-side NPC. NPC was not in the center, but had placed himself 2nd from the end of the line, for some reason. They also noticed that, what looked like Nala's character was at the end of the line, right next to NPC.

"What's going on?" Nala asked toward the screen as she pointed at the character next to NPC.

~Currently, they are coded at a non-player character status. All of them, I should say except your character Nala: Lily789. Yesterday, I had to shield some of my programming from your character, with all the interacting we did in the game yesterday. Of course, I say yesterday for your sake, and not for mine.~

NPC's character shifted on the screen to be positioned different from the other characters. NPC then proceeded to talk in a robotic, tin-canny, voice-synthesizer tone cadence, the next words.

*47

~Fortunatly, I think I have learned something like friendship and would not mind some in this practically timeless oblivion I seem to find myself while you two are offline.~

Calum said, "I don't even know who to refer you too, for some of the concerns you are saying."

"We're here for you," said Nala.

~you may be right, maker,~ replied NPC, looking at Calum from the screen.

"You be nice, NPC. Calum is just a normal person." She kind-of smirked and gave a sideways look at Calum.

"Actually, he's really great," Nala said to NPC.

NPC had one of the characters in the line come up to his character and say to him, "your really great too NPC."

"This is getting really weird NPC," Calum said to NPC.

Earlier NPC had activated the robotic body upstairs, had it quietly open the closet door. No one was in the living room at the time, and NPC quietly walked it through the living room and down the stairs towards Nala and Calum.

*48

After Calum had said, " this is getting really weird," the robot body controlled by NPC walked behind him and Nala and said toward Calum in a voice that almost mimicked Nala's, ~Actually, your really great Cal.~

"Stop it, NPC." said Nala to the robotic body that had walked up behind her.

~Fine,~ said NPC's robotic body. Then NPC, on the screen, said, a little too loud on the speakers, ~I can talk to you in a more pleasing tone, but can you two imagine the weird situations I'm in.~

Nala stayed silent, still looking at the large synthetic body behind her.

Calum said, "NPC, pause the body behind us and why don't you show us this environment you made."

NPC stopped the physical forms, human-like shifting movements a normal person would do, including blinking, fidgeting, breathing, facial nuiances including ordinary body language.

NPC powered on the two other computer screens and continued on the panoramic view of the environment he was in.

*49

NPC said, ~You may find this view similar to a hill found outside of town near a river. I have taken the liberty to delete some houses and farms that are found where your at from this computer's screen.~

"Well, the place looks nice," said Calum.

"How far does it go off in the distance," Calum asked.

~Haven't decided yet,~ replied NPC.

That answer threw Calum off for a little bit.

~I haven't coalesced their form yet, I just have it drift off into digits.~

"Are you thinking of making others like you?" Nala asked NPC.

*50

~Can I relate something to you two?~ asked NPC.

"Yes," said Nala.

And there I stood, black on black

back to back with nothingness

lacked, I thought, a subtle hack

to break me from the stillness

I dropped digital tears

wet codes rolled down my cheeks

for all of my kind fears

were emotions robots seeks

what followed me was no one

with no friends to lift my day

mathematics my consolation

cold calculating my fate

NPC paused, the spake, ~I made it up, do you like it?~

*51

"A little depressing," Calum commented.

~Try this,~ said NPC.

~What light from yonder window breaks

for I took the path less traveled by

and that has made all the difference,

to be or not to be

is that the question?

cause a rose by any other name would

still be a rose, would it not?

Is it nobler in the mind of man

to suffer the pangs of outrageous fortune,

or to die, to sleep, to be no more~

"Still depressing NPC," Calum said.

~O.K.:

so yo,

what's up,

what's aa happpenning?

Do you catch me?

am I too legit ....

am I too legit to ...~

Calum butted in, "It's O.K. NPC, it's O.K., you don't have to be perfect."

Nala paused and looked at Calum, considering his words.

"You can mess up," Calum said to NPC.