Chapter 1
Kevin walked down the water beaten lane.  It had rained since Kevin had known, but then how long had Kevin known?  His mind was an expanse unexplored.   His memory sent images of rejection and sadness, hieroglyphs from
an ancient culture.
 
He continued down the dark glistening slabs of stone.  Water flowed and turned, a serpent ever changing in its desire
for space.  Remnants of shops were dwarfed by the impending bearers of deluge.  Tiny bullets splayed the target of former bullets over him.  Breaking walls of memory to a previous era.
 
His pad bleeped, a reality pad, what an irony this was.  Reality.  This took you through worlds of your wildest dreams, what was reality then?
 
Another sound cut the silent, crisp, night air into two.  It crackled with ridges of depression and isolation.  High notes sounded flat, low notes sounded sharp; disturbing, waving, changing it ebbed.  It confronted him, strangely attracting him.
 
Another?  Another child rejected from its household?  This one was different, most were birds to fly and spread into vast places of wildest fantasies.  Move, reality hop, whatever its current buzz word was.  But what was one doing in base world now?  He'd played the realities for three years.  Fulfilling his own wildest dreams, only to realise it was a vain pastime developed by a selfish world.
 
Sadness stared him in the face; it was on the wind, on the ruins, it surrounded this petty world.  The steady flow of tearful water continued.  But what could he do?  What could he say? Only his subconscious told him he should.  He just should.
 
He stared at the child, feelings conveyed their thoughts.  They needn't say anything as it was said at some level.  They reached a silent treaty of agreement and both walked on.
 
            "You're Kevin aren't you?" The child murmured.
            "How, did you know?" Kevin said stunned.
            "What if everyone knew the mysteries of life?  What would be left?"

The rain continued its steady course around the ruins.  What did the child mean, what mysteries were there in the base world and who was this child?  Kevin summed up all his cunning to get this information.

            "What's your name?"
            "Miles."
            "With a 'Y'?"
            "With an 'I', my name is Miles Bacon."
            "Tell me everything about your life."

Kevin noticed pain as he mentioned life, it swirled in Miles' brain giving clues to its existence in his eyes.

            "Life?  Life circles.  But my life, mine is an aimless doodle with no purpose. Beginning with no thought, ending
             with a distraction."
            "Huh?  You're weird!"
 
What does he mean?  He emitted age beyond his years, knowledge in code.  But never did he appear as a goldfish
child like the others, with a memory span to match their alertness.  They trundled, swam through their lives, eyes open but paying so little attention to detail in the ever wet, uncaring life.
 
The walking continued, aimless and random, but this was a minor detail.  They were heading for the A.R. Centre now, but it seemed darker than before, when was before? A question was speared into his path, a sudden distraction.
 
            "Before you were outcast, where did you live?"
            "Summersgate Lane"

He'd been thinking about his pre-outcast life and couldn't recall, so how had Miles helped?  What jolt had his memory been given? And if this had worked, would it work again?  So many questions welled in his brain, the sluice gates of his mind would surely give way.
 
            "Do you think you could do that again?"
            "The answers are within you, I just help you seek."
 
Another conundrum hit Kevin's head like a brick.  His memory had sat undisturbed and was now bombarded with the help of another.  More questions broke from his brain, that had been held back by the reluctant part of his head.

            "Who are you? What do these proverbs mean? How do I remember? Why do I recall some things?
             What's your favourite food?"

What? Kevin's brain was on a roll.  It cleared things by the barrel like a store giving its stock to unsuspecting passers by.

            "All can and will be discovered if you just use some thought, you can't hop stages and expect a great finished
             product."
 

  And the two friends carried on walking through the endless greeting of rain. The sharp silhouette on the horizon was now leading the two towards a decision.
 

  "Hey, I know I'm against the AR's but have you ever been to one world that you remember, that you could live in?" said Kevin.  'Live in? What was living a life when all you did was explore, think, but could only be likened to a dream.  A fantasy realm from your imagination.  What made your life, living, it couldn't be the transparent, condensation of innermost greed for possession.  Was it the normal events people escaped and lacked when they lived in a mind of oasis? The crushed coke can, the talk of mindless politicians'.

     "Good, you're thinking about life.  This will help your cause.  But you've got to discuss your thoughts instead of confining them, they'll move and give you direction if you let them."

     The white ice jabs of water were piercing into his skin washing away a protective coating from his mind.  Now he knew what to do, he wanted to experience at least a different scenery to here, a living place, full of vitality and energy.  This was a pole of the magnet, he didn't know which end he was on but he sure as hell wanted to see the other pole…
 
     A flash of light flew through the sky silhouetting the AR compound, voices continued to break the raw night atmosphere; two figures were standing in the doorway.  A second bolt quickly followed but the talk dead, the outlines gone, crisp silent air was left to be broken by the incessant shrapnel of rain.
 
 

Chapter 2
     Dark, gloomy and dull the nucleus gave off dampness; but then everywhere was damp and everywhere was rotten.  A rat scurried across the floor for a crumb of bread. It never got there.  The flickering light of the cylinder swallowed him whole.

     The two figures walked into the chamber.

  "I don't quite remember it being so dark in here, with its rot and decay.  What do you think happened to the people who had no reality pads?"
   "Maybe your own description of the room gave out your opinion, you don't really need to ask.  Do you?"
    "Well, shall I use my pad or do you want to use yours?"
    "I don't mind.  Have you ever thought where you want to go?"

    'No matter what had just happened something inside of him had been thinking about the many worlds.  He'd pondered worlds with different questions and changes to them but whatever he chose, how could he be sure that it had a sense of energy or realism? Oh yes he could go to a world where all people ever did was eat food and watch TV but that wasn't truly real.  To be real you needed those boring bits; those bits you'd snip out of your life if you ever had a chance, or else your life would be a day of enjoyment but with no truth or structure.  The point is people work on a structure, a plan, and in normal worlds they have to, but if this is taken away everything is not so enjoyable and not so keenly awaited.  What world could he say, he knew what he wanted to say deep down inside but he couldn't quite bring himself to share it.'

   "Wherever you want" Kevin managed.

    Kevin didn't see Miles type the destination into the panel or swipe it with his pad but he felt excited, he wanted to burst and ask for his Christmas presents on Christmas morning, C h i s t m a s  M o r n i n g what was Christmas Morning?
 
    The cylinder began to flash red and green, complimentary colours thought Kevin and then doubted the sanity of those hard-to-get parts of his mind which took over now and again.  The colour was lighting up the room.
    "We haven't got much time, let's go" Yelled Miles.

    The two companions dived into the cylinder.
 
 

Chapter 3
 Domination had ruled in the past century; minds were being ever so steadily controlled by the dim reality of reality pads.  100 years of no control, no work and seemingly no leadership or community.  Wants and needs had been fulfilled with these devices, take away wants and needs and you have nothing.  When introduced they were pastimes, hobbies.  "Want to go and see the Good Ol' Days?" it took away the need for Sunday drives and gave walkthrough history lessons but, people had stopped just walking through and wanted to live it and live it until they had settled in a new life.  No one wanted to be themselves and now with this artificial walkway to another chance, changed whatever they had been to their desired life.  There was no purpose to life.  One day could be spent in their fantasy world but the next day had no expectations, what was there to look forward to when you'd lived a day as a god and could continue for eternity? People had plucked life from the barely animated worlds they had seen: a splash from the spring of vitality here; a touch of wining and dining there, but never returning to the place and mould where they began.  Avoidance of roots to an extreme.  A fear of realism.  In the past, people had tried to hide behind realism, pretend they didn't need ethics to tell them what they saw.  Of course they saw but could they touch, feel that a force greater than that of man had somehow made the place they worshipped?

Somehow community had existed, itself on the horizon of oblivion but with people settling in their own places from only base world the realities where pads were never invented still held that sense… The golden brown, sandstorm, of leaves swept the dusty path.  A late glow of sun was rapidly dimming in to the dark of night, bringing out the diamond stars like a jewellers shop display.  Silky backdrop, glistening jewels.  Shaking trees signalled the faint breeze.  An old wooden farm gate lay wayside from the path, wooden pieces jutting out like modern art.  Moonlight flooded in and out of coves and shelters woven by wooden henchmen.  Casting shadows which could run and jump, living and snarling, freezing your spine until they were replaced by another fear.  A fear of the unknown, the chill of the air, the rustle of a creature of the night.  A fear of the frostiness.  A fear of realism.
 
Two figures emerged from the nearby field, decorated by pieces of hedgerow.
"I never thought that damn dog would give up!" panted Kevin.
"Yes, but everyone does their utmost when they feel they have to."
"Stop talking like that" Kevin saw this as an ever-present comment which he knew would be ignored, but as Miles said 'everyone tries', well more or less.
"Where now?" thought Kevin Out Loud.
"Yours is the decision, I simply aid."

The night was now upon them, the white claws of winter had begun to scrape across lawns and bushes.  Playing statues with flora and fauna alike.  Beacons of warmth began to exhale from cottages.  Breath tinged with fiery crackles and red lace.

"I recognise this place" spluttered the grinning Kev.
"There's Sam's house.  She was a best friend to me.  We went to school all that…all that…time ago, why do I remember things from another world? Miles?"
"You have been here, you have in each and every world been present.  Some seem more artificial than others but this one, it lacks all the qualities of a stereotypical AR world."
"Break some of those walls, dive deep and grab any tiny little pieces of memory you can, for it may be essential."

Kevin was deep in thought, diving and grabbing.
"I must see Sam."

Sam's house was a small flint cottage at the bottom of the lane.  The light from its log fire was spilling over the lawn and holding back the hands of winter with its pure warmth.  Kevin stood at the door, looking at the wreath of collected seasonal leaves.  He was frightened of what was behind this door.  Though he knew it so well, the dark brown grain and spiralling knots.  His hand was a lump of iron, pulling as a weightlifter to get to the door.  Tap.  Knock.  KNOCK.
"I'm coming, no need to destroy our door."

The noise came from a young girl of about 15.  Her long dark hair looked like a silken blanket in the soft firelight.  She was small in comparison to Kevin.  As the door opened both were revealed.

"Kevin."
"Sam."

Sam grinned and hugged Kevin.  Kevin felt in his head a massive explosion of feelings returning, of good times and days away.  This hug brought to him a sense of love a sense of trust.  He was in an exploding star with emotions leaping from him.  The doorway seemed so inviting now and yet Kevin wanted to stay here forever in this happy grip.  Sam's blue eyes sparkled like sapphires.

"Coming in?"
"Yes, erm, this is my friend Miles"
"Hi Miles, now we've not got much in at the moment.  Mum said the local shop was shut this morning.  Make yourselves at home."

With a final grin Sam disappeared into the opposite room.  Kevin just sat staring at the fire his mind still had the same vision of Sam as when she opened the door.  This place was so inviting, so homely yet it was an AR world.  He was in a dilemma, he wanted to go with Miles after all he had this feeling that Miles would guide him but Sam had an equal pull over him.  A magnet with two opposites always had a tough time.  Here there was no one to disturb him; he was safe and…home?

There was a distant rumbling like an apocalyptic roar, a shaking of trees.  The fire snubbed out.
"All hope has gone…"yelled Miles over the din, trying to make himself heard.
"ALL HOPE HAS GONE."

The words were swirling in Kevin's head and then ever so slowly Kevin realised what had happened. As the slowly receding pieces of Kevin's memory gave way he heard a stifled cry follow the yell of Miles. Jumping to his feet a missile from Miles landed by Kevin's feet.
"Here take it. Let's just hope that I have done enough. Look for Sam in the other world; the base world for only then will you learn."

"Good Luck, my friend-"
As these words crept from the mouth of Miles he fell unconscious. Unable to look any more at this chaos surrounding him his eye was caught by the image of Sam being hit by a falling wooden beam. Both were now fallen and along with any sense of home that Kevin had gathered.
 

Part 2 - Search and discovery