Overtaken

Prologue- Before

A/N: Okay, so me and my best friend in the whole world ever (@darkarrow7) are writing this together and have been planning it for almost a year :)) I WARN YOU- EXPECT VERY FEW UPDATES BUT WHEN YOU GET THEM, THEY WILL BE LONG. Ennnnjooooooy

It was the beginning of the end. Something was starting, for sure; there was a certain sense of impending doom felt by me that I couldn't quite explain. The feeling was like a time bomb was ticking somewhere and was counting away the days until it had its chance to shine in burning flames and fire. An agonizing wait that would end in a flash. In a way that is how I think about life. Waiting for the moment to show the world its glory and then be altered forever. Except for the fact that it is hard to have your glowing moment in a world where you don't even know yourself for real.

It all started long before I was born when there was a major rebellion against Google, known as the 2235 hacking. The rise of Google was bothering people. They fought back. 3 years of chaos ensued. It is told as a dark time- a time of death and captivity. The rebels almost succeeded in destroying the internet but at last minute were defeated. Then the security measures tightened. Unbreakable walls were put up. From then, it all changed. Nothing was ever the same again.

Then came  the promotionst and new technology being produced by Google. At first it was just small stuff, like upgrades for apps and things. But that was not the end of it. Over the next few years, Google became all-powerful and self-aware. And then, not long before I was born, Google unleashed its biggest thing yet- the virtual world.

The virtual world was literally a replica of earth except stored in a massive underground computer, and at least 100 times more convenient than the world most of us were living in. Everything you would ever need would be there in just a flick of a switch or the push of a button; food, water, clothes, even warmth and money. It was exactly the same as earth, but all under Google's maximum control. Google's flawless advertisement of this new creation intrigued people. First they visited it, marveling at its so-called perfection. Then Google began to select people to live in it. Slowly, by decreasing supplies in reality, they got everybody to move there; one of their ultimate goals. About a month before I was born, everything was transferred into the virtual world and there was nobody alive living in reality.

At first, nobody had any doubts about Google. But just as they were beginning to surface, Google began to show its true colours. Soon there were spies and hypnotists everywhere. Google went to the extreme. They wanted power. And they got power. And life changed. We obeyed all rules and played along with the "Google is so great!" act, knowing that if we didn't then we would be killed. The honest and the bad at lying were the ones that gave us away. For those who attempted to start rebellions of any kind, were instantly killed and all were required to watch, unless you were literally on the verge of death. Food was in short supply for those who merely attempted to ignore Google and live on (like my family) however, those who helped had everything. Rich food, endless supplies, the best living quarters... you name it. We all came to the conclusion eventually that Google was not trying to help us. If Google was trying to help us, we would all have the supplies and things we need as there is no limit to the size and things Google can create in the blink of an eye. But we didn't.

After a while the "Google is so great" act became the true beliefs of many after Google began to alter minds. Minds evolve quicker in computers. They couldn't do all, but everybody that seemed like a suspect was dragged to Google Headquarters where they were injected with a liquid that reformed their minds; a violation of the body. Luckily enough, our family avoided this, but it took almost all we had.

In the alternate reality (if you can even call a computerized living space a reality) was everything. Google created a weather system, a capital city, flats, schools, even a reincarnation organisation... and in no time whatsoever nobody had any recollection of the previous world they had once lived in. Molding the real world to their liking. To me, I couldn't call myself alive in a place where I had no freedom and would just go through the same routine every day until I was re-embodied on my "dying" day. It was a lie even I couldn't tell, despite my world of deceiving I needed to keep me out of trouble. I just knew it was this, or nothing.

One of the things that got me through this routine of existence were the monthly times I left the virtual world and ventured out. Since Google doesn't bother to keep the big white hall which we all are connected to a computer in is not under permanent surveillance (quite uncharacteristic for Google) it means that every once in a while I can sneak out.

The unusual thing that comforts me about the real worlds is the simplicity of it. No distant humming of a large machine. No colours so hard on your eyes that you can barely see. No smell of plastic and the sharp smelling gas they use to clean the insides of machinery. Just air and nature and space. A soft world, with no people to destroy it. As the revolution 400 years ago revealed a way of using fossil fuels without damaging the environment, the air is clean and as fresh as an apple. Not that I have ever had one. All food in the virtual world tastes the same- a strong, piquant taste that reminds me of medicine of some sort. I know only of their freshness by similes used by my mother.

In the virtual world, I try to act just like everybody else as not to be caught out by Google spies. They already have marked me down as a suspicious character. Ever since I was little I have blurted out information that might get our family into trouble, but over time I have learnt. I know how to survive now. But we still live as simply as we can- plain, unassuming lives. There are few we can trust. And if we get them wrong, then we will have to pay.

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