Heroes of Dreamland, Book 3: The World of Nintendo (OLD)

Byte's Story

The day before, not far from the Mushroom Kingdom Coast:

"So, wait. You're from the Ancient's world? From the land of... Japan?" Rose managed to remember.

"Well, I go to school in Japan, but I live in America," the girl shrugged in reply.

"What's 'America?'" Rose demanded, even more confused. Byte had grabbed her hand after asking her to be her Guide and started dragging her further inland, saying they had no time to waste.

Byte sighed. "Fine. I'll just tell you my whole story as we walk, all right?"

After hesitating a moment, Rose nodded once. "Okay."

As Rose picked up the smallest of the three Waddle Dee traveling with them and began to carry him since he seemed tired, Byte began to tell her story.

"So this is how it all started, this morning..."

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It's just another normal Saturday. I resist actually waking up for as long as I can, but eventually my brain decides it's not letting me have any more sleep. I blink my eyes open and look at the clock in the glass of my room's fake window. It's 10:00 A.M., World Time, July 15th, of the year 2818.

My room's window is fake because I live near the center of a giant apartment block. Besides, I also live in the megacity of America. No one has real windows anymore, not since the World Government banned going Outside in the 2400's.

I know this must be confusing, so I'll try to explain. In the 2200's, the whole world was taken over by a political group that called themselves the World Government. They aren't bad or anything, the world's been completely at peace for over five hundred years, but they have a lot of rules. Not being allowed to go Outside is one of them.

We can't go Outside, not because it's dangerous or anything (it isn't,) but because the Government says so. The reason they outlawed it is they said we Humans were 'harming' the Outside, even though we weren't really. So, everyone stays inside all the time.

I don't have to go to the megacity of Japan today, since there's no school on Saturdays, but I do anyway. I grimace as I look up at the fake sky projected onto the ceiling as I head to the nearest teleporter station. Once you've seen the real sky, there's no going back.

No one has cars or anything anymore, they're not necessary when you can get to anywhere in the world in a matter of seconds.

It's 10:30 when I get to the teleporter. If you were Outside, which I will be soon, it'd actually be the middle of the afternoon in Japan, and it'd actually be night here in America. But the whole world has one timezone now, and when you're inside all the time, away from the sun and the stars and the moon, you can't tell a difference, anyway.

Once in Japan, I look to make sure no one's watching, then hack the teleporter to send me to my secret hideout: a cave in the area that used to be known as Kyoto. I picked here, because Shigeru Miyamoto, one of my heroes, got the idea for the Legend of Zelda series when he was a kid, going off on adventures in the Kyoto countryside. The caves he explored inspired the puzzle dungeons Link has to travel through. So I picked a cave, because who knows? Maybe this is the cave where he first got the idea for Link.

Kyoto's in ruins, now, but not because of a war or anything. It's just been abandoned for hundreds of years. I laugh freely as I breathe fresh air and feel the warm sun on my face. These simple pleasures that I feel are things that most people spend their whole lives without ever experiencing, anymore. I could be arrested if the Government ever found out I come out here, but I don't care. It's so worth it.