Sleepwalker

No one has seen the real world in centuries. Since the creation of Dreamworld, humanity has transported permanently into the digital realm. The only ones who even know that Earth was-and is-a real place are the members of the Embassy, Dreamworld's sole government power.

Tom Tolmafin, the last human to remember Earth, has hacked the aging process to prevent himself from dying before he finds his son, who was by the agency just before Dreamworld became operational. Now inside the digital realm, Tolmafin has created the catalyst to the Embassy's destruction and the only hope to finding his son-an android.

Ace Raven, the most sarcastic AI known to man, has two objectives. Find Drake Tolmafin and shut down Dreamworld. When he meets a band of rebel teens attempting to break out of the system, he finds his chance to face the most lethal virtual landscape that will lead him to his goal. If they survive the Zones, they can hack the program and complete their objective, returning humanity to the real world.

Failure is not an option.

Failure means death.

Prompt: In a dystopian world where technology controls every aspect of life, a group of rebels must navigate through a virtual reality landscape to hack into the mainframe and take back control from the oppressive government.

{ONC2023 Shortlister}