"Nothing to be done, except escape." "Infinisynth." "More fantastic than fantasy." "More real than reality." "The ultimate experience is Infinisynth." "It's all been remade for you." "And it's anything you want it to be." "It's your reality." "Let your dreams come true in your very own world." "Hook in to the happiness system." "Relax, imagine, enjoy." "Hook in." "Bullshit." "Judy, you don't know how much of a fool you're being." "You don't even know what you're fighting against." "Leave me alone." "Injustice?" "Everyone gets exactly what they want." "Authority." "You can be your own God." "Everything is..." "Everything is fake!" "You're all just lying to yourselves." "What will it take to make you understand?" "Just leave me alone!" "Proximity." "Excuse me." "Excuse..." "Functioning:" "Online." "Proximity." "Mom?" "Oh, Jenny, you're up." "Judy, Mom." "Judy's my name." "You named me that, remember?" "Of course, dear." "That's what I said." "Are you hungry?" "No." "You're not feeling sick or anything, are you?" "Of course not." "Good." "Mom," "I want to talk to you." "What are you doing off-line?" "Why aren't you hooked in?" "I was hooked in." "But it doesn't work anymore." "I just get hassled by the Sysop." "The Systems Operator, he won't leave me alone." "So, I was sitting, just sitting, listening to Dad's music." "And I don't know, I just wanted to talk to someone." "Talk?" "Come on, now, dear." "This isn't your card." "It's Dad's!" "My father, your husband?" "Where did you get it?" "I've had it for years." "I felt..." "Weren't we supposed to turn it in or throw it out or something?" "No!" "Well..." "Mom, what happened to him?" "Oh, well, you know, dear, that was so long ago." "I don't see why you should dwell on it." "Mom, tell me what happened." "I want to know." "There's nothing to tell." "I unplugged, and he was just gone." "He must have done it himself." "They never told me exactly what he did." "Did you ask?" "Well..." "He wasn't happy anyway, I knew that." "Such a sour man, really, now that I think about it." "I'm not happy, either." "Just hook back in." "You'll be fine." "No!" "I want to do something." "I want to go somewhere." "You can do whatever you want." "Go wherever you want." "I mean here." "Here?" "There's nothing here." "That's why we have Infinisynth, honey." "Well..." "I'm awake, Mom." "I want to stay awake!" "Wake up." "Please." "Stop it!" "Can't you just stop it?" "Wake up!" "Mom." "Mother." "Please wake up." "I need to talk to you." "Mom..." "I'll wake you up." "Time to wake up, Mom." "Wake up!" "Judy, that's enough." "You're an exceptional girl, Judy." "You've managed to violate the system." "You've entered the environments of other users." "No one has ever done that before." "And I can't allow it to happen again." "You must realize that your actions have dire consequences." "What do you want from me?" "I don't want anything." "I'm the Systems Operator." "The question is, what do you want?" "I was only trying to get through to someone." "We gave you everything." "Everything you could want." "Everything you could imagine." "I..." "I want something real." "Anything." "Ah!" "We're..." "We're stuck inside our own heads." "It's worse than a prison." "It's nothing." "Nothing at all." "Am I the only one that can see that?" "There has to be more." "More than you can imagine?" "Yes." "All I want is..." "Is something real." "All right." "I'll give it to you." "I'm taking you offline." "What are you talking about?" "It's what you wanted, isn't it?" "The unimaginable." "Oh, God." "I didn't mean to really kill her!" "No!" "Let me go!" "Stop it!" "Stop!" "Let me out of here!" "Stop it, you're hurting me!" "Who are you?" "Why are you doing this?" "Let me go!" "Stop!" "What is this place?" "Hey!" "Hello!" "Hello!" "Is anybody there?" "Hello!" "God, no!" "Somebody, somebody help me!" "Somebody help me!" "Help me!" "Please!" "Please!" "No!" "Help me!" "Thank you." "Oh, thank you." "Let me go!" "Stop it!" "You're hurting me!" "Stop it!" "Oh!" "Let me go!" "Get that away from me, you son of a bitch!" "Let me go!" "No!" "Don't!" "If you don't cover up, you'll die." "It's all right." "It's possum." "I don't eat human flesh." "Who are you?" "My name's Stover." "I'm Judy." "What the hell is happening?" "You were out by the edge of the Deadlands." "Crawlers got you." "Crawlers?" "Cannibals?" "It's the ugly fucks that live underground in the landfills." "It's just a wash." "It's for the chemicals in the ground." "Thank you." "Close your eyes." "You're an InWorlder." "A what?" "You're one of them." "You don't belong here." "I know." "Well, how the hell did you get here?" "I don't know." "I'd go back if I could." "Do you know the way?" "Ain't no maps to heaven." "Well, there's gotta be a way." "Well, I figure it's out someplace past the Deadlands." "But there's no way through there." "Why not?" "The sickness hits you." "Brain sickness." "You just want to die." "You've seen others like me, haven't you?" "Yep." "But they're usually dead." "Is it always this cold?" "No." "In the winter, it's worse." "I had no idea what was outside." "I didn't even think there was an outside." "That's because you've forgotten." "You've all forgotten, haven't you?" "You poisoned the world, you stripped a layer off the sky, and when the ice came, you just left." "You left us here to die!" "You left us in your shit!" "And now, you don't even remember." "I never knew!" "The system never told us anything about it!" "Well, my people never forgot." "Your people?" "My ancestors." "Now, maybe there wasn't room enough for them in InWorld." "But we never went under." "Where are your people now?" "Gone." "Dead." "You'll need these." "Now, what you're looking for is a pattern in the sand." "You see over here?" "That's okay." "But over here, you see how smooth the surface is?" "There we go." "That's great." "Crawler hole." "Why do the Crawlers do that?" "They don't." "I put her up there." "She froze to death." "That's my wife." "Oh, I'm sorry." "Of course, I'd prefer to bury the dead, but the ground isn't safe." "The Crawlers, they, uh..." "They find the meat." "My father's over there." "They got my mother." "They took her under." "What about that one over there?" "Oh, that?" "That's an InWorlder I found years ago." "Another exile." "Do you remember what he looked like?" "Couldn't tell." "Not even an InWorlder deserves to become their food." "Family?" "My family's dead." "Just give me that." "With Infinisynth, you live your life in a room, plugged into the system." "You're awake long enough to eat and use the toilet, and that's it." "That's all there is." "But there's no pain, no danger." "If reality's all in your mind, isn't that enough?" "Not for me." "It can be beautiful here." "It's safe now." "The sun's low, filtered through more atmosphere." "Any other time..." "I've never seen a real book before." "This is the Bible." "I've heard of it." "But who needs Bibles in heaven?" "Then what do you believe in?" "Have you no hope for eternity?" "If you want eternity, Infinisynth can give it to you." "It's just a sensation." "If you want to shake the hand of God, you do it." "It's a program." "What about you?" "What did you do in the machine?" "I explored other planets." "I tried being a planet." "I rode on dinosaurs." "I ate at nice restaurants." "I had a lot of time on my hands." "But what have you really experienced?" "Not much." "Nothing." "You must have imagined doing this." "About a million times." "But this was your first time?" "Yes." "This was my first time." "This is pretty." "It's my wedding ring." "I haven't been with a woman since she died." "I thought I was the last human on Earth." "What is it?" "What's wrong?" "Get dressed." "Stover!" "Stover!" "Stover!" "Stover!" "Stover!" "Stover, help me!" "Stover, help!" "Where are they taking us?" "Stover!" "Stover!" "Don't!" "Stop it!" "Don't!" "Don't..." "I'm Judy." "What's your name?" "Can you please..." "What?" "Infinisynth." "That sign, it's Infinisynth." "I'm from Infinisynth." "That's right." "I'm from Infinisynth and you must release me." "You must release me and take me to Stover." "No!" "What has become of you, Claude?" "Where are your thoughts?" "So, Claude, another one." "Skinny." "Hair needs cutting, but she'll do in a pinch." "Seen too much?" "No." "No." "No, not seen enough." "Where's Stover?" "What are you gonna do to me?" "That's for us to know." "Claude, get things ready." "Who are you?" "I'm Cornelia." "And this is Claude." "We're your friends, dear." "We'll take good care of you." "We'll watch over you." "That's what friends are for." "Claude, those are unattractive noises." "What's your name, dear?" "Judy." "You're from the surface, aren't you?" "Have you seen the sky?" "Liar!" "There is no sky." "You don't know how lucky you are." "I'll never be as lucky." "Nor Claude." "We can carry no seeds, but we can serve." "But you, well... it's the most beautiful experience a woman can have." "Nothing can compare with..." "Nothing can..." "There's nothing!" "There's nothing." "There's no sores, no scars, nothing!" "But you're an outworlder." "All OutWorlders carry the disease." "All but..." "A dreamer." "Oh, my." "As I told that girl before you came," "I'm from Infinisynth." "And you must release me." "I've come a long way across the Deadlands, and I've come for you." "Free me, and the salvation is yours." "Well, my little brain-screwed bitch, this does change a few things." "Jesus!" "I'm sorry!" "Untie me!" "I'm sick of this shit!" "Oh, you'll get sick, my pretty." "I'll see to that." "And I'll see to it before the Seer sees you." "Don't go away." "Claude?" "Oh, Claude, you must help me." "Claude, you must!" "It's too bad you're so pretty, my pretty one." "But you won't be pretty for long." "You know, you could still be good for bloating after this, but only in the hatchery." "No solo arrangements." "No Seer solos." "No!" "This is gonna hurt a little, then a lot." "You are a tough little bitch, aren't you?" "No matter." "There's more." "You'll calm down." "He's no good to us anymore." "He shall rise with the dream." "Claude, turn the scream for a cycle of twenty." "Oh, and Claude?" "Mind the chamber with care." "Listen to me carefully, Claude." "There really is a sky, you know." "There's a whole other world." "You don't have to live in the mud." "If you'd let me, I'd take you with me." "Help me." "I can bring you to InWorld, to Infinisynth." "You could become a dreamer like me." "You can." "There's a way, just help me find my friend." "We'll all go together." "We'll all go together to Infinisynth." "Hey, you see what this is?" "Do you know what this means?" "We can get out of here." "Hey!" "Come on!" "You've done the right thing, Claude." "Now, let's go find Stover." "Judy!" "Stover!" "Let go of me, you idiots!" "Judy!" "Where are we?" "Our land is full." "What treasures has she borne?" "Bless you." "Save this offering." "We are not ready for it yet, but someday it will increase our power." "Break open the casing." "Inside is a small motor." "Remove it." "It may be useful." "Junk." "Cornelia, you've been keeping things from me." "You would have gotten to her soon enough." "But when, Cornelia?" "After a rather untoward preparation by you?" "I'm a dreamer." "You have no power over me." "If you don't release me, you'll never be a part of the dream." "How shall we serve you?" "A man was captured with me." "Take me to him and return us both to the surface." "Why, O great slotgoddess?" "Because you've made a terrible mistake!" "And if you disobey me, you will all suffer greatly." "Suffer?" "Oh, dear." "No one here has ever suffered before." "Poor silly girl." "I'm afraid you're not the first one to fall down a hole." "So, how are things back at home?" "How could you be part of this?" "To use an archaic expression, it's the only game in town." "And there can be only one game master." "Is this contrition?" "You seriously overstepped the proprieties, didn't you?" "Some penance is in order." "Your Claude shall rise and enter the dream." "Prepare her!" "No, you can't." "Don't tell me what I can or can't do." "This is bullshit!" "You fraud!" "Cornelia, you've got to learn to share your toys." "And, dear," "don't ever cross me again." "Because of you." "I've lost her because of you!" "She leaves behind her vision, so that we may follow her into the dream." "Claude!" "No." "This is the wine of the blessed." "For the blessed have risen." "They are now free." "They are part of the dream." "Let us partake of what they have left behind, so that we may all share in what they have become in the hope that when we depart this life we shall all be reborn as dreamers." "She died for you!" "Bring me the girl." "No!" "No!" "Please, don't!" "Stover!" "Stop him!" "An OutWorlder." "Take him below, calm him down, and put him back to work." "Judy, I'm sorry." "Stover!" "Yes, let it go." "Let it all go." "No." "No!" "I've missed you, too." "No." "Oh, we've been apart so long, you can't leave now." "Besides, Judy, there's nowhere to go." "How could this have happened to you?" "I was exiled." "These people took me under." "They'd never seen an expansion port before." "I convinced them that I could change their world, save them." "Oddly enough, I have." "Saved them, how?" "My little show must seem tawdry to you after Infinisynth, but these rituals are all these people have to look forward to." "I wish I hadn't found you." "I wish you'd been dead." "Believe me, Judy, I've wanted to die countless times." "Down here, death can be a blessing." "But I've denied myself the pleasure." "You should have killed me." "No." "You're strong." "You're like me." "You can stand it all." "I see it in you." "My father." "Yes, Judy." "And you're a part of me." "But can you understand me?" "The necessity of all of this?" "What will it take to make you understand?" "I want to try." "Show me, and I'll try." "Okay!" "You bastards!" "My father, a freak." "A monster." "Am I, Judy?" "And what are you?" "Why did you leave InWorld?" "Because InWorld is finished." "I'm the last generation." "They don't even bother to reproduce anymore." "They're already dead." "But you and I, we're different, aren't we?" "We wanted life." "This is life." "This is hell." "No." "Hell is for the dead." "But here, it's life." "Look around you." "These people would never believe in a God of love, a God of light." "Yet, I've given them a reason to live." "What reason?" "Dreadful though it is, I've given them a structure." "A religion, hope." "They're blind, Judy, and I see for them." "They've survived." "I'm sorry you don't see it as I do." "But you will, soon." "No!" "They'd been living in the landfill for some time before I came, but they'd forgotten what any of this was for." "I've helped them to remember, to use it as a foundation for the future." "Now they have a purpose with each new day." "They don't exactly look happy in their work." "Oh, sometimes it takes a bit of encouragement." "The carrot and the stick?" "In a manner of speaking." "And the stick?" "Sometimes as literal as that." "We have a number of short-term problems, Judy, that I'm trying to address." "A solution to one in particular could solve most of the others in the long term." "Your people must love you." "Skilled labor is at a premium, sometimes OutWorlders are a help in that area." "Willingly?" "You must know that a few must sacrifice for the greater good." "For your greater good." "You learn quickly." "I have nothing to learn from you." "Really?" "Is this as far as you're willing to go?" "I'll go as far as I have to, but with Stover." "He didn't sink under." "He survived without all of this." "You think he's going to fit into your little future world?" "So far, he's fitting in very nicely." "Stover!" "Stover, I love you." "What have you done to him?" "Nasty little creatures, really." "Recent mutations with an unusual life cycle." "The females swim into the orifices of a host to lay their eggs on membranous tissue." "The males lodge in the nervous system to keep the host calm during incubation." "The larvae are parasitic." "In the early stages, they feed on nervous tissue." "The host organism starts to twitch as its dendrites are consumed." "It's said to be pleasurable, like being tickled on the inside." "Please let him out." "Get him out!" "I'm afraid it's too late for him." "No!" "I thought you were strong, Judy." "I thought you could face reality, not as you want it to be, but as it is." "It doesn't have to be like this." "It does, but not in the future." "We can change it, Judy, you and I." "We can remake this world." "What are you talking about?" "You and I, Judy, we're from InWorld." "We've not been exposed all our lives to all the poisons and diseases that the Crawlers and the OutWorlders have carried for years." "We're of pure stock." "We could rule for decades, and our offspring, for generations after us." "No!" "We can." "You must." "No!" "I've got to get out of here." "Cornelia?" "Oh, my God." "Oh, my God." "You monster!" "No, I do what's necessary." "The Crawlers are like mules." "Males and females unable to breed successfully." "You can see from the offspring." "Cornelia is barren." "We're limited in what we can do for them to improve procreation." "But you, Judy, you and I still have a chance." "And you even have a choice." "A life with me in my chambers, ruling beside me, or remaining here with her, like her." "Either way, you will bear my children!" "No!" "No!" "Good night, Cornelia." "Come on, Stover." "Wake up!" "Stover!" "Please wake up, please." "Yes." "That's right." "I'm willing to do what has to be done." "Are you?" "Oh, yes." "And I'll make sure one of us is dead before you ever touch me." "That won't be necessary." "God." "No!" "I never imagined I could devour my own child, but I can." "Here, I can do anything." "It's wonderful." "Start it!" "Oh!" "No!" "Now you can see it all." "No!" "No!" "Oh!" "Oh, no, Stover." "Here." "Take it." "Drink it." "Help me, please." "We have to get out of here." "Leave?" "Oh, no, we can't leave." "We belong here." "No!" "No, Judy." "I love you." "Judy, come back!" "They need you here!" "Judy, wait!" "Judy!" "Come back!" " Don't go up there." " No!" "Stop it!" "Stop it!" "Stop!" "Let go!" " Stay here with me!" " Let go of me!" "No!" "Judy!" "No!" "Look, we're over the Deadlands!" "But it's the only way out!" "Judy!" "Judy!" "Judy!" "I love you!" "Judy." "Judy!" "Judy." "Please come back." "I need your help!" "Oh, my God, Stover." "What should I do?" "The Deadlands..." "We have to get out of the Deadlands." "Stover?" "Stover!" "What's wrong, Judy?" "Why aren't you hooked in?" "Take a deep breath." "Relax." "Sometimes it takes a moment to recover." "None of it..." "None of it was real?" "That' depends on what you mean, Judy." "Is it really like that on the outside?" "I wouldn't know." "I've never been there." "I can't believe it was all just..." "Yes." "It can be any shape you want it to be." "Reality?" "It's up to you." "There's no place like home." "Good." "I didn't think this lesson would be wasted on you." "There's a reason you had to go through this, Judy." "You're exceptional, and I can't continue in this job forever." "Someone, of course, must take responsibility." "You've inherited my strengths, my powers." "You've passed the test." "You've proven it." "You never left." "You were right here." "You were always with me?" "Yes." "Yet, for all our lives, we have only these few real moments together." "The new Systems Operator." "It's for you to run Infinisynth." "To absorb all the dreams, all the hopes and fantasies." "All the minds online." "It will seem frightening at first." "But then you'll realize it's everything." "What is it?" "Nothing." "I have no more questions." "Good."