"Deus," Michael said when he finally found his voice again. It had only taken him a good five minutes to do so, and when he did, he blinked and pursed his lips mildly as he examined the twelve-years old or so boy sitting there up in the tree.
The boy had short golden blond hair and ultramarine eyes. His clothes consisted of a navy-blue T-shirt and brown short with strapping. He wore no shoes of any kind. His bare feet were dangling right there in the air as he sat on the thick tree branch several meters above Michael.
The character creation system that Michael had programmed could produce some remarkable avatars for the player, and if it was not for the publisher enforcing censorship, every character would be butt naked, roaming the virtual world.
"God?" Michael decided to ask. Deus meant God in Latin, and Latin was used by the Church frequently.
The blond-haired boy giggled and dropped down onto the ground from his spot in the tree. He landed onto his two feet like a playful child would from a tall height. Both of his hands were outstretched just to simulate wings.
Deus was behaving very much like his avatar, but Michael was sure that no hacker would be that young – almost sure. Even a child genius should not be able to hack into his computer system without leaving some sort of digital fingerprint or trail.
"That is the literal translation," Deus said and raised his hand like he was in a classroom of sort. "But I am not God, and I do not claim to be her – I mean him. Him!"
Michael narrowed his eyes and managed out a small chuckle. If he wasn't so sure that Deus was a very talented hacker taking control of his server, he would have believed Deus to actually be a kid.
Deus looked like a child, acted like a child, and even talked like one.
"Then what are you…?"
Michael uttered and took a detailed look at the surroundings. He recognized the area, and he was sure that this place was not anywhere in the real world simply because of the fantastical color scheme.
"Am I dreaming… have I finally gone insane?"
Michael questioned himself.
"No. But you can pinch yourself to find out. Like this," Deus suggested and poked his puffed-out cheeks with his index fingers adorably. He then proceeded to pinch himself before screaming. "Ah, it hurts!"
Michael shook his head when witnessing all of that. He also pinched himself since there was no reason to not try. "Okay. That hurts. Not a dream. Not in a coma either. Could be something else…"
"No. You are not dead. This is not heaven," Deus pointed out while Michael rubbed his bruised cheek.
Michael had used too much strength in pinching himself. He had to make sure it was not some sort of dream or hallucination. He had been working very hard for the last few weeks. There were times that he felt like he was about to collapse.
"You are still alive. Just not in the sense that you would understand," Deus continued to explain.
"I am in a game…?" Michael asked after a moment of deep thought. It seemed to be the most logical conclusion in his mind, considering what he had been seeing and feeling.
People had been trying to completely map out the human brains for many years now. If they somehow succeeded, the next step would be digitalizing people's consciousness, allowing someone to artificially attain immortality.
"I am surprise that you weren't more shocked. Or maybe alarmed," Deus pondered while tilting back and forth like a puzzled child.
"Umm… should I be?" Michael asked and exhale deeply. He knew that Deus was actually right, for he should be both shocked and scared at what was happening. His consciousness was digitalized and then uploaded into the server. "Maybe I'm all worn out. I haven't slept in several days."
"That is a contradiction," Deus said. "If this is a virtual space, then you shouldn't be feeling any fatigue at all."
"Can you stop reading my mind?" Michael requested. Deus wasn't entirely truthful in that statement, considering that if fatigue was simulated as well, then he would feel exhaustion just like he would back in the real world. "Where am I really?"
"You're in a game. You're in your game to be exact. I had thought I should bring you in here for you to experience your game yourself before you pull the plug. Just think of it the most realistic virtual world you will ever experience," Deus suggested and looked up at the sky.
Michael followed his gaze and felt the heat radiated from the sun above. He could feel the freshness of the air circulating the vast blue grassland. He could hear the wind whispering between the mountain ranges in the distance.
It was like a real world, but it was his world. He had spent many years creating his digital realm, yet he had never lived in it in himself. It was an impossible notion.
"This cannot be real," Michael said as he turned towards Deus, who tilted his head and smiled broadly.
"But seeing is believing, Michael," Deus said.