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"Iím telling you. It spoke to meÖ donít ask me why it chose me, but it did."
The Game looked at his patient. Over the last few years heíd worked at this asylum heíd gradually learned that the voluntary ones were much crazier than the ones dragged in. Bit of a nuisance really because it meant that they could leave any time they wanted to.
"So what was it that spoke to you? The Devil? God? The Dead?"
His patient looked at him, slightly agitated.
"No! Iíve told you, my brain!!"
"Ah, yes of course! I apologise Mr Thraves. So, when did it all start?"
"It all started on a normal day. I parked my car outside my workplace and entered the my office at SwordspinesÖ
It had been a hard week. Dan_Uk was continuously moaning at me to get more staff. As I walked in to my office, again he reminded me that
"2 man companies went out of business 50 years ago. I know that you want minimal staff so we can sell the games cheaply and give the gamers a good deal but this is ridiculous!"
I had more important things to worry about. A letter from the council giving me the details of a licence I needed by the end of the week had vanished. I asked Dan if heíd seen it but he just shrugged. Heís not quite so with it these days. I think that he lost some of his brainpower along with the underscore in his name.
Anyway at that point I heard a voice.
"(Itís in his desk, top drawer to the right.)"
I looked round but there was no one there except Dan who couldnít have possibly said it. I assumed I was hearing things but I checked his desk in the top drawer to the right anyway. It was there. I held it up to Dan saying, "What do you call this?"
"That? Oh yeah, I sorted out that ages ago, I forgot to tell you. You werenít worried about it were you."
Iíd had several sleepless nights worried that my business was going to be shutdown.
"Not at all Dan, I was just wondering where it was thatís all."
The problem was solved but I still couldnít help wondering what that voice wasÖ"
"So that was the first time you heard it Mr Thraves?"
Grix nodded as he watched the Game scribble notes down.
"So you had made a connection with your brain and had learnt how to talk with it."
"No. I thought that I was hearing things. I still didnít know that it was there, let alone that it was my brain"
"Right, so you hadnít realised what it was yet but that was the first time you saw it. I see."
The Game wrote for a bit longer, paused for a second then looked up at Grix and smiled.
"Please continue Mr Thraves."
"As usual, I went out to lunch to meet my friends from the Notables club, Meka, Sniper and Er-no at our favourite restaurant, Nintendo, the Sushi and Italian specialistÖ
I walked in to see the other three at the table.
"Sorry I missed todayís meeting. That idiot Dan sorted out the licence and never told me about it!"
Meka laughed
"At least you wonít have to worry about being closed down."
"I know. I see you had no luck persuading the others to come along."
"No" Er no grumbled, "Ant still insists on staying loyal to that Sony Restaurant next door. He thinks that this place is a cheap baby food place."
"Doesnít he realise that apart from the ëFinal Fantasyí course, the meals are tiny and leave you hungry for more. Most of them taste fairly rough too."
"Whatís more, they only have 1 course," said Sniper who was looking at the menu. "You get a full 3 course meal here for a cheaper price."
A waiter came over to our table.
"What would you like for the first course? May I remind you that our new ëAdvancedí dishes are available now."
Meka had already made up his mind "Iíll have the Mario Advanced please."
"You want the Spaghetti dish? Good choice sir! Mr Sniper?"
"Iíll have a Bomberman please,"
"Sonic for me."
"Very good Mr Er-no. Chef Miyamoto will be delighted to prepare it. Mr Thraves?"
I looked at the menu for a secondÖ
"(Choose the F-zero course)"
"What?"
"I asked what you wanted for your starter course Mr Thraves."
"(And I told you to choose the F-Zero course. Trust me!)"
"ALRIGHT! F-Zero Advance please."
"Iím very sorry if I rushed you Mr ThravesÖ"
The waiter walked off.
"I didnít know you liked F-Zero Grix?"
"What was all that shouting about?"
"You couldíve just said give me a momentÖ"
I looked at my 3 disgusted friends. What was I to tell them, that I heard voices in my head?
"I was, err, talking to Dan on, err, this com-link hereÖ"
"So HE told you to get the F-Zero course and you were yelling at him!"
"Of course" I sighed with relief. "Iíll turn it off now though."
I thought that Iíd just had a tired day and that I was hearing things. My mind had made a random choice and told me to choose F-Zero. There was nothing special about it. The waiter returned.
"My apologies gentlemen, I forgot to take your orders for the main meal."
"Smash Brothers Melee please!"
The waiter wrote down Er-noís order.
"After Dark for me."
Meka looked at the menu.
"Hmmm. Iíll have a Luigiís Mansion and Donkey Kong racing please"
"And Iíll have Metroid, Mario and Rogue Leader." Said I
Sniper stared at Meka and I while the waiter noted our orders down.
"You greedy pigs!! How can you afford all that?"
Meka and I both grinned as we lifted our free lunch vouchers out of our pockets.
"You two are so lucky. Special Reserve are always giving you two free lunchesÖ"
"Your orders may take some time gentlemen."
We all nodded. It was well known that the Nintendo dishes took a while to make compared to other restaurants, probably the main reason why people like Ant and Fantasy Meister refused to eat there but the dishes were always great when they arrived.
"Where is Fantasy Meister and Sheepy, have they gone off with Ant?"
"Nah, theyíre waiting for the ëMicrosoftís Mega Bites and Micro Chipsí to open. Theyíre feeding themselves on Planetarion snack bars while theyíre waiting."
"Theyíre nice they are."
"Yeah, but theyíre unhealthy too. FMís eaten so many that it canít be good for his health."
I nodded. Games like that could have serious repercussions at times. The waiter returned to the table.
"Mr Thraves, you ordered the F-Zero course, yes?"
"Yes, I did buÖ"
"I have to inform you that a Japanese guest earlier ordered one and changed his mind. It is already prepared and you may have it if you wish instead of our Chef taking time to make a new one."
The rest of the table stared at me. I had a chance to taste the new Advanced dishes before any of them.
"Iíll take it."
The waiter left again.
"You are so lucky Grix."
"Dan knew didnít he, thatís why he told you to choose it!"
"Iíve heard that he works here in his spare timeÖ"
So the voice had done it again. Given me a helping hand. I was beginning to wonder if it was super natural after allÖ"
"So THATíS when you realised when it was your brain."
Grix blew. He stood up, leaned over to the game yelling:
"NO!. LISTEN TO ME PROPERLY! I DID NOT YET KNOW THAT IT WAS MY BRAIN!!!"
"Calm down Mr Thraves"
"(CALM DOWN YOU STUPID IDIOT. HEíS REACHING FOR THE BLUE BUTTON UNDER HIS DESK!)"
Grix stopped. "Whatís that?"
"Calm down."
"(You know, the button he presses to call those men dressed in white to drag you away and tie you to the bed!)"
"Ah!"
Grix sat down like a shot. The Game stared at him. This one was a push over. All he had to say was calm down once and the patient backed down. Next time he was going to have this one strapped down to a chair, he clearly had violent swings.
"Now if youíve pulled together Mr Thraves, perhaps you could tell me when you found out when it was your brain."
"Err, oh yes of course. It was after the meal. I decided to take a shortcut down a dark alleyway. An armed figure stopped me. It was none other than PB, an ex owner of a games company put out of business by rival games from Swordspines.
"So if it isnít Mr Grix Thraves. Howís business. I hope itís got because Iím going to be taking your money." PB held the gun up to my head.
I could see that the gun wasnít real and I was about to reach for the real gun in my back pocket when:
"(Donít try anything, Venombyte is aiming a sniper rifle at your head. NO! Donít look. Just pretend you donít know or else youíll get shot!)"
The voice was there again. I couldnít take some mysterious voice haunting me anymore.
"RIGHT! THAT IS IT! Who are you and what do you want?"
Simultaneously, both brain and PB said "Who me?" but only brain snapped "Jinx!" immediately afterwards.
"Itís me PB!"
"(Itís me, your brain!)"
"Iím the man of lead!"
"(Iím part of your conscience!)"
"You put me out of business and youíre going to pay!"
"(Will you tell that idiot to put a sock in it. Iím trying to talk to you.)"
Despite being unable to believe what I was hearing in my head, I obeyed my order.
"Quiet PB, I canít hear myself think!"
PB looked at me blankly."
"(Then I hit him over the head with a hammer.)"
"Yes, then brain hit him over the head with aÖ NO! Will you SHUT UP! Youíve caused enough trouble as it is!"
The Game stared at Grix. Heíd had a sudden out break again. He put his hand under the desk ready to hit the blue button.
"I BEG your pardon Mr Thraves."
"(Iím sorry! Argh! Quickly apologise before he hits the button!)"
"Sorry. I was talking to brain not you. He was lying to me."
The Game nodded. Grixís brain mustíve been lying to him if it told him that his senses were picking up messages from it. He decided to have him tied up to the bed again but first, more of the story.
"So what happened after brain hit him?"
"NO! Brain did NOT hit him. He just told me so to confuse me. Heíd just told me that those voices Iíd been hearing was him.
PB was looking confused after what Iíd said to him. It might not seem strange what I was saying to you because Iíve told you what brain said, but if you hadnít heard what brain said then youíd be pretty confused too."
Grix waited for a perplexed Game to nod and then continued.
"Anyway, my brain then started explaining what he was.
"(A few weeks back you hit your head and a bit fell off the conscious part of your brain. It grew back over night. The bit that fell off grew to be an independently thinking conscience with extra senses - me.)"
I couldnít believe what I was hearing. My brain had split into two?
"(Donít worry how. Anyway, now I can sense things that are around you like where that document was, that there was a ready made F-Zero dish and that Venombyte is aiming a Sniper rifle for the back of your head.)"
"And what do you suppose I do about it?"
"About what? Grix, have you gone insane??"
"Iím checking when Venombyte is going to pull the trigger. Just be ready to move your head to the right. Look, PB is signallingÖ NOW!"
I did what he said and managed to dodge the shot. It missed me and hit PB in the head. PB held his head and fell to the floor.
"NO!" shouted Venombyte as he ran over to PB.
PB stood up, very ticked off.
"Venom! Did I say I was made out of STEEL? NO! Iím made out of LEAD and lead dents easily!!! Look at the dent youíve made!"
"Iím really sorryÖ"
I used this distraction to get away. I then came here to see what you had to say about it."
"Well Mr Thraves, that IS an interesting story."
"(Heís reaching for the blue button)"
Grix couldnít believe it. "WELL WHAT DO YOU SUPPOSE I DO ABOUT IT?"
The Game looked at him uneasily "You mean your hallucinations?"
"(Iíll tell you what to do, see those roses over there, he cuts the ever so often with the knife in the draw behind his desk.)"
Grix leaned over the desk.
"Now Mr Thraves, if you want to get better from this illness youíd better sit downÖ"
"(Heís pressed the button! The knife is in the middle drawer!)"
"Mr Thraves! Please refrain from going into myÖ HOW DID YOU KNOW THAT WAS IN THERE?"
"(Heís reaching for the button the red button now ñ the one that tells them to come in armed)"
"Calm down Mr Thraves, you donít want anyone to get hurt now do youÖ"
"(Heís pressed it! You know what weíre going to have to do nowÖ)"
"Now Mr Thraves, weíre only here to help youÖ"
"(No, only Iím here to help you. Heís just a gimp!)"
"Mr ThraÖ"
"(Now that wasnít so hard. Lets get out of here!)"
The guards came storming in to find the room empty apart from The Gameís corpse. There was a hole in the wall in the cornerÖ
"How did he know that the wall there was weak?"
"I donít know. I wonder if he knew that it goes into the Asylums showers for the ladies."
A male and female scream came from the hole.
"BRAIN, YOU KNEW THIS WOULD HAPPEN, YOU PERVERTED LITTLEÖ"
The Game looked at his patient. Over the last few years heíd worked at this asylum heíd gradually learned that the voluntary ones were much crazier than the ones dragged in. Bit of a nuisance really because it meant that they could leave any time they wanted to.
"So what was it that spoke to you? The Devil? God? The Dead?"
His patient looked at him, slightly agitated.
"No! Iíve told you, my brain!!"
"Ah, yes of course! I apologise Mr Thraves. So, when did it all start?"
"It all started on a normal day. I parked my car outside my workplace and entered the my office at SwordspinesÖ
It had been a hard week. Dan_Uk was continuously moaning at me to get more staff. As I walked in to my office, again he reminded me that
"2 man companies went out of business 50 years ago. I know that you want minimal staff so we can sell the games cheaply and give the gamers a good deal but this is ridiculous!"
I had more important things to worry about. A letter from the council giving me the details of a licence I needed by the end of the week had vanished. I asked Dan if heíd seen it but he just shrugged. Heís not quite so with it these days. I think that he lost some of his brainpower along with the underscore in his name.
Anyway at that point I heard a voice.
"(Itís in his desk, top drawer to the right.)"
I looked round but there was no one there except Dan who couldnít have possibly said it. I assumed I was hearing things but I checked his desk in the top drawer to the right anyway. It was there. I held it up to Dan saying, "What do you call this?"
"That? Oh yeah, I sorted out that ages ago, I forgot to tell you. You werenít worried about it were you."
Iíd had several sleepless nights worried that my business was going to be shutdown.
"Not at all Dan, I was just wondering where it was thatís all."
The problem was solved but I still couldnít help wondering what that voice wasÖ"
"So that was the first time you heard it Mr Thraves?"
Grix nodded as he watched the Game scribble notes down.
"So you had made a connection with your brain and had learnt how to talk with it."
"No. I thought that I was hearing things. I still didnít know that it was there, let alone that it was my brain"
"Right, so you hadnít realised what it was yet but that was the first time you saw it. I see."
The Game wrote for a bit longer, paused for a second then looked up at Grix and smiled.
"Please continue Mr Thraves."
"As usual, I went out to lunch to meet my friends from the Notables club, Meka, Sniper and Er-no at our favourite restaurant, Nintendo, the Sushi and Italian specialistÖ
I walked in to see the other three at the table.
"Sorry I missed todayís meeting. That idiot Dan sorted out the licence and never told me about it!"
Meka laughed
"At least you wonít have to worry about being closed down."
"I know. I see you had no luck persuading the others to come along."
"No" Er no grumbled, "Ant still insists on staying loyal to that Sony Restaurant next door. He thinks that this place is a cheap baby food place."
"Doesnít he realise that apart from the ëFinal Fantasyí course, the meals are tiny and leave you hungry for more. Most of them taste fairly rough too."
"Whatís more, they only have 1 course," said Sniper who was looking at the menu. "You get a full 3 course meal here for a cheaper price."
A waiter came over to our table.
"What would you like for the first course? May I remind you that our new ëAdvancedí dishes are available now."
Meka had already made up his mind "Iíll have the Mario Advanced please."
"You want the Spaghetti dish? Good choice sir! Mr Sniper?"
"Iíll have a Bomberman please,"
"Sonic for me."
"Very good Mr Er-no. Chef Miyamoto will be delighted to prepare it. Mr Thraves?"
I looked at the menu for a secondÖ
"(Choose the F-zero course)"
"What?"
"I asked what you wanted for your starter course Mr Thraves."
"(And I told you to choose the F-Zero course. Trust me!)"
"ALRIGHT! F-Zero Advance please."
"Iím very sorry if I rushed you Mr ThravesÖ"
The waiter walked off.
"I didnít know you liked F-Zero Grix?"
"What was all that shouting about?"
"You couldíve just said give me a momentÖ"
I looked at my 3 disgusted friends. What was I to tell them, that I heard voices in my head?
"I was, err, talking to Dan on, err, this com-link hereÖ"
"So HE told you to get the F-Zero course and you were yelling at him!"
"Of course" I sighed with relief. "Iíll turn it off now though."
I thought that Iíd just had a tired day and that I was hearing things. My mind had made a random choice and told me to choose F-Zero. There was nothing special about it. The waiter returned.
"My apologies gentlemen, I forgot to take your orders for the main meal."
"Smash Brothers Melee please!"
The waiter wrote down Er-noís order.
"After Dark for me."
Meka looked at the menu.
"Hmmm. Iíll have a Luigiís Mansion and Donkey Kong racing please"
"And Iíll have Metroid, Mario and Rogue Leader." Said I
Sniper stared at Meka and I while the waiter noted our orders down.
"You greedy pigs!! How can you afford all that?"
Meka and I both grinned as we lifted our free lunch vouchers out of our pockets.
"You two are so lucky. Special Reserve are always giving you two free lunchesÖ"
"Your orders may take some time gentlemen."
We all nodded. It was well known that the Nintendo dishes took a while to make compared to other restaurants, probably the main reason why people like Ant and Fantasy Meister refused to eat there but the dishes were always great when they arrived.
"Where is Fantasy Meister and Sheepy, have they gone off with Ant?"
"Nah, theyíre waiting for the ëMicrosoftís Mega Bites and Micro Chipsí to open. Theyíre feeding themselves on Planetarion snack bars while theyíre waiting."
"Theyíre nice they are."
"Yeah, but theyíre unhealthy too. FMís eaten so many that it canít be good for his health."
I nodded. Games like that could have serious repercussions at times. The waiter returned to the table.
"Mr Thraves, you ordered the F-Zero course, yes?"
"Yes, I did buÖ"
"I have to inform you that a Japanese guest earlier ordered one and changed his mind. It is already prepared and you may have it if you wish instead of our Chef taking time to make a new one."
The rest of the table stared at me. I had a chance to taste the new Advanced dishes before any of them.
"Iíll take it."
The waiter left again.
"You are so lucky Grix."
"Dan knew didnít he, thatís why he told you to choose it!"
"Iíve heard that he works here in his spare timeÖ"
So the voice had done it again. Given me a helping hand. I was beginning to wonder if it was super natural after allÖ"
"So THATíS when you realised when it was your brain."
Grix blew. He stood up, leaned over to the game yelling:
"NO!. LISTEN TO ME PROPERLY! I DID NOT YET KNOW THAT IT WAS MY BRAIN!!!"
"Calm down Mr Thraves"
"(CALM DOWN YOU STUPID IDIOT. HEíS REACHING FOR THE BLUE BUTTON UNDER HIS DESK!)"
Grix stopped. "Whatís that?"
"Calm down."
"(You know, the button he presses to call those men dressed in white to drag you away and tie you to the bed!)"
"Ah!"
Grix sat down like a shot. The Game stared at him. This one was a push over. All he had to say was calm down once and the patient backed down. Next time he was going to have this one strapped down to a chair, he clearly had violent swings.
"Now if youíve pulled together Mr Thraves, perhaps you could tell me when you found out when it was your brain."
"Err, oh yes of course. It was after the meal. I decided to take a shortcut down a dark alleyway. An armed figure stopped me. It was none other than PB, an ex owner of a games company put out of business by rival games from Swordspines.
"So if it isnít Mr Grix Thraves. Howís business. I hope itís got because Iím going to be taking your money." PB held the gun up to my head.
I could see that the gun wasnít real and I was about to reach for the real gun in my back pocket when:
"(Donít try anything, Venombyte is aiming a sniper rifle at your head. NO! Donít look. Just pretend you donít know or else youíll get shot!)"
The voice was there again. I couldnít take some mysterious voice haunting me anymore.
"RIGHT! THAT IS IT! Who are you and what do you want?"
Simultaneously, both brain and PB said "Who me?" but only brain snapped "Jinx!" immediately afterwards.
"Itís me PB!"
"(Itís me, your brain!)"
"Iím the man of lead!"
"(Iím part of your conscience!)"
"You put me out of business and youíre going to pay!"
"(Will you tell that idiot to put a sock in it. Iím trying to talk to you.)"
Despite being unable to believe what I was hearing in my head, I obeyed my order.
"Quiet PB, I canít hear myself think!"
PB looked at me blankly."
"(Then I hit him over the head with a hammer.)"
"Yes, then brain hit him over the head with aÖ NO! Will you SHUT UP! Youíve caused enough trouble as it is!"
The Game stared at Grix. Heíd had a sudden out break again. He put his hand under the desk ready to hit the blue button.
"I BEG your pardon Mr Thraves."
"(Iím sorry! Argh! Quickly apologise before he hits the button!)"
"Sorry. I was talking to brain not you. He was lying to me."
The Game nodded. Grixís brain mustíve been lying to him if it told him that his senses were picking up messages from it. He decided to have him tied up to the bed again but first, more of the story.
"So what happened after brain hit him?"
"NO! Brain did NOT hit him. He just told me so to confuse me. Heíd just told me that those voices Iíd been hearing was him.
PB was looking confused after what Iíd said to him. It might not seem strange what I was saying to you because Iíve told you what brain said, but if you hadnít heard what brain said then youíd be pretty confused too."
Grix waited for a perplexed Game to nod and then continued.
"Anyway, my brain then started explaining what he was.
"(A few weeks back you hit your head and a bit fell off the conscious part of your brain. It grew back over night. The bit that fell off grew to be an independently thinking conscience with extra senses - me.)"
I couldnít believe what I was hearing. My brain had split into two?
"(Donít worry how. Anyway, now I can sense things that are around you like where that document was, that there was a ready made F-Zero dish and that Venombyte is aiming a Sniper rifle for the back of your head.)"
"And what do you suppose I do about it?"
"About what? Grix, have you gone insane??"
"Iím checking when Venombyte is going to pull the trigger. Just be ready to move your head to the right. Look, PB is signallingÖ NOW!"
I did what he said and managed to dodge the shot. It missed me and hit PB in the head. PB held his head and fell to the floor.
"NO!" shouted Venombyte as he ran over to PB.
PB stood up, very ticked off.
"Venom! Did I say I was made out of STEEL? NO! Iím made out of LEAD and lead dents easily!!! Look at the dent youíve made!"
"Iím really sorryÖ"
I used this distraction to get away. I then came here to see what you had to say about it."
"Well Mr Thraves, that IS an interesting story."
"(Heís reaching for the blue button)"
Grix couldnít believe it. "WELL WHAT DO YOU SUPPOSE I DO ABOUT IT?"
The Game looked at him uneasily "You mean your hallucinations?"
"(Iíll tell you what to do, see those roses over there, he cuts the ever so often with the knife in the draw behind his desk.)"
Grix leaned over the desk.
"Now Mr Thraves, if you want to get better from this illness youíd better sit downÖ"
"(Heís pressed the button! The knife is in the middle drawer!)"
"Mr Thraves! Please refrain from going into myÖ HOW DID YOU KNOW THAT WAS IN THERE?"
"(Heís reaching for the button the red button now ñ the one that tells them to come in armed)"
"Calm down Mr Thraves, you donít want anyone to get hurt now do youÖ"
"(Heís pressed it! You know what weíre going to have to do nowÖ)"
"Now Mr Thraves, weíre only here to help youÖ"
"(No, only Iím here to help you. Heís just a gimp!)"
"Mr ThraÖ"
"(Now that wasnít so hard. Lets get out of here!)"
The guards came storming in to find the room empty apart from The Gameís corpse. There was a hole in the wall in the cornerÖ
"How did he know that the wall there was weak?"
"I donít know. I wonder if he knew that it goes into the Asylums showers for the ladies."
A male and female scream came from the hole.
"BRAIN, YOU KNEW THIS WOULD HAPPEN, YOU PERVERTED LITTLEÖ"
Ahhh, the memories.
This was for the short story competiton, wasn't it? I came second...damn that cooldogs. ;)
This was for the short story competiton, wasn't it? I came second...damn that cooldogs. ;)
One of the first stories to be in this forum.
POP!
POP!
Strafex wrote:
> lol, shorter than other peoples short stories :-D
Take Voices 2 for example. :D
> lol, shorter than other peoples short stories :-D
Take Voices 2 for example. :D
lol, shorter than other peoples short stories :-D
was that short. i really didn t read it all.
This story is getting crushed under the heavy load from above.
POP!
POP!
This was the first of my short story entries and the best by far.
Back in the days when I was called Dan uk...
(A whole months ago :-))
Back in the days when I was called Dan uk...
(A whole months ago :-))
"Iím telling you. It spoke to meÖ donít ask me why it chose me, but it did."
The Game looked at his patient. Over the last few years heíd worked at this asylum heíd gradually learned that the voluntary ones were much crazier than the ones dragged in. Bit of a nuisance really because it meant that they could leave any time they wanted to.
"So what was it that spoke to you? The Devil? God? The Dead?"
His patient looked at him, slightly agitated.
"No! Iíve told you, my brain!!"
"Ah, yes of course! I apologise Mr Thraves. So, when did it all start?"
"It all started on a normal day. I parked my car outside my workplace and entered the my office at SwordspinesÖ
It had been a hard week. Dan_Uk was continuously moaning at me to get more staff. As I walked in to my office, again he reminded me that
"2 man companies went out of business 50 years ago. I know that you want minimal staff so we can sell the games cheaply and give the gamers a good deal but this is ridiculous!"
I had more important things to worry about. A letter from the council giving me the details of a licence I needed by the end of the week had vanished. I asked Dan if heíd seen it but he just shrugged. Heís not quite so with it these days. I think that he lost some of his brainpower along with the underscore in his name.
Anyway at that point I heard a voice.
"(Itís in his desk, top drawer to the right.)"
I looked round but there was no one there except Dan who couldnít have possibly said it. I assumed I was hearing things but I checked his desk in the top drawer to the right anyway. It was there. I held it up to Dan saying, "What do you call this?"
"That? Oh yeah, I sorted out that ages ago, I forgot to tell you. You werenít worried about it were you."
Iíd had several sleepless nights worried that my business was going to be shutdown.
"Not at all Dan, I was just wondering where it was thatís all."
The problem was solved but I still couldnít help wondering what that voice wasÖ"
"So that was the first time you heard it Mr Thraves?"
Grix nodded as he watched the Game scribble notes down.
"So you had made a connection with your brain and had learnt how to talk with it."
"No. I thought that I was hearing things. I still didnít know that it was there, let alone that it was my brain"
"Right, so you hadnít realised what it was yet but that was the first time you saw it. I see."
The Game wrote for a bit longer, paused for a second then looked up at Grix and smiled.
"Please continue Mr Thraves."
"As usual, I went out to lunch to meet my friends from the Notables club, Meka, Sniper and Er-no at our favourite restaurant, Nintendo, the Sushi and Italian specialistÖ
I walked in to see the other three at the table.
"Sorry I missed todayís meeting. That idiot Dan sorted out the licence and never told me about it!"
Meka laughed
"At least you wonít have to worry about being closed down."
"I know. I see you had no luck persuading the others to come along."
"No" Er no grumbled, "Ant still insists on staying loyal to that Sony Restaurant next door. He thinks that this place is a cheap baby food place."
"Doesnít he realise that apart from the ëFinal Fantasyí course, the meals are tiny and leave you hungry for more. Most of them taste fairly rough too."
"Whatís more, they only have 1 course," said Sniper who was looking at the menu. "You get a full 3 course meal here for a cheaper price."
A waiter came over to our table.
"What would you like for the first course? May I remind you that our new ëAdvancedí dishes are available now."
Meka had already made up his mind "Iíll have the Mario Advanced please."
"You want the Spaghetti dish? Good choice sir! Mr Sniper?"
"Iíll have a Bomberman please,"
"Sonic for me."
"Very good Mr Er-no. Chef Miyamoto will be delighted to prepare it. Mr Thraves?"
I looked at the menu for a secondÖ
"(Choose the F-zero course)"
"What?"
"I asked what you wanted for your starter course Mr Thraves."
"(And I told you to choose the F-Zero course. Trust me!)"
"ALRIGHT! F-Zero Advance please."
"Iím very sorry if I rushed you Mr ThravesÖ"
The waiter walked off.
"I didnít know you liked F-Zero Grix?"
"What was all that shouting about?"
"You couldíve just said give me a momentÖ"
I looked at my 3 disgusted friends. What was I to tell them, that I heard voices in my head?
"I was, err, talking to Dan on, err, this com-link hereÖ"
"So HE told you to get the F-Zero course and you were yelling at him!"
"Of course" I sighed with relief. "Iíll turn it off now though."
I thought that Iíd just had a tired day and that I was hearing things. My mind had made a random choice and told me to choose F-Zero. There was nothing special about it. The waiter returned.
"My apologies gentlemen, I forgot to take your orders for the main meal."
"Smash Brothers Melee please!"
The waiter wrote down Er-noís order.
"After Dark for me."
Meka looked at the menu.
"Hmmm. Iíll have a Luigiís Mansion and Donkey Kong racing please"
"And Iíll have Metroid, Mario and Rogue Leader." Said I
Sniper stared at Meka and I while the waiter noted our orders down.
"You greedy pigs!! How can you afford all that?"
Meka and I both grinned as we lifted our free lunch vouchers out of our pockets.
"You two are so lucky. Special Reserve are always giving you two free lunchesÖ"
"Your orders may take some time gentlemen."
We all nodded. It was well known that the Nintendo dishes took a while to make compared to other restaurants, probably the main reason why people like Ant and Fantasy Meister refused to eat there but the dishes were always great when they arrived.
"Where is Fantasy Meister and Sheepy, have they gone off with Ant?"
"Nah, theyíre waiting for the ëMicrosoftís Mega Bites and Micro Chipsí to open. Theyíre feeding themselves on Planetarion snack bars while theyíre waiting."
"Theyíre nice they are."
"Yeah, but theyíre unhealthy too. FMís eaten so many that it canít be good for his health."
I nodded. Games like that could have serious repercussions at times. The waiter returned to the table.
"Mr Thraves, you ordered the F-Zero course, yes?"
"Yes, I did buÖ"
"I have to inform you that a Japanese guest earlier ordered one and changed his mind. It is already prepared and you may have it if you wish instead of our Chef taking time to make a new one."
The rest of the table stared at me. I had a chance to taste the new Advanced dishes before any of them.
"Iíll take it."
The waiter left again.
"You are so lucky Grix."
"Dan knew didnít he, thatís why he told you to choose it!"
"Iíve heard that he works here in his spare timeÖ"
So the voice had done it again. Given me a helping hand. I was beginning to wonder if it was super natural after allÖ"
"So THATíS when you realised when it was your brain."
Grix blew. He stood up, leaned over to the game yelling:
"NO!. LISTEN TO ME PROPERLY! I DID NOT YET KNOW THAT IT WAS MY BRAIN!!!"
"Calm down Mr Thraves"
"(CALM DOWN YOU STUPID IDIOT. HEíS REACHING FOR THE BLUE BUTTON UNDER HIS DESK!)"
Grix stopped. "Whatís that?"
"Calm down."
"(You know, the button he presses to call those men dressed in white to drag you away and tie you to the bed!)"
"Ah!"
Grix sat down like a shot. The Game stared at him. This one was a push over. All he had to say was calm down once and the patient backed down. Next time he was going to have this one strapped down to a chair, he clearly had violent swings.
"Now if youíve pulled together Mr Thraves, perhaps you could tell me when you found out when it was your brain."
"Err, oh yes of course. It was after the meal. I decided to take a shortcut down a dark alleyway. An armed figure stopped me. It was none other than PB, an ex owner of a games company put out of business by rival games from Swordspines.
"So if it isnít Mr Grix Thraves. Howís business. I hope itís got because Iím going to be taking your money." PB held the gun up to my head.
I could see that the gun wasnít real and I was about to reach for the real gun in my back pocket when:
"(Donít try anything, Venombyte is aiming a sniper rifle at your head. NO! Donít look. Just pretend you donít know or else youíll get shot!)"
The voice was there again. I couldnít take some mysterious voice haunting me anymore.
"RIGHT! THAT IS IT! Who are you and what do you want?"
Simultaneously, both brain and PB said "Who me?" but only brain snapped "Jinx!" immediately afterwards.
"Itís me PB!"
"(Itís me, your brain!)"
"Iím the man of lead!"
"(Iím part of your conscience!)"
"You put me out of business and youíre going to pay!"
"(Will you tell that idiot to put a sock in it. Iím trying to talk to you.)"
Despite being unable to believe what I was hearing in my head, I obeyed my order.
"Quiet PB, I canít hear myself think!"
PB looked at me blankly."
"(Then I hit him over the head with a hammer.)"
"Yes, then brain hit him over the head with aÖ NO! Will you SHUT UP! Youíve caused enough trouble as it is!"
The Game stared at Grix. Heíd had a sudden out break again. He put his hand under the desk ready to hit the blue button.
"I BEG your pardon Mr Thraves."
"(Iím sorry! Argh! Quickly apologise before he hits the button!)"
"Sorry. I was talking to brain not you. He was lying to me."
The Game nodded. Grixís brain mustíve been lying to him if it told him that his senses were picking up messages from it. He decided to have him tied up to the bed again but first, more of the story.
"So what happened after brain hit him?"
"NO! Brain did NOT hit him. He just told me so to confuse me. Heíd just told me that those voices Iíd been hearing was him.
PB was looking confused after what Iíd said to him. It might not seem strange what I was saying to you because Iíve told you what brain said, but if you hadnít heard what brain said then youíd be pretty confused too."
Grix waited for a perplexed Game to nod and then continued.
"Anyway, my brain then started explaining what he was.
"(A few weeks back you hit your head and a bit fell off the conscious part of your brain. It grew back over night. The bit that fell off grew to be an independently thinking conscience with extra senses - me.)"
I couldnít believe what I was hearing. My brain had split into two?
"(Donít worry how. Anyway, now I can sense things that are around you like where that document was, that there was a ready made F-Zero dish and that Venombyte is aiming a Sniper rifle for the back of your head.)"
"And what do you suppose I do about it?"
"About what? Grix, have you gone insane??"
"Iím checking when Venombyte is going to pull the trigger. Just be ready to move your head to the right. Look, PB is signallingÖ NOW!"
I did what he said and managed to dodge the shot. It missed me and hit PB in the head. PB held his head and fell to the floor.
"NO!" shouted Venombyte as he ran over to PB.
PB stood up, very ticked off.
"Venom! Did I say I was made out of STEEL? NO! Iím made out of LEAD and lead dents easily!!! Look at the dent youíve made!"
"Iím really sorryÖ"
I used this distraction to get away. I then came here to see what you had to say about it."
"Well Mr Thraves, that IS an interesting story."
"(Heís reaching for the blue button)"
Grix couldnít believe it. "WELL WHAT DO YOU SUPPOSE I DO ABOUT IT?"
The Game looked at him uneasily "You mean your hallucinations?"
"(Iíll tell you what to do, see those roses over there, he cuts the ever so often with the knife in the draw behind his desk.)"
Grix leaned over the desk.
"Now Mr Thraves, if you want to get better from this illness youíd better sit downÖ"
"(Heís pressed the button! The knife is in the middle drawer!)"
"Mr Thraves! Please refrain from going into myÖ HOW DID YOU KNOW THAT WAS IN THERE?"
"(Heís reaching for the button the red button now ñ the one that tells them to come in armed)"
"Calm down Mr Thraves, you donít want anyone to get hurt now do youÖ"
"(Heís pressed it! You know what weíre going to have to do nowÖ)"
"Now Mr Thraves, weíre only here to help youÖ"
"(No, only Iím here to help you. Heís just a gimp!)"
"Mr ThraÖ"
"(Now that wasnít so hard. Lets get out of here!)"
The guards came storming in to find the room empty apart from The Gameís corpse. There was a hole in the wall in the cornerÖ
"How did he know that the wall there was weak?"
"I donít know. I wonder if he knew that it goes into the Asylums showers for the ladies."
A male and female scream came from the hole.
"BRAIN, YOU KNEW THIS WOULD HAPPEN, YOU PERVERTED LITTLEÖ"
The Game looked at his patient. Over the last few years heíd worked at this asylum heíd gradually learned that the voluntary ones were much crazier than the ones dragged in. Bit of a nuisance really because it meant that they could leave any time they wanted to.
"So what was it that spoke to you? The Devil? God? The Dead?"
His patient looked at him, slightly agitated.
"No! Iíve told you, my brain!!"
"Ah, yes of course! I apologise Mr Thraves. So, when did it all start?"
"It all started on a normal day. I parked my car outside my workplace and entered the my office at SwordspinesÖ
It had been a hard week. Dan_Uk was continuously moaning at me to get more staff. As I walked in to my office, again he reminded me that
"2 man companies went out of business 50 years ago. I know that you want minimal staff so we can sell the games cheaply and give the gamers a good deal but this is ridiculous!"
I had more important things to worry about. A letter from the council giving me the details of a licence I needed by the end of the week had vanished. I asked Dan if heíd seen it but he just shrugged. Heís not quite so with it these days. I think that he lost some of his brainpower along with the underscore in his name.
Anyway at that point I heard a voice.
"(Itís in his desk, top drawer to the right.)"
I looked round but there was no one there except Dan who couldnít have possibly said it. I assumed I was hearing things but I checked his desk in the top drawer to the right anyway. It was there. I held it up to Dan saying, "What do you call this?"
"That? Oh yeah, I sorted out that ages ago, I forgot to tell you. You werenít worried about it were you."
Iíd had several sleepless nights worried that my business was going to be shutdown.
"Not at all Dan, I was just wondering where it was thatís all."
The problem was solved but I still couldnít help wondering what that voice wasÖ"
"So that was the first time you heard it Mr Thraves?"
Grix nodded as he watched the Game scribble notes down.
"So you had made a connection with your brain and had learnt how to talk with it."
"No. I thought that I was hearing things. I still didnít know that it was there, let alone that it was my brain"
"Right, so you hadnít realised what it was yet but that was the first time you saw it. I see."
The Game wrote for a bit longer, paused for a second then looked up at Grix and smiled.
"Please continue Mr Thraves."
"As usual, I went out to lunch to meet my friends from the Notables club, Meka, Sniper and Er-no at our favourite restaurant, Nintendo, the Sushi and Italian specialistÖ
I walked in to see the other three at the table.
"Sorry I missed todayís meeting. That idiot Dan sorted out the licence and never told me about it!"
Meka laughed
"At least you wonít have to worry about being closed down."
"I know. I see you had no luck persuading the others to come along."
"No" Er no grumbled, "Ant still insists on staying loyal to that Sony Restaurant next door. He thinks that this place is a cheap baby food place."
"Doesnít he realise that apart from the ëFinal Fantasyí course, the meals are tiny and leave you hungry for more. Most of them taste fairly rough too."
"Whatís more, they only have 1 course," said Sniper who was looking at the menu. "You get a full 3 course meal here for a cheaper price."
A waiter came over to our table.
"What would you like for the first course? May I remind you that our new ëAdvancedí dishes are available now."
Meka had already made up his mind "Iíll have the Mario Advanced please."
"You want the Spaghetti dish? Good choice sir! Mr Sniper?"
"Iíll have a Bomberman please,"
"Sonic for me."
"Very good Mr Er-no. Chef Miyamoto will be delighted to prepare it. Mr Thraves?"
I looked at the menu for a secondÖ
"(Choose the F-zero course)"
"What?"
"I asked what you wanted for your starter course Mr Thraves."
"(And I told you to choose the F-Zero course. Trust me!)"
"ALRIGHT! F-Zero Advance please."
"Iím very sorry if I rushed you Mr ThravesÖ"
The waiter walked off.
"I didnít know you liked F-Zero Grix?"
"What was all that shouting about?"
"You couldíve just said give me a momentÖ"
I looked at my 3 disgusted friends. What was I to tell them, that I heard voices in my head?
"I was, err, talking to Dan on, err, this com-link hereÖ"
"So HE told you to get the F-Zero course and you were yelling at him!"
"Of course" I sighed with relief. "Iíll turn it off now though."
I thought that Iíd just had a tired day and that I was hearing things. My mind had made a random choice and told me to choose F-Zero. There was nothing special about it. The waiter returned.
"My apologies gentlemen, I forgot to take your orders for the main meal."
"Smash Brothers Melee please!"
The waiter wrote down Er-noís order.
"After Dark for me."
Meka looked at the menu.
"Hmmm. Iíll have a Luigiís Mansion and Donkey Kong racing please"
"And Iíll have Metroid, Mario and Rogue Leader." Said I
Sniper stared at Meka and I while the waiter noted our orders down.
"You greedy pigs!! How can you afford all that?"
Meka and I both grinned as we lifted our free lunch vouchers out of our pockets.
"You two are so lucky. Special Reserve are always giving you two free lunchesÖ"
"Your orders may take some time gentlemen."
We all nodded. It was well known that the Nintendo dishes took a while to make compared to other restaurants, probably the main reason why people like Ant and Fantasy Meister refused to eat there but the dishes were always great when they arrived.
"Where is Fantasy Meister and Sheepy, have they gone off with Ant?"
"Nah, theyíre waiting for the ëMicrosoftís Mega Bites and Micro Chipsí to open. Theyíre feeding themselves on Planetarion snack bars while theyíre waiting."
"Theyíre nice they are."
"Yeah, but theyíre unhealthy too. FMís eaten so many that it canít be good for his health."
I nodded. Games like that could have serious repercussions at times. The waiter returned to the table.
"Mr Thraves, you ordered the F-Zero course, yes?"
"Yes, I did buÖ"
"I have to inform you that a Japanese guest earlier ordered one and changed his mind. It is already prepared and you may have it if you wish instead of our Chef taking time to make a new one."
The rest of the table stared at me. I had a chance to taste the new Advanced dishes before any of them.
"Iíll take it."
The waiter left again.
"You are so lucky Grix."
"Dan knew didnít he, thatís why he told you to choose it!"
"Iíve heard that he works here in his spare timeÖ"
So the voice had done it again. Given me a helping hand. I was beginning to wonder if it was super natural after allÖ"
"So THATíS when you realised when it was your brain."
Grix blew. He stood up, leaned over to the game yelling:
"NO!. LISTEN TO ME PROPERLY! I DID NOT YET KNOW THAT IT WAS MY BRAIN!!!"
"Calm down Mr Thraves"
"(CALM DOWN YOU STUPID IDIOT. HEíS REACHING FOR THE BLUE BUTTON UNDER HIS DESK!)"
Grix stopped. "Whatís that?"
"Calm down."
"(You know, the button he presses to call those men dressed in white to drag you away and tie you to the bed!)"
"Ah!"
Grix sat down like a shot. The Game stared at him. This one was a push over. All he had to say was calm down once and the patient backed down. Next time he was going to have this one strapped down to a chair, he clearly had violent swings.
"Now if youíve pulled together Mr Thraves, perhaps you could tell me when you found out when it was your brain."
"Err, oh yes of course. It was after the meal. I decided to take a shortcut down a dark alleyway. An armed figure stopped me. It was none other than PB, an ex owner of a games company put out of business by rival games from Swordspines.
"So if it isnít Mr Grix Thraves. Howís business. I hope itís got because Iím going to be taking your money." PB held the gun up to my head.
I could see that the gun wasnít real and I was about to reach for the real gun in my back pocket when:
"(Donít try anything, Venombyte is aiming a sniper rifle at your head. NO! Donít look. Just pretend you donít know or else youíll get shot!)"
The voice was there again. I couldnít take some mysterious voice haunting me anymore.
"RIGHT! THAT IS IT! Who are you and what do you want?"
Simultaneously, both brain and PB said "Who me?" but only brain snapped "Jinx!" immediately afterwards.
"Itís me PB!"
"(Itís me, your brain!)"
"Iím the man of lead!"
"(Iím part of your conscience!)"
"You put me out of business and youíre going to pay!"
"(Will you tell that idiot to put a sock in it. Iím trying to talk to you.)"
Despite being unable to believe what I was hearing in my head, I obeyed my order.
"Quiet PB, I canít hear myself think!"
PB looked at me blankly."
"(Then I hit him over the head with a hammer.)"
"Yes, then brain hit him over the head with aÖ NO! Will you SHUT UP! Youíve caused enough trouble as it is!"
The Game stared at Grix. Heíd had a sudden out break again. He put his hand under the desk ready to hit the blue button.
"I BEG your pardon Mr Thraves."
"(Iím sorry! Argh! Quickly apologise before he hits the button!)"
"Sorry. I was talking to brain not you. He was lying to me."
The Game nodded. Grixís brain mustíve been lying to him if it told him that his senses were picking up messages from it. He decided to have him tied up to the bed again but first, more of the story.
"So what happened after brain hit him?"
"NO! Brain did NOT hit him. He just told me so to confuse me. Heíd just told me that those voices Iíd been hearing was him.
PB was looking confused after what Iíd said to him. It might not seem strange what I was saying to you because Iíve told you what brain said, but if you hadnít heard what brain said then youíd be pretty confused too."
Grix waited for a perplexed Game to nod and then continued.
"Anyway, my brain then started explaining what he was.
"(A few weeks back you hit your head and a bit fell off the conscious part of your brain. It grew back over night. The bit that fell off grew to be an independently thinking conscience with extra senses - me.)"
I couldnít believe what I was hearing. My brain had split into two?
"(Donít worry how. Anyway, now I can sense things that are around you like where that document was, that there was a ready made F-Zero dish and that Venombyte is aiming a Sniper rifle for the back of your head.)"
"And what do you suppose I do about it?"
"About what? Grix, have you gone insane??"
"Iím checking when Venombyte is going to pull the trigger. Just be ready to move your head to the right. Look, PB is signallingÖ NOW!"
I did what he said and managed to dodge the shot. It missed me and hit PB in the head. PB held his head and fell to the floor.
"NO!" shouted Venombyte as he ran over to PB.
PB stood up, very ticked off.
"Venom! Did I say I was made out of STEEL? NO! Iím made out of LEAD and lead dents easily!!! Look at the dent youíve made!"
"Iím really sorryÖ"
I used this distraction to get away. I then came here to see what you had to say about it."
"Well Mr Thraves, that IS an interesting story."
"(Heís reaching for the blue button)"
Grix couldnít believe it. "WELL WHAT DO YOU SUPPOSE I DO ABOUT IT?"
The Game looked at him uneasily "You mean your hallucinations?"
"(Iíll tell you what to do, see those roses over there, he cuts the ever so often with the knife in the draw behind his desk.)"
Grix leaned over the desk.
"Now Mr Thraves, if you want to get better from this illness youíd better sit downÖ"
"(Heís pressed the button! The knife is in the middle drawer!)"
"Mr Thraves! Please refrain from going into myÖ HOW DID YOU KNOW THAT WAS IN THERE?"
"(Heís reaching for the button the red button now ñ the one that tells them to come in armed)"
"Calm down Mr Thraves, you donít want anyone to get hurt now do youÖ"
"(Heís pressed it! You know what weíre going to have to do nowÖ)"
"Now Mr Thraves, weíre only here to help youÖ"
"(No, only Iím here to help you. Heís just a gimp!)"
"Mr ThraÖ"
"(Now that wasnít so hard. Lets get out of here!)"
The guards came storming in to find the room empty apart from The Gameís corpse. There was a hole in the wall in the cornerÖ
"How did he know that the wall there was weak?"
"I donít know. I wonder if he knew that it goes into the Asylums showers for the ladies."
A male and female scream came from the hole.
"BRAIN, YOU KNEW THIS WOULD HAPPEN, YOU PERVERTED LITTLEÖ"