Once inside the room my legs became my own again and I collapsed to the floor.  The room was completely empty except for an old desktop computer on a cheap wheeled trolley.  I noticed on the trolley a small pile of papers and I stepped towards them and quickly flicked through to see if I could make sense of anything that had already happened.  It appeared that the computer was running a game testing a new type of output which utilised the supernatural’s effect on the mind.   The attack I had suffered had in fact all been in my mind, but the bullets I’d wasted were real. 

The creators of this nightmare had been maverick employees of the government’s research facility who in their boredom had gone against all scientific reasoning and produced a game to test their new machine.  These same men and women had been lazy in their programming and let a few bugs in the software slip through their net.  These in turn had evolved into much more serious problems which soon took control of the game itself and had taken over the entire workforce. Their heads had been filled with disturbing and sickening thoughts producing the extraordinary and gruesome behaviour which we had observed.

I had to stop this game somehow.  I stepped closer to inspect the empty screen.  As I did so, a line of text flashed up which said

“Congratulations  Player 273 you have successfully completed level 10 in Metatechnical experiment 189, difficulty moderate.  Please choose an option:

1. Watch replay

2. Repeat a level

3. Terminate game”

I pressed 3 on the keyboard, but as I did so the screen froze and began to flicker.  Suddenly it stopped and fresh lines of text appeared “Fatal error 273, please choose another option.”  In a panic I reached for the power cord and unplugged it but the machine continued to buzz.  I stepped back to the doors but an unseen force had closed and locked them shut.  Thinking quickly I took out the explosives I had reserved for the monster which I had believed to be down there and placed them on top of the computer’s tower.  I rigged them to the detonator wire which should have led me back to the entrance.

I chose option 2 and typed in “level 1”, hoping this would allow me to return to the beginning.  As the world melted and reshaped itself the computer screen said “returning to level 1”.  In front of me was the door where my ordeal had begun.  I untied the detonator wire and fixed it up to a small switch.  I knocked on the door and as it opened I flicked the switch, there was a rush of air as the horrors behind me were put to rest and I emerged to a brilliant light.  It seemed that all the evil and turmoil in the world had vanished with the computer simulation. All I could see were green meadows and singing birds.  I lay down and slept wondering if this was real.