Messages From a Friend (Poofless)

36

~*Woofless*~

A small sense of déjà-vu clouds my mind as I follow Simon in his descent down the stairs, and I recall my time in the old Minecraftian laboratory with Anaihee a few years back. The haunting voice of my late ancestor fills my mind.

I'm sorry I betrayed you, father.

I shake his voice out of my head as I step off the staircase and onto level ground. Simon rests his hand against a pane of glass on the wall beside a metal door before leaning his head close to a small circle above the pane. I open my mouth to question is actions. I shouldn't. I close my mouth and continue my silence as the pane lights up in a series of colours and symbols (of which he presses in what appears to be an unnecessarily long pattern).

"Welcome to the Minter Cooperation, my Prince," Simon finally states, turning to me with a smile smile on his face as the metal door slides open behind him. "You are the second royal to ever grace their presence in this room."

"Who was the first?" I question as Simon motions for me to enter. I follow his instructions, and pause mid-step as I enter the room. I struggle to contain my awe as I look over all the bright lights and giant technological screens far beyond the advancements of the empire. It feels as though I've stepped fifty years into the future. I rub my eyes and blink to make sure I'm not imagining things.

"Parah Neyon of course," Simon states. The smile on his face had grown larger with my reaction to his work. "She wanted to see what your father's investments created."

I look at Simon with wide eyes. "My father helped build this?" Simon shakes his head, and I feel a small pang if sadness in my chest.

"Seto helped pay for all of this," Simon explains, saying my father's name as if he was an old friend. "He wanted to help, but the emperor," he pauses before clearing his throat. "But he passed on before he could've been of any use." I could sense his hesitation in talking about my father's death. He knows something I don't. But instead of questioning him, I move the subject away from the late prince. He'll tell me later.

"You built all of this?" I motion to all of the computers and technology that decorated the walls of this room. The longer I stand here, the more normal it feels.

"My brothers helped me when they could, but it's mostly my work, yes. The Minter Cooperation focused on trade, but when my father noticed my interest in computers he started up a small branch of electronics for me to run. Nobody knew about it but my father and myself." Simon lets out a small sigh before walking toward one of the smaller computers that had a small, blinking red light on it's bottom right-hand corner. He taps on the keyboard twice and the screen shines blue before an automated female voice speaks from somewhere overhead.

"New video messages. There is an unidentified male is with you, Simon. Open anyways?"

"Proceed," Simon states to the computer, waving me over. Curiosity and excitement threaten to overwhelm me, but I keep myself from running over like an excited child. Instead I keep my hands in my pockets as I slowly walk over to the computer. "You'll want to be seated for this, Woofless." Simon pulls out a padded, wheeled chair and pats on it for me to sit.

I sit, and as soon as I do the screen opens a video page similar to the one I saw in the laboratory.

Press "Space" to play, press "S" to play previous message. If you wish to record a message of your own, press "R". To send a recorded message to A FRIEND, press "9".

I press space, and the automated voice speaks again. "Playing Messages from A FRIEND." A familiar looking brunette man with a beard appears on the screen. His blue eyes shine with happiness, and a large smile is on his face. Who is he?