9 minutes.

This has no relevance to video games at all, but it's something I jjust came across and remembered. It's a story I wrote over a year ago, when I was sitting in a maths test having finished my work and was waiting for the test to finish.
There are a few grammatical errors, and towards the end, it gets a little sterotypical, but I still think it's one of the best stories I've ever written.

9 minutes.
9 Minutes
Jack Thomas sat anxiously waiting for the clock to tick down. The following lesson, science, was no better but the agonising silence that was realised upon completing a maths test soon became crippling. The occasional scratch of a pen or cough brought about by some bubbling chest infection was not enough to retain sanity. Looking around at his classmates he realised he was staring at a tormenting depiction of the future the school board wanted.
They were like machines. Sitting, focused on their work and nothing else. Robots that have no purpose but to function as programmed. And when a machine doesn’t function it is always fixed. Or destroyed.
The fear of appearing to malfunction kept Jack in his place. He looked up and saw the teacher looking at the longing in his eyes. The longing for something more than a Maths test. But to her, Jack wasn’t a person. He was number 34B on the register, and Jack knew that’s how she saw him. That’s how all the teachers saw him.
A book. It was time to read a book. Not any book, but a text book. Exams were in just a few weeks and Jack needed to know a lot. Opening the book all Jack saw were numbers and all 34B saw was work. But there was another. Another that looked at the book and saw a code. Another that realised the enigma. Another that knew the rules and abided by them. Another that was called serial number 32496 by its examiners.
Jack tore his eyes from the book and put them to the clock.

6 Minutes
If 34B had no purpose for those few seconds, did he really exist? This was something Jack pondered for a second. If he ceased to have purpose what effect would that have on the universe? After much consideration over a series of consecutive maths lessons, 32496 had come to the conclusion that consideration of the unknown was futile. Regardless though, futility was what drove Jack. It was, in the end, 34B who had suggested that for a creature to exist without purpose would undoubtedly result in the Universe disappearing into the unknown. 32496 stayed quiet. Jack was confused. Surely sitting staring at the clock…
5 minutes
…would result in the end of everything?Of course not, 34B noted. This very thought is your purpose: it is necessary. 32496 concurred with 34B’s thesis but quickly seemed to put the conversation out of mind. It doesn’t ‘compute’.

3 Minutes
Sitting with only his thoughts, Jack felt alone. 34B was coping. 32496 saw no difference from normality. Suddenly a slight noise slid through the silence. Jack felt the ultimate desire to listen. 34B said to put it out of mind. 32496 wasn’t affected by anything that didn’t have specific interaction with it.
Slowly, the noise crept into Jack’s ear.”…but what if he likes you?”It made sense…
“But what if he doesn’t like me?”
It did compute…
“I’ve heard things from Jimmy Bell!”
They were talking. Jack was astonished and overjoyed. There was life! 34B was confused. It was a test, they couldn’t talk. 32496 wasn’t affected by anything that didn’t have specific interaction with it.

2 Minutes
Suddenly, Jack felt a touch on his shoulder. He turned and saw Stacey, a model of the female line.
“Jack…”34B didn’t want to respond. Jack was confused. 32496 recognised specific interaction…
“Jack Thomas!”
Jack turned to see the programmer standing infuriated.
Interaction, 32496 thought.
He stood so that he could look his maths teacher in the eye.
“Yes, Miss?”
”If I catch you talking on my line again, Jack, I will take you off it!”
34B sat down. 32496 understood that the order computed. Jack lowered himself and looked around. No. He looked around at the his classmates. His register. His fellow produce coming off the line. There was 39B, 52G, 43B who were otherwise known as 21797, 452616 and 92317. No

1 Minute
34B told him to sit. 32496 ordered him to sit.
”No,” Jack stammered”That does not compute.”
The teacher, the programmer, the woman from the line watched Jack and pulled a phone from her desk. After a quick dial, she spoke:
”We have a problem with 32496.”
Jack looked up, horrified.
”My name is Jack.”
No it isn’t, 34B sneered.
32496 felt that the idea of name was irrelevant.
“I’m Jack!”
His cries gathered strange looks from the class.
The classroom door opened. Two men in black entered and stood. It was impossible to distinguish the humanoids from each other. They were so blunt, so cold and so large.
“32496?”
Jack was scared and watched on in horror as the woman on the line pointed to him.
“No…I’m…I’M JACK!” he yelled.
34B didn’t resist.
32496 understood.
One of the men stepped forward.
“You need to come with us.”
Jack stood his ground.
”You’ve malfunctioned.”

0 Minutes

This has no relevance to video games at all, but it's something I jjust came across and remembered. It's a story I wrote over a year ago, when I was sitting in a maths test having finished my work and was waiting for the test to finish.
There are a few grammatical errors, and towards the end, it gets a little sterotypical, but I still think it's one of the best stories I've ever written.

9 minutes.
9 Minutes
Jack Thomas sat anxiously waiting for the clock to tick down. The following lesson, science, was no better but the agonising silence that was realised upon completing a maths test soon became crippling. The occasional scratch of a pen or cough brought about by some bubbling chest infection was not enough to retain sanity. Looking around at his classmates he realised he was staring at a tormenting depiction of the future the school board wanted.
They were like machines. Sitting, focused on their work and nothing else. Robots that have no purpose but to function as programmed. And when a machine doesn’t function it is always fixed. Or destroyed.
The fear of appearing to malfunction kept Jack in his place. He looked up and saw the teacher looking at the longing in his eyes. The longing for something more than a Maths test. But to her, Jack wasn’t a person. He was number 34B on the register, and Jack knew that’s how she saw him. That’s how all the teachers saw him.
A book. It was time to read a book. Not any book, but a text book. Exams were in just a few weeks and Jack needed to know a lot. Opening the book all Jack saw were numbers and all 34B saw was work. But there was another. Another that looked at the book and saw a code. Another that realised the enigma. Another that knew the rules and abided by them. Another that was called serial number 32496 by its examiners.
Jack tore his eyes from the book and put them to the clock.

6 Minutes
If 34B had no purpose for those few seconds, did he really exist? This was something Jack pondered for a second. If he ceased to have purpose what effect would that have on the universe? After much consideration over a series of consecutive maths lessons, 32496 had come to the conclusion that consideration of the unknown was futile. Regardless though, futility was what drove Jack. It was, in the end, 34B who had suggested that for a creature to exist without purpose would undoubtedly result in the Universe disappearing into the unknown. 32496 stayed quiet. Jack was confused. Surely sitting staring at the clock…
5 minutes
…would result in the end of everything?Of course not, 34B noted. This very thought is your purpose: it is necessary. 32496 concurred with 34B’s thesis but quickly seemed to put the conversation out of mind. It doesn’t ‘compute’.

3 Minutes
Sitting with only his thoughts, Jack felt alone. 34B was coping. 32496 saw no difference from normality. Suddenly a slight noise slid through the silence. Jack felt the ultimate desire to listen. 34B said to put it out of mind. 32496 wasn’t affected by anything that didn’t have specific interaction with it.
Slowly, the noise crept into Jack’s ear.”…but what if he likes you?”It made sense…
“But what if he doesn’t like me?”
It did compute…
“I’ve heard things from Jimmy Bell!”
They were talking. Jack was astonished and overjoyed. There was life! 34B was confused. It was a test, they couldn’t talk. 32496 wasn’t affected by anything that didn’t have specific interaction with it.

2 Minutes
Suddenly, Jack felt a touch on his shoulder. He turned and saw Stacey, a model of the female line.
“Jack…”34B didn’t want to respond. Jack was confused. 32496 recognised specific interaction…
“Jack Thomas!”
Jack turned to see the programmer standing infuriated.
Interaction, 32496 thought.
He stood so that he could look his maths teacher in the eye.
“Yes, Miss?”
”If I catch you talking on my line again, Jack, I will take you off it!”
34B sat down. 32496 understood that the order computed. Jack lowered himself and looked around. No. He looked around at the his classmates. His register. His fellow produce coming off the line. There was 39B, 52G, 43B who were otherwise known as 21797, 452616 and 92317. No

1 Minute
34B told him to sit. 32496 ordered him to sit.
”No,” Jack stammered”That does not compute.”
The teacher, the programmer, the woman from the line watched Jack and pulled a phone from her desk. After a quick dial, she spoke:
”We have a problem with 32496.”
Jack looked up, horrified.
”My name is Jack.”
No it isn’t, 34B sneered.
32496 felt that the idea of name was irrelevant.
“I’m Jack!”
His cries gathered strange looks from the class.
The classroom door opened. Two men in black entered and stood. It was impossible to distinguish the humanoids from each other. They were so blunt, so cold and so large.
“32496?”
Jack was scared and watched on in horror as the woman on the line pointed to him.
“No…I’m…I’M JACK!” he yelled.
34B didn’t resist.
32496 understood.
One of the men stepped forward.
“You need to come with us.”
Jack stood his ground.
”You’ve malfunctioned.”

0 Minutes

Influenced my The Matrix?

This is a bit too airy fairy for my liking.

I'm writing stories myself. As a tip: keep reading it over and work out the details :)

SinGulaR:In all fairness, this was something I wrote over a year ago in five minutes. I never got around to fleshing it out or keeping a proper eye on it, and I write screenplays more often anyway.

Oh, and it wasn't so much influenced by The Matrix so much as some of the hard science fiction I was reading at the time. I recall there being a lot of Philip K. Dick in my personal library. Although I entirely see the resemblance =P

Gizmo: Fair enough ^_^;