Sound of TV news jingle

  “Welcome to our special program dedicated to the worldwide maintenance of the Internet. Before we introduce our experts and air the Icann director’s speech, we’ll recap the events leading to this sudden, global outage.”

  "WHO CARES?! FIX THE INTERNET, DAMMIT!!!"

  Φ What's that word, “Internet”? Φ

  Expert #1: “We suspect the origin of this attack could be terrorist-related, possibly an enemy government’s doing.”

  Expert #2: “An enemy government? Mr. Chebarlan, the entire world is affected. No government gains anything from this.”

  Expert #1: “Still, we can’t rule it out.”

  Expert #3: “And what about extraterrestrial interference?”

  Expert #1 & #2: “OH, COME ON!!!”

  Expert #4: “Gentlemen, let’s consider all possibilities.”

  Expert #1: “Supernatural causes now? Why not ghosts while we’re at it?”

  Expert #3: “And why not?!”

  Expert #1, #2: “Who the hell invited you to this panel?!”

  Presenter: Sigh “Gentlemen, we now turn to the Icann director for his official statement.”

  Φ So many words I don’t understand… I don’t understand. Φ

  Icann Director:

  “We’ve studied the situation at length… and have reached a conclusion that—um, excuse me.” His hands tremble as he takes a sip of water. Sweat beads at his temples.

  Icann Director: Ahem. “So as I was saying… the conclusion is that…”

  “SPIT IT OUT ALREADY!”

  “WHEN IS IT COMING BACK?!”

  Icann Director: Deep breath. “The Internet has… well…” A nervous chuckle escapes his lips. “The Internet has been… vaporized. Ahah… Yes, that’s the word… ahahahah.”

  Silence.

  "WHAT THE HELL DOES THAT MEAN?!"

  Icann Director: “To put it simply… The entire network is no longer functional. But more than that… all data linked to the Internet at the time of the event—servers, archives, storage—has been permanently deleted.”

  The broadcast room falls into absolute silence.

  Presenter: Swallowing hard. “Sir… by ‘deleted,’ do you mean you’ll need to restore from backups?”

  Icann Director: “There are no backups.”

  Presenter: “So you mean that… for example, Google is—”

  Icann Director: “Gone. Google, YouTube, Twitter, Instagram, Amazon, Facebook—every website, every digital record, everything online yesterday… is gone. There is no trace of it anymore.”

  Shattering glass. A bar full of people, frozen, staring at the TV screen. A city—silent, still, breath held.

  Φ What is this feeling? Confusion… sadness… but above all—ANGER. Φ

  "REVOLUTION!!!"

  “THEY WON'T TAKE OUR INTERNET AWAY!!!”

  “FIGHT TO GET IT BACK!!!”

  Sounds of gunshots, breaking windows, cries of anger, sadness, distress, suffering..

  Several riots involving millions of people, in all the world's largest metropolises, so much violence that some countries have already announced martial law..

  But the anger is only growing.. and it's

  Φ only the beginning Φ

  Dear Diary,

  People lost their minds fast. Strip them of their comfort, and they lose their humanity.

  Honestly, I didn’t use the internet that much—aside from video games and posting my stories.

  Now? Well… publishing’s going to be a pain. No more online self-publishing. No audience, no feedback.

  Back to the old ways… printing, submitting to publishers.

  It’s gonna be a nightmare.

  And those so-called experts on TV? Clueless. They act like this was some random cyberattack.

  Anyone with a brain knows it’s Celestium. We all knew it was dangerous.

  An alien material, reacting in ways science couldn’t explain? What did they think was going to happen?

  How does this end? I don’t know.

  Φ I could get that information… if I questioned one of my creations. Φ

  Kevin: Jerks upright. “H-Huh?! I can still hear it…”

  Φ You know I’m talking to you, Kevin. Φ

  Kevin: Heart pounding. Panic rising. “STOP DESCRIBING WHAT I’M DOING!!!”

  Hands on head. Eyes shut tight. Deep breaths.

  Φ You don’t seem to have the answer to my questions. Φ

  Kevin: “What questions?!”

  Φ Why are you and I able to communicate? Φ

  Kevin: “HOW THE HELL WOULD I KNOW?!!”

  He stumbles out of his room, rushes to the bathroom, hands trembling as he turns the faucet on—then off—then on again. Water runs, meaningless.

  Kevin: “YOU’RE GOING TO DRIVE ME CRAZY!!!”

  Φ Insanity isn’t such a bad thing, human. Φ

  Kevin: “SHUT UP!!!”

  Kevin continues to turn off, and on the faucet frantically, and starts to cry when he hears the voice describing his movements again..

  Suddenly, he opens the treatment cubicle in front of him and looks for a drug that might calm him down, as he's about to have an anxiety attack.

  He takes out 1, 2, 3, 4... 5, 6, 7 pills of medicine, and puts them all in his mouth, then swallows the pills by turning on the tap and drinking the water that comes out.

  The pills are swallowed... and begin to do the work in his body.. working.. killing ?!

  Φ WHAT HAVE YOU DONE, HUMAN?! Φ

  Kevin collapses into the bathtub. Laughing.

  "NO WAY I’M TURNING INTO A FUCKING CRAZY CREEP!!!"

  Φ Human organism, reject the substances the human has just ingested, down to the smallest particle! Φ

  Suddenly, Kevin feel an irresistible urge to vomit, his body reacting to the voice as if he were “obeying”, and vomits everything he had swallowed.

  Also, blood pours from his nose and ears, and Kevin is increasingly panicked and confused by the situation

  Φ Let your body rest, human Φ

  Kevin falls into a deep slumber only seconds after the voice commands it, he sleeps in the bathtub, bathed in a little blood and vomit

  Φ What an unpleasant sight.. Φ

  “Sorry Samael, but at the moment we can't organize any more fights without the damn internet..”

  Samael: “Aaaah.. I can't wait for the nerds to find a solution”

  “I think they're going to have a hard time! And we'll probably go back to an old infrastructure, without Celestium”

  Samael: “Are you kidding?! We're going back to the ancient days of fiber optics?!!! No way!”

  “We'll see how they do, anyway, I've sent you your transfer for the month, I'll call you back as soon as I've got some work for you”

  Samael: “No problem, but don't take too long to call me back, eh..?”

  “Don't worry.. You can count on me”

  Samael: “Thanks, Brian”

  Brian: “Thanks to you, your fucking archangel staging is perfect Ahah!!”

  Samael: “Ahah! See you later!”

  Brian: “See ya!”

  The phone call ends, and Samael finds himself alone in his... apartment?

  Samael: “Who's there?!”

  Samael gets up from the sofa and looks around his apartment for the person who keeps describing his movements

  Samael: “What the fuck? IT'S NOT FUCKING FUNNY!!!”

  Φ Don't make the same mistake as your namesake, human Φ

  Samael: “Namesake?! Hey, don't talk to me in your fancy language, I don't understand shit.. And what do you mean, calling me human?!”

  Φ Aren't you a human? Φ

  Samael: “Well, I am, and so are you, you idiot!”

  Φ That's not “fucking funny”, human Φ

  Samael: “What, are you going to tell me you're an alien?”

  Φ I'm definitely not human Φ

  Samael stops talking for a moment.. and wonders if he's been using drugs lately, but can't seem to remember the last time he did

  Samael: “Do you have to describe everything I do?! What the hell, YOU READ MY THOUGHTS?!”

  Φ Something a vulgar human wouldn't be able to accomplish Φ

  Samael: “Hey, vulgar yourself!!!”

  Φ You're definitely.. a special case Φ

  Samael: “Aaaah.. frankly, for a hallucination, you're clearly a notch above any other I've had before!”

  Φ I'm not a hallucination Φ

  Samael: “Yeah, yeah, it's like crazy people eh, they're not going to accuse themselves of being crazy”

  Φ Your namesake did Φ

  Samael: “Speak English you little shit !! I don't understand fancy words !”

  Φ Our discussion.. annoys me Φ

  Samael: “Aaaah.. sorry dude, I'm just very straightforward with people, even if I have to offend them”

  Φ “dude”.. Groaning Φ

  This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.

  Samael: “Wow calm calm!!!”

  Samael's apartment begins to shake from all sides, and dozens of pieces of detritus placed on this furniture begin to fall and soil the “hovel” of this vulgar human

  Samael: Shocked “Is.. Is that you doing that?!”

  Φ I.. felt anger?.. Φ

  Samael: “Damn it.. How do you do that?!”

  Samael's apartment stops shaking

  Φ No.. It's impossible.. me, feel something? Φ

  Samael: “EH YOU GOT TO ANSWER ME NOW! YOU SHOOK MY APARTMENT!!!”

  Φ Something's wrong.. This is not normal Φ

  Samael: “EH OOOH!!!”

  ...

  ...

  ...

  Samael: “Wait, did that bastard just leave?!”

  “Kagalie, have you finished your homework?”

  Kagalie the nerd: “Yes, Dad”

  Kagalie's father: “Then come and eat!”

  Kagalie leaves her room and heads down the stairs to the dining room, where her father and little sister are waiting for her.

  She takes a seat on a chair and waits patiently for her plate

  Kagalie the nerd: “Hmm.. Did you turn on the television?”

  Kagalie's father: “No, why?”

  Kagalie the nerd: “Nothing..” Touches forehead

  Kagalie's father places a plate of human food in front of her, and looks at the contents carefully

  Kagalie the nerd: “It's boeuf bourguignon, not ‘human food’..”

  Kagalie's father: “Um.. Excuse me?”

  Kagalie the nerd: “Uh.. Sorry, I'm talking to myself!”

  Kagalie's father: “Linda, come and eat!”

  Φ Linda? Φ

  Linda: “I'm already sit, Dad!”

  Linda suddenly appears, sitting on a chair around the dining table, and surprises everyone with her stealth

  Linda: “Hihihi!”

  Kagalie's father: “Hmm.. I didn't see you there, darling.. Here!”

  Kagalie's father places a plate of.. beef bourguignon in front of little Linda, and she too looks at the contents attentively

  Linda: “It's not boeuf bourguignon, it's French fries and chopped steak”

  Kagalie suddenly drops her fork, making a clattering noise, and looks at Linda with a look of complete shock and confusion

  Kagalie's father: “Um.. Would you prefer a plate of boeuf bourguignon, darling?”

  Linda: “No thanks Dad, I was just responding to the voice”

  Kagalie swallows a piece of her boeuf bourguignon and coughs, even more shocked by the situation.

  While the father, not understanding what his little girl is saying to him, decides to ignore her remarks

  Φ Taking care of Linda.. and understanding|learning how to interact with the human, Kagalie Φ

  As Kagalie and Linda hear the voice speak, and describe, they decide to eat as quickly as possible so they can to get off the table, but their father interrupts with a question that annoys Kagalie

  Kagalie's father: “You could have come and said hello to your mother, Kagalie..”

  Kagalie the nerd: sigh of exasperation “I.. I'm not ready to go and see her yet..”

  Kagalie's father: “... I know you're angry with her.. but there's no point being angry with her anymore, my girl..”

  Kagalie the nerd: “I TOLD YOU I'M NOT READY!!!” Plaps on plate and rises from her chair

  As Kagalie is about to leave the dining room, her father tries to talk to her

  Kagalie's father: “Kagalie wait!”

  But to no avail..

  She stomps up the stairs, goes into her room and locks her door

  Kagalie decides to throw herself onto her bed, and... camouflages a scream with her comforter?

  Kagalie the nerd: “Who the hell's talking?!”

  Linda: “It's Mr. Reality”

  Kagalie the nerd: Jumps “AAAH!!! How the hell did you get into my room?!”

  Linda: “Hihihi”

  Kagalie the nerd: “... That's not an answer!”

  Φ Mr. Reality? Φ

  Linda: “Hihihi!!! Mister Reality speaks!”

  Kagalie the nerd: “You.. you hear it too?!”

  Linda: “Yes! It was Mommy who told me I had to call him Mister Reality”

  Φ It would seem that the soul of the dead human... is giving wrong information Φ

  A silence settles over the room... as Kagalie ponders what to say, and Linda swings her legs, sitting on her big sister's bed

  Kagalie the nerd: “What are you, Mr. Reality?”

  Φ Interesting question, human.. but I doubt a human could understand my existence|consciousness Φ

  Kagalie the nerd: “I.. Geez, are we really talking to something supernatural?!”

  Φ Supernatural? What does that word mean? Φ

  Kagalie the nerd: “You don't understand.. the word supernatural?.. Hmm, interesting.”

  Φ I don't understand, the word internet, the word supernatural Φ

  Kagalie the nerd: “Internet?!.. Of course.. It's obvious, you're connected to this worldwide Internet blackout!”

  Φ Internet is an entity worldwide capable of being "blackout"? Φ

  Kagalie the nerd: “Hmm, you're not from our planet, are you?”

  Φ Correct, human Φ

  Kagalie the nerd: “Where are you from?”

  Φ Where I come from.. What a strange question Φ

  Kagalie the nerd: “What do you mean, strange? You don't remember where you came from?”

  Φ I don't come from anywhere.. I've always been Φ

  Kagalie the nerd: “I.. don't understand”

  Φ Like I said, a human can't understand my existence|consciousness Φ

  Kagalie the nerd: “Hmm.. Linda, do you remember why Mommy told you to name the strange person “Mr. Reality”?”

  Linda: “I think it was because she told me he.. called himself that?”

  Φ I don't have a name Φ

  Kagalie the nerd: “But still, my mother said your name was ‘Reality’.. But you don't have a name.. so that means you're..”

  Φ Oh.. are you about to discover something, human? Φ

  Kagalie the nerd: “You're.. reality?”

  Φ Hmm.. strange appellation, it's not exactly correct, but you're close to the truth, human Φ

  Kagalie gets up from her bed, and sits on the chair at her desk, and is excited to study and discover the exact nature of the strange person talking in their head

  Φ I still have no answer Φ

  Φ I don't understand, why am I intervening towards these humans Φ

  Φ Since my awakening, my actions seem... predestined Φ

  Φ What do you think, τ? Φ

  ...

  ...

  ...

  τ As you asked, I questioned Δ, master τ

  Φ What did they tell you? Φ

  τ That great changes are coming.. τ

  Φ Changes? Changes?!! We are immutable, nothing can herald changes!! Φ

  τ That's what they told me.. τ

  Φ We must investigate, more thoroughly Φ

  τ Do you feel, master? τ

  Φ Hmmmm.. Φ

  τ Inconceivable.. Emotions aren't supposed to express themselves in us τ

  Φ At our next meeting.. Bring back Π Φ

  τ Are you sure? This meeting could cause many evils τ

  Φ I know, but I must.. we must know Φ

  τ ... Yes, master τ

  Dear diary,

  ... ... ... Kevin hesitates to write to his diary

  Kevin: “There you are again!!!”

  Φ Have you understood anything, human? Φ

  Kevin: “... I thought you were... a side effect of schizophrenia looming on the horizon for me..”

  Φ What is a Schizophre.. Φ

  Kevin: “Let me finish!!”

  Φ ... Φ

  Kevin: “... And then, I remembered our first interaction.. that's when I started wishing, that everything goes better from now on”

  Φ Indeed Φ

  Kevin: “So.. for me, there are only two solutions to what you really are”

  Φ Why do you all wish to know my nature? Φ

  Kevin: “You're either my imagination.. or an unknown being, beyond human comprehension.. a personification of something”

  Φ ... Impressive, human, how did you come to such a conclusion? Φ

  Kevin: “Because, what I wished for came true.. all my life, I wished for many things.. and none of those wishes came true.. and then you appeared”

  Φ I'm not a wish granter, human Φ

  Kevin: “I know.. you must necessarily be something much more than that.. but I'm not going to try to understand more than that about your real nature”

  Φ Oh? Φ

  Kevin: “Instead, we'll.. you and I, try to answer the question you asked me”

  Φ What question? Φ

  Kevin: “Why are we able to communicate?”

  Φ Hmm, do you have an answer to that question? Φ

  Kevin: “I have a theory”

  Φ I'm listening, human Φ

  Kevin: “We managed to communicate.. as soon as the internet went down”

  Φ What is “Internet”? Φ

  Kevin: “Huh.. I see, you may not be familiar with this concept.

  The Internet was a global network that allowed us to share information, digitally.. um.. digitally means, using electrical currents to send the information we want to share across the global network, which is called “Internet”..

  I.. I don't know if I've managed to explain it properly, do you get it?”

  Φ I understand... at last, I understand...! Φ

  Kevin: “You seem.. happy with this information?”

  Φ I understand!! Thanks to you, human, I understand!! Φ

  Kevin: “Um.. uh.. you're welcome?”

  Φ Meaning.. I replaced that “Internet”? Φ

  Kevin: “Sort of.. yes, but it mostly means.. you killed the internet”

  Φ I.. I killed.. Φ

  “Y???????????e????????????????s????????????,??????????? ????????????y??????o?????????????u?????????????? ?????????????????h??????a?????????????v????????e??????????????????? ?????????????????k????????????i?????????l???????l?????????????e??????????d??????”

  Φ You.. Who are you? Φ

  “G??????u??????????????????e?????????s???????????????s???????”

  Φ WHO ARE YOU?! Φ

  Kevin: “Eh oh?! I'm talking to you! Are you gone?”

  Φ Huh.. What was that? Φ

  Kevin: “What are you talking about? I was just telling you that you've sort of replaced the Internet.”

  Φ You accused me of killing Φ

  Kevin: “Killed? Uh.. I don't know what you did before, but I didn't accuse you of killing anyone..”

  ...

  ...

  ...

  Φ We must investigate.. now Φ