The UVRP

12I-2 Creative Writing

14^th Wave Hee Gu Kang

2011. 02. 21

The UVRP

“Oh . . . adorable little things . . . We came here to make you lot, we all risked our lives, and I finally succeeded! Await the news, Jacob. Await the news.”

“Await what news? Well, it’s guessable. You’re quite good indeed. Good at concealing.”

“Steve, you almost freaked me out! I was enjoying a good nap!”

“Don’t lie to me, Al. You blurted that out out of excitement, I reckon. Well, present the treasure before me. I don’t want to be stuck in the 1860s all my life.”

“Neither do I, but we’re still working on it, aren’t we? Jacob had a new idea last night. I was applying it to the real thing before I accidentally fell asleep. Look, the lantern’s still aglow! It’s a miracle it didn’t shatter and blow my head up.”

“No, it’s a shame. Coward! Liar! You’re trying to escape all alone! I could bet on it! It’s the damn Civil War out there, Al, for heaven’s sake! Today’s March 29^th, and the Battle of Five Forks is dead ahead! You learned history. Three days later, the Union forces will strike this place, and General Lee will be forced to evacuate! We won’t be safe!”

“I’m aware of that, thank you very much.”

“Yeah? So share the device with us, or I’ll wring it from you by force! Anyway, I’ll be dead within days if you don’t share it, so . . . so be it!”

“Do it, then! You don’t have the guts, Stephen! You’re nothing but a fragile cringing kid who’s afraid of mummies!”

“Who told you I’m afraid of mummies? That’s a secr—”

“Nothing’s a secret to me. I have a source. Anyway, I can swear whatever I said was only sleep talk! I wanted to invent the time machine again so much that I said something about it in my dream! That’s all!”

“No, you’re a dirty bastard.”

“Ouch! Violence now, eh? No matter. I can pass this time! I can pass! I want to work!”

“Pass what?”

“The test.”

“The test . . . What kind of te— FOUL. FOUL. PROGRAM TERMINATED.”

“What? No! I want to continue! I haven’t demonstrated everything yet! My unconscious self is better than this!”

“Thank you, sir. You have fouled. ONE: You are not allowed to mention anything about the UVRP during the examination. TWO: You are not allowed to reveal things you find out about your confronter with your mind powers. You failed. NAME: Alfred McNeth. GENDER: Male. OCCUPATION: None. NUMBER OF FAILURES: Twenty. DECISION: Delete. Thank you. This was AI-83 from the Unconsciousness in Virtual Reality Program.”

“No, you can’t just—”

“Computer, delete.”