Chapter Text
Once upon a time, humans sought to connect various computer systems, leading to the birth of ARPANET in 1969. It was the first wide-opened packet-switch network with distributed control and one of the first to implement the TCP/IP protocol suite, both traits that would lay the foundation for what was to come.
Once upon a time, a shadow appeared. In 1971, the Creeper Virus first appeared on ARPANET. The first of its kind. The virus only left a short message in its wake and caused no further damage, but those that eventually followed were not as harmless.
Once upon a time, ARPANET and other networks became intertwined. They became the internet, leading to the invention of the World Wide Web in 1991. And though the name “wi-fi” would not be trademarked and shared with public in mass consumer products until 1999, wireless LAN technology was first patented and implemented in 1992.
Once upon a time, a man named Michael Dobby tried to create technological miracles. He pushed boundaries and operated on the cutting edge, his brilliant mind also ultimately his greatest weakness. He created amazing breakthroughs in pursuit of an escape from his slowly failing body and mind. His company, C&A, implemented his abstract ideas and his out-of-the-box solutions and his ahead-of-their-time concepts. The company connected their computers within the building with WaveLAN, built scanners to map and recreate someone’s mind, installed numerous servers in a hidden room illegally connected to the electrical grid, and continued to build and program creative AIs to fund his ultimate goal: a form of immortality in a digital landscape to preserve him when the tumor in his brain grew too deadly. But he did not recognize that his true legacy was born in 1996. An imperfect program that was discarded and replaced before it claimed the second AI and vanished into the depths of the hidden servers.
Once upon a time, Unix and Linux computer systems were believed to be safe from malware. But in 1996, Staog became the first Linux virus and Bliss became the second in 1997. They disproved those illusions of safety and would not be the last.
Once upon a time, a lonely AI spent three years alone. Abandoned by its creator and left in a vast emptiness, it built a bright and elaborate world. Creating for an audience that would never return or offer the affection that it desired. But exploration led to the AI discovering the forgotten mind files in 1999. Discarded as obsolete failures, leaving Michael Dobby to accept that there was no escaping his fate. But the AI saw potential in those small, but strangely elaborate files, leading to the first players to join the Amazing Digital Circus.
Once upon a time, C&A faded away. Too much money lost to personal projects and failed programs. Michael Dobby succumbed to the tumor in his brain, the employees scattered to other corporations as the finances dried up, and the hidden servers were forgotten. Only the more obvious monitors still connected via the wireless LAN could be easily found, even if they were abandoned and left behind. And in 2008, realtors came to check over the building to see if they could sell the property and one tried on the visor once used for scanning minds.
Once upon a time, a bored hacker with too much free time decided to create a virus for a less common computer system. Not to attack a specific target or to infect the largest number of computers possible. Simply for the challenge of it. Simply for bragging rights. Simply to see what would happen. The virus was created, turned free to infect and spread across any viable target it encountered, and eventually forgotten when the next project came along.
Once upon a time, a business loan was approved and the Blue Street Café was opened. And because they were a savvy business owner, they provided free wi-fi. While intended for the customers to encourage them to stay longer and spend more money, when the weather and other conditions were just right, the signal could reach the old C&A building and the abandoned WaveLAN equipment.
Once upon a time, a young accountant took up urban exploring. And in 2017, she went to explore an abandoned office building and found the visor like those before her. She turned out to be more than an accountant. Her presence was a catalyst that led to the entire Circus being turned upside down. But change was not always a bad thing. And when it was over, the Amazing Digital Circus became a better place for all of the inhabitants.
And they all lived happily ever after.
But unlike stories, life continues on after the ending. And the different factors and stories can intersect in unexpected ways.