Browser City

Chapter 19: What Is Love?

"The city is safe thanks to Ajax and Shannon," Aethelred said with joy. "Let's raise our energy glasses for them! Cheers!"

He rose his glass in the air, beckoning the rest to do the same. The bright blue liquid sparkled under the lights. 

All the add-ons and functionalities that lived in the Core were gathered in the Console Room, making a circle around Aethelred. Smiles adorned all their faces. As soon as they raised their glasses, little Zita glared at her father.

When Algo realised she wasn't cheering like the rest, it nudged her right elbow and complained by whining softly to her.

Her father sighed and rolled his eyes. "I'm gonna regret this, but-" he whispered to himself, regretting what he was about to do already. "Okay, okay... don't look at me like that, my little cookie. Yes, we all thank you and Algo for saving the day as well."

"I still can't believe you could put up a fight against that nasty spyware," Ragna commented with admiration as she squatted beside little Zita and caresses her cheek. "My little ray of blue light!"

"Yes, and I was FAN-TAS-TIC, wasn't I? Aunt Shannon? Ajax?" Zita boasted with a smirk.

"Everybody is proud of you, Zita," Shannon replied and smiled broadly.

"You killed it with your flying skateboard," Ajax added while proudly winking at her.

Algo barked with excitement and made a couple of joyful leaps. Its wiggling tail bumped into Hector's legs.

"How are the ship cargo workers who Nekari knocked out?" Hector asked Ragna. "Are they still comatose?"

"Some of them are. Most woke up but they are too weak to go back to work. Besides, the storage facility was greatly damaged."

"I guess they need some rest."

"Indeed." Ragna looked at him with sweetness. "They'll soon be on their feet and ready to finish the User's biology project upload. Don't worry. He won't notice a thing."

"Maybe a slight delay during the uploading process, but that's it," Amser added. "I don't think He's gonna panic."

"All that matters is that they are safe and sound," Hector said then with gratitude as he raised his glass to Shannon and Ajax. "Thank you, guys."

"Don't mention it," Ajax replied with a smile.

They all took a sip of their energy glasses. As they rose their faces to drink, they could all see the User's relaxed face while playing League of Legends as if nothing had happened.

"He didn't notice a single thing, did he?" Shannon asked.

"Nah, he didn't," Ned replied casually. "Solving this crisis took some seconds to do. For us, it's a long time, but to humans, seconds mean very little."

"I still don't get why humans don't notice we exist," she went on as if she couldn't believe it. "I swear it doesn't make sense. At least the Developer should know, right?"

"Well, the Developer is human at the end of the day, not a god," Ned commented.

"Humans are either too dumb to be aware of our presence," Aethelred said, "or too focused on their own lives to notice, sis. Maybe one day... who knows." He smiled warmly at her as he patted her back twice.

Shannon sighed, but let the issue go.

"People, more bits of news," Aethelred went on, speaking to everyone once more. "I'm also proud to announce that the Zoom and the Bookmarks buildings are being rebuilt as we speak. New add-ons have been recruited to take over the jobs of those who were deleted. Also, the gym is being remodelled too. After Pitt and Nekari's attack, it needed a lot of work. It will be out of order for a few more seconds, though. So be patient. It'll be worth it."