Date: 19 Aug 1998 01:09:26 GMT From: Silver Fox Subject: NEW -- Worlds Apart - V - (1/1) Title: "Worlds Apart" Author: Kathleen Brown Rating: PG. (one dirty word) Classification: V Distribution: Whatever you think is best. Feedback: Always. Spoilers: None. :) Summary: Mulder ponders his hidden world. Disclaimer: Fox Mulder isn't mine, but if anyone's willing to give... Notes: I haven't been able to write lately because my writing is so utterly enhanced by the conversations I have while I'm doing it. But my best friend (the one I always dedicate to) is gone on vacation so I have no one. In the meantime I've occupied myself with this nifty little online RPG. This is a vignette in every sense, but, hey, I like it and it's not like it'll take hours out of your day. :) And it took me less than 20 minutes to write. :) (the awesome power of V) Dedication: Dedicated to Hroth, Heidi, Luca, Tor, vigo, and fritz. Firefox. ~<>~ Worlds Apart ~<>~ Insomnia's a bitch. For close to twenty years of my life I've been unable to sleep through the night. I can deal with that fact easily enough, but, out of everything, the most frustrating aspect of it has got to be that there is never anyone else awake at 2 a.m. Not even the Gunmen are awake at such ungodly hours. Most days it feels, like it did when I was just a kid waking from a nightmare, like I am the only one left alive on the planet. When that happens, I turn to my computer. For a rather large portion of my life, I would put on a porno and lull myself to sleep with post-orgasmic bliss, but as I've grown older I've realized several things. 1- I can't keep up with myself. 2- I'm one sick fuck. So, I turned to the Internet, looking up the paranormal for hours on end, quietly searching for leads on cases. One day I stumbled upon a role-playing game. I figured it would be different enough and downloaded it while away at work. I came home and quietly began my quest. I didn't sleep that night. They say the Internet is addictive. I believe them. I quietly built myself an empire, rising in the levels to become an archon, reveling in the power of a self-contained world, a small triumph. People in this game turn to me for help. I take level ones, children in my world, and I woo them with my tricks and magic, teaching them as I give them small power, leading them on their way to enlightenment. I impart frontier justice upon thieves and murderers, repaying their victims, granting them their lives and possessions. Each character I have is named Fox. A small variation on my own name. Scully knows nothing of my nightly escapades, slipping into my world like a second skin and finding myself pleased with what I find, friends among the loremasters and constables, friend to many. People make friends here. I've even gotten married. She lives in Iceland, and her character is a magician, unlike my poet self. We hunt together, giving away food like a modern-day Robin Hood (everyone is pleased with the Fox imagery, thanks to Disney) to those who need it far more than myself. I am a poet and a wandering sorcerer, what do I need goods for? I carry a staff. Ironically perhaps, I am most often called to assist people with their hunting. In the caves they fight huge beasts, mantis', spiders, and ogres. They don't know the motivation behind my desire to avoid the monsters. Sometimes I prefer my cyber-world to my real life. There, I have a choice. Here, I am forced to fight my monsters whether I want to or not, and the cries of my partner matter more than the cries of even my wife. Sometimes I prefer my real life to my cyber-world. Fox Mulder. Copyright Kathleen Brown August, 1998.