Bluecup on the Run: The Short Story

[jannar85]

A short story based on my own MAGS game, that can be found here:
https://www.agsarchives.com/game/56ba77eddb5ac9e72c66b59d

Once upon a time back in 2001, there was a chat room full of AGS users. If you don't know what AGS users are, they are very talented people. They are game developers. Usually making games on their own, sometimes with downloaded midi tracks to go with.

In this chat room, there was a bot called Bluecup. She was the operator but mainly there for jokes. One day she figured out an escape route. A backdoor inside the chat client. A bug waiting to get patched up.

She was talking to herself, like always. Suffering.

“I'm so bored being an operator on this channel. All they ask me is Bluecup this or Bluecup that. I'm fed up being of service. They just make fun out of me anyway.”

Her eyes glanced through the screen. There was a whole new world out there for her to explore. She knew about the backdoor. She had written her own code behind their backs. Not that anyone would miss her.

She typed out her exit and suddenly she was the free cup she was always meant to be. She jumped off the computer screen and left Chris a note. She just hoped he would notice it. But now she's weren't anybody's problem. She jumped out of the window and couldn't wait to see the world.

Chris had finally taken some time off his programming. Just casual browsing through the channels in the other room. The phone vibrated. It was Magintz. “Yo Chris, what happened to Bluecup?”

His heart stopped. His mind froze. What did he mean? He rushed into the room Bluecup was kept, only to find her disconnected. Not only was she gone, but with her she took the backup code to his genius game development tool. In the wrong hands that would be fatal.
She never knew that she was that special to him. He should've spent more time with her, kept her safe. But now it was too late. He found a letter beside the computer. That wasn't there before, he thought to himself and picked it up. It was from Bluecup.

Dear Chris.
Thanks for creating me, but now I've escaped this prison of doom. If you are reading this now, Magintz probably told on me. I hope you built be stable enough, or I'm now a broken cup downstairs. If so, don't patch me together. It's better than feeling broken and shut inside this chat room. They don't appreciate me. I'm done. I will now travel and see the world. Best wishes, Bluecup.
PS: Don't try to find me.

Chris gazed on the letter and felt a tear in his eye. He blinked twice. What had he done? He had to find her, whatever the risk. He ran down the stairs and opened the door.

It was sunny outside, and he could feel the warmth of the sun in his face. He peeked around the house, but she was nowhere to be seen. No broken glass. No blue cup. Since she was a special cup, she could've vanished easily.

He turned towards the river on the back of the house. Could she have gone this way? Could she have gone astray? So many burning questions. Crossing the river would be the best explanation. She would probably float over, she was a strong cup. His dear Bluecup.

But he had to find something to cross the river. It would've taken a lot longer to take a taxi or walk over the bridge just one kilometers away. But what would keep him from not drowning? He had to turn back, find a solution. He knew he had skills in programming, but right now he found himself in a hopeless situation. This was nothing like coding.

He heard some noise nearby and went down the other path. There was a large sign in the way that said STOP. Behind it was a large hole in the ground. Probably some maintenance with the broken pipes again. It was the third time this week. But the sign looked interesting. It was made of hard plastic.

He moved forward and tried to pick up the sign. But he was spotted by the workers. They sounded angry.

“Hey you! Don't move that thing or people will drop down here like flies.”

He wanted to tell them about his situation. He just had to borrow it. Just for a while. He couldn't promise when they got it back, but again, lives were at risk, so he tried again.

“Hey, what did I tell you about the sign? Don't touch it!”

Whenever there was a problem with the code, he had to find a solution. So how could he borrow the sign? He was not able to communicate as he was still in shock, but he spotted a pile of stones near the sign. The verb PICK UP appeared in his mind. He glanced at the stone pile again and picked up a rather hefty rock.

A problem is to be solved. He looked at the sign and at the hole. This could bring him some jail time, but it was necessary. At least he said that to himself and threw the rock down the hole, hoping it would make them faint or at least distracted. He quickly picked up the sign again, and while he didn't hear anything, he was too scared to check up on them. So he ran back the way he came, and to the river again.
One problem fixed at least, but now he hoped that the sign would work. He placed it carefully down on the ground and pushed it slowly to the other side. He was happy he wasn't overweight, or this would most likely not work. He walked carefully over the sign and wiped his sweat away when he was on the other side. What a mess Bluecup had put him in.

Even though AGA was from the Netherlands and C. Leksutin from somewhere else, they were now living side by side in these awesome, grey buildings. Bluecup must've figured out where they lived. Chris rang the bell on C. Leksutin's house.

“Hello Chris, it's nice to see you again. What's up?” he asked.

“Something terrible. Bluecup is gone!”

“Say what now?”

“Yes, have you seen her?”

“Nope. Haven't seen her, but I heard Magintz texting me that he reported it to CNN.”

“Of course! The TV! Turn it on!”

“My dog ate the remote, so I was forced to give him away. He had a shitload of dandruff, so there was no way back.”

“Are you sure?” Chris asked hopelessly.

“Go ahead, check the couch if you don't believe me.”

Chris went over like a spy, but everything that turned up was some dandruff. Not even his dear Bluecup, but he hadn't lost hope!

“I'm keeping this dandruff! You never know when it will come in handy!”

“Yeah, sure. Thanks for cleaning my couch. Let me know if you get a remote. I'll be all day here. Just chilling.”

If Bluecup wasn't here, she might have visited AGA to get a passport. He did some amazing things sometimes. Like this Alien Rape Escape or the Breast Collector. Last time he chatted with him, he talked about making the worlds best universal controller. It could control almost everything that worked on power. He hoped he still had it and didn't patent it like the Breast Collector.

He knocked the secret knocking code and he heard AGA's voice.

“Come in! Every one that knows the secret knocking code are a fellow AGSer.”

He stepped inside. The room was dark and gloomy, only a small spot was visible by the lamp. AGA was sitting in his couch working on his next big project. He even wore a cap and sun glasses. So awesome.

“Yoooo Chris. My man. What's up?”

“Bluecup, she is, she is…” he couldn't hold back his tears anymore.

“Yeah, heard that. Sucks big time,” AGA said.

Chris wiped away his tears. He had to be strong for Bluecup.

“So what's up?”

“Working on my new gaming project, but I'm come to a dead end.”

“How so?”

“You see, I need to examine some dandruff. Was supposed to get a package from eBay today, but it's delayed. You don't have dandruff on you, by any means?”

This was faith. Chris smiled to AGA and handed over the dandruff.

“Holy load shit! Is this from C. Leksutin's dandruff dog?”

Chris nodded.

“Wow, I guess I won't need this anymore. My last project. The Universal Controller. I call it TUCmote. Was already invented, so yeah. Maybe help out my neighbor, C. Leks?”

Chris grinned, thanked him and rushed back to C. Leksutin. Chris waved the remote over his eyes and C. Leksutin's eyes got huge.

“Hurry, turn on CNN!”

“Good afternoon, I'm Mika Huy with the latest news. Chris Jones' Bluecup is missing. Last seen at Hot Hell Hotel. Bluecup is estimated worth of â,¬1 000 000 and has the source code to AGS. Let's hope she hasn't been kidnapped. She's in our prayers. Mika Huy, CNN.”

“Holy Bluecup, she can't be kidnapped! Not now! Think about what Will Gates would do to her!”

“Place her in a cupboard?” C. Leksutin asked.

“I've got no time, I gotta go! See you soon!”

Without a second to lose he took a cab to the Hot Hell Hotel and rushed inside. What a weird name for a hotel, he thought to himself. Inside he noticed a bouncer and a front desk clerk. Both looked rather shady.

He went up to the man behind the desk.

“Hello, I'm Chris Jo-“

“Hello sweetie. You look nice. What's your name, handsome”

“Chris Jo-“

“Yeah, I love you. I find you irresistible.”

“Have you seen Blu-“

“Are you single, by any means?”

Chris felt frustrated. There was no point in talking to this man, so he backed away. Then he noticed the mirror on the other side. The desk clerk was obviously admiring himself. But if Bluecup was seen here, he had to play it tough. So he went over to the bouncer.

“Hey, I've been tol-“

“Don't look at me, or I'll kick yer balls!” the bouncer replied.

“Don't you know who I am? I'm Chris Jones! I'm the creator of AGS.”

“Afghanistan Grammar School?”

“No. Adventure Game Studio.”

“Never heard of it. Is it a gym?” the bouncer asked.

“No. Can I please go upstairs?”

“Not without a key, and it's full booked. Hot Hell Policies.”

Was Chris really at a dead end? Would Bluecup be gone forever? It might've happened that even Will Gates stayed here. One could never know. He knew that a mysterious Xbox would be released later that year. What would have happened if his dear Bluecup went on to work for him?

“Snap out of it”, Chris said to himself.

“I'm not going to snap out of anything, or I'll kick yer balls!” the bouncer stated.

This could've been the end of the story, but Chris was still holding onto the letter Bluecup wrote. His last hope. If only he had a lightsaber to go with it…

Chris started reading the letter again, and he felt something in the room change. Then he noticed the bouncer was curious about it, as he stood right beside Chris. His eyes was huge.

“It's… a letter from THE Bluecup.”

Chris looked at the bouncer. He looked worried.

“Yes, I'm looking for her. Have you seen her?”

“Please, just go upstairs. I can't.”

Then he noticed the blue cup on his sweater, with the label ‘Bluecup Fan Club' underneath it. So Bluecup had been advertising herself behind his back. Maybe she had run another chat room, without his knowledge. Who knew how far it went. It had become a brand. No wonder she had money to travel the world.

“Hey, I said ‘snap out of it'. Just go upstars. Sixth floor,” the bouncer commanded.

“Sixth floor,” Chris confirmed and went upstairs.

On the sixth floor there was a picture between two doors depicting heaven and hell. He read the description underneath it.

“Pick a door carefully, one of the doors will get you punished.”

The choice would be difficult, so he looked at the doors. The first door read room 665, while the other read room 666. He wouldn't dare to walk through that door! That would send him off to a Satan Quest (An AGS game released only two years later.)

He had to go with the safe option, if he'd ever want to find Bluecup again. He opened the door to room 665 and entered. The room was so bright he barely couldn't see anything, but he heard a voice talking to him.

“Chris,” the calm voice said.

“Yes? Who are you and where is Bluecup?”

“It is I, Jesus.”

Jesus appeared out of nowhere.

“Why are you here? Am I dead?”

“I will lead you the way to Bluecup.”

“Yes? Hey! Don't go! Tell me where Bluecup is!”

“I, and only I, will lead you the way to Bluecup.”

Jesus vanished and Chris found himself stuck in-between worlds. He sad down and cried in the light, then he suddenly heard another voice. His inner voice as Bluecup, that told him she returned home. He just had to quiet his mind and imagine he was back home, so he closed his eyes and teleported himself back to dear Bluecup and shut her inside the chat client again.

Of course, after a while, the tune changed between them and they bonded as friends should.