All 13 of them nodded eagerly.
Third Brother,
I called out.
Here, Master!
Bring me up later and have them follow us.
No problem, Master.
Let’s rest for a bit, everyone. I’ll call you guys when it’s time,
I instructed.
Rest? You mean sleep, Master?
It’s too early to sleep, Master.
I can’t sleep this early, Master.
…
I raised my hand and all of them immediately quietened down.
Rest now because a big battle is coming up soon,
I said.
Big battle?
Really, Master?
Someone’s coming?
Is he very powerful?
…
Maybe, but that has nothing to do with the enemy. We all might die,
I added.
Die? I’m immortal.
That’s right!
We have 72 lives!
Don’t worry, Master. We won’t die even if you do.
How can you say that, Eighth Brother? Do you wanna become the 13th?
I was wrong, Master. Don’t mind my words. I’ll take a nap now.
…
The first monkey lied down and the others followed suit.
I opened my booklet and eyed the soil stuck on the pen.
I rubbed it against my pants to clean them.
I then opened the pen cap and started writing,
Give me a spacesuit.
Blue light. Black booklet.
I looked up into the sky and saw a box dropping.
I opened the box and an extremely thin spacesuit sat inside it.
Without hesitation, I put it on.
I was fully armed.
I put the headgear on; when the visor is closed, energy would be released inside.
I waited for the sky to darken and brighten, and for the battle to start.
The Sun there rotated once in 24 hours, with the big tree as its axis. Take a few steps forward and you’ll see the bright sky.
Of course, you’ll still have to wait for the real morning to reach overhead.
Seconds ticked by and I became increasingly nervous.
I sat under the big tree as the sun rose gradually behind my back.
I spotted an approaching planet and immediately tapped Third Brother, who was beside me.
Third Brother tumbled to his feet.
What is it, Master? Aye? Why are you wearing this?
Don’t mind that, wake everyone up.
Battle time!
he roared.
Battle time!
Time!
…
Everyone got up within seconds.
What’s with your clothes, Master?
Yeah, so strange.
Why are you dressed like this?
…
I pointed at the space between both planets and ignored their questions.
This way. Let’s go.
Aren’t we battling, Master?
Third Brother asked.
The enemy is here, Master. Why aren’t we fighting?
Why are we flying there?
Yeah!
…
I pushed the visor down and said sternly,
Just follow me and stop wasting time. Speed up.
Third Brother nodded before grabbing me and flying upward. The rest quickly followed behind us.
We were trapped in a closed system, where everything within circulated endlessly.
During a PK, however, both planets will collide.
The connection point would be the weakest by theory.
What would happen if we hit that position?
I felt rather uncomfortable. It was an extremely dizzy ride.
Third Brother flew me back and forth, something I saw that the rest were doing as well.
What are we doing, Master?
Third Brother questioned.
Perhaps it’s the wrong position. Inch forward a little,
I ordered.
Whether it was the weightlessness or the dizziness, I didn’t know, but I was on the verge of throwing up.
Third Brother slowly adjusted his position and the other monkeys followed suit.
Sixth Brother has disappeared, Master,
Third Brother stated.
Where did he go missing? Fly in that direction.
This is so strange. Everything around us is crumbling.
Crumbling?
I repeated.
It has become red. I think it’s about to collapse,
he replied.
We must get out before it collapses.
Sixth Brother was probably at the connection point between both planets.
Third Brother adjusted my position and the weightlessness vanished.
I floated in the air as he looked on, bewildered.
Sixth Brother was floating by our side as well.
Below us were two parallel spaces and in the center were two colliding planets.
Surrounding it, on both sides, were emerging LED and strange characters.
The left side was red.
The right side was blue.
My face was on the blue LED board.
There was also a row of ranking at the extreme corner and I was actually ranked first.
There was a big lounge not far away and the odd, big-headed aliens were looking at us.
Third Brother asked,
What is this, Master?
Fly there,
I said, pointing at the lounge.
He nodded and Sixth Brother made a dash for it, with us right behind his heels.
I looked down at the two square spaces; the red was gone.
We broke into the interior and landed steadily.
So many strange monsters,
Third Brother commented.
I’ll go check it out and be back soon, Master,
Sixth Brother said.
Both monkeys moved lightning fast, easily smashing the aliens in the room.
Green substances flew all over the room, these aliens didn’t stand a chance.
Only one alien was left and the monkeys were arguing over who gets to kill it.
Stop!
I shouted.
No echo.
Both stowed away their staffs and waited.
The big-headed alien opened its mouth but all that came out was a piercing sound wave.
What are you exactly?
I asked.
The alien put on a helmet from the side and spoke again,
Don’t move. This is just a game.
Explain,
I demanded.
The alien pointed far away and said,
I’m just an employee. This is just a game show for a TV channel called Wildest Fantasy.
Wildest Fantasy?
I repeated.
You’re number 1 on the show,
it informed me.
Number 1? Where did those people who turned to ashes go?
I asked.
Their data have been erased,
it answered.
What do you mean?
You guys are just creatures created from data from all over the world,
it explained.
You’re telling me that I’m just a combination of numbers? The real me is still on Earth? I’m just a game character used for your entertainment?
Yes.
Why me?
Imagination is an ability evident in few planets. It will suppress science and technological
advancement.
What nonsense are you saying? Suppress advancement?
You don’t understand. When we bump into something we don’t know, we seek out its essence and the reason for it. Mistakes come with imagination. We have evolved away from this. As such, we are the wisest creatures. We do not imagine the possibilities. Our instinctive mode of operation is to find a straight answer. We found out that planet Earth still contains imagination, which is scarce and hence precious. Thus, we made a game out of it, letting you guys fight it out using your imagination. This program is the second most popular show right now, and you’re the star of the show. You have many fans.
I raised the booklet.
What is this then?
Realization machine, to actualize the product of your imagination. Yours is the restricted
version so you can only use it once in 24 hours,
it explained.
I can use this here, too?
I asked.
Of course.
How do I remove the restriction?
The alien pointed at a glass cabinet not far away. There was a book in it.
This is a souvenir, meant as a gift, but is useless since we do not have imagination.
The book on display was much bigger than my own.
You may not have imagination, but I do,
I said.
What?
it asked, somewhat puzzled.
Break the glass, Third Brother. Kill it, Sixth Brother,
I ordered.
Shattered glass and green substance filled the entire room.
The door suddenly blasted open and over ten armed aliens charged in.
Go, monkeys!
I shouted.
As they made their attacks, I opened the book. It was completely empty inside.
I took my fountain pen and wrote with a smile,
Let me understand their knowledge.
With the flash of a blue light, I felt my train of thought expanding and surging.
The pen in my hand started moving non-stop.
Monkey kings appeared from thin air, one after another, and pounced onto the incoming aliens.
I walked to a side and picked up the alien’s microphone. A piercing sound came out of my mouth, but I knew that I was telling the TV program viewers that I have conquered them.
The glass walls came crashing down and other building structures fell into view.
All sorts of oddly-shaped flying objects started shooting at us.
My pen continued moving above the paper and a row of interstellar god clan appeared.
The AI quickly blocked off the incoming laser rays.
Adapt to the environment here,
I wrote, before removing my headgear and breathing in the surrounding gas.
I felt perfectly fine.
I had complete control over my imagination.
Soak in the fine company of thought and imagination, you despicable doers!
