Original subtitles

I come from the net, through systems, people, and cities, to this place.

Mainframe.

My format?

Guardian. To mend and defend.

To defend my newfound friends, their hopes and dreams.

To defend them from their enemies.

They say the user lives outside the net and inputs games for pleasure.

No one knows for sure, but I intend to find out.

Reboot!

True Stories of Mainframe, take 2004.

Action! Very much for me being Mr. Five the day.

Want some used food?

No, but... Thanks anyway.

Bob!

Enzo!

It was rather laborious and taxing to prefabricate that magnet, Bob.

I would really appreciate it if you could be so kind as to return it to me.

And the sooner, the better.

Keep your head on. I was only going to chuck it anyway, M .B. Here, catch.

I've fallen half -flesh to me.

Coming.

Not even close.

Who, Al?

No, not even close.

You, Al?

What you have just witnessed is a simulation of a true event. Only the

were changed to protect the guilty.

No binos were injured during the recording of this program.

Next cycle on True Stories of Mainframe.

How do you know that then?

I'm a gardener. I know everything.

Guardian! Guardian!

Enzo, are you still sitting there watching Mike the TV?

Why don't you go play outside?

Who is?

I've got no friends!

You're always too busy, and Bob's in that game!

I don't believe it! They triggered the detonator! How basic can you get?

I'm supposed to save them from the user, not themselves!

Comp test. How long we got?

Initial detonation complete.

Ten seconds to planet destruction.

Oh, great.

A whole ten seconds.

I never get to go anywhere, and you won't let me into games anymore.

I had fun with Bob and the games. Now I just... And, though, games aren't

supposed to be fun. They're dangerous.

You should never go into one without Bob or myself.

Promise? Aw, Doc, games are fun. I bet Bob's having a great time right now.

Brace yourself! She's gonna blow!

Doom over.

You nearly got us nullified! I can't believe you did that!

Bob!

Hi, Bob.

Problems? You could say that.

These two booted into the game and tried to win it by setting off an explosion

capable of destroying a planet.

Bad idea.

Yes, especially when you're inside the planet.

Why'd you do it?

I had to, mister.

And all he did was keep saying, make it so.

And engage. I said engage more times than make it so, actually.

What am I going to do?

What about a little refresher course? You could base it on that readme file of

yours. Games, a survivor's guide.

Hey, that's not a bad idea.

Thanks. Now, could you help me with my little problem?

What? Enzo? I didn't even notice him.

Exactly. We're both too busy running businesses or saving mainframe to have

for him.

And he hasn't got any friends because there aren't many small strikes left in

mainframe since the Twin City was destroyed.

Oh, I'm sorry, Doc. I didn't mean to... No, I'm okay.

It's just the talk of the other city reminds me of my father.

It wasn't his fault, Doc. The experiment just got out of control.

I know, I know. I just wish he were here now. I miss him.

Come on.

Let's see if we can help Enzo.

T. Earl Gray.

What in the net is T. Earl Gray?

Hi,

Enzo. What's processing?

Huh? Oh, nothing.

How was the game?

Oh, it was terrible. I could have really used your help in there.

Hey, why don't you go and play with Frisket?

Where is he, anyway?

I don't know. He's not my dog. He's feral. And you know what that means. He

could be anywhere, doing anything.

Everyone's having a better time than me. I've got no one to play with, and it's

all Dad's fault.

If you hadn't deleted most of the sprites, I'd have some friends!

Enzo!

So the Golden Fleece was in the fourth chamber, guarded by a Hydra.

Once Glitch had removed all seven of the Hydra's heads, as shown here, I simply

touched the Fleece to end the game.

So, to recap.

There are three basic rules.

Rule one, do not enter games. A game cannot hurt you if you are not in it. Do

anything you can to get out of the cube's path.

Rule number two, fight or hide. If you do get trapped in a game, help or stay

out of the way. Leave it to the professionals.

Finally, rule number three, defeat the user, either by destroying it or winning

the game.

Now, any questions?

Yes, you there with the hat.

Yes, is it always a good idea to reboot?

Rebooting usually provides equipment and knowledge that help you in a game, but

not always.

Remember the story I told you about Enzo rebooting as a damsel?

Any other questions?

How many types of game sprites are there?

There are five subsets.

Aggressives, defensives, passives, chaotics, and a recent addition,

intelligence.

Aggressives only attack the user.

Defensives try to block or delay anything that comes their way. Now,

are the most dangerous.

They try to destroy anything that moves, user or mainframe or alike.

Passives tend to help by revealing information about the game. And

intelligent game sprites are programmed to alter their characteristics to match

changes in the user's playing ability.

In other words, they learn and become better opponents. But please remember,

treat them all as potential threats.

Remember, there is no substitute for experience.

All known games are logged in the read -only room. I suggest you download

chapters one through five for next time. That's Pong through to Space Invaders.

Bob, Doc has told me of young Enzo's troubles. Look, it's simple. He needs a

friend. Having no one his own age to play with is really getting to him.

I have a schematic for a robot, friend.

What do you think?

Uh, nice, Fong, but I think he needs a real friend.

Warning, incoming game.

Oh, no, not now!

Fong, where's the cube gonna land?

Oh, this is bad.

Is it very bad?

The game is going to land in Broadway, on the diner to be exact.

And though... Yes, and in his current state, who knows what he will do.

What are you waiting for?

Come on, don't be a meanie. Get out of here.

No way.

And this all the fun?

See ya.

Come on.

We don't have much time.

But I told Enzo not to go into the games alone.

Yes, but did you tell him to move if one was dropping on him?

Come on, Bob. We don't have much time.

Wow, Dot looks amazing.

What a babe.

I heard that.

What? Did I say that or just think it?

You thought it. We're telepathic. It's part of our game character.

Oh, sorry. I better be more careful what I say. I think.

That'll be a first.

So, what is this?

I don't know. I've never seen this one before.

Glitch. Game info.

Right. The user has to find the lost treasure of Atlantis to win the game.

And it's our job to stop him.

What have we got to help us?

Apparently, I've got electrical powers that can be used offensively and

defensively.

Whoa!

And you have a trident capable of generating vortices and piranha mines.

Nice.

Hey! Watch where you point that thing!

Sorry. Come on, let's end this game before Enzo gets into any trouble.

Nice tail.

I heard that, too.

Sorry.

Just keep your mind on the user.

They're the user. You ready?

Yeah. Let's do it.

Give the piranha mine anyway.

Thought the game hadn't gone away.

What's going on?

The user has multiple lives.

Fifteen, to be exact.

Not good. This is not good.

Hey, that's my line.

Be okay.

Please be okay.

Yay.

How many is that now?

Six down, nine to go. Come on.

Wow, you're okay.

I thought the user had offline you for sure.

Hey, cool spines. Are they acid or poison?

Um, not poison. They paralyze.

Totally random.

I bet they're really useful in this game. When I rebooted, all I got was

eye patch.

Rebooted?

are you me i'm enzo uh a guardian yeah that's it i come from the net and who

you i am andrea i'm uh cool i haven't seen you around mainframe andrea that's

nice name

How are we doing?

Not good.

The user has still got eight lives left and we're on the final level.

We're not going to make it, doll.

No!

Feel better?

Yes.

But I'm out of power.

Any ideas?

Our only chance now is to beat the user to the treasure. Wait here.

That'll slow it down.

Okay, which way?

This way. But be careful. Now the game sprites will be after us as well.

And then my friend Bob booted as a damsel. His legs didn't even reach the

ground.

Andrea, this is the best time I've ever had.

I like you, Enzo.

Uh, I like you too, Andrea.

When we win this game, you can come to the diner and meet Bob and Dot. And

you'll love Frifkin. He's my dog.

Enzo, the user, just ahead of us.

Uh -oh.

Jolter beetles, I've got control.

They run by a basic blocking algorithm.

Hang on.

Whoa!

Alpha numeric!

Come on! I'll take the manta rays, you take the stingrays!

Why is the water this color?

I don't think we want to know.

Okay, seven degrees support.

Elevation minus 11 .2.

Good, what's next?

We've got a 90 degree hard to starboard on my mark.

Here they come.

You okay, Dot?

Yeah, thanks.

But don't worry about me. I can look after myself.

Bob! It's the user!

Oh, no!

We've cleared the way for it. There's nothing to stop it getting to the

treasure. We've got to try.

It's Enzo, and he's with someone.

It's a game sprite.

We've got to get him out of there. There's no time.

We've got to win the game. Quick, come on.

Oh, no. There's Bob and Doc in the

truck. Jesus is going to win, and we're going to be nullified.

Nullified? What is nullify?

You know, offline, deleted, quit without saving.

You're a game sprite, aren't you?

Yes, I tried to tell you. I know, but I didn't want to listen.

I thought you could be my friend.

I am, Enzo.

How? You're a game sprite.

You leave with the game, win or lose.

We can never stay together, no matter what happens.

We can be together, Enzo.

No! What are you doing?

The user's nearly there! It's

gonna make it!

Bob!

Ansel!

Goodbye, my friend.

All right, Enzo, you did it. You saved everyone.

Are you okay? Did the game sprite hurt you?

I'm okay. And that game sprite was my friend. She helped save us all.

Wait, what's that on your icon?

Gather Enzo, I downloaded a backup of myself onto your icon. The game let me

thinking I was you.

You can do that?

Apparently. Cool.

Now, Guardian, who are your friends?

It's a game sprite? Outside of the game? I don't believe it.

Hey, what does she mean, Guardian?