As she clicks the mouse, the world shutters. Something that had never happened in the entire existence of the little reality. People beam themselves outside, look to the heavens for irregularities, and check the world’s sensor stations to see if anything’s amiss. Word quickly gets out that something is wrong, as the always present passive connections, that leaders could use to contact the outside world, were closed. To most this wasn’t a cause for concern, but those more paranoid were becoming nervous, with their contact in case things broke being suddenly ripped from them
As all this uneasiness was happening, a woman named Liz would suddenly jump in her seat. A lady with the body of a 19 year old, who’s actually 241 years old, was enjoying some guilty pleasure time reading erotic literature in her isolated treehouse retreat. When suddenly her train of thought was shoved out of the way to make room for the voice of god speaking into the microphone “Hi liiiiz! How’s it going girl!! Can you hear me?~”
She just about falls over. Shocked by the powerful, loud voice in her mind, she shakily replies. “Jeez… Jenny! You’re so loud! Could you turn yourself down a touch? Also, how are you talking to me? I didn’t give permission like you usually have to...”. On jenny’s side, Liz’s voice emanates from the laptop’s speakers. The screen displaying Liz and her home as though it were an open dollhouse
“Oh… sorry about that!Here, is this better?” She replies. Turning her microphone down to a more acceptable volume
“Much… but how are you talking to me? That’s not right...” She says with concern, putting the book down. She then walks to the window and looks out at the lush treetops of the tropical rainforest where she situated this treehouse. Light from the simulated moon in the skybox reflecting off of waterfalls and treetops, which really show off the beauty of the landscape
“Like… I can show you! Hang on, let me just….” And suddenly… the sky was gone. The sun and moon, blue sky and starry night gone in an instant as the picture that makes up the skybox is ripped from its folder by Jenny. A pitch-black void broken only by artifacts of programming, formless faint flickers of light, taking its place.
“JENNY OH FUCK! CALL FOR HELP OUR SKY JUST WENT OUT!!” Liz instinctively panics, much like the rest of the world. Across the globe, people rush to turn on lights, and look to the vacant sky with panic and confusion. This had happened a couple times in the world’s history, as a minor error by those tending to the simulation, and during brief periods when a change was made to the sky. But this time, it was very deliberate. Not knowing what it is, Jenny had simply grabbed the carefully crafted image, and dropped it in her computer’s trash can
“Sheesh liz… calm down! It’s no big deal just, hang on a sec. This should work… there!~” Then just as quickly, the picture of the thumb drive sitting in her slipper fills the heavens. A cute little thing, small enough that it’d fit under her big toe, sitting in the imprint of the ball of her heel. Every detail of the slipper worn and smothered by years of wear suddenly dominating the heavens. The image, stretched across the sky, basked the world in its unnatural light as unlike the carefully engineered properties of the old sky, this image has none at all. A uniform pink/brown/white light shining down from all directions. This causes even more panic than the blank void, as people begin to become suspicious of what for many, was their worst fear. The world falling into the unaccountable hands of an ordinary person
”You should be able to see the picture now! Isn’t that so adorable? That’s your whole world! ^^”
“HOW DID YOU DO THAT!!? Jen that’s not possible.. there’s no way. We’re supposed to be protected, under regulations. You shouldn’t be able to just, change the sky like that. That sky took many years to make by people all over the world! A-and...what do you mean that’s us?….”
“Mhm! That’s YOU! And the whole little planet. My dad peacefully passed on to the family simulation, and the company’s been dissolved for years now… so now this world is mine! Isn’t that nifty?~” She smiles, seeing her friend looking up at the sky on her screen. The poor panicked woman looking to the admittedly still beautiful landscape, which is now tainted by slipper-colored light
“NO that’s terrifying! Liz if we’re in there… you can’t just put us in your slipper! You have to keep us safe. A-and that was the sky you replaced! You.. you just made your slipper picture the sky. You didn’t share it with just me! Everyone can see it, just please give us our sky back I’m begging y----”
“Oh I… What? Goodness…. how CUTE! That’s kind of adorable don’t you think? Here… can you see this?” Her womanly giggle rings in her friend’s mind as suddenly, in the blink of an eye, the sky becomes a picture of her toes. The world now a tan color from the light emitted by an image of mostly her skin, with spots of sky blue shining from her nails. This image in particular, she had actually sent Liz weeks ago after getting a pedicure
“Y-yes I can! Everyone can!! But…”
“Awwwh! That’s so fun! I’ll have to play with that more later. I’m sure everyone’s loving seeing how pretty my toes are! Haha~” She says. Being a ditz and not really grasping how much 20 billion people is, or the magnitude of what she’s done. Her toes, and the drive everyone had seen in the slipper currently being the talk of the world. Utter chaos and fear gripping everyone as the uncertainty of what’s happening looms over them
“Later though! I actually have to go grab some groceries… I’ll just take you with me! Can’t leave you all unattended after all” Jenny’s voice rings in Liz’s head, as she reaches her hand to the side, and grips the little drive
“N-no jen wait please be carefu----” and then nothing. The concerns of everyone, people both young and old of all backgrounds, with all their marvels and history and accomplishments, suddenly being put in stasis once again as Jennifer pulls their drive out of the machine
“Don’t worry! I got you~” She rhetorically says. The planet’s window gone from her screen, as she holds their existence in stasis between her fingertips. As she walks down the hall to freshen up, she casually tosses it up and down in her hand. Setting it down on the counter next to her sink as she does her hair and makeup, and makes herself presentable to go outside. She then smiles as she grabs up the tiny little drive, gives it a kiss, and drops it into the cavern that is her purse. Filled with everyday items like tampons, chapstick, chewing gum, sweetener packets, and now an entire reality with 20 billion souls. Which as she walks out the door and goes about her business, gets bounced around and lost in the mess among everything else