What If Real Life Had Gaming Codes

Look, I have very little time, but I have to tell this to whoever finds my recording. I leave it as the evidence that we’re not alone. If you listen to this, use it as you must, but don’t let anyone else take it from you — it’s too dangerous. I’ll try to be short.

So, it all started on a totally usual day. My life’s boring: I’m a common dispensable office clerk living in a small rental apartment on the outskirts, have never been married, and my only two friends live similarly dull lives. It was 7 p.m. I stayed overtime and was just leaving my office building when something drew my attention. It was like... a shadow and light footsteps right behind me. And then... nothing.

I woke up in my own bed and thought it was just a bad dream or something. When I looked at the clock, it showed 1 a.m. — I must’ve dozed off and couldn’t remember it. Before going back to sleep, I got up and went to the bathroom, but tripped in the darkness. I flailed my arms for balance, and suddenly, the world around me stopped, and so did I. Mid-fall. I stood as in some kind of stasis, ready to crash down on the floor any moment but not doing it for some reason.

And then I noticed the small blinking signal a bit below my immediate line of sight. I could see it clearly — it was like that vertical line which appears when you type something. I tried to move my arms but couldn’t. Then I said, “Am I supposed to type here?” — and my words appeared before me as if typed on some invisible screen! And there was also a countdown next to my question now, starting from five.

I watched it go to zero, and my question suddenly moved way up, accompanied by text I didn’t pronounce. It said, “String not recognized. For the list of available commands, type ’Help.’ To reset your settings to default, type ’Reset to default.’ To return to simulation with your current settings, type ’Return.’”

My heart was beating like crazy. I was both terrified and curious, and the latter won. I said, “Help” — and a huge list of commands dropped down in front of me in alphabetical order. I realized I could scroll them with my eyes, and found one I thought was both harmless and useful for my current situation. I said, “Reset actor position.” The string appeared in what I took to be the main window... and nothing happened. I waited for a second and then remembered that console commands in games — and that was undeniably a console — only work when you return to the game.

So I said, “Return.” I was expecting to fall headlong on the floor, but I didn’t. Instead, I kinda... glitched in the air and landed on my straight legs from a foot’s height. My eyes were wide, and I instantly began trying to figure out how to call the console again. I waved my hands feverishly but nothing happened. I danced in place, even deliberately fell on my face once, all to no avail.

I was almost desperate when I finally noticed it and shouted with joy. There was a tilde symbol right on the edge of my vision. I tapped it with my finger and voilà! The console appeared again, showing the previous command I left. I started experimenting.

First of all, I added money to my bank account. $10,000 seemed enough for the time being. As soon as I voiced the command, I left the console and saw my phone vibrating — a notification from my bank. The money was in. With my heart fluttering in my chest, I called the console again and continued.

Next was my health. I had a bad tooth and some problems with my stomach that I couldn’t treat for want of money and time. A simple command replaced all my teeth with new and healthy ones, and I could feel my stomach wasn’t an issue anymore.

Okay, what else did I want? A luxury car, I decided. I voiced the command and ran to the window. As soon as I looked outside, a Rolls-Royce appeared out of thin air on the free parking spot near my apartment building.

My apartment. Right. I voiced another command, and when I left the console mode, I immediately found myself in a big and spacious house. Judging by its looks, it stood in the most expensive neighborhood of the city. It was still empty, though, so I spent the rest of the night creating furniture and decorations for it.

In the morning, my adrenaline rush was still running strong, so I decided to have some laughs and drive to my office in my new Rolls-Royce. I summoned it to my garage with another command and sat behind the wheel. It felt awesome.

I was so full of joy and disbelief that I didn’t notice the speed limit, and only came round when I heard the police siren behind me. I pulled over and rolled down the window to greet the officer. And suddenly, an idea came to me.

As the officer bowed his head in greeting, I quickly called the console and found a suitable command: “Set wanted status: 0.” I said it, returned, and saw the officer just wave to me and say, “Good day, sir, just checking if you’re okay.” And with that, he went off. I felt invincible. I could do whatever I wanted and get away with it every time.

Thinking this, I summoned my two pals right into my car and explained everything to them as they sat there, astonished. Together, we drove to my office where I wanted to have a show of my life. I left the car at the building and went inside. As I came in, I created two million dollars in a backpack, unzipped it, and started handing out packs of 20 grand to everyone I met. They looked at me like I was crazy, and I felt like that too, but I didn’t care anymore. I didn’t care about anything now. I was omnipotent.

And as I was giving out another pack of money, someone caught me by the wrist. I didn’t know the woman, but she seemed to know me. I rolled my eyes and called the console. In a mischievous streak, I decided to teleport her outside the building and voiced, “Move NPC to position: building exterior.”

Smiling to myself, I closed the console, and... she was still gripping my arm, staring right into my eyes. “I know what you’re doing,” she said. I felt cold creeping down my spine. “What’s your name?” the woman asked then. “I...” I almost said my name but stopped. “Why do you ask?”

She smirked and said nothing. Two more people appeared next to us, both of them looking at me as intently as the woman was. I panicked and teleported myself to my new home. To my relief, the hand gripping my wrist disappeared, and I fell on my knees, panting in terror. Someone was hunting me, but they needed my name to control me. I couldn’t let them know who I am.

I scrolled through commands, seeking ones that could do with my documents, and summoning everything I could find to myself. Eventually, I found them all... and threw them into the fireplace. Then, with a single command, I erased myself from the memories of my friends, colleagues, and even my family. They wouldn’t find a trace of me, and they wouldn’t take me under control. I was watching my papers smoldering in the flames when I heard a gentle knock on the front door.

Heart booming, I muffled my footsteps with a command and went to look. Standing before my door was that same woman. I turned invisible and stepped through the outer wall to get behind her back. But at the same moment, she calmly turned my way and said, “No need to hide, I know right where you are.” I nearly fainted from fear. “Don’t be afraid. We need to talk. Please come inside, I won’t do you any harm.” And she walked right through the door without opening it.

I stepped inside the house after her, turning visible again — no use for that now. She sat down in my armchair like she owned it and waited for me to take a seat too. When I did, she began talking.
“I don’t know your name, and you don’t know mine, and let it stay that way. But make no mistake: if you go on living like this, creating things out of thin air, more will come for you, and they’ll have the means to... subdue you.”

“But... who are we? I thought I was the only one!” I felt dazed. The woman smirked. “No, you’re not. We’re actors. Players. In other words, PCs, as opposed to NPCs — non-playable characters. Someone just woke you up.
Most of the people you know are NPCs tailored to your view of the world. But there are others like you and me. And some of them want us gone to rule this world unchallenged. They hunt us and we hunt them. Join us, and we’ll give you protection in return for your powers.”

And so, this is it. This is how I learned I was in a simulation game. I joined the group of actors led by Jeanne — it was an alias that the woman took. We agreed not to share our real names even among ourselves. I live an ordinary life, but I’m leaving this message to whoever finds it. If you can listen to it, you’ll soon notice drastic changes in your life. Don’t be scared. It means you’re alive.