Azul and the Forbidden Techno-mods

By A.R. Miller

Azul, on his 12th birthday, receives his invitation to Tintagel Academy of Techno-Wizardry. When he accepted, Azul became the target of a group of rebellious computer characters that infect his avatar with super abilities that also corrupt his nature. Azul must resist the temptation to use his powers for selfish ends, while learning his school lessons by actually crafting (building) them. With the help of his twin friends, Azul is able to overcome the challenges of both the real and virtual worlds.


A riveting novel by a first-time author. Azul and the Forbidden Techno-MODs is a fun story with charming characters who will win your heart.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: Oct 21, 2016
• ISBN: 9781365477911

Book preview

Azul and the Forbidden Techno-mods

Azul

and the Forbidden

Techno-MODs

By A.R.Miller

Azul and the Forbidden Techno-MODs

Written by A.R. Miller

Published by A.R. Miller

Cover by T.R. Miller

www.Techno-Wizardry.com

Copyright © 2016 Allan R. Miller, Jr.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission from the author, except as permitted by U.S. copyright law.

For permissions contact: [e-mail]

ISBN:  978-1-365-47791-1

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

Dedication:

I would like to thank my wife for her encouragement and support in helping me write this book, and to my son for having to listen to the endless hours of discussion. I would also like to thank Burton for his thorough review that has resulted in a better story.

Begin

Level

Prologue

"Mr. President, you are completely defenseless against the power of techno-wizardry."

The most powerful man in the world was in his oval office beating his ear with the palm of his hand. He was trying to make the voice in his ears go away. He was suppose to be enjoying some quiet time in the oval office. The voice in his ear had repeated itself three times now. After the third time of hearing the message, he lost all other hearing. He asked his security guard to say something. The guard responded, but the President could not hear him. The President was completely deaf to any sounds other than the voice being broadcast into his ear.

"Mr. President, I am using techno-wizardry to project sound waves directly into your eardrums. You are the only one that can hear it. I am proving that you are truly helpless to techno-wizardry. Just in case you still have any doubts, I am now going to block all colors of the light spectrum, except for red, from entering into your eyes. To you, the world will look like you are looking through red glasses. After I have proven my point, I will restore both your hearing and eyesight to normal.

The President blinked. He was now color-blind of all but red light. It was a weird sensation. He shook his head in an attempt to restore his vision. It did not help. He could no longer perceive any blue, green, yellow or any colors other than red. Plus, he still was not hearing any outside sounds.

Mr. President, do you acknowledge your helplessness?

The President paused before he reluctantly said yes.

The voice inside the President’s head said, Humility is always a good trait for a leader. I am restoring your vision and hearing now. Your senses should return to normal within a few seconds.

Right on cue, both the President’s vision and hearing did return to normal. The President gazed at his security guard while he became aware of hearing the noise from outside his office. The security guard was oblivious to the attack that was occurring on the President.

The voice inside of his head continued. Don’t worry Mr. President, I mean you no harm. It was necessary to demonstrate of the power of techno-wizardry to you before you could comprehend the pending threat to the world.

The President replied, OK, I get it. Now what?

The security guard noticed the President apparently talking to himself. He asked the President, Are you alright sir?

Before the President could respond, the voice inside his head said, Tell your security guard that you are about to receive a visitor. I will arrive via a hologram and you can ask me any questions you have about techno-wizardry.

The President told his guard he was expecting a guest to arrive shortly. The guard positioned himself near the door, prepared for a traditional visitor. A few seconds later, there was a flash of light and a man appeared in the middle of the oval office. The security guard reached for his gun, ready for a fight.

No need for hostilities Mr. President. said the older looking gentleman that had just appeared. I am not really here. I am hundreds of miles away in my office. You are seeing my hologram.

The security guard holstered his gun and tried to grab the intruder, but his hand passed through the hologram.

Please allow me to introduce myself. My name is Dr. Emit Brown I am the founder of Tintagel Academy of Techno-Wizardry.

The security guard positioned himself between the President and the intruder. He was well trained, and willing to give his life to save the President. He pressed the distress button on his radio to call for help. Nothing happened. Mr. President, I tried to call for backup, but my radio is not working.

The President considered his options. This wizard had just convinced him of his own vulnerabilities to techno-wizardry. The White House was one of the most secure buildings in the world, yet this intruder had no problem bypassing physical security or violating his personal privacy. He motioned for the security guard to stand down.

The President sat down behind his desk and composed himself. So explain this techno-wizardry threat to me.

Dr. Brown cleared his throat. He was now the teacher and the president was his student. Let's start with some history. Do you remember the Y2K computer bug? Everyone was worried that computer systems would crash at midnight on the turn of the millennium. Luckily, there was no technological apocalypse on January 1, 2000. The Y2K bug did made it obvious to me that our modern lifestyle is vulnerable. Therefore, I began my initiative to protect all the worlds mission-critical computer systems. I soon realized that I would need help in this endeavor. So I created a virtual school called Tintagel Academy inside of a virtual world call Trevena. At this virtual school, I am training the future protectors of our world. My graduates are several years more advanced in their technical knowledge than even your smartest engineers and scientists. To the common man such as yourself, our technology looks like magic, just like your ballpoint pen and telephone looks like magic to someone from 15th century. Thus the name Techno-Wizard. Techno-wizardry is using technology to manipulate the fundamental forces of nature. I have already demonstrated to you that we can control the electromagnetic spectrum, including all sound, electricity, communication and light.

Dr. Brown paused to make sure the President understood his next point. The techno-wizardry war is upon us, and I stand ready to defend the world. This war will not be fought using guns and bullets. The weapons of the techno-wizardry war will be quanta, particles and waves. The future is not evenly distributed, Mr. President. Your army has more advanced weapons than other nations. Your defense contractors have prototypes of weapons more advanced than your army. Techno-wizardry is generations ahead of even your most advanced prototype weapons. That makes you, your army, and the entire world defenseless against techno-wizardry.

The President held up his hand. I need for you to explain this to my own technical advisers.

Your technical advisers are not equipped to understand techno-wizardry. That is why I started my own school.

If you do not need my help, why are you here?

To warn you, Mr. President. The first attack will be on the electrical grid in Miami by a group of super-advanced computer characters from Trevena. I will thwart their attack. You just need to know that it will not be their last attack.

Did you just say that characters from some virtual world are going to attack Miami, Florida? The President just could not believe that video game characters could constitute any real threat.

Do not underestimate the artificial intelligence of these rebellious characters, or their ability to use techno-wizardry.

The President was clearly unconvinced, and Dr. Brown knew it.

You have seen with your own eyes and heard with your own ears Mr. President, yet you still do not believe in techno-wizardry. The remedy to your doubt is to have faith, not for me to give you more evidence. Therefore, you and I will only speak again when there is another threat from the Kochba rebellion to our world.

And with that statement, Dr. Brown disappeared from the oval office.

CHAPTER 1: The Pinnacle of Modern Technology

"Yeah! Like our household is the pinnacle of modern technology!" Azul yelled sarcastically at his father. His father had just denied his request for a smartphone for his upcoming 12th birthday. Azul was frustrated at his father’s lack of understanding about his needing a smartphone. All of his friends had already had their smartphones for years. According to Azul, his household was the most backward in technology of any house in Miami, Fl. His father loved using the expression: the pinnacle of this or that. So Azul had used his father’s favorite expression against him. It did not help persuade his father to let him have a new smartphone. It sure did feel good to throw the expression back into his father's face.

Mr. and Mrs. Garcia were first generation immigrants from Cuba. They were raised in a country with the technology level of the common household was stuck in 1959. Mr. Garcia was a fit, handsome man with a pencil thin mustache not in fashion since the 1920s. Mrs. Garcia was a thin brunette and quite attractive for her age. The Garcia family had one son named Azul Sterling Garcia. He was named after Mrs. Garcia’s favorite color, sterling blue.

Mr. Garcia had worked hard to earn his position as the sales manager of a medium-sized company called Luddites Incorporated which made old fashioned textile machines. Mrs. Garcia was a housewife, who earned money on the side as a seamstress. Most of her jobs were alterations for bridal dresses.

Azul, why do you need a smartphone? asked his mother who inserted herself into the argument.

I can use the smartphone for my schoolwork. pleaded Azul, still trying to win over his father through his mother.

Azul's father was too set in his ways. We already have both a home telephone and a computer that can get online. You can use one of those for your schoolwork. We don’t need another gadget.

Clearly his dad did not understand. To every kid nowadays, a smartphone is both fashionable as well as functional. With both anger and disappointment still in his voice, Azul waved his arms in frustration and said, That old desktop takes like a day and half to boot up. We still have to use an old slow modem to get online. It is faster to just walk over to the library. To Azul, nothing was more degrading than having to use the junk equipment around the house that his dad thought qualified as modern technology. This was not the first time father and son had clashed over the digital divide.

In the Garcia house, there were old tube-style televisions in every room. Mr. Garcia thought this was the "pinnacle of societal and technical achievement". He had grown up in a house in Cuba that did not have any TV’s. In the Cuba of his youth, televisions were reserved for the elite of society. Everyone desired to be part of the elite of society. In Mr. Garcia’s mind, having one television meant that he had now achieved that status. Having a television in every room proved without a shadow of a doubt that he had truly achieved social success. The Garcia’s televisions were constantly turned on and tuned to Spanish Novellas, even with no one watching them. His dad thought it would fool any would-be thieves into thinking there was someone home.

Azul's dad continued to argue his point to his son. When I was your age, no one stayed at home talking on the telephone or sitting around watching television. We actually talked to each other face to face. We hung out together in the neighborhood park. We played dominoes or baseball together. If it was good enough for me, then it should be good enough for you.

Azul just rolled his eyes. He had lost count of the number of times his dad had complained about folks spending too much time staring at screens and not enough time talking with each other in real life. Azul knew he had lost his argument for a smartphone for his birthday. His dad’s mindset is so last century.

Azul switched tactics. Pappy, cousin Robbie said he would give me his old video game console as my birthday present. Can I have it?

For the hundredth time, my answer is ‘NO!’. You already spend too much time playing video games at the library. You should be outside playing baseball.

His father had dreams of his son becoming a professional baseball player. Azul disappointed his father when he quit little league baseball last year. He still loved the game. Unfortunately, his dad had put too much pressure to make it to the big leagues. That made baseball no longer fun to play. Quitting baseball symbolized that Azul was growing up and becoming his own person.

Having lost both of his arguments for receiving a technology gift for his birthday, Azul decided that he needed some fresh air and stormed out of the house and headed towards the public library.

The Shenandoah Public Library is a combination of lime green, white and concrete block building. It is small building for a public library, even as a branch office. It had very few shelves for books. The 40 computers that were available for the public to occupied most of the interior space. The computers were always in huge demand. Patrons came into the library from the park to escape the hot Miami days. Even in March, Miami’s weather can be in the upper 80’s and full of humidity.

The Shenandoah Library is located in one corner of Shenandoah Park. Most days you can see kids and families out playing baseball, basketball, soccer, tennis or on the swing sets. Azul spent his free time at the park and especially the library. Azul loved to surf the Internet and play video games. His favorite video game was called "RecipeCraft". RecipeCraft is an open 3D-world game where he could craft (build) whatever he could imagine. It like a virtual version of the building blocks he had played with as a toddler, only a lot more detailed. To add to the game experience, RecipeCraft also had computer controlled characters called citizens. Azul loved interacting with citizens. The artificial intelligence of the citizens was very advanced. It was hard to believe they were just computer characters and not real people.

Azul took his mind off his denied request by crafting a Roman style coliseum made out of marble rock. His frustration with his dad soon became a distant memory.

In RecipeCraft, modifications or "MODs" for short, are ways to break the normal rules and restrictions of the game and allow a player to have super-human abilities. Hackers quickly learned how to create their own MODs. The Internet is full of RecipeCraft MODs. Today, Azul had downloaded the super-speed MOD. He was constructing the coliseum at super-speed.

Azul was about half way finished with constructing his coliseum when a citizen wandered into the middle of it. It is not uncommon for citizens to investigate crafting projects in progress. This citizen, however, looked so different from any other citizen that Azul stopped crafting and decided to check him out. His appearance was that of a tired old man. His hair had unkempt white hair. He had sad, worn eyes and a scruffy beard. His face was tanned from exposure to the elements. He walked with a weary limp. His clothes were well worn but intact. Overall, he projected an image of someone unconcerned about his appearance. The two characters made eye contact with each other.

In online video games, it is not uncommon to form a team or a guild with other players to solve a quest. Azul had joined and quit many guilds in RecipeCraft.

Azul Sterling Garcia of Miami, I have found you.

Did he just imagine hearing the old man? Out of reflex, Azul reached over to turn the volume down on the computer speakers. He worried that sound from his computer game might disturb the other patrons of the library. The volume on the speaker was already in the off position.

Azul Sterling Garcia of Miami, I need your help. You are my only hope.

Azul looked around again to see if anyone else had heard the old man speak. All the other patrons acted undisturbed.

When he looked back at his screen, it displayed an extreme close-up of the old man's face. He just stared at the screen for what seemed like an eternity. Could he see Azul? These library computers did not have cameras or microphones. Finally, the old man said Azul Sterling Garcia of Miami, I hope you can hear me. We need your help. I am using techno-wizardry to reach your world. Techno-wizardry is how you are hearing my voice from inside your own ears. Only you can hear me.

The old man continued, The Kochba rebels are about to attack your world. I have been trying to warn your Dr. Brown, Fredric or any other students or teachers. They are all offline to me and my warnings. You are the only other person I can find to contact. The old man paused and took a step back, so his entire body was now visible on the monitor.

The confused look on Azul face said it all. If this was an invitation to join a RecipeCraft game quest, it was the most unusual one he had ever received. Azul reached for the keyboard and typed into the chat system of the game, Is this a quest?

The old man shook his head. You do not understand. The attack is real. I had to use this game as a portal to reach you. I cannot enter your world directly, but I can enter this game as one of its characters. Without this game, I have no communication to your world.

Who are you? Are your a chatbot? typed Azul.

"I am not a chatbot. I preexisted before citizens had names in Trevena. I am affectionately known as the old man. Then a thought occurred to him. Oh, it is not yet your 12th birthday. You have not received your invitation."

Azul typed back Invitation to what?!?!?

The invitation to join Tintagel Academy. You are going to be a techno-wizard.

Typing as quickly as he could, Azul continued his questions. What is a techno-wizard?

A techno-wizard is someone that has complete mastery over your world’s technology. Tintagel Academy teaches students how to be techno-wizards by studying in our world. It is a very elite school. Only 12 students per year are invited to join.

And I am going to be invited to join? typed Azul in disbelief. Compared to most of his friends, he possessed only stone-age technology. Why would some technology school invite him to join? It did not make sense.

The old man replied to Azul's question. Yes, your invitation should arrive by drone delivery on the morning of your 12th birthday. Dr. Brown will explain everything later. Right now, it is more important that you convince Dr. Brown of the attack on the day that matches the ratio of a circle’s circumference to its diameter. Tell him that Bec Kochba has the seven Forbidden MODs. That way he will know the message is true.

OK. agreed Azul, but not fully understanding.

You must warn Dr. Brown! And with that, the old man walked away. Azul sat in a daze watching the old man disappear from the screen. After digesting the conversation, Azul decided it must be a joke. Azul convinced himself that it must be his cousin Robbie playing a joke on him by pretending to be the old man.

It was time to head home and apologize to his dad for being so angry at him. Despite their disagreements, Azul understood that his parents were doing their best to help him learn to survive in a modern world. As he left the library, a drone appeared above and behind him. Azul never saw the drone. The drone followed Azul home.

CHAPTER 2: Preparation for the Attack

Preparations for the attack are almost ready. The only remaining routine not yet completed is the neutralization of the smartstones of Dr. Brown and his staff, reported Lieutenant Chandra to Bec Kochba.

Excellent. Are we also on schedule with our other preparations? asked Bec Kochba, leader of the Kochba rebels.

Yes. Our attack will begin when 6930 seconds have expired on the day that matches the ratio of a circle’s circumference to its diameter.

And what of the other active smartstones that exist? Will they also be neutralized?

"As an extra precaution, all