The computer was running, the OS was installed, the lynx browser was ready to use. All his months of hard work had finally paid off.
However, when he started using it, a new problem arose.
No matter how many times he typed in the URL in the browser, whether it was 'w*kip*dia.com', or just g**gle.com; the result was always the same. No response.
Of course, he had already factored in this possibility from the start. He was in a different world. There was no guarantee that the sites he knew still existed here. Maybe there is no W*kip*dia. There might not be G**gle. In fact, it's possible that the internet as he knew it evolved in a very different way.
However, something inside him refused to give up so easily.
Day after day, he tried different combinations of addresses that made sense. Week after week, he repeatedly typed in various domain names, hoping at least one would respond. However, it all ended in digital silence.
He even began to think that the problem y in the software. Maybe the Alpine OS he installed did not have the correct network configuration. Maybe there was something wrong with his internet dongle. Maybe the systems in this world use different protocols that he doesn't understand yet.
Days turn into weeks. Weeks turned into months. However, the results remained nil. No matter how hard and long he tried, there were no results; in fact, this was more depressing than trying to download the OS for months.
Until one day, in the same boredom as before, he began to double-check all the fsh drives he had stolen from Dante's boratory.
Most of it was just technical documents and experimental notes, something that didn't interest him. However, among the hundreds of files stored, there was something that made him stop.
A simple text file.
In it, among the rows of numbers and boring-looking information, he found something that shouldn't be in a technical document.
A URL: "s.converence"
James looked at her for a long time.
There are no '.com', 'net.', '.org', and other domains; only 's.converence'.
The URL worked!
For the first time since he was reborn in this world, James smiled.
Not a fake smile forced to deceive others, not an expression made just to fit into a social situation. This was a smile that was completely genuine... Warm and triumphant, something so alien to himself.
If there was someone in this room, they would probably be speechless at that expression. A smile so natural, so human, so full of simple happiness.
However, this is the biggest irony in James' life.
He smiled not because he found freedom, not because he found a warm family, not because he experienced something that could be considered sentimental in this life.
He smiled because he managed to access something reted to science; the science he hated, the science that had ensnared him since his previous life, and the science he should have wanted to stay as far away from as possible.
However, even if the hatred remains, victory is victory.
That smile will probably be something unbelievable to anyone who knows his name in the future. When he becomes someone the world knows, that smile will seem like an impossible legend. After all, in the future, people will know him as someone inhuman.
On the screen, the main page of 's.converence...' finally appeared.
[Login]
[Sign In]
It looks so simple, almost primitive. No fancy design, no eye-catching animations. Only two main options were dispyed in front of his eyes, "Login" and "Sign In."
James didn't think for long. His hand immediately hovered over "Sign In", letting the bck screen with white text guide him to the next page.
Username: ...
Password: ...
Again, everything seems too simple, a field to enter a name and password. That's it.
There are no additional security features, no CAPTCHA, no two-step authentication. In fact, when compared to the internet login systems of the past, this feels like something that was created without much consideration for security.
Or perhaps, the system works differently than he thought.
Or... perhaps, it's just because he's using the Lynx Browser, something that's very limited in dispying complex visual elements.
James didn't think much of it. He quickly entered his name and password, then pressed the confirmation button.
The screen blinked for a moment, as if the system was processing the request. A few seconds ter, the main dispy appears.
[Country] [Global] [Message]
James took in the dispy that was now presented before him.
Same as before, simple. Too simple.
The background is completely bck, with stark white text. No complicated graphic elements, no unnecessary embellishments. Just a basic yout that works as needed.
In the center of the screen, there is a "Global" category. From the name, James can immediately deduce that this is the pce where users can post public posts that can be seen by anyone.
On the right side of the screen, there is a "Message" section, it doesn't take much thought to understand that this is a feature for sending direct messages to other users.
On the left side of the screen, there was a more interesting section... "Country". At first gnce, James could guess that this might be some kind of server or subforum divided by region or country.
And at the very top of the screen, there is a "Search" column, presumably used to search for specific posts or users.
As someone who has been locked up for almost 2 whole years, interacting with others interests her more-even online.
Under the "Global" section, there is a "Post" column. Needless to say, this is where users can post things to the open forum.
James ignored that part for now and started scrolling down.
Each post was contained within a white border, neatly organized in a format very simir to the ancient ptforms he had seen in his previous life... Something like F*ceb**k.
Below each post, there are symbols for "Reactions" and "Comments".
Seeing this, James could immediately deduce one thing. This pce was a discussion room.
And it was here, for the first time since he was born again, that he could finally see how the world thinks.
