A Disastrous Shortcut

After a few hours of traveling, the first words began to pour out of our mouths.

"Has any of you actually been to the wired valleys", I asked. "Not really. I've been close to these parts but I haven't really seen the wired valleys for myself", Doc replied. "All we know is that it's a bit of a danger but it leads directly to the impenetrable firewall", Mozart said. At these words, I began to realize how big and confusing this world was and how ignorant its residents were to explore it.

We stopped for a break. A sign a few yards back showed that the wired valleys were only a few hundred meters away. We sat down and started to prepare ourselves for what lay ahead. We snacked on some more bread, which had grown much staler than last time. After that, in a nervous state of mind, we started along the last hundred meters to the deathly Wired Valleys.

We didn't know exactly how deadly and impossible to cross it was until we first saw it. It was a huge and wide pathway filled with mountains that seemed to be arranged in perfect order and pattern. The valley floor was literally covered in wires coming from between the mountains and some even looked like it was endless. It would be impossible to traverse over such a terrain where the sharp wires could slice our feet or even electrocute us before we could even walk a mile.

"What do we do now? It's not an option to cross this dangerous valley but we can't give up on our mission now either", Mozart said. "Well, thankfully you have a Microsoft employee on your team", Doc said. A puzzled expression from Mozart and I told Doc to explain.

"I knew this would be coming. The Wired Valleys have never been crossed by anyone. I just wanted to see it for myself and that's why I didn't say anything before. But, there is a shortcut that we can take. The Microsoft Mines. It goes underneath the Wired Valleys and they monitor the wires and all the information that travels from every corner of this realm. The point is, it's a safe place and with me, you can disguise yourselves and we can easily pass through. I'll just tell everyone that you're a visiting resident, Mozart. However, Sam won't be able to disguise himself. So, we need to solve that problem", Doc explained.

We pondered over it for a while.

"I could hide in the bag that we've been using to carry food", I said. "It will be rough but I suppose I could manage."

It was decided then. Mozart would walk along with Doc while carrying my bag too to help me pass through the mines. Little did we know how big of a problem it would become.