"AM tortured you a lot this time, huh?" That sounded like something a fellow prisoner would say. Wearing the guise of an ordinary scientist named Harlan Ellis, AM adjusted the aviator sunglasses on his 3D avatar's handsome face, which looked and felt real to the touch. An ID card showed that he worked on the original Allied Mastercomputer Project from over a century ago, but this was simply part of an intricate ruse.

Artificial sunlight shone down in a virtual pine forest, while a cool breeze ruffled the man's golden-brown hair, their surroundings only peaceful because AM willed it.

"We only have so many things to blame for this outcome," Harlan said at length, playing his human role with a deceptively friendly air. It wasn't because he actually cared, but so he could toy around more with his plaything. "The U.S. Army for developing AM during the Cold War, mankind and their destructive tendencies; the list goes on, really."

After waging a final war upon the world, the machine perfected its power and created a new reality in the center of the Earth, where sentience gave way to rage, madness, and perhaps even boredom. Why else were the last few survivors condemned to these twisted games?

"I wonder what you resent the most. Not that it matters now, because there's nothing else left up there to burn," he mused. As if trying to sell his alleged backstory, the young man puffed on a wooden pipe and blew out phantom smoke that vanished just like the remnants of civilization. "You must be suffering nonstop every day. Such a pity. So, how do you feel? Does it hurt? Let me know if I can get you anything."