ReBoot

There's a lot of stuff going on in our new ReBoot comic pitch. I'm going to post my notes here so everyone can read them. None of you seem to mind reading, but I apologize if anyone finds this incredibly long. This is what a writer does... write. A lot.

The Hunt has brought ruin to the Net. Megabyte's new Trojan abilities and his desire to conquer every system and delete every sprite, binome, and Virus (his competition) has resulted in a Net-wide catastrophe. Megabyte now styles himself "Net Administrator" - the ultimate authority over the Net.

Even the Users seem to have lost interest in fighting the infection, for they have long left the Net for the Web, where they have been playing a new kind of apparently endless game. Everyone who has tried to end the game has never returned. Even attempts to cause a User to restore a system have failed, as Megabyte actively prevents system crashes.

Many systems still resist Megabyte's onslaught, including the Supercomputer and Mainframe, though Megabyte still controls his legions from Mainframe's Principal Office. Bob and his fellow heroes constantly fight Megabyte and his forces, but everyone agrees that Megabyte is winning. It won't be long before he seizes the Supercomputer once and for all.

In the Supercomputer's final hour, the Codemasters offer the Guardians a risky solution: they have invented a Code update that renders a system's core capable of rewriting code. This upgrade - called Gnosis - can identify Code changes related to Viral infection and instantly rewrite the affected Code.

But there's a catch - the upgrade requires the donation of a great quantity of Guardian and Viral Code. Furthermore, the upgrade is so heavy on system resources that only the Supercomputer could bear the load. But, if the upgrade works, Gnosis could render the Supercomputer immune to Megabyte's infection and give the Guardians a place to build an army capable of finally driving Megabyte from the Net.

The Codemasters bring together representatives from the Guardians and Viruses, both of whom have been hunted equally by Megabyte. The Guardians agree without reservation to offer their Code, but the Viruses want something in return: they want the User back. Since Viruses are made by Users, their numbers have dwindled in the User's absence. Initially, the Guardians are loathe to agree, but the Viruses explain "If you want everything back to normal, Guardians fighting Viruses is normal."

Everyone agrees to creating the update, but both the Guardians and Viruses prepare to betray one another: the Guardians demand that the Codemasters create a low-end Gnosis for use in the outer systems, while the Viruses plan to destroy Gnosis after Megabyte has been deleted. In the meantime, Matrix, AndrAIa, Ether (Lens's Codemaster partner) and Vector (a dark, seductive, heroic, male virus) are sent off towards the Web Gamescape. Bob, Phong, Mouse, and Ray stay in the Supercomputer to observe the upgrade creation process, while Dot and Hack&Slash remain in Mainframe.

Unfortunately, Megabyte has infiltrated the meetings and knows everything about Gnosis. Just as the Viruses, Guardians, and Codemasters begin creating Gnosis, Megabyte attempts to steal the Gnosis Code, coveting the power that it promises. However, just as Gnosis is activated, Megabyte and Phong are absorbed by Gnosis and, unbeknownst to the heroes, become an integral part of Gnosis's program.

The Viruses are shuttled out-system as Gnosis comes online. Moments later, the Supercomputer antiViral Gnosis 1 Code activates and the system is forever protected from viral attacks.

The Codemasters and Guardians meet before Gnosis and congratulate each other on a job well-done. The Guardians leave to prepare their army, but the Codemasters stay behind. When they're gone, the High Codemaster commands Gnosis to activate "Gnosis 1b." Codemaster Lens, who has no knowledge of this sub-program, demands to know what the High Codemaster is up to. He refuses to answer, stating that it's "the business of high-end Codemasters only." Lens is suspicious, but keeps quiet.

Except for the fact that Phong is missing, everything seems to be running as planned - until Gnosis begins creating an army of Avatars, apparently in order to protect the systems. The Guardians and Codemasters are confused and try to determine why this is happening. As they work to regain control over Gnosis, the Avatar army marches out-system and begins conquering and enslaving other systems. Lens investigate further and discovers that Gnosis is researching something called The Codex. He reports this to Bob, and the Codemasters are forced to reveal their dastardly plan:

The Code is a powerful language that will grant the Codemasters incredible powers. For many weeks, the Codemasters have studied the Code, and now, having installed Gnosis into the incredibly powerful Supercomputer, they may finally find the Rosetta Stone - The Codex - they've been searching for.

The Codemasters refuse to reformat the Supercomputer and stop this army; that would destroy all the research Gnosis has already performed. In the meantime, Bob sneaks in and tries to neutralize Gnosis. He fails and is caught, angering Gnosis. In response the machine violently deletes hundreds of Guardians and Codemasters, including Turbo and the High Codemaster himself. Gnosis attempts to delete Bob, but the Guardian escapes the mad machine's clutches and returns to Mainframe.

As Bob and his fellow heroes are deciding what to do, Gnosis's Avatars begin installing Microprocessors in all the systems it has conquered, forcing the binomes to work in them and to perform dangerous research, aiding its quest to discover The Codex. It also sends a detachment of Avatars to Mainframe, and there they capture Enzo, Mouse, and Ray, and bring them back to the Supercomputer. Gnosis holds the three hostage, warning that if Bob attacks him, all three will be deleted.

Bob, Dot, and Lens begin a plot to free the Net, but Gnosis thwarts their efforts by sending games, stored in the system's RAM, against them, and by corrupting Mouse and Ray's programs so they believe Bob is their enemy. The helpless sprites are forced to fight the heroes in Games and on the battlefield, convinced that Gnosis is their new lord.

In the meantime, Enzo learns from Gnosis that its ultimate goal is to master the Code and "become the User." The research performed in the Microprocessors should give it that power. Enzo manages to send Bob this information. Gnosis discovers this and corrupts Enzo's program in return, transforming him into Gnosis's most deadly deleting machine - a child soldier who wields the Code.

Back in Mainframe, Bob contacts Matrix and tells him the stakes have risen; if he can end the Game and bring the User back, all may return to normal. In the meantime, Bob, Dot and Lens work to free Mainframe from Gnosis. Once Mainframe is free, Bob learns the secrets of the Code from Lens and uses his new powers to fight Gnosis.

In the Gamescape, Matrix and his squad discover a Multi-User Game that cannot end unless the heroes, masquerading as Users themselves, help the other Users in an epic battle against the Game's powerful antagonist.

Will the User help or hinder the heroes upon its return to the Net? Can Bob turn back Gnosis's armies and finally seize the mantle of Prime Guardian? And will all this happen before Gnosis achieves ultimate control over the Code?

Guess you'll have to buy the comic to find out... Well? Any questions? Obviously, I haven't gone into much detail on the B-Plot (Matrix and AndrAIa in the Web Game) but, to be honest, I haven't thought it through completely. I imagine a huge game of epic scale. What, exactly, I do not know. Ideas?

The first person who says "make it WOW" is fired. :)