Check the port … check the port…
What port? What port?
Pradahl was battling to remain on her feet. She crouched low and used her wings like crutches to steady herself against the battering wind.
‘Pradahl, I’m going to check something on the headset. I’ll be back soon,’ shouted Tarn above the din.
Ant didn’t turn off the game but removed the headset and inspected it. He could still hear the tinny sound of wind inside. There was a small square port at the back of the headset which Ant had never used. He’d never known what it was for. Now it was glowing red. Nothing else seemed different about the headset and nothing was obviously wrong. Nervously, Ant put it back on.
The spinning had stopped. He was alone, but then Pradahl came racing to meet him, excited. They weren’t on planet Zoberne anymore. They appeared to be up in the clouds, standing knee-deep in mist with nothing to see except the clear blue sky above and a magical hint of stars and planets beyond. ‘So this is what happens at the end,’ thought Ant. ‘Kismet Heaven.’
Tarn took a few steps around the flat, featureless landscape. Is this where he and Pradahl were meant to live now, as some kind of reward? Were there adventures in heaven? Tarn returned to Pradahl and stroked her nose. In return, she butted his shoulder gently with her forehead, then looked at him as if asking what to do next. Tarn shrugged his shoulders. Was this it?
Ant was just getting to the point of leaving the game, because he couldn’t stand such an anti-climax, when one star ahead brightened, then elongated into the familiar figure of the Celestial Seamstress.
‘No more new suits of armour, Tarn.’ Her voice rang out like a bell. ‘No more new coats for you, Pradahl. You have proved yourself the greatest dragon in the cosmos.’
This was great news on the one hand, but disappointing on the other. Tarn was bored with this place already. Couldn’t he just send himself back to one of his favourite planets to play again?
‘So that’s it?’ said Tarn. ‘No more Kismet Cosmos?’
She smiled and the faraway stars began to brighten and sing, an ever-rising chorus of aahhs. Something was happening.
‘You can call me Celeste.’ She winked.
‘I don’t understand … Celeste.’
‘You are the only player in history to reach the end of Kismet Cosmos,’ said Celeste. ‘And your reward is simple and forever. Tarn, from now on, you can take your dragon into any game.’
It took him a moment to understand what she meant. Then he got it. The port! It was a way of connecting Kismet Cosmos up with other gaming machines!
‘Do you mean just Crunch Hut games? Ones built with the same game engine?’
Celeste seemed to know exactly what Tarn would ask next, they were so in tune with one another. ‘I mean any game, any at all. From now on, Pradahl will be able to help you in a thousand different worlds. Your adventures together will never have to end.’
‘This is amazing,’ said Tarn. It was slowly sinking in. ‘But I don’t understand how it’s possible.’
‘You’re the first player to complete Kismet Cosmos. You have proved yourself and now you can take your skills and your dragon and play in any game. I would have also given you the stealth ember at this point, but I can see it has already been used.’
Celeste stopped. With one final smile, she shrank and turned back into a star. In a weird way, this looked like some kind of invitation. Tarn pulled out his broadsword and moved the tip around the sky, like a cursor. When it rested on Celeste’s star, he clicked on it and a voice, clear as a bell, sang out the purest note. Tarn clicked on other stars. Each sang out in a different note. Why was this? Why would this feature have been programmed into the game unless it did something?
Ant decided to stop thinking of Tarn and play as himself. Celeste didn’t come back when he clicked on the stars so Ant tried to remember what she’d said. Perhaps she’d given him some kind of clue. Nothing Ant could remember seemed to shine any light on this.
Light. Light? Ant looked at the twinkling stars and wondered. He dredged his memory for songs about stars. One kept coming to mind, the most famous. It was a song he hadn’t sung since he was little, but still one of the most famous songs in the world. The ‘How I wonder what you are?’ line fitted how he was feeling. Ant set to work and managed to click on the stars to put all the notes of ‘Twinkle Twinkle Little Star’ in the right order.
As soon as Ant played the final note of the second line, he hit the jackpot. A small screen opened amongst the clouds and a real girl’s face appeared. She did look a bit like Celeste, except she had short brown hair and wore glasses. She also looked like someone Ant had seen in adverts many times. Although the girl smiled, she didn’t speak with much enthusiasm.
‘Hey, you found me.’ She gave a small wave. ‘I wondered if anyone ever would. I hoped somebody would, because if you have, you are one superstar player and to be frank, the world may well need you. I’m Kelly Crunch. Or “Celeste”, if you like. I’m the main designer and builder of Kismet Cosmos. It’s my game. And it’s all been about finding you.’ She pointed at Ant and, for a moment, it looked a lot like Kody pointing his finger pistols.
‘My brother and I began Crunch Hut together but we keep arguing. He’s so annoyed I brought Kismet out as our first game, when some game he was working on failed. Anyway, now I’ve decided to leave. He’s got
