Mia, Elena, and Mr. Parker were enjoying their hot chocolate on a cold, winter day in the town of Brandy. Fluffy snow was falling outside and they were all sitting on their reclinable couch wearing matching maroon colored pajamas as soft as silk. The Parker family was also thinking of places to go for Christmas break which was quickly approaching in one week. Mr. Parker brought up the idea of heading to a place called “South Side” which was an amusement park . Mia rolled her eyes and whined, “Dad, at the age of 14, Elena and I have no interest in going to an park.” Mr. Parker shook his head and addressed, “This is not like any other amusement park. There is so much more than you think and I know you two would love it.” “Well then, tell us more!” Elena insisted. “I don’t have to tell you, how about I show you,” dad replied.  The girls looked at each other and grinned. “Okay!” they both voiced together.

The video showed games such as “Call of Duty,” “Minecraft”, and “Mario Kart” being played, but in a 3 dimensional world, meaning that you were actually part of the game, not playing it. Elena was ecstatic but Mia gave a disapproving look and said, “This seems quite hazardous. Don’t think it could potentially cause injuries?” Mr. Parker laughed and said, “Oh, Mia! You don’t always have to worry so much! I would never take you anywhere that would hurt you. The way these games work is that robots are designed to have certain features based on the game that you are playing and only they could get harmed such as being shot at or falling, but they are programmed to not harm any individual nor even touch them. Not only that, but there is 24 hour surveillance so everyone will stay safe.” “Wow, that’s awesome,” Elena replied. “How do they work?” she asked. Mr. Parker responded, “Well, these robots are controlled by software and when they get harmed, they are brought back to a lab, they are repaired, their memories are erased, and then they are sent back into the game.” Elena was extremely excited and Mia, happy, yet not too convinced agreed that they can go. For the next hour, the three of them packed and dad booked a flight for the next morning at 8 am. 

The next morning, they woke up early at the crack of dawn around 4:30 am and headed to the airport. The flight was about 3 hours long and then they took a special train which was blue on the inside and where all the food and drink was complimentary. After they reached their destination, a driverless car brought them to the hotel adjacent to the amusement park. Going into the hotel, the Parkers seemed to be quite impressed and pleased with the modern infrastructure it held. Then, they headed over to the park to check it out.

The park was something different for sure. It looked so calm and the nature seemed to smile down, welcoming the guests. It was made up of tall coniferous trees and bushes of beautiful flowers. It was a very tropical feel and very relaxing. However, there did not seem to be any games in sight. At the first glance, Mia frowned and said, “This place looks like like a forest!” Elena rolled her eyes and advised, “Mia, I really think you should quit complaining and just enjoy where we are.” Mia sighs but realized Elena is right. She might as well give this place a chance.

Around 2 pm, after the Parker family had settled in, one of the tour guides, Mark, showed them around the park. He explained, “Whichever game you would like to play, you must open the door in between the trees.” He also added, “This park is an all-you-can-play park and there is no limit as to the amount of times you can play as long as you have purchased a wristband.” Then he continued to say, “You are welcome to start playing whenever you desire to.”

Mia, Elena, and Mr. Parker all decided to play the first game together and chose “Mario Kart.” They opened the door which had a sign labeled “Mario Kart” on it. Many other families or “tourists” visiting the park were in the same area as them. There were 30 people allowed per game, 15 robots, and 15 people. Mia, Elena, and Mr. Parker all picked their vehicle and got in line to play.  The game was impressive. They shot at the robots and were able to bump into robots so that they could get ahead of each other in racing. They were able to see that after bumping into a robot, it could fall and get hurt, but they would not do anything back to the human. At the end of the game, they were picked up and brought to the lab to be fixed. “Man! That was wondrous,” Mia stated. She finally was able to smile. “I am so glad you enjoyed it!,” Mr. Parker said. “Let’s go play some more games!!” Elena added.

For the next few hours, they all played different games, some together and some separately, such as “Minecraft”, “Pokemon Go”, and “Star Wars.” They were truly having the time of their lives. “Wow, I am really happy to be here,” Mia acknowledged. Mr. Parker replied, “I am also having a great time! What a great place to come to.”
The next day, Elena and Mia dressed in their denim jeans and grey t-shirt and fixed up their hair for the next exciting day at the park. Then they walked over to the park, showed the worker their wristband, and started to play.

While playing Call of Duty, Elena screamed, “AHHHHHH!!.” Their tour guide Mark, hearing the scream, ran into the dark, gory room and asked Elena what had happened. Elena immediately explained, “Right after I had shot the robot, he looked at me right in the eye and did not fall down for 10 seconds.” Mark shook his head and denied, “You must have just been seeing things with all of this immense technology around you. These robots are not able to do that and you will be fine.” Elena forced a smile and blurted, “Okay.”

After Mark left, Elena ran over to her sister at the Battlefield room and anxiously shrieked, “Mia! Something is wrong. The robot in Call of Duty stared at me and I really felt something was wrong.” Mia laughed it off and responded, “Elena! Dad said everything is computer generated. You are okay, do not worry about it.” Elena was really frustrated no one was believing her when she knew what she had seen was real. She ended up just hanging out in the beautiful 5 star hotel and did not go back to play any more games.

Around 4 pm, Mia and Mr. Parker came back to the hotel room, distressed. Elena asked, “What is wrong? Why do you look so worried?” Dad explained, “One robot stepped on me,” and Mia added, “another chased me until it ran into a wall!.” Elena gasped. “I knew something was wrong!” she scoffed, “I wish you had believed me before.” Mia whispered, “Sorry.” “Well, good thing we all have proof now! I even heard other families talking saying that they were also having odd experiences like this. I really think we should report it,” Mr. Parker confirmed.
The Parker family headed over to Mark and the surveillance of South Side, querulous about this dreadful experience.  After confronting Mark, he then again tried to assure them, “Sir, I guarantee you that there is nothing going on. These robots are tested and hand manufactured by our top notch scientists.” Mia, Elena, and Mr. Parker all rolled their eyes. When would he ever believe them? To their luck, as he was babbling on about the safety, a robot walked in the room, slapped him, and walked right back out. Embarrassed, Mark immediately said, “I am extremely sorry, we will have this checked immediately.” He then made an announcement on the intercom stating, “All guests please stay secure in your rooms and lock your doors. Please stay calm for a few technical difficulties have risen, but we will be sure to fix them as soon as possible.” All the guests of the hotel were agitated by this news and stayed in their rooms, upset. While all of this nonsense was occurring, Elena heard a knock on the door. Assuming it was news from Mark, she jolted up to open the door, only it was the Pokemon robot who angrily said, “You killed me, you killed me.” Elena squealed and slammed the door on its face.

After many hours of restless sleep, an announcement was made at 8 AM which was the voice of Mark which explained “Something had gone wrong and had made all robots have a virus which affected the code and made the virus contagious. The problem was that the robots were catching feelings. This was making them remember things and made them hold a grudge against those who had shot at them or hurt them in the past. However, now there is nothing to worry about. We have fixed all issues and games will open back up at 9 am.”

The Parkers were fed up and didn’t think they could rely on Mark anymore. Mr. Parker immediately said, “Girls, I really think it is best we leave this place. I am not too trustworthy of the system anymore.” Elena nodded her head in approval and said, “ I totally agree!” Mia pouted and said, “Oh come on! I was really starting to enjoy it here.” Mr. Parker responded, “I know it was so fun, but it seems a bit insecure. We should get packing.”
For the next 20 minutes, the three of them took out their clothing kept in the sleek, black cabinets and gathered their toiletries from the furnished white bathroom to place it in their red, medium sized suitcases. Then they quickly checked out of the hotel and headed back home.

“What a trip!” Elena said after they reached their house. “Well, we will definitely never forget it,” added Mia. “That’s for sure!” Mr. Parker pitched in, “but I’m not sure if we’ll be going back anytime soon.”