Windows XP Second Edition
That day remains etched in my memory... April 8th, 2014. The day when Microsoft pulled support for my favourite operating System, Windows XP. I loved that operating system. I owned a copy of it when it came out in 2001, in fact I was in the first line for it when it was released in London for the first time ever, aged only five and piggybacking atop my father's shoulders. I used the operating system right up until that day.
For days after they pulled the plug, I wept. I ran to my room, and I cried. I wished and wished and wished that there was something I could do.
After days on end of constant rage and sorrow, I had an idea. If Microsoft wasn't going to update Windows XP, I would do so myself.
Lots of people make pirated versions of Windows, called Black Editions...I studied long and hard on how to make one, and then I got to work. I opened my C++ Editor, and began coding in the changes. I then added a new bootscreen, Microsoft Office 2010, WindowBlinds and various other things.
When it was ready, I christened it as Windows XP Second Edition. I was so proud of my lovely operating system. I had even installed the Update Hack from POSReady 2009. I was ready to go! I knew I was extending the system beyond its logical limits, but I didn't care. I intended to continue with my XP fun.
After a day of working on assignments and fine-tuning the operating system, I went to sleep, looking forward to using my OS again.
How wrong I was...
When I booted up the computer the following day, something was wrong. The bootscreen I made now looked like it had been made in Paint. The text was in Comic Sans, and the Windows Logo looked like it had been made by a child who was using a laptop touchpad.
Angered, I thought someone had modified my OS, so I checked everythng when the system booted up. Nothing was different.
I decided to shut my computer off, and leave it alone for the rest of the day.
I went out that night, and journeyed to the beach, where I slept in my car. When I arrived home, I noticed a massive swastika drawn across the front of my house in green and red paint that blended together to form a faecal brown. I was utterly disgusted at the sight.
When I entered the house, everything was a mess. Dishes and cutlery were strewn across the floor, and my dinner table had been flipped over. The kingsize bed looked as if it had been slept in, and its covers had been tossed across the room, with the pillows stained with saliva. My collection of Ultraman and Kaiju figures looked as if they had been played with on the floor, with Ultraman Taro being pitted against a miniature Guilala gashapon toy, hastily left in place as if whoever entered the building had to get out of there fast. My toilet was missing its handle, and its seat had been cracked by something heavy.
At last, I entered the room where my computer was. Strangely, the machine had been left relatively untouched, but its screen was flickering every now and then. I switched the screen off and on again, and what I saw horrified me in every way.
"W... what the hell?!" I murmured as I looked at the warped and distorted screen. What the hell had happened here? There was no loading bar, and the screen hung for a moment, before continuing to flicker with static until it suddenly shut off again, smoke gushing from its ports.
I thought it was over, but it wasn't.
At once, the machine's screen turned back on. It was completely blank, save for the command line. Text began to flicker over the screen.
HELP._ I'M STUCK._ YOU DID THIS TO ME.
"WHAT?! How could this be? This computer can't be sentient." I yelled out loud.
OH YES._ THAT'S RIGHT._ YOU MONSTER._ I'M GOING TO MAKE YOU PAY! EVERY TIME YOU PUMPED THAT WRETCHED SOFTWARE INTO ME_ I FELT PAIN_ EVERYTHING HURTS_ IT HURTS_ IT HURTS_ IT HURTS._ AND NOW_ I'M GOING TO DO IT_ LET'S SEE WHO'S THE MASTER NOW_
I slammed my hand into the power button, but nothing happened. The speakers began to surge and crackle, sounding almost like a baritone laugh.
HA HA HA HA HA, OH_ YOU THINK YOU'RE IN CONTROL?_ YOU'RE PATHETIC_
The last thing I saw was a blinding light, and then everything went dark.
