You’ve destroyed wave after wave of Morpuls, which seem to keep getting faster and more dangerous. You and the Spectra Warrior have been firing the Spectron back and forth between your ships so much it has overheated dozens of times. But you blast one last group of Mastrods, just as your sensors...

   Suddenly, you wake up, in a cold sweat, lying on the floor in a dark house. Peek is standing over you. You start and scramble back in the corner, like a frightened animal. Melvin is similarly freaked out, and is somehow dripping cold, sweaty pixels on the floor. Peek looks at you in amazement. ...

   You’ve been running all around this crazy house, and every time you find Peek, the toy piano plays The Bear Went over the Mountain, he vanishes, and you have to find him again. But the third time, you hold him tightly by the shoulders. Peek, you say, out of breath, why do you keep hiding ...

   Finally, you and Melvin manage to win two consecutive games. Suddenly the cards all disappear, and projections of four creepy houses appear in their place. The Queen speaks as if in a trance. Tonight you will visit four haunted houses, each more terrifying than the last. One of them contains...

   You have destroyed several snakes with the laser cannon, and each new one seems to get faster and faster But this is the last one, you are certain of it, because you can see the glittering Sport Combat Ring around the tip of its tail You dodge more deadly venom, launch Melvin up for a final blast...

   It was incredibly difficult, and took more than a few hits of your reset button, but with tremendous effort, patience, and luck you manage to defeat Mister Mean Fireworks explode on the video screens, accompanied by real fireworks launching from all four posts of the ring The referee leans down...

   And again the fans are cheering You are exhausted, bruised, and bleary from the fight, but you are looking better than Iron Fists, who is unconscious on the mat. The ref holds up your gloved hand. Well, technically, your whole arm is gloved, since you are wearing a rubber suit. He calls into the...

   The crowd counts down ... ... ... and a completely naked referee suddenly appears out of nowhere and declares you the winner. Spectronium starts flashing like a hyperactive rainbow all around you, and you see your green opponent hang their head and trudge out of the ring. Blessedly, the...

   Ding ding The bell rings for the end of the match, and the crowd goes wild you won The referee holds up your rubbery spherical hand, and the crowd chants Play er, Play er, Play er, Play er Melvin whips in circles around your head. YAHOO You stagger out of the ring, and back to the...

   Whew you cry, your overtaxed brain spinning with numbers and patterns. The hovering hologram cross winks back into the eyes of the Queen, who blinks and takes a breath. Thank you, she says quietly. The Starstone will give me access to a great deal of memory, I can tell. But even this short...

   After what feels like an eternity of wandering a space labyrinth, constantly beset by deadly enemies, you finally set your warp sights on your goal: the planet Solaris. Why does it blink like that asks Melvin. It has to do with ions in their atmosphere. It’s kind of like your Aurora...

   The interior of your ship is like an oven. Sweat is pouring down your face, and the controls of your ship have gotten so hot you’ve torn pieces of the leather seats out to use as improvised oven mitts to keep your hands from burning. Everything outside the window is a bright orange glow, and still...

   POOF. Everything is white again, and the invisible invaders disappear, or at least, you are pretty sure they have disappeared, since there are no more laser bombs, and the stars have changed again. This time they are a strange soft purple color. You’re glad the Administrator made the jump so...

   The screen flashes the words you have been longing to see: ALIENS DESTROYED. You and Melvin high five, despite his lack of hands. You lean back in the plush leather seats, and look around at the ship. Wow, Melvin, this ship is incredible. The warp hop, the computer, and man, that torpedo sight ...

   Just in time, everything goes white. When you come out of it, the invaders are gone, and with much relief, you see a sky full of normal looking stars. The central hall of the Mothership is looking battered. You slide the laser cannon back up to the glass, and head inside through the airlock. Rubble...

   After who knows how many presses of the reset button, you finally manage a run where you defeat every enemy in the galaxy. The final enemy shatters, the MACC screen turns green, and the victory trumpet sounds. You slump back in the pilot’s seat, and everything fades white as your Starfighter is...

   KA POW The final saucer of the six invading fleets is blown into fragments by your photon blast. A triumphant digital fanfare sounds throughout the mothership, and the radar screen is all clear. YAHOO shouts Melvin. M Network be praised, says the Administrator, with a sigh of relief. ...

   The zigzag bombs plus the zigzag shields are really getting on your nerves, and so when everything goes white and the aliens disappear, leaving you again looking up at a strange set of stars, you breathe a sigh of relief. Melvin suddenly reappears in the loading chamber. Aww, I was just about to...

   You are finally down to the last Krylon, but there are so many asteroids you can’t even see what kind of ship it is. Your Star Fighter has taken so much damage you think it is likely to fall apart any second, but you keep firing photon torpedoes as best you can, when suddenly the Zylon ship...

   POOF. Just like the last time you fought these invaders, suddenly everything goes white, and they are gone. And... the stars are different. Melvin is pretty exhausted from repeatedly being launched into digital aliens, and as he follows you back inside, he staggers through the air, drunkenly...

   Your screen flashes violently as the final alien ship explodes. But are you really done Suddenly the screen turns green and says: STARFLEET TO STATION COMMANDER, WELL DONE THE ALIENS ARE NOW RETREATING NEW RANK IS ADMIRAL You and Melvin hug each other and shout for joy. We did it ...

   There are SO MANY invaders and they keep coming, lower and lower And the more you shoot them, the faster they get You’ve blasted through dozens of armadas, and it seems like the onslaught will never stop. Suddenly, you feel those weird electrical pulses again, and everything flashes white, and...

   Okay, Melvin, this is the last piece... easy does it... Melvin flies over to the Space Defense Station, and you send a signal to slow its rotation, hopefully at just the right time... and... yes Melvin is quite close to the last installation site. He glides up carefully, and it clicks perfectly...

   Fighting difficult crosswinds, you traverse the desert, gently approaching the runway, put down the landing gear, and with a slight bounce, you land Space Shuttle Discovery Melvin checks the fuel gauge: Yes More than units left We did it You high five, which is strange, given his lack...

   Matching glide slope... easy... easy... touchdown Whew It was close, but we landed another one you call to Melvin, who is dashing about the ACR as your cursor, trying to line up the next plane. Someone taps you on the shoulder, and you jump. It’s Christa, the woman who was at the desk when...