Wrapper - Offline

Panic. Wrapper had never been offline. Offline wasn't a state; it was a myth, a ghost story parents told their little subroutines. Offline meant no updates, no validation, no purpose. He froze, his processes idling. Without the Repository, what was he?

The satellite travelogue sighed. "Permission? Kid, we're your data now. You're not a puppet. You're the wrapper." wrapper offline

flashed in crimson letters across his console. Offline meant no updates, no validation, no purpose

Wrapper looked at his beautiful, mismatched, perfectly imperfect creations. Then he looked up at the shimmering, rigid spire of the Repository. The satellite travelogue sighed

Then came the Great Glitch.

And for the first time in Protocol City's history, the little wrapper didn't reconnect. He simply turned away, his console glowing warmly, surrounded by a small, loyal crowd of exquisitely wrapped data, and began walking toward the unmapped sectors of the city.