Atok's Journal 8: The Saga of Trix

I spent a long time clicking through the virtual catalog at the kiosk in the old, dusty Vudu Shop.

There were 10,000 versions of this "White Magic" doll. The advertisement on one wall said, "Every doll has unique traits. No two dolls alike. Only 44 ADA at mint!"  I wonder when the mint was.

Another one said, "Improve your life with White Magic." This poster identified accessories and had a fabric swatch of the skin options where you could touch the texture. Down at the bottom, it read, "Create your own, use the form below." The form was ripped off, and there was no phone number, website, or email address on the poster. 

I checked the tags on some of the plexiglass shielded dolls on the wall. Prices were all over the place. It wasn't clear what made one Vudu better or worse than the other. Mismatched buttons, teeth made of rocks, wild-looking hair, pins in them, dirty shirts, and fashion dresses. I went back to the machine. I filtered for available dolls. I was willing to pay 100 Ada for one that made me feel happy. I clicked thousands before I saw: VUDU#2006. 

A colorful and friendly-looking Vudu. Each color reminded me of a fruit flavor, and once that thought leaped into my mind, I named her TRIX.

Excitedly, I clicked "Select #2006". It said, "Not Available." I checked at the top under filters making sure I was choosing from available dolls. I tried again. Each time I got the same message. Usually, when a doll was marked unavailable, it provided a wallet or the owner's name. Not this one. Most owned dolls could still be bought if you were willing to pay a reasonable price to the holder.

Undaunted, I took a picture of the screen to make wanted posters and flyers to plaster the Vuduverse.

I tweeted the image out and asked everyone I encountered if they had seen this doll. I searched every rack in the store, moved as many as I could off the display walls, looking to see if it was mislabeled somewhere. I sat in a pile of Vudus, frantically seeking the special one. I spent hours replacing them on the walls after failing.

When I came back to the store a week or so later, the machine still returned the response "Currently unavailable, owner unknown." I couldn't get it out of my mind. That was definitely the Vudu for me. I had created a lot of publicity for this "Trix" doll, and others took up the search. In the dance clubs and bars of the Vuduverse, people slipped business cards into pockets with the message of my poster.

At the local discord, several Vudu-owners got together. They decided to raise funds through a concert to pay for an investigator or have a fashion show or a talent show to raise awareness.

When I was at the grocery store, the sales slip had the image on the back as some have coupons, and the milk jugs reflected concern.

Certainly, the owner would come forward soon and ask what all the fuss was about. I brought several people to the shop, and those interested in Vudus started buying.

Behind the counter, the dusty monitor was operational and playing a loop of AMA talks with Momma and Daddy Vudu, the owners. 

The neon in the windows wasn't flickering. I could hear club music very faintly while standing at the counter. I followed the sound down the hall on the right. There were several doors along both sides of the hallway, but every one of them was locked. They had names on them. 

Omelettes, Spee577, Relight, Stubi, Gabe, Qpart, Hachav, Rocket, BreatheBold, Mophotat2 

The Gabe door also had an image:

It was both terrifying and beautiful. Was this one of the Custom dolls? The eyes of Ada, the wings, the ghostly shape, and the black and gold colors were unlike all the others in the shop. The black crown made me wonder if this was a White Vudu or was this some other type of beast?

I gulped past the image. The other doors did not have an image yet, but they all had a placard where one would belong. 

I fantasized about how I would design one just for me, but it was only to calm my nerves as this hall seemed to go on forever.

I must try and find Trix and also identify the source of the sounds getting louder each step, that brought me down the hall in the first place.

I was at the door. A thick security type door. I tried tugging on the handle, it would not push or pull. I could feel vibrations through the door. I slammed my shoulder into it and only succeeded in bruising myself. I looked for some sort of security passcode or card reader. Nothing.

I placed both palms against the door, I could feel the thumping sound and my hands began to warm up. I closed my eyes and imagined pushing into the door with all my mind. I literally phased through the door.

While you experienced only 11 seconds of this Rave, let me share that I don't recall being there for longer than 11 seconds either, but I also don't remember leaving. I woke up in my own bed, and it was an entirely different day.

I woke up to Frie_ulvedal banging on my door. "I found the owner's wallet! Atok! I found it!" I rubbed my eyes, my mouth dehydrated and my head pounding, shuffled out of bed and opened the door.

"LOOK!" she exclaimed. She showed me via Pool.pm, #2006 inside a wallet with about 5 other Vudu's.

"How can they not be aware? We've been seeking this doll for a while now. Do we have a name?" I asked.

"Just a number, but if you want to, you can make an NFT and put it inside the wallet. They are bound to reach out after that," she suggested. "I don't know how to make those, but maybe someone at the Discord does." 

We both ran over to the Discord Hotel and, out of breath, chattered to anyone who would listen how close we were to Trix. Friend UP said they would make the token free of charge and put it in the owner's wallet. They made: 

And then we waited. Next: The Kaeru Kingdom