Gloobers

Jared has reached level ten of Gloobers and spends nearly every available moment trying to become the first player in the neighborhood to conquer level eleven. Dwayne also enjoys the computer game but worries that Jared is giving up basketball, bicycling, picnics, and friendship for screen time. Jared dismisses the warning as jealousy because Dwayne remains stuck at level four.

Eugene invites both boys into the Room of Consequence, which he has transformed into a virtual-reality chamber. By connecting the room to the Gloobers program, he can place them inside a life-sized version of the game. He warns that its design is unusually sophisticated and capable of learning as it plays, but he assures them that firm safety protocols are active.

Inside the game, Jared teaches Dwayne to use anti-gravity boots against the Gloober Patrol. They blast their way through several levels and fend off an ambush, but Jared soon becomes bored by the repeating battles. He finds the safety controls and decides that turning them off will make the challenge more exciting. Dwayne physically tries to stop him, reminding him that Eugene has told them to play by the rules. Jared wins the struggle and activates the Forbidden Matrix.

The new Gloobers are twice their former size, and the boys’ blasters suddenly fail. Their enemies capture and tickle them until they lose consciousness. Jared and Dwayne awaken in the control room of a giant living brain known as the Master. It offers unlimited access to every computer and video game ever made, with food and drinks included. The only price is all of their time.

Jared accepts immediately. Dwayne asks whether they can still ride bikes, go outside, or even talk with each other. The Master sees no purpose in anything but games. Its warden brings helmets trailing wires, but Dwayne refuses to wear one and breaks Jared’s helmet too. The Master reveals that Eugene cannot shut down the Forbidden Matrix and imprisons both boys until they submit.

In a dark cell, they meet Gregory, who looks eighty years old but says he is only twelve. He once accepted the same offer and played while the wired helmet drained away his time and life. Hundreds of other children remain in the game room, growing old without noticing because they are having fun. Gregory has learned that wasting time means wasting life. His warning finally shows Jared the true cost of allowing a pastime to become a master.

When the warden returns, the boys divide the anti-gravity boots between them, lock arms, and leap over the guard. Gregory is too weak to follow but asks them to warn other children. Jared and Dwayne flee through the computer’s internal passages and reach a cooling fan above the Master’s tank. Gregory has told them that a nearby plug supplies the brain with stolen life. If they can disconnect it, they may shut down the game.

Before they can reach the plug, the Master freezes them. It singles out Jared as the greatest player it has encountered and offers him a special game and ultimate treasure in exchange for his time. Jared pretends to accept, regains his ability to move, and yanks out the plug. The Master shrivels while insisting that it owns him. Jared answers by cutting off its control for good.

The Forbidden Matrix continues running from memory, so the boys still need an exit. They squeeze through the front grille of the enormous computer and leap toward its keyboard while armed Gloobers pursue them. Reasoning that the Enter key began their journey, they jump together onto Escape. They instantly return to the Room of Consequence, safe and free.

Jared and Dwayne urgently tell Eugene to disconnect the dangerous game and rescue the children inside. Eugene reveals that every person and danger they met belonged to a program he and Whit designed to confront their obsession. Computer games are not automatically wrong, but time is one of God’s precious gifts; players must control a game instead of surrendering their lives to it. Then Eugene introduces the young person who created the idea for their adventure. His name is Gregory, giving the boys one final surprise - and a real friend behind the warning they will not forget.