Travelling through worlds with developer tools.

Date: 14/11/2023, Location: Karhögstorg, Lund, Sweden.

Heath walked along Järnâkravägen Street after collecting his usual order from Rekas Burger:

- A Cheese n Chilli Burger, Lökringar (Onion Rings) and a can of coke.

He walked across the street to the Hemköp Supermarket to buy a beer for home, a timely tradition he built up over the year he'd moved there. The locals were friendly, and the food was good for its price.

It is quite a calm environment, though Ulf Kristersson is going through a turbulent political career currently with some of the stunts he's pulled. While Heath agrees with some of them, he understands the sentiments of some of the people opposing him.

"It's quite cloudy today, guess that's the usual. . ." Heath muses in English. Walking out of Hemköp, he walks along Ringvägen Road to the Söderlyckan Skateboard Park. He finds a park bench to sit on and sees the teens playing. He waves at them, some waves back.

"These kids could seriously injure themselves at this rate." Heath says quietly after noticing many of them are doing more stunts and tricks than usual, while a tripod is set nearby. One even attempted a backflip off the ramp before he sat down.

"I'll just watch them along, and if any get injured I'll help them with the bandages and plasters I bought along." Heath muses. Because of his habit of helping the injured, he's preemptively brought a medical kit if necessary to use.

He enjoys that they find happiness in having a passion for such exploits, and they trust him enough that they're fine with him helping them after gaining each other's trust over the past 4 months. Some even let him come around their homes so they can play games together.

He loved the times they'd play on their PC and consoles, though he usually had to play through violent games like Fortnite and Call of Duty, he especially liked the times he'd play some of their sandbox games, like Minecraft and Roblox. 

Heath doesn't really enjoy some of the games they'd play, like Rust either, even if it had nice building mechanics, a setup for the standard killing of other players never really sat well with him when on multiplayer. They'd usually kill him or grief his bases.

And because he never retaliated, he'd usually be seen as weak, thus targeted continuously over a game period, which he HATED. However, he made some nice friends by helping them set themselves up in the game after keeping hidden stashes around the map.

They'd play for a few hours once every two days as a break for him, and the rest of the time he'd spent studying new topics and relearning how to exercise and diet. After spending so long sitting down during his travels, his osteoarthritis developed.

Heath took out a large journal from his rucksack and started writing his 5,583rd Entry. After 15 years of daily writing, he had to get many new journals he kept at home. There was an entire bookshelf that filled his workspace, it helped keep his memory in check.

"'The teens have been continuously pulling crazier stunts since their search for 'clout' became a normality to their beliefs, I find it disheartening that they only see worth in themselves if they feel the need to pull something better than what others could do.'"

Heath paused his writing, soon to start a new sentence. He checked the ink in the pen, seeing it only had a quarter left. He planned on checking his 'stash of stationary' later on tonight. He chuckled to himself before beginning to write again.

"'Much of what they do nowadays dictates their 'need' for self-gratification, believing only in a herd mentality, their habits have led to many losing their patience and attention span from what I noticed, it's sad we older people have allowed or even incentivised these actions.'"

He had written something similar before, but he never knew it personally before the past year began, he travelled too much and didn't develop any personal relationships until after he stopped and moved to Sweden. "I should've checked the news more often." Heath wonders.

Soon, while writing his third paragraph, Heath heard a *thunk* and noticed a teen by the sidewalk, looking glum. He saw a small reflective object on the floor, which he realised was a phone. "Hey guys, just checking on the new guy over there," Heath spoke in Swedish.

"That's fine, we'll call you if we need help!" Adrian, one of the more excitable teens called back, before starting a somersaulting trick by the backboard once people moved out of the way. "Hey man, what's your name?" Heath asks calmly, so as not to startle him.

"It's Elias, sir." Elias says quietly, he looked aggrieved and stressed out.

"I see you broke your phone, Elias. Do you want help?" Heath states.

After thinking, ". . . Yes, sir, it seems I cracked my screen below the protector." Elias says.

Heath checks the screen, seeing the protector shattered and there were cracks on it, with a white light he'd assume was because there was no focus for the images to view upon. "First, let's go to the repair shop, we'll see if it can be fixed, eh?" Heath pats him gently on the back.

"Of course, though I haven't gotten your name?" Elias says questioningly, now calmed down.

"Oh, right. Forgot, name's Heath, Heath Dollen." Heath soon asks Elias to follow him to the Kjell & Company Repair shop by Stora Södergatan Street. They enter and provide the device.

". . . Seems your device luckily didn't need any serious repairs, it's just damage to the screen itself. It'll be fixed up in 2 to 3 hours." The clerk states in their usual customer care voice. ""Thank you, sir."" Both Elias and Heath say it at the same time.

"Hey kid, how much money you got?" Heath asks, to make sure Elias has enough.

"None, I had left it at home for my parents to use." Elias comments, almost like a whisper.

"That's fine then, I'll give you some money then." Heath says in a no-nonsense tone.

Elias, surprised by the kind offer, says "No, sir-" "Call me Heath, please." Heath interrupts to say. ". . . Heath, I don't like getting others' kindness out of nowhere." Elias says, flustered.

"That's fine, think of it like family giving you an early Christmas present." Heath says jokily.

Elias checks on Heath, wishing to see any signs of deception. He sees none. ". . . *ugh* Alright old man, but I'll pay you back later." Elias states with conviction, now trusting him.

"Heh, you're quite a stubborn one, aren't ya?" Heath says, liking that they are friendly now.

They banter back and forth in a comfortable manner. Soon, Elias opens the backpack he has on. "Hey old man, you want to play some games with me? I got a laptop with Steam on it." Elias asks unsurely. "Sure! The other guys play games with me too, after all." Heath says.

They scooch using two available chairs and using Heath's phone data to provide some internet for the laptop, they play some Steam Games, Elias has a library with close to 230 games, many being about Sandbox and Open World Building.

"Why've you got so many games, Elias?" Heath says, knowing he couldn't play so many.

"I think of it like collectables, but digital. Like FunkoPops but not a scam." Elias says, with a bit of mirth in his voice. They both laugh quietly to each other, not to disturb the workers.

"Huh, what are these?" Seeing that some of the games are separated by 3 or 4 bars, Heath asks. "Those are games I separate by how I like them, I have my top 10 favourites in the top bar here!" Elias says proudly, knowing his collection is immaculately stored.

"Quite a nice collection you got there. These 40 games in the 4 bars you got I don't know well, could you give me examples of your most played?" Heath asks, knowing he's out of Elias' league at this point. Elias begins listing off many of his favourite games available.

". . . Then there's Graveyard Keeper at my 37th, It's my third to last favourite because of the connotations of using non-legal dead bodies for labour, but it's well done. The designs are friendly like Terraria (12th), Necesse (15th) and Core Keeper (21st)!" Elias said passionately.

"Yeah, I can imagine why it's one of your last choices." Heath grimaces, knowing that while they are dead and have no free will, it doesn't sit well with him that they are still humanoid and intelligent enough to follow these instructions. 

"I can see that look, you know they're digital, so you don't need to worry that badly about them." Elias says as a friendly jab. "Not my fault I'm like that." Heath says faux-placating manner, raising his hands in mock surrender.

"*Laughs quietly* Well, let's continue. 38th is Shop Titans, I like the idea of running a shop and allowing for adventurers to be safe when battling monsters. But it's too expensive and is run as a Pay-to-Win system." Elias says, this is the first P2W game he showed Heath.

"Aye, corporate systems can be quite pissy in terms of making games cash grabs sometimes. Good thing you chose good choices for most, eh? How much did you spend?" Heath asks.

"None, trying to keep it as 'natural' as possible." Elias says proudly, yet as if it's natural.

Heath raises his eyebrows. "You're a good man, most would fall to the temptation to gain some extra power straight away. I was a bit like that when I was younger, had a gambling habit before travelling throughout the continents." Heath says as a bit of backstory.

"Heh, true. Most guys my age enjoy spending lots of money on games like Raid: Shadow Legends or whatever other titles there are. Let me show you 39-" "Your phone is ready to be collected." The clerk interrupts Elias, earning a slightly sharp look. But then one of gratitude.

"Well, I'll be paying by card then, you are not gonna stop me on that." Heath says with faux-arrogance, earning a chuckle from Elias. "Sure, old man." Elias says. Knowing he's partly serious as well. They pay for the phone through a card, pack up the electronics and leave.

"You're lucky you didn't break your phone with that fall, that thunk was loud even from 15 meters away!" Heath says as a friendly jibe. "Ah, yeah. I was lucky." Elias says in embarrassment. "Don't worry, would've paid for a new phone anyway." Heath states suddenly. The certainty in Heath's voice startled Elias, knowing he was fully serious. He looks at Heath with sincere thanks but with confusion. "Why do you care for others so much? I saw the looks of many other people we walked past and they smiled at you too?" Elias asks.

And it was true, many of the people they walked past were people Heath helped in the past, it was a large community in the city, but many knew each other personally. Heath was quite a popular guy, as he was known to help others in need. 

"I just do it because I can." Heath states, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. Elias shakes his head in exasperation. "You are a strange guy, but I like that about you." Elias comments off-handedly with a genuine smile on his face. Heath reaches to his pocket and gives Elias the cola while they talk down the road, now walking past Svenskhandel, through the park and then reaching the intersection by Bivaxeriet-Uf. They turn right, right again and a left to reach Offentlig Toalett. Once there, Elias gives Heath his bag, cola and phone.

"Sorry old man, going to have a break. See you in a minute!" Elias says lazily, Heath waves back, signalling it is fine to go into the toilet area to do his business. Once done, they walk down Trollebergsvägen Street, now through Bangatan Street to reach Spolegatan Street.

"Well, it was lovely talking to you Elias. But now we've got to split ways. My home is down the left. And I noticed you were walking right, your home. Eh?" Heath asks, Elias nods in agreement. "See you later, Uncle." Elias says with a new nickname this time.

"Just don't damage your new screen, you hear?" Heath shouts back while they are further away, while only getting a peace sign as a response. Heath leaves with a good grin on his face. 'Uncle? I like the sound of that.' Heath internally relishes the new nickname.

Guess he's got a new family member in this town. And he will enjoy cherishing the new moments with Elias, like with all the other teens and people his age that he talks with. He reaches his home in Prins Augusts G Street. Soon going into the kitchen to reheat the food.

Heath takes out the cold Cheese n Chilli Burger with Lökringar. He sets up the cutlery, cup and plate. He places the food down, finishing it in 20 minutes. He ate too damn quickly due to his excitement and had a hiccup or two before forcing it down with the beer again. After a small 30-minute break, he had a minor indoor cardio session before taking his medication for his vision and osteoarthritis. Once all of that was done, he had a shower. ". . . It'll be a good day tomorrow." He silently wishes to himself. Soon changing his clothes and going to bed.

"Good. . . night. . ., Heath. . ." A discordant sound like the wind said in the background.

Heath, half asleep, swore he heard somebody say good night to him. But after a minute, he assumed that it must've been the half-asleep hallucinations he has sometimes.

Sometimes he'd feel he can hear voices, or people that view him from a distance he can't fathom, but if there are people that see him. Heath simply does what he wishes, to not leave any regrets for the leftover years of his life. "Gosh, my thinking style makes me feel so old. . ." He chuckles to himself before tucking himself into the weighted blanket, then turning on the heating mattress below him. He views the stars outside, just as he always does. With so little light pollution from his window, it reminds him of his travels. Good memories.

Soon falling into a deep, energizing slumber. He wishes to himself again that all will be alright for his many friends again, like every night before. Even so, it was a dreamless. A strange occurrence for Heath but one he wouldn't remember either way.

A few birds are by the tree, it's morning now. They start to sing a song that wakes Heath from his slumber again.