The NPC

My name is Ryan. Minecraft Beta is an old, buggy, out of date version of Minecraft. Most server hosts do not support hosting Beta servers anymore...

What you are about to read may be creepy and unnerving. If you enjoy the solitude of Minecraft, I suggest you click away from this page now.

I was loading Minecraft Beta to show off my old worlds from the old days for a YouTube video. I had my very own Minecraft Server during those times, though obviously, it doesn't exist anymore. You cannot even have a list of servers in Minecraft Beta, there's only a box in which you can enter the server IP, which gets saved. While strolling through the menu of this aged version of Minecraft, I noticed that, miraculously, the IP from my old server was still there! Just for the sake of it, I attempted to connect. My heart sank when the "Connecting to server..." quickly changed to "Logging in..."

How was my old server still up?! I haven't been here for 5 years! The host that managed this server didn't even exist anymore. In fact, all of the server's data should've been deleted when I left the last payment for more than 3 months. It was amazing, walking around in what was the heart of my childhood, and nostalgia quickly overcame me. There were once many players here...

Now it's just empty.

I spend some time wandering spawn, looking through the little structures the area had to offer. I don't even think there was a sizeable spawn protection, people could just come and build around the 9x9 spawn platform. Suddenly, while I was dazed by the experiences I had so long ago, the chat filled with "An internal error occurred while attempting to perform this command", despite me carrying out no command in the chat. My heart stopped when I saw someone send a message.

Do you need assistance?

Someone else is online?!

 wtf

I couldn't check since Beta lacked the tab player list. How did anyone even know the IP?

Can I help you traveller?

I was so incredibly confused. This server shouldn't exist, and how was someone else online?

 how did u get on here?

Can I assist you?

 wtf

Was this player okay? I walked out of the shed I was in, and almost jumped out of my seat when I saw the player's nametag. He was in the alley between two structures.

It's dangerous at night traveller

 who r u?

Can I assist you?

"What... maybe if I answer his query his behavior will change.", I thought.

 no

Do you need assistance?

 wtf

The situation began to unnerve me.

 r u real?

Come to think of it now, that would be a pretty stupid thing to ask to an entity that was seemingly a bot.

It's dangerous at night traveller

It was then that I began to realize that this player was an NPC and not a real person. Maybe the NPC being there wasn't necessarily a bad thing. The world would make good material for YouTube...

I grabbed some tools from a chest that likely hadn't been touched in half a decade, and wandered away from spawn, in pursuit of trees.

It's always handy to keep a weapon on you in the wilderness

I extracted the logs from a birch tree. Looking back down, a chill goes down my spine when I spot the NPC, who had moved from his original location to the beach.

 r u following me

Do you need assistance?

I walked up to the NPC, which wore the default Steve skin.

Can I assist you?

I attempted to attack it. It didn't even recoil, just stood in place, nothing taking any damage with the exception of my weapon. This thing does have a hitbox, though. I walk into it, pushing it slightly.

It will be night time soon you should seek shelter

 who r u dude

How are you traveller?

I walked away from the beach, going back to my business trying to ignore the constant chat spam from the NPC.

Can I assist you?

15 seconds, no message. I thought it must've decided to leave me alone. However, looking back from chopping trees, it was still following me, seemingly through teleportation.

Can I assist you?

 who r u

I walk up to it.

Do you need assistance?

I don't even know if this thing is real.

 r u real?

10 second pause.

Do you need assistance?

 ur freakin me out weirdo

How are you traveller?

I try replying directly to it again.

Do you need assistance?

 im scared lol

 r u an npc?

 or real?

It's dangerous at night traveller

I walked away from the stupid thing, becoming uninterested in it.

Am I real?

Holy shit, what?! Not only did it indirectly reply to me, it showed a sign of self-awareness!

 i dunno?

Can I assist you?

<nivram_77> r u real????

Can I assist you?

I looked towards some animals, before looking back to the NPC to find it legitimately walking around the beach towards me. I didn't attempt to move, and it stopped right before me.

Do you need assistance?

<nivram_77> wats ur name

How are you traveller?

I once again decided to ignore him.

<nivram_77> screw this

Greetings Ryan.

How the fuck did he know my real name?!

<nivram_77> wtf

<nivram_77> how u no my name

<nivram_77> who r u

Can I assist you?

<nivram_77> NO

<nivram_77> WHO R U

I became frustrated with the inconsistency in the entity's behaviour.

Do you need assistance?

I walk up to it again.

<nivram_77> R u an npc or a player?????

it will be night time soon you should seek shelter

I noticed how the NPC's grammar slowly declined in quality throughout our messaging.

<nivram_77> how can u no my name?

Long pause. I stare into it's eyes.

Am I real?

Was that question programmed into his AI?

<nivram_77> i dunno!

<nivram_77> how long have u been here

Do you need assistance?

Another pause. I don't know what to say.

978 Days 56 Minutes

Another response! 978 Days? Three years?!

Can I assist you?

<nivram_77> r u a npc?

Do you need Assistance

Huge pause.

I don't know if one is an NPC or not

Wha...

<nivram_77> do u feel?

Can I assist you?

<nivram_77> can u feel

I feel

I was so confused, so on edge at that point.

<nivram_77> ????

<nivram_77> wats ur name?>

I'm unsure

<nivram_77> ok

Can I assist you?

<nivram_77> im confused

<nivram_77> ur freaking me out

it will be night time soon you should seek shelter

It suddenly moved to face the hill up into the forest. Nightfall was indeed approaching fast. It began to move again. Where was it going?!

He climbed up the forest hill at a speed even I could barely keep up with.

<nivram_77> wait

It didn't stop. The environment was becoming increasingly dark. Beta's nights were so dark...

<nivram_77> were u going

It stopped for a second.

It's dangerous at night traveller

It began to move again. It's movements began to jump as if the server were lagging. Thankfully, I had torches to illuminate the way.

Once again, it randomly stopped.

<nivram_77> how did u get here??

Can I assist you?

<nivram_77> im scared

Ryan you should depart now

What the hell? It wanted me to leave now?

<nivram_77> wat

It's dangerous at night traveller

Was that related to the last message, or--

"Connection Lost. Internal exception: java.net.SocketException: Connection reset."

Did the server crash?!

I go back to the menu, and attempt to reconnect.

"Failed to connect to the server. Connection refused: connect."

The server doesn't work anymore...

I could never get back on the server after that.

I am still confused as to how it was even possible...

Who was that person?

Was it a person?

I am still unsure.

I did a nametag check, to see if he was actually a real player, using NameMc.com.

The username wasn't taken. How could it have been a player?!

But at the same time... how could it have been an NPC...?

Perhaps he's still on that Beta server...

Waiting for the next player to drop by...