Hello and welcome to my second attempt at participating in an ONC contest. I usually run out of time but hoping this year will be different. This story is going to be based on prompt #81. Good luck to everyone else participating this year!

Prompt #81

In a dystopian world where technology controls every aspect of life, a group of rebels must navigate through a virtual reality landscape to hack into the mainframe and take back control from the oppressive government.

*note from the author*

I feel like I was fast and loose with the prompt. While the group of rebels was small and they did navigate their way through a virtual landscape, it never said they had to be successful. In fact, what if they weren't? What would the consequences be?