Origin

In 1999 Gabriel is 17 years old and attends a high school in Palo Alto, California. Along with Darren, Yoshi, Amanda, and Liam—all brilliant children of parents working in computer programming—he discovered a way to access a strange underground layer of cyberspace, which they decided to call the Undernet.

It was actually Gabriel, the most intelligent of the group, who accidentally uncovered this hidden side of the Internet—a new dimension that did not belong to their world. He explained to his friends that when someone looks at images from this other Internet, they physically feel their effects. Fascinated, Gabriel proposed that they analyze it, and he created a private forum called w0rldtr33 to document their findings. He was adamant about keeping everything confidential.

Gabriel’s parents were often away for long periods, leaving him responsible for his younger sister, Samara. Due to his activities with his friends, he spent most of his time locked in the garage, forbidding Samara from entering. But curious and determined, she found a way to create an account on their private forum, using the username PH34R, meaning "fear." Unknowingly, she accessed the Undernet and became addicted to it.

Realizing the devastating effects of the Undernet, the group eventually found a way to seal it off, ensuring that no one would ever access it again.

Character Evolution

The Return of the Undernet

Gabriel Winter is an extremely wealthy and well-known man, having risen to prominence after partnering with Angel, a big company. Angel, founded by Gregory Bell, specializes in internet-related services and products and is best known for its globally used search engine.

Gibson Lane, a 15-year-old teenager, has just discovered a way to access the Undernet, a hidden and dangerous digital realm. Under its influence, he has massacred dozens of people in his neighborhood. Realizing the gravity of the situation, Gabriel has no choice but to reach out to his four old friends for help. He knows that if the authorities learn too much, they might seek to study the Undernet rather than eradicate it, which could lead to catastrophic consequences.

To coordinate their efforts, Gabriel arranges first-class flights for his friends and secures an entire three-story Holiday Inn in Pennsylvania, turning it into their headquarters. The hotel is in the very neighborhood where Gibson Lane committed his murders.

Their first mission: erase all evidence the authorities have gathered on the teenage killer. When they learn that Gibson had a brother, Ellison, who visited him in prison, they decide to capture him, interrogate him, and determine if he, too, has been affected by the Undernet.

While his friends handle various tasks upon their arrival in Pennsylvania, Gabriel personally infiltrates the police station, stealing all the case files on Gibson before the FBI can get their hands on them. At the same time, he hires a renowned attorney, Sydney Brant, to extract Ellison from FBI custody while he is being questioned. Brant asks Ellison to get into a car, where he is joined by Gabriel. Gabriel knocks Ellison unconscious with chloroform and takes him to their hotel. There, their friend Liam will interrogate him to ensure he is not under the Undernet’s influence like his brother.

Meanwhile, Darren and Amanda, sent to burn down Gibson’s house to eliminate further evidence, return with an unexpected survivor: Fausta. This girl had unknowingly connected to the Undernet using Gibson’s computer. Gabriel and his team decide to help her break free from its effects, allowing her to regain her senses.

As Gabriel explains everything to Ellison and Fausta, a chilling figure enters the room: PH34R. Enraged at seeing the woman responsible for his brother’s death, Ellison is stunned when he learns the truth—PH34R is Gabriel’s long-lost sister, Samara.

Twenty-five years ago, the Undernet transformed Samara completely, twisting her mind into something unrecognizable. Now, she calls herself PH34R and has become a notorious serial killer, a devoted disciple of the Undernet, manipulating and encouraging young people to connect and kill to further the evolution of their "new world."

Gabriel asks Ellison and Fausta to leave him alone with his sister. PH34R warns him that this is no longer a game. She shows him breaking news headlines confirming that mass killings are erupting across the globe. At this moment, Gabriel takes out his phone and, in mere seconds, shuts down Internet access worldwide. It was a countermeasure he had been preparing for years in case it ever became necessary.

Furious, PH34R stabs him in the back, only to be stopped by Darren, Amanda, Liam, and Yoshi, who arrive just in time. Darren fires a warning shot, forcing PH34R to retreat. Gabriel, gravely wounded, orders them not to kill her, insisting that they will need her to end this once and for all. As PH34R escapes, Gabriel succumbs to his wounds.

Before taking his final breath, he reveals his ultimate plan: he has just destroyed the Internet across the entire planet. The company he worked for, Angel, provided the infrastructure on which most modern Internet networks were built. Through years of planning and strategic corruption, he gained control over nearly all remaining networks, ensuring that if the Undernet ever became a global threat, he could erase the Internet itself to stop it. Now, only one network remains—the only one capable of continuing the fight: w0rldtr33.net.