He got up to leave, but before he could, I called, “While we’re away, consider putting a Coliseum in Heaven for more elite fighters. And if you do, don’t have all the announcements repeated. Got some feedback from players the other day that it breaks the immersion.”
Windsor nodded and looked up. “A Coliseum in the clouds . . . I’ll consider it.”
Chapter 16: Malcolm’s Bargain
Siena appeared with Kristie in the familiar green and black tiled floor of the Debug Room. Kristie continued walking and she followed her, looking around at the many in-game designs and settings that surrounded them.
She recognized the ice statues from the Lucineer’s Synth Square, a few pagodas from Toena Village, and the barren Onjira ranges and high steps that led up to the Druids’ Keep. Parts she walked through had falling rain that didn’t touch her and others rippled with a heat wave that she couldn’t feel. She also saw models of weapons and armor, platforms and obstacles, all in their default colorless forms.
She continued to tail her old friend until they climbed a ramp to an empty space. Kristie’s long blonde hair, the focus in her eyes, and even the way she walked—she was just as stunning as she had remembered. The only difference was how held back she was acting now.
“So . . . I don’t suppose you play much soccer anymore?” she asked, attempting to start a conversation.
Kristie didn’t reply, but Siena could see her hands opening and closing, as though wanting to answer her but struggling against something internal.
Siena looked around, realizing where they were. “I suppose not . . . but I’m sure even Screamers have something fun they can do around here.”
“Serving Malcolm is fun,” she said, her voice free of inflection.
Her statement wasn’t too convincing, but Siena just grinned and played along. “Oh yeah, forcing people to log off, sabotaging important events, ruining a bunch of people’s fun. Sounds like a ball.”
“You weren’t selected, you wouldn’t—”
“Yeah, yeah, I get it. I wasn’t good enough. Ironically, not being good enough turned out to be an advantage considering I don’t act like a brain-dead puppet. I’m also not Malcolm’s prisoner.”
There was a warping sound on the raised platform, and suddenly several of the square tiles separated and the polygons morphed to become a darkly-robed figure. This was followed by a familiar low voice, which Siena could only compare to the tone Laurence Fishburne used in the Matrix.
“The only true prison is the natural world you call reality.”
Although smiling, Siena’s teeth gritted and she felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end upon seeing the robed figure of Malcolm Mirth. She thought it fitting that he took on Morpheus’s voice, as his words seemed to fit the theme of that film to a T. Kristie stepped aside so that he could walk toward her.
“If you really want to speak to me, I suggest we stick to talking literally. I find being figurative is too much of an effort for my small brain to keep up with.” Siena raised her eyebrows, feeling she would catch him with this request alone.
“Very well, let us talk real then.” He leaned forward, looming over her. “You were defeated by Noah. Now, how did that happen?”
Siena stepped back, teeth bared. “He cheated! I don’t know how exactly. All I know is that he used some software Windsor gave him, which, it seems to me, gave him much better reflexes in our fight.”
The robed form straightened. “I know of this software.”
Siena frowned, suddenly intrigued. “You do?”
“Of course. I created it.” He pulled back and began walking around her. “Windsor would never give me any credit, but everything to do with the neural side of the game was a product of my research. However, this was a recent discovery for him, because until recently, he hadn’t seen the advantage that speeding up the MMRI’s reaction time as a projection gave someone like me.”
Siena’s eyes widened. “So the software is the same reason we couldn’t hit you when we fought you?”
“Very perceptive. Yes, I used this software in our fight, just as I would use it now if you were to attack me.” He stopped pacing and the darkness of the inside of his hood turned to face her. “But I did it to survive. Did you know that if I were to die in this world, I wouldn’t be able to come back? This is my final reality, my last chance. Unlike everyone else, I am mortal here, and I have a reason to live.”
Siena shook her head. She almost felt guilty for attacking before. She hadn’t known he only had one life here. “Why . . . why are you telling me this?”
“For two reasons.” He began pacing again. “The first is because I want to you understand me and my intentions—not right away, but eventually. Second, I don’t think what Windsor and Noah did to you was very fair. Don’t you agree?”
Siena gritted her teeth, remembering what she had felt when he had beaten her. “No, it wasn’t fair.”
“I also have a hunch that you wouldn’t willingly kill a sentient being, at least not without a good reason.”
She looked down. “Well, I’m no murderer, but . . .”
“You would kill to prevent further death? I understand.” Malcolm gestured to his side and Kristie moved to him. “However, it is my intention is to undo my past mistakes, to right what was wrong with the Wona Company. My first task to achieve this is to help the remaining beta testers regain some semblance of themselves. But I would not sacrifice anyone else to achieve this goal.”
Siena looked into Kristie’s face, but there was nothing in her expression to garner the truth of his words.
“And what does that have to do with me?” She stepped forward, fists clenched. “Just tell me already! Why did you bring me here?”
“Because I want to give you the same advantage that Windsor gave Noah.” He pulled away. “But I would be taking a risk in giving it to you. It is a semblance of the power that could one day undo me, and I need your word that you won’t try to kill me once you have possession of it. Do you understand?”
Siena thought of Keri and how she had responded to her request to tamper with Noah’s Dream Engine, how she didn’t give her a definitive answer.
And all I have to do is promise not to kill Malcolm? Why not? I mean, I’m not a murderer and this would finally put us on a level playing field.
She grinned, thinking of Noah’s expression when she turned the same ability he used to defeat her back on him. She couldn’t think of anything better than beating him at his own game.
“Alright then. We have a deal.”
Malcolm raised a blackened hand, and a blue light appeared in his palm. He flicked his finger and it shot into her.
— ABILITY ‘RTS’ LEARNED —
“RTS?” Siena asked, amused by the acronym. “Real time strategy?”
“A red herring for others to dismiss it. Considering it allows you to see your opponent’s reactions in real-time. I named it Real Time Sight.”
Siena inclined her head. “Makes sense. So I can use it at will now?”
“You tell me.”
Malcolm smiled and waved his finger from side to side in the air. A blue projection preceded each movement, allowing her to see it less than a second in advance. She could see why Noah had managed to narrowly avoid her attacks now.
“Of course, I put a failsafe in so that if you ever turned against me it would not work.” He lowered his hand. “Just a precaution.”
She raised an eyebrow at him. “Don’t trust me?”
Malcolm’s hood tipped to the side. “Do you trust me?”
She grinned evilly. “Good point. Although you’ve been giving me nothing but good reasons since I entered this place.”
Siena couldn’t see his face, but his voice told of a smile of his own.
“Then we are one step closer to trusting one another.”
Chapter 17: Tourists
Despite how long we spent sitting down, the plane rides weren’
t that bad, although I put this down to the fact that we all had first class seats.
Ironically, doing nothing active for hours on end was like a muscle you had to train, and I had no idea of the amount of stamina I had received in the “do nothing department” from spending time in the Dream State. The flights were actually fun, particularly when the five of us could just escape into a game.
The layovers were a different bag of boredom altogether, as we had to keep track of time to make sure we didn’t miss our flights. The plane had two stops before we finally landed at Presidente Nicolau Lobato International Airport in Dili, Timor-Leste. We had been in and out of the air for a day straight, waiting overnight for flights while Chloe complained about David’s attempts to try out his new airplane food jokes. For once, I could concur with Chloe when she told David to shut up.
It was a stressful experience, but I knew I needed to keep my wits about me for this trip. As we finally descended onto the tarmac, I couldn’t help but reflect on the danger we were flying toward. After all, from what Windsor had told me, I couldn’t help but feel I should have taken this trip on my own.
You’ve brought your friends into this mess, too. If you ever were a true team leader, now’s the time show it.
I had asked the other members of Cipher if they wanted to come, but Dice decided to stay at the facility, saying he was only good with computer problems, and Vega said he was hired as a gamer and nothing more. It made sense considering he wasn’t going to be paid, but after we had just bonded over a dungeon, I was a little disappointed by his answer.
So much for camaraderie.
In the end, I was glad it was just my four closest friends. After all, it would prevent any risk of there being clashes between Chloe and Dice.
The plane touched down, and I heard over the intercom, “We have landed in Dili. Please retrieve your items and be ready to depart. We hope you have a wonderful day.”
The message was then echoed in Portuguese.
“Finally!” Chloe called, stretching her arms above her head.
Brock rose from his seat and began passing down carry bags to people who couldn’t reach, more so he could dig out his own bag out than to be nice. Keri woke David, who was still asleep even after the announcement. After being on and off planes for coming on two days now, I wasn’t as impatient as a lot of the other people trying to get off. From the language most of the people onboard spoke, I assumed most of them were people returning home rather than tourists.
Letting everyone get off before us, it took us at least an hour to depart, pick up our bags, and leave the airport. I squinted in the bright sun. A stretch of beach filled one side of the city, and green hills filled the other.
“Should we find a hotel?” David yawned. “I didn’t get a wink of sleep on the plane, and that jetlag is killing me.”
“Nah,” Chloe said sarcastically. “I want to drag my luggage all the way to Cristo Rei.”
“Cristo Rei?”
“Famous statue,” I said to put him out of his misery. “I did some research on the plane, and the closest hotel to the lab is farther east. We should catch a bus in the valley.”
Keri frowned. “We don’t get to explore this place a little?”
I shrugged. “Our final destination is Jaco Island. That’s where Malcolm’s lab is, but it would take a day of traveling to get there, so I think we can spend a night here to rest up. Let’s catch a cab to a nice hotel. We can arrange everything from there.”
Despite having been sitting down for so long, I felt slightly exhausted from the jetlag also. Being in an airport, it wasn’t hard to find a shuttle to take us to a bayside hotel.
“Para onde?” the driver asked in Portuguese, and then more slowly in English. “Where do you want to go?”
“Bom hotel por favor,” Brock said.
“Wow, Brock, you speak the lingo here?” Keri asked.
“I went around the world trying to escape Wona,” he said as I noticed him slip his phone into his pocket, translator software still glowing on the screen.
I assumed the place the shuttle driver chose was due to us looking like tourists, because it was a ritzy, white, seaside hotel where the receptionist spoke English.
“Welcome to Seaview Leste!” the receptionist, a young woman, called. “How can I help you today?”
I looked back at the others. “Considering this wasn’t my idea, I’m just going to pay for a room for me and Chloe. You guys can sort yourselves out.”
Keri smiled. “How romantic.”
Chloe raised her eyebrows. “Oh yeah, nothing more romantic than being cheap with your friends.”
“First class tickets!” I blurted back before returning to face the receptionist. “Can I have one room for one night please?”
The woman brought out a tablet and stylus. “Please sign your name here.”
I did and she smiled before handing me a card. “You’ll be on the ninth floor.”
I took it and headed for the nearest elevator, calling to Chloe, “Room ten. I’ll see you up there.”
As I walked through the lobby, I realized how nice the place was. The wood was polished to a mirror shine, the stairs were metallic, and the upstairs restaurant looked like it had a buffet.
Well, I guess if we get hungry, we can get room service. Maybe I should have paid for the others’ rooms as well. This place could be pricey.
I made my way to the elevator, ascended to the ninth floor, and down the narrow corridor. I opened up my room to a relatively large suite. It was nothing compared to my apartment at the Wona facility, but my apartment didn’t have the same wide balcony. Leaving the door open for Chloe, I walked over and pulled the sliding glass door aside so I could go out onto the balcony, which gave me a breathtaking view of the sun setting into the bay.
Maybe this wasn’t such a bad idea after all.
After having a moment alone to enjoy the view, I heard someone entering and walking through the room.
“Noah?” Chloe asked.
“I’m out here.”
Chloe sidled out onto the balcony and saw the view. I couldn’t have planned a better moment if I had wanted to. She walked up and rested her head on my arm. I put an arm around her shoulders and pulled her close.
“Well, you wanted to go on vacation somewhere,” she said as though probing to see if this was what I had wanted.
“Mmm.” I left it at that.
“Do you really think Lucas is here?” she asked.
“If his clues are anything to go by, we’ll find out as soon as we check out the abandoned lab.” I looked up at the distant hills to the right of us. “It’s supposed to be in the hills of Jaco Island, east of here. We’ll need to take a boat to get there.” I thought of the case, still left unlocked. “Windsor warned me that another company might be guarding it and provided us with some equipment that will help us to get in.”
She smiled up at me. “Like Q from James Bond.”
“I love you.”
I meant to say it in jest at her giving the exact same reference as me, but when I looked down, I saw her staring at me with wide eyes. I was speechless, and she kept me that way as she stood on tiptoes to kiss me.
Chapter 18: Timor-Leste
The people of East Timor were 98% Catholic, and this showed in its landmarks, buildings, and its famous statues all having a very Christian theme, particularly the well-known churches the tour bus driver pointed out to us on the way out of the city. Of course, the main stop was the Cristo Rei statue as Chloe had predicted. Personally, I found that if you’d seen one statue with Jesus spreading his arms, you’d seen them all.
Since the bus was making frequent stops so we could take photos, Keri didn’t hesitate to try and round us all up for one. We all posed in front of it with our own arms open.
“Do you ever think Jesus and his apostles posed like this and Jesus was all like ‘Come on, guys. We can’t all do big arms,’” I joked.
> “Another plagiarized joke, Noah?” Chloe accused. “Eddie Izzard this time.”
“Good catch.”
We waited for another bus heading farther east. Although the bus ride was going to be a long one, unlike the plane ride, we could enjoy the countryside and decided to forego escaping into the Dream State again. Although it was mostly green hills and the occasional small suburb, I thought it would be a waste if I just did what I always did when in a new country.
When are we going to be here again?
Brock continued reading his electronic guidebook, pointing out the occasional fact as we passed by the green countryside.
“Did you know that this place has the highest rate of doctors per capita?” he said but then pointed to the bus driver, who was tapping his cigarette into an ashtray. “Handy considering this place has one of the highest rates of smoking-related illness. Even after alternatives like vaping and the like became popular, it’s still one of their most consumed items.”
“I never really got smoking,” Keri said.
I frowned. “It’s an addictive substance. What’s not to get?”
“I mean, sure, but is addiction worth all the downsides, the health problems, the smell, the cost? They’re essentially burning money.” She watched disgustedly as the man flicked the end of the butt out of the bus window. “Not to mention the litter. There are some tiled floors that seem to be separated by filters alone.”
Brock looked out the window, eyes squinting as the sun went behind a cloud. “If one of those things would stop them, they wouldn’t do it, but the fact that they don’t is why it’s considered an addiction.”
David nodded. “So, has anyone heard of any cases linking the Dream State to insomnia?”
“That was a strange segue,” Chloe murmured.
“I just thought I would bring it up considering we were talking addictions.”
Keri suddenly looked away, as though losing interest in the conversation. I, on the other hand, suddenly began to get interested.
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