“Everyone else came out of their dives just fine. And no new cases of Avatarism has been reported,” Dr. Corentin reported.
“Avatarism?” Rose asked before I could.
“It is what we are calling the change,” the doctor answered.
“Good, that’s good,” I said. “Epic grabbed me again at log out. I have news to share with Dawson whenever he’s available.”
“I’ll let him know. For now, let’s go get you two cleaned up. You’re both a bit ripe,” Dr. Corentin said with a laugh.
Rose pinched me again.
“What was that for?” I asked.
“You rubbed your stink on me, now I smell bad. It’s all your fault,” Rose said.
“My fault? Who hugged who here?” I asked.
“You took advantage of me helping you out of your pod and hugged me for it,” Rose answered. “So, it’s all your fault that I smell bad.”
“You’re ridiculous,” I said, shaking my head.
“And yet, you still love me,” Rose said confidently.
How could I argue with that?
Epilogue
“Meet June Sadoyoshi,” Dawson said. On the screen at the end of the conference table a picture of a middle-aged Asian woman appeared. A woman whose face was almost a match for one Bushy Bunny or Jinn Sade. “Japanese American. Graduated top of her class at MIT when she was fifteen, Masters at sixteen and PhD by nineteen. Once considered the top of her field in Artificial Intelligence. Had a minor breakdown at twenty-five. She was committed to Century Fields Mental Institute after setting fire to her office cubicle. She was released at thirty-two and was given a clean bill of mental health. Married James Bush, her therapist, also the one that set her free, and went to work for herself developing her own A.I. with his financial support.”
“According to James, as she raised her A.I., June grew more and more distant. James voiced concern and suggested another stay in the Institute might help. She responded by divorcing him. It didn’t end there. She was vindictive about it. Hacked all kinds of accounts, falsified a number of records, and God only knows what else. He ended up in prison and was only too happy to tell us his story. I’ve had my cyber security guys going through everything about him and . . . anyway, the point is that this woman is dangerous. Very, very dangerous,” Dawson said, sounding a little afraid himself.
“Anyway, she was about to go to market with her A.I. and game. Then you happened and she most likely suffered another breakdown,” Dawson finished.
“So where is she now?” I asked.
“We have no idea,” Dawson answered. “Facial recognition hasn’t been able to find her anywhere in the world. She seems to have hacked herself out of existence.”
“That is not good,” I said tiredly.
“No, it is not,” Dawson said. “But tell me, what did you learn from Epic? I heard you had another discussion but were keeping tight lipped about what was said.”
I told him about the conversation with Epic. About him agreeing to release thirty-five people every time I beat him.
“It’s a start,” Dawson said, turning off the screen with June’s picture on it. “It’s not a perfect solution, but I’ll take it as a win.”
“There is something I’ve been thinking about,” I said, rubbing my face tiredly. Dawson had Rose and I woke up as soon as he arrived at the complex. Unfortunately for us, that was around 3:00 AM. “Three more months is a long time.”
“Don’t think you can beat him?” Dawson asked.
“It’s not that. I pointed out to Epic that if the government catches wind of what was done to us, then we’re all as good as dead,” I said.
“A bit of an exaggeration,” Dawson said.
“Is it?” I asked. “Ask China the same question?”
Dawson inhaled sharply. “That was . . . it was a war. This is a medical accident.”
“It is, but can you guarantee the government will see it that way?” I asked.
“I . . . well that is . . . I’m not sure,” Dawson finally said.
“Exactly,” I said. “Which brings me to my point. You need to get out in front of this. Three months is a long time for something like this to be kept a secret. Someone is bound to speak, regardless of any non-disclosure agreement they signed. You need to buy whatever officials are necessary to protect yourself and by extension, us. Then buy whatever press you need to, and make sure that the world believes this is an unfortunate accident or the act of a lone terrorist. But get ahead of this and start working to ensure we come out of this alive.”
“Terrorist?” Dawson asked in surprise.
“June Sadoyoshi,” I said. I didn’t like the idea of putting all of it on the crazy person, but it was one crazy person’s life against the lives of one-hundred and one innocent people.
“I see,” Dawson said softly, then nodded his agreement. “I’ll get on it immediately.”
Rose squeezed my hand comfortingly.
I looked to her and she nodded as well. I just hoped this didn’t make things worse.
STATS
Level:
22
Experience:
86.92%
Class: Beginner Warrior Priest of Issara
HP (Health Points):
5,550
MP (Mana Points):
4,370
SP (Stamina Points):
3,280
Base
Total
Strength:
211
261
- Melee Damage Modifier
+211
+261
Dexterity:
216
282
- Melee Critical Strike Chance
28.18%
28.18%
- Hit Chance
74.09%
74.09%
- Dodge Chance
28.18%
28.18%
Endurance:
440
555
Stamina:
218
328
Intellect:
322
437
- Spell Critical Strike Chance
35.00%
35.00%
Wisdom:
205
250
Charisma:
325
341
Health Regeneration per 10-seconds:
278
278
Mana Regeneration per 10-seconds:
125
145
Stamina Regeneration per 10-seconds:
164
164
Holy Spell Damage Bonus:
219
561
Holy Spell Healing Bonus:
219
463
Carrying Capacity in Lbs.:
1305
AUTHOR’S NOTE
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World Tree Online- the Endless Savanna- 3rd Dive Page 58