Change (The Stork Tower Book 3)

by Tony Corden

  “I’ll finish up here and log out. I might do a real-world workout and then visit the doctor.”

  “She is coming to the Tower this time.”

  “Ok, I have a meeting at midnight so make it at 11.30 real time.”

  “She confirms that she will be here at 11.30.”

  Leah packed up her materials and after saying goodbye to everyone, she logged out and headed for the kitchen.

  Her mother was in the kitchen and setting some soy beans out to soak overnight. Leah gave her a brief hug and then started to get herself some leftover rice and curry. Lin said, “Ling, where do you put all the food? I’m surprised you haven’t put on weight.”

  “I spend most of my day exercising, either running or fighting. Once I had to climb over 140 flights of stairs without stopping.”

  “I don’t believe that’s all it is. What else is going on?”

  Leah hated to mislead her mother so she said, “There is another reason, but I can’t tell you right now. Will you trust me?”

  “Of course I trust you, Ling, I just don’t think you need to do everything yourself.”

  “I’m not mum, I promise. In fact, I’ve got an appointment with a psychiatrist in an hour to help cope with what happened the other day. I will get help if I need it and I will tell you and dad when I can.”

  “All right, but I am still concerned that you need to see a psychiatrist for help. I worry about you.”

  They chatted for a few more minutes, and Leah headed outside to have a break and to chat with whoever was on duty. She was surprised to find John outside. “Hey John, how have the last few hours gone?”

  “Good! I loved that mechanised armour and could practice that all day long. I’m still getting used to the time dilation. I’ve trained for over thirty hours, and I thought I needed to catch up with the security after being out of the loop for so long only to find out I’ve been away less than a day. It’s weird but did make me think, do I get paid by the real-time hour or virtual time?”

  Leah laughed and said, “I’ve no idea, I’ll have to ask around. So how’s the AI?”

  “Good actually, the growth in ability isn’t as fast as you described with Gèng but it is noticeable. My world has some definite texture and colour now, and the AI did some research for me on worlds where I could learn some new self-defence styles. It wanted me to define the parameters, but when I suggested it research what parameters might be best, then it did that. I understand what you mean by allowing greater freedom.”

  “That’s great! I’m not going to be back in Cosmos Online until about eight tomorrow morning. Will you be free then? I have a meeting at my world at midnight to discuss the next move in Cosmos Online, are you free to join us?”

  “I’ll make sure I’m free. How do I get to your world?”

  “I’ll have Gèng send you a virtual address, and your AI can transfer you to the right place.”

  They continued to talk as they wandered around the compound and met with the various guards. When they had done a circuit, they both headed back to their rooms. After some more food, Leah logged in and was waiting on her sofa when Dr Roberts arrived.

  After the usual greeting, Dr Roberts said, “Atherleah, I’ve reviewed the diagnostics from the last few NREM3 cycles, there has been an observable positive movement in the various metrics, and I’m convinced that no lasting damage was done. Having said that, I would add that there have been some permanent changes made to your neural architecture. What we had tried to build in my earlier research has been achieved in your case. I believe you may be able to increase your perception of the world around you by a factor of four, even without Gèng’s help, and with the help of your AI, you may be able to perceive the world at a rate ten times faster than a normal person. Your reactions, in general, will grow faster and you will need to have Gèng help you in normal life not to give away your abilities.”

  “How will she help?”

  “I suggest an icon or scale of some type that is overlaid on your vision. You’ll have a constant gauge to help you manage the speed and strength of your actions.”

  “So real life will look more like a game?”

  “Maybe! You could include an energy and sleep metre if you wanted and that might help. I’ve thought about what you said, that people are out to get you, and there is no reason why Gèng can’t be tasked to evaluate real-time threats that you might miss with your vision or hearing. She could highlight a threat in red, and this will increase your ability to respond properly.”

  “Gèng, is that something you could do?”

  “Certainly! I should have suggested that myself. I could also help John’s AI to develop the appropriate skills, John might not have the speed, but it would help.”

  “One negative I can see is that I might become lazy and not evaluate my environment. I don’t want to lose my situational awareness.”

  “Then set a sensitivity level with Gèng or make it a contest of sorts to see who sees things first. Don’t ignore a serious resource because of perceived danger. Look for a way to use the resource and mitigate or nullify the danger.”

  Dr Roberts asked to be allowed to continue to check the various diagnostics and metrics. Leah agreed as long as it was kept private. After Dr Roberts left, she and Gèng discussed possible ways to provide Leah with information in real life. At about ten minutes to midnight, Gèng said, “Shall we walk down to the podium? It is night out, and the moon is waning, I’ve lit some Chinese lanterns to light the way.”

  They arrived a little early and stood enjoying the cool night. Gèng provided a gentle breeze, and the scent had a hint of rain in it. Leah said, “Is it going to rain?”

  “I’m thinking about it, but not yet. To mimic reality, I still need a better algorithm to control the dispersion of raindrops. I could buy something, but it is more satisfying to create.”

  Thad, Amy and Wisp arrived first followed by James and Zack. Peter and John arrived together. After Leah had given introductions, they chatted while wandering toward the Tower. John was looking around with interest and intensity. Once inside and seated John said, “So this is what most people’s AI’s produce, no wonder the Nascent is considered a pain. My world still looks like my first apartment.”

  James laughed and said, “Not really John, most people’s private virtual-worlds look like an apartment. If your AI has already constructed that, then you are doing amazingly well; this is not normal and has something to do with how phenomenally Atherleah and Gèng work together. I work in AI development, and this is a step beyond any personal AI I’ve met. I know some people with worlds as intricate, but they’ve purchased it from developers.”

  After everyone was comfortable, Leah said, “Let’s discuss the clan first. Peter, we are all glad you’ve joined the clan. What is the best way forward for us regarding you and our loot?”

  It took almost an hour to iron out the details, but they finally had a plan to deal with the loot and Peter had arranged to visit everyone’s worlds and get a complete inventory. Finally, Leah said, “Thanks, Peter, we now have a plan. You are welcome to stay if you like but the rest of us are going to discuss some plans for Cosmos Online so don’t feel like you have to stay. Do you play?”

  “I do! At the moment I have a small claim in the asteroid belt of Epsilon Serpentis. Occasionally I visit the space station, but it’s mainly a relaxation for me more than a game. I’d love to stay if you don’t mind.”

  “That’s fine. So Thad, Amy, Zack and James will be arriving in 55 Cancri in eleven hours, real time, in their older Cruiser. I need to get away from 55 Cancri in a new Corvette. John and Wisp are on Berne as is my other Avatar and we need to move the Apogee Class Frigate as well. I imagine there are several of Mahigan’s goons near both systems to try to kill or capture. We need to get all three ships away and have some idea where we are heading to.”

  Peter said, “You’re taking on Mahigan the Black?”

  “Yes, she’s out to destroy me.”

 
“Does she have slaves in Cosmos Online as she does in Dunyanin?”

  “I imagine she does, but I’ve no real way of telling.”

  “Did you know she has a huge claim in the asteroid belt where I work? Her operation is huge and runs day and night.”

  “Good information Peter, something we’ll need to look into. But for now, what ideas do we have?”

  The discussion continued for several hours until they had come up with a tentative plan. A lot depended on whether or not Mahigan’s people knew of Thad and the others. Either way, they now had something to work towards. After Leah said goodbye to everyone except Thad, she spent another half hour just chatting with him and then she logged out for a break before entering Dunyanin.

  Diary - 5 December 2073

  Power, Passion, Pride and Prejudice. Without these four I wonder whether there would be any conflict. Dunyanin and I dare say every virtual world, weaves these motifs into the story because we can all identify with them. They are universal drivers of purpose for most people. They define our behaviour, and they inform our actions.

  I can understand the first three if kept within boundaries. Power, I want power over my own life, I want power to choose, power to decide, power to live. But must this always grow out of control? Will the power I achieve ruin me? Lord Acton said, “Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men.” How do I stop this happening to me?

  Passion is something I am only beginning to understand. No, that isn’t true. I’ve always had passion, passion to learn, passion to achieve, passion to be independent. It’s only recently though I’ve felt passion for someone. None of these seems bad but they can become all-encompassing, they can drive out other, more vital ideas. Ideas like compassion, love, responsibility, community. How do I keep my passion under control? What is the difference between passion and love?

  Pride! I hope it’s not wrong to have pride. Pride in an achievement. Pride in my parents. Pride in an attitude. But when pride becomes a reason for behaviour rather than the result of behaviour then it is harmful. When it becomes the rationale for a relationship instead of being a product of the relationship, then it is harmful. When it overpowers our decency, compassion, and objectivity, then it must be squashed. When pride loses its foundation in reality, then it has no stability for determining thoughts, words, or actions.

  And then there is Prejudice. This has to be the worst of them all. The idea that someone is less than you because of their race, gender, religion, colour, sexuality, class, country, language, intelligence, accent, health, weight … and I suppose the list goes on. Differences should, in most circumstances, be celebrated. Sometimes they should be mitigated, but even then they don’t make someone less than another person. But it, as an attitude, is so prevalent that no one is shocked that dwarves hate dragons or elves hate orcs. I suppose what is a sadder statement of the world is that we would all complain if prejudice disappeared because the games would be boring!

  CHAPTER SIX

  December 6, 2073

  It had just gone six in the morning when Leah entered the main room of the Guàn Mansion, ready to get moving toward Daglar Duman. The only person not yet ready was Zack, and he arrived soon afterwards. James, Wisp, Thad and Zack had decided to ride horses while Amy, Rana and Leah preferred to run. As soon as the horses were loaded, the seven friends headed toward the northern gate of Ticareti. Leah had purchased a ranger map, and it showed nothing that might trouble them for the first ten leagues, so they started out bunched close together with the horses at a slow trot and the three runners travelling on the outside edges and running. Everyone was enjoying the morning as the air was fresh and crisp. There was the constant sound of the river beside them, and numerous bird calls gave vibrancy to the day.

  They had been travelling for just under an hour when Leah noticed the bird sounds suddenly disappear. Before she could say or do anything, except begin to look around, an arrow slammed into her left shoulder making her stumble and fall off the edge of the road and into the fast flowing river. As she fell, she saw both Wisp and James begin to tumble from their horses, but she hit the water before she could make anything else out. The river was flowing fast, and she had travelled almost twenty-five metres before she could get her head above the water for a breath. Just as her head emerged from the water, another arrow clipped the side of her face gouging a deep furrow across her cheek and driving her back into the water.

  Leah held her breath and allowed her body to sink. She was helped by the leather armour and boots. She waited another minute before trying to take a breath. This time the arrow hit the water but pierced her right thigh; even so, she had been able to take a deep breath. She calmed her thoughts and checked her health which was under half and dropping. A quick discussion with Gèng showed she had been poisoned and had serious blood loss. She tried to cast Teleportation but found it too difficult to concentrate with the water continuing to pull at the arrows in her shoulder and thigh. Finally, after several minutes she needed another breath and slowly brought her head above the rushing water. She tried to see who was shooting at her. This time she saw someone on the side of the road, and as the person fired Leah sank down, and the arrow missed.

  With the fresh breath, she calmed herself and ignoring the pain from the arrows, reached for the one in her thigh and with a quick tug pulled it loose. The pain made her scream under the water, and she risked another breath. As she lifted her head, she saw that the road was further away. She had drifted to the far side of the river, and the river had begun one of its many deviations from the road. Leah could still see someone on the road, but they stood and watched without shooting. She checked her statistics, both her health and stamina were below twenty percent and still dropping. She grabbed a restore potion and swallowed it even though she knew she wouldn’t heal completely with the arrow still stuck in her shoulder.

  Several minutes later she was out of sight of the road and able to pull herself out and onto the far bank until she was resting half-in and half-out of the water. She looked at her shoulder, a steel shaft had penetrated completely through it. She wasn’t going to be able to break this off, it would need to be pulled or pushed through. Finally able to think clearly, she tried to use her communication ring but got replies only from Thad and Wisp. Thad said that he and Wisp were back at the ambush site surrounded by five players. Amy, Zack, James and Rana had all been killed in the first attack. Each of the players was Level 320 or above and had so far said nothing. They stood there silently, keeping Thad and Wisp from healing or escaping. They were waiting for one of their group to return from checking on Leah.

  Leah knew she had to hurry and tried to cut the fletching from the arrow, but it resisted any attempt to damage it. Finally, Leah tried to Mist and found that she could. As she did, she rose from the ground, and the arrow was left behind. Gèng said, “When you became mist, both your poison and bleeding rebuffs stopped operating. Unfortunately, none of your statistics are regenerating in the mist form.”

  Leah moved deeper into the trees beside the river and Misted into the fork of a tree twenty-five metres from the bank. She could still see the arrow on the ground. Leah un-Misted and swallowed both a restore health and a restore stamina potion. She sat quietly, preparing herself for action. She watched. It was over five minutes later when she saw the arrow slowly shift its position as if moved by a toe or hand. Noting the move, she began to make out the faint outline of someone crouching by the river bank. Whoever they were, their Ranger skills were much greater than either Amy’s or Matt’s. Finally, as they became more corporeal, she was able to read a name, Bloodarrow_007 and the Level, 324.

  She had prepared her posture while waiting and without moving she cast Ki Lightning and then equipping her bow, shot the whole quiver into the convulsing body. She tried to teleport and found it worked. As she appeared near the figure, she brought the Morningstar crashing down on Bloodarrow’s head. As the person died and became transparent, Lea
h looked closer and saw the ranger had been a woman. She harvested what she could and was pleased to get a quiver of arrows similar to the ones which had been shot at her.

  She received a quick message from Thad who said, “Atherleah, these guys are suddenly very restless. They still haven’t said anything, but one of them has headed back down the road towards you. Another has headed back into the woods where they were hiding. They’re still keeping us at about ten percent health. Be careful.”

  She responded with, “Probably restless because there is one less in their group. What type of player is headed in my direction?”

  “He was dressed a bit like a mage but was carrying a bow.”

  “Thanks, I’ll see you soon.”

  Leah teleported across the river and onto the road before Misting and travelling along the edge of the road. She soon saw the man moving in her direction. He was carefully checking each section of the trail before sliding from one tree to the next. Leah could see the faint animal trail he was following and decided to wait for him on it. She waited until he passed her before un-Misting and driving a knife into the right side of his neck. He shuddered and turned around rapidly which succeeded in driving the knife deeper into his neck and tearing it from Leah’s hand. He was lightning fast and blocked her left hand while reaching for her neck. She drove her now empty right hand deep into his chest with her claws extended, and shredded his heart. She held her hand there as he turned transparent and then bundled the few things he had left behind into her bag and once again Misted toward where Thad and Wisp were.

  Thad communicated, “I imagine they just lost another one. The leader is walking over. I’ll communicate what he says or does.”

  “Good, now which direction did the one in the woods go from where you are? I can see you on the road just ahead of me.”