Continue Online
Book 2, Made
Story by
Stephan Morse
Copyright © 2016 by Stephan Morse
All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
Projections about future events are intended for fiction purposes only.
First Publishing, 2015
Table of Contents
Commencement – Point Of View
Session Eighteen – Faction Grind
Session Nineteen – Answers, Mister Legate?
Session Twenty – Belated Trigger Warning
Session Twenty One – Forest For Rest
Session Twenty Two – Deep Cover
Session Twenty Three – Lost, in Earth
Session Twenty Four – Light’s End
Session Twenty Five – What are the Chances?
Session Twenty Six – Under Cover Brother
Session Twenty Seven – Just Pass Grey Skull
Session Twenty Eight – The Falling One
Interlude – The Life and Times of…
Session Twenty Nine – Like a dog
Session Thirty – Beatings Continue
Session Thirty One – What is Love…
Session Thirty Two – To the Letter
Session Thirty Three – Until Morale Improves
Session Thirty Four – Eye on the Prize
Session Thirty Five – Dodging the Issue
Session Thirty Six – Spite Unbound
Session Thirty Seven – Baby Don’t Hurt Me
Session Thirty Eight – Insane Reality
Session Thirty Nine – Sane Illusions
Conclude – Do Unto Others
Afterward
Commencement – Point Of View
Tina: Welcome to Games for Gamers, tonight marks our one-hundredth broadcast, and as a result, we’ve lined up something extra special.
Roland: Heh.
Tina: The man here laughing next to me is none other than Roland Yigher, also known as Daniel Boone in the world of Continue Online.
Roland: Hey now. It’s a good name, and remember we can’t talk about too much of the in-game stuff.
Tina: Right, tonight’s interview comes with rules laid down by Trillium International, our lord and masters, and the makers of Continue Online. Thank you, Roland, for the reminder.
Roland: Heh.
Tina: First rule, I can’t ask questions directly about the game setting itself, this includes skills, special locations, or other items of that nature.”
Roland: Right, Tina.
Tina: Secondly to that, I can’t overtly ask questions about the game.
Roland: When it doubt, see rule number one.
Tina: Do not talk about Fight Club.
Roland: Basically, yeah. The lawyers have had a field day with all the information constantly being posted. Technically AIs, and I’m talking the stuff that makes military grade drones seem dumb, off the charts, we’ve got a slew of them speced just to bring down sites as soon as they get uploaded.
Tina: While we’re on the subject, Roland, I’ve heard a number of private servers are knocked out almost seconds after posting information.
Roland: Anything we can find. Average response time is about three seconds.
Tina: Alright, tonight’s focus is not on Internet freedom rehashes, instead our questions for Roland will feature items compiled from our audience in advance. These questions have been reviewed by Trillium for possible issues and those that received a pass will get asked.
Roland: All above board I hope, Tina.
Tina: Of course, we’re not trying to risk any jobs, we’re only trying to understand the science behind the magic.
Roland: That can be dangerous too.
Tina: Question one is simple enough, why a fantasy world? Why not space ships or superheroes?
Roland: There are two Well, the original project was proposed by what is now known as the ARC lab, their head scientist had been an avid game follower and loved some of the earliest prototype VR machines.
Tina: The old headsets, visual and audio, that kind of thing?
Roland: Right. There were a few that went with game consoles but were limited in their immersion.
Tina: Good start, keep going, Roland.
Roland: Sure, Tina, so fantasy, which is rich with lore and a lot of unexplained stories seemed the best bet. It’s hard to delve into a space setting because it requires a huge knowledge of sciences, which our average player base wouldn’t have.
Tina: It was easier to explain away then?
Roland: In essence. The ARC Lab wanted the freedom to create a world that drew on all the lore and stories already out there, without having to micromanage the laws of science.
Tina: Yet the ARC is used for space exploration training, so one could argue that it supports those laws as well.
Roland: Those are simulations and on a much, much smaller scale than Continue Online. Without exposing too much, there’s a lot in Continue that’s researched and developed by players, it wasn’t thought out ahead of time.”
Tina: Alright. We’d pursue that if there was time, but I’ll keep going forward. Next question. The time dilation. How exactly is that accomplished? The technology for it still hasn’t been successfully reproduced in any other machine.
Roland: Well, Tina. It’s not done all in one go. Part of Continue Online requires new players to stay in town for four weeks.
Tina: Before you keep going, are you okay sharing these details?
Roland: Thanks, Tina, but this much is fine. This is only one detail that is explained right at the login of Continue. Everyone who’s tried the game knows it.
Tina: So, public knowledge.
Roland: Right. Anyway, the game requires you to spend four weeks in a starting town, which amounts to one week in the real world.
Tina: The four to one distortion.
Roland: Exactly. Anyway, you’re not truly at four to one during the first four weeks. Many of the introductory tasks are boring repetitive ones. The AIs that control player interaction assist by skipping time here and there.
Tina: Like a quick day at work?
Roland: Right. Or like those dreams that seem to last forever but really only take up ten minutes.
Tina: I love those.
Roland: It’s like that. There are periods where your character is doing mundane tasks that you’ve shown determination to do, but you as a player are skipping in and out of the game. Gliding over portions so the stress on your mind is lessened.
Tina: This speeds up during the first week of real time?
Roland: Right you are, and by the fourth week in-game, your mind is used to operating at the quicker speed while logged into Continue.
Tina: Does this translate back into real world mental acuity?
Roland: Testing shows it does, but not at any superhuman speed, in fact nearly everything learned in the ARC can be used in real life, aside from the fantastical items like fireballs and summoning creatures.
Tina: Too bad.
Roland: Right? But martial arts, aiming things, all of that does.
Tina: That leads into our next question. Legally, what sort of worries does Trillium have regarding the things taught in Continue? And I’ll cite a case for our example.
Roland: Go ahead.
Tina: A few decades ago there was a giant move by lawmakers to restrict video games, in general, citing that people were learning violent tendencies from them. Given Continue Online’s realism or anything in the ARC, this is becoming a serious concern again. Wh
at does Trillium plan to do about it?
Roland: Well there’s a few possibilities. First, Trillium itself is international, it’s not based in any one country, so making a law that restricts it can be extremely difficult.
Tina: That’s a given, but there are previous cases of countries completely banning games within their borders, prior massively multiplayer online games have been subjected to this before.
Roland: Indeed, Trillium’s first step was to integrate the ARC into everyday use for a lot of things outside the game.
Tina: Okay, what next?
Roland: Then, in the terms and conditions of using an ARC, there’s a clause that states if any legal steps are taken to restrict Trillium’s suite of software, they reserve the right to pull the entire ARC lineup from the offending country.
Tina: Is that word for word?
Roland: I paraphrased a lot because of the legal jargon, but it’s in there.
Tina: Basically Trillium has a stranglehold on the market.
Roland: It can feel like that, but everyone has the ability to say no, after all, the ARC isn’t a required device for anyone. It’s a luxury item across the board, civilians, government, corporations; none of them are forced to take contracts.
Tina: You can’t argue that the ARC device has created a veritable stranglehold, though.
Roland: I can say that our AIs are top notch due to The ARC Lab’s research. I can say that we have some of the best technology to date out there, and the backing of the people.
Tina: But you can’t say you have a stranglehold on the entire immersion market?
Roland: No, we don’t force anybody or actively seek contracts anymore. The only time we pursued funding was during the start-up phase, after that Trillium and ARC had too much to try and grasp for more, besides, many of Trillium’s employees enjoy Continue as well, so we don’t need to fight over comforts this side of the ARC.
Tina: Was there anything else with regard to Trillium’s legal defense?
Roland: We don’t force people to learn things, they choose to, it’s no different than locking yourself in a room swinging a kitchen knife. Plus most countries have a right to bear arms after the Melt Down wars. From the government’s standpoint, at least here in the North Americas, it’s like having a well-trained militia ready at any moment.
Tina: That’s morbid.
Roland: Trillium and the government are being very forward thinking on this. The technology is dangerous if abused, but the same could be said of a rock in the hands of someone willing to lift it.
Tina: Hah, that’s funny, Roland.
Roland: It’s true. People are worried about someone going in and learning how to shoot a gun, so Continue wasn’t placed in a modern setting, but there are other ARC programs that are just as immersive and don’t focus on swords and sorcery. We don’t regulate them for what they teach people.
Tina: Why not?
Roland: I could go on about it, but most of this, and the laws cited by country, are stated on Trillium’s web page. Legal has done an amazing job of citing case and counter case, Tina, and I’d shame myself trying to repeat their brilliance on that front.
Tina: Interesting. That brings us to the last topic, and this one is a doozy too.
Roland: If it’s the one I’m thinking of, Tina, we could go around and around on it.
Tina: I won’t ask for the byline, our viewers want to hear what it’s like from someone who’s been inside Continue for longer than your average player.
Roland: Fair enough. Ask the question though to ensure we’re all on the same page.
Tina: Continue operates at a higher speed, a year here, is almost four there. How do you think it will play out? Do you have ideas about the future of humanity if we’re torn on where we’re spending our time?
Roland: I don’t think of it as being torn. I think of it as a lease on a longer life. The immersion ratio is huge. Many of my coworkers will put in a full day here then do a day or two in Continue, getting something near three to one for their time. Ask your grandparents how much they would have loved to find extra hours in the day to learn the things they wanted to.
Tina: Like skills in the game?
Roland: I’ll do a common one, fishing, you can fish in Continue and there are some interesting rewards, but mostly it’s peaceful. Instead of commenting how this links back to real life, many of us use this as a vacation.
Tina: Okay, I’ll bite, what do you mean?
Roland: Imagine that instead of being forced to plan a trip three weeks ahead of time, that you just grab the family, all of you log in and spend the day together on a beach, or fishing. Or watching an arena duel, heck, maybe your family has an entire army to lead that night in some battle.
Tina: And then what?
Roland: That’s it. That’s the afternoon. You can go to work tomorrow, or school, whatever, but you’ve got the chance to have a vacation every single night if you want, with whoever you want. If nothing else, the ARC is amazing for affording people these kinds of chances.
Tina: We’re veering a little off point, but you’re still bringing up something important, Roland.
Roland: I hope so. My wife and I are closer than ever, instead of planning anniversaries or date nights, we do a quest, or tackle a tournament, or spar. The woman is hell with a sword. There’s enough time for everyone to spend together…
Tina: Or apart.
Roland: Heh, well the missus prefers to keep an eye on me.
Tina: Some of those avatars are saucy.
Roland: You’re going to get me in a different sort of trouble here, Tina.
Tina: Sorry.
Roland: Anyway, here, there, time is relative, but I think this ability to live however you choose is the whole point of Continue. It’s in the name.
Tina: There is a certain freedom to being able to wander the world without ever leaving your bedroom.
Roland: Or, heh, being able to spend time with your wife in the bedroom while stationed across the country.
Tina: Now you’re digging your own hole. This one isn’t my fault.
Roland: You’re right, Tina, but don’t get me wrong, there are thrills, challenges, everything you could want if you Continue Online.
Tina: Well done.
Roland: Thanks. I thought it was clever.
Tina: Anyway, that’s all we have tonight folks, Games for Gamers signing off. Say goodnight, Roland.
Roland: Goodnight, Roland.
Benn Tower: Folks, for those of you just now tuning in, this is a broadcast for Stranger Danger’s website to bring you, The Word, I’m your host Benn Tower, and we’re sitting here with Deacon Rochelle. Today’s topic? Society’s latest blind spot, the Alternate, Reality, Capsule.
Benn Tower: I’m going to pick up this subject by addressing the name first off. Alternate Reality? Really? The name alone is a pretentious play on words. As if they’ve created an entirely different reality on par with our own.
Deacon Rochelle: As if they could outshine what God has created.
Benn Tower: Exactly, and then there’s the letters, A, R, C. An Ark, acting like a single device is on par with Noah’s Ark. Tell me this isn’t an attempt at idolatry.
Deacon Rochelle: The name is only one of many flaws.
Benn Tower: We’ll get to the other issues in a moment, but this is a good starting place for those just now tuning in.
Deacon Rochelle: I agree, but the name is the first hint.
Benn Tower: Here’s how this thing works. You plug it in, connect to Trillium’s servers, and your brain actually goes on a trip, into the ether, cyberspace, la la land. With the munchkins and elves and faerie people. But, before I get ahead of myself, I want you to understand that people are in these things for hours at a time. Hours.
Deacon Rochelle: A pure waste of a God given gift.
Benn Tower: So, plugged in, for hours, and all of their thoughts, impulses, reactions are routed through a central source. There’s the first problem, all your inf
ormation isn’t yours anymore, it isn’t sacred, it isn’t, yours, anymore, Trillium International has access to everything.
Deacon Rochelle: It’s selfish, and a violation of privacy.
Benn Tower: You’re a woman of the cloth, when people come to you for a confessional there’s a vow of trust, that what they say, won’t be spread around.
Deacon Rochelle: Yes, exactly. My vows are held by the highest authority, God.
Benn Tower: These people, plugged in, everything they do is subject to who knows what sort of twisted minds Trillium has employed, while people use these pretentious machines for sin.
Deacon Rochelle: Far too often. The Internet was bad enough thirty years ago, now it’s only grown worse.
Benn Tower: Here’s some statistics for you, four out of every five people owning an Alternate, Reality, Capsule, have used it to simulate adultery. The problem is that these simulations are professed to have near one hundred percent authenticity.
Deacon Rochelle: It’s not only limited to adultery, these programs simulate sodomy, men laying with other men, or women, and all other manner of base actions one could imagine.
Benn Tower: These devices are encouraging people to engage in immoral actions. Not only the sins of lust, but murder. Murder, this is where things start to go way, way downhill. First, though, I need to explain how these ARC devices came into being. Deacon, bear with me while I enlighten the uninitiated.
Deacon Rochelle: By all means.
Benn Tower: These devices, the Alternate, Reality, Capsules, were first brainstormed by The ARC Labs, a company under Trillium International. Their first client? The newly expanded United States Government. Given directly to the biggest warmongers in the world.
Deacon Rochelle: Especially after the Melt Down Wars.
Benn Tower: Right, this government participated in one of the biggest murder sprees in this millennium, and now they’re standing behind a device that allows people to experience anything they want. For completely altruistic reasons I’m sure.
Deacon Rochelle: Not even.
Benn Tower: Government sponsored. Not just the good old USA warmongers, but others too. I won’t bother naming them all, but it’s the who’s who of slaughter encouraging kings.
Benn Tower: Now they’ve got the first crack at shaping this device, and I’m going to throw additional numbers at you. Listeners, can you guess how many programs on this Alternate Reality Capsule, simulate senseless mayhem? There are over four hundred games dedicated solely to the idea of putting people, human beings, against other human beings for combat.
Continue Online (Part 2, Made) Page 1