by Terry Schott
“That you can’t pull players out of Blades VR without killing them.”
Isaac’s smile faded. “That’s not true.”
“Isn’t it?”
“Of course not. We felt that it was best to let players continue playing for as long as possible. The data we are obtaining from this group of excellent players is extremely valuable to our process of polishing the game for public release.”
“That may be a side quest for you all, but we both know that it’s the danger of killing them that keeps beta testing going.”
Isaac laughed.
“Don’t worry. I’m not going to tell anyone.”
“You mean, you won’t tell anyone if I let you go back in?”
Jeremy shook his head. “I don’t play like that. Your secret is safe with me regardless of your decision.”
Isaac watched Fen for a moment and then raised his glass. “Thank you for that.”
“I’m willing to assume the risks, if you send me back in.”
“I don’t know, Jeremy. There are a lot of things that are keeping us busy. If I make an exception for you, then I will have to start making exceptions for everybod—”
“I know where Sebastian is.”
Isaac froze.
“That’s right. I know who his avatar is and how to get to him.”
“Tell me. Please.”
Jeremy smiled and held the glass up to the light, examining it before taking another sip. “That is something I cannot share with you. But if you put me back in, I am willing to get a message to him for you.” His eyes met Isaac’s and he raised one eyebrow. “If that is something that interests you.”
Isaac held Jeremy’s gaze for a few seconds. Then he laughed and drained his glass. He stood and walked to the bar, came back with the bottle of scotch, and refilled their glasses. “Tell you what.” He dropped into his seat and raised the glass to his lips, watching Fen over the edge. “I’ll send you back in, on one condition.”
“Name it.”
“I go in with you, and you take me to meet with the old bastard for myself.”
To Be Continued…
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Acknowledgements
Campaign is my fourteenth released book.
And it’s a book that was almost never written.
The thing is, I have many more stories in my head than I will ever be able to get out. For that reason, I’ve tried to come up with a system to determine whether to proceed with a series or let it fade and focus on another. Why waste time writing something that very few will want to read? Wouldn’t it be better to try a new story? One that will grab the attention of readers and leave them wanting more? That strategy made sense to me, and I was determined to start a new story line while Scout sat online and either attracted readers, or didn’t.
And then my writing friend/mentor/coach/all-round awesome guy, Shawn Inmon, got after me.
“Write book two.”
“Maybe later,” I said.
“Now’s better.”
“I don’t want to.”
“You should. It’s a great story.”
“But it’s not selling a lot,” I said.
“Because people don’t want to start a series that only has one book,” he offered.
That made me pause. Could he be right?
I decided it wouldn’t hurt to find out, and so I began to write Campaign.
Shawn was my first reader through the entire process, encouraging me to keep going during the many times when I wanted to set it aside and get to another story. With kindness and patience, he listened to me whine and complain, and then motivated me to keep going.
I’m glad that he did, because I think this story is pretty damned cool.
And I will continue to follow his advice. The next book will be the third of this series, to complete the trilogy. Look for it in early 2018.
Thanks, Shawn. Your support and encouragement are more important to me than you will ever know.
Doreen Martens edited this book. It was our first time working together but it felt like we’ve been partnered up forever. Thanks, Doreen, for your patience, speedy work ethic, and awesome expertise. If people enjoy this book, it will be in large part thanks to the polish and skill you added to the process.
For some reason, typos really piss me off. There’s nothing worse than reading over a paragraph ten or more times and finding out that a word was spelled wrong, or left out, or double-used, and I somehow missed seeing it all those times. Of course, I understand that’s how the brain works (or doesn’t). It filters things and makes it impossible to find every single tiny error in anything, including books.
Thank you to my first string of typo hunters. When the book is finally edited and ready to go, I send it off to Danny Boots, Marla Galindo, David Hyde, and Dan Hilton. I’ve spent a lot of effort finding people able to spot these typos, and these four are awesome at it. Thanks to all of you for your great help. It’s super important and much appreciated.
And the last set of eyes to check this book over are the best set. When I think the book is perfect, I hand it over to Debra Galvan. Debra is more than a proofreader/grammaticist. She’s magic. Somehow, she finds typos that no one else was able to. I am in awe of your gift and grateful that you are willing to share it with me. Thank you, Debra. You’re the best.
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