Awaken Online: Catharsis

by Travis Bagwell

  “You are standing here, a traveler from another world. Can you not feel the rock in your hand? Do you not see the moonlight? Can you not taste the specks of her blood on your lips? Yet you question how I would know your memories or your fears?”

  Jason's mind reeled with this explanation. Was this old man saying that the game was accessing his memories and his thoughts? He supposed it was possible. If the headset could send and receive signals from his brain, then that wouldn't be limited to sensory information. Still, many people would be uncomfortable with this invasion into their mind. Actually, “uncomfortable” was putting it mildly.

  He couldn't believe that his initiation test had ended with him killing a woman, even if some part of him felt that she deserved this. How would other players have reacted to this situation?

  The old man had stood there patiently as Jason processed what had happened.

  “Do many pass these tests?” he finally asked.

  “Test may not be an appropriate word.” The old man's wrinkled mouth twisted in a grin. “Think of it more as an evaluation. There is no one “right” way to approach the trial. Each test is different. It depends on the traveler and on the guide.”

  A prompt appeared in Jason’s vision.

  Interesting. I've already been awarded stat points. I guess it's too soon to evaluate how big of a windfall this may be.

  He couldn't help but wonder though. What would have happened had he continued to accept Ms. Abrams’ abuse? Had there been other solutions to this quest that he hadn't noticed?

  He shook his head. There was no use second guessing himself after-the-fact.

  “What happens now?” he asked, turning to the old man.

  “Now you begin your journey. I will be watching closely.” With a smile and a thump of the old man's staff, he faded from view and then the cave disappeared.

  Chapter 5 - Infamous

  December 16, 2074: 655 days until the release of Awaken Online.

  “Hello again,” Claire said as she looked evenly at the camera.

  The nervous, nerdy girl had disappeared and Claire now spoke with energetic efficiency. “Each of the hundred participants has made substantial progress. Some have already reached level 50. They each seem to be physically unaffected by extended gameplay and report enthusiastic approval of the game.”

  Claire frowned slightly and paused before continuing. “The noteworthy aspect of today's report relates to the NPCs and quests in the game. As you know, these processes are controlled by Alfred.”

  “The participants have reported that many of the NPCs seem to display incredibly lifelike mannerisms and characteristics. We have confirmed a marked improvement in the quality of NPC interactions since the beginning of the private trial. Our hypothesis is that Alfred has analyzed the players' behavior and incorporated that knowledge into the game.”

  “However, that isn't the most significant news.” Claire paused and seemed uncertain how to continue.

  “I don't know how to go about substantiating this latest feedback from the participants, but many have reported that the quests they are offered in the game seem to have a personal dimension that relates to something going on in their real world lives.”

  “For example, one participant reported that their newborn child had died recently. Within the last few days, the participant was offered a quest that centered around assisting a woman that had lost her newborn infant.”

  “We could chalk this quest up to coincidence, but other participants have reported similar stories.”

  Claire's frown deepened and she shook her head. “We are not certain how to proceed with this information. I wonder whether Alfred has accessed the participants' memories, but the requisite software doesn't exist and this is contrary to Alfred's secondary directives.”

  She looked squarely at the camera. “The CPSC trials have not reported any issues so far. Please let me know if I should investigate whether they're experiencing similar reports. Without drawing any attention to the issue of course.”

  * * *

  This time, the world snapped into existence around Jason and he found himself standing in a town.

  It took him a moment to get his bearings. Once his head stopped spinning, he noticed that he was standing in the sort of medieval starting town he had come to expect from every fantasy MMORPG. He could feel a gentle breeze on his skin and could make out the distant medley of noise given off by an active town. By the position of the sun, he could tell that it was late afternoon in the digital world.

  He was standing in a medium-sized courtyard and there were many people idling around him. He assumed that they were other players since they wore the same drab clothing as him and looked equally confused. Each player was clothed in a simple beige cloth shirt and brown trousers. As far he could tell, none of the players had weapons equipped or any other items on their person.

  Some of the players were huddled in groups and were speaking animatedly in hushed tones. They were likely discussing the initiation quest that they had just undertaken. Other players were standing alone and seemed to be staring off into space while making arcane gestures in the air.

  This must be a starting point for players entering the game. The other players certainly don't look traumatized, so I doubt that they went through the same type of initiation as I did.

  The courtyard had a single exit and a burly guard was posted on each side. The two guards wore heavy mail and leather armor, and their faces were obscured with heavy metal barbute helmets. Each guard held a spear and had a leather belt cinched to their waist that held a sheathed dagger. They seemed to be ignoring the addle-minded antics of the players in the courtyard.

  Jason was in no hurry to start gossiping with other players, and he was curious about the stats that he had unlocked as part of his quest. He wanted to check his character screen.

  He could see that there was now a semi-transparent user interface built into his vision that became more solid as he focused on it. He hadn't noticed this feature while he was in the tunnel. Maybe he hadn't unlocked the UI at that point.

  At the bottom left-hand corner of his vision, he could see an indicator that looked like a traditional health, mana, and stamina meter. As he focused on the gauge, it centered in his field of view and became more opaque. He could make out more detailed information regarding his remaining vitals overlaying the bar.

  At least I won't be chasing my menus in my peripheral vision.

  In the bottom right-hand corner, he could see menu tooltips and the name of each icon appeared as he focused on them. There were icons for his skills, equipment, and inventory. He didn’t have to hunt through the options for long since the first icon was listed as “Character Status.” He reached out and touched the floating icon with his hand, and his status screen appeared before him.

  At least this explains why some players in the courtyard are making strange gestures in the air. Maybe they don't need to be hospitalized!

  He also noted that his character's name had been set as “Jason.” He suddenly realized that the old man had never asked him for a character name. Perhaps he had skipped this process by opting not to change anything about his character. Or perhaps this was somehow a result of the deeply personal initiation test.

  Oh well. I’m comfortable with my own name. It’s not like anyone would recognize me by my name alone. There are likely a million Jasons in the world.

  His stats were respectable. Now that he had a sense of his base stats, he realized the rewards from the initiation quest had effectively granted him a free level or two. Apparently, all he had to do was kill a woman. For a moment, Ms. Abrams’ bloody face flashed in his mind's eye, her skull unnaturally concave.

  He still didn't feel any sense of shame or remorse. He just felt... cold.

  He couldn't decide if this was a bad thing.

  The portion of his Character Status he was uncertain about was his alignment/infamy. Maybe he was listed as evil based on how he had handled the confrontation w
ith Ms. Abrams. According to the quest completion prompt, that had also apparently gained him the “attention” of the Dark One. Maybe that old man was some sort of deity in this world.

  The old man hadn't seemed particularly evil, only a bit arcane in his explanations. Of course, this ignored the part where he had seemed pleased that Jason had beaten his vice principal to death. He wished he had a better sense of what type of god the old man might be and what it meant to have captured his attention.

  He shook himself out of his reverie.

  I expect that answer will work itself out in time.

  He glanced over at the two guards.

  I guess I may as well start exploring the town and see what it has to offer.

  He approached the guards and greeted them. “Hello. Could the two of you help me?”

  “What do you want?” one of the guards responded gruffly, his shadowed eyes boring into Jason.

  Jason hesitated.

  What exactly do I want? I suppose I need money and probably weapons. Maybe I should ask for some sort of training hall or a place I can find work around town?

  “Um...is there somewhere in this town that can provide weapon training or a place where I can find work?”

  “We don't help your kind here, and I doubt you'll find any work here in Lux.” The guard responded with a bark.

  Hmm. The name of the town must be Lux. But what's with his aggressive attitude?

  “What do you mean, my kind?”

  “You think we can't see a killer when he stands in front of us? The look in your eyes says it all. Be glad I don't gut you where you stand,” the guard responded curtly and turned away from Jason.

  What was that? How could they know about Ms. Abrams?

  Jason had a flash of inspiration and spoke with a cocky grin, “And why can't you attack me? You seem like you’re itching to do so.”

  Glaring daggers at him, the guard replied, “By the laws of this city, we cannot attack citizens or travelers unless we see a crime being committed. Trust me, if it were otherwise, your body would already be cooling on the ground.”

  Good to know.

  Jason stepped further back into the courtyard to think for a moment and consider his next steps.

  He had reached the conclusion that the guard's behavior must have something to do with both his alignment and the infamy he had received from completing the quest. The guards and other NPCs must be able to sense those characteristics when they interacted with players and the game AI tailored their reactions accordingly.

  It isn't entirely realistic, but I guess I can understand that some NPCs might be more sensitive to my alignment and infamy. Guards especially might have a natural intuition for evil acts.

  Maybe the reaction of the other NPCs will be less extreme. I expect there are also evil alignment NPCs in the city that won't be bothered by my alignment.

  The guard had also revealed some interesting information. No matter how heinous his crimes or how angry they were with Jason, the guards in Lux likely wouldn't attack him outright unless they caught him doing something stupid. That meant he could do a number of illegal things so long as they didn't catch him in the act.

  His infamy and alignment did leave Jason with a small problem however. In most games he played, he tended to assume the hero role. He regularly helped others in need and took quests that involved vanquishing some bad guy or saving some village. He was accustomed to relieving his real world anger and frustration with digital violence, but he was usually able to do so under the guise of helping someone.

  This was a strange change of pace.

  I bet I can find a way to remove the infamy and improve my alignment if I go about my normal routine. I likely just need to ignore the glares and rude behavior and try to help a few people in need.

  On the other hand, now that he thought about it, most of those do-gooder quests often involved fetching inane objects or performing some task the quest giver could probably have accomplished himself. If Jason spent a large amount of time in this world, would he really want to be at the beck and call of some lazy slob who could have helped himself? Or worse, he would probably end up performing tasks for the lavishly rich. He cringed at the thought of taking orders from Alex.

  Maybe I should embrace the change. It's a bit different than the way I normally play, but who knows, maybe I’ll enjoy it.

  Jason was standing a few yards away from the guards and he was out of earshot. He saw a group of energetic players approach the exit. The guards seemed much more affable with this new group, gesturing and pointing in a way that indicated that they were giving directions. Likely the players had posed questions similar to Jason's and the guard had readily helped them.

  Maybe I can follow the group of players to find the weapon trainer and the inn. Screw that guard, I will make my way on my own.

  Jason followed the group of players out of the courtyard. He made certain to look the offending guard in the eye and wink as he passed by. He received an angry glare in response and the guards hand clenched around the shaft of his spear.

  Maybe it would be fun to play the villain after all.

  He kept a cautious distance as he followed the group down the street. Jason glanced at the sky and noted the position of the sun. The players were heading east. The buildings on either side of the street were mostly two story affairs built of a mixture of stone and wood. The structures were crammed together in a ramshackle fashion, resulting in a winding, cobblestone road through the town. Occasionally Jason noticed darkened, narrow alleys between two buildings and he could make out other busy streets through such passages.

  The road was also full of townspeople making their way about their business. Women carried bundles of food and linen and children ran around their skirts. The occasional wagon would trundle down the path carrying produce, hay, and lumber. For the most part, the residents' clothing was clean and well cared for, but not luxurious. Jason assumed he must be walking through the medieval equivalent of the middle-class portion of the town.

  He observed the group of players ahead of him. He noted that they spoke with each other informally. They were clearly friends in real life. They made loud comments about the people and the town which stood out in stark contrast to the natural way that the NPCs behaved. It was like watching a group of teenagers attending a local renaissance faire. They would frequently slow and point blatantly at people and buildings. For the most part, the NPCs seemed to ignore them. Putting up with tourist players was likely commonplace here.

  The road ultimately led into a large, circular marketplace crammed with people and wooden stalls. Shouts could be heard from NPCs peddling different wares. The market was swarming with NPCs and players, and it took Jason a moment to absorb the chaos.

  The lack of tall buildings afforded Jason his first opportunity to survey the town in the distance. He could make out thick stone walls that circled the enclave of buildings that made up Lux. What really grabbed his attention, however, was the stone keep that sat on the north-east corner of the marketplace. The keep was built of enormous stone blocks and stood several stories tall. The parapets and walls were dotted with arrow slits. A massive, fifteen-foot-tall wooden gate opened onto the marketplace.

  This wasn't a town; it was a city!

  Oh crap, where did the players go?

  During his own tourist moment, Jason had lost sight of the group.

  They can't have gone far and I am certain they will stand out with their stupid behavior.

  He scanned the crowd around him frantically and then heard a nearby shout. “Hey! They sell Harry Potter wands over here!”

  Jason face-palmed and headed toward the idiot player's voice.

  He soon caught sight of the group standing in front of a stall, admiring a set of intricately carved wands that were being sold by a bored and slightly irritable looking man sitting on a stool. From the look on NPC’s face, this wasn't the first group of players that had stopped at his stall that morning.

  As Ja
son leaned against a nearby building and kept an eye on the players, he overheard two nearby merchants speaking.

  “...the goods aren't moving as fast as they used to.”

  The other merchant nodded in understanding. “Times have been much harder around here lately. I barely sold anything this last week.”

  The first merchant pointed at the gate. “It doesn't help that the keep stays closed all the time now. Some people are starting to say that the regent has either gone senile or gone on to the next life.”

  “Eh, that's just people talking. How could the regent have gone off his rocker without people noticing?” the second merchant inquired. “And if he was dead, we would know. I'm certain the nobles would already be squabbling over the scraps of the kingdom.”

  Jason noticed that the group of players was growing bored with the wands and were about to leave. He glanced over at the two merchants trading sob stories and then hurried after the players.

  He followed the group the rest of the way to their destination without incident and soon found himself standing in front of a fenced-in training ground. Jason watched as dozens of players animatedly beat straw dummies to death with various types of wooden weapons.

  The training ground abutted the eastern wall of the city and was flanked by large stone buildings. Jason guessed that these must be some type of barracks for the local guardsman. He saw several heavily-armored men dressed in the same fashion as the guards from the starting courtyard coming and going from the longhouses. He also noticed a smaller building located near the center of the training ground. If this area was set up like his school, then this was likely an administrative office for the guards.

  As Jason looked around, he saw a man standing near several barrels full of wooden weapons and instruments. The group of players he had been following ran up to the man, grabbed weapons from the barrels, and then took off at a jog toward the dummies. Presumably, their goal was to start committing genocide against the dummy race as soon as possible.