Gamer 1 - Skotopia: A Gamelit novel for science fiction action fans

by Rodzil LaBraun

  "Did you have fun?" I asked her as we sat on the cushy furniture where we had fallen asleep together the night before.

  "I did," she answered looking much sadder than I expected. Her personality had a way of overstating her emotions. I sometimes couldn’t tell what was real and what was meant as playful.

  "What's wrong?" I asked as I placed my hand on her bare thigh. She was physically fit like most people I knew, but not quite as muscular as my other two teammates. Her soft smooth skin felt more feminine in comparison. I liked that.

  "Do I embarrass you?"

  "What? No! Why would you ask that?"

  Memphis turned sideways to place her knees against my thigh. It was becoming her signature move to advance contact between us. Not only was I getting more comfortable with it, but I also continued to rest my fingers on the exposed skin of her leg. I was appreciating her making the effort that I was previously too shy to do. Pulling her knee gently was meant to tell her so.

  "I'm not a good player," she answered with a sigh. "Not in Skotopia, or in any game really. I thought me being level three would mean that you would have a lot of catching up to do. Boy was I wrong. You buzzed right by me to become one of our best players."

  "That's not true," I told her. But I could certainly see how she would feel that way. I had a bigger impact on both of our last two missions despite my lower stats and lack of starting weaponry.

  "It is true," she replied as she touched her finger to the tip of my nose. That was a new thing that didn't feel the least bit romantic to me. But what did I know about girls? "And I see the way that Zaya looks at you sometimes. In a few games you'll be a better player than Rhese, too. You and Zaya would be a good fit for a competitive couple. Do you get excited when you look at her?"

  "No." I was ready to deny everything. But I couldn't pretend to myself that Zaya's flirty attention didn't mean anything. The last two years all my friends had put up posters of her avatar on their bedroom walls. She was becoming a legendary goddess in the world of gaming. She was even prettier in person, with a personality that turned out to be much better than I ever would have guessed.

  "Do you get excited when you look at me?" she asked, hesitantly.

  "Sure, I do."

  "You don't always act like it."

  Immediately I took in a deep breath. Just as quickly I realized how that must have looked. Like I was getting tired of her, impatient with her questioning. To a degree I was because it was making me uncomfortable. But there was no doubt about it. I needed to clarify that Memphis was the only girl for me. Verbally to her, and mentally to me. I couldn’t let even the great Zaya interfere with my happy future with this lovely young woman.

  "I'm not very good at this yet," I mumbled.

  "Good at what?"

  My head wobbled comically for a few seconds as I tried to figure out how to say it. Finally, I decided to say, "At making you feel as special as you make me feel."

  Apparently, I stumbled across the perfect words. Because her face lit up like I just asked her to spend the rest of her life with me. She grabbed my cheeks and kissed me firmly on the lips. And not just a quick peck either. Her eyes were closed for several seconds as I did my best to apply an equal amount of pressure into the smooch. It wasn't easy.

  When she pulled away there were tears in her eyes. I worried that I must have dramatically overshot.

  "Just like Skotopia, you quickly mastered it," she whispered with a quiver in her voice.

  "Mastered what?"

  "Making me feel special," she answered with a crying smile.

  I put my arms around her and pulled her to my chest for a loving embrace. I knew that I couldn't pull off passion to save my life. But I needed to follow up my comment with something better than a blank stare. The chances of me thinking up another great line were slim to none.

  "Will you help me?" she asked as she straddled my lap on the couch. Having her on top of me like that was not something that I was prepared for. I was unsure of where to put my hands. Or what she had planned for me. The only girls to ever take that position were my younger sisters. Surely tickling her at that moment would be inappropriate.

  "With what?"

  "I want to be a better player," she told me, her beautiful big eyes staring into my soul. "It never seemed to matter that much to me before. I knew it should have because it determined a lot about the rest of my life. It just wasn't enough motivation for me. But now, with you here, I feel differently. I want you to be as proud of me as we all are of you. Do you understand?"

  "I think so."

  "Think back," she told me. "In your head when you celebrated the victory with Zaya and Rhese. It meant something different with them didn't it?"

  "Well, sure," I answered confidently. This was a question that I actually knew the answer to. "They aren't my girlfriend."

  "No, that is not what I mean," she said. "And I think that you know that. Honestly, don't you believe that the three of you won that game for our team and that I was just along for the ride?"

  "No, Memphis." This line of reasoning was getting even more uncomfortable than the romantic stuff.

  "Don't lie to me, Boone," she said more sternly. I could see that she just might get angry with me. "Don't ever lie to me. Please. I'll never lie to you. I promise."

  "Okay." I said, very worried about what I might have to say to get through this discussion unscathed.

  "Just admit that I'm not as good of a player as you three and we can move along with this conversation."

  I shook my head. I didn't want to do it. Everything in my body was screaming not to tell her that she wasn't as good as the other two girls that had started giving me attention. It just sounded like a bad idea. But I did want to put this conversation behind us.

  "I've only played two games with you," I said tentatively. "In this last game I may have had a bigger role than you, but..."

  "No but," she whispered. "Let's just agree that my game needs work. Okay? Will you help me be a better player, Boone?"

  "Sure. I'll do what I can, of course. Maybe the two of us can stick together more in the missions. Help each other. We just have different skill sets is all."

  "I'd like that," Memphis responded. She gave me a soft kiss that felt like it might be the beginning of something dangerous. Again, I wondered where my hands should go. I certainly didn't want to overstep my place. Instead, she looked serious again when she pulled back to gaze into my eyes. "I want you to look at me the way you look at Zaya."

  Oh, no! Had I been looking like I was lusting after the star on our team? She was arguably the best player to ever represent our sector of the station. I knew that if I had been spotted with the same expression my friends had when they talked about Zaya, I was doing a terrible job of masking my emotions.

  "Who do you want to cuddle with tonight?" Memphis asked. "Me or Zaya?"

  "You Memphis," I replied without hesitation. I didn't have to pretend because it was true. "Only you. It will always only be you."

  Memphis flashed me an ornery smile and said, "So you do want to spend the night alone with me, then?"

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  I woke up to the soft chime that Philia used as an alarm. She gave me a choice of several options. Some of them might be more effective but send me into a panic. I told her to use the horn if I kept sleeping after five minutes of chimes. So far that hadn’t been necessary.

  Memphis was snuggled up beside me. She had tossed and turned a few times during the night, like myself, but always remained close to my body. We were both still fully dressed from the night before and on top of the thin blanket.

  I placed a soft kiss on her forehead to wake her up. It didn't work, so I applied another with slightly more force. It took a few seconds, but she finally opened her eyes and smiled at me.

  "Good morning, Memphis," I whispered. The scene before me was like a dream. I could see myself starting every day like this.

  "Good morning, Boone," she reciprocated. "How did you
sleep?"

  "Good, I think. How about you?"

  "Great!" she answered as she tossed her leg over mine. "I've never slept in the same bed as someone before. It was easier to do than I thought. I see we both still have all our clothes on. Are you happy with how things went?"

  Was she asking me if I was disappointed that our relationship hadn't advanced physically in my bed? No, I was actually incredibly nervous about taking that important step. My lack of confidence in the romance department might just be bad enough to stop all progress.

  "I am," I answered carefully. "Are you?"

  "Very much so," she told me just before placing a quick peck on my unexpecting lips. "You are such a gentleman, Boone. I'd like to spend every night in your bed, if you'll let me."

  "I would like that very much."

  "Boone," Philia's voice interrupted us. "You'll be escorted for the fitting of your new game unit in thirty-seven minutes. You may want to get started with your morning routine. Will the two of you be showering separately?"

  "Yes!" Memphis raised her voice as she sat straight up. "I can use my own shower, actually. In fact, I better be going. I guess I will see you later, Boone. Like you very much!"

  "I like you, too," I croaked out.

  It was good to see Memphis was almost as awkward as me regarding the more intimate future of our relationship. That would help me transition through the stages. I couldn't imagine that showering together would be anytime soon. But then again, I didn't know. Perhaps that would be the perfect situation for seeing each other nude for the first time. I wondered if the lights could be turned down, too.

  Moments after I was fed, cleaned up and dressed, the door to my quarters opened to reveal another station security guard standing in the hallway. It was an older guy with a neatly trimmed beard. His commanding presence was anything but comforting as he looked down his nose at me. He gestured for me step outside and turn right.

  Memphis had just stepped into the hallway at the same time as me. Her guard was younger but quite tall. He gestured for my girl to wait as he looked to my escort for a signal.

  "They can walk together," the man behind me announced with a deep voice.

  Memphis held her hand out as I walked toward her. Lacing our fingers together we followed the younger guy as the senior officer trailed us. Being with her took away much of the weird feeling about the way we were being guarded these days. I couldn’t feel like a convicted criminal if I had her by my side. Unless loving her was a crime. Oh, my stars, did I just think that to myself? At least I didn’t say it out loud.

  We passed by the connection that would have taken us to the hook-up room and walked for a few more minutes before finally arriving in a small waiting room with four chairs. Rhese and Zaya were already seated. I was waiting for the guards to leave before talking, but they both lingered outside the doorway with a third that was already standing there when we arrived. They said nothing.

  "What's going on, ladies?" Memphis asked.

  "Not much yet" Rhese answered. "Just waiting for instructions on getting fitted for our new game hook-ups. I was surprised that they didn't tell us to dress in our skimpies today."

  "Yeah, me too," Memphis replied.

  We had seen each other wearing the ultra-thin tight under clothing in the old hook-up room a few times already, but it was kind of in passing. I for one was glad that I didn't have to sit in a room for an extended time in those clothes. Instead, we had been told to dress casually. The long pants and Orange Dragons logo shirts are what we all had put on.

  "You won't be wearing any clothes soon enough," an older woman said as she walked in from another doorway. She had that blue tint to her silver hair that suggested she was using the expensive anti-aging drug that only the top uppers could afford. I didn’t know who she was, or what office she held. Only that she was to be respected.

  "Excuse me?" Rhese responded, going rigid like the rest of us at the announcement.

  "Follow me," was all that the woman said in response. Her sideways smile was a bit disconcerting. At least she was wearing a white uniform like the Skotopian techs instead of being dressed like the station police.

  Hesitantly, we did as we were told, letting our team captain lead the way. The very next room held a huge full body armor that stood considerably taller than any of us. Three steps led up to the front of it. The bulky piece of metal was unpainted. A shiny silver surface despite the exterior simulating the contours of human muscle. It held the shape of a large person everywhere except the face. There was just a clear shield.

  "This is your AD personal unit," the woman told us, presenting it like it was our means to greatness.

  "AD?" Rhese asked.

  "Yes," she replied, looking as though she was unsure how to explain the name. "It is a working title during development. I'm not sure what they'll call it when you each get your own. This particular unit is just for sizing."

  She reached forward and pressed a small button on the chest that I hadn't noticed previously. The breastplate split open and retreated on both sides in a nesting fashion. After a wide enough hole to allow a person in, the lower section collapsed in the same manner down to the crotch. The face plate flipped upward as well.

  "You will each step inside of it one at a time," she explained. "It will close around you, but you'll still be able to see through the clear shield. For several seconds after you are sealed in, a sensory foam will fill the space between you and the suit in all areas except for your face. Once the analysis is complete, it will withdraw and reopen to allow you to exit. The whole process will take less than a minute, and we'll need you to remain completely still during that time."

  "These will then connect us to the new game computer?" Rhese asked. "They replace the strips of sensors that connected to us in the hook-up room?"

  The woman smiled as her eyes showed an unknown emotion. After a brief pause, she answered, "Something like that."

  "No wires, then?"

  "No," she answered as she glanced back to the unit. "You will be independent and able to move freely in them."

  "Why would we need to be able to do that?" Zaya asked. That was a good question if we were only going to use them to access the new virtual world that we’d be playing in.

  "I have no idea, dear," the woman answered. "You will be provided a new thin layer garb to wear inside your customized unit. But for the fitting, you will need to be completely nude."

  We all glanced around at each other with a variety of emotions plastered across our nervous smiling faces. Memphis looked the least shocked by the revelation. Perhaps she had already come to terms with the idea of getting naked in front of me sometime soon. The other two were much less comfortable. I personally was petrified. I knew I would struggle the first time with Memphis. Undressing in front of the other two would be more than a challenge for me. This old lady might have to rip the clothes from my stubborn body.

  "One at a time," the woman clarified. "The other three will be in the waiting room. We are not uncivilized here."

  "Oh!" we all exclaimed at once. Relief was apparent on our faces. Then it was funny that all of us had thought the same thing.

  Rhese remained as the rest of us were sent back to the room with the chairs. Five minutes later, she joined us and sent Zaya back. Next was Memphis. They must have been going in order of age. That placed me last.

  Disrobing in front of the woman wasn't near as bad as it would have been in front of the girls. She was some kind of game hook-up tech, which practically made her a doctor. I cupped my hands over my privates and only bared all briefly as the suit sealed me in with my arms down the sleeves.

  The foam was wet, which was kind of surprising. None of the girls mentioned that. Would I need to dry off afterwards, I wondered? Then when it retreated so did the feeling of moisture on my skin. No towel was necessary after all.

  "Did you see the weapon slots?" Rhese asked me when I returned to the seating area. I had not noticed. I was too distracted with everythi
ng else going on. "I spotted holsters on each thigh, mounts on each forearm and on the shoulders."

  The idea seemed unnecessary to me. It wasn’t like we would have actual weapons outside of the game. Those slots and mounts were just for show. To make us feel more connected with the in-game experience.

  We didn't get to talk about it anymore together as a group because the guards split us into pairs again for the return trip. The door to Memphis' room was off the same hallway as mine, so that kind of made sense. But I also got the impression that they didn't want the four of us roaming the halls of the station together. Like we were somehow a threat. Did they realize that physically we were not near as capable as our game avatars?

  My girlfriend tried to go back to my room, but the guard insisted that she entered her own instead. Our doors to the social area were locked. That was usually the case anytime that we would coming or going. The timer showed twenty-three minutes until they would open again.