by K. T. Hanna
Masha’s character seemed older now, like it had got used to its player and was worn in. His dark elf features softened, becoming more human in their age, but the bushy white eyebrows and hair gave away what he was. Not to mention the blue toned skin.
It was early hours in the real world, so the area wasn’t quite as crowded. Considering it spanned continents, there was always someone online, though she suspected that had something to do with the phasing technology and how it made the world appear. She pushed her way past the few people milling around the entrance to the outlook and sat down next to Masha.
“Does that have any taste?” she asked him.
He laughed. “No. It doesn’t really. At least nothing like a real cold one. Although I guess I’ll give it marks for authenticity. They didn’t have refrigeration in the period of time this village was modeled on.”
“You think they’d get an icemage to keep a barrel stocked.” Murmur laughed, but Masha eyed her critically.
“That’s a great idea. You’d think people would have implemented it. I wonder if there’s profit in cold beer to in-game characters?” He sighed and put the tankard down on the thick railing in front of them. “Probably not, though.”
The cleric turned to her, truly looking at her.
“You seem tired. You sure you’ve got time for this right now?”
Murmur nodded hesitantly. She just wanted to go to sleep. If they could do this fast, it’d be fine. “It’s not much, and you don’t have to say yes. I want you to think it over first.”
He nodded, crossing his arms and gave her his full attention.
“You’ve probably noticed there are some things in this world that are perhaps not working as intended?” Starting there felt like a good point, somewhere they could find common ground and agree upon.
“Like the reboot, and the occasional glitch. We had a huge glitch in the dungeon we finished last night. Wiped more than half the raid out and took us hours to get back to where we were. Why?” He seemed genuinely curious.
“Like the reboot, sometimes dungeons not doing what they were designed to do. Occasional NPCs popping up where they have no place to be. That sort of thing.” She was relieved he seemed to have some of the same experiences.
“Games are usually glitchy when they first launch. While it might seem like an age in here, it’s only been just over three weeks since it launched.” His eyes were kind; he was definitely older than she’d originally anticipated. Older and wiser. But he hadn’t experienced what she had. This would take some convincing.
“They are. And this has glitched, but some of them are more than just that.” She wracked her brain trying to figure out just how she was supposed to do this. How could she convince them to team up with her, when she couldn’t tell him everything?
He leaned forward, concern making him frown. “Murmur, are you okay? You seem like you want to say something but can’t get the words out. And no offense or anything, but I’ve never thought of you as the reticent type.”
Murmur actually laughed at that. He was right. She wasn’t one to mince words, so why was she being so hesitant right now?
“I just want you to consider what I’m saying. None of our guilds are close yet. We have to be forty-eight before we can even venture into one of the endgame dungeons. Though we might be getting close with our main groups, most of our guild is too far behind us to catch up in time to tackle those areas. I’m pretty certain we’ll need more than two group raids in those dungeons. If what I’ve gathered is right, it’s more like four to six.”
“You make valid points.” Masha nodded, watching her closely.
“I’m just saying. I know your two groups are also your forerunners, and you’re only behind us by what? A level or two now? And if we’re to have any hope of defeating one of those dungeons or all of those dungeons first, we need to get an army together. Of higher-level players. And go in together. Fable will have all the keys by the time we hit forty-eight. What we won’t have is a force capable of taking on the dungeons for at least several days. We have a group of just hit and early forties, and behind them a couple of high thirties groups, but I don’t think we can wait.”
She’d only run this past herself in her mind and wasn’t sure if her math was correct.
“Food for thought, then. But really, you’ll have enough people inside of a week. Can’t you just do more dungeons and gear up further? I mean, that’s in everyone’s benefit. Getting the right gear, making sure you’re as strong as you can be.” He watched her, probably waiting for some reaction from her to see if she got what he was saying.
Murmur knew, though. He wanted to know what the urgency was when Fable were almost guaranteed taking first shot at it all by themselves if they just waited and geared up more. And he was right, but Murmur was fairly certain the virus wasn’t going to wait that long. But she also didn’t know how much she could tell him without potentially getting her mother and Shayla in trouble. Or hell, even Storm Entertainment as a whole, when it wasn’t really the company’s fault.
“True. But I get the feeling that sooner would be better than later. Think about it at least?” She didn’t have any other way of convincing him. All she could do was hope that he took her seriously, and really considered it.
“I will. It’d be kind of cool to have an alliance anyway. I can bring it up with Ishwa.” Masha sighed. “Though you know, Jirald isn’t going to take this well.”
Murmur took a deep breath. “I know. I know that too well. But it’s for the good of the game and both guilds.”
“Are you going to tell me what you mean by for the good of the game?” Masha pushed the question, and she could see the genuine curiosity in his eyes.
“Not now. But if you do decide to join us, let me know. And I’ll tell you what I can.” She got the words out with a confidence that surprised her. Her eyes were closing, and she was dead tired. But she felt the meeting was okay. Hell, it could have gone far worse.
“Will do.” Masha nodded to her, picked up his beer and took a swig, and settled back to watching the hulking mass of Vahrir.
Murmur gated to the castle and logged out immediately, patting Snowy on his head just before she disappeared. She needed sleep, and she needed it now.
Storm Entertainment
Somnia Online Division
Game Development Offices Artificial Intelligence Server Room
End of Day Twenty-Two
Thra didn’t like spending any time in this area, not since Belius had ambushed Telvar. In here she didn’t have any protections against him, but out there, she had more weapons at her disposal than he could imagine. She paced, or what passed for it in their tiny space.
After sending Shayla a message, she’d made her way here. With any luck the developer would be here shortly. Any noise that sounded made her jump. She was hyperaware of presences. Finally, the door opened, and Thra could see through her control panel that Shayla was making her way in.
It took a lot of herself to do this, but Thra took a breath she didn’t need and stepped up so she could pass the information through to Shayla.
“Put the drive where you need it. Let me transfer this.” Thra wasn’t sure, but she thought her voice might have shaken when she spoke. Still she forged on, trying not to notice how fast time was passing.
The tiny device clicked into place and allowed Thra to transfer the coding as she pulled it out of the shard. Sure, it was more complex than that. She was technically unravelling a petrified piece of Michael’s brain matter, but she tried her best not to look at it that way. What she was doing was saving the rest of Somnia, even if it meant doing so might unravel one of her brothers.
Telvar was fighting every effect of the shards, but Belius was not. It made his danger more palpable because odds were, Bel wasn’t going to get out unscathed.
Still, that didn’t matter. He’d done what he
’d done knowingly and forced it on his brother as well. She wasn’t about to let him do the same to her.
Time still ticked slower than she thought it would, ever slower. Finally, it clicked, and she spoke, relief shadowing her voice. “Got it. Take the drive. Be careful with it. Encase it in some heavy protections, because it’s pretty potent.”
And that was it. She didn’t wait to see if Shayla had questions or agreed, or any of those. She had to get out of there before Sui noticed she was inside.
Summers Residence
Home of Laria, David, and Wren
End of Day Twenty-Two
Murmur pushed the headset off, feeling the electricity crackle through her as she did so. She was fairly certain it wasn’t supposed to do that. Her head felt lighter as soon as it was removed, and she sat up, stretching. Damned bladder. Why did she have to worry about that now?
Wren looked over at Harlow. Her friend was sleeping peacefully, her own headset clutched tightly in her delicate hands. She smiled at the sight. It was amazing to not have sunlight streaming through the same damned crack in the curtains that had plagued her the first nineteen days in-game. Maybe it had plagued her before that, but she couldn’t remember it. Everything before and after the beginning of summer felt so real she still found it difficult not to think they’d been lying.
No lies. All truth.
Somnia was there again, which made Wren frown, considering there hadn’t been any sense of her presence when Riasli had spoken earlier. Wren flexed her hands, wondering if she should try to cast right now. Was it necessary that she convince herself the first time hadn’t been some fluke? She knew the answer, but she wished someone else could have told her it. An idea occurred to her, and she focused on her left hand and cast her Rune Shield around it. If it worked the way she thought it should, then the water in the shower wouldn’t hit her hand, but instead it would be dry beneath its small cocoon.
The stream of water sent steam billowing into the air and the dampness it blew into her face was a welcome reality. And yet, when she clicked her fingers, they were dry beneath the shield she’d cast over it.
Shower complete, Wren grinned. Her mind ran with questions at all the possibilities. How had she managed to come out of the game with her skills intact and her brain capable of producing her abilities in the real world? It wasn’t what she’d expected at all. But then, for a while there she thought she’d never leave the game again.
All in all, she called this a win.
Sleep came easily as soon as her head touched the pillow. She’d never been able to fall asleep like that before, but her brain was tired. Her dreams were empty, like the void had been when the whole system crashed.
And when she woke up, Harlow was gone. The capsule remained where it had been throughout the whole time she’d been using it. Still and quiet now, not a whir or beep. Wren watched it, waiting for it to do something that would let her know this was all in her head.
Was it still? Could it be that she remained in her imprisonment but only thought she had escaped it because of some clever programming?
All she knew was that if she kept down that path, she was going to lose all her brain power with worry.
Walking out to the landing, she glanced at the time in the corner of her vision. She had about ten minutes before she needed to log in. Somehow those almost five hours sleep hadn’t been near enough. She took a deep breath and walked downstairs.
Harlow was sitting at the table, shoveling cereal of some sort into her mouth. She looked up to see Wren and her whole face lit up with happiness.
“I have to say, seeing you up and about is the best thing. I got so used to you pale and sallow in that little capsule. I’m just so glad you’re all right again.” The words tumbled out of her friend’s mouth, eagerness shining through. They shared such a bond, Wren could feel it. Literally.
Wordlessly she walked over and enveloped Harlow in a huge hug. “Thank you. For sticking with me.”
Harlow laughed at the comment. “Like you’re getting rid of me. You wish.”
True. Wren had no intention of doing any such thing. What she did want was an apple. A real to goodness apple. As she sunk her teeth into one and the juices exploded into her mouth, she almost choked on the bite as the front door burst open to reveal Laria.
Her mother ran in and yanked Harlow out of her chair. “Try this on. It should deepen your connection with Somnia while not putting you into a coma.”
Wren stayed her mother’s hand. “Mom. Are you like a hundred percent sure? Because if she goes into a coma, I don’t want to be the one to break it to her parents.”
Laria blanched. Like she hadn’t thought of that outcome at all. “We followed Thra’s specifications to the letter. You do it, then. We’ve already dealt with you in a coma once, I’m sure we could get you out again.”
“Why don’t you guinea pig yourself?” Wren almost snapped the words but managed to make them come out less snappy at the last moment. “I mean, you’ve got characters, and you know what you’re looking for, right?”
Laria hesitated. “I don’t have my own characters, and I’m not sure I know how the world feels normally enough to test this effectively. You’ve all been in it so much, you’ll know if we got it right.”
Wren reached out and took the headset from her mom. “Give me a sec.”
She sat down and enabled it, bringing up the screen for the game. Info entered, Wren frowned as she reached the character selection screen.
“Definitely different from mine. Not hugely, but subtle changes. I don’t think they’ll negate anything mine does.” And then she dived into the game. This rig felt differently, like it was cradling her head instead of guiding it. Wren didn’t like it at all. But the connection was still there.
You’re there, right?
Of course. Where else would I be?
Like, running the game or something. Anyway. I just wanted to check that it’ll work.
What’ll work?
Somnia sounded curious.
This tweak we’re doing. This will allow more people to have access to you and to help get rid of the damned virus.
Excellent. Thank you.
Only Wren wasn’t entirely sure about that. The virus had been with Emilarth. It wasn’t even long ago that she’d given them to her. Surely it had been the right thing to do. I’m logging out now. Need to get back to my headset.
She needed to talk to her mother and ask her about the virus and what they’d done with it. If she’d even managed to get it from the AI yet.
Wren removed the headset and smiled up at Laria. “Works. I can talk to her and everything.”
Her mother’s face lit up, and for a second, Wren didn’t know what to say.
“Well, you know, my brain is used to it, so I’m like, not dead. I think Harlow should try it with baby steps.” Maybe she should have just left it alone. Her mother’s sigh was filled with regret.
“Did it feel any different?” Laria asked as she removed it gently and handed it to Harlow.
Wren shook her head. “Not really. At least…” Wait. Could she talk to Somnia while out of game without a headset.
She directed her thoughts as subtly as she could. Are you there?
In a way. You are more distant in this manner, but still there.
The words were more like intentions, like actions that said what they meant. Definitely different from wearing the headgear. But she could still contact the world. No connection to the game, no connection to a headset at all. Just her brain and the world left alone in a void.
It raised more questions than she’d ever wanted to ask.
Back in the game, feeling less refreshed than she wanted to, Murmur fine-tuned her focus. If she got it just right, she should be able to access the thoughts of NPCs, which were NPCs, but really sort of weren’t, given the way the game’s
AI was evolving anyway.
Everything was more complex than she’d ever thought possible. Maybe she could skip school and just unravel the wonders of AI development.
There was no interjection from Somnia at the thought, but then, Mur got the feeling the system wasn’t constantly listening in on her. Which was good because of the creepy factor.
Sinister flickered into being next to her. At least it appeared like that to Murmur. Like a sort of flash into existence where there originally had been nothing. She frowned. Something about her friend’s visage was defter. Like more present in the world. Solid within it.
“Okay. I feel weird.” Sinister held up her slender hands, wiggling the fingers as she studied them. “Is it just me, or am I sort of…more here?”
Mur nodded. “Not just you. Everything about you is more vibrant.” She smiled at Sinister, loving the way her friend twirled to test out this new solidity.
Sinister grinned as she stopped, and her robes fell back into place. She stepped toward Mur and gave her a huge, tight, hug. “Vibrant. I like being called vibrant.”
Murmur couldn’t help the blush that rose, glad that her silvery cheeks mostly hid it. Virtual or real life without Sinister wasn’t worth it. Luckily, she was fairly certain she was stuck with her best friend for life.
“You two are sickening.” Rashlyn materialized, tapping her foot. But the impatience was a facade that she couldn’t keep up for long. “Group hug!”
They hugged and they jumped up and down, laughing. Stupid little things, fun little things, forgetting for just a moment that the virtual world was beginning to crumble all around them.
“Anyway!” Veranol cleared his throat. “Did you talk to Masha?”
Mur stopped celebrating nothing and turned her attention to the shaman. “I talked to him, and he will think about it. I’m not sure it’s our best step, but it seems like a logical one. I’m not sure the game can wait for two or more of the groups we have to catch up to us.”
“We’re not forty-eight yet. I mean, that’s another three levels away.” Havoc twined his fingers intricately and cast Leeroy into existence. It reminded Mur of Snowy, and she glanced around to find him trotting out of the castle toward her, his tongue lolling out of his mouth in what appeared to be a doggy grin.