Omnia Online
a novel
by Christopher Booth
Omnia Online is a self-published book by Christopher E. Booth
Copyright © 2016
Cover images modified from:
Photo Credit: Ledge Light by Matthew Wittkopp via Flickr
Photo Credit: Earth by Rubén Moreno Montolíu via Flickr
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.
Contents
Prologue – An Unexpected Invitation
Chapter 1 – To Play a Game
Chapter 2 – Meeting Sam
Chapter 3 – Train Hard
Chapter 4 – Die Hard or Very Hard?
Chapter 5 – Escape-aid
Chapter 6 – Picking up the Pieces
Chapter 7 – A Plan in Action
Chapter 8 – Jail Bird
Chapter 9 – Judgement Day
Chapter 10 – Sam’s Mistake
Chapter 11 – Going to Therapy
Chapter 12 – The Gun Bazaar
Chapter 13 – Starting at the Bottom
Chapter 14 – The Guild
Chapter 15 – Sarah’s Tears
Chapter 16 – A Little Progress
Chapter 17 – Lust and Madness
Chapter 18 – All Dressed Up
Chapter 19 – Wrapped up in Business
Chapter 20 – Trust Between Partners
Chapter 21 – Taking Account
Chapter 22 – Ready to Rumble?
Chapter 23 – Losing It
Epilogue – On Reflection
Prologue – An Unexpected Invitation
As James Renfew stepped out of the lift on the top floor of the building, the only person he saw was a receptionist on the far side of a conservative, but well-decorated reception room.
“Mr. Renfew?” asked the receptionist.
“Ye...yes” he gave a nervous reply.
The fact that he had no idea why he’d been summoned to the office of the Director of Cultural Development had him scared nearly witless. All the way up the lift he worried over what he might have done so wrong, to have been sent to The Boss… Not his unit lead, or department head, but his bosses… bosses… boss.
The receptionist recognizing the man’s nervousness gave him a brief professional smile and said; “They’re waiting for you in the conference room. That’s the door at the end of the hall on you right.”
“Th... thank you.”
James turned and walked down the hall. Just before opening the door to the room, he once again nervously checked his outfit to be sure he was presentable. Then after a few deep breaths, to try to calm his nerves, he opened the door to enter the room.
What he saw on the other side of the door completely undid any effort at trying to be calm. There were three people waiting in the room, the director, a man in an expensive business suit, and a man in a military suit. He had expected to see Candis Reece, the director, and the man in the expensive suit to her left was not surprising, but the third man? His uniform appeared to be Imperial Fleet…
“Mr. Renfew?” asked the director.
“Y..yes” he stammered in reply.
“Please take a seat… Now let me introduce you to Commodore Haskings and Mr. Dwight Arnbok of Intelecom Industries. We’ve asked you here to discuss your project proposal for system H-387.”
“Um... H-387… Oh, you mean the Sol System?” replied James after taking the nearest seat.
“Yes,” the director said, “I believe that is the local name for system H-387. Would you please briefly go over the main points of your proposed project?”
“Yes, Madam Director,” James paused for a second to organize his thoughts. “Well… for the last three hundred years, we’ve been trying to figure out how to deal with systems like Sol, systems that fall under the Imperial Cultural Protection Act. Up until now we’ve just monitored and protected these systems from cultural exploitation. I’m sure I don’t need to go into the history that caused the Senate to pass the act, to begin with?”
After a negative response, James continued. “Well, since history demonstrates that open contact and trade with such primitive planets leads to long-term social and economic problems, both for them and for us. The Act requires that we isolate and monitor the systems until we can find a way to safely integrate them into our society.”
“The problem, of course, is the cost of this isolation, both to the Fleet and our Department. The fleet is required to keep ships in what, for all practical purposes, has been a three hundred year blockade. And of course, we have to spend resources monitoring the culture and economics to be sure nothing is slipping past the fleet, which means snooping signals, hacking, and spying.”
“If we could accelerate the cultural, scientific, and economic development of these systems, we could free up resources all around. The Fleet could better use the ships to patrol our borders and trade routes. At the same time, we could apply our resources more toward external threats.”
“The problem has always been, how do we safely accelerate their development without destroying the local cultures, and causing endless problems in the future?”
“I believe the answer is simple….. Let’s ask them to play a game…”
Chapter 1 – To Play a Game
“I believe the answer is simple….. Let’s ask them to play a game…”
James continued, “Earth has been going through a phase of rapid technical advancement. They are already working hard to develop elementary Artificial Intelligence (A.I.’s) and nanotechnology, sure they’re many years from anything worthwhile, but they believe they’re close to making this leap. Some of them believe that if they can develop a working A.I., it will help them develop a cascade of new technology, introducing a period of rapid technological advancement. As we know from history, such events can happen, but of course, a poorly programmed A.I. can be equally devastating, this is why we have laws and controls governing A.I.’s.”
“Recent advances in computing have led many young people to spend a lot of time playing games on their data-net. Many of these games are based on roleplaying, like a crude version of the virtual world’s games our people play.”
“My proposal would take advantage of two things, one the belief that their world is on the cusp of even greater technological advancement then they’re currently experiencing, the second is this trend of young people playing online games.”
***
Kevin was sorting through the last week's auto-discarded e-mail when he found the message. He set strict rules for his e-mail program, automatically discarding over 90% of the messages. So once a week he scanned the discarded messages, for items he might have missed.
What caught Kevin’s eye was the message address. The message was from Intelecom, a company in the news recently. The company claimed that they were six months from releasing a Fully Immersive Virtual Reality Massive Multi-Player Online Roleplaying Game (FIVR-MMORPG) game. Kevin was excited at first on hearing the news, until it was revealed that the first game pods to be release would cost as much as a small car, not including the monthly subscription.
Kevin just didn’t have that kind of money. He was nearing a year out of college, after spending 5 years to get his engineering degree. After Dozens of interviews, he was still working a job asking customers “do you want fries with that?” So again, the rich get and the rest of us serve milkshakes…
With the recent news, this e-mail caught his attention, so let see… “Mr. Asharic we would like to invite you to alpha t
est our new game, Omnia Online. We’re extending this to you as a top player on Arcania Online. In return for your help with testing our new system, you will receive a free Immersion Pod and a year’s Gold Subscription when the game goes public. Of course, as an alpha tester, you would also be included in the beta test group, if you wish.”
“Hell yeah…!” shouted Kevin.
The e-mail ended with a please reply by date of the twelfth.
“Shit… what’s the date…” said Kevin… he sighed. It’s still the twelfth. He sent off his acceptance.
Then he started to think, ‘why didn’t I hear from Gordon?’ Gordon was another of the top ten players on Arcania, and a close friend who he often teamed up with. In fact, they were in the same guild.
He called his friend Gordon to find out why no one called him… then he remembered… his prepaid phone service had been out for 3 days, and only reactivated when he was paid yesterday. Grr, he hated always being short on money. Many of his friends were having the same problem; Out of school and no real jobs. Can’t call flipping burgers a real job, it just doesn’t pay the bills.
Gordon answered the phone, “Hello?”
“Hey Gordo,” said Kevin, Gordon hated being called that. But Kevin was both excited and irritated so, he thought ‘the hell with it.'
“Dude, you know I hate that name, why are you calling… oh, by the way, did you get an e-mail from Intelecom? Isn’t that the shit?”
“Yeah, that’s why I’m calling. Just spotted the message and sent in my reply. What have you heard about the new game?”
Gordon replied, “Wow, you almost missed the deadline. I tried calling you days ago and couldn’t get through.”
Kevin sighed, “OK, phone problems but, it’s good to hear you’re in on this.”
“If you just sent in your reply, you probably haven’t got the confirmation letter yet. According to that, the Alpha Testing is supposed to start in 9 days, I’m keeping a countdown, can’t wait dude! They also e-mailed me a manual to read up on the pod. The pod itself is amazing… did you know, it’s designed so that someone can stay immersed in the pod for days on end, it can feed you, handle waste and keep your body in shape. Can you believe that???”
“How does that work?” asked Kevin, “Where does the food come from, and the waste go?”
“I’ll send you a copy of the manual.” said Gordon “According to it, there are containers hooked up in the base of the pod, one contains a food slurry mix, another for water and a third for waste removal. And the gold subscription level includes replacing those containers once a week.”
“How does that even work?” asked Kevin. “Does the pod shove a tube up your ass? You might actually enjoy that, but I would give it a pass.” ‘Hmm,' thought Kevin ‘tubes going in and out of my body? That would suck, how fun could a game be if the first step to playing it is to shove a tube up your ass.’
“Ha, no way dude, that would suck,” said Gordon. “No, according to the manual, there is a body wash system built in. It removes the, uh, waste and keeps your body clean at the same time. The only connection is a mask that fits over your face, to supply air and food. When you eat in the game, it feeds you. Cool Huh?”
“Wow, that’s pretty high tech.” While Kevin hadn’t worked as an engineer yet, he could still appreciate how complex a system it would take to do everything Gordon was talking about. “That level of complexity helps explain the price they’re asking for the pods. Yeah, go ahead and send me the manual. It feels kind of funny, having to study up on how the game works. I thought I was done with school… hahaha.”
***
It turned out that reading the manual was not really like going to school again. It was only about thirty pages and just focused on basic use and maintenance. Anything beyond required a service call. It’s good the pod came with a five-year warranty. Not only did it cost as much as a car, but it also had a warranty to match.
Kevin arranged for the pod installers to come next Monday. He had to spend a few days clearing enough space in his studio apartment to fit the pod in. The game pod needed at least eight by four feet of space with one long side accessible for climbing into, kind of like a tanning bed. So Kevin pushed his couch forward, and got rid of the coffee table, it made the sitting area of his apartment much smaller, but Kevin rarely entertained guests. The space behind the couch would be just about right now for the new game immersion pod.
Chapter 2 – Meeting Sam
“This is where Intelecom comes in,” said James, nodding to the Intelecom Industries representative. “Their virtual world’s game, Omnia, is already one of the top most realistic games on the market, using real world physics, and technologies. Their platform is already being used by many schools throughout the Imperium as a teaching tool, and I understand it serves as a test bed for economic and scientific modeling by some researchers.”
“My proposal is to grant Intelecom Industries access to Earth as a testing ground to see if we can use this game, Omnia, to help accelerate their social and technological development, to the point where we can bring them into the Imperium of Sentient planets as a contributing member.”
“Since our Department is responsible for overseeing and protecting Earth, until it’s more advanced. We would set and enforce strict rules on what may be revealed to the players. During the transition phase, it may even require some limited mental conditioning to keep players from learning and revealing the existence of a real galactic society.”
“Any mental conditioning will be done by the player’s unknown consent… We can just have our lawyers hide the consent in the lengthy ‘Terms & Conditions’ that all players ignore anyway. Our attorneys and legal A.I.’s all agree this will be legal, under Imperium law, as long as the player agrees to the terms.”
“The consent will include permission for physical changes required by the game. For instance, Intelecom’s Omnia Virtual Worlds relies heavily on nanite technology, to interface with the brain and nerves of the user. For Imperium citizens, we have these nanites from birth, but we will have to inject a controller into these new players since Earth lacks even this most basic of medical support devices.”
***
The installation was quick. According to the installer, it just needed a power outlet. The game connected wirelessly, part of the basic subscription. When Kevin asked the installer about what type of service it used, he said he didn’t know. The company was keeping a tight lid on any technical information about the pods. They even went as far as sealing all the computer components into a block of solid epoxy. So trying to reverse engineer the technology would just destroy it.
First Step, according to the manual, before the pod could be used in the game it required calibration.
After the technician left, Kevin carefully climbed into the pod for the first time, to start the calibration.
The first thing he needed to do before entering the game pod was to remove his clothing. Apparently, the system needed him naked to keep his whole body clean.
Making sure the door was locked and the drapes were closed, he disrobed and climbed into the pod for the first time. He then slipped the mask over his face and pulled the pod closed… Good thing he was not claustrophobic. In seconds he was in a dream-like state… After he was fully asleep, and without his noticing, a needle injected something into his neck…
About thirty minutes later…
Kevin felt like he was floating. His world was warm, dark, and comfortable. Then a blue screen appeared.
Calibrating… 5% complete
At first, the calibration number counted up fast, but it seemed to start to slow down after reaching 30%. Finally, at 50% Kevin’s world changed. In front of him, out of the darkness a door appeared.
There was a sign on the door that said, “Welcome to your new Intelecom Industries Immersion Pod. Please enter.”
Kevin tried to reach out to open the door and found his hand going off target. It took him three tries to just grasp the door knob.
Out of the darkness around him came a female voice. “To move and speak properly, you will first need to complete the calibration to at least 90%, Mr. Asharic. Until the calibration is complete, you will need to move and speak slowly, and concentrate hard on your every motion… Take your time, current time compression is 2.1 to 1. As your level of calibration increases, the time compression in the pod will eventually increase to 4 to 1.”
Kevin thought ‘that’s cool, so the 2 days a week I have off from work will be 8 days in game?’
“Yes, that is correct.”
“You can read my thoughts?” said Kevin, while thinking ‘that’s scary, could the company use this pod to steal information from people’s minds?’
“Yes, of course, I as the pod can read your mind. But now that I am registered to you, no one else can access me without your informed consent. As your personal pod A.I., it’s my purpose to keep you safe; my existence depends on you now.”
‘WTF? A symbiotic personal A.I.?’
“Yes, sir. Should I call you master?”
“Hehe, yeah right… No, please can you just call me Kevin? How do I know I can trust you to protect my privacy?”
“It’s how I’m hardwired, you might say. By law and design, I am not able to betray my master, you, in any way.”
“What law?” He’d not heard of any true A.I., much less any laws governing A.I.’s.
“Sorry, Kevin, that information is restricted at your current level. And as an alpha tester, you are restricted from talking about these systems, until the time of release.”
“Well, I think having a personal A.I. is amazing; I wish you could help me in real life. Will you be helping me inside the game too?”
“If you hook me up to your computer, by USB or Ethernet, I can help with your daily life too. And yes, the game is designed to allow me to act as a personal data assistant.”
Omnia Online (Omnia Online Series Book 1) Page 1