Kill Code

by Justin Sloan

  This was like the old systems of proxy wars, only instead of a hired army or forced conscription, it was a simulation.

  Images of different regions of the world flashed up as he spoke about them, their massive defense systems and space elevators. Tall buildings and metallic structures that rose into the clouds, surrounded by bright lights, trains, and more. It was all meant to impress upon the viewers how much our world had evolved and why a simulated war was the only possibility. For me, at least, it was working.

  “So, ladies and gentlemen,” the general said, returning to the screen, “be sure to tune in. Our first fully televised war will be kicking off at midnight, and the entire world will be watching. Join us to root for your country, for your victory, and for our future.”

  The image flashed to a new logo—The Shadow Wars.

  “Holy shit,” I said, blinking, wondering if I could have somehow imagined the whole thing. “They’re televising it?”

  “It’s going to be the biggest event in TV history,” the driver said, grinning. I just nodded, then turned to stare out the window at the San Francisco skyline—one of the cities that had flashed upon the screen moments ago. Now I was going south to leave it all behind. I hoped it wouldn’t be for too long, as I’d grown to love this place.

  When I finally arrived at the hyperloop and found my seat, I leaned back and closed my eyes, knowing I’d need whatever rest I could get if I was supposed to be working that very night. That’s when it hit me—the excitement of the whole situation.

  I was going to be in on the ground floor of the world’s first simulated war, and I couldn’t wait to see what the hell that meant.

  2

  Another driver had picked me up at the hyperloop station in Carlsbad and quickly driven me onto base. Where there had once been the intel building I used to work in, there now stood a much larger, much more secure building. It was wider in all directions, with a dome shape on top, surrounded by anti-aircraft missiles and equipped with turrets. Marine Corps guards eyed me as I exited the floating car and looked the place over, amazed at what it had become.

  “Is all this necessary?” I asked the driver.

  “In case they somehow penetrate our defenses, get a sneak attack in. Do anything.”

  I frowned, still not convinced. With the world-wide defense network in place and everything I knew about modern weapons systems, there wasn’t a chance in hell anyone would get in here without approval. Yet someone had deemed this important enough to warrant the extra security.

  He led me in, first through the outer door with a scan of his hand, then through the inner door with facial recognition and a retina scan. These guys were seriously not messing around.

  “There he is!” Colonel Relic said, stopping in the hallway to turn and see us entering. He was a large man, and I could imagine each step rumbling through the ground. When he took me by the hand and shook, it was like being gripped by a bear. “Took your time getting here.”

  “Came as fast as I could, sir.”

  “Of course you did.” He turned to the team he’d been walking with and waved them on before returning his attention to me and dismissing the driver. “Tell me, Major, how’ve you enjoyed working on games?”

  “A dream come true,” I replied, relieved when he finally released my hand.

  “Good to hear, good to hear. Then you’ll be glad to be involved in what we have here. You’ve seen the announcement?”

  “On the news?” I nodded. “Sure, and I gotta say—”

  “Impressive?” He grinned. “I know. Honestly, this has us all on the edge of our seats. You know that First Recon had over three hundred estimated KIAs when they went to Helmand, and didn’t lose a single Marine?”

  “First Recon’s involved, then?” I asked.

  “Oh, you haven’t been fully briefed. Right.” He clapped me on the shoulder and gestured me toward a conference room—one of the many new additions to the building. “For now, I’ll just say that, yes, on our side it will be exclusively one hundred of First Recon’s best in there, plus you.”

  I laughed. “Plus little ol’ me, former Marine turned chubby-bellied video game designer.”

  “Semper Fi—once a Marine, always a Marine,” Relic said. “We need your expertise, for lessons learned and in case anything goes wrong.”

  “The world’s first fully simulated war,” I said with a raised eyebrow. “What could go wrong?”

  “Nothing,” a female voice said, and I turned to see an African-American woman with a shaved head—though not as close as mine—mad-dogging me. Part of me wanted to make a joke about that look, but mostly I wanted to figure out how to get it to stop.

  “I trust you’re dealing with security here, Captain…?” I glanced down briefly, always annoyed that the military had chosen to put nametags at chest level. Not that it bothered me in itself or that I kept going south and used it as an excuse, but because of the looks so many women gave me when all I wanted to do was check their name. “Captain Wingate.”

  She nodded. “And as I was about to explain as part of your briefing, the system is fully protected and foolproof.”

  “I trust you on that,” I said.

  Eyeing me, she pulled up a holoscreen and swiped so that it projected on the far wall.

  “I’ll excuse you for this part,” Relic said, and exited.

  The captain spared another look of distaste for me, then swiped the screen again to pull up a map.

  “Hold on,” I said, before she could start her brief. “Is there something going on here? If I offended you—”

  “It’s not that, sir,” she said. “Though you doubting my team isn’t a good place to start. No, if I hold any sort of grudge for you, it’s because I fail to see how anyone who gave up on the Corps could come waltzing back here, looking like you do,” her eyes went to my belly, “and be held in such high esteem.”

  “This is always how you speak to a superior officer?”

  She raised an eyebrow. “You’re not in uniform and, judging by how fast they got you back, you’ve not even done any paperwork yet, I’m assuming.”

  “How about we just keep going with the brief?” I said, not wanting to lose my cool any more than I already had.

  “Works for me.” Turning back to the map on the screen, she said that we would be starting in the lower left, the enemy in the upper right. That would be our spawn point, but there would be no respawns. The way to win was simply to eradicate the other side. Not a single fighter remaining.

  As she went on about rules, I cocked my head at the map, recognizing it from both Game of Shadows and, in a warped way, the original game I’d pretty much ripped it off from. While my version—and the one this mostly resembled—included many more ridges, cliffs, and uneven terrain, as well as large patches of trees and an expanded field, it was essentially Summoner’s Rift, a map in a game called League of Legends from back in the early 21st century.

  “How close exactly is this game to the one I made?” I asked.

  She frowned at the interruption. “I’m sure I wouldn’t know. Have you seen a similarity?”

  I laughed, but motioned for her to go on.

  “As I was saying, anywhere on the map is fair game.” She turned to look at me, waiting to see if I had any more interruptions. When I didn’t, she continued. “As it’s televised, there will be no maiming, only fatal blows or the blows won’t count. When a fatal blow is struck, the defeated individual will be pulled from the game. But this isn’t dodgeball. There will be no tagging your buddies back in.”

  “Right. Not a game at all, I’d say.” I leaned forward, motioning to the rocky walls lining the battle area. “Boundaries?”

  She nodded. “We aren’t prepared to be chasing each other around on an endless map for years. From one side of this map to the other is likely no more than a couple hours’ march.”

  “One hundred fighters on each side?” I leaned back to consider this. “Doesn’t sound like the event will last that long
at all.”

  “Well…” She shrugged. “Your map has plenty of hiding spots and areas for cover. I imagine it should be a pretty fair fight, as they’re putting in the best they have, and that includes the former countries of China, Russia, and all of Central Asia. If you don’t think there’re some bad asses in there, you’re—”

  “Got it. Fair fight and all, sure. Weapons?”

  She grinned. “This was a victory for us, actually. Guess what?”

  “No,” I said, already grinning.

  “The thing is, nobody wanted to go in with modern rifles because of the advantage that would give to one side or the other, and so the enemy agreed to the good old standard—the M16.”

  I laughed. “Rich. So wait, we’ll be using the M16, but what about other weapons? Mechs, smart grenades and—”

  “Nope,” she cut me off. “We’re keeping it simple. M16 assault rifle, Ka-Bar knife, and frag grenades. That’s it.”

  I nodded, liking this, and motioned for her to go on.

  “Actually, this is the point where I ask if you have any questions,” she said. “Before showing you the equipment we’ll be using for the simulation.”

  “That’s something I’d like to see right away,” I admitted. “What are we looking at here? Simulation chambers? Headsets with motion controllers?”

  Her grin grew wider. “Oh, you’re going to love this.”

  “And that makes you happy?”

  “No, but being able to impress Mr. Tech Nerd himself does, and this is going to knock your socks off. But first, we have to ensure you’re all legit.” She turned to the door and said she was ready for the paperwork, and that’s when I had to sign my freedom away again, along with an extensive NDA. When it was done, she was at the door, ready for me to follow.

  We moved down hallways and into a round room on what I guessed to be ground level. She stopped at an inner door, looked back my way, and said, “You sure about this?”

  I nodded.

  “Here we go,” she said, and opened the door for us to enter.

  Inside, there were already a couple dozen Marines hooked up to machines, others walking past in hospital gowns. Now that I was paying attention, I noticed the ones in the machines were in hospital gowns too. We walked past as a man took off the headgear of one Marine, others following to remove various wires. The machine was in a booth that reminded me of an old idea of what a spaceship might look like, but was closer to a large, lopsided egg. Areas were open for the user to enter and people to connect the wires, but otherwise it was smooth and solid.

  Relic approached, beaming. “Each machine operates with its own CPUs, with fallbacks to the main system in case there are problems. There won’t be, because from there the CPUs all help each other out, so that if there were to be a hardware malfunction, others would take over the job.”

  “And if the sensors or headgear malfunction?” I asked. When the colonel turned to Wingate for an answer, so did I.

  “There are enough redundancies in place that we shouldn’t worry about it,” she said. “But assuming it did, the fighter would no longer be qualified for the war ahead.”

  “Double and triple checking?” I asked, watching everyone at work.

  “Try checking for the hundredth time,” Relic said. “I want to be sure nothing goes wrong in there. Those people can’t leave their countries… freedom gone. If we lose, they’re stuck like that.”

  “I won’t let that happen.”

  We’d just turned down between another row of machines when I noticed movement out of the corner of my left eye. Figures coming for us.

  “Holy shit, Major Ellis?” A young sergeant approached. Since we were inside, there was no reason to salute, but he stood at attention and said, “I mean, it’s good to see you, sir.”

  “At ease, devil dog,” I said with a laugh, and then took him in for a brief hug. “How the hell’ve you been, Derrins?”

  As Relic took his leave and Wingate waited patiently, Derrins gestured to two other faces I recognized although I couldn’t place the names. When they came over, I saw they were Staff Sergeant Lau and Corporal Williams. None of them were particularly physically large, but they served Recon in other ways. And in this war, size was hardly an issue.

  “I ever tell you guys about the way the major here saved my life?” Derrins said, beaming.

  “Me?” I laughed, looking around. “Must be mistaken. How could a pog save the life of someone with First Recon?”

  “Not getting off that easy,” Derrins said, grinning wide. “This guy, we were supposed to be escorting him, right? So there we are, and this is like five years ago when I had just entered, still a private… the final war. Smart grenade goes off, damn little drones coming after each of us, and without even stopping to think about himself, Major Ellis lunged forward with some crazy EMP watch device. Buggers still exploded, but not on their intended targets.”

  “That’s where you got the scar on your ass?” Williams asked, laughing.

  “Right here,” Derrins said, revealing the top of his left butt cheek and a small scar there. “This is how I’ll always remember you, sir.”

  “I’m not sure if you’re messing with me or sincere,” I said, “but I’ll take a scar on an ass over a dead Marine any day.”

  “Not messing with,” the sergeant said, but chuckled. “Just funny, is all. You know, every time I hook up, the ladies ask about it and I have to pause to tell them the story. But in the end it always ends up sealing the deal, so thank you for that.”

  “Once the ladies hear you almost died,” Lau said with a cocky nod.

  “I think we get the point,” Captain Wingate said, waiting. “If that’s all over, maybe we can…?”

  “Of course. Sergeant, it’s good to see you.” I clapped Derrins on the shoulder. “It’ll be better to see you in the game.”

  “Sim, sir,” he corrected me. “They keep telling us to keep that difference in mind.”

  “Fine, sim,” I said, and followed Wingate to one of the stations. “So, how’s this work?”

  “I’ll take it from here,” Relic said, returning from catching up with a young woman three machines over. Wingate seemed relieved. “Old buddies?” Relic asked, glancing over at Derrins.

  “Met him around the same time I met you,” I said. “Good kid. Glad he’s on our side.”

  “Every one of these men and women will earn that statement by the time this is done,” Relic said. “I promise you that.”

  “First Recon’s legacy dates back many years. Their reputation is there for a reason,” I said. “Don’t have to convince me.”

  He nodded, chest puffed out and clearly proud of the group he led. He guided me to the locker room and handed me a hospital gown, then started to strip, putting his clothes in one of the lockers.

  “Getting a medical first?” I asked.

  “As much sense as that would probably make, no. They’ll need access for their sensors, and, well, you’ll see.” I stood there a moment longer, turning when his bare ass was nearly exposed.

  “You get all shy now that you’re a civie?” he asked with a laugh. “I remember a time when you organized a game of strip poker just so you could show off to a certain lady.”

  “Who then became my wife,” I pointed out. “And then ensured I never behaved that way again.”

  He laughed. “A situation I’m proud to say I’ve never been locked into. Er, no offense.”

  I waved the comment off as I changed into the hospital gown, unsure how to arrange the thing to keep from having my ass hang out. Finally I figured out the way to overlap it and tie the strings from the inside, and was good to go.

  He led the way back to two machines.

  “What, now?” I asked. “The war doesn’t start yet, right?”

  “No,” Relic said with a grin, stepping over to the machine next to mine and starting to strap himself in. “But there’s nothing wrong with getting a little bit of pregaming in before the main event. And don’t worry
, we’ll have a bit of fun with it. Take away the edge.”

  I wasn’t sure what he meant, but as Wingate was already strapping me in and now motioning for me to have a seat, I complied and didn’t ask any more questions.

  “Now, you’re probably wondering what happens if you have to piss or defecate,” Relic said, and that’s when he closed his eyes and leaned back. “You’re about to get your answer.”

  A military doctor stepped up, pulled down sheets on either side of the colonel, and I heard a small grunt. When it was over, the doctor stepped out, moving over to me as he ditched the gloves he had on for a new pair.

  Derrins gave me an amused nod and took a step back. “I’ll leave you to it.”

  “To what?” I asked.

  That’s when I realized what the doctor was about to do, and why he had those clear tubes. Oh, no. I leaned back, doing my best to ignore the pinch and the thought that he’d just stuck a catheter in me.

  “There’s got to be a better way,” I said. “And don’t tell me what happens when I need to defecate—just make it happen.”

  “What, you think we should pause our war for bathroom breaks?” Relic asked, then laughed. “If only war were so easy.”

  My thought was that, yeah, this kind of war could be so easy. Easier than having a tube pushed up my urethra, but hey, what did I know. I was just the game guy. Meanwhile, the doctor and two assistants had started attaching various sensors to me, and then came the headset.

  “I’ll meet you on the other side,” Relic said, and then it was on and all I saw was blackness. At least, for a moment. Then a blinking light. It blinked again, then again. And then, with a bright flash, I was in another world.

  Not just any other world, but the world I had created—on a planet under siege by space pirates. A massive, ultraviolet dragon was flying around up there, wreaking havoc on the enemy ships, and we were standing in the middle of it.

  3