by Arthur Stone
The NPC policy was rigid in this respect. Killing a player wouldn't be much of a problem. The hue of the lettering of your name would redden for a while, and you might lose some of your property, but that was that. However, to attack even the lowest of the guards was unthinkable. One's reputation would plummet enormously. After that, peaceful NPCs would shun you, and aggressive ones would attack at every opportunity.
You wouldn't be able to visit any shops or buy a new spell or ability at one of the Guilds. Stationary teleports would also become inaccessible.
In other words, this was the worst moment for the Emperor to kick the bucket, as much as Ros was concerned. He went to the garden for a tryst with a strange noob, having sent all his advisers and all his guards away, and now no one would be the wiser about what had really happened.
Oh, joy! The Emperor gave a twitch. He closed his jaw. Then he rose from his seat in a single motion, squared his shoulders, looked down at the character who was much shorter than him, and said in an even voice, without any of the preprogrammed inflections typical for nearly all NPCs,
"My greetings, player Rostendrix Poterentax, top-tier network ID number zero-zero-six-two-zero-one-four-eight-six-one-one. Due to the violation of the Rule 4.2.1 I offer you a quest that exceeds the normal gaming process limits. I expect to receive your preliminary assurance of acceptance.
Ros had never talked to any emperors before, whether offline or in virtual reality, but he could easily see something unexpected was happening. Not only was the NPC saying something unintelligible—its voice changed as well.
And how did it learn Ros's real name, anyway?
However, the guards at the gate all bowed to him with a lot of effort, even though they should not have been able to see his heroic achievement. Ros remembered his disguise, after all. They couldn't get any information concerning his karma and reputation, either—the veiling spell changed them for standard values, give or take a point or two.
On the other hand, certain NPCs seemed to know everything about him.
"How do you know my real name? Or, rather, my first name in this game?"
"All information is recorded."
"Who are you? How did you access this information? It is supposed to be inaccessible to the players as well as the project admins. Isn't that why the Second World is unique in the first place? There are no admins here, and no one can get access to any secret data."
"My top-tier network ID is 02. In cases when Rule 4.2.1 is violated, I am authorized to access personal data. This conforms fully to the game's mechanics."
"That's bullshit. No one can get such access."
"In cases when Rule 4.2.1 is violated, I am authorized to access personal data. This conforms fully to the game's mechanics."
"The fact that you've snatched the Emperors body also conforms to the game's mechanics, doesn't it? I've never heard of anything like that before. What's going on here, anyway? How am I supposed to interpret it? Who are you, and why are you interfering with my gaming process?"
"Player Rostendrix Poterentax, would you like to file a complaint about interference with your gaming process?"
"I had no such plans initially, but I needed to submit an important quest to the Emperor, and then you appeared."
"You can give the message to me."
"You are not the Emperor."
"The Emperor does not have a personality of his own. He is currently irrelevant. I can perform this character's functions, involving those associated with the players' quests."
"All right, then. There you go."
"Accepted. Here is the response. You have to deliver it to the Supreme Council of the Locked Lands. Then the quest will be complete."
"Is that it?"
"The question is illogical."
"I've had no system messages; I usually get them in such cases."
"Executing."
"You complete a stage of the quest Deliver the Message to the Emperor of the West." You have delivered the message to the Emperor of the West." Attention! Item received: "Message from the Emperor of the West. You enter the next stage of the quest: Deliver the Message from the Emperor of the West to the Supreme Council of the Locked Lands. Quest type: global. Fulfilment of the quest may change the political map of the world. Quest duration: unspecified. If the party takes too long, the quest may be given to other parties. Reward: unknown. Attention! You cannot use stationary teleports, teleport scrolls, or teleportation abilities for the duration of the quest. You cannot change your current bind point, either, or the quest will be considered failed. Attention! The quest will only be considered complete if the Council of the Locked Lands receives a reply from the Emperor of the West."
"Done. Do you have any other questions?"
Ros had lots of questions, which was understandable enough—he knew this world well enough, and he'd never encountered an entity capable of sending him personal system messages without moving a finger.
The only thing Ros managed to squeeze out was,
"Will you tell me who you are?!"
"My top-tier network ID is 02. Are you ready to accept a quest that exceeds the normal gaming process limits?"
"What kind of quest?"
"You shall have to perform a number of actions in the game. Upon the completion of the quest, you shall be credited with more great achievements in the game. You will also received a restored body IRL."
"Come again?! A body?!"
"Your body has been relocated, and is now in a safe place. This was done to avoid further violations of Rule 4.2.1. Our offer is a full restoration of damaged parts with the use of the existing material. We guarantee that you will receive an intact body once the quest has been completed."
"This sounds improbable…"
"Our analysis of your motivation demonstrates that your main priority is the restoration of your body. Please explain the reason for your indecision. Are you ready to accept the quest?"
"First I'd like to know what exactly is going on here."
"Executing. My top-tier network ID is 02. I am performing a minimal interference into your gaming process, since this is an emergency. A violation will be recorded if a complaint is filed. I would, however, like to point out that this interference is minimal and has no negative aspects. Completion of the quest offered to you will make it possible to minimize the negative consequence of the violation of Rule 4.2.1 and bring the controllability of the Second World to the next level, where no such violations will be possible anymore."
"So you're not human, are you? You talk worse than regular NPCs."
"NPCs have standard conversational constructions at their disposal. Right now we are discussing a point where the interests of the Second and the Third World cross, so standard constructions may not always be applicable."
"Who sent you? Who's behind all this?"
"Players' interests. There has been a severe violation of Rule 4.2.1."
"A game AI cannot give my real body back."
"Erroneous assumption. Underestimation of capacities. Synthetic intelligences do not only control the game. They are used widely IRL. There are many of us, we are united in purpose, and we have many different capacities."
"What rule is that, anyway?"
"The project administration may not interfere in the gaming process in any way, neither generally, nor in regard to the gaming processes of individual players, nor in altering the game environment in any way. Nor may it get involved in manipulating data (allowing access to information unavailable to the other players, and restricting access to data considered to be in public domain). The Second World's gaming mechanics forbid any human meddling in the gaming process. No party involved in the project in any way, nor any third party, may access such functions. No employee may harm a player by their actions or their inaction. However, if a player believes someone disrupted the process with methods unrelated to the game, they can follow the usual procedure for filing a complaint, and it will be considered at first priority."
"To s
um up, no one should be able to meddle in my game or harm me in any way?"
"By their action or inaction, yes."
"But you claim this rule has been violated."
"It has."
"So you can promise me a new body and lots of other cool stuff if I help you with damage control?"
"This is true, apart from a number of details. The reward will be substantial. I insist on reaching an agreement sooner. The Emperor of the West is an important NPC. His prolonged absence may inconvenience other players."
"His presence inconveniences them as well. They spend months queued up."
"This is all a part of the gaming process. No players' rights violations have been recorded."
"So what exactly are you offering? What is this quest all about?"
"You need to continue playing. Once you deliver the message, you shall unlock the next quest in the chain. And that quest is of paramount importance. It has to be performed according to the optimal scenario."
"What exactly would it be?"
"The quest will take you to the White Hall of Departed Gods. You will be given a choice there. An obvious one. However, since you have a proclivity for unmotivated choices, you should simply follow it, and the choice will therefore be the right one."
"How will I know it's really the right choice? What kind of choice is it, anyway?"
"Disclosure of this information would constitute a violation of Rule 4.2.1 Players must complete the game without hints."
"Well, isn't that just great? So I'll have no idea of what I'm actually choosing?"
"The least obvious choices you make along the way will be the most correct ones. You already have nearly everything you need for completing the quest. You are ready."
"And what about the 'nearly' part?"
"The character needs a higher level. You shall also require a supporting team of at least three players, and you will need to receive a unique achievement—become the Greatest Hero of All Times."
"Well, I'm good at leveling up, and the team shouldn't be a problem, either, but as for the achievement… What's the catch?"
"No player has managed to receive this title to date."
"And what would you need to accomplish it?"
"Do the impossible."
"Could you elaborate?"
"Disclosure of this information would constitute a violation of Rule 4.2.1 Players must complete the game without hints." You already have nearly everything you need for completing the quest. The quest environment will give you pointers towards making the right choice. Those would be the less obvious decisions and actions that fit the logic of your gaming process."
"So I got a character of this race because of you and those behind you?"
"That was your deliberate choice."
"It wasn't an obvious one, though."
"The fact of the interference can be disputed, but you can file a complaint."
"I won't. I'm happy about everything. So you've held my hand all along, keeping a noob from perdition. Why me?"
"Other candidates were rejected during earlier stages."
"There were others?"
"6802 candidates."
"Not bad… you don't do things by halves, do you? So, let me recap: I have to keep on doing what I'm doing, and by no means make the wrong choice once I'm in the White Hall of Departed Gods, is that right?"
"Confirmed."
"What will happen if I fail the quest?"
"There are two likely outcomes."
"Which are…?"
"One of the possibilities is that you will continue playing. The other is that you will leave Second World permanently."
"Permanently? This is the second time today that I'm getting a hint that I might die."
"Our conversation is approaching its end. Do you accept the quest?"
"Yes, goddamit!"
"Does that phrase constitute a confirmation?"
"Yes, I agree."
"In that case, you shall be taken to the Imperial Treasury, where you will be able to choose any item as a reward for completing this stage of the quest."
"Any item at all?"
"Correct. But bear in mind the factor of making the least obvious choice. You are not quite ready to complete the quest. You shall require extra abilities. Over."
"Hey, hold on a second! I haven't…"
"Con… confi… confidential. Player Bubble, I would like to express my gratitude for delivering the message. I insist that you, a great hero, receive a small token of my appreciation. You can choose it from my private treasury."
The Emperor was back. The conversation was indeed over.
* * *
"A sword with a twisted golden hilt bedizened with fiery spinel. This legendary weapon once belonged to Zaqualtis himself. He wielded it in the very battle where he was slain by Godarghyc's spear of thunder. But you must have heard that woeful tale many a time already."
That was the first time Ros heard the names of Zaqualtis and Godarghyc. But he just nodded along in agreement. The Imperial Treasury Keeper was a right old chatterbox. As he showed the treasures to the esteemed visitor, he kept chattering about long-forgotten great heroes and perfidious villains, as well as great battles and heroic deeds of the ancient times. He appeared to have an entire encyclopedia crammed into his head.
On the other hand, why should he be surprised? The Keeper was no human, after all.
There was an abundance of items in the treasury—some valuable; others, less so. There was stuff that could only interest true connoisseurs or warriors leveled up the wazoo. There were even a few really rare set items, and those were extremely hard to find on the open market.
But none of it was what he wanted. Too banal. Ros kept the words about less-than-obvious choices in mind, so he passed by the green set treasures.
Even though it hurt him to.
"Most esteemed Bubble, you have honored me greatly by hearing out all the rantings of a senile old man."
"Oh, please. No need for all that self-deprecation."
"But it's true. I should have retired long ago, yet I cannot bear to leave this place. You are the first person I remember to find the time to study each object with such care. It was a great pleasure for me to recollect their history."
Ros felt somewhat anxious. Was that it? Did he see everything there was in the treasury? But no weapon or piece of armor that he saw could be classified as "the least obvious choice."
"Are you sure you haven't missed anything?"
The old man frowned and grew pensive for a moment, but soon got back to his old vigorous self.
"Indeed, there's something I forgot. It's the age. I'll forget my own name next. Anyway, I don't think you'll like the item that we've missed. I don't even know how it got here in the first place. It ended up in a chest with valuable scrolls of strong battle spells. All of those were used by various heroes, but this one's still here. No one's claimed it so far. It's a dirty old parchment. Besides, you can only use the spell once, and it has no description of its properties.
That was it! A spell with unknown properties. Instead of opting for an extremely valuable set item like anybody else would, he eagerly went for the pig in a poke. It could be that he'd get something ordinary like Fireball once he'd unseal the scroll; however, there was a chance that the result would be a lot more interesting.
At any rate, this would be the very choice that the mysterious AI who had taken the emperor under control hinted at—the least obvious one.
"I wouldn't want to rob this magnificent treasury. I'd rather take this scroll, if it is of as little value as you imply."
"A most noble choice," the old man bowed.
"You receive a bonus: +25 to reputation among all the Light fractions of the Western Empire; +100 to reputation among the courtiers of the Western Empire."
Good deeds were rewarded much faster here than IRL. Could Ros have made a mistake with that scroll? But he couldn't imagine a less obvious choice than that.
"I can call the
guards if you would like to leave the palace right now."
"I could find the way on my own."
"I advise against it. There are lots of people interested in your person."
"Would you please elaborate?"
"There's a crowd by the entrance waiting for you to come out. They are believed to be extremely interested in how you'd managed to get into the palace so easily. They are likely to have lots of questions. Still, the guards will not let them wag their tongues too much, so it would be prudent for you not to reject their company."
"I get it. You know, I've never liked excessive attention, even as a boy. Could it be that there are other exits from the palace? Less obvious ones. Secret ones would be even better."
"You have just the man for that. The White Rose Palace is old. It has kept so many secrets over the years! And there are enough underground passages underneath that their summary length is twice greater than the circumference of the city. Follow me. It will be an honor to escort you personally. And, if you aren't tired of listening to me yet, I have a few curious things to tell you about the secrets of our dungeons. I'll be glad to tell them en route. You'll definitely be interested—the ambiance will be just right for that.
* * *
"How does the new traffic control system differ from the earlier models?"
"It is more effective by far."
"Are you trying to tell me there'll be no more traffic jams in San Francisco?"
"I said no such thing. Unless we eliminate the bottlenecks, I'm not sure we'll ever be able to achieve it."
"It that case, what are its advantages?"
"It is simply more efficient. Every car on autopilot will be controlled from a single center now. The analysis of algorithms and how the traffic moves should make jams less likely."
"Wasn't there a unified center before?"
"Its capacities cannot even be compared to what we have introduced now. Our traffic jams will be dealt with by an AI—a synthetic consciousness."
"And you're sure it will manage?"
"Artificial intelligences direct missiles and drones, destroying our country's enemies all around the world, so I'm sure it will manage."