Nick’s still queasy stomach just dropped out on him. Replaced by the ice of a massive adrenaline surge.
Evans stops what he’s saying until Nick’s eyes regain focus and again looks at him, “Are you okay?”
“Yeah, it’s just…. Never mind. Go ahead.” Nick replies, face flushed.
Mr. Evans continues, “As I was saying, I’m sure you know Galaxy.Net was introduced just over a year ago when the Fentaun trade ship entered our solar system and scanned Earth into the game. At that time, one thousand game capsules were given to the top ten GDP countries in the world. They were divided among them, according to the proportion of their GDP to the total GDP of the ten countries. The United States was given 278 capsules representing its 28% GDP share of the 1,000 capsules that were gifted by the Game Managers, and we’ve been using those capsules 24/7 ever since.”
Taking a water bottle from the group of them sitting in the middle of the table and taking a long drink, Evans continued, “In playing the game we’ve come to believe there are aspects of the game that may not be being fully explored by the players we’ve been using.”
“Well, who have you been using?” asks Nick, curious to know who has been playing the most famous game there ever was that no one has ever played.
Col. Masterson interjects, “We’ll get to that later. Right now we need to discuss your interest in playing the game.”
“I’m in,” Nick immediately responds. There is no way Nick is going to pass up on playing Galaxy Net. Everything he’s heard about it has come from foreign countries, mostly the Europeans who can’t seem to help but talk about the game every other country is trying to keep secret. The United States, China, Japan, all of them, have refused to say anything about what the game is about.
Cutting off Nick’s willingness to jump in with both feed without looking, Mr. Evans says, “Wait. Let me finish. This isn’t the same as you committing to play a game with your friends. It’s very expensive to put someone in the game. Prohibitively expensive. And, everything about the game is highly confidential. If you agree to be a part of this, it will be an open ended commitment for as long as you’re needed. It could well be years that you are required to play the game, and even more years that you can’t talk about it.”
“I’ve been thinking about playing Galaxy Net since the first day it was reported about. The game is like a simulator, right? Like Sim Life, but for the whole galaxy and there’s aliens? Aliens are playing the game with you, right? I mean real aliens?” Nick had been mesmerized the day the aliens arrived. The alien space craft entered orbit on May 18, 2019. A single ship appeared in orbit without any other warning. They stayed in orbit for a full day without making contact before beginning to make simultaneous contact with nearly two hundred governments, all in their native languages. We are a deep space exploration and trade ship, they said. Here to make contact with new races and establish good relations. They were independent traders of the Fentaun race, and they had just made First Contact.
The only problem was, the people of Earth had almost nothing they wanted. The planet itself has plenty to offer in the uniqueness of our biomass for its potential in scientific applications, or just to put into an alien zoo for strange and exotic spacies. Our technology is archaic. It is to them what our own technology five hundred years ago is to us now. Not worth anything outside of a museum. The aliens, by negotiating trade with trade delegations from over a hundred countries all at once, were able to collect a massive amount of biological samples, as well as art of all types. And they got it all for the equivalent of a handful of shiny beads and trinkets just the same as if we were the natives trading with the first explorers to the New World. The peoples of the great and powerful nations of the earth had just been shown their place as the low tech, backwater, barbarians of the galaxy.
There was one thing, however, the Fentaun offered us for free. Access to a game, The Galaxy Net. All we would have to do is allow the Fentaun to scan the Earth and add it to the Galaxy Net game and we could join the game and start interacting with alien races just like it was real life, only without the dangers of space travel. It was the one way that humans could, in absolute safety, travel to other planets and engage in the intellectual exchange of ideas with other races throughout the galaxy. And why not? How could anyone say “no” to that? It wasn’t even a question about allowing the Fentaun to “scan” the Earth, whatever that means, or accepting the offer to join the game. You especially couldn’t say no after other countries began joining the game and had already given their “permission” to the aliens to scan whatever they wanted. Smaller countries, knowing they would never be able to build their own space ships, joined in hopes of no longer be reliant on the Americans, or one of the other industrialized countries who dictated trade, access to technology and resources, and who inevitably meddled in their affairs. Large countries saw it as a possible way of tipping the balance of power in their favor. And, in the United States they debated it right up until it became clear that if everyone else was going to play the Galaxy Net, we’re going to have to play too. And so they did. Two hundred countries eventually agreed to be scanned and join the game, even though most of them had not considered they couldn’t afford to play the game even if they wanted to.
Mr. Evans non-answered Nick’s question as to whether there are real aliens playing the game, “Well, that’s not supposed to be public knowledge, but it doesn’t surprise me that you would know.”
Nick jumps on this as confirmation, “I’m going to take that as a ‘yes.’ Which means, I’m in. If there are real aliens playing the game and I’m going to be able to play with them. Where do I sign?”
“Okay. That’s what we expected you to say. As of now, you’re a candidate and we’re going to send you to one of our facilities here on the base where you and others will be screened and tested for your suitability to play Galaxy Net. But, before we do that, I need to go over with you the non-disclosure agreement.”
“No problem, I’ll sign it.”
“This is not just a slap on the hand NDA. You talk about Galaxy Net, regardless of whether you make it into the program or not, and you’ll be in solitary confinement in Leavenworth until we decide whatever you’ve been told about the game is no longer considered confidential. And, honestly, anything you learn after you leave this building, will likely still be confidential at the turn of the next century.”
Nick looks at Mr. Evans, then Colonel Masteson. Neither one gives any indication this is an idle threat. But, for Nick, this is his chance to explore the galaxy and to meet real aliens. To be one of the first ones to ever speak with an alien race, or set foot on an alien planet. Nick has played space simulations, MMOs, alien shooters, world building strategy games; anything that is science fiction based, Nick has either played it or planned on playing it. “I can’t not do this,” Nick thinks. Even if it is only a game. It’s a game being played with real aliens in a real world, or rather worlds, simulation. “I’ll do whatever I have to if I can play a game with real aliens. Nothing else matters; I’ll keep your secrets. Now, where do I sign?”
Pulling the NDA back from Nick, Evans says, “Okay, the Colonel here will take you over to the meeting and you can get started. All the rest of the candidates are already there.”
Biography:
Scott is a California native where he lives with his wife, son, and their amazing dog. A native of the West Coast, Scott grew up moving every few years in an Army family with his brother and two sisters. After high school, Scott spent five years working in mostly construction and maintenance until joining the U.S. Coast Guard where he worked as a Fire Control Technician working on the Close-In Weapon System (CIWS). Scott married and completed his bachelor’s degree in Business Administration then began a career in the commercial real estate industry where he today works for a national auction firm as one of the firm’s brokers.
Scott is a part-time author, sometime gamer, and full-time lover of science fiction and fantasy novels that he has b
een reading since grade school.
Earth Interstellar: Proxy War is Scott’s second novel.
Earth Interstellar_Proxy War Page 30