Pedro kept staring at those eyes set on his friend’s acne-ridden face and tried to follow what he was saying as they walked up to their desks, holding back his urge to ask him about the Neuralnet. It seemed very strange to him that they were still releasing online games when they could already develop whatever they wanted inline.
Luiz soon noticed his friend’s lack of enthusiasm. “Dude, what happened? Is everything OK? I figured that when he told you that you’d say the wizard party was yours, so Daniel and I wouldn’t pick it, but you’re not excited like you usually are. Did something happen?”
Pedro blushed. Though he trusted his friends, he still didn’t want to tell them he was accessing the Neuralnet. It was better to beat around the bush, see what they knew and thought about it, before revealing the truth.
“Yeah... I don’t know, dude. Of course I want the wizard party! You may keep that other one, the one that has the Trarrasko, if you want, and I’m sure Daniel will go for the elves... But listen,” he couldn’t resist it, “aren’t you guys a bit irked about that whole thing that the Neuralnet is taking so long to come to Brazil?”
“Ahhhh!” Daniel understood. “You’re bugged because you wanted a Neurolink for your birthday and you didn’t get one! But, hey, you’d need to be rich to get one of those around here! But relax, man! They’ll soon cut the prices and then we’ll get to use it. You know, I’m also dying to get to go inline!”
“Eh, I don’t know about that.” Luiz scratched the back of his neck. “My mother told me so many bizarre stories about that thing. Did you guys see, like, those news about body hackers?”
“The what?!” Pedro exclaimed. “What do you mean?”
“Well... so you need this thingamabob to access the Neuralnet, right? They say if you come inline and you let someone there use your little gadget, that person may log out in your body, you see?”
“Neurolink. The name of the ‘thingamabob’ is Neurolink, Luiz,” said Pedro, pensively.
“Hang on,” Daniel interrupted him. His excitement sometimes made his voice get unusually high-pitched while he spoke. “Are you telling me that someone could end up invading someone else’s body? Like, I could go in, switch my Neurolink with, I dunno, some woman from Russia and come out in her body on the other side of the world?”
Luis confirmed it. “You can check it online if you want to see the stories... It seems like it’s harder for something like this to happen now because the newer gizmos have some system to identify you through your blood and everything...”
“It would be awesome, though, to be able to become someone else in real life, wouldn’t it?” Daniel was still excited.
Nervously, Pedro replied, “It seems cool until you imagine someone pretending to be you here and it ends up destroying your life... You have to remember that while you’d be inside that person’s body, she’d be in yours, right?”
“That’s why it doesn’t really do it for me.” Luiz sat down at his desk. “It doesn’t seem safe. Then there’s the fact that it’s a thing that messes with your brain, you get what I’m saying? There’s lots of stories about brain damage and people losing their minds after using it. OK, it all happened a good while ago, it’s all from before it even started being sold in Brazil. It’s supposed to be better now, but I don’t know. I think we can wait and have fun with other things for now.”
Pedro nodded, still pensive. He hadn’t heard of those freak stories before. But it was all past now and surely his Neurolink had his blood registered, making it a safe access... Or maybe not?
His thoughts were interrupted when he saw Letícia come into the classroom. He signaled to his friends and went to greet her.
“Hi, Le! Good morning!”
“Oh, hi, Pedro!” She smiled, her brown hair swaying smoothly while she took off her backpack.
“So”—Pedro checked to see if his friends were at a safe distance before continuing—“wow, Le, I really loved your gift! Seriously, I never thought one day I’d own a Neurolink. I don’t even know what to say.”
She smiled in relief before she replied, “Oh, don’t mention it, Pedro. Enjoy it! At least you get to have fun...”
“What do you mean?”
“My dad doesn’t let me use it... He thinks it’s dangerous, I dunno. I think it’s ridiculous. The worst part is that he used to complain about how my grandfather wouldn’t let him use the Internet when he was younger...”
“Ah.” That was all he could say. Countless thoughts crossed his mind at the same time, but one stood out from all the others: if Letícia’s father thought it was dangerous, how could she give him a Neurolink for a gift?
Pedro grew sad when he realized he’d never get to see her inline: the girl would never meet Ace, and the adventures he’d imagined for them together would remain only in his dreams.
“Letícia, come here.” A female voice cut his thoughts short. Letícia gestured for Amanda to wait and then turned back to Pedro. “Well, that’s a shame, isn’t it? You can tell me all about what you think of it later, all right?”
Pedro nodded and went back to his seat. Daniel kept his gaze fixed on Amanda.
“Could you make it any more obvious?”
Amanda had light skin and dark hair. She was tall, thin and had delicate blue eyes, was always well-dressed and had her makeup on. She was often the center of attention. Pedro also thought she was pretty, but nothing extraordinary. He remarked to Daniel, “I don’t know what is it you see in her.”
Daniel grimaced in indignation and made a gesture with his hands in front of his chest, pretending to squeeze large imaginary breasts.
Luiz replied, “Oh, man, though she’s not really my style, I can agree that she’s the soft type, like a princess should be... skin white as snow, hair black as the night!” he chanted.
“Yeah, right,” Daniel remarked in irony, “so soft, the girl that everybody wants. A real princess. Bet you’re also checking out her ‘softness like I am.
“Give it up,” he went on. “You see, the poor girl’s problem is that she still hasn’t found the right boy for her. If she were with me she’d be so happy she would never even think about another guy.”
“Morning, guys!” they heard the greeting coming from the door. Pedro and his friends rolled their eyes in disgust while some of the girls went toward Thiago and greeted him back as he entered the classroom.
Much to Pedro’s disappointment, Letícia was one of the girls who got up, following Amanda, and went up to the boy.
“Yeah, all right, I know what you guys are going to say, but seriously, how could they like such a douchebag?” Luiz asked.
Daniel replied, numbering his arguments in his hand, “You mean, besides the muscles, the neat blond hair, blue eyes, nice clothes, the fact that he’s made out with Amanda already and that he’s the head of the soccer team? Oh, and there’s no need to even mention that he’s rich, right? It’s harder for us to notice, but he’s Amanda’s male version, man! He’s your little prince!”
“How about the fact that not only does he make me do his homework for him but also never leaves me alone? Don’t any of them realize he’s a jerk?” Said Luiz.
Pedro grimaced in agreement, worrying himself sick about Letícia’s excitement in seeing him. What on earth was going on in that girl’s mind, after all?
The school bell announced that classes were about to begin. The students started taking their seats, and in a few moments the teacher strode into the classroom. Pedro sat down at his desk, next to Daniel and behind Luiz, at a corner at the back, opposite Letícia, her girlfriends, and Thiago.
He tried his best to focus on his classes, but it was impossible not to let his thoughts wander. How could Letícia give him such an expensive, but at the same time dangerous, gift? After all, did she like him or not? Was he possibly fated to be nothing for her but that one friend that listens as she sighs for Thiago?
Another thing that worried him was what he’d heard now about the Neuralnet. Could Kerah possibly b
e an identity thief or something like that? Could she and Dante be criminals trying to lead him into a trap?
It was a horrible feeling, that of having just discovered a brand new world to be explored and then finding out it was too risky to be enjoyed. He wanted to know more about that Flag Race thing and get to enjoy his inline life as soon as possible, but he didn’t feel confident to do it until he was at least a little sure it was safe.
At break time, he remained in the classroom, using his tablet to access the good old school Internet, (which they turned off during classes) while Luiz and Daniel dueled with their virtual armies on theirs. For the past few years tablets were practically the only mandatory school material. Daniel bragged about owning the best one out of the three, a new model, all transparent and seemingly made of glass.
Pedro tried to get all the info he could in the limited amount of time he had before classes began again. He opened a number of tabs with several search engines. He found the cases of body theft Luiz had talked about. They all dated from at least five years ago, and now with the new blood detection technology this kind of crime was under control. Nobody could steal somebody else’s body, unless the user authorized his Neurolink’s removal or had his device reset back into its initial settings. He sighed in relief.
The brain damage cases were also rare nowadays. Newer devices offered better protection for users, even on a forced disconnection. However, every website recommended users avoid spending much time at a low stability, because the brain could end up losing its familiarity with the physical world, causing the user to start having hallucinations and getting both realities mixed up.
Certain old dangers from the virtual world also applied to the Neuralnet. Just like in the Internet where there were dangerous websites, usually connected to pornography and piracy, which could harm your computer or download viruses, there were loci on the Neuralnet which could confuse their users, take advantage of their data, attempt to steal bank passwords...
He looked out the classroom window. In the school’s courtyard, Thiago led his soccer team against a bunch of ninth graders. The scoreboard showed it was an obvious massacre. Letícia sat on the nearby bleachers, next to Amanda.
Pedro was disheartened. On his birthday he had so many hopes that Letícia didn’t like Thiago...
Before classes began again, he still had enough time to read a bit on Flag Race. The game was what was really hot at the moment. Websites on it, many of them from Brazil, abounded. They showed the best players, their scores, and even videos from some of the most spectacular moves.
So, there’s a way to record what’s going on on the Neuralnet and then play it on the Internet? And not only that: he could also see that the games from the world league were broadcast live online and on some TV channels.
The clips themselves showed all sorts of stuff: dueling warriors, zombies swarming against a gigantic bear, flying carpet chases, and there was always someone taking a flag to a stand.
Once more the school bell rang, and soon classes began again. Pedro made more of an effort to try to focus on them. There would be time at home to sate his curiosity. Maybe it was just sheer excitement, but he was beginning to feel safe enough to get inline again as soon as he could.
At lunch he was scolded by his mother, Marta, for eating too fast. “Did you forget how to eat, Pedro? You’re worse than your brothers!”
“I’m sorry, Mom, you’re right. It’s just that I’ve got some things to research online and all, and I want to get this done with as soon as I can, and here, look”—he took a hurried last bite—“I’m already done!”
His mother gave him a glare of reprehension. That was no excuse to eat that way. Pedro looked back at her, smiled, and left the table. She then turned to the younger boys, still at the table. “And that goes for you two as well, eat up! You don’t have to do it as madly as your brother, but you need the energy for your soccer practice today!”
“Oh, Mom, I don’t wanna play soccer today! I’m exhausted!” Marcelo said.
“Me too, Mom!” Rodrigo added.
“No whining! Don’t you start with that again on me. How is it that you do? Nananana-na”—she shut her ears with her hands—“I can’t hear a thing!”
Pedro was laughing as he climbed up the stairs. He hoped his mother would soon take them to their soccer practice so he could have some alone time at home to find out more about Flag Race and the Neuralnet inline, from inside the virtual world.
It took his family about an hour to leave the house, which he spent anxiously killing time online. As his brothers were always around, he never really felt safe to research more on the subjects he wanted to. He ended up only checking out some social networks and watching funny videos. As soon as he saw his mother’s car turning the corner from his bedroom window, with his brothers in the backseat, he took his Neurolink out from the drawer where it was hidden and put it on his wrist.
On the display it read, “Welcome back.” Before going inline, he clicked on the side buttons, trying to understand some of the device’s other functions. A few seconds passed before he found what he wanted: he set an alarm to ring after about an hour. That way he would have time to log out before his family came back.
He logged in. Once more he felt strangely like he was falling backwards, while his body abandoned reality and entered the virtual world.
There he was once again, at the HUB where he’d talked to Kerah and Dante. The place was the same, still crowded with the most varied sorts of creatures. The square was teeming with life, though everyone there now was completely different from before.
In a few seconds, he had a strange feeling that he was being watched. Instinctively he checked his Neurolink and noticed it blinked with a call from Dante. Accepting the call, he soon heard Dante’s voice echoing in his mind. “Ace, the Great! Good to have you inline again!”
“Hey, Dante! So, how are things?”
“Well, kid, I’m here practicing with two other team members. Since you’re already here, wanna come over and talk to us and learn more about the most awesome game of all time?”
“Sure.”
Being back in the virtual world intoxicated Ace. The excitement made him lose his fear and feel safe. What’s the worst that could happen? He was only going to talk to a friend and get to know this game that had been so famous lately!
A few seconds passed until a manhole near him opened, and soon out popped Dante. He started guffawing when he saw Ace’s bafflement.
“Kid, you’d better get used to this! You can’t make that face every time someone enters or leaves a locus! Because, see: going from one locus to another is the simplest thing in the world. Just like everything we had talked about the other day. All you gotta do is wish to be in other loci and voilà, you’ll be there. But there are better ways to do it.”
Dante pressed some buttons on his Neurolink and looked around.
“There!” He pointed to a nearby door, on one of the buildings surrounding the square. “Come with me!”
As they walked, he went on with the instructions. “We could teleport to the Flag Race locus, Ace, of course, but going through a door is a lot less traumatic for your stability. This is the best way to go from one locus to another. Just find a door, any door, set it up on your Neurolink, and...”—he opened it.
From the other side, Ace could now behold a completely different world. Something like an immense futuristic airport lobby spread before him, with white round-bordered walls and green lights at the base. Again several types of creatures were zipping back and forth. Great panels on different places showed the scores from recent matches and their various replays, eagerly followed by viewers.
As soon as they went through the door, Ace could hear electronic music that seemed to come from all around him. He also noticed a repeating pattern: well-distributed tables, each featuring a door next to it.
“Welcome to the Flag Race server!” said Dante.
“It’s huge!” was all Ace could say.
Two characters waited for them. One of them was an enormous minotaur with brown fur and piercing eyes protected by futuristic metal armor. The other was a little witch wearing colorful clothes, with blonde hair and large expressive blue eyes.
“Ace, this is Bobby, and the babe here is Asuka.”
Ace waved and nodded as he greeted them. Bobby—what a preposterous name for a creature this size—the minotaur simply puffed in answer. Asuka went up to Ace and hugged him excitedly.
“Welcome! So nice to have one more member on our team! We’re gonna rock!” She made a V-sign in the air with her fingers.
Intrigued, Ace smiled and stepped back slowly. Then they all sat down. Dante spoke up, “We’re going to start from the beginning, kid. You need to understand that the game is way more complex than the mock-up I’m going to show you, but it will give you an idea.”
Gesturing over the table, Dante made an asterisk-shaped metal slab appear hovering above it.
“There are two teams. Each one is responsible, from the start, for one half of the court.” The slab lighted up, with three lines from half the asterisk turning red and other three in blue. “At the farthest point of each line there’s a flag. So, it’s three red and three blue, right?” Again, obeying Dante’s orders, a tiny flag appeared at each one of the asterisk’s extremities.
“Then, to top it off, at the central line from each color, next to one of the flags, you’ll find each team’s base, according to its color.” The replica altered itself accordingly. “So, it’s easy to understand the game’s goal: it’s basically a match of capture the flag, you get that? You run up to each flag on the opposing team, capture it, and bring it to your base, just like that little man is doing, you see it? See what happens when he put all three flags back at his base…” The whole mock-up was lighting up in a bright blue, the color of the little man that had captured all the flags. And just as it had appeared, the asterisk, together with all its components, suddenly disappeared.
Flag Race Page 3