by Seth Ring
Nova Terra: Titan
SETH RING
Nova Terra: Titan
Copyright © 2018 by Seth Ring.
All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embedded in critical articles or reviews.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, organizations, places, events and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
1st Edition
Contents
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
CHAPTER NINETEEN
CHAPTER TWENTY
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
CHAPTER THIRTY
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Acknowledgments
CHAPTER ONE
It had been a long and mentally trying day for Xavier filled with the normal medical tests and his overprotective aunt trying to do everything for him, but the end was in sight. Same old, same old. The hum of his massive motorized wheelchair and the squeak of his aunt’s shoes on the polished floor lulled him into a strange state of detachment. He had been down this hall so many times that it had become rote.
Lurking behind his aunt were six silent bodyguards. Xavier suspected they wouldn’t make any noise if they tap-danced across broken glass - ever present, silent watchers whose eyes never stopped evaluating everything around them for threats.
He had lived with his aunt since he could remember. After all these years the permanent, unsmiling, besuited bodyguards had become a familiar part of the background. So much so that Xavier almost didn’t notice when the guards opened the doors in front of him, checking for threats before they entered.
It wasn’t like he couldn’t open the doors and walk through the hospital by himself. He could, but the tendency for his skin to split open when he moved without his wheelchair and the tremendous pressure his bulk put on his bones kept him sitting still.
Thankfully, there was some light at the end of the tunnel. After years of theories on what was wrong with him, the doctors thought that they had finally figured out a fix for his condition. As the elevator headed down to one of the basement floors for his final checks, Xavier couldn’t help but be hopeful.
A chime announced the arrival at their floor, and the soft hiss of the doors snapped Xavier out of his reverie. The long, neutral hall stretched out into the distance. Pale pastels, intended to be soothing, presented the promise of tedium and wasted time. The bland hall was currently full, as a man in a delivery uniform struggled to push a massive crate down the corridor.
At a touch from his aunt, Xavier’s massive wheelchair hummed out of the elevator and down the hall, the large wheels squeaking against the hospital tile. Xavier looked up at the 8-foot ceiling, thankful that he was sitting. At least sitting down, he did not have to duck. Silver linings, right?
A nurse coming toward the elevator squeezed past the delivery man with a wheeled bed. Appreciating the soft curve of her backside, the delivery man leaned out for a second look as she passed him. Blocked by the large crate that was in his way, he leaned out to the side, causing his precariously balanced load to shift forward. Twisting to the side, the box began to topple toward the bed.
The nurse heard the scrape of the box as it shifted and only had time for a gasp before it came crashing down. In a desperate attempt to shield her patient, she threw herself across the bed and closed her eyes, bracing herself for the pain she knew was coming.
Yet the impending crash never came, and a couple seconds later she opened her eyes in confusion, looking up. And up. And up. Met with the sight of the largest person she had ever seen casually holding the massive crate, she stared in open-eyed amazement at the giant who had saved her.
Dark hair cropped short above a massive face with a rugged brow and a strong jaw gave the intimation of attractiveness, yet the ideal was ruined by the skin that stretched across his cheekbones, pulling back on the corners of his eyes, nose, and mouth, creating a grotesque caricature of superman. Just bigger. Much, much bigger.
The giant smiled at her and she smiled back, lost in the surreal situation until rapid splashes of red blood snapped her out of her dazed state.
“Oh, you’re bleeding!” she mumbled, still half in shock as she watched blood rain down from the giant hand that gripped the edge of the box to join a pool of blood that was beginning to form around his feet.
“Well, would you look at that?” responded Xavier, his deep bass voice echoing through the corridor as the bodyguards swarmed forward.
Twenty minutes later, Xavier sat next to his aunt while a nurse finished taking care of his wound.
“Always the hero,” Julia teased, poking at his broad shoulder. “You should have left it up to the guards rather than hurting yourself.”
“You’ve taught me better than that,” Xavier said with a slight smile.
Soon the doctor arrived and sat down next to Julia, handing her a large stack of papers. Xavier stayed in his wheelchair to avoid towering over the other two or breaking a chair. His hand had been bandaged to prevent additional blood loss, and a nurse had finished taking a blood sample to run some more tests. Holding his bandaged hand to keep the bleeding from starting again, Xavier looked at the doctor with some interest. Rather than the normal boring tests, it seemed from the doctor’s expression that something new was going to happen, and whatever it was, it would be a welcome break from the monotony of his normal routine.
Ever since he was little, and his condition was discovered, Xavier had been stuck in the same routine. Sitting, studying, slow Taijiquan exercises, and doctor’s tests. The school and Taijiquan practice were not so bad, but after so many years the sitting and doctor’s exams were starting to wear on him. There was very little excitement in his life, a fact that made him hyper-aware of any changes. Speaking of changes, his aunt had been trying to hide something from him, a birthday present most likely, and Xavier wondered if the visit today had something to do with it.
The doctor looked at Xavier and his aunt, Julia Lee, pushing his glasses back on his nose. As Xavier’s only surviving relative, Julia still had custody of Xavier until he turned 18 in two years, though no one looking at Xavier’s 8’ 9” frame would ever imagine he was only 16 years old.
After many years of testing and treatment that yielded no results, a fringe researcher had come up with an idea to help, and through cooperation with the Horizon facility, the doctor was here to suggest it
.
Going over the information again with Julia and Xavier, the doctor explained, “Even though we’ve talked through this exhaustively, Ms. Lee, I still have to take Xavier through the process for the sake of both our legal rights.”
“Xavier,” the doctor turned to look at the giant boy. “If you choose to proceed, you will be undergoing a new type of nanodermatology treatment that is being referred to as CNB, Cutaneous Nanite Bonding. It is a new treatment that has been pioneered by a medical research facility in Switzerland. While it has not been cleared for general use, you have been approved to receive the treatment because it was developed using your body as a model. We’ve been aware of this treatment for a couple years but have been hesitant to suggest it because of your accelerated growth rate. Your tests over the last year have shown a significant decrease in growth so it became an option.”
Taking a deep breath, the doctor looked between Xavier and his aunt. “The only catch is that the treatment will take some time. Due to your higher-than-average mass we are estimating that it will take at least two years. During that period, you will need to be in suspended animation the whole time. I know it is a lot to take in, but how does all this sound? Do you have any questions or concerns?”
“It is a bit overwhelming, truthfully.” It took Xavier a couple moments to process before his deep voice rumbled out. “So, I’m going to be dead to the world, out for two years?”
“Ah, not quite,” The doctor jumped to his feet and grabbed a stack of papers from a cupboard, handing them to Xavier. “Suspended animation is a bit different from what you see in the movies. The classic example is someone frozen in ice for some time and then thawed out later, right? That is not what we are talking about. With the advent of Nova Terra, technology has developed to the point where we can take an individual’s mind to a new world, leaving their body behind for a short period of time.
“In order to facilitate longer periods of uninterrupted gameplay, Horizon, the company that makes Nova Terra, has developed what they call ‘extended suspension’ through the use of special game pods that monitor the health of the user and provide nutrition, muscle stimulation, and waste removal. Think of it as an extended vacation from your body.”
“You’ll be playing a game for two years straight,” Julia cut in. “That amounts to 14 years due to the time dilation. A single hour in the real world is equivalent to seven hours in Nova Terra.”
“Wait, so I’m going to be 30 when I get out?” Xavier asked, horrified.
“No, no,” the doctor laughed, waving his hands. “You will be 18. Only two actual years will have passed. It is a pretty interesting phenomenon when you think about it, but it is completely natural. In the real world, it is called being in a Flow state, where time seems to shrink or stretch based on the activity you are doing. Nova Terra keeps you in a constant Flow state, stretching time so that you experience seven times as much as you would in the outside world.”
“That does not seem safe at all.”
“It is, though. The human brain is a magnificent thing, and we have almost thirty years of research and study that demonstrate no side effects from this. You do not need to worry.”
Xavier was a bright kid, so he was particularly concerned about the possible impact of prolonged immersion on his brain. Despite his youth, he had finished primary and secondary school years ago and had even completed two degrees, one in Business Management and another in Urban Planning. After all, what else is there to do besides school when you could not move about?
It was a shame that, despite his smarts, he was unable to live as a normal person. Xavier had long dreamed of being able to see the new worlds that virtual reality had begun to offer, which made this idea immediately attractive. Xavier glanced at his aunt, who was watching him, trying to guess his feelings about this.
Xavier couldn’t help himself and let a smile spread across his face. Up to this point, his life had been tedious. It wasn’t as if he lacked for anything, no it was the opposite. There was no struggle, no effort needed. If he wanted something, and it wasn’t bad for his health, then his doting aunt bought it for him.
Forget the fact that he was many times richer than she was, she wouldn’t even let him use the absurd amount of money his parents had left him. Hemmed in and coddled by all who met him, the thing he wanted the most was freedom, and the idea of being in an adventure game like Nova Terra was an amazing opportunity to get that freedom.
Julia Lee gave a small sigh of relief. She knew her nephew well and it was obvious that Xavier was excited about this idea. After a few more minutes of talking some of the details through, she nodded at the doctor. Xavier would be sent into the game where he would spend the next two years of real time while the treatment worked to repair his body.
The papers signed, and a date set for the following week, Xavier and Julia made their way out of the hospital and toward the massive all-terrain vehicle that they drove. However, as soon as they exited the hospital doors, the flash of lights announced the gathering of paparazzi that seemed to follow Julia around like gnats.
“Ms. Lee, Ms. Lee, is it true that you are engaged?”
“Ms. Lee, what are your thoughts on the rising energy costs?”
“Ms. Lee, you are being accused of setting up a hostile takeover of DeHauser Energy. Do you have any comments on that?”
Their security was expecting it, and it wasn’t long before they were able to force their way through to the car. Pushing past the crowding reporters, the leader of the security team opened the butterfly door of their vehicle and pulled down the ramp before guiding Xavier’s chair up into the car and into its place where it locked in.
“Thanks, Henry,” Xavier nodded at the guard.
“Of course, Master Xavier,” the guard responded, his stern face breaking into a smile. All of Julia’s employees adored their giant charge. Glancing back at the paparazzi pushing against the rest of the security team, Henry grimaced. “Sorry about all the noise, sir. Next time we’ll use the private entrance.”
“It’s not a problem, Henry. The pictures are good for my aunt’s publicity.”
Julia, a drop-dead gorgeous blonde with a figure that even gods would kill for, was the most eligible bachelorette in the world, helped, of course, by the fact that she was also a minority shareholder and the CEO of Atlas, the largest energy company in the world. Rich, smart and beautiful, it was no wonder that the tabloids followed her like puppies. Seeing her grumble, Xavier couldn’t hold in his smile.
Most of the ride home was spent discussing Xavier’s coming immersion. Julia had played Nova Terra since its release and was well established. Combined with the fact that the majority of her business was done in the virtual city of Fantasia, Julia was well versed with virtual reality.
“Xavier, you should join me when you get into Nova Terra. This game is not the same as other games, and it takes a lot of work to get established.” Julia flipped her hair over her shoulder.
“Come on, you know that work is the last thing I’m afraid of,” replied Xavier with a smile.
“I know, I know. But you don’t understand how different it is. It is not like any MMO that you have ever played. There is no grinding, no leveling up, no health bars or anything like that. It’s pretty much real life and it’s as dangerous. To some extent, it is like the wild west. Untamed and lawless. Unless you have the strength to protect yourself, you are at the mercy of other players.”
“What about quests and storylines?” asked Xavier. “Don’t games have to have a story?”
“They practically don’t exist,” grumbled Julia. “Normal games have level progression; Nova Terra only has mastery. There are no experience points or anything of the sort. Want to learn to fight with a sword? Start practicing. Want to learn magic? Figure it out. There is no system assist or any sort of auto-targeting. The same is true of storylines. At least, there isn’t a ‘story’ that anyone has discovered. The game has history, but there is no final boss.”
“Wait, then what do you do?”
“You do what you want to do. You can do anything. You can live in a city and make shoes for NPCs. You can join a pioneering expedition and settle a wilderness town. You can hunt monsters and slay dragons. Well, not that last one. At least, no one has been able to yet. We’re working on it, though.”
“You’ve been playing for a long time, right? What have you been doing?” asked Xavier. He knew his aunt played Nova Terra, but they had never talked about it since he wasn’t able to participate, and she didn’t want to make him jealous.
“Oh man, let me tell you! We have the best mercenary corps in the entire game. Prettiest, too,” replied Julia with a smug look. “But this illustrates my point. It took me four years in real time to build up the Society of Roses. That is almost 30 years in Nova Terra! You can’t step into the game and expect to make quick progress.
“First I had to establish the group and then gather players. I mean, it took countless years for everyone to train to the point where they were good enough at fighting to complete the missions! And that is not even considering our reputation as a group. We only managed to get a permit to build our headquarters in the capital a year ago. If you take the time dilation into account, it took us 21 years in game. 21 years of calculated moves and hard work.