“In the Sim, every time we went in to play it involved elimination games,” Brandon said. He held out his hands for the others to see. “There’s blood on all of our hands. Virtual blood, but it feels real.”
“We only killed avatars,” Easton said.
“You’re just an avatar at this moment in time,” Brandon countered.
Alan started to say something, but he paused thoughtfully.
“This isn’t the Sim. It will be more like our thirty year play, at least to begin with,” Brandon said. “I’m not one hundred percent positive, but my guess is that playing in Tygon will be about more than killing.”
“Okay, fine,” Kay said. “We won’t hurt anyone.” She grabbed Tony by the arm and led him down the street.
Brandon and the others split up and started to walk in different directions.
“Brandon!” Kay called from across the street.
Brandon looked in her direction.
“If we can’t kill anyone, then what are we supposed to do?”
Brandon looked at her for a moment, then laughed and shrugged his shoulders. Cupping his hands he yelled back, “Use your imagination!”
Chapter 55
“How can I help you today, General?” Thorn smiled pleasantly as his boss entered the room. It was obvious that the General was angry.
“You can let me into the Sim, for starters!” the General snapped.
“What do you mean?” Thorn looked confused.
“I tried out my new VR helmet and found myself in a white room with a door.”
“Yes,” Thorn nodded, “that’s the standard entrance area to the Sim. Then you open the door and take the hallway to your programmed destination.”
“I’m not in the mood to be mocked, Thorn. I couldn’t leave the room. If you’re trying to stop me from entering the Sim, you’re about to see a very different side of me.”
“I’m not mocking you. Are you telling me that isn’t how it went for you?”
“You know exactly how it went! I went into the Sim, stood in the white room, and couldn’t exit.”
“There was no door?” Thorn looked confused.
“The door was locked!” the General snapped.
Thorn frowned and looked at his computer screen. “When did you enter the Sim?”
“Yesterday.”
“What time?”
“It was about a quarter past six.”
Thorn nodded and continued to look at the screen and type in commands. Finally he nodded and sat back in his chair, looking up at the General.
“You locked yourself out,” Thorn said.
“What?” the General stammered. “What do you mean, I locked myself out?”
“The Sim is designed to keep unknown programs out. I’m proud to say that no one has ever successfully hacked into the Sim. It was one of your primary directives: to keep security as tight as possible and to keep the Sim safe from enemy eyes.”
“Well, yes, that’s true,” the General said, “but I’m not a threat; the Sim is my property!”
Thorn laughed to himself, but on the surface he nodded in agreement. “Of course that’s true, sir, but the computer didn’t know that it was you attempting access. The fact that you were able to enter the Sim at all is remarkable. I find it disturbing that for all these years you have refused my offers of assistance with entering the Sim on the grounds of maintaining safety, but yesterday you came closer to dying than I think you have in a long time.”
“What do you mean?” the General’s anger disappeared, replaced with concern.
“The helmet you used wasn’t authorized technology,” Thorn said. “One person managed to hack into the primary stage of the Sim a few years ago. He transferred his mind into the Sim, hoping to gain information for an outside source.” Thorn turned his monitor around for the General to see. “The security measures of the Sim dealt with him. We found a man lying on the ground that same day just outside our facility, and we were able to piece information together to confirm that he was the one who’d hacked us. He currently resides in our medical facility. The Sim destroyed his mind, General. The same thing could have happened to you yesterday.”
The scene on the monitor was horrible. A man hooked up to tubes and monitors lay in a hospital bed. His eyes were half open; his mouth drooped on one side. The General could see by the man’s vacant stare that his essence was no longer there.
“He’s a vegetable,” the General murmured.
“Yes,” Thorn agreed. “That’s what happens to people who try to access the Sim without proper clearance.”
“But I should have proper clearance!” the General shouted angrily. He realized how close he’d come to death, or perhaps worse, and he was infuriated.
“You do, sir,” Thorn said. “When we know what you’re doing. No one can decide what they want to do and proceed without going through the proper channels — not even you.”
The General nodded his head. “I understand, Mr. Thorn. Computers have never been my strong suit. I suppose I should have consulted you before I made the attempt.”
Thorn shook his head with concern. This was the moment he’d been moving towards during the entire conversation, and he struck hard. “Whoever built and designed that helmet for you would have known this, sir.”
“What do you mean?” the General asked.
“Your helmet designer understood computers enough to know how secure the Sim would be. Whoever constructed your helmet expected you to die when you tried to access the Sim.”
The General’s face turned pale.
Thorn repositioned his monitor, allowing the General a moment to ponder that thought. It was possible, of course, that whoever had helped the General had no desire to kill him, and simply wasn’t savvy enough to consider all the possibilities. What mattered to Thorn was that someone other than him existed who was clever enough to build a functioning virtual reality helmet, an unknown competitor who would be eliminated very soon because of what he’d just led the General to believe.
“Thank you, Mr. Thorn,” the General stood up. There was death in his eyes. “I appreciate your help.”
“General?”
The General paused with his hand on Thorn’s door. “Yes?”
“When you are ready to safely enter the Sim I’m always ready, willing, and able to assist you. There is no one else on this planet that depends on your safety and continued well-being as much as I do.”
“That’s true,” the General said. “Without me, this would all go away. Thank you, Thorn. I’ll schedule a session for you to help me enter the Sim soon. There are a few security issues I must correct, first.”
“Of course, sir,” Thorn nodded solemnly. He waited until the General left before he allowed himself the luxury of.
Chapter 56
“There is big news in the world of video games and business today.
Computing giant ‘Thorn Inc.’ is opening up Beta testing for the first ever totally immersive virtual reality game.
Later this week ten thousand lucky video gamers will log in to explore the imaginary world of Tygon.
With over a million advance copies of the game ‘Tygon 3.0’ sold already, the business world is watching the event that could transform Samson Thorn into the richest man in the world.
If everything goes as planned, in just a few short weeks millions of citizens will disappear into virtual reality for short periods of rest and relaxation…”
Chapter 56
"READY FOR THE REAL SHOW!?"
Brandon and the group raised their heads and looked towards the entrance of the bookstore. They were sitting at a reading area in the very back corner, but they could hear Cooper clearly shout his greeting from the front door as he walked in. People paused to watch as he moved past, but he was oblivious of their attention. A parent rushed forward to pull her child out of his way, staring at him as if he were crazy. Cooper ignored them all, grinning as he continued towards Brandon’s group. He walked into the sitting are
a and flopped down on a beanbag chair.
“That was a bit rude,” Kay said.
“Yeah,” Cooper shrugged and grabbed a book out of Alan’s hands. “It’s just hard for me to care about NPCs.” He pointed to a man standing nearby browsing a bookshelf. “They’re… empty. They put so little thought into most of what they do.” He looked back at Kay and shook his head. “They aren’t… real.”
“Well, they act real enough,” Easton said. “We’ve lived our entire lives in the Facilities, but they seem identical to real people, from our limited experience.”
“That’s the biggest problem!” Cooper leapt to his feet and pretended to pull out a gun, pointing his finger at an NPC browsing a bookshelf close by. Squinting, he looked down the sight of the imaginary weapon. “They’re more like real people than they should be,” He pulled the trigger and his hand “recoiled.” Blowing on the tip of his finger, he holstered his hand. “Which is the most depressing truth of all.”
Cooper shook his head and gazed at the NPC with disappointment, flopping back into his seat and opening the book he still held in his other hand. He removed an energy bar from his pocket and took a bite, not even bothering to remove the wrapping. The others laughed at him; Cooper was acting a lot like a slightly older version of Brandon, “slightly” being the key word.
“So tell me,” he said, still idly leafing through the book. “Are all of you ready for the civilian players who’ll be coming in tomorrow?”
“I think so,” Brandon said. He looked at the others who nodded in agreement. “There are still some issues to resolve, but that’s what all the Beta testers are for. Small groups can only find so many problems, right?”
“Absolutely,” Cooper agreed. “Have you run into any other Elites?” He was referring to other Sim veterans.
“A few,” Tony said. “We’ve grouped up with some of them to test larger areas and general systems. We’ve caused damage, wreaked havoc and committed crimes around the world to make sure the automated peacekeeping forces reacted as they were designed to do.”
“And?”
“Oh, yeah,” Kay smiled, “they caught us.”
“Because we had to let them,” Alan said. “If we’d wanted to get away, we could have.”
Cooper chuckled and looked at his watch. He stood up and tossed the book back to Alan. “We have a few hours left before they begin flooding into the world. Who wants to go grab one last free meal before the server goes fully live and we have to start paying for everything we consume?”
The group stood up. “Sounds good to me,” Easton said.
“Great,” Cooper said. “When we’re done, we can go to one of the busier spawn points and watch civilian Baggers logging in for their first plays.”
“I wonder how regular players will be different from us professionals,” Alan said.
“For normal games, they’d clean our clocks,” Cooper admitted, “but they’re going to find this much different from the traditional computer games they’re used to. Up until now, gamers sat in front of their monitors and mashed their keyboards. Now they’re gonna have to feed their bodies, suffer from exhaustion, need rest, and feel pain when they’re hurt. They’re coming in here thinking virtual reality is a game.”
“But it is a game,” Tony said.
“No, it’s more like life,” Cooper said.
“The game is life,” Brandon said.
“Hey, now,” Cooper smiled, “that’s catchy.”
Chapter 57
The General locked his office door, went to his desk and picked up the phone. This wasn’t a call he’d been looking forward to.
“Hello, Madame President.”
“General.” The President’s voice sounded cold and formal.
“What can I do for you, Ma’am?”
“Your… pet has become troublesome, Donovan. Thorn’s little game has swept the world in a wave that could very well drown us.”
“Yes, Madame President.”
“You understand games better than most, General. They are useful when they help us train soldiers for battle, or workers to perform simple repetitive tasks. They assist with learning new ways to improve society. Games allow us to harvest knowledge and productivity from the masses. Mindless games are even useful for entertainment purposes, helping normal citizens escape for a brief time from the drudgery and dismal nature of their existence, giving the population harmless activities to look forward to performing during their off time.”
The General knew all of this; he’d educated the President many years ago, teaching her about these exact types of benefits. She was angry, though, and he dared not interrupt her. “Yes.”
“Games deliver control, General. That was your last sales pitch to me, wasn’t it? The Sim and your successful Blurring project delivered control, turning regular children and adults into unsuspecting weapons who would gladly die for whatever cause we desired?”
“It was,” he agreed.
“Six months ago, Thorn Inc.’s virtual reality game, ‘Tygon 3.0’ went live. Six short months ago, General. Do you know what has happened in that space of time?”
The General sat down in his chair. “Yes, Madame President.”
“Tell me,” she said.
“Tygon 3.0 has become the best-selling, most played game ever,” the General said. “Samson Thorn is now the richest man who has ever lived.”
“I wish it was only that, General. Tell me the worst of it.”
The General closed his eyes and rubbed them wearily. “People are so immersed in Tygon 3.0 that they are ignoring their real lives. Adults aren’t showing up to work, kids are no longer attending school, and essential businesses and services are having to shut down due to lack of manpower.”
“This wasn’t supposed to happen here, General,” the President said. “You leaked it to our enemies and assured me this would occur there… but not here. You told me there would be fail-safes built into Thorn’s game here. Limits to the amount of time a person could play, dampening programs to make the virtual reality not feel so real inside the simulation, that sort of thing. Do I remember incorrectly, General, or did you give me those assurances?”
“Yes, I did.”
“Then tell me what’s happening, General. Everything I’ve built for over eighteen years as President is slipping away in the span of mere months. Is this part of your plan? Because if so, it is treasonous. You assured me there were measures in place to stop Thorn if this type of thing began to happen!”
“There were. There are, Madame President.”
“Do you know what happens if we try to unhook a VR helmet while a person is playing, General? They drop dead on the spot. We’ve tried to slow this down, but it’s become an infection. It’s worse than an infection! We are witnessing a digital plague that will destroy civilization as surely as any disease I have ever seen!”
“I can bring things under control, Madame President. Just say the word.”
Laughter erupted on the other end of the line. Strained, stressed, fearful laughter poured from the President’s lips. The General winced at the sound.
Finally the laughter subsided and he could hear her laboured breathing.
“Consider the word given, Donovan. Fix this. Now!”
There was a click on the other end of the line. A small wisp of a smile touched the General’s lips. “Yes, Madame President,” he said to the dial tone as he hung up the phone.
Chapter 58
She stood backstage, smiling as the fans chanted her name.
Her manager had advised her to make them wait an extra ten minutes, and it turned out to be a great idea. The chanting and cheering grew in volume as the minutes passed.
She closed her eyes and remembered the long journey she’d taken to get here. All those nights playing in tiny bars with only drunks to listen, begging for small gigs just to earn a meal and a couple sales of her self-made albums. She’d travelled thousands of miles in a beat up old car just to follow her dream.
Her perseverance had paid off, though. While she was onstage in one of those small bars, a young music executive had walked in. He’d been searching venues in remote locations in hopes of finding the next big star. Fate had connected the two of them. She’d poured her heart and soul into her songs that night, and he recognized her talent when he’d heard her sing.
After that it had been a whirlwind. First the venue sizes increased. Then her music began to get picked up by the major radio stations. The appearances and live performances began to bring out increasingly large crowds. It had been worth it all; the sacrifice, the heartache, the miles covered.
Her manager walked up and grabbed her in a warm embrace, swinging her around before kissing her passionately. They’d become so much more than partners in music; they’d fallen in love and, before long, they'd gotten married.
“Okay, baby, I think you’ve made them wait long enough,” he said with a smile. “Get out there and give ‘em what they’re begging for!”
She giggled and playfully grabbed at him; he was so good for her. “Come and watch me sing, lover,” she said.
She turned and walked to the curtain where a roadie was smiling, ready to open it for her as she approached. Through a narrow slit in the curtains, she could see the crowd; this was the largest event she’d held so far. It would be a night to remember forever.
She pushed the curtain aside and smiled as she took hold of the microphone….
“Mommy, mommy! Please talk to me, Mommy! I’m so hungry, and you said you would make us some food soon!”
The sounds of the crowd vanished as her six-year-old daughter pulled the VR helmet from her head. She found herself in her apartment, sitting on her sofa, in her drab living room. She grabbed the helmet from her daughter’s hands and pushed her off her lap as gently as possible, closely inspecting the helmet to make certain it hadn’t been damaged. “Give me a second, honey. I told you I’d make dinner when I was done playing my game.”
Katie would never have been able to take the helm off if she’d been fully within the game; it must have shorted out again. She shouldn’t have come out of Tygon until the concert was finished and the celebrations had ended. A quick glance showed her that her helmet had overheated. With a flash of annoyance, she checked the timer and saw that she’d been inside the game for over thirteen hours. The helmet was one of the original models and tended to overheat after twelve hours or so. She would need to let it cool down for a bit before she could get back in and finish her concert.
Interlude-Brandon (The Game is Life) Page 19