Digital Heretic (The Game is Life)

by Schott, Terry

  beta test, I knew he would be a threat to everything I had built, so I needed to neutralize him.”

  “If he was a brilliant programmer how could you stop him from interfering?”

  “There was only one way to protect the Game,” Brandon said. “I locked him inside of it.”

  “Inside of what?” Trew asked.

  “Inside the Game,” Brandon said. “He entered the Game with the first batch of students, along with the initial Timeless. It was my intention to have him enter like the students, with no knowledge of the real world and a blank memory. Shane caught advance warning and somehow he programmed his avatar to remember who he was.”

  “He cheated,” Angelica said.

  “He manipulated the system,” Brandon said. “But that was just the beginning. For the first few centuries he caused a significant amount of damage. My plan wasn’t a good one, I realized that he needed to be ejected from the Game and dealt with here, but he continually learned of my plans and stayed ahead of every Timeless I sent after him.”

  “The primitive people of Earth shared stories of these battles from one generation to the next,” Angelica said. “They believed it was angels fighting.”

  “The favoured angel was cast down from the heavens, attacked by his brethren in an attempt to destroy him. Exiled from his home and never allowed to return to it.”

  “The Fallen?” Trew asked.

  “That’s the name he took. To most, he is known as Lucifer,” Brandon said. “But his real name is Shane.”

  “Can’t you First him?”

  “He disabled our ability to do that, long ago.” Brandon said. “He’s destroyed all the Eternals and Infernals that we send after him to bring him down. Over the ages he has befriended a small number

  of Timeless and even assists them from time to time. They either protect him, or he remains hidden from them. I haven’t been able to catch him.”

  “Shane is the 5,000 year old Eternal that the Devil sometimes listens to?” Trew was quickly putting the pieces together.

  “Yes, it’s a complicated situation,” Brandon admitted.

  “He can kill Timeless, he’s been inside the Game since day one, and he knows it’s a computer simulation which he helped design. Why not just send a flood of Timeless to bring him down? There must be a way to eliminate him from the Game.”

  “He’s aware of that danger, and for a long time he has hidden. Every once in a while he surfaces, but our inability to view him and track him makes it easy for him to disappear again.”

  “He’s very powerful?” Trew said.

  “More than you can imagine,” Brandon said. “He helped build the world, and there are many little features that we built into the digital landscape that give him immense power. He can open a door on one continent and step out on another; he can bend the laws of physics. Imagine a video game where the programmers insert fun glitches and Easter eggs, special features that allow you to change the game. We did that extensively during development, and Shane knows them all. He likely even built some in that I don’t know about. Putting him inside the Game was the most serious mistake I made. It was the fly in the ointment added at the very beginning of creation.”

  “Why not just enter the Game yourself and hunt him down?” Trew asked.

  Brandon looked at Trew with a blank stare. Confused, Trew looked towards Angelica; she just closed her eyes and shook her head slightly.

  “All right, so what does his involvement mean?” Trew asked. “If he’s the one who lifted the Clean Mark on Danielle?”

  “It’s never good when Shane enters the field during a play.” Brandon said. “Not good for the player, and often seriously disruptive for Earth’s history. First, it means any Timeless can kill her. Most won’t be interested, but some will, and that’s a serious problem.”

  “Can’t we just convince everyone to leave her alone?” Trew asked.

  “There are too many games going on inside the Game,” Angelica said. “Players will lie to your face and stab you in the back. The Mark ensured they would all behave, but if Shane lifted it my guess is another one won’t hold.”

  “Okay, so Infernals will target her. What else?”

  “Eternals likely will as well,” Angelica said. “We have to suspect everyone.”

  “I know Shane,” Brandon said. “He desperately wants one thing above all else. My guess is he’s going to target Danielle and see if she can somehow help him get it.”

  “What does he want?” Trew asked.

  “He wants to escape from the Game and come back here,” Brandon said.

  “But that’s not possible. His body must have perished years ago.” Trew said.

  “It did,” Brandon confirmed.

  “Then how can he leave the Game and come back?” Angelica asked.

  Brandon sighed. “There is a way…”

  Chapter 40

  Just before entering my last play, I unlocked the option to become a Timeless.

  It was very expensive; I paid a lot of credits to simply try to become one. I was told someone would contact me inside the Game to give me an extensive interview. If I passed their tests, they would make the offer.

  They did contact me and put me through a rigorous screening process. At the time, I thought I was testing to become a government special operative. I guess I must have passed, because they offered to transform me into an Eternal. When I asked them what that meant, they explained that Earth was a complex virtual reality simulation and we were all just players. They said I qualified to become more than just a player; they were offering me the chance to become an immortal who could live inside the Game to help it function more smoothly.

  What did I do? Well, of course, I laughed at them and said the idea was ridiculous. Living inside a computer simulation, really!

  Yeah, I was disappointed when I finished that play. As a player, I really did want to be an Eternal. Apparently the final test was to see if my avatar could conceive of such a thing, which I failed.

  I think most players would jump at the chance to become a Timeless. Sacrifice this life for an opportunity to stay in the Game? Of

  course I would have! My life here is nothing special, and I was a decently ranked player when I retired.

  For the majority of us, the Game is much better than the lives we end up living after we turn 18.

  Excerpt from interview with Clyde Jimmons – ex-top ranked player

  Danielle - 54

  “We’re already hiding. For the past few years, if you’re a Gamer, then you’re a target.”

  I hear Raphael sigh over the phone. It must be difficult for him, dealing with me all these years. I know I’ve become more reckless than even the little girl he used to protect. That’s fine, I don’t intend on behaving myself. That’s not how to play this Game. “Average Gamers have been hiding, yes,” he says. “You recklessly continue to walk around, and when you were safe from Timeless, I allowed it. But now you’re not just one of millions of walking targets, you’re the number one target for everyone who wants to kill Gamers.”

  “Don’t be silly,” I say. “Fallen is the number one target.” It’s still a mystery to the world who Fallen is. Our team is always one step ahead of the enemy, keeping my identity safe. Maybe I’m number two now.

  “Well, no matter what number you sit at, Stephanie and I can’t be near you right now.” I hear the frustration in his voice. Now that it’s gone, I’ve learned that one of the perks of having the Clean Mark was that two or three Eternals could constantly be with me. Apparently they give off a certain vibration or energy that allows other Timeless to track them down. If one or more Timeless stay together for a significant length of time, others will search them out to investigate what they’re up to. It’s a failsafe put in place to make sure they don’t have an opportunity to congregate and form

  dangerous groups that might cause havoc, which makes sense. Solitary life is one condition imposed on the Timeless; get a dozen or more living together and th
ey could be powerful enough to cause worldwide damage. Stephanie has told me the real story of Troy; the great heroes were Timeless fighting each other. The real story is more exciting than Homer ever described it.

  “So what would you like me to do, Raph?” I ask. “Can we get the Mark put back on?”

  “No.”

  “How many factions will come after me, if I stay visible, do you think?”

  “All of them, Danni.” I can hear the frustration in his voice.

  “Is there a way for me to hide from them?”

  “Despite your eyes, and the abilities you’ve developed, you don’t appear to give off the energy signature of a Timeless, which is good. Timeless shine brightly to each other. When we pass through a town and notice a Timeless presence, we search them out. That wouldn’t be good for you.”

  “Do I give off any unique signature?” I ask.

  “Yes,” he says. “Everyone does, but the differences are subtle. It would take a tracker, a specialist in these small differences, to find you. They will send them eventually, but not at first. The easiest methods often work best, so they’ll just hunt you down the simplest way they can.”

  “From my Internet trail,” I say. Every time an individual accesses the Internet they leave a traceable trail from their interaction with it. This trail makes it easy to locate anyone. “We don’t even know if I’m in danger,” I say.

  Raphael laughs. “Sweet girl, can we just assume you’re in danger? If not today, then likely tomorrow or the next day. Whoever took the Clean Mark off you will be coming for you.”

  “Any ideas who it was?” I ask.

  “Daniel swears it wasn’t him or his. Gabriel says the same. Assuming they’re both telling the truth, which I am not prepared to do, that narrows it down to only a handful of others, all very powerful and dangerous. No matter how it happened, we must believe it was done on purpose and hide you until we hear otherwise.”

  “So the odds are good that I’m going to die soon,” I say.

  “No… not for a long time, Danni.”

  “Hey, look, Raph, it’s fine. I know there’s another place to go to. It’s been a good run. If they hunt me down, I’m not afraid to die. I’ll get to see Trew again.”

  “Don’t talk like that, Danni,” Raph says. “This is exactly why it’s not a good idea for people to feel so secure about a life after this one. Suddenly no one cares if they stop breathing here. What if it’s worse there, Danni?”

  I say nothing. The thought hadn’t occurred to me.

  “What if you wake up in chains, a slave in a reality of misery?”

  “Is that the reality we go to?” I ask.

  “I have no idea. It’s been a long time since I was there, but it could be. How about you just hang on to this life as long as you can? Besides, remember, you only get the best score by playing as long as you can in here.”

  “All right…”

  “I have feelers out,” Raphael says. “Both the Infernals and Eternals are looking, too. Our resources are extensive, so the odds are good we will know soon. Hold on a second, Danni, my other line is ringing.”

  I wait while he takes the call, watching Melissa fly around in the open blue sky. I gaze at her and wonder at the finer points of what she is doing. I’m so close to joining her up there, I wish I had no other worries in the world right now and could focus only on flying.

  I hear a click and Raphael comes back on the line. “Where are you right now?” he asks. I can tell from the tone of his voice that his other call was not good.

  “Half an hour outside of town, practicing with Melissa in a field.” I say.

  “I found out who took the Mark off you,” he says. “Steph just heard.”

  “Who was it?”

  “A guy named Shane,” he says.

  “Never heard of him.” I can tell from the tone of his voice that this isn’t a good thing for me.

  “We’ve mentioned him by another name before…”

  Uh-oh. My blood turns to ice as a thought enters my head. “The Fallen?” I ask.

  “Bingo,” he says.

  “Damn.”

  Melissa drops down beside me. “Three black cars are speeding this way,” she says. “We should get out of here.”

  “Gotta go, Raph. Call you soon.” I hear him ask me what’s wrong but I hang up the phone and look at Melissa.

  “Which way do we drive to get away?” I ask.

  Melissa shakes her head, a grim look on her face. “No time to drive, Danni. We’re gonna have to fly out of here.”

  I begin to protest, to tell her she knows I can’t fly, but her look tells me she’s serious. I can see the dust from the cars as they approach and my mouth goes dry. I feel like a baby bird about to be kicked out of the nest by its mother, and I’m scared.

  “Damn.”

  Chapter 41

  The human body, or avatar, as we call it, is an incredibly complex vehicle for a player’s consciousness to inhabit. For optimal health and functionality it must be formed and maintained precisely.

  Yet it is also very forgiving and resilient, and able to withstand extreme abuse and neglect while still functioning satisfactorily.

  I wonder how it came to be what it is today? Was it just a formless construct until avatars focused on it? Or was it designed so delicately with such staggering detail from the very first moment by Brandon Strayne and the Mainframe?

  If a few misaligned molecules and proteins can damage the human body catastrophically, can a different misalignment result in creating an extraordinary body?

  Is the Game an exact replica of Tygon? If it is, then we should ask the same questions about ourselves. Perhaps if Melissa can fly… I can too.

  Anonymous Tygon Citizen

  Danielle’s command centre

  “Did she just compare herself to a baby bird being kicked out of its nest?” Michelle asked.

  Brandon nodded his head and laughed. “Yes, she did. Exciting, isn’t it?”

  “What is?” Trew asked. “What am I missing?”

  Brandon waved his hand and Michelle responded, switching the focus of the main screen from Danielle’s perspective to a smaller viewer beside it. Melissa’s point of view appeared on the main screen, it was a bit disconcerting to see the view switch from inside one person to the other so quickly, but everyone in the room had experienced this so often it no longer affected them.

  “Turn up the volume and watch quietly,” Brandon said. “Let’s see how this situation turns out. I don’t want to miss a moment of it because we’re talking.”

  Trew nodded, confused and concerned as the three black sedans raced towards the women in the field.

  ***

  Melissa

  “I can’t fly yet!” Danielle shouts.

  “You can float,” I say. “I think we can use that to allow me to pull you out of here. Now summon the Glow and start floating. Close your eyes until I tell you to open them. Hurry!”

  I can’t fly while holding anything heavy, not more than a few feet. I’m not strong enough. But I know I can pull her if she’s able to float. This is nuts, but let’s see if it works.

  I fly into the air to see how far away the cars are. They’re coming fast; we need to go.

  I settle to the ground and try to stay calm as I watch Danielle summon her glow. She’s gotten very good at it; we’ve practiced for stressful situations exactly like this. I smile as I sense her glow appear. Yeah, I can do that. She floats gently above the ground.

  “Ok, here we go.” I grab hold of her belt and take off. Excellent! She’s light as a feather. Slowly, I begin to move away from the approaching cars.

  I fly much quicker than I can run. I think we clocked it at around 100 kilometres per hour. I haven’t pushed my speed to the limit,

  though. Most of my time is spent around buildings. Bones will break very easily if they run into a solid building, so I keep it around 30-50 km/h. “I’m going to pick up speed now, Danni.” She nods, eyes still closed.
/>
  I figure I’m flying along at about 40 kilometres per hour or so now, about five feet off the ground. Danni is doing perfect. I look behind me and see the cars gaining on us; we’ll never outrun them this way. It’s time to take advantage of our ability to move across uneven terrain in a straight line. I see woods coming up fast; we need to gain some altitude. “We’re going up, Danielle. Don’t let that worry you, just keep doing what you’re doing. You’ve got this! You’re going to fly!”

  I hear Danielle gasp as I soar upwards, but she maintains her state. I get ready to feel her extra weight; if it all goes terribly wrong, I can slow our crash to the ground enough that we shouldn’t break anything. She keeps floating, atta girl, Danni! We clear the trees and continue to cross the woods. I look back and see the cars stop at the edge; there’s no road through the forest.

  We fly for another five minutes or so, until the woods are well behind us. I hover above the earth, holding Danielle and looking in all directions, but there’s no one around. I wave at a couple of seagulls who are hovering near us. Birds find me a curious sight and often fly close.

  “Okay, Danni,” I say. “We are a bit higher than a foot off the ground — more like a couple hundred feet — but don’t panic or drop your Glow.” Her eyes squint and she drops slightly but catches herself. I sigh inside; it’s always mind over matter. “Now I want you to calmly open your eyes and look around.”

  Danielle opens her eyes slowly, maintaining a strong Glow. She looks from side to side and then downwards. Her face lights up in a huge grin. “That’s it,” I say encouragingly, “Just enjoy where you are, don’t think about it too much. Keep the Glow going. Now I’m

  going to let go of you and you’re not going to drop. Remember that I’m not keeping you up here, you are.”

  She nods and I let her go. She continues to float solidly in place. I drift backwards about twenty feet. “Now come towards me, slowly,” I say.