by Aaron Jay
When I couldn’t take the steam any longer I stumbled out of the shower following my stomach’s command. I ate. And then I ate some more. I couldn’t stop, I was so hungry. I ate until my stomach was painfully full and then a little more than that. My stomach was too full but some part of me wanted to cram even more sustenance into my body. A yawn that started from my very soul erupted from me. My back cracked as I stretched. The only way I was able to stop eating was by focusing on how good it would feel just to lie down.
I fell into my bed and knew no more.
It could have been hours, days, or even years as far as I could tell when I finally woke up. Someone was ringing my doorbell. I groaned but managed to get vertical and look through the peephole of my door. It was a pair in GM uniforms. One was an older, tired looking guy who still had some tough left in him. His partner was someone that I wouldn’t have minded meeting under other circumstances. Neither she nor I was dressed in a way to make me like how this first meeting was going to go. I was nearly naked which made me feel unprepared for a talk with the authorities. She was in the uniform of said authorities. GMs always meant trouble.
“Yes? What can I do for you?” I said through the door.
“Mr. Boone? I am GM Dave Arneson. My partner GM Patricia Pulling and I would like to talk with you.”
“Can you confirm your identities and confirm that this is official business?” I asked.
“Sure.”
One good thing about the new world is that identity theft would have to happen on the genetic level. My father insists that any lock can be spoofed by the nature of the tech needed to make the lock in the first place. Maybe so, but the costs of hacking these things is so high that only groups like the guilds would have the resources to spoof the system. There have been rumors that the leading families have black-bag operations they keep around for those few times when their legitimate powers aren’t capable of ensuring the outcomes they require. The two GMs allowed my apartment’s nano to verify that they were who they said they were.
“Give me a second. I was sleeping.”
I quickly had my basic greys on. Just before I opened the door I engaged the Pod’s monitoring and reporting functions. I made sure that the recording would upload to the net so no “accidents” could happen.
I opened the door.
“What can I do for the GMs? I kind of need to get back to the game,” I asked.
They took a careful look around my apartment. GM Arneson placed his hand on my bed. I realized he was checking to see if it was warm and if I had been telling the truth about sleeping.
“Yes. We hear that you have a wager with Clan Heir Maya Eastman,” said Arneson.
“Have you spoken with her?” I asked.
“We are here talking with you.” He perused me for a moment. “You don’t look like an idiot.”
“Thanks. It’s how I style my hair.”
“Cute,” he said. “It’s just my experience that only idiots think they can win a wager against a guild member without another guild behind them. You don’t look like an idiot but you can’t judge a book by its cover. You have anyone backing you?”
So, they were on a fishing expedition. But for who? Probably Maya and the Eastmans. I had finished off the Beginner’s Trade Quest in near record time. She may have been getting nervous. Given how the Party operated they would naturally assume I had some faction behind me. It’s how they get things done.
“Who am I to discuss the doings of my betters? I certainly wouldn’t want to mistakenly say something out of turn. Ask Maya about our wager.”
Arneson pretended to ignore my dry tone and responded to my comment at face value.
“A smart attitude. All wagers are logged with the system we are responsible for.”
“Well then,” I said.
That stopped the conversation dead for a minute.
“So you just started playing the game. You just rolled up. Congratulations,” said Pulling with a smile. She was pretty but the GM outfit really limited how much I was able to appreciate her finer points.
“Thanks.”
“Where did you start? Maybe I’m nearby and we can meet up in game some time.”
“Is this an official request for my location?”
“No, just being friendly to a new player.”
“Well, I did just start. I want to get a few levels before meeting up with others. I’d worry I’d just embarrass myself playing with a GM at this point. Maybe soon. Where are you? You tell me and when I am ready I could try and look you up.”
While GM Pulling and I were chatting, Arneson was taking a more serious look at my pod.
“I’m sure you are better than you think,” continued Pulling.
“What makes you say that?”
She ignored my question. “I’m surprised we found you outside your pod. Most new players just about live in there for the first few weeks.”
“Even noobs need to sleep. I wasn’t anywhere I felt I could sleep in game. Had to log.”
“But you also went to visit your father,” she said.
They had telegraphed it too much so I wasn’t surprised. I kept my face impassive.
“Well, it was my roll up, and my father, since you seem to know of him, could hardly come to see me get into a primary pod.”
They were both studying me and apparently I did a pretty good job keeping anything worth pouncing on from my face.
“Yeah, I hear he is in bad shape,” said Arneson meanly.
“Yes. His work saving us all has marked him,” I retorted.
“Arneson, don’t be a jerk,” said Pulling disapprovingly. “Numitor Boone has earned our gratitude. I apologize for my partner, Miles.”
Arneson didn’t look apologetic at all but grunted, “Sorry.”
“How was your roll up otherwise?” asked Pulling.
“Maya Eastman graced me with her presence. Who could ask for more than that? The most popular girl in the game came by. Why, my roll up is probably all the gossip sites would want to talk about.”
“Did you forget anything?”
They telegraphed it again.
“What do you mean?”
Arneson pulled out the container of nano I had brought to try to bribe Guttmacher.
“So, this isn’t yours?”
“I suppose this is where I am supposed to say, ‘That’s not my nano,’ and you get to say, ‘We never said it was nano. How did you know it was nano if you didn’t know about this?’ and so on. But you muffed it.”
Arneson growled.
“That looks like my container.”
“We can be nice, Miles. If Numitor Boone, who couldn’t make it to his son’s roll up, wanted to do his son a favor and got him some nano through informal channels, we don’t want to embarrass a great man like him.”
I think they thought they had me. I burst out laughing.
“You think stolen nano is funny?” growled Arneson.
Patricia Pulling was all kindness and warmth. Her soft brown eyes shone with concern for poor misguided me.
“Just tell us what happened, Miles. We will work with you and your father to fix this misunderstanding.”
I couldn’t help it and laughed some more. My laughter cracked Patricia Pulling’s mask of good cop warm concern.
“You won’t think it funny when you are stuck in the cradle slaving for Maya Eastman.”
“I’m sorry,” I said, still fighting down laughter. “But you should really complain to Maya Eastman. I’m not the one making you trip over your own feet. Whoever sent you over here is.”
“You think we are Maya Eastman’s lapdogs?” He laughed at some private joke. A joke at my expense. That can’t be good.
I inspected Arneson just like he had looked me over. “You don’t look like an idiot. It’s my experience that only idiot GMs think they don’t hop when the guilds say toad.”
“Keep laughing. We have the nano,” said Arneson.
“That nano is mine. All legal and fai
r.”
“Sure, pull the other one. How could someone who just got into the game earn that much nano?”
“Check my logs. I’ve eaten nothing but basic meal packs for I don’t know how long. No customized clothes. No medical use. No body or face sculpting. The only programs I’ve used are the free educational ones. I haven’t even gone to the bathroom anywhere but my own system for years. That is all mine.”
Pulling looked at me like I was some sort of dangerous yet attractive monster.
Arneson was turning redder and redder.
“We will check your logs.”
“Feel free. Maya sure feels free to use you guys to hassle people to win her bets. You enjoy jumping at her command?”
“Shut up, Boone. Logs can be destroyed.”
“Are you threatening me with destroying evidence of my innocence, Officer Arneson?”
“Dave…” Pulling put a warning in saying his name.
“This noob is mouthing off too much. He needs to learn a little respect.”
“This is Numitor Boone’s son.”
“What can the big man do? He can’t leave his house. The Eastmans and the other clans are the powers these days. You know how this works. Quiet favors and thank yous keep the game playing.”
“I’m not looking to collect these kinds of favors, Dave.”
“You should have said something earlier then, Patty.”
“Now might be a good moment to mention something,” I interjected.
“Shut up,” said Arneson.
“What?” said Pulling.
“Our little tete-a-tete is being recorded.”
Arneson was still looking angry but the shine was coming off of his confidence. He still wasn’t ready to back down though.
“Logs and recordings both can be destroyed,” he snarled.
“Numitor Boone is a genius. I may not be a genius like my father but I’m still not idiot enough to make a recording of some GMs committing a crime, tell them about it, and leave the recordings where they can get to it,” I replied.
“You little…”
“Dave, stop making things worse,” commanded Pulling.
“Who are you working with?” he demanded.
“Uh uh. I’m done answering your questions. I need to get back into the game. I have a bet to win.”
Arneson apparently didn’t feel beat. He smiled.
“Mr. Boone. You are being detained for suspicion of illegal trafficking in nano.”
“Dave…”
“I said you could check my logs.”
“We will. We also need to examine your pod in detail for signs of tampering. You are related to someone with the expertise capable of faking the logs. While our investigation proceeds you will be detained. Please come with us. I apologize deeply for delaying your gameplay. I assure you that you we will proceed as quickly as we can with a thorough investigation. A very thorough investigation.”
And with that I was hauled off. Away from my pod and away from the game. Away from my chance to grind, pwn and win my bet.
They took me into custody and slapped a GM barrier onto my apartment system and pod. Too many eyes followed me as they led me out of my building. I spotted Aabid, one of the three stooges who gave me some lumps on the stairs. He sneered at me as I was marched along.
“Hey, Aabid. Thanks for the hook-up to the Lee clan. Make sure you tell them I got pinched.”
Arneson and Pulling tracked onto him like laser beams.
He looked confused for a second and then he went pale as he realized the implications of what I had said.
“I didn’t! I wouldn’t! Ask anyone around here! I’m Eastman all the way!”
“It’s too late, Aabid. They are onto us. Get out and tell the Lees what happened,” I insisted.
“You gotta believe me. He’s just trying to get back at me because some friends and me put a little hurt on him the other day.”
I laughed.
“Hear that officers? He just confessed to assault. Arrest him!”
“Shut up Boone. Stop with the comedy,” growled Arneson.
“I’m laughing, but that son of a bitch did his best to kick my ribs in yesterday. Wanted to impress Maya Eastman. You guys should recruit him into the GMs. You have so much in common.”
“Shut it,” Arneson said and continued taking me out of the building. GM Pulling had a serious poker face going. Maybe she didn’t like my jokes since they were a little too true.
They drove me to the GM headquarters. A tall ivory tower—well, really a white concrete-and-glass office building, but everyone called it “the Tower”. Arneson held me by the elbow as Pulling checked in with a GM manning the front desk. She seemed consternated by whatever the guy at the desk was telling her. She shook her head at first but then sighed and came back to us.
“This way,” she said and led us over to a bank of elevators. Arneson looked confused too, but then seemed to figure things out. We got on the elevator and took it to the top.
“This where you usually take… what am I exactly? Am I arrested?”
“Shut up, Boone,” barked Arneson.
Pulling thought for a moment.
“Boone, you better stop clowning. You need to get serious and think. Whatever you are into, it’s above my pay grade. Shut up and get your head straight. We are taking you to see the Captain. He has guests. They want to talk with you. You got bigger problems than me and Arneson so stop needling him,” she told me.
I think she was actually trying to do me a favor.
The elevator door opened and we were led out to a large reception room. A GM manned another desk but most of the room’s couches and seats were taken up by Eastman people.
“Crap,” I said.
Arneson didn’t bother getting a dig in at my new problems. The two GMs were all professional masks now. They addressed the other GM, ignoring the Eastman mob.
“Arneson and Pulling with Miles Boone for the Captain,” Pulling reported.
“Take him in.”
The Eastmans studied me as I was conducted to the office doors. I took a look back at them. On close inspection. there were two groups of Eastman people. A smaller group, a few of whom I recognized from the times I had gone with Jude to some event with Maya, and a larger group surrounding them. These guys were different from the entourage Maya usually had floating around her. They were older. They were serious. It was like watching adult lions surrounding cubs. Maya and her crowd were cruel and spoiled and might sharpen their claws on you. These other guys were flat out dangerous. Pulling was right. I better get my head in the game.
The Captain’s office was designed to impress. Floor to ceiling windows along the back wall gave a view of the city. The other wall displayed a map I had most recently viewed with Rea Silvia. Also screened on the wall were a constantly shifting mix of random game feeds. A man wielded a double-bladed axe against a Minotaur. Two elves picked off a pack of wargs charging at them, one unleashing arrows with metronomic rapidity, the other cerulean bolts of arcane power. An older man leaned over a bench, deftly sewing the hide of some impossible beast into what looked to be a jerkin. Along the other free side of the Captain’s office were two primary pods and two regular pods.
Behind an executive’s desk big enough to sleep on was a man who had to be the Captain. He was the archetype of a solid and trustworthy executive. Grey at the temples. Square jaw. Solidly built and tall. Jude and Maya were sitting on a love seat set perpendicular to his desk. Her usual upright posture was missing, as if the circumstances were pushing her down into the chair. She also didn’t seem to know what to do with her hands. She looked frustrated, embarrassed and suppressed. Jude looked as calm and patient as ever. Inscrutable bastard. I didn’t want to drag him further into my problems so I didn’t even nod. In a large armchair set before the desk was a woman who managed to command the room despite not having the desk as a prop. She bore a striking resemblance to Maya. Which made sense since she was Maya’s mother.
“Miles,” she said. “I haven’t seen you since you were a baby.”
“Clan Leader Eastman,” I replied.
“How has your father been?” she asked.
“He was well the last time I saw him. I’d offer you his regards but…”
“Yes. Numitor… Is he a part of this?”
Tasha Eastman was nothing if not direct.
“No. He was against me playing the game. He said something about not gorging on a rotten carcass with a bunch of vultures. Pardon me, but I think you are one of the vultures he had in mind.”
Rather than getting angry she looked thoughtful. I suppose it is easier to ignore insults from someone you have outmaneuvered. She also clearly had an ability to stay on target and go for the jugular.
“So, you decided to reject your father’s wishes? Come to play with the rest of us vultures? That must be terribly disappointing for him.”
“I believe I still have his respect. He certainly still has mine. How did he put it? ‘It’s the folly of youth to try to fix the world, and the curse of the old to have to watch them at it.’”
“That’s a good line. Who said it?”
“My father. I just told you.”
“No originally.”
“My father.”
“Well, it certainly is apt. I am finding it a burden to see Maya, the youth who is my particular curse as you are your father’s, ensnared in this wager. I thought it would be a good idea to talk with you and resolve this situation.”
“I have almost all of a year left to resolve it,” I replied.
“I want to know what clan you are working with.”
“Just me, myself, and I.”
“Impossible. You cleared a beginner quest in days. No one can do that by themselves.”
“Not impossible, just very unlikely.”
“I’ve been playing this game on behalf of humanity since before you were born. What you did is impossible without help. You can’t lie to me about the Game.”
“Why should I tell you anything? If you know where I am playing and what I am doing you will sabotage my gameplay.”